Cream Cheese Icing

Photo originally uploaded by Nettsu.

Today's Joy: Carrot Cake & Homemade Cream Cheese Icing.
Happy Weekend, Reader. After a good day of helping out at our family farm and grocery shopping, I decided to spend a relaxed afternoon baking something gorgeous. Up among my boxes in storage is a brand new glass cake stand I've been itching to try out. Add to that, my favorite recipe for fresh cream cheese icing (we'll get to the specifics later) and we are talking about a seriously delicious creative project.

If I'm having a tough week or need some quality time to think through a problem, few things get all my creative neurons firing like getting in the kitchen and whipping up something yummy. Call it Culinary Problem-Solving. For me, it's cathartic, inspiring and usually produces a tangible form of love to share with the people around me. A win-win for everybody!

Carrot cake is the quintessential stage for cream cheese icing, and Duncan Hines makes this divine mix with real carrots & raisins that is, truthfully, better than what I'd make from scratch anyway. So I open the package and follow the directions and watch all that gooey goodness congeal as I stir it by hand (already had the KitchenAid full of icing by this point). If you love cooking the way I love cooking, Reader, you know there comes a moment during preparation when you just know the dish is gonna come out fabulous. After that, it's all semantics. This time it happened while I was stirring the cake batter. It's a wonderful feeling. Like providence and fate and knowing what comes next all rolled into one. Like an inoculation of good luck that makes everything you touch for the rest of the day come out like magic.

So after I got the cake into pans and into the oven, it was time to turn the creativity up a notch and finish the icing. I've been perfecting my Cream Cheese Icing recipe for several months now. It's a lovely, simple recipe based on the classic standard you will find in any edition of The Joy Of Cooking. Just a bit less precise.

My Cream Cheese Icing:
2 8 oz. blocks Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
2-3 cups powdered sugar
A generous splash of pure vanilla extract (Mexican Vanilla makes it out of this world)
2 good shakes of McCormick Saigon Cinnamon

In a stand mixer, combine all ingredients and whip on low until peaks emerge and icing is thoroughly combined.
Easy-sneezy and makes enough icing to cover a single-layer fluffy Duncan Hines carrot cake.

For a round double-layer cake, use 4 blocks of cream cheese, 3-4 cups of powdered sugar, double the amount of vanilla and add an extra shake or two of Saigon Cinnamon.

The results were as expected: O-M-G good! And I got a whole lot of thinking done. All in all, a very successful afternoon! Hope you find something creative to do this weekend, Reader. May it bring you much joy!

Today's Joy: Patience. Are you a patient person, Reader? I am not. Patience is a virtue I have come to value & attempt to cultivate more and more as I get older. But it is slow going.

Today I had a very successful interview for my dream decorating job. The opportunity is an excellent one with great long-term potential. But after careful evaluation of the start-up costs, first year earnings and expenses, it is not feasible for me at this time. A frustrating realization. Ok, that's a bit of an understatement. Darn it!

I mulled the whole thing over for several hours over a few mini eclairs & a glass or two of Riesling. The conclusion I find most helpful, is that this is my chance to practice being patient. Yes, the dream job is a great opportunity. Yes, if I had two incomes instead of one, I wouldn't think twice about diving in to a big, new career. But I have just myself now. So, back to the job boards I go. And really, that's ok. The timing may be wrong, but I'm close, Reader. I'm right on the verge of finding something great. Or, at least, something that will start down the path to where I'm supposed to be. All things in the right time and the right order. Patience. Being patient. This is me. Being patient. Are we there yet?

Today's Joy: Getting My Ducks In A Row. Well, Reader, tomorrow is the big face-to-face interview for my dream decorating job. Say a prayer and keep your fingers crossed. I have been preparing dutifully all evening.
Have also made my final submissions for the Batavia Orchid Society Photo Competition. Whew! It was a tough choice. But I sent my little darlings out into the world. Let's see if they can get themselves into Orchid Digest.
Also heard from a favorite former professor this afternoon. She is seeking updated info on wayward alums of the University of Maine at Farmington Creative Writing Program. Alas, I have indeed been wayward. But no more! With the click of a mouse, my email will see that I am once again found! FYI to other possibly wayward alums who might be reading this post: get found too! I want to read about you in the next BFA Alum Newsletter.

Doesn't it feel good to be done with the electronic housekeeping, Reader? If only the actual housework were so easily dispatched! Note to self: look into getting a Roomba. And that one that mops the floor. What do they call it? Oh yes, a Scooba. Good night, dear Reader. Sleep tight & don't let the spam email bite!

Today's Joy: Sharing a Lesson. I forget sometimes, Reader, when I'm going through a hard time in life that each obstacle I overcome is actually a lesson I will need later on. Sometimes the lesson isn't just for me either.

Today, a friend-in-need situation prompted me to share some private details with someone else who's going through a similar rough patch. It is my hope, she too will be able to benefit from my experience. At the very least, she will know someone else has been through it and understands. More importantly, I hope she sees that it's possible to thrive, not just survive, after life blows up in your face. Case in point, I have been back in Chicago for less than 3 weeks and I already have a great job prospect, creative irons in the fire and feel like my spirit is growing in new ways each day (like I'm breathing in God's resilience!).

I believe everything happens in the right time and the right order. Today's lessons are the foundation for who we will become. So, even though some lessons hurt like mad in the moment, they're really just growing pains. And nothing I can't handle with a couple Tylenol and some new lip gloss. God Bless you, Reader! May you find the strength you need to get through the next lesson.

Today's Joy: A Call from a Good Friend. Just got off the phone with the Divine Miss "K". From the moment we met when I moved to Dallas last spring, I was a bit in awe of this glamorous, open woman who can sweep into a room in 4-inch heels & red lipstick and make everyone she meets feel special.

She exemplifies all the things I've come to admire about strong Texas women. And no one has a bigger heart. She gets as excited about her friends' successes as if they were her own. Of all my friends, she lives life the fullest. Look, Mom, no hands! And her faith makes almost any leap possible. She inspires me to be more. And to wear eyeliner. Can't think of a better way to be a friend.

Today's Joy: Phone Interviews. Well, Reader, this afternoon I made it through my first phone interview for my Home Decorating "Dream Job". Must have been a success as I now have a face to face scheduled for later in the week. Have to admit, I was a bit nervous. It's a big responsibility--being entrusted to create someone's dream room. But then I remembered this Les Brown quote:

“Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars.”

God Bless you, Les! We'll never know what we can accomplish until we put it all out there. Take a little risk today, Reader. You just might get more than you were hoping for. :-)

Today's Joy: The Batavia Orchid Society Show. Reader, there is nothing more nourishing to a spring-starved soul than a trip to the orchid show. Stepping into the building was like entering a land of the lush & exotic. I couldn't get my camera out of the bag fast enough! Everywhere we looked, there were strange and beautiful flowers in every size and color. Oh, how we oggled!

While Aunt & Mom perused vendors and soaked up myriad tips on raising these rare beauties, I photographed the wide variety of orchids on display: Lady Slippers (Paphiopedilum), Cattleyas, Dendrobiums, Miltonopsis, Oncidiums, Cymbidiums & the trusty Phalaenopsis. All in all, a great day! Here are a few of my favorite shots from the show. For more highlights, click here.