Faux Foodie- Eton Mess

Since life is strange right now, I have nothing relevant to post right now... so instead a re-post/edit of one of my favorite desserts

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ETON MESS

Eton mess is a type of dessert that I have seen around the internet many times and thought: Yum!

I looked at a number of different recipes and adapted them for this experiment. Luckily I had my mom to assist in this culinary venture.

First, the day before we planned to make the actually dessert, I made a batch of meringues.

(2018 note- I have gotten so much better at making meringue cookies, these look sad in comparison)

They do not look perfect but they taste great and anyway they get crumbled.

I used the same recipe that I made for the Les Miserables meringue cookies for the Tony awards. I just didn't use a bag to form them, I just plopped them onto a baking sheet with a spoon. I used this recipe.

Homemade whipping cream

This is my mom's specialty. It is basically heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla whipped together for what seems like ages. She doesn't even need to measure the ingredients which makes it difficult to share her recipe.

The recipes I read online for Eton Mess kept calling for double cream. I have never seen double cream in any store around here so heavy whipping cream seemed like a good substitute. Plus we use the homemade vanilla that we started a few years ago. Its a bottle of Vodka and split vanilla beans that sat in the dark and was shaken once a day for a few months until it became the best vanilla ever.

The other ingredient for Eton Mess is strawberries. Most recipes called for these strawberries to have sugar added and let sit until they became a sugary syrup. Some recipes said to smash the fresh strawberries.

We just bought a container of frozen strawberries already in sugar and called it good. We only had a few hours that she could hang at my house that day so some skimping was required.

Gathering all the ingredients together we started layering them in our glasses. A layer of crumbled meringue, some whipping cream, strawberries and repeat. 

The verdict: Delicious

 I do not know if this would be considered authentic Eton Mess. Regardless they came out so good. 

Tony Awards 2018 Cookies and Cocktails

This will be a brief post, but I managed to make some Tony Awards cookies and cocktails this year.

Last year life got in the way, but since 2014 I have made something for the Tonys.

I will link to the past Tony Food posts at the end of this post.

Unfortunately, as I was making the frosting for these cookies, the hand-mixer broke. So the Frosting isn't the right consistency and looks a bit wonky.

Well honestly, they just look wonky this year, but I tried. 

I went with My Fair Lady, Mean Girls, Spongebob Squarepants, and Carousel for the cookies.

The cocktail on the left is Pink Panties (Re-titled Wednesdays We Wear Pink) for Mean Girls

The right one is Polyjuice Potion for Harry Potter: The Cursed Child  

Past Tony Blog Posts:

Tony 2014

Tony 2015

Tony 2016

A Night out in T-Town to see Depeche Mode

I was very lucky and my former boss managed to score me a pair of tickets to see Depeche Mode at the Tulsa BOK center. So of course I made it a full night out with one of my best friends, SCB. 

We started the evening with dinner at Joe Momma's. I went to the old Joe Momma's years ago before the fire. This is the new version that just opened this year I think. I was a fool though, I ordered a Buffalo Chicken pizza. I like buffalo chicken wings, but I always go with the mildest sauce. This pizza was not mild. I also had my first ever cider drink...two actually because the pizza was so spicy that I downed them both. 

Apparently cider is stronger than beer, which I only found out after I was a bit drunk. After eating and my drinking we walked to the BOK center and stopped by MixCo to grab one last pre-show drink.

The drink was called "Basic Bitch," basic bitch pics were taken.

The only other time I have been to the BOK center was for a MUSE concert a few years ago. The 2nd Law tour. MUSE is the best live band I have ever seen and I have been lucky to see them twice now.

Onto Depeche Mode. 

I know a few Depeche Mode songs. The big radio hits. But this band has been around for decades so I really wanted to see them. While I may not have known that many of the songs they played, it was a good show. The front man, Dave Gahan, is mesmerizing. His dancing and on stage persona is like Mick Jagger, but without the smugness and duck lip strutting. 

I did manage to film the first song of their set. Not the greatest video, as we were seated to the side, but you can still see his dance moves. 

Some times I get to go out and do things with people I care about and have fun with and I realize that I am pretty lucky. Yes there is some crap in my life, but wandering through the streets of Tulsa with one of my best friends after a show and the full moon above us, things just seem good.

Friends, Pie, and Swords

Friends are few and far between....

It has felt like that for so many months. Yet, in the last few weeks, when I needed friends the most, they appear.

People I have known most of my life start texting and messaging me. Anything from random conversations, memes, to wise words. People who I have only met a few times have sent me messages of encouragement or invitations to come out and play. And the friends who I love best have just been there.

This weekend has especially been fun and I really needed to get out of my head.

Pie, Mayfest, Blue Dome, and more Food

Tulsa's Art Deco is beautiful

I have lived less than half an hour from downtown Tulsa my entire life and I have never made it to Mayfest and the Blue Dome festival.

Finally this has been accomplished.

I met up with one of my best friends, S.C.B. (Not going to put her real name here just in case), for pie night at Antoinette's in the Brady Arts district. This has become a thing for us. Pie and talking about the craziness of our lives.

I wish I had pics of the pies. The Mile High Chocolate pie is AMAZING. I need to go to their cake night sometime soon. This place is a must for dessert lovers.

Then we wandered through Mayfest and the Blue Dome festival. At one point we walked away from each other and took some "pretentious selfies" near an art installation. Once we realized we had both done the exact same thing, it just reaffirmed my love for this girl. Sometimes you just have to have fun and be a basic bitch. Although I came to the conclusion that we need one of those arty friends that always take cool pictures of their friends.    

