Vacation / Sick Leave

Sorry everyone, but there probably won't be any new posts until next Tuesday. Bad planning on my part, I know. I'm not feeling real great today (allergies), and we're going out of town for the long weekend.

Please stay tuned, because I will be back in full-force, next Tuesday.

Recipe Review - 7 Minute Frosting

"No Cook" 7 Minute Frosting

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 unbeaten egg whites
food coloring (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla and egg whites.
2. Add boiling water.
3. Beat on high til mixture forms peaks (like meringue) approx 5-7 minutes.

http://www.recipezaar.com/No-Cook-7-Minute-Frosting-107841

I really thought this was going to be the first recipe review that I wouldn't have any complaints about. Unfortunately, that's not exactly the case.

At the last minute on Saturday evening, I decided to make a birthday cake for a family get together - Happy Birthday, Becky & Amy! That morning, I had seen a recipe for a 7 Minute Frosting on America's Test Kitchen. Apparently it's a pretty old recipe, but I'd never heard of it. However, it's a very pretty frosting, and I knew I wanted to try it. The problem is, I've never had a double boiler, and don't even really have the right pots for a makeshift one, and this recipe called for a double boiler.

I searched online, to try to find a recipe that was simpler than the one I'd seen that morning. As luck would have it, I came across this "No Cook" recipe. It was a breeze to make, and really turned out beautifully. If was very white and fluffy looking, and very light tasting.

To make it a little more festive, since it was a birthday cake, I decided to add some yellow gel food coloring. Well, it worked, and the icing took the color really well, but it actually ended up looking like whipped butter. I wish I had gotten a photo of it. It was so funny. It looked like we slathered the cake in Country Crock.

Thankfully, the butter-look didn't phase anyone. Even the frosting-haters of the family, agreed that this frosting was tasty. For the birthday party, I made a Fun-fetti cake and frosted it with the butter-yellow "No Cook" 7 Minute Frosting. And it was delicious.

Late that night, I was still in the baking mood, so I decided to try it again. I made a double batch this time, because I wanted to make a layer cake and use the frosting between the layers. I also mixed it up a little, and used almond extract instead of vanilla. It was a success.

This almond frosting had a very good flavor. I actually preferred it to the vanilla. And let me tell you, this chocolate layer cake turned out to be almost too pretty to eat.

But as you can see, we really didn't have a problem digging right in. It was heavenly. The almond flavoring added such a nice touch to it. And the texture of this frosting is just nearly perfect.

So, all in all, for a cake that's going to be eaten in one day, this recipe it a complete success. I give it an A+ for same day enjoyment.

The problem comes after the cake sits for a while. I made the chocolate cake late at night; I probably finished it around midnight. The next morning, approximately 12 hours later, this is what we were welcomed with when we got down to the kitchen.

As you can see, the layers basically disappeared. I didn't expect the cake to keep it's shape completely, because the frosting was so light, but I never figured something like this would happen. The frosting on the outside was much thicker than the layers, and didn't disappear, but got all foamy. It was so strange. We went ahead and tried a bit, and it still tasted really great. The frosting sort of just absorbed into the cake and made it really moist, and again that almond flavor was really wonderful. But it was still so weird. I can't figure out if it's just this recipe, or if any 7 Minute Frosting will do this. Like I said, this is the first time I'd ever heard of it.

My other idea, is that maybe it's supposed to be refrigerated? I just don't know.

So, in conclusion, this recipe fails in the long run, but only in looks. The flavor is still wonderful, even after the frosting disappears.

Overall, I give it a C, and suggest you consume the frosted cake within 6 hours of preparation.

If any of you make this, or have ever made a traditional 7 Minute Frosting, please let me know if this is the standard, of if I've done something wrong.

As always, if you have any suggestions for recipes you'd like me to review, please leave a comment. Stay tuned!

Timetable Amendments

I spoke about the basic schedule I had in mind for this blog in this post. With the constraints of time, resources, and ideas I've decided to amend this schedule, just slightly.

