I'm a little late to this party- but I was pretty much at the tail end of my pregnancy and baby-busy when things heated up, so I have an excuse.
The Governor has a bill on his desk, AB 1616, that if passed, would basically allow home bakers, etc., to sell their food legally. Long story short for bakers if this passes: presumably after taking a class and paying minimal fees, you can sell pretty much all baked goods except those containing cream or meat (sorry bacon hipsters). Essentially, cream includes cream cheese frostings and fillings, meringue pies, etc.; basically anything requiring refrigeration.
This is a huge thing for home food makers, and for me. I could finally kick things off with my cakes and the like without having to bake in a commercial kitchen and pay huge fees. It means I'll have to find a way around traditional cream cheese frosting, but that shouldn't be a big problem. You can read a bit more about the bill here:
http://www.theselc.org/cottagefood/cottage-food-lawscottage-food-law-bill-language/
Some folks are weary because, understandably, you don't "know" where your food is coming from, and home kitchens aren't subject to the same kind of strict regulations and inspections as commercial kitchens. First of all.. the majority of the time, you don't know where your food is coming from unless you make it yourself. Second, from what I've read about AB 1616 and other cottage food laws, your food has to be clearly labeled with something like "made in a home kitchen not inspected by the ca dept of health" blah blah- so people who are scared of home kitchens can steer clear. You also have to list ingredients and allergens. It's not 100% fool proof, and there are always going to be slackers. I don't plan on being a slacker, and I am willing to bet the majority of people excited to see this pass aren't slackers either.
Anyhoo, I really hope this thing passes! It would mean great things... for you and me!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Saturday, August 18, 2012
This is what happens...
When you put 70 candles on a 6" cake. Happy Birthday, Joe!
ps- I think this is the first cake I've made since the 6" wedding cake "topper" I made exactly one year ago!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
absent but not forgotten
Brief update: We had the baby! And life is forever not the same!
Ha. It took a while to get little Gavin on a schedule (well, it's more of a routine at this point because he still likes to change things up every now and then). But finally he is in bed by about 8pm every night and I find myself mosying around the house trying to be productive but not really doing anything interesting. Tonight as I sat here with the monitor, watching baby Gav slumber away to the sound of ocean waves, I found myself wondering what I used to do in the evenings before bedtime routines and cleaning up the debris after a day with a baby. So much debris...
And it hit me. I used to BAKE! Pretty much every night I was baking something different, going to bed "exhausted" after doing "too much" yet again. Last night I slept from midnight to 4am, then from 5am to 8am, braved a lunchtime date with some friends and Gavin, and I feel more alive than I ever did after baking, frosting, and decorating 4 dozen cupcakes after a full night of uninterrupted sleep and day at work sitting in a chair at a desk.
I'm hoping this means I'll be ready to bake sometime soon. However, a few weeks after Gav was born, I made Brad some banana bread. He said it was gross and we threw it away. It took 10x more effort to make that banana bread than any previous banana bread endeavor.. and I was such a sad face girl. I go back to work in a week and a half, which means I'll have human garbage disposals to bake for. They truly eat anything and never tell you when it is "gross." HAHA! Lots of mized emotions about returning to work, but I'm excited that I'll have an audience to bake for again :)
Until then! Wish me luck...
Ha. It took a while to get little Gavin on a schedule (well, it's more of a routine at this point because he still likes to change things up every now and then). But finally he is in bed by about 8pm every night and I find myself mosying around the house trying to be productive but not really doing anything interesting. Tonight as I sat here with the monitor, watching baby Gav slumber away to the sound of ocean waves, I found myself wondering what I used to do in the evenings before bedtime routines and cleaning up the debris after a day with a baby. So much debris...
And it hit me. I used to BAKE! Pretty much every night I was baking something different, going to bed "exhausted" after doing "too much" yet again. Last night I slept from midnight to 4am, then from 5am to 8am, braved a lunchtime date with some friends and Gavin, and I feel more alive than I ever did after baking, frosting, and decorating 4 dozen cupcakes after a full night of uninterrupted sleep and day at work sitting in a chair at a desk.
