Cakespy: Grilled Pound Cake

Friends -
I am in no way a cook or chef or baker or food-maker-friend.  I am none of those things.  But, I know some of you are.  And some of you can't eat gluten - so sorry about this post.  This just looked too good and easy to just keep to myself.

Get after it:

Jessie Oleson (aka Cakespy) drops by Serious Eats every week to share a delicious dessert recipe. —The Mgmt.



[Photographs and original illustrations: Cakespy]

Riddle me this: why should burgers and hot dogs have all the fun on your grill this summer?

They shouldn't, and here's the dessert to prove it: Grilled Pound Cake.

Simply butter slices of pound cake before putting them on either an outdoor or indoor stovetop grill, and let them get a little char. The nice part about this dessert is that it uses already-baked pound cake, so you can't under-bake it. The grilled toastiness of the cake makes it the perfect canvas for any number of toppings: I really enjoy ice cream and a seasonal fruit compote. Just be sure to prepare this before grilling meats, because you don't want to impart a burger flavor to your dessert!

Grilled Pound Cake »

About the author: Jessie Oleson is a writer, illustrator, gallery owner, and cake anthropologist who runs Cakespy, an award-winning dessert website. Her first book came out in October 2011; she is currently at work on her second book.

Get the Recipe!

Candy.

Does anyone really eat a full candy bar anymore?  I know they make the giant king sized awesomeness - but really that's just designed to make you popular at Halloween, right?  Seeing candy bars in the grocery store makes me wonder - do people buy them?  And if yes, are they over the age of 15?

 

I propose that the best candy bar is the Milky Way Midnight Dark, but, what say you?  There are no wrong answers here....unless you say "Bit O Honey" or "Salted Nut Roll" - because - what?!  NO. 

Summer

I know that summer is officially here because the lady in our office who is constantly updating people about the current weather said so.  Other clues have included:

- Evening trips to the pool with all my favorite party people.
- Seeing growth in the garden.
- Hot, sweaty yard work. For the record: thistle is the Tualatin of plants.
- Nearly weeping with joy as I ate a Lime Fruit Flo from Trader Joe's. 
- The fact that the only grass that's green is the patch under the trampoline where the "sprinkler under the trampoline" magic happens. 
- There are about 23 people at church each week - but it's never the same 23.
- Wearing flip-flops to work - and giggling about all the sucker-fools working at summer camps are wearing socks and closed-toed shoes.
- Going to a Cubs game and teasing people from Detroit. 
- I keep trying to turn the air conditioning in my car up to 11.

- The fact that I've got 3 pairs of sunglasses, each that cost $3.00 or less.

What about you?  Has summer arrived?  How do you know?

Sheet on the bed!?

Sheets are one of my causes.  I believe that everyone should have high quality sheets and frankly, that they should be ironed before they are put on the bed.  I'm sad to confess that I don't have the time to press the sheets anymore.  Obviously I don't sleep as well, but what can you do?

I also take pride in folding sheets and storing them in packets so that you can just grab a whole set at once, instead of having to rifle through the linen closet hoping to come up with a complete sheet compliment on laundry day.  I feel like I did a decent job with the fitted sheets, but they were always just a little off - until the other night.  Thank goodness for the interwebs and people who have enough time on their hands to make picture tutorials like this:

I was missing the critical step of folding the sheet in thirds!  Now - perfection.  WHEW.  I can sleep a little better at night on my scratcheldy sheets.

I will also say that I disagree with this style of sheet storage:

Trying to slide the whole bundle into one of the pillowcases seems like so much more work, plus - you have to rummage through the pillowcase to ensure that everything is there.  I say nay, Martha.  Also - who has THAT many extra sheet sets?  Really?!  Really.

Images via:
stephmodo
marthastewart

Turn it DOWN!

As an old lady, my music taste is pretty focused and limited.  I don't like music that is hard to listen to or that will make my ears bleed or my head hurt.  Certain people in my life take great delight playing music that fits that exact description, just to get my tortured reaction.  And let me tell you, I never disappoint.  Rolling eyes, groaning, incredulous looks, begging for it to stop - I give it everything I've got.

You can imagine how excited I was when I found Everyone's Mixtape. 

Being old enough to remember a mixtape is sort of required to get the full scale of the awesomeness of this web based playlist sharing experience. 

The interface is very smooth and user friendly.  Just click on one of the tapes on the side or browse and then the tape plays the whole thing!  No need to turn the tape over.  Anyone can anonymously create a playlist or add to other mixtapes.  Then you can pick the type of songs you're looking for - driving, relaxing, cleaning, running - you get the idea.

I know - I know...

I know that I have no real credentials as to be telling you what to watch - since I barely watch about 2.5 hours of TV a week.  BUT: you should watch Sherlock.  If you like any kind of clever television, this show will not disappoint.

There are a total of six 90 minute episodes - the first three available on Netflix, the other three on PBS.org or via iTunes.

Once Downton Abby was done, I needed something to fill the Anglophile hole in my heart.  Sherlock was the perfect answer.  Oddly though - I ended up watching the last two episodes first, so it was all a little jumbly for a bit.  But THEN: I got strep throat during my trip to visit my family.  Getting strep throat was awful for so many different reasons - but since I play the Glad Game like Pollyanna, the only good news was that I could lay in my mom's bed and watch Sherlock for hours.   But really - that was the only good thing.  Missing out on being with my family was bollocks.  Even worse was knowing that I'd kissed my brother's baby Wyatt - a lot.  But again, the good news is that Geoff and Alexis are still willing to talk to me, so I don't think I gave my nephew amoebic dysentery.  And that's the dog's bollocks!