Prize Drawing Product Reviews will now be posted on the 1st Monday of the month. The winner of that prize drawing will be announced the 2nd Monday of the month. With that, there will not be a review posted on the 2nd Monday of the month. However, all other Mondays in any given month will include some sort of review. It might be a restaurant review, a book review, a movie review, or any other product review. Starting next Monday, things should be on a regular schedule.

I plan to stay on task, with the weekly Friday recipe reviews, as well as the Wednesday picture pages. If you have any products or recipes you think I might like to review, please leave a comment and let me know. I'm open to almost any suggestions.

Thanks, and stay tuned!

Friday's Recipe Review - Coming Soon

I'm sorry everyone, but Friday's Recipe Review will have to be put off until Saturday. I didn't finish writing it up last night, and it's 5:30am right now, and there's just no way it's getting done this early in the morning.

But, Keith is working tomorrow morning, so I will finish it up either tonight or tomorrow morning, and I promise it will be posted by noon tomorrow.

Now, in about 2 1/2 hours, I'll be choosing the random winner of the Prize Drawing. I'll post the results at around 1pm this afternoon.

Until then...

We Have a Cuddler

As most of you probably already know, Keith and I brought a kitten home from Altus this past March. Her name is Cami and she is now about 10 months old. She keeps us on our toes and I honestly think we've both been in better moods since she's arrived. There's never a dull moment. She's Keith's first true indoor-only cat, and it's a lot of fun watching him with her. I'm definitely a cat person, I always have been; I'm starting to suspect he is as well.

Cami weighs about 6lbs now. I must say, if she doesn't get to growing, she will be the smallest cat I've ever had, by at least half. We usually tend to grow them pretty big on my side of the family. However, even at her small size, she's still able to take up approximately 3/4 of the king sized bed at night. I do love that she sleeps with us though. I've missed that presence in my life for the past 10 years. I had to go and purchase some lighter colored sheets, as I am constantly afraid I'm going to come back to bed in the middle of the night and squish her. I'm not completely confident that she's smart enough to get out of the way. I'm kidding; well, I'm half kidding.

She is an excellent snuggler, when she's in the mood. And she is usually in the mood. I've actually got a kitty lap-blanket happening as I type this. Almost every day, when I get home from work, Cami and Keith are snuggled up on the couch. It's pretty adorable.*

Anyway, I know that not all of you are into cats, and that's fine... even if I do think it's a little weird. But no matter what, you have to admit that there's nothing like the love and snuggles of a four-legged friend.

So, even though our day is now full of special** cat food, flushable cat litter, and a little bit of feline acne, it's also full of laughs and I'm very happy about that.

* see the photo at the top of this post
** or in other words, ridiculously overpriced

All About Scheduling

I procrastinate, a lot. I'm pretty lazy, and though I believe my ideas are always good ones, I don't usually have a ton of faith that they will truly come to fruition. I've just come to realize over the past 20+ years, that this is just going to have to be how it is in my life. It hasn't changed so far, and I don't really see it changing in the future.

However, I have decided to try going with a certain timetable for this blog. I need some sort of formula to strive for, even if I know it probably won't always work out how I plan.

So, here's what I've come up with:

~ I've decided that on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'll post about my random thoughts and feelings on all the weird little things that enter into my mind throughout each and every day. It gets pretty weird inside my head sometimes, y'all. This will also include all the things going on in my life, or in the lives of my loved ones.

~ On Mondays, I'll try to post product reviews. If you have any ideas for things you'd like for me to review, just let me know. I'm open to (well, almost) anything.

~ Wednesdays will be set aside for Picture Pages (Bill Cosby will likely not be included.) Old family photos will abound. It will be tons of fun, and is possibly my favorite idea for the blog so far. Of course I'll also include recent photos and just to warn you, a lot of them will probably be of Cami. Oooh and the State Fair, when it starts!

~ I almost forgot about Fridays! Recipe reviews are planned for Fridays. Yay! Yes, yes, I know today is Friday. Yes, I know I posted a recipe review yesterday. But, I didn't have this plan in place yesterday, so you'll have to forgive me.

Well, that's about it. If you have any ideas or feedback for me, leave a comment. I need some traffic through this place so that I don't get bored, people!