Pup Pix

Ash and Pax waiting for treats. Ash kept getting up and trying to walk away, so Sam would push his butt down and funny enough, this time he laid down and scootched near Pax. We couldn't have planned it better.

Pax and Ash waiting for treats

Although I do have a bit to talk about on the "desserts and sweets" corner of my world, the main point will be of just how cute my pups are. I love my dogs. They are so wonderful. It rained today. Pax hates being outside all soggy when we are inside nice and toasty.

Ash---oh Ash! He likes to put his paws up. He usually howls or sticks out his tongue, as he did here. I was so happy I caught this shot of him.

Ash, just waiting to be petted!

Onto the desserts and sweets!

Work was good today. I almost didn't go into town. We had a freak hailstorm last night and it snowed/rained all night and all morning this morning. I decided to brave the elements to go into town to make cheesecake pops. Dave needed some for a meeting he was planning on having with a couple of big wigs.

I made three cheesecakes today. Plain. Shortbread crust. Vanilla Bean.

While those cheesecakes were baking, I dipped my cheesecake pops in chocolate. After they hardened, I tried one. I decided that my crust needs to be revised. I LOVE shortbread crust but decided that it is too bland. It melts in with the cheesecake and I feel as if it's all just "blah" in my mouth. I need something a bit different. That will be my goal for next week. Graham cracker crust? Pretzel crust? Vanilla Wafer Crust? Any thoughts?

Dave and I have decided that I will cease making more desserts until we get more business---just the desserts no one seems to buy. The pies and chocolate mousse cake will be postponed until further notice. I will make carrot cake and cheesecake until business picks up. It's kinda sad. I just hope business picks up so that I can make more crazy and cool cakes.

On a personal note, Sam and I are doing better with this whole "You're in the Air Force, now you aren't, and now you are again" thing. We seem to be pulling ourselves back to a balance and are doing okay with it. We just need to get used to the idea of staying here again! We really had ourselves convinced.

I hope your day is grand.

Air Force is like Kansas Weather

I swear...

When we moved from Kansas, I thought we were leaving behind the crazy and unpredictable weather. One moment it's raining, another moment it's 95 degrees and blistering. Turns out that the Air Force isn't much different. One minute you are serving as usual, the next you are told you must get out in two months due to over-manning of positions, and the next minute after that, they wave their hands in the air and say "Whoops...just kidding. You're still in." Needless to say, Sam and I have been through an emotional rollercoaster the past week.

We thought we were going to be forced out of the Air Force. We made plans, convinced ourselves this would be a positive and great change for us, and we were excited to move back to Kansas. I was excited to start a cake business and Sam was stoked to retrain to a different job and have a bit of free time.

Now it looks as though we are still in the Air Force. Back to life as usual. I'm a bit put out, to be honest. All those dreams of owning a house with some land, baking cakes in Kansas and spending more time with my families has been shot down. I still have a job at the restaurant and Sam is still serving the country.

I can't help but feel a bit sad. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that things won't change, that we won't have to move, and that Sam and I still have steady jobs. Still...it's like that little glimmer of sunshine that teases you behind the clouds of a rain storm. It tickles your face and you have to chase it around the yard until it leaves the boundaries of your grass and street, soon to fly off into the sunset. Oh well. So is life, right?

The Pax and Ash

Sam, my wonderful husband, is being forced out of the military. His career field is over manned and job cuts had to take place. In lieu of this, I will most likely be losing my job and we will be moving away from Colorado.

Back in Kansas, where we most certainly will be moving, the job situation is uncertain. Sam might go back into the military, but will still need to look for a job. What shall I do? Go back to stocking shelves at Target at 4am? Be hired as a receptionist at a chiropractic office and be forced to make sales calls that I can't bear? By no means. I was pouring over ideas of what I could do to earn some money. I can't mow lawns year round like I'd enjoy (I am a mowing fiend).

Suddenly out of the blue, as if I had never thought of it before, and idea struck my head. Why not open shop as a baker? Why not create sweets and treats back home? It's a fresh start. My mom, who is darling and wonderful as all sweet women, agreed to let me use a bit of space in her alteration shop to plant my roots for a cakery. How kind!