A word to the wise: I had spotty WiFi while trying to stream an episode when I was waiting for a flight in the Phoenix airport recently and so I will say to make sure you have a strong connection to the interwebs if you're going to stream it.  Trying to watch a mystery when every 2 minutes the video buffers will likely make you fully insane.

Time for fun in the sun...

You have to understand that for someone who sits in an office five days a week and watches the seasons change, I get pretty excited about things OTHER PEOPLE could do in that weather.  I found this super fun, if not random, idea for some backyard fun:

 

Bobbie Byrd over at Clumsy Crafter created a water blob that could be several hours worth of fun, for very low cost or long term impact on your lawn.  She provides the clear and simple directions in her photo tutorial so - go check it out.  Or just make a giant Slip'n'Slide - because I'm so totally there.

On the move...

So - apparently mobile blogging of the future has arrived. Blogger now has an app (I promise this blog won't always be about awesome apps)! Now I can blog from anywhere. Aren't you glad?

In other news: I got a new bike!! A pink cruiser with a pink basket. And apparently riding a bike is still fun. Especially when you're riding to the gas station to get chocolate milk.

Are you a bike rider? Do you want to be in my bike gang?

Personal Policies

I've been  thinking a lot lately about my personal policies - things that are already decided so that when the situation arises, I don't have to think about what to do and I just put the plan in motion.  Here's a few of the policies from the Encylopedia Chanelica:

1. If my mother is ever in a coma, I will give her two weeks without pressure to wake up.  During this time I will play America's Funniest Home Videos for her.

2.  If I ever came across someone in the woods laying face down, I would first crack their back and then check to see if they needed help or were dead.  (NOTE: If you ever find me laying face down - anywhere - you can assume you should just crack my back.)

3.  Dinner reservations are always under the name of Judy.  And if they need a last name it's Juderson.  This is true if you're just waiting for a table at Red Robin - JUDY is the name.

4.  If there is a new face at church, I will do everything I can to go and speak to the owner of that face and welcome them and get their scoop.  Sometimes people sneak out too quickly - or there are too many people that day, but I will not let my own laziness prevent me from extending a greeting to someone new. 

5.  I will be ready for any game of "Let's Make A Deal" by keeping random crap in my purse at all times.  No joke.  I keep all kinds of random bits and bobs in my purse and wallet just in case Monty Hall shows up and is willing to trade $100.00 for a band-aid, a nail file, and a mint.

What are your personal policies?  I'd love to hear...really...

A note from me to you

I'm not sure how much I believe in Karma overall - but I do believe in mail karma and missionary karma.  I firmly believe that good mail will come to you if you send good mail out.  Bills will find you either, way - so whatevs.  I love to send mail and to get mail.  It just brightens my day to have put a card in the mail - or to open a sweet note from a friend.  But sometimes I don't have all the stuff in the same place when I'm ready to send a thoughtful note or acknowledge a big accomplishment.  This is where Paperless Post comes in.  They have elegant digital cards and stationary and invitations so that you look like a class act, even if it IS technically an e-card.

Everything is customizable and I think I've talked about Paperless Post before - but now they have an app for the iPhone!!  (I don't know about other alleged "smart" phones - you know where my loyalties lie)  This app allows you to customize cards and notes - including pictures from your phone making them extra personal and extra awesome.  The app will also allow you to see all the items you've sent out via the website.  Now, I will say that the app is still in beta testing, so maybe more features will be coming.  But for now - do yourself a favor and send a note to someone today.  The first person you think of, just send them a quick note or e-card or actual real live mail.  The card doesn't have to be fancy, but the message will have a big impact. I PROMISE.

PS - if you're sending me a card - please include when you're coming to visit me.

Purse Burrito

So - let's just start with this: the purse burrito.  Hopefully this is a concept you all understand and embrace, but if you don't regularly enjoy a purse burrito we need to get you on the bandwagon!

A purse burrito is typically the last two inches of a giant overstuffed burrito from Chipotle that you have wrapped up and saved in your purse (or biznatchel if you're a guy) until later in the day when you're hungry again.  Genius, no?!

I guess you could have this burrito from anywhere, but the original purse burrito was from Chipotle and if you know me at all, you understand how I feel about tradition and honoring one's heritage - but I digress. The original purse burrito came into being when my friend Reyna had regular appointments with her midwife which was pretty much adjacent to a Chipotle - so we would meet for lunch whenever she had an appointment.  And then those burritos would be just two inches too long.  Too much left to just toss, but just enough to make you sick.  You see the dilemma.  I'm sure you've been there yourself.  You feel my pain.  One day I just wrapped up that last two inches and stuck it in my purse.  And you'd better believe that I was a hero when we were at Costco that evening and I was able to hand my pregnant friend a perfect little burrito snacklet.  It made me laugh to be eating a burrito that I pulled from my purse, but I was also grateful, because I was hungry - and somehow a purse burrito is almost better than the fresh one you ate earlier.

I currently have a purse burrito working and it will come in handy tonight at the little league game that I anticipate lasting many hours.  So - if you're around and need a snack, I'm happy to share.

What if it DID come back?  With posts and links and randomness?  Would people really read it?  Would I remember how?  We shall see what we shall see.