Razzmatazlady

Author: CherylK

  • Mea Culpa

    O.K., I give up. Here’s a shot of the last piece of the famous German Chocolate Birthday Cake. And I want you to know that I took about a dozen pictures of it. This is the least fuzzy.

    On another note, it’s a balmy 33 degrees here, today, and it snowed again, last night! At this rate it’ll be June before the ice goes out on the lake. I’m wearing a turtleneck and a sweatshirt and my nose is cold. Grrrrrrr…..

  • Birthday Cake, Part II

    This picture isn’t mine…I borrowed it from a great Flickr photographer named Stu Spivack.  He’s got hundreds of great  photos of all kinds and very kindly let’s people (like me who have messed up recipes) borrow them.  Thanks, Stu!

    Update on the birthday cake…

    I didn’t make another cake. The oven was a disgusting mess – big blobs of cake batter had baked to the bottom of the oven and dripped from the oven racks like hardened lava. Yuk. I figured it would take too long to clean the oven and whip up another batch of batter so that was that. I could always go buy a cake.

    When the original bundt pan with the remains of the cake had cooled, I took it out of the pan to see if any of it could be salvaged. Lo and behold, it was just fine! It wasn’t very pretty but it was not gooey at all. Just about half the size it should have been – ha! The frosting was luscious so I slathered it on the cake and you could hardly tell that it was wonky.

    So that’s what we had for birthday cake. It was delicious. It was light and fluffy and not too sweet. The frosting with all the pecans and coconut was way better than the store-bought stuff.

    Here’s the recipe. I know I made a big deal out of how much work it was but it really is worth the extra effort. Especially if you use the right pans (wink). (From Betty Crocker’s Cookbook)

    German Chocolate Cake
    1/2 cup boiling water
    1 bar (4 ounces) sweet German cooking chocolate (Baker’s is one brand)
    1 cup butter, softened
    2 cups sugar
    4 egg yolks
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    2 1/2 cups cake flour
    1 teaspoon soda
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 cup buttermilk
    4 egg whites, stiffly beaten
    Coconut-Pecan Frosting (below)
    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 round layer pans (9″). Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper or parchment. Inb small bowl, pour boiling water over chocolate, sitrring until c hocolate is melted; set aside to cool.
    In large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. On low speed, blend in chocolate and vanilla. Mix in flour, soda and salt alternately with buttermilk, beating after each addition until batter is smooth. Fold in egg whites. Divide batter among pans.

    Note: I didn’t beat the egg whites until after I had already combined the rest of the ingredients.

    Bake layers 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly with finger. Cool completely. Fill layers and frost top with Coconut-Pecan Frosting.
    Coconut-Pecan Frosting
    1 cup evaporated milk
    1 cup sugar
    3 egg yolks
    1/2 cup butter
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1-1/3 cups flaked coconut
    1 cup chopped pecans
    Combine evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla in small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick, about 12 minutes. (Excuse me, Betty, but it took longer than that – I’d say a good 15 minutes). It should be golden brown and starting to thicken. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Cool before frosting the cake.

  • Birthday Cake Bummer


    Today is Jack’s birthday and I asked him what sort of cake he would like. He said he’d like a German Chocolate Cake. No problemo. Happy to do it. I like to bake/cook and, if at all possible, I prefer to do it “from scratch”.

    So I dug out my old Betty Crocker cookbook and looked up a recipe. It looked a little time-consuming but, hey, it’s Jack…he deserves a birthday cake that is a little time-consuming.

    Man, it was actually fun putting it together! Beating the egg whites separately, melting the chocolate, yadda, yadda, yadda…and the frosting took about 20 minutes to cook, too. Wow – what a good wife I am.

    Well, I didn’t have the right sizes of cake pans. I needed three nine-inch round cake pans and I didn’t have them. So I got on the internet to see how to substitute. O.K., so I could use a bundt pan because it holds 12 cups of batter and three nine-inch pans hold 4 cups, each.

    Long story short – the bundt pan was not the way to go…the batter, when it started to rise, bubbled all over the oven. “Well, that’s o.k.”, I thought. So it’s not going to be as tall as I’d like. It’s a bundt pan and I’ll just turn the cake over onto the cake plate and nobody will know. (Unless you were in the kitchen, that is, and could smell the burning batter.)

    When I tested it to see if it was done, the knife came out nice and clean – great! So then you let it cool in the pan for about fifteen minutes before turning it onto the cake plate. I thought the top looked a little moist in one area so I tested that area with the knife….gooey. Rats! Obviously not baked all the way through in spots.

