8 Cheesecakes and new art

Dear friends!

Life, once again, has happened. I've come to realize just how much I value diversity in my hobbies. Art and doodling, working out, and spending time with friends has taken over my spare time. I haven't had an amazing baking adventure in quite some time!

This weekend is a wedding for which I agreed to make 8 cheesecakes. They're all vanilla bean and will be covered in milk chocolate ganache. Yum! I am so excited to have been asked to do such a big thing.

In addition to this big project I have a few smaller projects going on as well including art projects.

On a side note, check out Pinterest and Society6 for some great art and crafty ideas.

In addition to projects and art, I've been doing school and preparing for Sam to come back. It's been a long 6 months. It really makes the heart grow fonder--being away from your loved one. I am so thankful for the love and life I have with my husband. He's all I want and my constant in chaos.

A friend of mine shared this quote with me from Steve Jobs:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Be the absolute best you can be. Love God, love others, and love yourself.

Paleo Results

After 30 days of eating nothing but paleolithic foods (lean meats, occasional eggs, fruits and veggies, no processed foods, dairy or sweets), I've felt amazing results.

I've lost 12 pounds.

I've gained stamina.

I feel so focused and energized.

On the negative side (which is really a positive)---- When I try to eat something normal (mac and cheese, cookies, ice cream, whatever), it wrecks up my stomach and I feel sick and horrid for at least a day after. It's a good thing to train your body to feel so healthy and cleansed!

I highly recommend that you give it a try--just for a month. 30 days. Really. You'll feel so amazing afterwards.

Raw food and Paleo?

Any raw foodies out there?

Caveman eaters?

I've been eating paleolithic foods for the past 3 weeks with great success--- I feel so energized and focused. I've lost excess weight and have broken the bonds I've made with food! Funny isn't it, coming from a person who loves to bake sugary sweets?!

Paleolithic eating is fruits, veggies, lean meats, and some nuts. No grains, no dairy, very few eggs. I realize this is the version I am doing and there are lots of variations. I've found that dairy and grains are my problem.

Life is about connections. I'm tired of connecting only with food. I would eat when I was happy. Eat when I was sad. Eat all the time. Enough! I've been able to make so many more connections and attachments with my emotions by breaking away from food and what I had tied to it.

Give raw food or paleolithic foods a try!

Online Cheesecake Business

I love to bake cheesecake.

I love to watch people eat my cheesecake.

I love to hear people sigh and moan after eating my cheesecake.

There are a few things in life that I'm good at. There are some things I won't ever be good at (whistling and enjoying intense roller coasters). One of the things I know I enjoy and am good at is baking. Specifically, baking cheesecakes is a favorite past time of mine.

Starting a brick and mortar business really isn't a good idea for me right now. With Sam in the military, it's hard to set my roots down in one place. Who knows when we'll be off to another duty location?!

An online business seems viable. An online cheesecake business seems possible.

It is a lot harder than I thought to find the right shipping containers for cheesecakes. I have to find ones that are insulated and contain cool packs or ice packs to keep it from getting all sorts of grody and melted. I am not excited about the prospect of having to pay upwards of $40 for the box alone. I'd have to pass that cost to the customer and on top of shipping and the initial cost of the cheesecake, we're look at a $80 cheesecake. No bueno.

So. I'm in the very early stages of preparing for an online cheesecake business. I very much look forward to seeing where this takes me!

Cookie Oreo Brownie Monster Bar

Honestly, I don't know what to call this thing. It's a bird...it's a plane...NO! It's cookie-oreo-brownie-monster bar! This thing is a heart attack that goes down like sugar. Just a spoonful of sugar wouldn't help the medicine go down after you fall ill from sugar shock.

This is a creation I first found on pinterest.com and had to recreate it. It starts off with a cookie crust, then oreos layered on top of that, and finally covered with brownie. I had to make it all from scratch--I refused to use box mixes or that frozen dough! Oreos I could have made from scratch but it would have called for a box mix to make them so I just used the cookies from the store.

This monster bar tasted great! Next time I think I'm going to add a cheesecake layer on top. Perhaps I'll make my famous oreo balls and layer them over THAT! Whew. That, my friend, is one heck of a dessert.

Music!

http://soundcloud.com/laece/downpour

Check out my music! I've been busy recording the past 6 hours. Fun!

On top of baking, I love to create music. I play the piano, the cello, guitar, and I sing. I'd love to learn the drums one day!

Enjoy!

Rainbow Cake

A rainbow cake is the epitome of joy and culinary delight. It's the merging of unicorn tears and Santa Claus. A wonderful and fantastic treat.

A rainbow cake is a great project for kids and adults alike! Thanks to Martha Stewart and this lovely site for encouraging me!

Simple Rainbow Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/3 cups sugar

5 large egg whites, room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring

Preheat oven to 350

Spray 6 nine inch pans with pam or grease with shortening.

Whip butter and sugar til fluffy.

Add egg whites and vanilla.

Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

Add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture alternately.

Separate batter into 6 different cups or bowls.

Add gel coloring to each one--whatever colors you'd like.

mix and stir until fully incorporated.

Pour each separate color into a pan.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Stack and layer with frosting between. If you want it to be nice and even, level the cakes and make sure all the layers are nice and even when you frost.

ENJOY!

Yes!

If you notice, the cake layers are quite thin. This was made by following the recipe and not doubling it. I highly recommend that you double the recipe! To make the cake layers a little more defined, try putting a little more frosting between the layers.

I totally forgot baking powder when I baked this cake.... I won't be doing that again! ENJOY!