Bake (and blog) Therapy, part 2

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." ~Luciano Pavarotti

I couldn't agree with the big guy more! Some of the most memorable times of my life have not only revolved around the great people I was spending time with, but also around the food I was eating. Food, especially baked goods, can evoke memories and emotions, as well as nourish our bodies and our souls. I think back to some of the very first dates I went on with Biscuit and can remember exactly what we ate, what we were talking about, and how we were feeling. I love that food can transport us back in time.

Anyways, that is enough rambling for today. This blog is not known (well, it is not known at all) for it's wisdom or philosophical musings and rants. It is known for my pictures of whatever silly creations I have made at a given time. Today, I have the addendum to the first bake therapy post, including the pictures of the candy I crafted. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of the ice cream kolaches, as Charlie ate them all! Worry not; Mom and I had made so much dough that we have some in reserve safely stowed away in her freezer. I will be making more soon.

These pictures of the cinnamon cookies do not do them justice. They are a little too dark and do not show all of the joy and bliss these cookies yield in the eater. The other star of the day were the espresso chip meringues that I displayed in the last post. So light and yummy. The other day's activities included my foray into confectionary creation. I showed you the cross-section of the chocolate covered cherries I made. However, there was another step - adding the decorations to adorn them.

These were going to be a gift for the Great Gramoo, as Mom and I were traveling to see her and wanted to purvey our goodies to her. Chocolate covered cherries have always been her favorite so I wanted these to be a fitting tribute to her. Learning what I learned from my brief visit to Michael's Crafts, I bought some tools that might make my candies a bit more snazzy. I tried my best to make these look like something you might find in that candy shop tucked away in an intimate block during an excursion to a quaint vacation spot. I think they came out pretty well. I was really quite pleased!

The rest of the day was spent making pretty simplistic candy mold creations. I couldn't forgo the adorable kitty candy mold at the craft store. I was drawn to it, so I made a wide variety of little chocolates on which you could nibble. Here they are:


The ones that came out the best were definitely the fish and the yellow kitty. The yellow kitty was actually a last minute decision to try out melted peanut butter chips instead of chocolate. If you notice, too, I have two little dark mice amidst the kitties, the food bowl, and the fish. I like to think of them as Marzi and Maus (my blog mascots) taking a dip in some chocolate to get in the spirit of things!










I found I really liked the peanut butter kitty because she bore a striking resemblance to another little precocious butterscotch tabby that I know ... a certain Ms. Elaine! It is not an exact 1:1, but they sure are close. Wouldn't you agree?

That's all for now. I guess my next post will pay tribute to my Valentine's gift from Biscuit's parents - they gave us a really great cupcake tree, like the one Kerri has in her Oktoberfest post, and a book called 500 Cupcakes! 500 Cupcakes? Who has that kind of time? Well, believe you me I am working on trying out all of them. Luckily, too, I have a co-worker's birthday coming up - an event that certainly occasioned a visit to 500 Cupcakes. See you next time!