Two Lumps for Sweet Adeline

This past Saturday, Ms. Muse invited Sweet Adeline over for a brunch as she thought it would be nice to have a “get together” with a friend. Sweet Adeline has many delightful stories from days gone by and loves to entertain Ms. Muse with them when such as when movies were 25 ecnts, television was black and white and popcorn was made on the stove in a kettle.

Ms. Muse being somewhat domesticated, created a fabulous quiche which she served with fresh fruit. Sweet Adeline always takes two lumps of sugar with her coffee and this never varies, which Ms. Muse loves to tease her about!

Together they enjoyed the slightly chilly spring day in Minnesota.

TWO WORKSHOPS COMING UP

Ornament Cupcakes (Beginner Workshop)

You will learn how to knead and color the fondant; how to roll out and mold and form fondant, how to use luster dust; how to troubleshoot problems and flaws. You will create four lovely ornament cupcakes to bring home.Kit can be purchased prior to class. When: Saturday, December 5, 2009 Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM Where: Lynn's Cake and Candy Supply, Inc., 6538 University Ave. NE Fridley, MN 55432

Poinsettia Spray (Beginner Workshop)

You will learn how to work with gumpaste, cut, and form petals, color flowers, and leaves and use dusting powders. You will wire and assemble a cake top, bouquet or small arrangement to take home. When: Saturday, December 12, 2009 Time: 11:30 AM – 3:00 PM Where: Lynn's Cake and Candy Supply, Inc., 6538 University Ave. NE Fridley, MN 55432

Fondant Gift Box Cake (Beginner Workshop)

You will learn how to knead and color the fondant; how to roll out and apply the fondant to a square cake; how to troubleshoot problems and flaws. You will create a fondant overlay lid with a soft fondant “floppy” bow for the gift box.Kit can be purchased prior to class.

When: Saturday, November 14, 2009

Time: 12:30 PM – 3:00 PM

Where: Lynn's Cake and Candy Supply, Inc6538 University Ave. NE Fridley, MN 55432

Register: http://lynnscakeandcandy.com/12301.html

Workshop Full

Upcoming Fondant Workshops

Workshop Full

Colorful Fall Leaf Cake Class (Beginner Workshop)

In this beginner’s class, you will learn how to knead and color the fondant; how to roll out and apply the fondant to a round cake and cake board; how to troubleshoot problems and flaws. You will also learn how to use cutters and veiners and attach items to the fondant.Supplies: 8" layered finished cake or dummy, spatula, 1-1/2# fondant, rolling pin, smoothers, fondant foam, and fondant tools. Kit can be purchased prior to class.

When: Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Time: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Where: Lynn's Cake and Candy Supply, Inc

6538 University Ave. NEFridley, MN 55432

Register: http://lynnscakeandcandy.com/12301.html

Workshop Full

Lovely Winter Snow Flake Class (Beginner Workshop)

In this beginner’s class, you will learn how to knead and color the fondant; how to roll out and apply the fondant to a round cake and cake board; how to troubleshoot problems and flaws. You will also learn how to use molds with coloring dust and attach items to the fondant.Supplies: 8" layered finished cake or dummy, spatula, 1-1/2# fondant, rolling pin, smoothers, fondant foam, and fondant tools. Kit can be purchased prior to class.

When: Saturday, November 7, 2009

Time: 12:30 PM – 3:00 PM

Where: Lynn's Cake and Candy Supply, Inc

6538 University Ave. NE Fridley, MN 55432

Register: http://lynnscakeandcandy.com/12301.html

Winning Apple Recipe

Photo: L to R John Michael Lerma Food Network Personality Guest Judge, Shirl Chouinard, Stephanie March, and Stephanie Hansen both from FM 107.1's Weekly Dish.


My Minnesota Apple Cake with Brandy Caramel Sauce was chosen the first place winner out of 10 apple dishes selected for WFMP 107.1 FM radio station's Saturday program the Weekly Dish. Ten contestants prepared their entries and joined the Weekly Dish hosts Stephanie Hansen and Stephanie March, along with Ian and Margery Punnett from 107.1 FM weekly morning show, and guest judge Food Network personality John Michael Lerma on Saturday October 3 at Aamodt’s Apple Farm in Stillwater Minnesota.

Some of the recipes included Apple Cobbler in a Crock-Pot, Apple Cream Cheese cake, and Brie and Minnesota Apple soup. I was extremely excited to be interviewed during the radio show by Stephanie, Hansen, Stephanie March and John Michael Lerma. Minnesota Apple Cake recipe follows.