I'm hoping this means I'll be ready to bake sometime soon. However, a few weeks after Gav was born, I made Brad some banana bread. He said it was gross and we threw it away. It took 10x more effort to make that banana bread than any previous banana bread endeavor.. and I was such a sad face girl. I go back to work in a week and a half, which means I'll have human garbage disposals to bake for. They truly eat anything and never tell you when it is "gross." HAHA! Lots of mized emotions about returning to work, but I'm excited that I'll have an audience to bake for again :)
Until then! Wish me luck...
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Baby Shower Cake: Cute as a Button!
Yep, still pregnant...
Mom kindly offered to throw me a baby shower, and I only asked that we do it well in advance of my due date so I wasn't too uncomfortable or crabby, but mostly so I didn't look like a total cow. Well, my plan worked, except for the cow part.
Unfortunately, I'm not the type to just sit back while other people work really hard to throw me a party. Mom says it is because I'm controlling- and has even coined a new name for me: Colleen Control, or CC. Okay, that's part of it. But mostly, I find it insanely awkward to sit around the week before a big event/party my friends or family are throwing, and not be able to offer a helping hand. It makes me incredibly uneasy. And if it's a party for me? Forget about it! I think I blow dried, curled, straightened and re-curled my hair the morning of my bridal shower because I was so antsy not having a thing to do. So I forced the madre to let me bake my own baby shower cake.
The theme from the beginning was "Cute as a Button," which CC picked out. I think she was going for something just plain cute and baby-ish, not wanting something that screamed "COLLEEN IS HAVING A BOY!" Yes, I'm having a boy, but he's a baby and I can definitely wait on all the fun boyish themes for when he is here. Right now it's pastels and baby time!!
Satisfied that I had a cake to worry about, CC went away and I focused on finding inspiration. There are a lot of button cakes and cupcakes out there, but this was by far the cutest:
I quickly learned how easy it is to make a fondant button.. punch out a circle, use the bottom of an icing tip to make the inner circle, and then use the tip of a small round tip to punch the holes in the button. Breeze! Since we were having the party at an Italian restaurant, I knew I wanted a lighter cake, so I went with a white cake with alternating filling layers of raspberry and lemon curd, topped with a light swiss meringue buttercream. I actually really don't like fondant, so I opted against covering the whole cake in it.
I wanted the cake to look as fabulous as the one above, but also stand out on its own. So I decided to pipe teal/turquoise ombre ruffles as a border. I love ombre cakes right now, and it seems a lot of other people do as well (pinterest). That wasn't enough though.. it needed something more. I went to a wholesale cake supply website and found "designer sheets" which are basically edible sheets of paper/stickers that you can put on to fondant and buttercream etc to give it that fresh-off-the-press look. I found it made the buttons pop, and the texture also made them look like fabric buttons (close up).
There are no epic tales to tell about the process of making this cake, unless you count swollen ankles every night for the three nights I spent making it. I think it came out great!
The banner at the top says "Baby Langan" and I made that as well.. I didn't like the idea of a giant fondant button on top. Brad said the color wasn't a real blue, which made me kinda sad until I realized the is the last cake I get to make before our baby arrives and tells us he likes Thomas the Train or the Ninja Turtles (let's hope it's Ninja Turtles!!). Okay so maybe the hot pink was a little too much.. but I had to throw a little me in there :)
This one didn't come out as great, but you get the idear:
Oh, and the shower was a lot of fun. I don't like being the "center" of attention but still had a good time seeing a lot of my friends and family. The majority of them not only drove or flew very far, they also brought along some of the most generous and adorable Little Langan gifties.
Getting married and then becoming pregnant a week later really makes me feel like I'm gouging people :/ But everyone's sincerety really made me feel better! It didn't hurt that pretty much everyone told me how awesome I look. I know it's a sweet little lie but it truly helped me get through the painful process of looking at all the gift opening pictures:
And on that note! you won't see my face again until I've lost at least 30lbs. :) p.s. that was the most EPIC diaper cake ever, made by my Fairy Godmother Geri. Batman themed with handmade burpie cloths, a quilt, and pretty much everything else our little man will need!
