que-hondas

Time to bake...?

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:48:27 +0100

Well, no. I haven't really done much in the way of cheesecake making. I've sort of wandered off into other things ^_^. I've been keeping up with my Blogger blog. I have been trying to hold it together and make a path for myself in this big marble of a world. I have been catching some ideas that I want to share once I've figured out where I'm going with them. They do involved making things.

I've picked up crocheting again and boy! am I good?! Well, I'm okay. I made a had, some arm warmers, and a few flowers. I think I'm onto customizing headbands and making sweaters next! I will be back again soon.

I'm just checking in!

The Jean Pool

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 03:29:44 +0100

Okay, I won't even TALK about how long it's been since my last post! As you can imagine, I've been really busy. Unfortunately, it's been doing other things that don't involve cheesecake. But fortunately, I have something new to offer! Well, it's not new in the sense that it hasn't been done before. It's just new to me and my site.

Earlier this year, my manager at work gave me two trashbags full of clothing she couldn't wear anymore. One of my co-workers and I went through the bags together. She picked out things she liked that she could wear. I found a few things that I could wear. Everything else, was to be used as fabric for my various projects. The first thing I thought to do was create a laptop bag. I have a 17" screen and have been having difficulty finding a bag that was large enough, cute enough, and reasonably priced enough. So, starting at the stack of sized 22 jeans, I had an idea.

You guessed it! I now have a bag that is rather nice and it's large enough for my laptop. It didn't cost me a thing! My manager really liked the bag and wanted one for herself. So, I made her one. My co-worker also wants one. I'm thinking other people might want one too. Right now, I will be gathering things together so that I can make a few. I think that rather than make them and wait for them to be bought, I would offer customization. How does that sound?

So, you (if you wanted to) would be able to pick a color outside, an approximate size (small, medium, large), an inside color, ruffles/lace, appliques, ribbon or belt, and how long the straps. Everything would be of the mindset of finding leftover goodies. Going green. Keeping a few more things out of the landfills. I like to go to thrift stores to find sewing/craft materials. There are even things around my house I could use. You could even send in items if you would like me to use them!

Everyone needs a bag for something. Shopping. Carrying your laptop or school stuff. Baby items. Gift-giving. Transporting cheesecakes. The list just goes on.

Have you ever refashioned something? How did it turn out?

My revenge?!

Sun, 01 May 2011 15:37:42 +0100

It's been 3 months since my last post. What's up with that? Well, I've been pretty busy. Not so busy with baking...but with other important life works. I've been kinda swamped with housework and workwork and balancing the two. I've got new projects that I want to undertake, but have gotten partially through. I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed and unable to get anything completed (except the laundry). I haven't been able to focus very well.

I've decided to work on that and create a plan for EVERYTHING. I used to have a schedule for every moment in my life (even scheduled some "free time" on there.). So, I've been seriously considering doing that again for myself to help me feel less like I'm flying out of control. A little bit of encouragement was an article I read from Psycology Today called "Revenge of The Extrovert." It really went on to talk about what's really going on with introverts. We truly live in a fast-paced society where the flashy, loud things (and people) get the attention. I often get questioned on why I don't go out more than I do. Why are you so shy? What's there to be shy about? I have to say the article was right on the money. I understand a bit better why, when playing The Sims, I'm unable to keep up with more than 2 people at a time...

I used to be straight-up afraid to be in public. I felt safer at home or in a quiet setting with a few familiar people. I rarely made eye contact, and I spoke publicly when it was necessary. Interestingly, I liked to play basketball, but was too shy to try cheerleading. I've always been a team player, but really would rather work alone. People always wanted to get me out of my "shell." I felt like I couldn't be happy with who I was because I wasn't outgoing. I couldn't just start up a conversation with a random stranger and enjoy it.