We ended our outing at this restaurant in the Brady Distinct called Lotus. A mutual friend of ours has been raving about it on social media and the food always looks so good. Gotta say the Drop sandwich was worth the hype. I'm not a big eater when I go out, but I scarfed that down! 

So of course I had to text our friend to agree with her on her reviews. 

Which led to Saturday's adventure...

Stage Combat Workshop

Our friend managed to talk me into attending this Stage Combat workshop at Woodward Park. It was an all day event and I thought I had cleared my schedule only to learn at the lunch break I had to leave. Probably for the best in retrospect since I am still in pain. 

Also Oklahoma weather is insane. We started at 8 AM. It was either brutally hot or raining. 

Nothing like hearing thunder when you are standing in the middle of a park holding a sword. Essentially, a group of moving lightning rods.

It was intense but fun. I mean, I got to play with a sword!

Let me just take a moment to brag about the theatre company that put this workshop together.

Theatre Pops (click the link to go to their page) is a local community theatre group that I have had the privilege to work with both as an actor and as stage crew. I have seen many of their shows as well.

This is a company that is bringing innovation to Tulsa's theatre scene. They do not shy away from different types of plays, yet they don't do it just to push boundaries. They also try to offer opportunities like this workshop for the actors of Tulsa. 

Keep an eye out for Theatre Pops productions. This is a company that loves theatre and you can see the passion of the cast and crew on stage.

Oh and I graduated from OU! 

I have mentioned this in my last post, but I got this package sent to me with graduation things. Getting the degree holder and seeing my name in the program finally makes it feel real.

It has been a tough two years. And I am struggling to figure out my next steps while also repairing other things that I screwed up along the way.

But at this moment, with the support of those few wonderful people who are in my life, I am optimistic.

Mostly.

Cusp of Change

For the past two years, I have been in college mode. Now it is over. What do I do? 

I haven't written a blog post in over a year. Right now I am debating if I want to star this again. Most of the bloggers and readers I knew before have gone on to do their own things as well. So do I pick up where I left off, do I re-brand and start over, or do I just let this die a natural online death?

At this moment I am going to use it.

This blog was always a way of taking my focus from the mundane or the general crap of my life. 

Today I will use it to clear my mind.

I have finished school (at least unless I eventually decide to get a Masters).

Two years of non-stop work. So many essays, peer-reviewed articles, video lectures... and now it is over. 

And it is bloody anticlimactic.

I don't know what I was expecting. I didn't go to graduation and maybe that is a part of this feeling of discontent.

But I just feel let down and lost.

There is also the feeling of fear and dread coursing through my veins. I have some major life decisions I will have to make soon. I am on the cusp of change and I hate it.

Some people would look at this as an adventure or the natural progression of life.

These people are not fuck-ups like me.

Really, I cannot think of one major life decision that I have made that did not impact me negatively. My track record is bad...very bad.

Yet, choices will have to be made. My only hope is that once I realize how badly I mess up, I'll be able to fix things to a tolerable level. 

And now for this blog.

I loved that I used this blog as a reason to bake or cook interesting things. I like that it gave me a place to discuss books, TV, and films.

So perhaps until I know for certain what I want to do (revamp it maybe, or start over), I'll try posting again once a week.

Everyone needs a creative outlet 

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

My classes for the Springs semester start next week. I am taking 3 classes per 8 weeks, more than full time. Which brings up the question, should I stay or should I go?

I could once again put this blog on hiatus, only posting when there is something really worth writing about and when I have the time. The alternative is just to walk away from the blog indefinitely.

I started this blog almost three years ago when I needed an outlook to try and create something positive in my life. Through this blog I discovered the Iggles (The International Geek Girls Pen Pals) and other delightful geek girl bloggers. I am grateful to these wonderful people who helped me get through a rough patch in my life. Internet friends are the best.

But right now I am I am facing a fork in the road, so to speak. I do not really have as much time to focus on making this blog fun and interesting. I haven't been as active in the blogsphere with other bloggers like I used to be. Also my on again off again hiatuses have made it so that many of the people who used to read this blog are no longer there. 

There are many reasons to just end this. I ask myself "why am I still trying to keep up with this silly little blog?". If I want to blog again in the future I could always wait until I have the time and the resources and just re-brand myself. Yet that feels like giving up on something I have worked on for a few years. Leaving behind something that was so helpful to me when everything else in my life was going wrong. 

The question is still there, should I stay or should I go?

I am not sure what the long-term future of this blog will be. For the time being I am just going on hiatus again with possible posts here and there.

Netflix Picks- January 2017

I haven't made a Netflix Picks post in awhile.

As always, the following picks are on Netflix USA as I am writing this. I have no clue how long they will be available.

Sense8 Christmas Special

I have mentioned my love for this character driven realistic sci-fi show before. Last month they released a Christmas special and will start the second season in May. This would be a great time to catch up with this interesting show.

Captain America- Civil War

I am kind of shocked how quickly this came on Netflix. I absolutely loved this movie. I own the DVD. All the Stucky love here.

Trainspotting

The insane cult classic is getting a sequel this year. If you having seen this film now is the time. Fair warning there are some disturbing scenes...sex, drugs, the worst toilet in the world.

Amelie


Sometimes you just need to watch something light and fun. How about the classic Amelie. Yes it is in French, but that is part of the appeal.