Thursday, March 31, 2011

It's hip to be a square!

Little known fact about me:

A few years ago, I wrote a children's book.

Good grief, don't look so shocked.  Contrary to popular belief, I actually use to have a pretty productive life.

Anyways, back to my book.
I just found it!
And who cares that I was denied by Highlights because it wasn't what they were looking for did not have it published?!
That just means more exciting new stuff for you!  EEEeeee!!! :)

Don't worry, I'll give you a heads up before the story's about to begin if you wanna make a run for it.  It's pretty fan... nope, I'm not gonna say it.  I'll say it's "otterific".

Ugh.
I know.
It doesn't quite have the right ring to it.  I mean, yeah for otters that they were included in a word trend last year, but it's just not working for me.  Although, my story does have animals in it...

Okay, enough mumbo jumbo,
here's the story.
If you make it through, there's a picture at the end!!!

A Giraffe Named Purcello
By: Little 'Ol Me

(I will apologize now because it looks kinda long.  Sorry.
It rhymes though, so it should read pretty fast.
Btw, it's pronounce "per-cello", like the instrument.
Okay.  I'm done.  Read on good people.)

There was once a little giraffe named Purcello

Who certainly was an intelligent fellow.

He loved reading and writing, arithmetic too,

But poor young Purcello did not know what to do.

His classmates would tease him day in and day out,

But he’d try to forget the mean names they would shout.

They’d call him a dweeb, a geek and a fool

For choosing to read and stay after school.

Purcello was sad, he liked learning stuff,

But he finally decided that he’d had enough.

He changed who he was and made himself new,

But there was still that sad feeling inside making him blue.

“I know I was different, but I liked who I was.

I don’t like to do what everyone else does.”

“Then you should be you,” a small voice said one day

“And forget the mean things that those animals do say.”

Purcello looked down to see whose words were so kind

And was startled to see the mouse Caroline.

“You’re right Caroline, who cares what they say?

After all, they’re not me at the end of the day.

Each one of us has something special to share,

All it takes is one person to listen, to care.”

“Exactly!” Caroline exclaimed as she smiled ear to ear

“That’s certainly nice to finally hear!”

Then Caroline and Purcello walked back to the school

Where classmates had teased him for not being cool.

But this time Purcello walked proudly and said

“Yes it’s true; I’m the geek that reads before bed,

But I’d rather be me who reads quite a lot,

Than someone I know I definitely am not.”

His classmates were silent as he spoke every word.

They could not believe what they had just heard.

Here was the same little giraffe they had teased

Standing up for himself with the greateast of ease.

Then, as Purcello walked away from the crowd,

He could hear a cheer starting, first soft and then loud!

“Purcello, you’re great for just being you!

That’s definitely the coolest thing we’ve seen someone do!”

And from that moment on Purcello love school,

For being himself, he was finally cool.


Awww...  ::gags a bit:: okay, now as I promised, Picture Time!


*Purcello is made of caramel, tootsie rolls and butterscotch chips.  And he's reading The Great Gatsby, in case you were curious.

Alright, that's all I've got.
Show's over.
You can get on with your awesomeness now.

Have an Otterific Thursday Everybody!
...nope, still not feelin' it, sorry...

Later!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Rubber Duckie, you're the one!

We've spoken of my love of anything Jim Henson right?  Well, I watched some episodes of "The Storyteller" last week and they completely freaked me out, so I almost started to rethink that love.  
 
Please keep in mind however, this is coming from the girl who, 17 chapters in, had to stop reading The Historian because she was afraid Dracula would come after her too.  
 
Okay, I realize you probably think that's dumb especially since there's no such thing as vampires, but chew on this for a minute.  My mom had two spots that looked eerily similar to bite marks suddenly appear on her arm and I burned the side of my neck with a curling iron... all in the same day.  
I think it's best I not take my chances.