I've taken the Jung Personality test a couple of times. I'm now more extroverted than I used to be. I would blame that on having to interact with people daily as a part of my job. I'm now not so afraid to talk to people, but still the article speaks to me. It explains why I feel so drained at the end of the day, when for the most part, all I do is stand here and talk to people. And it also explains why when I have a good bit of time to myself, I feel more relaxed, less overwhelmed, get things not only planned out, but done, and my house doesn't look like a disaster area. To kick being overwhelmed where it hurts, I think I'll be sure to get back to schedules, strict budgets, and more time to sit, relax, and reflect (like I used to). I'm usually okay when I've got things mapped out pretty well.

My next step would be to find out how to reach out to other introverts who are under the pressure of extroversion. This post really has nothing to do with cheesecake, but more a reflection as to why I haven't been (or feel) as accomplished as I used to be and why I've been so overwhelmed, and perhaps what I can do to help others.

I'm an ISTJ What are you?

Sweet!

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:31:16 +0100

I forgot to mention last night that I didn't add any sugar to the pies. My friend Luis is diabetic (and hypoglycemic) and you know how that goes. He has to be very careful with what he eats and when he eats. I used good old Splenda. Now, I'm not at all a fan of artificial sweeteners. They usually come with their own set of health risks, and they don't taste very good. Splenda is by far the best tasting one I've come across. It tastes so much like sugar and there is no horrible aftertaste.

For this recipe, I used a regular, pre-made pie crust, which has 7g of sugar per serving (8 servings in all). The glaze has 13g of sugar per serving (3tbsp = 1 serving). I used a total of 3tbsp (so divide 13 by 8 = 1.625g of sugar per serving). That is about it. As you can see, each serving is very low in sugar. However, when I went to nutritiondata.com to enter my recipe, the label that was produced was ridiculous. It said that there was a total of 26g of sugar and 39g of carbohydrates in my regular strawberry cheesecake. The label no sugar added strawberry cheesecake showed 79g of sugar and 99g of carbohydrates. Did I miss something??? I'm very curious now to figure out what went wrong in the calculations. I guess I'll have to question the other data on the labels as well. I'll do some more work and research on the labels later.

Even still, I am confident that this will be a dessert Luis and other diabetics out there can enjoy without guilt or a quick ride to the hospital (as long as they don't eat the whole thing at once...which is very tempting). Trust me when I say it tastes GOOD. I can't wait to slice into it. I'll try to sneak some food pr0n before we gobble it all up this evening.

Fresh, Fruity, Lovely

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 05:02:26 +0100

Happy February! January seemed to have flown by so quickly. Just yesterday we were giving New Year's kisses and making jokes about not seeing each other since "last year." Now, we've consulted Mr. Phil (and he's declared an early spring) and we're preparing our hearts for love.

I've come up with something fresh just tonight. While preparing some pies for a Super Bowl party tomorrow afternoon, I decided to try something different with the run-of-the-mill strawberry cheesecake. Since I first posted pics of my cakes, I have moved away from using canned fruit (especially strawberries) and have been working toward fresh fruit pies. Take look!

This is what they've been, since I've done away with canned strawberries. And below is what I came up with just tonight.

Looks like they're just overflowing. I would like to know what you think. What configuration do you like best?

My next thing would be heart-shaped pies. The only struggle I have with that is transport. I have the spring-form pan to do it, but I don't have a convenient way to deliver. I guess it would probably help if I came up with a way to deliver regular round pies (so I can make the crust myself) first, then modify it for the heart. What do you think?

I think heart-shaped pies will work well for Valentine's Day. I would like to also introduce for the day of love, a chocolate cherry cheesecake. Never again will you have to pull those little chocolates from the tiny papers and foils to have a small sample of sweet goodness. No! With a chocolate cherry cheesecake, not only do you get fresh cherries, but a mouthful of sweet, creamy, chocolately goodness. You know someone loves you if they go all out and make it heart-shaped.

I'm just saying....