    But you can’t get a good Irishman down. We don’t give up easy…I’m off to the store for three nine-inch cake pans and I’m going make another…

    If it turns out as good as it should, I’ll let you know. And I’ll post the recipe. You can learn from the mistakes of others and I’m happy to oblige.

  • More Silliness

    I read an article about the literal meanings of some food-realted words and decided that it would be fun to list some of them.

    Like “Taco” means plug or wad. How silly is that?

    And “chimichanga ” means trinket.

    Anyway, I was searching for more information and came across these gems from the Professional Chefs’ Association:

    Ever wonder what animals are in a box of animal crackers? 1 lion, 1 buffalo, 2 sheep, 2 monkeys, 2 tigers, 3 rhinos, 3 rhinos, 5 bears , 6 gorillas

    And how about this one about doughnuts:

    In the beginning, doughnuts were made of raised dough and a nut was baked into the center…That is how the word”doughnut” came about!

    And five will get you ten that you did not know that In 1919, a molasses flood killed 21 people in the north end of Boston. WHAT??????

    Speaking of “five will get you ten”, do you know where that phrase came from?
    Bet you don’t (wink)! It’s actually betting parlance. Betting 5 (dollars, pounds, matchsticks) will get you (win for you) 10 (dollars, etc.) In other words, even odds.

    It’s 32 degrees right now and is supposed to reach 49, today. Maybe we’ll get rid of most of this “silly” snow…

  • April Fool’s Day Stuff

    Nixon for President…again? This is one of the all time great April Fool’s Day hoaxes according to the Museum of Hoaxes website. Considering this is an election year, it seemed appropriate to post.

    In 1992 National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” (How funny is that???)

    Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon’s voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little.

    Please note that this is about as political as I want this blog to get.

    There are some other great hoaxes, too, including one about Taco Bell purchasing the Liberty Bell from the U.S. government and deciding to change the name of all the Taco Bells to Taco Liberty Bell. Apparently, Taco Bell announced that they were making thisn purchase to “help ease the national debt”. Funny! It drew thousands of angry comments.

    Then on April 1, 1957 the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) aired on television a report on the news show Panorama about the bumper spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland. Viewers watched Swiss farmers pull pasta off spaghetti trees as the show’s anchor Richard Dimbleby attributed the bountiful harvest to the mild winter and the disappearance of the spaghetti weevil.

    I could go on and on but I’d better just refer you to some of the great websites that list this stuff. Such as:

    The best website (I think) is http://www.aprilfoolzone.com/. There you’ll find some great classic pranks that are easy and fun.

    You can read about the Nixon hoax, the spaghetti harvest and the Taco Bell purchase at The Museum of Hoaxes at //www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/

    At http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/minisite/april-fools-pranks-main-ms/ there are lots of fun pranks that parents can pull on their kids PLUS pranks that kids can pull on their parents.

  • Old Man Winter…

    Well, I hate to say it but Old Man Winter is back. The past few days have been fairly decent – above freezing, if you can call that fairly decent – and the snow was really melting. You could actually see the earth, grass, leaves that didn’t get raked up last fall, shrubs, etc.

    Not any more. It started snowing early this morning and I think it’s getting heavier. Big fat flakes are drifting down and there seems to be no end in sight. It’s 30 degrees and our high is supposed to be 31.

    I saw a chipmunk scurry under our garage door so he’s obviously still looking for shelter. I just hope he doesn’t have a cozy nest with a wife and six little ones nesting in Jack’s workbench – ha!. I will step out there with caution. We should have put new weatherstripping on that garage door. Too late, now, I guess.

    So today will be an indoor day. I’ve got lots of projects that I could be working on and I think the first thing I’ll do is make a list of all of them and then choose one at a time.

    There was a posting for a housesitting assignment in San Diego next November. Looks like the first item on my list will be checking out that housesit.

  • Trivia and an Earth Hour Report

    First of all, I’d like to report that we had a terrific Earth Hour, last night. We didn’t have anyone over but I know of at least one couple (old friends of more than 30 years) who observed it at their own home. Jack and I lit some candles in the living room – it looked awesome. And we just sat and visited for an hour.

    We reminisced about our kids and our travels, mostly. We talked about all the places that we’ve lived and the friends that we made. It was a good time.

    The most important thing that happened, though, was that we’ve decided that we’ll have our own Earth Hour from time to time. Like sitting on a warm summer’s evening out on our porch with just a couple of candles and all the windows open. I can hardly wait!