Mom kindly offered to throw me a baby shower, and I only asked that we do it well in advance of my due date so I wasn't too uncomfortable or crabby, but mostly so I didn't look like a total cow. Well, my plan worked, except for the cow part.
Unfortunately, I'm not the type to just sit back while other people work really hard to throw me a party. Mom says it is because I'm controlling- and has even coined a new name for me: Colleen Control, or CC. Okay, that's part of it. But mostly, I find it insanely awkward to sit around the week before a big event/party my friends or family are throwing, and not be able to offer a helping hand. It makes me incredibly uneasy. And if it's a party for me? Forget about it! I think I blow dried, curled, straightened and re-curled my hair the morning of my bridal shower because I was so antsy not having a thing to do. So I forced the madre to let me bake my own baby shower cake.
The theme from the beginning was "Cute as a Button," which CC picked out. I think she was going for something just plain cute and baby-ish, not wanting something that screamed "COLLEEN IS HAVING A BOY!" Yes, I'm having a boy, but he's a baby and I can definitely wait on all the fun boyish themes for when he is here. Right now it's pastels and baby time!!
Satisfied that I had a cake to worry about, CC went away and I focused on finding inspiration. There are a lot of button cakes and cupcakes out there, but this was by far the cutest:
I quickly learned how easy it is to make a fondant button.. punch out a circle, use the bottom of an icing tip to make the inner circle, and then use the tip of a small round tip to punch the holes in the button. Breeze! Since we were having the party at an Italian restaurant, I knew I wanted a lighter cake, so I went with a white cake with alternating filling layers of raspberry and lemon curd, topped with a light swiss meringue buttercream. I actually really don't like fondant, so I opted against covering the whole cake in it.
I wanted the cake to look as fabulous as the one above, but also stand out on its own. So I decided to pipe teal/turquoise ombre ruffles as a border. I love ombre cakes right now, and it seems a lot of other people do as well (pinterest). That wasn't enough though.. it needed something more. I went to a wholesale cake supply website and found "designer sheets" which are basically edible sheets of paper/stickers that you can put on to fondant and buttercream etc to give it that fresh-off-the-press look. I found it made the buttons pop, and the texture also made them look like fabric buttons (close up).
There are no epic tales to tell about the process of making this cake, unless you count swollen ankles every night for the three nights I spent making it. I think it came out great!
The banner at the top says "Baby Langan" and I made that as well.. I didn't like the idea of a giant fondant button on top. Brad said the color wasn't a real blue, which made me kinda sad until I realized the is the last cake I get to make before our baby arrives and tells us he likes Thomas the Train or the Ninja Turtles (let's hope it's Ninja Turtles!!). Okay so maybe the hot pink was a little too much.. but I had to throw a little me in there :)
This one didn't come out as great, but you get the idear:
Oh, and the shower was a lot of fun. I don't like being the "center" of attention but still had a good time seeing a lot of my friends and family. The majority of them not only drove or flew very far, they also brought along some of the most generous and adorable Little Langan gifties.
Getting married and then becoming pregnant a week later really makes me feel like I'm gouging people :/ But everyone's sincerety really made me feel better! It didn't hurt that pretty much everyone told me how awesome I look. I know it's a sweet little lie but it truly helped me get through the painful process of looking at all the gift opening pictures:
And on that note! you won't see my face again until I've lost at least 30lbs. :) p.s. that was the most EPIC diaper cake ever, made by my Fairy Godmother Geri. Batman themed with handmade burpie cloths, a quilt, and pretty much everything else our little man will need!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Obsessed
I'm still pregnant. It feels like this will never end. I'm not uncomfortable or experiencing any noteworthy symptoms.. mostly I'm just lazy and feeling overweight. I've been avoiding baking anything because I know I won't be able to stop myself from eating at least half of whatever I make. For example, last month, I was craving a funfetti cupcake, the delicious kind made from store bought mix and topped with rainbow chip frosting. Some bakers would be ashamed to admit it, but to this day, funfetti is still my favorite cupcake ever. So anyway, I make the cupcakes, and over the next three days, eat an entire dozen. Then I had the nerve to complain about gaining 8lbs that month. It's a sick cycle.
