multi-hyphenated-me

the hyphens that define my life

Snake Cake January 14, 2013

Filed under: Cooking — multihyphenatedme @ 9:44 am
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snake in the grass cake

My 9 year old son is obsessed with reptiles. Our family includes a gecko and now a ball python.  His reptile themed birthday party requied a reptile cake.

Pinterest to the rescue!  Search for reptile cakes and snake cakes and be amazed by the crazy-talented cake decorators and cake sculptors out there! Thank you for providing insight and ideas!

Here is how I made my cake:

Two Bundt Cakes – “The Martha Stewart Cookbook” recipes for Devil’s Food (chocolate) and Whipped Cream (white) cakes to accomodate all attending the party (translation:  for the fools that don’t like chocolate cake!).

One 9″ Devil’s Food Cake – same recipe as above.  One recipe made enough for the bundt and round cakes.

Four pounds of C & H powdered sugar – Buttercream frosting recipe on the back is quadrupled to frost this cake.

Red sour punch candy for tongue.

Wilton’s icing colors:  Juniper Green, Black and Golden Yellow

8 oz. unsweetened coconut

After wrapping my extra large cutting board in parchment, I cut the head shape from the 9″ round, using approximatly half of the cake.  Half moon shapes were cut for the raised eyes.  My kids were gracious enough to eat the other half of the cake unfrosted as an after breakfast snack.

Both bundt cakes were cut and half and arranged on the board.  One half of each bundt was quartered and rotated to create the curvature of the snake.

Divide and color frosting.Green and white frosting will be used the most with a small amount of yellow and black.

Crumb frost with a thin layer of white butter cream. Position and adhere half moons for eyes during the crumb frost.

Using a spatula, cover the entire snake with Juniper Green frosting.

Let the frosting dry slightly then use a paper towel to smooth out lines and ridges.  This is another awesome pinterest trick!

Put white frosting on eyes. Let dry.  Use papertowel to smooth.  Add yellow frosting to eyes. Let dry.  Use papertowel to smooth.  Using a toothpick with small amount of black frosting, add black line down the center.

Foolishly I believed I possessed the artistic ability to create a diamondback snake pattern all over the snake.  For the record, I don’t.  I tried.  I failed.  I scraped the entire frosting off the cake, and started over.  Internet images to the rescue!

041-green-snake-wallpaper-animal

Using a #5 decorating tip, pipe white lines onto the snake at random intervals.  Let dry.  Using papertowl, flatten. Using #4 tip, pipe black around white. Let dry.  Flatten with papertowl.

Using #4 tip, pipe black to create line of mouth and outline eyes.

Using #61 tip, pipe yellow at base of snack to create yellow underbelly.  Let dry.  Press into snake with papertowel.

With leftover frosting (I had more green leftover than any other color), frost the base of the board.  Color coconut with light green food coloring and cover base of board to create grass.

021

Who can resist that face?

 

Goodbye 2012 December 31, 2012

Filed under: Books,Cooking,Family,Gardening,Life,Links,Quotes,Work — multihyphenatedme @ 12:14 pm
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Goodbye 2012.

It has been a good year overall.

I started a blog, this blog, multi-hyphenated-me.  Though only 8 posts this year, I love it and have big plans for the future.  I lived up to, or tried to live up to, my hyphens, every day.

