What the hell happened? What possesses me now to spend money keeping my data plan firing away on my phone? Pinterest.
You know, when a coworker suggested I'd love it, I kinda pished at her. Like...pffft. I'd looked at it before and wondered what the point was. Why were people grabbing pictures of this and that off the internet and putting a little red "pin" on them. Useless right? Then, mildly curious after watching her cute little head hunched over a laptop poking red pins on pictures, I took a serious look.
SO not useless. I totally found a crocheted owl on there, used to store rolled fancy towels. I shall make it and put it in the bathroom of my someday dream restored farmhouse. A friend even MADE a small test owl and told me how to start the damn thing. Have I made it yet? No. That is not the point. The possibility of a crocheted owl for towels now exists in my head, and I revel in it.
Do you want to do yoga? Well you can read about it on Pinterest! Any asana, thoughts about yoga, you name it. Pin away! And as everyone knows, reading about yoga in a really meaningful way is the same as doing it. Heck, you don't have to read it anytime soon. It's pinned! Go to your "Someday I will get off my lazy arse" board and read at your leisure.
I have boards for books, North African food, Arabic food, regular food, desserts, erm....sewing...erm....ok I might be a little out of control. Maybe I am using Pinterest to live life without actually getting out the door and living it. Maybe I am depressed and living in a dreamworld.
Nah. I will absolutely someday make a rug out of old tee shirts using the friendship bracelet technique. Absolutely.
You know, when a coworker suggested I'd love it, I kinda pished at her. Like...pffft. I'd looked at it before and wondered what the point was. Why were people grabbing pictures of this and that off the internet and putting a little red "pin" on them. Useless right? Then, mildly curious after watching her cute little head hunched over a laptop poking red pins on pictures, I took a serious look.
SO not useless. I totally found a crocheted owl on there, used to store rolled fancy towels. I shall make it and put it in the bathroom of my someday dream restored farmhouse. A friend even MADE a small test owl and told me how to start the damn thing. Have I made it yet? No. That is not the point. The possibility of a crocheted owl for towels now exists in my head, and I revel in it.
Do you want to do yoga? Well you can read about it on Pinterest! Any asana, thoughts about yoga, you name it. Pin away! And as everyone knows, reading about yoga in a really meaningful way is the same as doing it. Heck, you don't have to read it anytime soon. It's pinned! Go to your "Someday I will get off my lazy arse" board and read at your leisure.
I have boards for books, North African food, Arabic food, regular food, desserts, erm....sewing...erm....ok I might be a little out of control. Maybe I am using Pinterest to live life without actually getting out the door and living it. Maybe I am depressed and living in a dreamworld.
Nah. I will absolutely someday make a rug out of old tee shirts using the friendship bracelet technique. Absolutely.
The splendid owl. It could happen.
If it looks like its caved in on the side, it is a bit. Tried to fill it with frosting but meh. Part of the dang cake stuck to the sides because I was late for work and didn't wait long enough. Sigh.
As for the cake, I made the same recipe I used before by Ina Garten. I doubled it, then realized I didn't have enough baking soda. So I tripled the baking powder. It was fine, I guess. This doubling made for three good size layers. Two went into this cake, and one stayed at home. Here is the modified recipe:
Ina Garten's Chocolate Cake
(adapted from the original)
3 1/4 cup flour, sifted
4 cups (yes!) sugar
1 1/2 cups cocoa
1 t. baking soda
3 t baking powder
1 t salt
4 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups hot coffee
2 cups buttermilk (or 2 cups milk with 2 t white vinegar added)
Put all dry ingredients in a mixer and mix using the paddle. Add the oil and eggs and blend. Add the buttermilk and blend. Add the hot coffee and mix well.
Preheat oven to 350/180. Grease three 8 inch cake pans and LINE THE BOTTOM WITH PARCHMENT. Grease the parchment.
Bake for about 23 minutes or until toothpick clean. Cool in pans for 20 minutes, run a knife around the edge and invert to a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting. This is a sticky cake. I don't know why. If you don't line the pan, it will come out in pieces. Besides, you haven't lived until you've smelled buttery hot parchment. Really.
Frosting:
6 oz chopped semi sweet chocolate (I've used Hersheys bits twice. Not good. It just doesn't melt properly. No more.) Melt it in microwave and cool.
1 cup butter
1 egg yolk
1 t vanilla
1 t instant coffee dissolved in hot water
4 cups confectioners sugar
1 T cream
This recipe is quite different now from Gartens.
Whip the butter on high until fluffy. Add the ROOM TEMPERATURE egg yolk and whip. Add the vanilla. Slowly whip in the powdered sugar. If you dump this all in your mixer at the same time, you will wear a lot of it.
Blend and pour in melted chocolate. Whip until light and fluffy. Add the cream if you need to for texture.
Frost the cake. I love the taste of this cake but it annoys me to frost it. Sticky. Both times.
This cake is for my class of rangers, a group of men working for the Diwan to try and save the Arabian leopard. They have been a joy to work with every time. I hope they like it, even if it is a little fugly.
Our rangers. May Allah bless their efforts.
(published with permission)
Love,
Felicia El Aid
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