Normal days are not today

Normally i do not write about work... that is not B. Cooley that is just what i do... right?

Today is not any other day... i am on my 12 day count down... goodbye KB!  

Now i normally do not complain about customers crazy orders... 

I can deal with the carmel machetes when we don't sell weapons and the creamsicles even though we don't sell ice cream and the supersize my mocha when i don't work at McDonalds BUT i cannot seem to comprehend 2 orders given in the past 2 days.  

1) I made 2 caramel creamices (frappuccino's in america) i placed them on the counter as i called out the drink... the lady said "which one is the double double triple double caramel with double double whip cream?"  (Brittany remain calm) first i said i made them the same with an extra pump of caramel.  ... waiting response... oh but i asked for... Ma'am i don't know what that would mean.  I can only follow the recipe with slight changes or the drink will simply not come together.  The lid is only so big and i cannot fill it any fuller with whip cream.  I walk away... This my friends is unfathomable.  WHAT?  First of all here is a visual for you... this is what it should look like eh?

If i were to add double double whipped cream i would start here:

^

I cannot stack whip cream that high... correct?  Then if i add double double triple double caramel... where is this all going?  you want a literal cup of caramel with whip cream on top?  

2) I want an iced cappuccino

Do we all know how to build a cappucino?

The drink is half foam... you can't make cold foam... we explained this to the customer when they then said well make it hot and stick it in the freezer...

Good bye KB!  It's been real.

News

I DON'T HAVE A BRAIN TUMOR!

We still don't know what it is... but at least it isn't a tumor.  (Nick says "It's not a tuma" in the Arnold voice)

They told me i have a large hormonal gland ... what does that mean?  Is that the reason I NEED chocolate and cry all the time?  More tests to ensue... 

Catching up

We made this basket for friends who just had a baby, all the fixins' for pizza including dough

We also had our own pizza fun

Garlic Chicken and Avocado citrus salad

Did i tell you we received our bedding?  

LOVE IT!

Turkey spinach burger with Portobello bun, raspberry walnut salad and tortellini

Crab "won tons"

I used rice paper because the asian food store was closed... hence no won ton wrappers...

Beef Satay

Apple goodness

French Toast

Corn Chowder

Cajun Salmon

My first real poached egg

Mmm... Good Breakfast

Coconut Shrimp

Asian inspired soup

Chicken Caesar

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Birthday Nicholas

Swedish Pancakes

Chili Cheesecake

Buffalo Chicken Pita's

 

HOUSE CLEANING CHALLENGE

I decided to time myself doing daily chores and then i will try to beat my time...

Taking the clothes out of the dryer, taking the clothes from the washer and placing them in the dryer, starting a new washing load and folding the clothes that came out of the dryer:

5:48

Unloading and loading the dishwasher:

2:27

BUT where do all the socks go?

My parents will tell you that MY socks are probably at the bottom of the sheets... but for REAL Nick's socks?  WHERE ARE YOU?

Rachel remember our book...

I am in a funk lately... I am cranky all the time... 

We are reading Crazy love in our Bible study right now and it is making me wonder if i am so cranky because i am not giving up the reigns to my life... because i am still trying to run it.  I know i jack things up but ... eh... i should read some more.  :)  P.s. it is SOOO good.   (also check out his sermons on youtube lukewarm and lovin' it)

When do you draw the line with a job you don't like?  Do i stay with it EVEN LONGER and say "This is just a phase" or do i stop and search here for something i love even though there might not be options right now.  I miss America.

I am going to go take my large hormonal gland and eat some of the chocolates i bought myself.  (Half off, thank you after Valentines sale)  Thank you Russel Stover for giving me a chart of what i am eating in your lovely box, i do enjoy it!  I have also become the annoying person who takes a bite of each and puts it back in the box :)  

Have a great day everyone!

Ice Cream Sandwiches

I made some Valentines Ice cream sandwiches!

Nick LOVES ice cream, so here is my attempt.

I bought some Strawberry ice cream, let it come to room temp, and poured it into my 9x 13 pan that i prewrapped with saran a wrap.  I made a smooth layer and froze the ice cream again.  Then i removed the ice cream out of the pan by picking up the saran a wrap.  I cut the hearts with my cookie cutter and popped those back in the freezer. 

 

I made brownies...Here is the link i used for the brownies:

(I omitted the walnuts)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/outrageous-brownies-recipe2/index.html

When the brownies were cool, i cut them with the same cookie cutter and assembled the sandwiches.  YUM!

Marshmallows and Hot Chocolate

Hot Cocoa for two:
I made some Marshmallows to give with my hot cocoa valentines treats...

Here is the link for the Coconut Marshmallows:

Coconut Marshmallows

I colored my Coconut red before toasting it, and i also added red food coloring to the sugar while it was boiling.

Then, I cut them out with my heart cookie cutter (dipped in powdered sugar after each use to cut back on the stickiness)

Here is the link for the Hot Cocoa recipe:

Hot Cocoa Mix

I poured my hot cocoa mix into clear celophane bags and sealed them with my B.Cooley kitchen stickers (Thank you Santa) which you can buy here:

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Sugar Cubes and Lattes

For today's  project we have sugar cubes on the docket.

  I made these cubes by taking 6 Tbsp. sugar (per color) and 1/8-1/4 tsp. water and mixing that together with your prefered color.

  Spoon the wet sugar (should look like wet sand, clumpy) into your heart shaped cookie cutter, remove cutter and let the cubes dry.  It's that easy!

For more Sugar lumps, check out Flight of the Concords...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ozSSseCh3U

Valentines Day CARDS

Who doesn't love homemade Valentines?

Here is a fun website I found, yes, I totally copied the Owl!

http://familyfun.go.com/valentines-day/valentines-day-card

Spend $10 and some time, make a mess and have some good ol' fashioned fun making some Valentines like the pilgrims did. Okay, I am getting carried away!

I made 3 Valentines before i got distracted and had to straighten my hair... life is full of hiccups, do i spend enough time enjoying the interruptions or am i just annoyed with them?

Valentine cake rounds

With Valentines Day just around the corner, and my love of holidays, I decided to have a craft/baking project a day to get into the Valentine Mood! 

Day 1

Cake looking truffle things...

Bakerella calls them cake balls but that just sounds weird and unappetizing to me.

The link to the original recipe is here:

http://www.bakerella.com/red-velvet-cake-balls/

I didn't want to use cake mix, although maybe i should have because my cake wasn't red, it was mauve.  :)

Truthfully, i think it was because i used the $1, 4 color kind of food coloring instead of the good stuff.

I used Paula Dean's Red Velvet cake, here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/grandmother-pauls-red-velvet-cake-recipe/index.html

I baked the cake, let it cool in my large bowl, added the homemade creamcheese frosting, and mixed.

I used an ice cream scoop sprayed  with pam to make the balls. 

I froze them as the directions said, and rolled them in the chocolate.

I also made some MORE frosting and colored it to pipe on the X's and the O's. 

I made some lips and hearts too... they are not pictured for a reason! 

:)

Here is my finished product:

Come back tomorrow for more Valentines fun!