My 7 month foot saga put me back in touch with my old friend Reading. Perhaps due to many Ohio winters with not much else to do or maybe it is the escape from reality that is reading’s gift, in either case, I have always been a reader.  Being a project person and needing a project that would keep me down and resting while my foot recovered, I turned to reading.  I decided to read all of the New York and Los Angeles Best Sellers , fiction, non fiction, children’s, hardback and paperback.  It was mid-January when I started this project and it was sometime in February that I realized I had to scale back the lists in order to be somewhat manageable.  The LA Times fiction nonfiction hardcover and paperback lists were my source of material.  The Public Library was my resource.  I’m happy to report that I have read 134 books in eleven and half months, roughly 12 books a month.  I have so many favorites.  I learned so much and was reminded of things I have known and lived and seen. There were a few books that were wasteful of my time spent reading them but I learned from them too. I travelled from Machu Picchu to Africa to Paris to India and points in between.  I cried.  Sobbed.  I laughed and laughed.  The library staff knows me by name. The intelligent, literary conversations I had with so many in discussing books was truly one of the highlights of this journey.  On Facebook I “liked” “The Book Isn’t Dead” Community and have been inspired by discussions and quotes and moments. This journey inspired me to be the Book Fair Chairperson with the elementary school PTA where we had our most profitable sale to date.  From my Book Fair experience and my frequent trips to the library, I learned about Battle of the Books and rallied 5 twelve year olds to form a team and read.  I was asked months ago if I would keep up the reading pace, off the same reading list in 2013.  My answer then and remains, no.  Will I continue to read?  Of course! To focus on the best-selling Pattersons, Silvas, Picoults, et al is a huge oversight to the countless great writers out there with books that deserve to be read. The best part is to say, because of this project, I have grown.

My foot finally healed and I embraced the ability to move.  I ran three 5 ks and one 8k.  My friend and I walked/ran 95+ miles in the month of August, in the wee hours of the morning before we had to go to work.

We, as a family, spent great time together.  Camping trips in the Santa Ynez mountains and at the Kern River.  An awesome house rental in Palm Springs, and resort living in San Diego.  Summer was filled with trips to the beach, the water slide park, movies and parks. We experienced the multi-facets of Southern California.

Successfully raising a child is one of life’s greatest rewards.  To bear witness to my daughter graduating high school is a huge milestone for me.  I am so proud of her.  It wasn’t until she finished her first 16 collegiate units that I realized how quickly the next phase of her life, the college years, would pass.  My work here is not complete, nor will it ever be.  Our boys are quickly aging up too and their perspectives and antics are heartwarming and hand wringing, usually at the same time.

This was my year of fundraising.  Or was it my year of baking?  A fantastic combination of both.  What I learned most, or what was reinforced most  from these efforts was the incredible group of friends and coworkers that support me and have major sugar addictions.  Thank you. I will keep you supplied.

This year, as a recruiter, I regained footing lost on the slippery slope of the recession. It feels great to have traction, being back in the groove, doing what I love.  The icing is that I get to work with awesome people at an amazing company too.  The chapter “How to Get a Job” in Augusten Burroughs book, This is How.  Any recruiting advice that starts with a dual personality reference to the movie Sybil  and the person we become when interviewing is terrific.   “The truth is:  You are only the person you actually are; you may not may not be the person they actually want.” This is How is one of my favorites and a book everyone should read.

As my boss tells me, with all on my plate, something has to give.  He’s right, just don’t tell him I said so. As much as I feel I accomplished this year, the counterbalance is that I didn’t stay on diets I self prescribed, or lose the weight I wanted to lose (with all that mileage you would think…). I didn’t travel to all the places I wanted to go.  I could have been a better wife, mother, friend, person, employee, better in all of my roles.  My garden could have been better.  I still can’t hula hoop. Something does have to give.  Figuring out that something every day is the challenge.

Two Thousand Twelve was good to me and my family and we lived life well. For this I am thankful and know we are blessed. Thank you for sharing this year with me.

