For My Sweet Little Angel: Angel Cup Cakes

A while ago, I mentioned my “other” dog, Dorie. Technically she’s my parents’ dog, but every time I go home and get accosted at the door, I’m reminded of the very special bond that she and I share. I’ve wanted to write a post about her for a while because she had a near brush with death, but thankfully pulled through and I’ve had several recipes put aside just for her (all of them with “angel” in the title). Then I remembered that I hadn’t yet posted the birthday cake for the month of June and quickly pulled out the Birthday Cake for Every Month card to check what was next. Ironically, the cake on the card wasn’t listed in the New Party Cakes for Every Occasion booklet so I’d have to choose another cake from the booklet to substitute. And I found the perfect one: Angel Cup Cakes.

First Public Appearance: Chocolate Joy Cake, Milk Chocolate Cake, Cherry Torte, Swedish Shortbread & Blueberry Muffins

I apologize for the delay in posting my recap of The Found Recipe Box’s first public appearance. It’s been a crazy week and my scanner decided it didn’t want to work for a while!

Last Monday night, I did a presentation about The Found Recipe Box project for the Visual Journaling Collective at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. There were about 25 people in attendance at the meeting, including two very special guests: my husband and my mom. I got a surprise the week before when I found out my mom would be coming to help me bake and to watch the presentation. She was a huge help in the kitchen and it meant a lot to have her there because there was a lot I had to thank her for (click here to read about how she got me involved in art). 

A Lifelong Love For Animals: Pancakes

Father’s Day is today and I immediately knew which recipe I wanted to make in honor of my dad (besides the Hunter Dan Marble Loaf Cake, of course) – pancakes. When my brothers and I were kids and it was my dad’s turn to make dinner, we always had one special meal: animal pancakes. He’d spread pancake batter over the griddle into random shapes and we’d all hover around trying to decide which animal he’d brought to life. It was kind of like watching stories being told in the clouds as they drift across the summer sky.

Savoring Every Bite: Pecan Pie

Sunday night was the season premiere of Season 3 of True Blood on HBO. I got addicted to the show about a year ago when I started reading the books by Charlaine Harris that the TV show is based on. I’m currently reading book 9 in the series and it’s really hard to put down. I could have read the entire series in about a week, but I knew if I did that then it would be over and I’d have to wait patiently for Charlaine Harris to write another one (I really, really hope she keeps this series going, I love it!). So I made a deal with myself that I had to read one or more books between each book in the series. It’s been hard, but at the same time, reading each book is like savoring every bite of a really good dessert to make it last just a little bit longer.

Letting Go of Perfect: Perfect Sponge Cake

The Found Recipe Box will be making its first public appearance on June 21st! I’m a member of the Visual Journaling Collective at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts and the group coordinator, Roz Stendahl, has asked me to give a presentation about the project for the June meeting. I’m excited to share this experience with the group and even more excited to be able to share a bunch of the recipes! As I’ve been preparing for the presentation, it has caused me to do a lot of reflecting on my artistic past as well as my future.

I’ve always loved art, but I have my mom to thank for pushing me into pursuing it and making it a part of my life. My freshman year in high school, she encouraged me to sign up for a drawing class. From that point forward, art was a part of every semester’s class schedule. I was frequently frustrated with my abilities (or lack of, as I saw it), but during my junior and senior years of high school, I met an art teacher who would change my life in ways I didn’t realize until much later.

A Doll Cake for the Guys: Marble Loaf Cake

Not long after I completed the Queen of Hearts Cake, my family proposed the challenge of making a Hunting Cake. And I accepted. There wasn’t a recipe in the box that gave specific instructions on decorating a cake for someone who enjoys hunting, so I had to improvise a bit. But after a few months of planning combined with the lessons I’d learned from other recipes in the box, I had my idea for a Hunting Cake. And it came just in time to present it to my dad for an early Father’s Day celebration.