I never would have thought that a cocktail could look like a bruise, but tonight I have succeeded in creating one. I don’t know if this is an accomplishment to be proud of, but here it is… the Black and Bloopy!
I bought this lovely little tub of Electric Lemonade Slush Mix from Tastefully Simple. Add water, vodka (I used Three Olives Loopy) and then stick it in the freezer. I did this a few weeks ago, and then promptly forgot about it. Then today happened, and today was one of those days that needs to end with a cocktail. After I hacked out enough to fill my glass I gave it a taste. Good but VERY sour! So I decided to add some grenadine for a little extra sweetness. The end result was a very good, although oddly colored alcoholic slushy.
This one is pretty easy! Buy some of this slush mix from your area Tastefully Simple rep (support your local business while you booze!), add water and the vodka of your choice per the instructions on the container and freeze! When serving, if you want your drink to look like its been in a bar fight drizzle in some grenadine.
I prefer jeans and sneakers to skirts and high heels. I have never (nor will I ever) worn a pair of stilettos. Your feet really aren’t meant to do that.
I would rather watch hockey than Dancing With the Stars. I was going to make NHL jersey cookies during the Stanley Cup playoffs this year. I had the cookies baked and everything, but I was too busy watching hockey to decorate them.
Me with Lord Stanley, many moons ago…
I’m not a fan of pink. I don’t scream at the sight of mice or spiders. I don’t get manicures unless I’m a bridesmaid in a wedding. I don’t spaz out when people bring their babies in to work.
I wasn’t even very girly when I was a little girl. Take my Barbie dolls for example. Yes, I had Barbies. No, they did not go shopping or go to fancy dances or get married to the perfectly coiffed Ken dolls. Barbie drowned in the Barbie pool. She hung herself from the second story of the Barbie house. Barbie fell to her death out the third story window of my actual house.
Barbie muerta (Photo credit: nicoventurelli)
Remember the Heart Family (Mommy, Daddy and two little toddlers – one boy, one girl) and the Heart Family car? They didn’t go for leisurely rides to the zoo. The Heart Family car was a plastic deathtrap on wheels hurtling down the stairs from my attic bedroom, smashing into the wall at the landing and sending Mr. and Mrs. Heart and their progeny flying in all directions.
The Heart Family – Kisses & Cuddles (Photo credit: Freddycat1)
I did have a heart shaped pillow with a picture of Dylan from 90210 (the ORIGINAL!!) on it and I like my cocktails sweet and fruity, so the girly-girl is somewhere there inside me – she just doesn’t come out that often.
I Love Dylan (Photo credit: emilydickinsonridesabmx)
Given all this, you can see why I would be amused by the fact that I have made not one, not two, but THREE girly baked treats in the past four days.
First up… Wedding Cake Cookies! A coworker’s daughter is getting married next weekend and she asked that I make cookies to put in the gift baskets she is making for their out of town guests.
Next, I attempted to make some hydrangea cupcakes I saw on Pinterest. For a tutorial on how to make these yourself, go here! These were to celebrate the birthday of one of my friends at work on Monday. They came out pretty good. When I was taking the photos my camera was choosing the flower macro setting, so at least I had Canon fooled.
Last but not least are the teapot cookies I made for my friend’s daughter’s Princess Tea Party 6th birthday shindig this weekend.
Okay, I’m gonna go blow up a Barbie doll or something…
Sometimes you have an idea about a certain cupcake flavor in your head but it can be difficult to find the right recipe. I don’t yet consider myself good enough to just completely whip something up on my own like the contestants on Cupcake Wars. Once, when I was a teenager I wanted to make microwave brownies but I didn’t have the cocoa called for in the recipe. I (mistakenly) thought I could use hot cocoa mix instead. Instead of gooey, chocolaty brownies I created the most foul-smelling thing to have ever come out of a microwave. So you can see why I don’t quite trust myself to just wing it.
A friend has asked that I make Rum and Coke cupcakes for her son’s 21st birthday coming up later in the month. Having never made them before, I wanted research some recipes and do a test batch. I found this recipe for Cola Cake, direct from the makers of Coca Cola themselves. I figured that would be a good place to start. I followed the recipe exactly, and then topped the cupcakes with a basic vanilla butter cream icing that I spiked with some Gosling’s Bermuda Black Rum.
I got to have some science experiment type fun, dissolving the baking soda in the buttermilk and watching it fizz up, and I ended up with a very tasty, slightly chewy around the edges cupcake that tasted NOTHING like Coke. : / The icing did taste like rum at least, but I was definitely not getting the Rum and Coke vibe. Back to the drawing board…
I found a recipe on Betty Crocker‘s website for rum cupcakes which I think I will try, and then I purchase a bottle of cola extract online which I will try to incorporate into the icing. I have never used cola extract before so if anyone has some experience with it and can offer some advice, I’m all ears!
As you can see, in the meantime I got my Rum and Non-Coke cupcakes all gussied up for the upcoming holiday! I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July! And here’s just a little bit of humor for the road…