Minnesota Apple Cake with Brandy Caramel Sauce

3 cups flour sifted
2 cups sugar (*minus 5 tablespoons set aside)
1 teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon salt
Dash nutmeg
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup apple juice concentrate
2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
*1 tablespoon cinnamon (set aside)
**3 cups Minnesota grown apples (see below)
Toasted pecan halves (optional)


Peel core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with *5 tablespoons sugar and *1 tablespoon cinnamon from the ingredients above. Shake all in a baggie coating apples well.
**For apples, use 1 cup Minnesota grown apples (such as a sweet Regent) and 2 cups Minnesota apples (such as tart Haralson) for a total of 3 cups.


In a large bowl, mix together flour, soda and salt. In separate bowl, whisk together eggs then add oil, apple juice concentrate, and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients until moistened. Add apple mixture and pecans to cake mixture and spread into greased and greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60 minutes or until cake tests done.

While cake is baking prepare Brandy Caramel Sauce. Cool cake for 10 minutes, poke holes over cake with skewer and ladle Brandy Caramel Sauce over top and after cake is cooled add chilled caramel sauce and decorate with toasted Pecan halves if desired.


Brandy Caramel Sauce
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1-1/2 cups firmly pack dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brandy1 tablespoon apple juice concentrate (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring whipping cream to light boil, stirring occasionally. Add sugar and cook 4 to 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and carefully add butter, brandy and vanilla. Let cool for 10 minutes before ladling over cake.

Pretty Packages All In a Row

Ms. Muse always seemed to have her thoughts wrapped up in nice neat little packages. She preferred to capture every little crystallized notion and combine it for a total idea then hold them tightly until needed. Unfortunately every now and then an occasional black thought would wiggle its way into her day. She would try to wrap it into a presentable package, but usually ending up torturing herself in the process.

Isanti County News

Wednesday, 09 September 2009


That takes the cake

Shirl Chouinard, of Cambridge, was one of the top finishers in the Minnesota State Fair’s, C & H Cake Decorating Contest and in the new King Arthur Great Cake Contest. The judges looked for taste, presentation and texture. Fair officials stated that Chouinard’s flavors shined through. Texture is where people usually fall short. Cakes should be soft and moist; never crumbly or hard and her cake was soft and tender to cut. For the presentation, you want at least some basic eye appeal. As Chouinard is an exhibiting sugar artist, her cake stood out for how it looked. Her details were amazing as it was decorated to look like a King Arthur cookbook. Chouinard got to appear with Corbin Seitz on KARE 11’s Showcase Minnesota program, Monday, Aug. 31, and her rich Dark Chocolate King Arthur cake recipe was found on KARE’s Web site.

• 1/2 cup boiling water


• 4 Tbsp unsweetened Dutch Processed cocoa powder and 3 Tbsp unsweetened regular cocoa powder


• 1/2 cup softened butter


• 2 cups sugar


• 3 eggs


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 1 tsp Orange Liquor (such as Grand Marnier)


• 2 cups King Arthur (All Purpose) Flour


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1 tsp baking soda


• 1 cup sour cream

Mix boiling water and both unsweetened cocoa’s in small bowl until smooth. Let cool and set aside. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mix well and set aside. Add vanilla extract and orange liquor then mix. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda together. To butter/sugar mixture, alternately add portions of the dry ingredients, unsweetened cocoa mixture and the sour cream, mixing well after each addition. Divide into to two 8”cake tins. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes or until cake tests done. Let cakes completely cool and slice across the middle to make four layers. Frost with your favorite frosting

Euterpe

Euterpe - Greek muse of music.

Image Art Show 2008

Minnesota State Fair Third Place King Arthur Cake Contest

On the set of KARE 11's Showcase Minnesota August 31, 2009.

With Host Corbin Seitz.

Surprised Host Rob Hudson when he discovered the cookbook was a cake.

Minnesota State Fair Third Place C&H Cake Decorating Contest

The theme was the 100 year anniversary of the Grandstand so I took the logo for the front design and made the seating chart with the royal icing lattice work .

Isanti County Fair First Place

Goddess of the Lake Legend

Ms. Muse was fascinated with the Lake Goddess legend. She likes to repeat the local folklore to anyone who will listen.

Reverently Ms. Muse begins her story, “It is told that a long time ago a young girl was paddling a canoe to meet her lover in the village aross the lake, but before she could reach the other side a violent vortex appeared out of nowhere and swallowed the canoe whole. Unfortunately the young maiden was never to be found.

When the young girl settled to the murky bottom the lake creatures told her that she was not human after all, but actually the Goddess of the Lake and she was accidently netted as a baby by her wicked family. The ill-mannered father decided to keep her instead of releasing her back into the lake, because he thought she might have special powers. He hoped to use her talents for his own means.