Anyways, I decided "The Storyteller" was just a momentary lapse in judgment and will continue sharing my love for all things muppet.  
Which brings me to today.  
I started my process for this post as more of a soap opera thing, but decided it would be better suited under the Sesame Street genre.
They're kinda the same right?  I mean, both have main story lines that are frequently interrupted by other, more minor story lines...  Okay, that's a stretch, but once you see these pictures, it will make much more sense.
 
 


It's more Sesame Street right?  
*BTW, tub dude is made of caramel, tootsie rolls and a nilla wafer, his bubble bath is made up of mini marshmallows and his rubber duckie is just fondant.  (If you've seen my first ever fondant cake, the duck's my lone keepsake.)

Happy Wednesday Everybody!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

"Sorry Johnny, I don't have a dime."

Happy Smoke and Mirrors Day!
Deciding on what sweet treat to make in honor of this glorious occasion took a bit of thought, but in the end, I think the result was pretty fatasmic! :)  Yeah, I just said "fantasmic"... awesome word choice right?  
Whatever, at least I didn't say it was "totally boss".
Did anyone actually say that in the 80s?
Being as I was 5 when that decade ended, I've sadly only had the pleasure of hearing the phrase used in movies.  While we're on the subject of movies, if you've never seen "Better Off Dead" with the wonderful John Cusack, you need to rent it. 
Like now.
I'll wait.
















It blew your mind right?  I know, it's mixed up crazy ways just have a way of making your heart happy.
Sorry, I told you, I've got 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon Phenom thought patterns... hmmm... Kevin Bacon's in "Footloose", another 80s movie.
Didn't really care much for that one though.

Anyway, back to Smoke and Mirrors Day.
I decided I

1.) Needed to make something "fantasmic".  (HA!)
2.) Needed to use some of my never ending supply of mangoes to make my something "fantasmic"  (double HA!)
3.) Needed to do something I had never done before and make it, you guessed it, FAN-FREAKING-TASMIC!  (Okay, I've had my fun.)

So I made creamy mango souffles!


Oh my gosh so yummy!
Here's the recipe I found, tinkered with and used if you're interested:

INGREDIENTS
1 mango
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sifted confectioner's sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Butter four ramekins.
2.  Peel mango.  Dice mango.  Remove pit from mango.  Puree mango innerds. :)
2.  Transfer pureed mango innerds to mixing bowl.  Add sugar.  Whisk.
3.  Add egg yolks and whisk some more.
4.  In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form.  Gradually add sifted confectioner's sugar and continue whisking until mixture becomes thick and fluffy.
You might say you're whisking you're life away.  HA!
5. Fold egg white mixture into pureed mango innerds mixture.  Fold until entire mixture becomes a light yellow color.  
6.  Pour into prepared ramekins.
7.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.
8. EAT NOW!  
Seriously though, you have to serve them quickly or they'll deflate.

*WARNING!  These are cRaZy sweet, so just a little dab 'il do ya.*


Happy Tuesday everybody!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Rockin' the Hob Lob

Welcome to the WORLD PREMIERE of...
 
Toozy's 1st Ever Demo Day pictures!

Don't try to hide your excitement.  I already know you can hardly contain yourselves.

Before the awesome-ness begins, "The Man" says I have to warn those of you out there with sugar addictions:
**These photos DO, in fact, contain large amount of the sweet stuff so they may not suitable for your viewing pleasure.**
::wagging finger::  It's serious stuff people, not to be taken lightly.



Alright, who's ready to get their ROCK-candy on!?*
*There was no actual rock candy used in the making of this cake.

Stage 1: Crumb coated cake and causally conversing baby chicks preparing for a little bit of simple cake decorating magic.

Decided to ditch my chair for the floor.

Much better.  Time to make the pretty!

Stages 2 & 3:  Applying basketweave to the sides and adding a nice shell border to top and bottom.

Stage 4: Beginning to cover the cake with grass.

Covering...

...Still covering...

Phew!  Stage 4 complete.

Stages 5 & 6:  Creating the illusion of grass busting through the basket and making nice with the young whipper snappers. :)

Stage 7: ASSEMBLING THE ARMY OF CAKE POP CHICKS!