I figure it would be hugely amazing to start off my cakery : The Pax and Ash, in my mom's shop. She has an alteration shop and guess who comes in for alterations on their clothes and dresses? Brides. Mother of the bride. Friends of the bride. I have connections to local bridal stores and wedding planners/decorators. I think that by passing out some cake pops, some flyers and business cards, I could have a good jump start to a cake business!

Is "The Pax & Ash: A Cakery" a good solid name for a cake business? I think for a store front it would be. For a one woman show just starting out in small town Kansas? Not quite sure. I'll have to ponder that one.

So here I go. If we decide and are set on moving back to Kansas, I shall open up shop as a cake decorator, making delicious and beautiful creations that I hope you will devour joyously! I am super stoked.

Is it all worth it?

I just finished watching Julie and Julia. After comparing Meryl Streep and Julia Child, I realized how grand of a job Meryl did portraying her. The movie was very good. I suppose I felt the end cut off too much, but it was a simple story.

I just adore how Julie took on the task of baking from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. What guts! What skills! What a pretty penny! I write with three dollars next to my keyboard and change jingling in my purse. I have never been one to invest in food for everyday dinners, at least extravagant foods. Sam is so kind as to never complain. Would I like to de-bone a duck at some point? Yes. The question remains of when I will be able to or want to afford a duck for dinner.

Our family's cuisine is simple. I use many spices, garlic mainly, to enhance flavors in my meats and sauces. Mastering the art of cooking in general is a lost art.

First: When it costs more for a bag of apples than for three boxed macaroni meals, you know our priorities have changed: convenience vs health

Second: I bake for a living. When people ask me what I do as a career I get one of two responses. I either get a joyous yelp of excitement or I get a trailing off of the voice pretending to still be interested. People don't take baking seriously anymore when you can buy a lasagna in the frozen food aisle and pop it in the oven and it will taste comparable to a homemade one (though not better).

Third: Cooking and baking is not as hard as people claim. Once I claim that I bake a mean cheesecake, people tell me that they buy the instant one from jello or they moan about how they could never bake something like that. Quite frankly, a cheesecake is simple. Follow directions and keep a watchful eye on the oven timer and you'll be fine. Baking is not complicated.

With so many restaurants starting up and shutting down, I wonder, is it all worth it? Is it worth it to go after a dream? So many things financially can get in the way. If people don't come through your doors, how can you be excited to come to work and cook?

Work has been slow for me. The restaurant has been decently busy but my job hasn't been... well... needed. I want to experiment with many new recipes. I would love to make homemade cream cheese like I want, and use it in my cheesecakes. I would love to bake candies and divinity. The restaurant can't afford my time or the sweets sitting on the shelf, perching for purchase, because we don't have the base for dessert sales.

It's a bummer, you know. I want to do all these amazing things with my desserts but cannot due to financial restraints as well as the fact that people aren't buying what I currently make because people are not coming in at all.

There it is.

What needs to happen? I need to strap up and stand up and make do with what I have. If I am short on money yet want to make sweets, I shall make peppermint meringues. If I am wanting a long project, I will make a 15 layer jello mold.

I hope you are well.

Best wishes!

Whoa, nelly.

It's been a few days, yes. Forgive my absence. We made a whirlwind trip back to Kansas to see my dad, go to the circus, and a birthday party for my niece. While back home, my mom told me about Julie & Julia, the movie about Julia Child and a lady named Julie who blogged about her experiences baking through her cookbook. I only got to watch the first half hour, but I quite enjoyed it! I thought to myself "I could do something like that! Wait--- I kind of am already doing that..."

Have I baked anything lately? Snickerdoodles and cheesecake today at work! My snickerdoodles are not the normal snickerdoodles. Usually, people douse sugar cookies with cinnamon and call them snickerdoodles. Nope. I used clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla beans in mine. I then chopped pecans very small and rolled the dough into balls, dipping them into a cinnamon/sugar/pecan mixture. They were not puffy cookies and they were not flat crispy. These bad boys were perfect!

I think it's crucial to take risks when baking. For instance, when I make my blueberry sauce, I add coconut to it. It enhances the flavor of the blueberry. When I make peanut butter cookies, I add almond flavor. This accentuates the peanut butter very well. Try out different seasonings, flavors, and mixtures when you bake! The worse thing that could possibly happen is you won't like it and you'll have to throw out your frankenstein creation ( and no one will be the wiser!).

