Cupcake Master...

It's been far too long since my last post. I offer my apologies. However, I have been a busy little bee in the world of cooking. Furthermore, I made a rather epic purchase via Craigslist and I wish to focus on that for a moment. Two weeks ago, I found a 6 quart, professional series, gunmetal Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. Retail value between $400 and $500. The former owner of the mixer received it as a gift and claims to have never even plugged it in. Well, my friends, I only paid $180 for this beautiful piece of kitchen equipment. I was in shock at the luck surrounding this whole ordeal. Things like this don't usually happen to me; though I don't think I can say that anymore. Go me!

In other news, I have found, and perfected the perfect white cake recipe. I made a cake for cake decorating class and brought it to work and all the people at Nashua Medical Group loved it. Last night, I made the batter into Cupcakes and filled them with raspberry jam. They came out so well.

I'm loving the Wiltons classes, I'm loving trying new and creative cake ideas, and I'm loving my new stand mixer, which I may name Doug. This may turn out to be a memorable summer.

Happy 40th!!!

Today's posting about my cake decorating class last night, marks my 40th post as the Nurse-Chef. I am very happy that I have been able to share these stories, recipes, and anecdotes about my life and my work with the 4-6 of you who probably already know all of it to begin with! Cheers to you, my readers!

Last night's class was awesome. We did very simple star techniques, learned about the different icing consistencies, and got some easy and useful insights and tips about the actual baking of a cake to make it taste good, and be optimum for decorating.

For our next class in 2 weeks, we each need to bake a cake, and bring it in undecorated. We need to make, from scratch, two batches of Wilton's frosting, and any filling we desire for the aforementioned cake. My poor mother's kitchen...it might not survive. By the way, did you know that if you add some meringue powder to frosting, it forms a sort of skin that helps to facilitate better decorating? I only just found out. This class is going to be very informative.

The Laughter Lives On...

In the early hours of this morning, actress Rue McClanahan died from a brain hemorrhage. She was 76 years old. And while this fact has nothing to do with my pursuit of food and nursing, I feel it is necessary to take a moment and acknowledge the life of this brilliant performer.

For those of you who have never heard her name before, Rue is most famous for her portrayal of the man-hungry, vivacious, Blanche Devereaux of the eternally classic "Golden Girls."

For me, the Golden Girls represented a funny and witty group of women who dealt with life after 50 and the struggles of what that meant during the mid-late 1980's and into the early 1990's. They were an award-winning ensemble that proved it was okay to not be the youngest, the prettiest, the thinnest, or even the smartest person in the world, that at the very core all you needed to get anywhere in the world was to just be who you are.

The show itself was probably one of the most important influences in my life. The "girls" helped me understand humor. They helped me to understand life, diseases, aging, making changes, and most of all that there is a St. Olaf story for every situation.

Rue McClanahan co-starred with Bea Arthur, who passed away last year; Estelle Getty, who passed away in 2008; and Betty White who is the last of the comic quartet, and who's career is seemingly endless as an actress, an activist, and writer.

Rue's passing will leave a hole in my heart, but it will be filled with the laughter that she helped to nurture and to kindle in the hearts of Americans, and people all over the world. God Bless You, Rue; and may the angels receive you with open arms. I will never forget your work, and the lessons you passed on. You will live forever in the laughter, and the laughter will always live on...

In Memory of Actress Rue McClanahan: (February 21, 1934 – June 3, 2010)

Droiding

I was graced today by the arrival of my new phone, a Droid Incredible. I am ecstatic over it's interface and functionality. I am blogging now directly from it and it is a much smoother effort when comparedto my old phone. UnfortunatelyI don't yet know how to create new paragraphs so this may very well look like one great run-on sentence. It is however, a small price to pay when thd end result is a highly intuitive operating system that allows me to blog and talk, text and chat, browse, update, and foursquare all at lightening speeds. I officially forgive Verizon for passing on the iPhone. I don't agree with the decision, but I forgive the obvious mistake. The Droid Incredible is all that, and a bag o' chips!