2012 Reading List

*books I enjoyed

Fiction

  1. The Book Thief*
  2. Extremely Loud Incredibly Close*
  3. The Marriage Plot
  4. The Art of Fielding*
  5. 1Q84*
  6. The Goon Squad
  7. Tinker Tailor Sodier Spy
  8. The Paris Wife*
  9. Against All Enemies
  10. Bonnie
  11. Then Again
  12. The Drop
  13. The Sense of An Ending
  14. Private #1 Suspect
  15. Breakdown
  16. Believing the Lie
  17. Raylan
  18. Death Comes to Pemberly
  19. Defending Jacob
  20. Homefront*
  21. The Summer Garden
  22. Kill Shot
  23. What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank
  24. Dreams of Joy*
  25. 44 Charles Street
  26. The 9th Judgment
  27. Celebrity in Death
  28. War Horse*
  29. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children*
  30. Night Road*
  31. Capture of the Earl of Glencrae
  32. The Starboard Sea*
  33. Sacre Bleu*
  34. Fifty Shades of Grey
  35. Fifty Shades Darker
  36. Fifty Shades Freed
  37. The Fault In Our Stars*
  38. The Lucky One*
  39. Calico Joe*
  40. All There Is*
  41. State of Wonder*
  42. Istanbul Passage *
  43. The Kings of Cool
  44. Beautiful Ruins*
  45. Private Games*
  46. Guilty Wives*
  47. Bones are Forever*
  48. The Beautiful Mystery*
  49. The Night Circus*
  50. The Next Best Thing*
  51. The Prisoner of Heaven*
  52. A Hologram fro the King
  53. Mission to Paris*
  54. The Age of Miracles*
  55. Where’d You Go, Bernadette?*
  56. Creole Bell*
  57. The Fallen Angel*
  58. Shadow of Night*
  59. The Life of Pi*
  60. Broken Harbor*
  61. 3rd Wheel Diary of a Whimpy Kid
  62. Invention of Hugo Cabret*
  63. The Timekeeper*
  64. Zoo
  65. Notorious Nineteen
  66. In One Person*
  67. The Perks of Being a Wallflower*
  68. Gone Girl*

Non Fiction

  1. Bossypants*
  2. Outliers: the story of success*
  3. Unbroken*
  4. Heaven is For Real
  5. Steve Jobs
  6. Elizabeth the Queen
  7. The Obamas
  8. Ameritopia
  9. Quiet: The Power of Introverts
  10. The Power of Habit*
  11. Wild*
  12. Bringing Up Bebe
  13. Killing Lincoln*
  14. Blue Nights
  15. Full Service
  16. Take the Stairs*
  17. Great by Choice*
  18. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks*
  19. Thinking Fast and Slow*
  20. The 17 Day Diet
  21. Taking People With You
  22. Abundance*
  23. Moneyball
  24. The Big Short
  25. Tipping Point*
  26. I Am A Pole*
  27. Turn Right at Machu Pichu*
  28. Pioneer Woman Cooks
  29. Behind the Beautiful Forevers*
  30. The 5 Love Languages*
  31. The Happiness Project*
  32. Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt*
  33. I Remember Nothing
  34. The Vow
  35. Paris versus New York*
  36. The Irish Americans
  37. It Worked for Me
  38. Cronkite
  39. Mortality*
  40.  How to Be a Woman
  41. I Hate Everything Starting with Me
  42. Yes Chef
  43. Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness*
  44. Not Taco Bell Material
  45. Farther Away*
  46. A Natural Woman*
  47. Go the F*** to Sleep*
  48. American Grown*
  49. Boomerang
  50. Blood Bones and Butter*
  51. The Mobile Wave
  52. The Amateur
  53. My Berlin Kitchen*
  54. Sh*itty Mom
  55. Moonwalking with Einstein*
  56. Drift
  57. Help Thanks Wow*
  58. America Again
  59. Along the Way*
  60. The Grand Design
  61. Joseph Anton
  62. F in Exams
  63. Dearie
  64. Strength Finders 2.0
  65. This is How*
  66. Darth Vader & Son

 

 

 

 

The Day After November 19, 2012

Filed under: Cooking,Family — multihyphenatedme @ 1:11 pm

We typically host Thanksgiving every year.  This year, however, we wanted to escape the issues and chaos and crazy that comes with bringing the extended family together (yes, I said it). We wanted to boycott Thanksgiving.  We are thankful. We give thanks daily. Yet, we were ready to head out of town and make reservations, just us.  Some do this annually, I have only had Thanksgiving in a restaurant once in my 44 years.  For the past 15 years, I have cooked. I love the tradition, but this year, I wanted a break (or read this as an escape). In October, I was making a list of restaurants to check out their Thanksgiving menus and plans.

In less than 30 days to Thanksgiving, a whole lot of life happened in our family on multiple levels, from coast to coast.  Our reality was checked. The realization that time is fleeting and the reminder that life gives guarantees were upon us.  Ready or not, Thanksgiving is a time to bring family together. Our decision changed from reservations to hosting Thanksgiving Dinner.

