Today was Ian and my 1-year anniversary!  So, it was pretty fun to be up with all the family for the banquet the night before.  We met up with relatives for dim sum takeout for breakfast and to have an early celebration for grandpa’s birthday. Then we spent the afternoon in the car with my sis coming home.  Spending the rest of the evening at home and just hanging out.  :)

A week in advance: Ian’s shopping trip.
- 8 pounds of butter
- 6 pounds of cream cheese
- 6 pounds of cake flour
- 5 dozen eggs

Already had the sugar, 20 lemons (zested and juiced), and pre-ordered:
- 9 lb white chocolate
- 6 lb semi-sweet chocolate
- 10 oz lemon oil

A week in advance, made a double batch of lemon curds. Made simple syrup (unflavored). Pre-measured all the dry ingredients and pre-cut parchment paper for pans.

On Tuesday, I bought the final ingredients: buttermilk, heavy cream, and blackberries. On Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I baked all the cakes for the wedding and rehearsal dinner and made a double-batch of frosting.

Thursday morning, Ian helped me load up the car with all the cakes, fillings, frostings, and decorating supplies to bring over to his parents’ house. They were kind enough to offer me access to their 2nd frdige, as well as their dining room and kitchen for cake assembly.

I spent Thursday leveling, torting, filling, and frosting the cakes. I also plated the blackberry chocolate cake and made ganache to cover the cake. Surprisingly, I finished 3 hours earlier than I expected according to my schedule!

Friday, I was back over bight and early for a day of decorating. I started with the bottom tier, but was unhappy with my decorations so I ended up starting over 4 or 5 times before deciding the cake had been out too long and should go back in the fridge.

Out came the middle tier… I looked up a few pictures of baskets and different basket-weave cakes for some inspiration. I decided my weaves were spaced too far apart, which was why it looked unrealistic. I also tried applying more pressure to the tube so the frosting would come out more evenly instead of gapping everytime I hit an air pocket. This was also around the time I experimented with the textures on my chosed tip… and deciding, again, that the cake had been out too long and needed to be re-chilled.

After all the practice, the top tier went very smoothly. I tried out a border that I was happy with and then I made some little flowers using frosting and the lemon curd filling. I did learn from that though… put the border on last! Every time I made a flower I didn’t like, I had a tough time re-smoothing the cake while trying to avoid the border.

Once I had the pattern set from the top tier, I took a second shot at the bottom tier. It went *so* much quicker the second time around! After that, the middle was a breeze!

I did the bottom border on the bottom tier and called it a day. I was relatively on schedule for the day, but hadn’t planned for transit time back home to change before going to the rehearsal dinner. We were also bringing plastic & paperware for the event, so I figured we should probably get there on time/a little early. So, I grabbed the undecorated chocolate cake and headed out!

Saturday: The Big Day!

Two weeks earlier, I made Ian do a dry run with me to his parents’ and then to the restaurant to time the route and do recon to check if we’d be faced with stairs, obstacles, etc. I took those times, added some margin, and estimated how long it would take to load the car based on Thursday’s loading time.

Ian’s mom was kind enough to loan us her Honda Fit — super cute and really roomy with efficient design. We were able to load up the car with all the cakes and supplies in under 15 minutes.

We took the scenic route to the restaurant and still got there 20 minutes earlier than the event planner said she would be on site. After the designated time had come and gone with no sign of the event planner, I wandered into the kitchen area of the restaurant from the loading dock.

I found the manager who was incredibly helpful and got me set up with a cart to move the cakes, an area out of the way for assembly, and some space in the fridge to store the cake when it was complete. Ian helped me stack the cakes and went in search of other entertainment while I worked on the final decorations.

It took about an hour to finish up, with plenty of spectators passing through throughout the process. (Ian was bringing tour groups by to get a behind-the-scenes look.) As we were wheeling the cart over to the fridge, Ian spotted a digital scale. I could definitively answer my question of how much the completed cake weighed!

I made a spreadsheet of all the ingredients for the whole project and associated weights for each ingredient, including average weights of eggs and egg yolks. The maximum weight of the cake based on all the ingredients was 40 pounds. Final cake: 30 pounds!

Once the cake was safely put away in the fridge, my responsibilities were complete! The staff set it out on the pretty table and whisked it away after Sonny and Anna did their cake-cutting ceremony and took care of serving it.

From Sunday brunch:

The wedding:

Sunday brunch:

I’ve got a bunch of videos from the wedding too, but have to get permission from people to post up!

