boring entry....but DOES have chocolate
2013-12-10, 11:08 p.m.
Another fortnight vanished up its own backside and I still haven�t actually updated with anything worth telling. Shame on me. Well, it wouldn�t be the first time�.although, I do find that shame isn�t something that I need to worry about these days. Im not sure if Im doing less shameful things or whether I just don�t really give a rats arse about stuff that used to make me feel ashamed.Anyways.
I have super-loads to tell you about, so I�ll make it factual and boring, I think. Sorry �bout that.
Jooj had a VERY BIG BIRTHDAY INDEED, so we had to throw a party, natch. And despite her being a proper grown up now and able to go in a pub or get married or have a tattoo or join the army, she still isn�t grown up enough to not let all her fancy-dress friends get in our bathtub in the middle of said party
(with the exception of Charlie Chaplin, of course, who appears to prefer a shower to a bath). Jooj was dressed as Boudicca at the beginning of the evening but by the time this was taken she�d lost a few bits of costume and was mostly just kilt and facepaint.
There was a huge cake, and really only one design suitable. Jarofporter will know what Im saying when Im sayin� �Jooj REALLY likes books�
I was pretty pleased with it, as Id never made a book-cake (or a cake-book) before.
L was Abraham Lincoln
I made his hat. It was massive. I was Jackie Kennedy but my costume was rubbish. Apart from my hat. My hat was really good. I made Wee Treacle�s Emmeline Pankhurst hat, too. Maybe I should be a milliner. Especially the sort of milliner who only makes things out of felt and stuff she finds in the back of the sewing cupboard.
Dammit. Just realised I spelled Jooj�s name wrong on the front of the book. Ssshhhh! I don�t think she noticed. Don�t say anything and I think we�ll get away with it.
Pretty much hot on the heels of the �Bloody Hell, My Daughter�s 18� thing, was the �My Husband, the Musician�s, Photographic Exhibition�, which was kind of ok but he didnt sell much as the photos are pretty expensive and the clientele pretty poor. The pictures are fabulous, by the way, but I don�t know that I want to post them here as theyre someone else�s work and theyre stealable and all that. Not suggesting for one iota that youz are photo stealers, but there�s strangers on the internets too and Ive been told that some of them can be a bit mean.
After the photos was the Craft Fair. I bloody hate doing craft fairs, theyre always a teeny tiny return for a massive amount of effort and this one was no exception. Mater made me a load of woolly babies and, despite them only being �3 each, I only sold 2. How could you not buy one when theyre so woolly and baby-y? Gah. Damn craft fair people, not buying my woolly babies.
The things that did sell well were my special Chocolate Spoons, which are just yummy and fabulous and not in the least bit stupidly time-consuming. Actually, they ARE a bit fiddly, but its deffo worth it. Not for a Craft Fair � that would be stupid, but if you wanted to make them as little gifts for, say, people you actually like, this is how you do it (and they do make THEEEEEE best hot chocolate).
Get some spoons and stand them in some properly hot water. I got my spoons from the pound shop. They were �1. For a dozen.
Then get some chocolate. I used this one from Lidl. Mostly because it was about 30p/bar and I was trying to make a profit.
You�ll need 4 squares of chocolate per spoon. Get the 1st square and press it onto the hot spoon. It�ll melt a bit and then stick there. Do a few more of these, until you get bored or run out of spoons, whichever be the sooner eventuality
Melt the rest of the chocolate in a jug on top of the (still hot) water you used to heat the spoons. If the water�s got a bit cold, you could always melt the chocolate in the microwave, like a normal impatient person.
Then it starts getting a little bit fiddly. Get some big spoons and stick a bit of silicon paper on them (use a smear of butter or a spray of non-stick stuff)
Then, put about a teaspoon of melted chocolate onto the silicon paper
And rest one of the little spoons on top of the dollop of chocolate
Repeat with all the spoons
If you set them up on a baking tray, you can whack it in the freezer for ten mins or so, to firm the whole thing up. Otherwise, set about like a lemon until theyre all set.
Once theyre nice and cold, dollop about another teaspoon and a half of melty choc on top � itll start setting pretty much straight away � and stick some mini mallows to the chocolate. About 8 mallows is about right. Don�t worry if the chocolate squelches over the edges a bit but try to keep as much as possible on the spoon, if only for the sake of aesthetics.
Hoy the whole lot back in the freezer until everythings all nice and firm (oo-er). Carefully peel off the silicon paper and you *should* have a very chocolatey spoon.
Wrap in a square of cellophane and fasten on neatly. You can add a bit of ribbon and some instructions, but I didn�t take a picture of that. Just the cello bit
The instructions are: Heat a mug of milk until almost boiling. Stir hard with the chocolatey spoon until everything has melted off the spoon and the hot milk has turned into a marshmallow-y, smooth, creamy hot chocolate.
Enjoy!
I sold about 30 of these at �1 a pop so there�s a pretty good profit to them, if you have a spare afternoon and a bit of shelf space in the freezer. Or you could just have them all yourself, huh?
Later
S
X
PS If you want a woolly baby, send me a note. Theyre �3 + P&P. Or I shall keep them all myself and hope for grandkids before the stuffing degrades!