With two weeks to plan, evites were sent, tables and chairs reserved and the menu was planned. Thanksgiving Dinner for 20 was in the works.  To accomodate all, Thanksgiving would have to happen on the Sunday prior, not the traditional Thanksgiving Thursday.  In our house, every day is a day to give thanks, so spin the wheel, pick a day, and get the party started.

We celebrated yesterday. Considering I started from a mindset of running the opposite direction, away from Thanksgiving with the extended family, our Thanksgiving celebration was our best ever.  Though I am sure this has something to do with family togetherness, I am thankful for my keep-it-simple-yet-fabulous menu:

Roast Turkey (stuff it, season with sage, salt and pepper, roast it).  23 pounds this year.

Stuffing with Giblets (bread cubes, butter, stock, giblets, herbs and spices)

Mashed Potatoes (potatoes peeled by my 18, 11 and 8 year olds taste amazing!)

Gravy – Gravy makes the meal.  I put a lot of time into making a great stock the day before (roasted turkey wings, onions, shallots, leeks, carrots, celery, peppercorns, bay leaf, garlic, parsley and salt; cook for 5 hours).  This delicious, dark, rich stock makes a terrific gravy, especially when stirred into a frenzy by my sister-in-love.

Choucroute au Champagne (James Beard) – kraut is good, prepared this way, incredible

Brown Sugar Glazed Yams – bake the yams whole the day before.  Day of, peel, chop and cover with a struesel of brown sugar and melted butter; bake until heated through.

Whole Cranberry Sauce – cranberries, sugar, water.   Keep it simple.

Waldorf Salad – This salad has many variations.  Ours consists of apples, grapes, walnuts, celery, lemon juice, mayo, whipped cream, nutmeg.  My favorite part of this salad is putting it on my turkey sandwich with a spread of cranberry sauce on the days following the feast.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts – Trim and halve sprouts, toss with olive oil and salt.  Roast on baking sheet until browned.   My girl did a great job trimming, cleaning and halving.

Green Beans – I love green bean casserole, I really do. Really, really.  This year, I couldn’t do it. I needed something pure and green and simple.  Haricort verts blanched, topped with butter.

Corn – Corn is the great safety net of life.  My 7 year old loves to open cans.  This was one of his contributions to the meal. How could I resist?  Straight from the can, microwave blasted. Classy.

Parker House Rolls – making your own bread on Thanksgiving is a must.  Use a bread maker if you must but make your own bread.  These rolls are easy to make (I used Martha Stewart’s recipe for our shared love of butter; Bon Appetit has a recipe in their November 2012 issue too).  If you can get your European brother in law to rave about your bread you know you found a winning recipe.

We also had an off-menu fruit salad studded with mini marshmallows added and prepared by my knife weilding seven year old fruit ninja.

Don’t forget dessert.

Date Bars – My Grandmother’s recipe that I cherish. A Thanksgiving tradition as far back as I can remember.  Even if I made reservations, I would still make date bars.

Pies – Yum.  Pumpkin, Pecan and Harvest (comination of apple, pear and cranberry).  Does anything get better in life than pie with homemade crust? No. It only improves with homemade whipped cream on top. Mmmmmmmmm.

I don’t delegate when I cook, admittedly, a cooking control freak. Maybe I’ll work on this, probably not. If you’re not cooking, word to the wise, bring wine or a beverage of choice.

Today, the day after, while drinking my morning coffee and nibbling on date bars (YUM!), I look back, and though it was two days of serious work, the outcome was worth the effort.  I am thankful for family, the joy on my mother-in-law’s face having her children and their children together, the cousin’s giggles and endless play action, and the photos taken to keep the memories alive. Thanks to our family for always ready to eat. Thanks be given to my husband for taking care of the honey-do list and to my daughter/sous chef-in-training for her diligent efforts and for my boys for being there when I needed them and staying clear mostly.  I am thankful for another year of cooking and delicious food.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Funky Chicken & Alligator Tongues March 14, 2012

Filed under: Cooking — multihyphenatedme @ 11:21 am

My original blog Funky Chicken & Alligator Tongues is now retired.  My cooking and food experiences blog will now appear here.

Thanks for following!