Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Missed It Miffed

Have you ever seen Nim's Island? Its a fine show about a girl and her father, a scientist, who on a secluded tropical island, and a muti-phobic author who comes to their rescue. Rescue? You may ask. From what? Well a group of pirates has discovered the island while Nim's father was away. Now these pirates have the dastardly plan of making Nim's island a tourist cruise destination.

And there Nim is, trying desperately to fend off the interlopers. To keep her island fresh and pristine and unique, and not homogenized like the tourists and pirates wish it to be (the tourists is very cliche/homogenized).

This is the best analogy I can come up with at the moment for my current quandary. TasteSpotting is such a wonderful site. It really does inspire me(as much as it intimidates me). It always has new new new cutting edge food ideas. Like the honey drops for tea. Little packets of honey gone hard candy for tea on the go. And some great insights on what to do with whats in season. Sometimes there's a prevaling theme... like cup cakes. There's always a lot of cup cakes.... but they're all different.

But once each month a tidal wave hits TasteSpotting. A huge massive two-page-or-so wave, of sameness. A different color different shape different presentation... but all the same. Like the wave of tourists flocking in like they own the place, blasting away the uniquity, the mood, the moment, of TasteSpotting.

I'm being a bit dramatic... but really, I feel it to be incredibly brash. We all have a place in TasteSpotting. Its in our lives, our hearts, our blogs (and generally also in our stomachs). But bakers.... we're to big of a group to fit into TasteSpotting. We have our own site. We have our own blogs. And we have our own following. We don't need to all of us at once go out and hostile take over the mainstream food blogging epicenters and strut our stuff at them.

I love it all, but everything has its place.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Promised Puffs

About a month ago I told my mother I should bake some cream puffs for her office. She too thought it was an excellent idea, but then life interfered. I can make them Monday night and fill them for you in the morning! Or so I thought. Well, this being the same week I'm baking cakes for intermission at the play I'm also acting in... I didn't get around to it. So then next week. Nope. Week after? Maybe Monday and even Tuesday too are bad days to do it, I realize.

All of a sudden, I decide that asking what day would work best for them would... well... work best. So Friday I decide. Sadly when this was decided we left for Utah to visit family for a week. Sometime around then it occurs to me, I have no clue what the Daring Bakers challenge is this month. AND ITS ALMOST OVER! Eep! Less then a week, and I'm not even in my own kitchen till 4 days before it goes up! AND I'm leaving for Portland 2 days after I get back! And one of those is spent going to Idaho for a dentist appointment! And then I decide its also my only chance to bake some apricots fresh of my grandmother's tree.
Good thing it turns out to be Eclairs! I made them before I packed, the day I was leaving. I filled some with a caramel laced filling, and some with Splenda sweetened whipped cream for Val, who's diabetic.

And a chocolate glaze. (I mean look at it! Shiny Chocolate Deliciousness!)

Oh... and the folks we were staying with didn't have internet so I ended up not being able to post anyway.
-_- Forgive my repeated procrastination and lateness....