I sent her the following response, including picture:

Ok, so, first. I read this before getting out of bed this morning and then had to explain to Ian who the blogess is. “Some lady who blogs.”

Second, I can tell you how my call will go. For the past couple… holy cow. For the past *2 years*, there has been a tube of silicon sealant on my night stand, aka super glue.

We got this when Ian replaced the faucets and needed to attach the new drain pipe to the p-trap or something plumbing sounding. Anyway, it got moved to my nightstand when we emptied out the master bath to remove the vanity.

I don’t know why it hasn’t gotten moved, but I keep it there next to my similarly sized/colored tube of skin cream. I know that the contents have completely different consistencies and color, but every morning, I’m still a little paranoid about it. I guess it’s part of my waking up process now.

The glue was previously in the bathroom next to the toothpaste… where I often brush my teeth without glasses/contacts. So I feel like I’ve made the right move here. In that the right move is the least action and slightly less terrible results should a mix-up occur.

Anyway, just in case, you might want to pre-look up what to do in case someone super glues their hand to their arm. I’m glad my phone has voice dial. And it wouldn’t be the worst if my phone where permanently attached to me, right..?

We have since decided that the glue should probably get moved to somewhere not on my nightstand. I’ll consider it.

We finally had our buttercream party to clear out some freezer space! Had about 15 people stop by throughout the day. We started out with just the pre-flavored items I had leftover from cakes in the past couple months:
- Remy Martin buttercream
- Caramel
- Semi-sweet chocolate ganache
- White Chocolate cream cheese frosting
- Chocolate buttercream

We had cake, cupcakes, sugar cookies, and cardamom cookies. After the initial diabetic shock, there wasn’t much interest from anyone to try new flavors in the unflavoried frosting, but we made a decent dent in the leftovers. By the end of the day, I reclaimed 4 containers, and consolidated into 2 of our tiny snack-size containers. I might make another batch of the chocolate cookies I made a couple months ago to finish up the caramel.

Many of our guests were also kind enough to take goody bags home with them, including people willing to take a container of unflavored buttercream to experiment on their own! I have 2 containers left in the freezer, so enough for a cake that I can bring in to work or something.

This was also the first time Ian and I have had guests under the age of 17. Our place? Definitely not child-proof. Our low shelf with plant fertilizer, glass tables, electronics out everywhere, remote controls for everything… They seemed to have fun exploring though. And no injuries or broken items. One spilled drink, but that wasn’t even a kid. ;) And we did get a notification that the item we requested was available for our Chumby. Guess they’ll have to wait until next time to see it!

Originally, we figured there was just an issue with the seal around the doors, but there were mixed reviews online as to whether you should replace it yourself. It seemed like a relatively minor investment compared to replacing the whole thing, so we called in a professional. (We had never even thought of doing that before! We’re slowly learning how to be functional adults. Slowly, but surely…)

Last week, Maani from All Year Appliances Repairs came to take a look at our fridge and didn’t think the seal was an issue. It was a relatively quick diagnosis once he opened up the vent covering the condensers.

Apparently the vent/condenser is supposed to be vacuumed every 3-6 months, but based on the condition of it, Maani guessed that it had never been cleaned. The fan was working fine, but the coils were so coated with dirt and residue, they were producing a lot of heat and not cooling anything. It was in such bad shape that he had to bring in the industrial blower because a vacuum wouldn’t do the job.

As a result of this, dirt from the condensers was blown all over the kitchen. I wasn’t actually home during all this, but Ian reported that the guy got completely covered in this residue and apologized for the mess. There really wasn’t much he could do about it while still getting the job done though.

Ian warned me of the state of the kitchen before I got home and even though he had done his best to clear stuff out of the kitchen before the blowing started and had vacuumed/cleaned some, it was still pretty clear when I got home that the fridge had been pretty gross. After a day scrubbing cabinets, walls, and counters, I was able to start a staging area for non-fixed items to be washed. And, as of today, our entire kitchen is back to being functional again!

Plus, our fridge works! It took a couple days for the temperature to normalize, but our freezer makes ice that’s completely frozen now and our fridge feels cold when you open the door. It’s pretty fantastic! :)

My original plan was to get all the sample cakes for Sonny and Anna made and tasted by the end of February so I could offer them more options if they weren’t set on one of the original picks they made.  February got a little away from me, so my new goal was the end of March and then I could still have a couple weeks for any follow-up options and still have a month to practice.  I finished 3 days behind schedule, but it’s sounding like they liked a couple of cakes they tried, so I’ll still have over a month to make sure I have the recipe down.

