Pictures!

So everything went over well. The sorbet did get made, and it was pretty good. Very strong lemon and pomegranate flavors. Sam and I agree that although it is good the way it is, it is not quite right and we are going to try to make it a bit better next time. The chocolate chip cookies did not get made, but we didn't need them, as we had tons of food already.

The cake turned out beautifully- pretty much exactly how I pictured it. I wish the polka dots had been a bit smaller, but I didn't have anything smaller to cut them out with. Also, the sliced strawberries in the middle were not a good idea. The chocolate frosting made them impossible to see, so your mouth was not ready for them when you bit them. It was sort of like, "OH MY GOSH there's something slimy in my mouth...oh wait it's a strawberry...it's ok." That's not exactly the reaction I was looking for with this cake. However, it is the cutest one I have ever made. See?

top view:



The strawberries were delicious as well. And we had cookies and cream ice cream. We watched Across the Universe, which is a movie I really do not like. I was willing to give it another try, but even the second time around, it just does not interest me one bit. I think people only like that movie for two reasons: 1. They think it's cool/trendy to like it, so they do. 2. They love the Beatles (perhaps for reason number 1) so they like the movie. However, if you are neither interested in the Beatles nor being cool/trendy, the movie doesn't mean anything to you. The music is excellent though, especially "Let it Be." I would enjoy the soundtrack, but please do not made me sit through that acid-trip...I mean, uh...film.

We also watched 10 Things I Hate About You. It was fair. Predictable, somewhat cheesy, but all in all, it a mediocre movie. I enjoyed watching it, but it is not one I need to see again. Also, I'm sorry, but Heath Ledger is not attractive. His nose does not fit his face at all. Eesh.

Playing rock band was quite enjoyable though. I think "Maps" (by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) is my favorite song to sing. Also, I am terrible at playing drums. Awful. Could not be worse. It's fun though.

All in all, we had a very enjoyable evening that included girl talk until almost 4am. It was great; I really needed that.

Up this week: test today, watching Return of the King tomorrow, test Wednesday, rest Thursday, my first lindy exchange starting Friday! Sam and I will be driving up to Charlotte, NC this weekend for the Queen City Lindy Exchange. The theme is gold rush, so I've been trying to think of some cupcake designs. Also, there's a costume contest on Saturday evening, and you're supposed to wear lots of gold. I haven't had a whole lot of time to think about it, but I'll work on that this week, when I'm not studying for tests and such. So sometime in the next week or so there will be pictures posted of cupcakes.

After this weekend, it will be spring break! Yay!! I don't really have any big plans. I'm staying in Athens and will probably go check out some more bakeries to see if they want me.

Still no word from Bee's Knees or Big City Bread. Hoping to hear soon...

'Till next time,
The Flower-Haired Girl

Busy, busy!

So today I woke up (late), went to class (late), went to the grocery store, and then came home and started baking. I decided to put some sliced strawberries inbetween the layers of the cake I'm making today. Alton Brown says that it is nearly impossible to bake a cake from scratch that is as good as one from a box, so I still use a boxed mix. I have an altered recipe for boxed cake that uses 1 cup of buttermilk instead of water, and 4 eggs instead of however many the box says. It usually turns out being pretty delicious. However, something weird happened today that has never happened to me before. I checked the cakes (2 8-in rounds) about 6 minutes before the timer went off, and they looked browned, so I did the toothpick test and it came out clean. So I take them out and cool them in the pan for 10 minutes as usual. Then, when I went to turn them out of the pans, the strangest thing happened. One of them turned out alright, and the other one split in have and uncooked-cake-batter-goo came out all over me (it was quite hot still). It was really strange. Luckily, I had another cake mix on hand and tried again using the box-prescribed method. I'm about to go turn them out of the pans, so let me go do that and I'll get back to you.


...

Beautiful! Moist, browned, spongy, and they smell delicious.

I did a dumb thing last night. I was trying to make Pomegranate Sorbet in Sam's ice cream maker, and I guess I should really leave the frozen desserts to him. The first time I tried it, I made a simple syrup (made by boiling sugar water), and then added some Minute Maid Pomegranate Lemonade. I took the ice cream maker out of the freezer, poured the mix in, put the lid on, and turned it on. I come back about 20-ish minutes later and nothing has happened. Thinking it was the watered-down Minute Maid, I dump that out, clean the ice cream maker, and stick it back in the freezer. I then made some more mix with real pomegranate juice (Pom Wonderful) and lemon juice, according to a recipe I found online. I stuck that in the fridge overnight.