Then I got a Pinterest account. Worst plan ever. I am used to scouring the web looking for recipes that appear to be delicious, based on reviews or an amazing ingredient list. Rarely do those recipes come with beautiful shiny photos of baking perfection. Needless to say, choosing a good recipe this way takes thoughtfulness and serious inspection- two things I've been living without for 7 months. But apparently, I'm just like the 2 million other "pinners" on Pinterest- visual. I log in and see cakes, cupcakes, brownies, mud pies, and combinations of things I never thought of, all photographed to absolute perfection. Suddenly, it doesn't matter if the link to the recipe lurking behind the photo is good. I need it. Now.
Instantly I became obsessed with making the best red velvet cupcake ever. I have been working on this for a couple of years but never quite got there. There were a few hits, and a lot of misses. The hits turned into misses because the color just wasn't right. I'd find Brad asking, "what is that?" or if they were light chocolate cupcakes.. fail. The misses were just wrong all and together bad. I once made a huge cake out of red velvet and the layers from different batches of batter were all different colors and flavors. I liken it to my mashed potatoes.. I never quite remember how I made it the last time so I get something different every time. I've even tried writing the recipe down afterward, only to have it fail me in the future.
When I saw people on pinterest pinning bright red red velvet cupcakes, etc., right around Valentine's day, I knew something had to be done. I couldn't sit back and let those monstrosities win. I can't tell you how many absolutely beautiful, "professional," striking, and nearly bleeding-red red velvet cupcakes I've experienced crumble, turn to goo, choke me, or taste like wet chalk. And it's usually the really red ones that suck. Red velvet is the most ambiguous flavor that it seems people think anything goes as long as its red. To me though, it is supposed to resemble moist chocolate cake and be able carry a fluffy cream cheese frosting, but not taste like chocolate or vanilla- it's supposed to be a glorious combination of both. Kind of like a marble cake after you've chewed it all up, but less dense. That kind of sounds gross! Ha. Well, it's not for everybody.
But, people, I did it. Taste, color, texture, everything.. I made the best red velvet cake ever. And I know exactly how I did it because I wrote down every stinkin step as I did it. I can't give all my secrets away, but I will tell you a lot had to do with finding the right red food coloring (hint: gel, not wilton's), and not skipping out on the vinegar. I only made 12 and had just one (yay!!)! Then I brought the other 11 to work and they were gone within an hour- fyi only 5 people from my office were in that day. One very picky cupcaker told me it was the best cupcake he ever had. A few other people said the same, but it meant the most coming from picky eater man. It was also fun to watch people come back for seconds and not be ashamed at all.
I'm a loser and only got one picture of them cooling on their rack. I wanted to take another photo of cutting into one, but I ate it right before I weighed in at the doc's (sigh) and then it was off to work.
My camera phone is awful and turned these purple, so I will not be pinning this on to pinterest but I don't care. I'll continue to use the site for visual inspiration but stick to my own recipes.
I hope I can make one for YOU soon!!
Then I got a Pinterest account. Worst plan ever. I am used to scouring the web looking for recipes that appear to be delicious, based on reviews or an amazing ingredient list. Rarely do those recipes come with beautiful shiny photos of baking perfection. Needless to say, choosing a good recipe this way takes thoughtfulness and serious inspection- two things I've been living without for 7 months. But apparently, I'm just like the 2 million other "pinners" on Pinterest- visual. I log in and see cakes, cupcakes, brownies, mud pies, and combinations of things I never thought of, all photographed to absolute perfection. Suddenly, it doesn't matter if the link to the recipe lurking behind the photo is good. I need it. Now.
Instantly I became obsessed with making the best red velvet cupcake ever. I have been working on this for a couple of years but never quite got there. There were a few hits, and a lot of misses. The hits turned into misses because the color just wasn't right. I'd find Brad asking, "what is that?" or if they were light chocolate cupcakes.. fail. The misses were just wrong all and together bad. I once made a huge cake out of red velvet and the layers from different batches of batter were all different colors and flavors. I liken it to my mashed potatoes.. I never quite remember how I made it the last time so I get something different every time. I've even tried writing the recipe down afterward, only to have it fail me in the future.