I have a busy week ahead. I'm honestly quite stressed. I have to tell myself "Whoa, Nelly," or I get too involved and stressed about things. I'd like to share a lot of fun funky recipes and pictures, but I'm afraid for the next few days I will be thinking of my computer class final as well as my orchestra concert! Things should be back to normal by next week.

Speaking of Pax and Ash...Ash decided to rip the corner of the screen on the outside window. I am getting pretty upset. I'd like to move out of this nice new house so I won't be so worried about how the dogs treat it.

Thank you for your support! I hope you are having adventures in your kitchen as well!

Tea Jar

While I was in Denver, my friend Jen and I went to Crate and Barrel. I had not previously been to one so this was a great experience! Crate and Barrel was slightly overpriced but contained a lot of great, unique, and beautiful items. I found exactly what I was looking for within minutes of arriving.I found a Tea Jar! A very large glass jar with a lid and a spout. With how fast Sam goes through sweet tea in our house, I have to keep it on hand at all times! I had a bunch of lemons and strawberries so I made some strawberry lemonade for a 'welcome to our family, now hold our delicious drinks' celebration.

To make homemade lemonade, you'll need water, lemons, and sugar.

I used about 10 lemons and probably about a gallon or so of water. Squeeze lemons into water and then throw the whole lemon inside the jar. You could use lemon juice from a squeezy bottle, but it wouldn't quite be homemade then, would it?! I also added about 9 strawberries to make it deliciously flavored. I put approximately one cup of sugar in the jar. I like my lemonade tart! ENJOY!

On a side note, I collect movie ticket stubs and concert stubs. I have collected all my stubs from the past ten years. I've been wanting to frame them all or hang them somehow, but could not figure out how to do it. I didn't have a big enough frame either. While at Goodwill a few weeks ago, I bought a coffee table for our living room to set drinks on. It is glass top and you can lift the glass to reveal a wood enclosure, like a shadow box almost. I decided THAT is where I would put all my stubs.

Sweet tea and stubs!

We are just sitting down from a long day. I bought a new pair of running shoes, Sam and I worked on the house a bit, and we went on a 3.5 mile walk/jog. We're going to watch Pirates of the Caribbean, At Worlds End. Yay! Here are my new shoes. They are fantastic.

There are little pockets of air in the bottom. Reebok claims these shoes will help tone your legs while you run. I think it's a bunch of bahooey, to be honest, but I liked the way they felt.

Back to work tomorrow! Hope you have a grand day!

Cookies

Today was a cookies day. I baked chocolate chip cookies as well as peanut butter / pb chocolate chip cookies. I gingerly mixed the sugar and flour, the eggs and butter, the salt and brown sugar. I hoped with all my might that the baking soda and powder I added would make the cookies rise as big as the Roman Empire and not flatten like a deflated balloon on a hot summers day. On a side note, I don't measure baking powder or soda anymore. I just add a bit. This method seems to work for me.

Chocolate chip cookies turned out great. Perfectly puffed and wonderfully crisp on the outside and soft on the center. My peanut butter cookies came out very wrinkled! Is the oven a time machine that ages whatever is inserted by years and years? Most definitely. I whipped up a batch of my peanut butter frosting (you can't have peanut butter cookies without frosting!) and frosted those little cookies like a mad woman.

Today was also cheesecake day. I made the equivalent of 2 cheesecakes in batter and poured all the batter into a large rectangular pan, no crust. I baked this for 50 minutes and turned off the oven to let it cook slightly. Tomorrow, first thing, I will scoop out balls of cheesecake and stuff a lollipop stick in them. I will then freeze them and dip them in chocolate later. CHEESECAKE POPS!

Work has been slow. Are we worried? A tad. I am a bit discouraged. We have great food. We have a great staff. I will admit the location is not optimal. I don't know what we need to do to get more business. Dave is searching for a Marketing person to go out to the bigger businesses (banks, hospitals, etc) to gain catering and delivery business.

Tomorrow will be a good day. I hope to make my cheesecake balls first thing in the morning (perhaps get all fancy and dip some in nuts or sprinkles after chocolate!) and then I hope to make tiramisu. EEH! I will be sure to take pictures and write the directions out for you.

Have a great day!