So today when I go back and try again, the ice cream thing is only about 90% frozen, but I figured I'd try it anyway. So I put the mix in and turn it on. I sit down to glance at the instruction manual and realized I had forgotten something: the agitator. Duh. I have seen that thing and cleaned it a million times before (I cleaned it last night!) but forgot to put it in. So I figured after all my failures thus far, I should probably just wait until the thing (I should find out the real name for it) is completely frozen. So when I get back from the gym (Hip-Hop Aerobics today!) I might give it a shot. I don't know if the sorbet is going to happen for girls' night tonight, but it will turn out eventually! Maybe I should just wait until Sam gets back from San Francisco so he can do it. He is the expert, after all.

I also decided to make some chocolate-covered strawberries with the leftover strawberries from the cake...yum. And I think Melissa is bringing ice cream, so all in all I think we will have: pizza, chips, salsa, queso, cake, chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate milk and other various beverages, ice cream, and possibly some pomegranate sorbet. For 5 girls. Looks like I won't be able to afford missing any workouts next week...

I haven't started on the cookies yet. I'll probably just make them during girls' night rather than before. That way they'll be warm. Plus after the gym I have to put the cake together and frost it, maybe make the sorbet, and get stuff together for the evening.

Oh! I started reading Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for More Food last night. It's his book on baking. I'll be the first to tell you that science isn't my forte or anything, but I find his book really interesting. He is really focused on making his readers/viewers better bakers/cooks overall, not just good at making a few recipes. I really appreciate that. He's my favorite. :) Er...second favorite. Whoops. ;)

Pictures will be up eventually!

Flower-haired Girl

I really enjoy making fondant. Now, I don't use a recipe that is complicated or anything, but it tastes good. In fact, other than its consistency and use, I hardly think it's fondant at all. But it's just so relaxing to make. The recipe I use requires you to knead 2 whole pounds of confectioner's sugar into a whole bag's worth of melted marshmallows. The whole process takes 30-45 minutes. It requires a lot of arm strength, but it's pretty much a mindless task. Both times I've made it so far I've been alone in the kitchen during the afternoon, and it's just a good time to think. It's relaxing. It's like using one of those squishy stress balls, except you get to eat it when you're finished. I don't think I'm a very stressed-out person, but even the type-B personalities can appreciate a little de-stress session from time to time.

Still no word from Big City Bread. They said they weren't looking for anyone in pastry, so I doubt they'll call. I went to Bee's Knees today, though. This place is so cute. I talked to the lady who is in charge and she said that she is looking for someone, but she is wary about teaching people because she wants her recipes to remain secret. I can understand that. She looked at my pictures and seemed to like them, though. She said I seemed to be doing well for just starting a few months ago. In the end I gave her my resume and availability and she said she would think about it. So I'm hoping. :)

Making this week/weekend: round yellow cake with chocolate frosting and regular fondant, chocolate chip cookies, and pomegranate sorbet. Girls' night is tomorrow night so we have to have plenty of sweets. We decided we're going to bake half of the chocolate chip cookies and just eat the other half of the dough. :) I bought a gallon of chocolate milk today for the event as well. It should be a good time. I will post pictures of the cake (and of the festive evening) sometime this weekend.

I've been thinking more and more about opening my own bakery. I don't have the skills, time, or money to do it now, but maybe one day. I was thinking of calling it the Flower-haired Girl bakery. However, I also thought about going with the pun and entitling it the "Flour-haired girl bakery." I am still on the fence. I like the "flower" spelling because I do wear flowers in my hair often and I would love for that to be sort of my signature. But I also often have flour in my hair, and it's a bakery, and blah blah blah, it's funny to people like a few of my friends who like to make puns (you know who you are) and my dad. But I would need the money, time, and skills to do it first, so I guess the name decision can wait.

I'm still glad I changed my major to Social Work because I do still want to do marriage and family therapy, but I get so much joy out of baking. Baked goods are a certain type of therapy in themselves, though, right?

'Till next time,
The Flower-haired Girl