The Sick Couch

When the kids get sick they immediately take up residence on this couch.   They like to be around the rest of the family but still take a nap, like Renee is during a recent cold.  But this couch is also a sick looking couch!  It is old, we got it from my brother John, who got it from my parents.  Grandpa Haveman put a nice piece of sanded plywood under the cushions so it wouldn't be too soft.  It has some tears in the back where the fabric was exposed to too much sun.  So this is a future project;  I want to make a slipcover for it.  What do you think, is that possible and worth it?  I tried buying a slipcover, but it just did not look good for the amount of money it cost.

Another PW cake

Renee and I made another cake from PW's cookbook, the chocolate sheet cake on page 218.  It involved lots of butter and cocoa powder.  We liked the fact that you frost it immediately after you take it out of the oven so it is done all at once.  It is thin because you put it in a 12 x 18 pan.  It is a good substitute for brownies and would probably be a good thing to take for youth group snacks.

Another Pillow

I got another pillow done with random widths of leftover fabric.  I used an old bed pillow to make a new pillow insert.  I may have to remake that insert, because it is not as big and firm as I would have liked.

Red Velvet Cake Taste Test

 

The cake tasted good, but in our opinion it was nothing special.  The cream cheese frosting was great.  I guess one test should not rule it out, but in a rush I would definitely use a box mix.

Stop Reading, and Do Something!

I like to read everyone's blogs that describe how to do creative things: decorating, crafting, spray painting, baking...  Today I read a blog that described the rut I am in; reading and organizing and cleaning, but never doing some of those great ideas because the time is never right.

I determined that today would be different.  I finally had all of the ingredients to make a Red Velvet Cake on page 233 of Pioneer Woman's cookbook that I got for Christmas.  So I gathered  the ingredients.

Of course I did do some substitutions.  Nathan could not find cake flour when he did the grocery shopping last week, so I googled for a substitite and used 3/4 cup all purpose flour plus 2 TBSP cornstarch.  I also used milk and vinegar for buttemilk as suggested on page 40 of PW Cooks.  And I used much less red food coloring because I did not have 1 oz., but then added some water so the liquid would add up to 1 oz.

Renee made sure I followed the steps and that it looked just like the picture.

The batter looks quite red even though I used less food coloring.

I made quite a mess!

It looks a lot the the pictures in the cookbook.

We will have to give you the taste test results after we eat it for dessert.

Now I know why I rarely bake a cake from scratch, favoring the box cake mix:

• Using a box uses less ingredients 
• I usually have these ingredients on hand
• It takes less time
• Since it takes less time I have less interuptions
• It uses less dishes; this recipe had you mixing wet and dry ingredients in a bunch of different bowls
• I don't have to make substitutions, so it takes less time, ingredients, and dishes

The advantages of making a cake from scratch:

• More flavor choices
• You see the science that goes into baking
• More of a challenge
• I am hoping it will taste better (But I have never tasted a red velvet cake, should I have used all that cream cheese frosting the recipe made?  It just looked like way too much sweetness, so I had more than a cup of frosting left over.)

I will report back on the results.  I am wondering if any of you have made a red velvet cake from a box.  I saw it in the store once, but did not buy it, and now I can't find it again.  Let me know how you think it compares.

Projects

 

We have needed to repair the fences around all the pastures so the animals don't escape as they have in the past.  The grass keeps growing, but our days off were rainy, we were out of town, or Nathan was sick.  So I decided I had better help Nathan out last Thursday on a sunny afternoon.  I am willing but not very skilled.

  

Nathan cannot figure out how I can get a horseshoe nail in a fence post like this, and neither can I.  I am a better project cheerleader, gopher, and clean up crew.  I am also good at dreaming up projects to do.  My skills did improve somewhat after more practice, which is a good thing since we only have about 374 more posts to go.

Another project I tackled with a little more success was recovering these pillows.  I have been meaning to do it since we got these couches about two years ago.  I finally bought fabric before Christmas, and then recovered four pillows.

  

Here are the finished results.  I am hoping to do a few more pillows, with a little more creativity.