When I saw people on pinterest pinning bright red red velvet cupcakes, etc., right around Valentine's day, I knew something had to be done. I couldn't sit back and let those monstrosities win. I can't tell you how many absolutely beautiful, "professional," striking, and nearly bleeding-red red velvet cupcakes I've experienced crumble, turn to goo, choke me, or taste like wet chalk. And it's usually the really red ones that suck. Red velvet is the most ambiguous flavor that it seems people think anything goes as long as its red. To me though, it is supposed to resemble moist chocolate cake and be able carry a fluffy cream cheese frosting, but not taste like chocolate or vanilla- it's supposed to be a glorious combination of both. Kind of like a marble cake after you've chewed it all up, but less dense. That kind of sounds gross! Ha. Well, it's not for everybody.
But, people, I did it. Taste, color, texture, everything.. I made the best red velvet cake ever. And I know exactly how I did it because I wrote down every stinkin step as I did it. I can't give all my secrets away, but I will tell you a lot had to do with finding the right red food coloring (hint: gel, not wilton's), and not skipping out on the vinegar. I only made 12 and had just one (yay!!)! Then I brought the other 11 to work and they were gone within an hour- fyi only 5 people from my office were in that day. One very picky cupcaker told me it was the best cupcake he ever had. A few other people said the same, but it meant the most coming from picky eater man. It was also fun to watch people come back for seconds and not be ashamed at all.
I'm a loser and only got one picture of them cooling on their rack. I wanted to take another photo of cutting into one, but I ate it right before I weighed in at the doc's (sigh) and then it was off to work.
My camera phone is awful and turned these purple, so I will not be pinning this on to pinterest but I don't care. I'll continue to use the site for visual inspiration but stick to my own recipes.
I hope I can make one for YOU soon!!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Baby Cakes!
This past September I had the honor of making birthday cakes for the world famous Salvateenies Triplets first birthday. This was just one and half weeks after returning from my honeymoon and of having thought of nothing but weddings and honeymoons for the past three months straight. But I was up for the challenge! I couldn't think of a better way to get back into the swing of "normal" life.
Mom and Dad requested a zoo animal theme.. which means Mom told me exactly which animal to make for each kid since I was lacking any creative brain power. Caroline was to be "Caro-lion," Max was to be "Monkey Max" and Daniel would be "Croco-Daniel. " I got to pick the flavors, with approval of course. Caro-lion: white cake with fresh strawberries and vanilla frosting. Monkey Max: white cake with banana pudding filling and vanilla frosting. Croco-Daniel: chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. YUM.
I started preparing for the cake making a couple of days in advance so it wouldn't be a mad rush to finish (as if preparation ever prevents that). Unfortunately, I was feeling a little crampy and tired the night before so I had a hard time getting stuff done, but I powered through expecting that it would only get worse the following morning.
As I mentioned, I had just gotten back from my honeymoon, which was actually the official "start trying" time for Brad and I. In the morning, I could feel my monthly visitor coming on strong but took a test anyway just to be sure.... and... not so much. I thought I was hallucinating when I saw the faintest, lighter than pink pink line appear, so I threw it out and told Brad it we weren't pregnant, then got back to work. A few minutes later, he said, "Babe, we do pee tests all the time at work for the kids. The results don't show up right away. It's right about now that the line will start to change if the kid is positive for drugs. I'm going to go check it." So the incredible man that I married went through the bathroom garbage can (gross!) and found the stick with a slightly more pink line indicating that we might just really be pregnant, but it was extremely faint and I decided it was possible we were now both hallucinating. We were cautiously excited. I still had so much work to do, and Brad had to get to bed in time to wake up for his next graveyard shift. I baked, frosted, fondanted, and packaged the cakes then drove them up to SF to celebrate with the precious 1 year old triplets. In the chaos, I only got a couple of pictures (thanks Brad!)
