There’s a free gym at my college campus and now that my schedule is a little less crazy this semester, I may actually find the time to make use of it. This becomes an especially large concern when our baking component of this semester focuses entirely on cakes. Now, I know I don’t actually have to eat the pretty things just because I’m making them, but i’m an eater by nature, and the curiosity factor becomes a little too high when everything we make is either a new kind of cake I’ve never tried, or a variation of one that I’ve had before. Crumbs get nibbled here and there, and I occasionally lick frosting from my fingers. The bigger problems are that I end up taking a cake home every time because I want to show off the decorating job to family and friends. Also, i know my kids appreciate the treat (although two to three times a week means its less like a treat and more like an expectation).The biggest adaptation I am going to have to make however, is learning to waste. To be honest, I am cheap. Throwing food away has always seemed an incredible sin, especially when there are children starving in Africa (isn’t that what our mother always told us?).So what do you do with a bag of stabalized whip cream? That was what we spread upon our devil’s food cakes and strawberry short cakes. It’s whipped cream that has a bit of something called “toppit” added to it to keep it from becoming runny. “You mean I can store it for an entire week and it will still be like freshly whipped cream?!””What? We’re throwing all the left overs away? Hell no, just put it all in this bag and I’ll take it home.”What is wrong with me?Not that I was complaining. The kids and I had whipped cream on our hot chocolate, our strawberries and blueberries, our desserts; I even put some in my coffee in the mornings, it was awesome. Eventually I realized it was going to outlast it’s uses and I was able to toss the rest away. My scale and i have a mutual agreement to not have any conversations for at least a month while I develop the ability walk away. In the meantime, I now have a bag of cake and a bag of frosting in my fridge. I may figure out something to make with them (and give it away) or I may just let them go moldy so my husband tosses them out.
My Bag of Shame
23 Monday Jan 2012