Bah, humbug!

[jmc_bks]

Helpful hint to anyone doing holiday baking: cocoa is worse than drywall dust to clean up...plus it leaves brown streaks that require a follow up wipe down. How did I learn this? Well, I spilled 2/3 of a cup all over the place last night while assembling Mason Jar Gifts. Why was I doing such a crafty thing, since I’m so not crafty? Being frugal, I decided to do a crafty gift for work people. Mason jars seemed simple enough and hard to mess up. Except my funnel was slower than molasses in January – I think I need one with a wider mouth. Except really, do I need a funnel at all? Not really. My handy dandy wet-dry measuring cup lost its grip (it’s a cup inside a plastic tube: use one way for wet, the other for dry) lost traction as I was preparing to dump the cocoa into the jar. Cocoa on the floor, on my favorite sweater, on the sink, the counter, the stove…. Oh, and cats don’t like cocoa powder on their fur, by the way.

I’m buying cheap token gifts next year. Screw the personal touch.

On a happier note, Mom visited yesterday for our early gift exchange. She gave me some little things, since my big present was a combo birthday-Christmas one (new bookshelves). She was very pleased with her gifts and sat down to start reading The Omnivore's Dilemma immediately. I'm pleased too, mostly by the one she expected me to like least: a framed black & white aerial photo of the farm we lived on when I was a child with a color photo of the front of the house.

Comments

[miladyinsanity.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I've done that too, with very very expensive Valrhona cocoa.

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

Next time (if you're crazy enough for a next time!), use wax paper as a sort of makeshift widemouth funnel. Unless you knock the wax paper off *while* you're pouring, you should be golden.

I've only done two batches of cookies so far, and already I'm sick of baking.

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I remembered that about wax paper when I got started, but didn't plan well -- had none at home.

How'd your cookies turn out?

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

My cookies turned out tasty -- my family will be lucky if there's any left for them by the time Christmas Day rolls around. I have the rest of this week off, so will be doing a lot (a LOT) more baking, though.

Baking *shudder*

[(Anonymous)]

I was actually thinking of baking this year but that little mess sounds like it would only be the beginning when it comes to me. Bob is always floored when I am done cooking because the kitchen looks like a bomb hit it. He actually laughs when he sees all the pots in the sink (Bless him because he thinks nothing of cleaning up!) but since he doesn't cook anything like a full meal, he has no clue how many pots it takes to cook the food and then put it on the table. Meh.

You did an early gift exchange? Are you going away for Christmas? The photo sounds like just the right kind of gift!

CindyS

Re: Baking *shudder*

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

Going to visit The Biochemist and Chemist.

Yes, every time I catch a glimpse of the photo, I'm pleased all over again.

I generally prefer the clean up, too...although as a teenager, I once told my mom (right after a dental check up) that the dentist had advised me that soaking hands in dishwater was bad for the enamel on my teeth. Delivered with a straight face, she cracked up when she heard the end of my complaint. But I still had to wash the dishes :p