Monkey Max
Caro-lion
Mom and Dad requested a zoo animal theme.. which means Mom told me exactly which animal to make for each kid since I was lacking any creative brain power. Caroline was to be "Caro-lion," Max was to be "Monkey Max" and Daniel would be "Croco-Daniel. " I got to pick the flavors, with approval of course. Caro-lion: white cake with fresh strawberries and vanilla frosting. Monkey Max: white cake with banana pudding filling and vanilla frosting. Croco-Daniel: chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. YUM.
I started preparing for the cake making a couple of days in advance so it wouldn't be a mad rush to finish (as if preparation ever prevents that). Unfortunately, I was feeling a little crampy and tired the night before so I had a hard time getting stuff done, but I powered through expecting that it would only get worse the following morning.
As I mentioned, I had just gotten back from my honeymoon, which was actually the official "start trying" time for Brad and I. In the morning, I could feel my monthly visitor coming on strong but took a test anyway just to be sure.... and... not so much. I thought I was hallucinating when I saw the faintest, lighter than pink pink line appear, so I threw it out and told Brad it we weren't pregnant, then got back to work. A few minutes later, he said, "Babe, we do pee tests all the time at work for the kids. The results don't show up right away. It's right about now that the line will start to change if the kid is positive for drugs. I'm going to go check it." So the incredible man that I married went through the bathroom garbage can (gross!) and found the stick with a slightly more pink line indicating that we might just really be pregnant, but it was extremely faint and I decided it was possible we were now both hallucinating. We were cautiously excited. I still had so much work to do, and Brad had to get to bed in time to wake up for his next graveyard shift. I baked, frosted, fondanted, and packaged the cakes then drove them up to SF to celebrate with the precious 1 year old triplets. In the chaos, I only got a couple of pictures (thanks Brad!)
Monkey Max
Caro-lionPoor Daniel was the last cake to be finished and I wasn't able to get a picture. More pictures of the entire event, including a few of the cakes being destroyed and me being exhausted on a glider chair, can be found here, on the Salvateenie's official blog. Lessons learned: fondant is not my forte, one year olds could care less about filling and frosting and perfection, and if I ever do cakes for a living, I have to research the best way to transport them. Max's monkey lost an ear and Daniel's crocodile sank slightly into his chocolate lagoon.
The party was fun but I was ready for bed by 3pm. Being the psychotic I am, however, I stopped at Walgreen's on the way home and picked up three more tests to use in the morning... they were all different brands, of course. The next morning, I took all three tests a just before Brad got home, and hid them from myself so I wouldn't freak out. 5 minutes later I looked at them, and 5 minutes after that, Brad got home saying, "WELL?!?!?!" I directed him to the kitchen where he found all three tests showing absolutely, no doubt about it POSITIVE results for pregnancy! We were both in shock, excited, then in shock, then excited.. and so forth, for the rest of the morning until poor Brad had to go to bed again for work. We're now about 5 months and 3 weeks along and still going between shock and excitement, though excitement is now winning because my motherly intuition was right, and we're having a baby boy. Brad thinks it will all be cars, trucks, gadgets and flashlights, but I'm going to sneak in some baking time with mommy when he isn't looking :)
The party was fun but I was ready for bed by 3pm. Being the psychotic I am, however, I stopped at Walgreen's on the way home and picked up three more tests to use in the morning... they were all different brands, of course. The next morning, I took all three tests a just before Brad got home, and hid them from myself so I wouldn't freak out. 5 minutes later I looked at them, and 5 minutes after that, Brad got home saying, "WELL?!?!?!" I directed him to the kitchen where he found all three tests showing absolutely, no doubt about it POSITIVE results for pregnancy! We were both in shock, excited, then in shock, then excited.. and so forth, for the rest of the morning until poor Brad had to go to bed again for work. We're now about 5 months and 3 weeks along and still going between shock and excitement, though excitement is now winning because my motherly intuition was right, and we're having a baby boy. Brad thinks it will all be cars, trucks, gadgets and flashlights, but I'm going to sneak in some baking time with mommy when he isn't looking :)
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