Mirror Icing - ho hum

Ok, so it's true I haven't been here for a while. Like, in years. But that's the thing with Google, no matter how long you go away, it never deletes you. Scary, but that's another topic.

Have a look at this;

So, what's the big deal? Well, I wanted to try this mirror icing thing that I saw on tv. Every recipe I saw was the same and I thought was waaaay too much icing for a 2 layer cake. And I'm here to tell you that even 1/2 the original recipe was too much. 

Here's 1/2 the recipe, and this will still give you about 2/3 of a cup of LEFTOVER icing after you pour it over a 9 inch 2 layer jobbie;

3/4 c granulated sugar
1/3 c sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c water

1 Tbsp gelatin
1/4 c water

1 c white chocolate chips
drops of food colouring

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a saucepan, place over medium heat and stir until simmering and bubbles appear on the sides of the pan. While you're stirring the saucepan mix, in a small bowl combine the gelatin and water so the gelatin can soften.

Once the saucepan mix begins to simmer, remove from heat and stir in the blob of gelatin.

Measure the chocolate chips into a bowl then pour the hot mix over the chocolate chips. Let it sit for about 5 mins for the chips to soften, then stir so they are completely melted. Stir in your choice of food colouring.

Let the icing cool to body temperature; place your wrist against the bowl and if it doesn't feel warm or cool then it's ready for pouring. Give it a stir because it may have formed a crust on top. 

So now what? Well, the cake awaiting should be cooled. I had made a 2 layer butter pecan with a cream icing as a crumb layer. Don't be impressed, it was a mix and a basic icing you can make in your sleep. When applying the crumb layer, try to get it as smooth as possible because every groove and ridge will be visible under the mirror icing. Anyway, the cake had been in the fridge for a while. When it was time to impress with the mirror icing, I put wax paper over our round pizza pan, put a coffee mug in the centre of the wax paper and balanced the cake on top of the coffee mug. Why? Because the mirror icing will drip down over the whole cake, and continue to drip for about 15 mins afterward. 

I slowly poured the icing over the cake and before I was finished the cake was covered. I had about 1/4 cup of icing still left in the bowl. Hmm, so glad I only made 1/2 the original recipe. Then it dripped and dripped AND DRIPPED some more, further adding to the left over icing. Oh well, maybe I should have had the mirror icing cooler than body temp so it didn't run as much. 

Once the cake had finished dripping, I used a spatula to clean up around the bottom of the cake and put the cake back in the fridge. The icing needs a while to set, convention says a few hours. 

A couple of things; the icing was easy to cut through so serving the cake slices was no different from a regular icing. However, it was sticky so when my son tried to remove a berry to give to Daddy, the whole strip of icing lifted off his piece; the mirror icing stuck to the crumb layer of icing and it all peeled off his piece of cake. No more passing berries. 

The verdict? Well.....I'm not sure. White chocolate chips are expensive and their wonderful flavour completely disappeared in the overall finished product. 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk called for in the recipe used less than 1/2 the can so now I've got to figure out what to do with the left over sweetened condensed milk. If this is the biggest problem in my life, I consider myself the richest person in the world, trust me. 

Uh oh, this is supposed to be a weight loss blog. See what happens when you disappear for years? You forget where you started. Well, I will say that I've always found it easier to Up the exercise rather than Curb the eating so yes, I recently added a little extra distance to my runs. Do the same if you can, it won't kill you. 

Blessings to all of you. 

Versatile (oatmeal) cookie recipe

....I really should do a blog specifically about cookies....

Anyway, here is another fantastic recipe that I found a few weeks ago. I made a few modifications to the original; I reduced the salt from the 1 tsp listed to 1/2 tsp; didn't bother adding the chopped nuts (we've never been a fan of nuts in our cookies); and I left out the step about shaping the dough into rolls, freezing, then slicing them to bake (who has the time for that???). And as with any recipe I make, I never put in all the sugar that's called for. 

The recipe is plain and entirely delicious on it's own. But you can zip it up by adding your favourite spice and get a new result every time. The first time I made them, I added 2/3 tsp ginger and they were amazing. Second time I made them, I put in a bunch of cinnamon and voila, a completely different cookie. Today I'll try a hint of cloves to see what happens. So without further ado, write this down:

Company's Coming Cookies      (Good Cookin' from the Kitchens of Richmond Hill United Church, 1988, p.260)

with some currents and cloves thrown in

Mix together;
1 c margarine
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
and add;
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Combine in another bowl;
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 c rolled oats
any spice(s) you like

Stir the dry ingredients into the first mixture, put dough on cookie sheets and bake at 350F for 15 minutes. The cookies spread nicely and give a soft, chewy result, guaranteed to be gone in a day or two. 

Remember; everything in moderation and having ONE cookie does not constitute criminal activity.  

12 ways to lose weight today

Hands up if you want to lose weight with absolutely NO EFFORT!!!!

Oh dear. 

Do you also want to get a university degree without studying, writing exams or paying tuition? Have a ton of money without working? (oop, that's me....). Want perfectly behaved children and a serene marriage?

While you wait for Nirvana when all those good things will come true without you lifting a finger, here are a few tips you can implement today to help you along on your weight loss journey. Because the reality is, a healthy weight and healthy life style does take a little bit of effort and discipline but the Earthly rewards make it all worthwhile.

12 Ways to Lose Weight Today

1. write down everything you eat. EVERYTHING. You're going to look at this list at the end of the day and if it's as long as your arm and full of things like chips and pop and natchos and cake then geepers creepers, Lesson Learned.
2. mark your calendar. This is Day 1 of your journey toward choosing healthy habits for a healthy lifestyle. You need to know your start date so you can celebrate your anniversary dates later. 
3.  IF you have dessert, have it earlier in the day and not late at night before you go to bed.
4. tell 2 people that you're taking action to improve your eating habits and health habits and tell them you're going to report in to them on a regular basis whether they like it or not. You need to be accountable to someone, they're your support team!
5. drink a big glass of water before each meal, even breakfast if you can manage. The water will help fill you up so you eat less.
6. take the stairs. And don't use the handrail unless you absolutely have to.
7. get off the bus before your stop and do some extra walking.
8. go whole wheat. Whole wheat bread, whole wheat rolls, whole wheat crackers. No more white bread allowed, even the "fortified" stuff. 
9. stop adding salt to your meals. If you're accustomed to putting salt on everything, stop cold turkey. Everything will taste awful for a little while but you'll be amazed at how quickly you adjust.
10. don't butter your bread or your toast or your rolls. You won't miss it, I promise.
11. add cinnamon where you can. Sprinkle it on your cereal, add a smidge to your coffee, get creative. Cinnamon is making the news these days for all the right reason so it's a good time to up our intact of this ancient spice.
12. lastly, buy one healthy item at the grocery store that you haven't bought before and DON'T buy one unhealthy item that you usually buy e.g. buy some snow peas if you've never tried them before and leave the Doritos on the shelf.

It's all about the little things you do because they make a big difference in the end.