Lounging about at Christmas time

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 02:40:43 +0100

Well, I've certainly been pretty "lazy" this year. I didn't get all caught up and worried about what I was going to buy for whom. I didn't go into convulsions with excitement over going out to see the lights. My kids also have been really calm and cool about presents. We really just enjoyed the time we had together. We spent time talking about Jesus Christ and I thanked them for being so good and not worried about presents. They are with their dad this year for Christmas and I will have them for New Year's. I have to say, this was a rather relaxing time of year. The only thing I would have liked to be different is the time with extended family. I still got the chance to talk with my family, but it would have also been nice to see them in person.

Another area that I've been slacking in is the kitchen. I know...I should be attached to the stove...but I've been busy. Relaxing and not stressing, but at the same time busy. I really want to get on with that Peppermint Bark Cheesecake I've been drafting up in my head. I envision it with a chocolate crust, white chocolate cheesecake filling, and a top layer of crunchy peppermint.

Oh! I'm drooling. Perhaps when I get off work, I will have the energy to try it? Come on 11pm!

Muffin hills...

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:10:27 +0100

Well, yesterday was an EPIC day for muffins!

I have increased the awesomeness of muffins by adding the awesomeness of cheesecake. I'm proud to introduce carrot cheesecake layered muffins. I have added the recipe yesterday to allrecipes.com, but after checking just now, it's not up...I'll work on that again.

I will post pics soon. Kawaii Five-Oh! will be adding a dozen cheesecake muffins to its store for $15. ^_^

Be excited with me!

Mountains!

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:15:39 +0100

I'm proud to announce that I have another webstore on Zazzle.com. There you will find other fine quality gifts, to go along with your cheesecake-loving habits. (I'm not the only one with "cheesecake-loving habits" am i? Of course not!)

It's not under Kawaii Five-Oh! it's under the screen name ardentgailla. Perhaps that will be changed in time? I'm so excited, I don't care if it was under Oogley Boogley!

Design a personalized gift at Zazzle.

I hope that you find it as exciting as I do!

New things in store!

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 03:35:30 +0100

I've been really cooking it up tonight! It's late...and I'm really tired, but I wanted to quickly share my newest thing! Pudding cheesecakes! ^_^ Today I made banana pudding and pistachio pudding. I have a couple of pics...but since the pies are not for me, I don't have slice photos....rather, the banana pudding cheesecake isn't (I may be able to get some pics of a slice tomorrow...if I'm lucky) and I dropped the pistachio as I was pulling it out of the oven (so it's not the prettiest).

Either way, I will be updating the site again soon, with some pics and some new flavors.
Buenas noches, mis amigos.

Totemo isogashii...

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:59:29 +0100

I've been so busy lately. Part of it has to do with things I need to do...another part of it has to do with things I need to do to get my mind off of being lonely.

This week, I don't have any of my babies. My ex-husband picked this to be his summer week with the kids...so we don't go back to our regular schedule until Tues(too long away)day. I've been fighting off the blues with activity that does not require me to stay in the house. I saw a friend do stand-up Wednesday night. Tonight (and very likely tomorrow night) I'm going to see Naked! Jam Band. Since I'm off on Monday, I will go to my doctor's appointment and try to work on getting the house back in order.

I haven't been baking...I really need to get back to the oven and mix up some new ideas I've been thinking about. Usually, the summertime is when I make the most cheesecake. However, this summer hasn't been so busy. It's alright...I've been undergoing a lot of changes, so I've had a lot of things in my hands to balance.

I think I should start planning for a winter sushi party this year (as suggested by a friend). I would like to know if anyone has any ideas on party planning. I've got a few :) The biggest issue I want to have down is the food (of course) and the right day to have it. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have plenty of seating at home and it would be nothing to get some decor up. Of course, there will be cheesecake ^_^

It's been a couple of months since my last post. I think I should make a personal goal to post at least once a week? or twice a month? What do you think?