COLD DARK ROOM

[EllieMay]

Argh.. So for good or bad my nutty butt decided years ago to always make my kids' birthday cakes. And whereas I have for the most part enjoyed it and used it as a relaxation; this year the girl threw me a curve ball. Tomorrow is my daughter's 17th. I asked her what kind she wanted. Marzipan cake?? What?? I see marzipan and think candy or maybe rolled into a sheet and used as a fondant alternative. It's almond paste and capable of being homemade sooo.... But the little nutcase says she is -sure- she saw the marzipan being put into the cake batter for flavoring. I can't see how something thick and gooey would work into the batter correctly unless it's in a "broken down" state like maybe just the ingredients?

I can even see using a nut flour to make the batter. Although our friend google tells me there is more than the almond and pecan flour I was aware of. Any and all nuts can be used apparently so that makes me have some ideas. Walnuts-with maple. Hazelnuts with chocolate for a nutella type cake. Chestnuts with apple and cinnamon. Cashews and carmel. But then are they truly flour and not considered a meal? And am I going to end up with a crumbly cake versus a sponge? Or an overly oily cake because of the natural oils? Or do you roast the flours to get some of the oil out?

Never made marzipan from scratch. Never made a nut flour from scratch. But apparently both are possible with my lovely Kitchen Aid gadgets.

I have been searching pinterest(where she says she saw it) and allrecipes.com and google. And see nothing. Wondering if it's a cultural type cake from a region where marzipan is a celebratory item used frequently? Global friends are encouraged to help -PLEASE-. ANYONE got an ideas? Otherwise I guess I am going to make an alternative(MEG version-- Mommy MacGyver) and use almond flour and make marzipan into my fondant with chocolate because chocolate makes everything better?????

Thanks for letting me ramble.
-Meg

The MEG version sound scrumptious and decadent to me

 

[CarolM]

Are you going to call out any of those?
Remember it's -10 points a pop if you're wrong. Quite good if you want to wrestle the Wooden Spork away from Lokkje.
And you've missed several players.
But, yes, that's the sort of thing I'm looking for.

Oohh this is now getting tricky. Do I want to really chance -10 points or not?

 

[CarolM]

Are you going to call out any of those?
Remember it's -10 points a pop if you're wrong. Quite good if you want to wrestle the Wooden Spork away from Lokkje.
And you've missed several players.
But, yes, that's the sort of thing I'm looking for.

Can we at least know who are all the agents with missions?

 

[CarolM]

MINE MINE MINE!!!!!!

Looks like I am coming to get it. Whaahahahaaaaa

 

[CarolM]

Several Agents have been scoring very well in their Missions.
Two or three have been brilliant and given me a good laugh.
I've had tears of happiness on two occasions and once laughed so much it hurt my ribs.
That hasn't happened for months.
Thank you all.

Now I really need to know who has what mission.

 

[CarolM]

So hot n muggy & incredibly humid this morning. And now very wet. Major overnight thunderstorms dumped a ton of rain into the garden. Soggy, wet, muddy in spots. Flowers & trees & perennials loved the soaking. Sunflowers as well. Me, not so much. This heat/humidity sucks the energy out of you.

Ogh Well - Blue too

View attachment 305192

I call Marks mission to post anything or say anything with the color Blue as his Dark Lords given mission.

 

[CarolM]

The animals really want our fruit this year... my sister has a house in Pine Creek, that’s where we have a couple apple trees and pear trees. We also have a raspberry bush and grape bush there. Well I just saw a swarm of birds, the little minxes took off with all our raspberries this year. Well, not in one go, over a course of a couple days. Usually we have lots of fruit, not this year I guess. ????

I call Goldens Dark Lords given mission to talk about fruit.

 

[CarolM]

???

Okay you are obviously one of the agents I missed. I will need to give your mission some thought.

 

[Pistachio's Pamperer]

The MEG version sound scrumptious and decadent to me

I think at this point she is just gonna get whatever I can figure out. Because I am having no luck finding anything like what she is talking about.. Other than this crazy domino looking thing that looks like way too much work. Like cut cubes of cake and wrap in thin thin thin marzipan and then assemble into a bigger cake? I am not a Miracle Worker dang it.
So chocolate, almond, some honey(??).... and I almost want to put fruit in there.. Hmmm.. Orange? She loves chocolate and orange. She better be glad I love her.
So Mommy MacGyver to the rescue.
-Meg

 

[CarolM]

To keep the SPORK in this relationship may I offer a quote from a most awesome/devious movie- “You get a spork” the warden tells Gerard Butlers characters when his steak dinner arrives. The scene livens up when he gives his roommate the biggest part of the the Porterhouse Steak and he palms the t-bone! A spork caused that!

Okay got it. I call your Dark Lords given mission to quote movies

 

[CarolM]

I made a mistake on my laps in my last report. I took another look at my lap counter and it shows eleven laps. So I'm making it my MISSION to double that amount in the next few weeks. I know this seems IMPROBABLE, but I'll give it the old collage try!

Yeah. I call my original guess to be Yvonne's Dark Lords given mission.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

The grand daughter that I was the day care giver for from her birth to about 8 or 10 had her first baby on Aug. 31st. So now I have three great grandsons.

Congratulations!

 

[CarolM]

Holy cats. I sleep for a few hours and come back to pages of banter and craziness. I knew I loved you all for a reason. This is only my third chat ever I used to chat back in the 90s on a site called WBS and you all remind me of those days... which is ironic as I almost reused my name from there NutMeg but instead used a name to honor my tortoise as he’s what brought me here. ?
And now you guys have the stupid square guys song stuck in my head. That ranks right up there with the Andy Griffin whistle song, Oscar Meyer wiener song, the old cat food song -what’s got into that cat-, Rawhide, and most appropriately ..
“Almond Joys got nuts.. Mounds don’t..” —I so miss eating coconut.
-Meg
-glad my day starts this way-

Mmm could your mission be to quote songs? I am not calling it, just thinking out loud.

 

[CarolM]

I love that!

So did I.

 

[CarolM]

Do I get the spork? ???

You are going to have to fight both me and Lokkje. ???

 

[CarolM]

Not yet.
And any attempts to deliberately try to win the Wooden Spork will result in it being awarded to someone else.

They need a snorting emoji or at least an hmmfff emoji.

 

[CarolM]

Which part of “MINE” are you all struggling with? No I could cheat and do dumb to guess and get a whole bunch of negative points but I’m gonna be more subtle about that when I’m winning my next spork.

Well then don't mention cheese. The new word will be mission. Just saying.

 

[EllieMay]

I think at this point she is just gonna get whatever I can figure out. Because I am having no luck finding anything like what she is talking about.. Other than this crazy domino looking thing that looks like way too much work. Like cut cubes of cake and wrap in thin thin thin marzipan and then assemble into a bigger cake? I am not a Miracle Worker dang it.
So chocolate, almond, some honey(??).... and I almost want to put fruit in there.. Hmmm.. Orange? She loves chocolate and orange. She better be glad I love her.
So Mommy MacGyver to the rescue.
-Meg

Pictures when complete

 

[CarolM]

The grand daughter that I was the day care giver for from her birth to about 8 or 10 had her first baby on Aug. 31st. So now I have three great grandsons.

Congratulations oh Great Granny. May you live forever to see them all prosper.

 

[Pistachio's Pamperer]

Mmm could your mission be to quote songs? I am not calling it, just thinking out loud.

My Mission in life is to annoy Jason/Chubbs, but then the peanuthead(cuz I can't call him the D word) went and got a life while we weren't looking.
-Meg