How It All Came Together

Tonight's little creation came together due to a few different things. For starters, Robert left again today which put me in a sad poopy mood that could only be alleviated by baking something. My initial decision had been orange cupcakes, random I know. But a friend suggested that maybe I should take a cupcake break -- which I thought "Why would I want to do that?" But a little break wouldn't hurt. Then while I was coming home from the airport, I stopped at Starbucks to get a green tea latte. Green tea is like my new thing now. And while I was driving I was thinking about how if I could just get my hands on some matcha powder (that's cheaper than $42) then I could make my own green tea lattes. Then I realized what an idiot I've been! Why the heck did I go to the health food store looking for green tea powder? I buy all of my Asian groceries at the Asian grocery stores, and green tea powder is Asian, so shouldn't I go to the Asian grocery store for it? Duh! So I decided to try the Korean grocery store just down the street and wouldn't you know it, they had TWO different types of green tea powder. And the best part is that they were $6! Can you believe it? Six dollars for an ounce and a half! So anyway, you would think that the first thing I'd make is a green tea latte. But I'd already had one today and I got too sidetracked. Or maybe more cupcakes -- but I just made green tea cupcakes. Instead, I made another recipe that I'd been eyeing - a green tea roll cake! Like a jelly roll (which I've actually never made), except with green tea and whipped cream. It turned out being really strong, like a VERY strong cup of green tea. But the sweetened matcha flavored whipped cream helps to tone the flavor down some. I thought it went perfect with a mug of hot water (is that weird? that I drink plain hot water?) I'm sure it'd be good with a glass of warm milk as well. I think if I make it in the future, I'd use a little less matcha powder and maybe a little more sugar for a bit of a sweeter taste. The roll itself turned out pretty good I think, considering it was my first time. It could've been prettier. Oh well. And as for my green tea latte, I'll be making one tomorrow for sure!

I should be sleeping. . .

But instead, I'm blogging. Why? I guess because I think I'll sleep better after I type what it is that I need to say. Not that I need to say much. Had a little get together at my house, which is basically just an excuse to cook, eat, chat (like us ladies do), and stay up late. :-) I didn't really go too overboard today. Just some spinach-artichoke dip, fried tortellinis, and a cafe caramel cake - which seems to be like an easy, Americanized version of tiramisu -- I guess. I feel like I should be blogging about the cake because I'm not gonna lie to you, that cake is GOOD! I got the recipe out of one of those Betty Crocker cookbooks that you end up buying while waiting in line to pay for your groceries because the front picture alone looks good enough to eat. And while there are a lot of other recipes in that book, I just keep coming back to this one. Maybe because it's just so darn good. Cake, coffee, dulce de leche, dark rum, whipped cream -- how can you go wrong?

But I've really been thinking lately just how much I love my deep fryer. Yeah, you read it right. I love my deep fryer. I'm bizarre, I know. The deep fryer first came to me by way of a gift. It was actually my mother-in-law's gift to us for our wedding anniversary last year. And while that does seem like a strange thing to give a couple to celebrate their wedding, I sure wasn't complaining. I'd been wanting one for quite a while. And let's be honest here, ever since I've started fryin up stuff, Robert hasn't been complaining either. Of course, I fry the normal stuff like chicken, french fries and onion rings, and I fry the fair foods like funnel cake and corndogs, and I fry the traditional southern favorites like okra and green tomatoes, and then I just start to wander off the map from there -- fried pickles, fried green beans, fried sweet potatoes, fried tortellinis. And now I'm starting to wander, can a person become addicted to frying? Am I gonna be one of those crazy ladies you see on T.V. ten years from now frying twinkies and chocolate chip cookies? They'll be calling me "The Fry Lady." Maybe I should start cutting down on the frying. After all, those tortellinis weren't really all that great. But they sure do look yummy, don't they?