1st ever demo cake COMPLETED.

And the chicks rejoiced. :)

Have a sweet day everybody!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Countdown to Spring: 2 days...

Since I'm getting ready for my demo attempt #2 tomorrow, I thought I would give you an exclusive sneak peak!


Prepare yourself for:

::insert flashing lights and exciting music here::

Toozy's Dazzling Demo!!!  Demo! Demo! Demo!



AHHHH!!!  I ate ALL the cake batter!  What am I going to do???  Just kidding!  It's baking. :)
Some of the ingredients for my buttercream icing... although I'm not quite sure how that pesky almond extract got in there.  Yuck.
::To the tune of "Proud Mary"::  Sifting!  Sifting!  I'm sifting powdered sugar!
Yeah!  None of my icing looks like baby poo!
DING!  Cakes are done!
NAKED!!!! eeeek!
mmm... melting white chocolate...
White chocolate egg halves.  The one in the back is having an angelic moment.
Oo!  Wait, this isn't right.
 
Ah, there we go.

Alrighty, I suppose I should get back to work.

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Beware the Ides of March

Welcome to Playwithyourfood Theater. 
I'm your host, Argyle S. Ock.


Today's story takes us back...  ahem...
Back to Ancient Rome in, hmm, let's see here...  What year was it?  

Ah yes, 44 B.C.

 So, as I was saying, our story today takes us to the ominous 15th day of March, in the year 44 B.C., in Ancient Rome.

Suddenly, an older gentleman by the name of Julius Caesar walks into a room filled with members of the Roman Senate and says "Wazzup?!"

THE END.
 (* Due to the graphic nature of the rest of this story we thought it best to end things here.*
By the way, Mr. Caesar is made of caramel, chocolate fancies and tree shaped sprinkles)


Join us next week for our exciting version of The Great Gatsby.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Countdown to Spring: 8 days...

I woke up  this morning with Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" in my head so you know it's gonna be a good day.

I'm giving my first cake decorating demonstration today and I'm a weeeeeee bit nervous about it so it kinda makes sense that that's what I would wake up to.  I'm taking The King's lyrics to heart though- I'm up making cookies for folks that stop by my demo and gathering all my extra goodies to add a bit of flair to things. 

BUT I also wanted to quickly post a bit of yummy happiness for all of you.  

In honor of sweet inspiration guru Bakerella (check her out @ http://www.bakerella.com/), 
and just so you know that some"bunny" loves you,
I give you  
baby chick wearing rabbit ears cake pop.


I think we're ready for our close up Mr. DeVille :)


Have a great Saturday everyone!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Countdown to Spring: 9 days...


Question:
Can you bottle sunshine?  


I'm thinking yes.

As the countdown to Spring continues, (we're at 9 days and counting now if you're sadly not keeping track) I keep thinking about flowers blooming and as I result I'm reminded once again that I definitely do not drink enough water per day.  
If you're at all confused with how I just made that gigantic leap in subject matter, you should know that my thought process is very similar to the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon phenomenon.
Seriously though, I need to break my addiction to diet soda - or pop, sodie pop, coke, carbonated beverage, whatever it is you call it in your neck of the woods- because the thing is, I'm not even sure I like the taste, I'm actually more interested in the bubbles.  Don't judge me.  I know it's stupid, but at least I can admit it to total strangers.  That's the first step right?

The dilemma with this is that I'm not a huge fan of water.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I like and appreciate the fact that it's on Earth, but after drinking 64 ounces a day, I start to feel a little queasy.  I guess I could always add something to my water to make quitting soda a bit easier though right?  There's practically no end to the possibilities of low calorie add-ins.  Hmmm, lemonade maybe?  
::Insert Toozy's Aha! Moment Here::
What's more Spring time than lemonade??  It is the quintessential Spring time drink! 
 So in following with my current theme and in an effort to support my decision to quit drinking soda, I made
PINK LEMONADE CAKE POPS!

Who knew quitting could be so sweet?! :)
Happy Friday everyone!