My nieces had a big pool party birthday bash for their first and third birthdays.  I had a lot of fun, but we were only there about 3 hours and that was enough for me; I was exhausted!  E2 kept drinking the pool water every time her face got anywhere near the surface and E1 really wanted to go down the water slide.  Or at least play in the pool area where the water slide ended.  Just didn’t seem like a good idea… ;) They both really enjoyed being in the pool though, so it was fun watching them play around.

No pictures, but I went to my first Passover Seder party last week. Very educational and fun. Ian was able to modify his mom’s cabbage salad recipe to make it kosher for passover and we’ve been eating extras of that for the past week. So tasty!

Volunteered to help with setup for the FIRST scrimmage:

Volunteered to help judge the Center City Public Charter School science fair:

I’m also just now realizing how few pictures I have of her where she’s smiling. She has this huge, happy smile where she can’t even keep her eyes open, but I haven’t been able to capture it.

Ingredients
1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. For those of you without a bread machine, proof dry yeast in warm water with the sugar (about 10 minutes).
2. When foamy add oil and pour into the flour that has already been mixed with salt.
3. Knead by hand or machine until it’s smooth and elastic. You should have a moderate dough (not soft and not firm, in the middle). Don’t worry if it’s a little sticky. You can add flour when rolling out if needed.
4. Let it rise for 1.5 hours (until dough had doubled in size)
5. Cut dough into 8 equal pieces and roll into 6-7″ circles.
6. Cook on med/med-high in a frying pan on the stove like a pancake, but without any butter or oil. Takes about 1-2 minutes per side; bubbles were starting to form on the uncooked side when I flipped and were done when just starting to brown in spots.

Spicy Chickpeas and Spinach

I kind of made a mesh of these two recipes: Spicy Chickpea and Spinach Curry and Pakistani Spicy Chickpeas.

Stephanie made something similar to this a while back when I visited for dinner one evening and I really liked it. She got me some curry and cumin so I could make it myself. She assured me it was easy, but it sounded like a lot of ingredients so I didn’t end up making it until now. I should’ve listened to her!

Ingredients
2 (15 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato paste or canned tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon curry
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups frozen spinach

Directions
1. Put all ingredients except for spinach in slow cooker. Cook on high (3-4 hours).
2. Mix in spinach about 30 minutes before serving.

Falafel

Last week, Ian and I visited Sonny and Anna twice for doggy play dates. As part of these outings, Anna cooked dinner for us. It seemed like something they did often… you know, this cooking at home thing.

I asked Anna if she cooked the same things every week or if she made weekly meal plans to have all the ingredients on hand, etc. She does a weekly meal plan with 3 or 4 recipes she wants to try out. I was so impressed that I asked her to email me her meal plans so I could try some of her recipes too! Although, now that I think about it, she should really start a food blog.

In any case, one of the recipes for this week was falafel. I had no idea it was something I could make at home! I combined her recipe with one for Falafel Burgers for tonight. We’ll see how they turn out…

Ingredients
2 cups canned chickpeas, drained
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon baking powder
4-6 tablespoons flour
Soybean or vegetable oil for frying
Tahini
Pita bread

Directions
1. Place chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed.

2. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough bulgur or flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.

3. Form the chickpea mixture into small patties.

4. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet over medium heat. Place the burgers in the hot skillet, and fry for about 5 minutes on each side, until nicely browned.

We did have a lot of fun with her for the week though. We brought her back to the kennel yesterday before snowpocalypse struck. And I’m sure she’s having a blast playing in the snow at the ranch now anyway. :)

Going to spend lots of time with her the rest of this week and have some fun in the snow and at the dog park!

So… Ian weighed Lucy yesterday and it turns out she’s 31 pounds instead of 20, as reported on the website and her adoption papers. Our building has a limit of 25 pounds. We thought we could get away with it if she were 20 pounds and ended up 30 pounds at full size. At a year old now, she probably still has 6 months or so that she might grow.

Ian’s going to talk to our building manager today to find out if we can keep her. We figure if we’re not allowed to, it’s probably better to find out now before we get even more attached.

Sigh…

She’s super sweet, but rambunctious. And still a bit of a puppy, so there are a lot of things for her to learn. But she’s clearly very smart, so I have high hopes. She’s been barking a lot when we go on walks, but likes people and other dogs so far. She’s also been spending a lot of time sniffing around our place and licking stuff, but hasn’t eaten anything she shouldn’t, so also good. The people at the shelter said she likes kids, but I think we better train her not to jump before letting her play with the nieces.

Creepy Cute Crochet: Zombies, Ninjas, Robots, and More!

