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Ollie Cake Winning Quartet

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  Meet the Team!   Meet Ollie!   Download the Recipes!

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STEP ONE:

Start with cake mix or recipe that holds it’s shape ….

STEP TWO:

Bake two cakes and at least two cupcakes — for the eyes!

STEP THREE:

Stack the cakes,  sticking them together with a butter cream frosting.

Cut the cakes into a semblance of the desired shape.

Add the cupcakes for the eyes, and secure with toothpicks.

STEP FOUR:

Frost the cupcake ‘eyes’ with plenty of frosting to round them out.  Begin spreading a

thin layer of white frosting for a base.  Give up on that and add blue frosting paste to the white.

Begin covering the cake  with a thin layer of blue.  Stop and fill in the big black mouth.

Go back and start adding ‘fur’.

STEP FIVE:

Finish up the ‘fur’ around the mouth and sides.

STEP SIX:

Add real chocolate chip cookies…even the crumbs.

Oh yes, and add eyeballs with the black frosting

and …VOILA! COOOOKIE MONSTERR!!

STEP SEVEN:

Add candles.

Light… And you have a happy four year old!

I truly believe that  the presentation of food changes its flavor and improves the over all experience of any type of food or drink. As Tammy at Prairie Homestead says in her post about finding treasures such as attractive serving dishes at yard sales, “I’m a big believer that you eat with your eyes first”. I agree!

I do believe my coffee tastes better when it is ‘artfully’ served. Whether in a lovely ceramic cup or a paper ‘to go’ container, the ‘coffee art’ on top sets it off and mixes in nicely creating a delicious and satisfying coffee drink.

This Coffee Latte Artwork is becoming a huge aspect of coffee houses and their service.  My first encounter of a lovely decorated latte was at Lola Coffee in Phoenix.

Since then, I have experienced and enjoyed several…especially a variety of designs at Cartel Coffee Lab and other places like Urban Beans.

All of these coffee works of art take talent and is every bit as artful as a painting.

Watching the process is like a magic show.    You see it happening but it is hard to believe what the end result is with just a pouring in of milk and swishing it back and forth a bit. Coffee Art Magic

THOSE are the ones that truly impress me. However, even the others that are decorated with artful movements and additions of dark coffee or even chocolate, are amazing, too, and deserve recognition for talent it took to create them!

The following photos were sent to me by a friend.

FEAST YOUR EYES ON THESE WORKS OF ART:

And my favorites:

Those magic shows? You just have to watch! Here is another one of the many videos showing this magical talent.

…a day of thick dark clouds, heavy with rain…What better time for a cup of rich aromatic coffee – especially at a funky, almost indescribable, “hole-in-the-wall” coffee house?

Our son, who is becoming a fan and almost elitist (or is it a ‘snob’?) of coffee houses that roast and grind their own beans on-site, was eager to share his newest discovery with us: the Cartel Coffee Lab.

This dark rainy day was the perfect backdrop for our introduction (or was it an ‘induction’?) to what appears to be a new phase of specialty coffee houses  in which “green sourced” and fair trade coffee is roasted and prepared in-house using both drip and espresso brewing methods. This sophisticated ‘funk’ is also described as “high-end coffee with a global conscience”.

This ‘new’ era coffee house reminds us of the 50’s era ‘Beatnik’ or Greenwich Village coffee houses, (shades of Jack Karouac and the like —  or how about  Maynard?!). The clientele is similar to the ‘beat generation‘ with students and frat boys (& hipsters, pretentious yuppies, casual drinkers and coffee snobs in the mix) espousing religion and various philosophies. The smokey interiors have been cleared by the Clean Air Act and now cater to computers and offer WiFi connections (free but ONLY with the purchase of a drink – no WiFi freeloaders allowed!).

The Cartel Coffee Lab is located in the back of a small nondescript business plaza (strip center) bordering a tree-lined residential neighborhood just off campus (ASU-Arizona State University in Tempe). Perseverance and courage might be needed to locate, enter, and experience this unique little ‘dive’ but the effort is worth it! The fresh roasted coffee seems strong at first but finishes with a nice taste. The ambience isn’t as cozy and inviting as I enjoy, but it’s ‘funk’ is fun, and a great place to observe the new coffee culture.

On my son’s recommendation, I ordered a Cappuccino (only available for in-house drinking…”no matter how much you complain or beg” reads a sign on the wall!)  Supposedly unique to the Cartel Coffee Lab, the espresso process is fascinating, as I watch the preparation of my Cappuccino, complete with a lovely frothy ‘latte art’ and detailed explanation by the barista.

On our second visit, which was on a much brighter and sunnier day but an equally appropriate ‘coffee day’,  I was more comfortable with the ‘scene’ and the coffee tasted even better, perhaps because of the tantalizing aroma of fresh roasted coffee beans in the air?

On my third visit, which happened before I could finish getting this post written and published, I felt very comfortable and relaxed, enjoying a rich cappuccino in this (now quaint) little ‘dive’.

The bright red ‘San Franciscan’ roaster, dominating one end of the shop, was in full service offering an up-close and personal view of the roasting process… the Cartel sells truly ‘fresh’ roasted coffee. I am quickly becoming a fan and can see myself becoming an aficionado – maybe even a snob?

For you fellow coffee fans and aficionados,  I encourage you, while in the Phoenix area, to make the effort to seek out the Cartel Coffee Lab at 225 W. University Drive, Suite 101, in Tempe or downtown at 1 N.1st Street, for the experience, a fun time…and for a great cup of delicious ‘fresh roasted ’

Walking into a grand lobby elegantly decorated for Christmas is always an exciting and fun time for me.  The thrill and excitement must have been anchored into my soul during childhood when we made our annual trip into the big city during the holidays. I was mesmerized by the lights and decorations everywhere and especially the elaborate department store window displays. I vividly recall  a ‘scene‘ with an electric train running through the toys and other gifts around the base of a Christmas tree. And often Santa himself sitting in a big chair in the midst of it all,  handing out candy canes to visiting children. Inside the store were lots of lights and tinsel and towering trees and oversized ornaments…. certainly more impressive than our pretty but simple small town displays of colored lights and small trees.

So last December, when I happened to walk into the Desert Ridge Marriott in Phoenix, AZ,  I was delighted to see the majestic grand lobby in all its glory with huge pots of Poinsettias everywhere and wreaths hanging in the floor-to-ceiling windows. There was no Santa handing out candy canes, but there was a delightful play area for children with a table and supplies for writing special letters to Santa — complete with a mailbox for posting them!

The center of attention in the lobby, was the electric train display: A giant 20’ square display of several trains traveling around and through architectural landmarks built of chocolate! In fact the entire scene was made of food items (nuts, dried fruit & berries, coconut, cookies, raisins, cereal….)  It was amazing! Not beyond description, but since ‘a picture paints a thousand words’, see for yourself…. remember, this was last year but I understand that the display was such a hit, a similar display has been constructed this year with a “gingerbread village featuring a Willy Wonka-esque fantasyland” which will be on display through January 2, 2011.  AND it is my understanding that other hotels have joined in with similar displays, so check them out for your area!–search online for ‘(your area) Christmas Events’ OR specific hotel.com sites. Let me know about the Christmas discoveries you find. 

Someone has a lot of talent and a very steady hand to create these fun food figures and clever creations:

It was an especially lovely summer evening and we decided to enjoy the cooler temperatures by attending the ‘2nd Saturday Art Walk’ sponsored by the Uptown Merchants Association of Lake Havasu City, AZ. Local Artists display their work, either in or on the sidewalk in front of different businesses along McCulloch Blvd, giving exposure to both the artists and merchants and encouraging business for the merchants in the uptown area.

We discovered quite a variety of ‘art’ from traditional oil paintings, modern media, photography, weavings, etchings, jewelry and other handcrafted items, some mediocre while others were exceptional.

All locations offered refreshments, usually a cheese and cracker tray or platter of cookies. The biggest surprise was an offering of edible Food Art. This was fun and very creative. The ‘artist/cook’ admitted to being inspired by a book she had found and had expanded on some of those ideas.

It reminded me of the marshmallow ‘Snowmen’ my sister and I used to make during the Christmas holidays, and now I am thinking how much fun these might be with our grandchildren, and much healthier using pretzels, slivered almonds (for ears), and cherry tomatoes..these have caramels holding them together — I’m thinking peanut butter fondant? ….no limit to the imagination!!