    On a completely unrelated topic: Trivia

    Question: Do you know which of the continental US states extends farthest north?

    Answer: Minnesota. A small piece juts about thirty miles north of the rest of the state according to http://www.triviacafe.com/. I just happened to check out their website and it’s the Trivia Question of the Day.

    It’s called the Northwest Angle. We have good friends who own property up there and you have to drive into Canada in order to get over to the “Angle” as it’s called. That’s a picture of it from the air that I copied from a website. http://www.lakeofthewoodsresorts.com/index.html. Pretty cool.
    Here’s another good Trivia question:
    Question: In 1908 the Wright Brothers tried to sell their invention, the airplane, to which organization?
    Answer: The U.S. Military. I think that’s hilarious!
    Well, I’m off with a cup of coffee and my kitchen redesign magazines. Once we get going on this I’ll post some pictures. Could be awhile.

  • Earth Hour

    You have probably noticed that the Google homepage is black, today. No, they’re not in mourning…it’s to show their support for Earth Hour.
    Earth Hour began in Sydney, Australia in 2007 with more than two million businesses (including the world famous Sydney Opera House) and households turning off their lights for one hour at 8:00 p.m. It’s an attempt to draw attention to climate change. “If the greenhouse reduction achieved in the Sydney CBD during Earth Hour was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year.”

    This year Earth Hour goes global. Denver, Honolulu, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal, Copenhagen, Dublin, Tel Aviv, and, of course, Sydney, among others are participating.

    I’ve got my alarm set for 8:00 p.m. I really want to do this but (you know me) if I don’t set my alarm, I’ll probably forget. That’s the “scatterbrain” in me. Good intentions but I need a kick to keep me focused!

    So light some candles, have a glass of wine or a cup of coffee or a beer, relax and enjoy the peace and quiet for one hour. Get the kids involved. They’ll love it! Invite some friends. That’s what we’re going to do. One hour.

    Please visit http://www7.earthhourus.org/ to learn more.

    This link will take you to a page where you can sign up. http://www2.earthhourus.org/signup/ Then spread the word. C’mon, it’s the least we can do. You’ll be glad you did.

    I’ve also noted it on my Squidoo lens with a link to the video. So you can click on this link, if you like. http://www.squidoo.com/QuestForAGreenerLife

    Pass the word. Every little thing we do helps.

  • A Picture Post

    It’s 6:30 a.m. and I’ve been up since about 5:00. It’s 17 degrees outside. That’s cold. I just went outside, though, to get the morning newspaper and there’s no wind so it’s tolerable.

    I was looking at some of the photos I’ve taken during our travels and have decided to post a few that I really like. Just for fun. So here goes…

    The first three I took a couple of years ago during a visit to Northern California – wine country – Sonoma County, to be exact. The flower pots were at the Korbel Winery. The next is a view of San Francisco from Sausalito. The third photo I took driving through the Russian River Valley. It is so gorgeous there. If I could live anywhere in the world and money was no object, I would choose Northern California. I really would.

    The next four shots are from Arizona. The doorknocker is on the door of a house in the Tucson desert and the butterfly photo I took at the Arizona Desert Museum. What a great place to visit. I love the desert.

    The Indian sculpture is in the town of Sedona and the cool terra cotta lady is on the patio at Michael’s house in Mesa.

    The last picture is from my own perennial garden. A pretty daylily. I can hardly wait until it’s nice enough to be outside in the gardens. Jack, especially, is eager to get his hands dirty. He’s outside from dawn until dusk every summer.

    Doesn’t seem like summer will ever get here. It will, though. Gotta be patient.






  • “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”

    That’s the title of my favorite Aerosmith song from a long time ago. Today is Steven Tyler’s 60th birthday and he’s just as cool today as he was 30 years ago. Maybe cooler.

    Check out his profile on the IMDb website http://imdb.com/name/nm0878911/bio. You’ll learn lots of stuff such as his “real” name and why he decided to get sober. He’s a pretty amazing person. Click on the photos tab for some great pictures. There’s one of him with his two daughters.

    What you won’t learn, however, is that he is a childhood friend of our very dear friend, John, from California. They grew up together in New York and they’ve stayed very close through the years.

    Even though we’ve never met Mr. Tyler, I can say with some assurance that if he’s half as genuine and good-hearted as John, then he’s a special person, indeed.

    So Happy Birthday, Steven Tyler…maybe some day I’ll get to meet you. Click on this link to listen to “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”.