Who knew there was even a market for this??

1. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies — This is on my to-read list, but I don’t think I ever told Amazon that.

2. Energy and Finite Element Methods In Structural Mechanics: SI Units — Because, seriously, why would I want to read that in English units?? ;)

3. Angry Little Girls Original Angry Little Girl Black Tote Bag — I don’t even know how they know I like this comic strip. I mean, I do. I just don’t know how they know.

Overall, not too exciting. But scrolling through a few pages of recommendations found more telling items that describe my life:

Boon Snack Ball – Snack Container — Why…?

PIG CATAPULT — “LAUNCHES PIGS UP TO 15 FEET!” Ok, I totally know why this was recommended to me, but it’s still ridiculous.

Bacon Lip Balm — So… I bought TLD a bacon cookbook for Christmas a couple years ago. And then I bought Ian some bacon mints. And now Amazon thinks I want bacon in everything I buy…

Norpro Nonstick Mini Donut Pan — Spot on, Amazon.

I got up early on Christmas to make some rolls of my own (using sis-in-law’s mom’s recipe) and way too much mac & cheese. I tried out a Cheddar-Jack this year, but I think we were were a little too apprehensive about mixing it in. We used a 1:2 mix with regular cheddar, but I think I might try 1:1 next time. I also made marble pumpkin cheesecake, which I haven’t made in a few years.

My aunt and uncle hosted this year because my parents were leaving in the afternoon for NY. It worked out really well, so I’m glad we tried something new. They just finished getting some remodeling done on their house and this was my first visit to see how everything turned out. Everything looked great! And I love how open their kitchen is now! (Ian and I are probably going to use the same contractor to fix up our condo.)

They made ribs, turkey, lo mien, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. There was also a macaroni dish, linguine, cauliflower au gratin, sweet potatoes, meatballs, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie. Soooo much food!

After lunch, Ian and I headed home for a 30-minute breather. We got another pan of rolls baked and I took an 11-minute nap. Refreshing! We grabbed our other tray of mac & cheese to bake on site and the other cheesecake and we were on our way.

Ian’s parents hosted Christmas dinner for the Christmas eve crowd. Again, lots of food! Turkey, ham, green beans, cornbread stuffing, broccoli salad, mashed potatoes, and jell-o.

We hung out for most of the evening listening to Christmas music, discussing abortion insurance for the second night in a row, and playing with the dogs. I don’t get to see the in-law-in-laws very often, so it was fun catching up with them.

Saturday night, we headed out to Sterling for re-scheduled Friendmas before everyone skipped town. Fun, drinking, and discussion of argyles. Heather and I also combined powers to make a fortune teller a la elementary school!

I still need to get my act together and put together some pictures for next year’s Friendmas calendar. I’m running out of time! Though, maybe we’re just going to have a tradition of April-March calendars… ;)

Ian and I stopped by my parents’ yesterday for our weekly Saturday lunch. After lunch, we all went outside to have a snowball fight with my niece, but the snow was so perfect for packing we decided to make a snowman instead:

When the first snowball got to be Eliana’s height, we tried to convince Ian that the snowman was going to be too big. We all had to concede in the end though that he was right all along.

Eliana spent much of the building process as Supervisor and telling us, “Bigger!”

Ian finally agreed that the snowball had reached a sufficient size, but had to roll it back across the yard (and snow) so we could build on flatter ground.

Then Ian helped me maneuver the second snowball over to the first. And, fortunately, he and Yenny were strong enough to lift it onto the base.

Eliana tried to help me push the head over, but did what she saw me doing… which was push toward her.

After a little convincing, she agreed to come over to my side of the snowball. And we were able to push the head over together.

Eliana needed a boost, but she was plenty helpful getting the torso shaped and ready for the head. We all helped fill in the joints and round out some spots.

After a while, it started to get a little windy, so Eliana used the snowman to protect her from the cold.

As we were getting the head onto the snowman, Ian suggested we make it taller — a 4-ball snowman! So we decided he needed a tophat!

My mom let us use a real carrot for the nose, found us some branches for arms, my dad found us some nice pieces of mulch for the face, and even grandma came out to give us a scarf to use. And after some more shaping and sculpting, we had our very own Snowman Mao!

This took us probably a little over half an hour to build. For scale, Ian is uphill from the snowman, so with the hat, they’re just about the same height — 6’6″. The snow really was the perfect condition to roll around and make huge snowballs; the best I can remember in at least 10 years. Then we went in for traditional post-snow hot chocolate!

Special thanks to my dad for the photo-documentation!

UPDATE: