It's A Piece of Cake!

I've been decorating cakes as a business for about 3 years.  Anytime I'm perusing the internet for ideas, I always enjoy the tutorials with step by step pictures showing how a cake goes from the batter to the finished product.  So I thought it would be fun to do my own version of that.  


My latest cake was for a wedding that had a very unique theme to it - peacocks!  I had a lot of fun planning and making this cake and the bride and groom provided me with some beautiful accessories to finish the cake off.  


The couple wanted a three tiered, fondant covered cake.  Each tier was vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream in between the layers.  So this is how it started out:

This is the bottom tier - 12" round and 4 layers high - I think it was probably at least 5" high.  Each layer is sandwiched together with buttercream.  I then put a crumbcoat of buttercream over the entire cake and cover it with fondant:

The holes are special hidden pillars that will help in supporting the other tiers.  I cut them to fit - just slightly higher than the top of the cake.  


On to the next tier!  The next level is a 9" round cake.  The middle and top tiers are placed on special separator plates that have little "feet" on the bottom that are designed to fit inside the hidden pillars.  The weight of the cakes are then supported by the pillars instead of the cake itself which eliminates any bulging and settling that could occur if you were to just place one cake on top of the other.  

The same crumbcoating and fondant covering process is repeated with the 9" and the 6" top tier.  Then they're all stacked together making sure the feet of the separator plates lines up with the holes of the pillars.  

Now comes my favorite part - accessorizing!  First I put the wide ribbon around the bottom of each tier:

Then I add the topper and the two peacocks - mostly so I can get an idea of how it's going to look.  I'm also going to be adding a paisley pattern with peacock colors and I need to know where the peacocks will be sitting so I can plan my paisley accordingly.  

Next, I begin cutting out the paisley patterns - I used a leaf cutter set which has 3 different sized cutters meant for leaves.  I just rounded the bottom instead of leaving it pointed which gave me the perfect paisley shape.  I used a combination of lime green, purple and teal:

Next step was to color some of my icing teal for the dots that were going to be around the paisley patterns.  I used the teal Wilton gel color:

So after "gluing" the paisleys on with icing, I added the finishing touches and hot-glued some thinner ribbon around the sides of the cake board.  And just like that, you have a finished, 3-tiered wedding cake all ready to go :)

The "fruits" of my labour

Strawberry season is here!  Nothing says "summer" better than fresh picked berries.  Some friends of mine and my kids went berry picking at a local patch this past Wednesday and it was great.  I usually pick a LOT.  I freeze some, I bake with some but I mostly make jam.  So I decided that I needed about 32 L of berries to make this work.  If you've never made jam before, it's really quite easy.  It may seem daunting but it's not hard at all.  I was fortunate to have a mother who showed me how to do this delicious tradition.  And I thought I would share it with all of you :)

This is what you will need to make your own delicious jam:
9-10 cups hulled and washed fresh strawberries
1 pkg Certo Light pectin crystals (available in most grocery stores around the sugar)
4 1/2 cups white sugar
250 mL or 500 mL glass mason jars with rings
5-8 canning lids (usually found around the mason jars)
potato masher
measuring cup
Large stock pot
wooden spoon
ladle
canning funnel


1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F.  Wash mason jars thoroughly with soap and water and place in preheated oven.  This is to sterilize the jars.  They need to be in the oven for 10 minutes and then you can shut the oven off and leave them in there while you're making the jam.  

I use 500 mL jars and I usually get 4-5 jars worth of jam but if you were to use the 250 mL size, you'd get around 8-9 jars worth.  

2. Wash strawberries thoroughly in a colander or in your sink.  The berries we picked were so nice and clean already that there wasn't a whole lot of work in this step for me :)

3. Crush strawberries one layer at a time.  I do this in a large 8-cup measuring cup but you could do it in any container and just dump each layer into a measuring cup after you've crushed them.  You need 6 cups of crushed berries which is about 9-10 cups of whole berries.

 
4. In the meantime, take your BRAND NEW lids (don't ever reuse lids that you may have used on other jars before as the seal will probably not work properly and you will have spoiled all your hard work!) and put them in a small pot with some water.  Heat the water on the stove but don't bring it to a boil.  

5. Dump crushed berries into a large stainless steel stock pot.  You don't want it any more than 1/4 full of berries because it will bubble up a lot.  

 6. Open the Certo Light package and dump into a cereal bowl sized container.  There are many pectin products out there but I prefer using Certo Light.  It uses something like 40% less sugar than the other Certo pectins (regular and liquid varieites).  I'm not a huge fan of sugar to begin with but I'd much rather have that than the pectins that are made with artificial sweeteners.
Mix this with 1/4 cup of the sugar and dump into crushed berries.  Stir well.  Turn on the heat to almost maximum.  Stirring constantly, bring to a boil.  Once it's boiling, add the remaining 4 1/4 cups of sugar.  It's helpful to have this measured out beforehand.  

7. Return mixture to a full rolling boil (where the bubbling cannot be stirred down).  At this point, I turn it down to medium and STAND BACK! hahaha :)
It starts bubbling pretty fierce so make sure you turn it down to medium. 

8. Remove from heat and stir and skim the foam of the top for 4-5 minutes.  This prevents "floating fruit" from occurring in the jam where all the fruit floats to the top in the jars and leaves the jelly part on the bottom.  It also makes your jam look much prettier if the foam isn't in it :)

This is what it will start to look like after you've been "skimming" for a while

9.  Now it's time for the fun part!  Take your jars (using oven mitts!) out of the oven.  Place your clean canning funnel into one and start filling!  I like to use a ladle for this.  A canning funnel is really a must.  They're really cheap and make your canning life so much easier!  

 

 10. Once you have filled your jars to 3/4"-1" below the top, put on a lid and screw a ring on.  Make sure any drips are wiped off your jar.  As the jars cool, the lids will make a popping sound as the heat seals the jars.  They will keep for a long time in a cold storage or pantry and once they're open, they need to be refrigerated.

 
Go ahead a try making some jam!  It's really easy, you're not getting near the amount of sugar as many store-bought jams (or preservatives, colors, etc.) and it really does taste better :)  I'm not sure how many jars I made but I lost count at 35 :)  I should be good for a few months with that amount!

p.s. Just a tip - All these directions are on the paper insert inside the Certo packages.  Also, Certo recommends that you neither decrease or double the recipe because that could result in an undesirable consistency. 

Family

I recently made the decision to shift my focus at home from cake decorating (which I have grown to love) to 100% family.  As much as I will miss expressing myself through cake and icing, I'm so happy with the decision that has been made.  
I have had many people ask me the reason for stepping aside from cakes and there really are several.  But the main reason is that my family deserves all of me, not what I have left at the end of the day.  I heard a poem the other day and it's so fitting to my situation.  I'm sure many of you have been there too so I hope you enjoy it.  It's simply called "Family"

Family

I ran into a stranger as he passed by, "Oh excuse me please" was my reply.

He said, "Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said good-bye.

But at home a different story is told, How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal, My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. "Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said,

"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor, You'll find some flowers there by the door.

Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small, And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed; "Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked for me?" He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way." He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway."

I said, "Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

Becoming Apparel

This post is kind of a continuation on the thoughts of my last post.  Seeing as it's almost bathing suit season (how many ladies just shuddered? haha), I thought I would give a different spin on what most people think of as a horrible, self-esteem plummeting, awful experience - a.k.a. buying and wearing swimwear!

Now I have much experience in the area of hating bathing suits.  Ladies - be honest - how many of us have at some point or another (or still do!) wore a huge t-shirt and shorts as a "bathing suit" to avoid actually wearing anything spandex or revealing?  I know I have!  I've wore everything from a bikini (yes I do not want to go back to that memory hahaha), tankini, bathing suit with a skirt, and everything in between.  And not one of them did I like or feel good in.  Let's face it - bathing suits are nothing but immodest, unflattering pieces of "clothes" that most people feel they don't have a choice in  wearing because it's either that or forgo swimming ever again.  

Now this is something I have never been able to figure out - if a girl was walking down the street in nothing but her underwear and bra, she would be super embarrassed and people would wonder what on earth was wrong with her that she would even consider doing that.  But lets just do a little teleporting here for a minute and change the street to the beach - all of a sudden we don't call it a bra and underwear; we call it a "bikini" and it's totally fine and accepted.  The same with a tankini or one-piece: would you go walking around the mall wearing a tank top and your underwear?  Of course not!  Is it any wonder why most women feel completely uncomfortable on the beach in traditional swimwear?  I personally have always felt so uncovered and naked in a bathing suit and I secretly hope no one sees me as I make a mad dash to the water and then back again to my towel.    

So with that being said, I decided to do a little looking around for "alternatives" to bathing suits.  I won't lie - there are some very, um, interesting options to say the least  :)  But I was very pleasantly surprised to find something called a "swim dress" by Becoming Apparel (the name of my post).  The tag line on their website is "Modest, feminine, body-covering".  Now THAT'S what I'm talking about.  Being able to go to the beach and feel feminine yet covered.   So I bought one :)  And I love it.  It's so comfortable, flattering and dries really quickly.

There's a few different options but I love how they all look like a pretty sundress.  I got the one in the picture above in black and the black is definitely slimming!  There's also really cute ones for little girls that I got for Ella as well.  

This is what the homepage of the online store www.becomingapparel.com says:
"Becoming Apparel is excited to bring to you our all original Swimdresses.  The design and develoment of the swimdresses came out of a need for modest, body-covering swimwear that is also elegant, feminine and sophisticated.

For years I looked for something like this and never found it so I took the challenge myself.  Becoming Apparel is a dynamic company ready to change styles and colors to meet your needs.  I know that my swimdresses have put me "back into the water," as they have many other women around the world who thought their swimming days were over, because they refused to wear a swimsuit ever again.  I always say that, "I wouldn't be caught dead in a traditonal skimpy swimsuit, even the ones with skirts showed my 58 year old flab and cellulite.  That is why the Becoming Apparel swimdress covers below the knee or can even be pulled down below the calf in some cases if you desire.

We also have a travel dress out of the same durable, colorfast, wrinkle resistant nylon/lycra that is so versatile it can be worn many ways and lengths."

I encourage you, if you're like me and hated anything to do with bathing suits, to give this one a try.  Check out the website as there's lots of great information, testimonials and a video demonstrating how practical and great the swimdress is.  

Go ahead and REALLY enjoy the beach this year!

Fortunately it was raining today.......

Not something you hear many people say they're happy about unless they're gardeners who want the rain.  But today I was glad it was raining.  Let me explain why.

It seems that in springtime, people are getting anxious to get the summer clothes out in hopes for warmer weather.  It always happens that even when it's only a few degrees above zero, if it's sunny, you see people in their shorts and t-shirts.  But has anyone else noticed that as soon as the temperature increases, the clothing on many women DECREASES?  It's become a real noticeable thing for me in the past couple years.  It seems that less clothes is the trend and younger and younger girls are embracing this idea.  I can't even go into Walmart without thinking there should be an "R" rated sign on the door warning us of what we might see if we choose to go in.  Shorts are getting shorter, skirts are right up there too....shirts are getting tighter and lower cut, not to mention more see-through.  Why is it that even 10-15 years ago, if a movie or tv show had people in it wearing these types of clothes, it was deemed "not suitable for children" but now it's the children that are wearing those things.  

I feel so bad for women who feel that they need to dress in a provocative way.  As a woman who has been there, it all comes down to how much attention we get when we dress that way.  Some may say "I feel good when I dress this way" or "I look good in this so why not wear it?".  But if we're honest, it's about how much attention we're getting.  Men look, and we like it.  But is that what our self worth boils down to?  We should be looking to attract the attention of our husbands and if there is no husband, then we just need to be dressing in a way that doesn't cause anyone to have any kind of impure thoughts about us.  Because how would we feel if we were on the other end of it and someone else was dressing in a way to attract attention - and got the attention of our spouse/boyfriend, etc.  I personally don't want to cause anyone to give me attention that is meant for their significant other.

  

This is a quote I read on a blog recently "So then, think for a moment about messages clothes give… we all know it when a woman who is wearing immodest or suggestive clothing walks into a room.  The eyes of all are on her… she may or may not acknowledge it, but she knows it.  And if we were sincere, we would all admit to liking the admiration of  others.  But when that admiration causes  someone to stumble, it is wrong.  Again, our attire must not provoke lust in a man.  Men see things differently than we do and what might not be offensive in our eyes is probably provocative in a man’s eyes." 

So that's why I'm glad it was raining today....because people tend to be a little more "covered up" on days like today :)

What to do.....

To wean or not to wean….that is the question.  I’ve been debating what to do for a couple of weeks now.  I’ve always been (and still am) an advocate of nursing your baby for as long as possible.  I am also part of the “demand nursing” club so I’ve found that it makes weaning harder on everyone involved because it’s such a comfort thing.  And to be honest, it’s so convenient, there’s not a whole lot of effort involved and it works every time.  So I think that’s the part that’s holding me back.  I don’t want to give up the reliability of it.

This time around, it seems that I’m just tired - not physically tired....more emotionally tired I guess.  Maybe it’s because I’ve either been pregnant or nursing at some point every year for the last 6 years.  Or maybe it’s because nursing has never been easy for me due to a supply issue and I have to take mega doses of Fenugreek to even be able to nurse.  I figured it out the other day and I was kind of shocked – I’ve taken over 4300 Fenugreek  capsules in the last year just so I can nurse….yes, that really does say 4300 :)

Fenugreek has definitely been a lifesaver for me in terms of being able to breastfeed instead of formula feed.  And I am eager to tell anyone who will listen that it really does work!  I take 12 capsules a day and 1 bottle will usually last me 8 days.  At a cost of between $7.49-$10.00 a bottle, that’s definitely much more easy on the wallet (and on the baby!) than formula!

I also haven’t slept through the night in a couple of years and part of me says that if I wean and get rid of probably the only reason she’s getting up, I’ll be able to not have to get up twice every night.  Don't get me wrong - I have never been one to mind getting up to nurse my sweet babies but when it gets to a point that they're waking not because they're hungry but just waking to nurse out of comfort, then that's where I start getting wore out.  Then another part of me says that nursing is such an easy way to comfort when she’s teething and I’m at a loss to know what to do with a teething baby in the middle of the night who’s mouth hurts and just wants something to make it feel better.  

And then the one final part of me says “this is it…it’s the last time you’ll probably ever nurse”….not sure if I’m ready for that to come to an end.

Ah, decisions, decisions…..

The wonderful world of sprouts!

Something that we have started doing in the last few months is growing our own sprouts.  When sprouted, seeds give off more energy in the form of enzymes, vitamins and minerals.  Also, during sprouting, the starch is changed to simple sugars which makes them very easily digested.  Sprouting increases vitamin content many times over and also develops chlorophyll.  All these are great reasons to incorporate sprouts into our diet but one of my favorite reasons for sprouting my own seeds instead of just buying them at the store is COST.  

For the same price, you can buy one plastic container of alfalfa sprouts OR you can sprout 40-50 cups yourself!  Another benefit to doing it yourself is the variety of seeds that you're able to sprout.  We've tried alfalfa, buckwheat, lentil, clover, radish, mung beans, chick peas, sunflower and a great "sandwich booster" mix which is a combination of canola, clover and a couple of others.  
If you're wondering how to sprout, wonder no more!  All you need is:

A large mouth mason jar

 

A sprouting screen (available from www.rawnutrition.ca or your local health food store)

OR you can use an old nylon stocking or cheesecloth.

The Method:

1. Soak seeds for 10-12 hours, changing the water once.  
2. Drain water from jar through the sprouter (or nylon/cheesecloth) top
3. Fill the car with cold tap water and "rinse" seeds.  
4. Drain water through the screen.
5. Turn jar angled downward in a shallow container or on a dish draining rack.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 at least twice per day, more if the weather is hot.
7. Depending on the seeds, sprouting time will vary from 1-7 days.  Alfalfa, for example is 5-7 days and lentils are 1-2 days. 

I add these delicious sprouts to everything - salads, sandwiches, stir fries - whatever you can think of!  And if you are really interested in sprouting, you can get all kinds of special sprouting equipment and accessories.  Check out www.rawnutrition.ca for an amazing supply of seeds, sprouters and many more things! 

Let me know if you try sprouting and how you like it :)