In the meantime her young lover was so distraught when he heard the news that he ran to the edge of the lake and prayed to the gods for help. It is said, because of one tear that fell into the lake during his prayer, the predestined Goddess of the Lake is granted the ability to appear once at the beginning of summer as a water spout bearing the lotus flower in honor of her lover and those fortunate enough to see her are blessed with a bountiful year.”

FORGOT

It was horrible! Ms. Muse and I heard about her disappointment and determined that we needed to address it in some fashion so we created FORGOT.

She had had turned 70 years old and three of her children didn’t even call her to wish her happy birthday nor did they bother sending a card. They simply FORGOT their mother. The town had a celebration in her honor and the mayor created a proclamation commemorating that special day, but none of those children were present!

This incident distressed her until she actually FORGOT why she was upset.

Sweetie

I repeated the childhood poem. . .

What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice,
And everything nice,
That's what little girls are made of.

Ms. Muse snorted at the words. She couldn't believe I would repeat such drivel. And I agreed, but reminded her why we made Sweetie. It was to challenge everyone’s perception of sweetness and the feminization of sugar. This poem became favorable in a time when sugar started to become cheap in our society. While once upon a time sugar was revered for its economic factor and men became rich; it was a time in our past when one teaspoon cost more then an acre of land. A good homemaker would keep it locked away and knew almost to the ounce how much sugar was on hand. They even used a devise called a sugar nipper to cut off pieces of sugar from the packed hard cone shapes that were created to transport sugar.

When the production of sugar became cheaper so didn't its feminization. Now it is wildly believed that sugar, sweetness and women go hand-in-hand.

Ms. Muse snorted again and then pointed to Sweetie. "What do you think our intent is for this sculpture?" she asked.

"Why to point out how we wrapped our myths of sweetness and abuse into a neat package regarding women," I replied.

Again she snorted.

"Although Sweetie is desirable, next to the sugar nippers, she has become vulnerable and defenseless" I noted. “And because we covered her head, she has become a representation of all women.”

Ms. Muse agreed then closed the cabinet door because Sweetie became harder to look at in all her weak helplessness.

Field Trials

The day was perfect with white clouds floated in bright blue sky, wispy here, puffy there. The fields had tall stems of annual and biennial grass which waved in the light breeze. Shrubs and small trees provided the backdrop on the landscape as the gallery of onlookers moved down the path and handlers moved into position with their eager dogs. Artemis entered her dog in the Bird Dog Field trials which is a great way to get some off-season action. Field Trials offer practical demonstrations of a dog's ability to perform, in the field, the functions for which it was bred. Her dog is a beautifully trained animal which moved left, right, or forward or halted by whistled command. The bond between her and dog is a thing to behold, a true joy!

Winter would not let go...

Ms. Muse and I hadn't seen Demeter for quite awhile so we were going to surprise her the other morning with coffee and bagels.

Spring was a long time coming this year as Winter held on to its last long death rattling breath. Just what were we thinking??????????? Why we would have found her in her kitchen was beyond us. Of course she was out in the fields planting her crop of wheat.

We met her on the back 40 and she stopped plowing when she saw us. We had a morning picnic sitting in the fresh turned earth, and enjoyed each others company for the hour, sipping coffee and nibbling on the bagels.

She was held against her will....

We watched the news avidly looking for some answers, but none came. Ms. Muse and I were beside ourselves as they held our dear friend Libertaria the goddess of Freedom as a hostage for several weeks now.

The last communication was over a week ago and we feared for her life. What would humanity succumb to if she died?

She Needs Some Sunlight

Aega was the Harlequin Sun Goddess but her reign did not last very long because she was the daughter of the sun god Helios, she was hidden away during the attack of the Titans so that the enemy wouldn’t compromise her loveliness.

Ms. Muse, found her wandering the garden in circles. She had gone quite raving mad from being locked away in a cold, dang underground room for so many years. But since Ms. Muse knew her circumstances, she took pity on her and made sure she went out to the garden every day to help get some color back into her pale cheeks.

A Long Trip to the Rocky Mountains

Ms. Muse went on a trip and visited the Rocky Mountains. When she got back I could believe what incredible shape she was in thanks to the mountain bike she purchased. She really enjoyed herself and brought me back a “snap shot” of her escapades.

Persephone

Hades had abducted Persephone. Her mother, Demeter, was consumed with rage and sorrow and was determined to demonstrated her anger by punishing the earth’s inhabitants with bitter cold and blustering winds. When she told Ms. Muse about the kidnapping, Ms. Muse followed their route and came upon Persephone immediately after the horrible rape. She quickly took control of the situation and called the police and an ambulance. There was considerable commotion about letting Persephone leave the underworld for treatment, but Hades didn’t stand a chance when the police arrived.