Trifling
A Clean Kitchen Only a Moment Ago
I had a clean kitchen four hours ago. There comes a point in every party prep when you look at the chaos you’ve generated and ask how you could possibly get to party-ready by tomorrow. And yet somehow, it all comes together in the end. How?
I don’t know. It’s a mystery.
Cocktail / Mocktail Mixes for Patreon
Fun project for the Patreon boxes — made up little cocktail / mocktail mixes. These would be great to do for stocking stuffers, I think! This is hibiscus powder, candied ginger, and dried pineapple.
I put those in a cocktail shaker with some vodka and pineapple juice and ice, shook them up, poured them into a glass, then tried adding ginger beer. Yummy! It’s also good with limonata, and it’s still quite tasty without the vodka; the ginger gives it a bit of zing.
Packed and Ready to Go
Well, we managed to ship out all the Earth tier boxes, woot! I think I can get the Sol System tier out today as well; they’re packed up and ready to go, so I’ll just drop them at the post office on my way to tonight’s school board meeting.
But now, I’m going to take the opportunity to rest for a few hours, because I am TIRED. I’m prescribing myself tea, a little chai-spiced banana bread, and the new episode of Midsummer Murders that just aired a few days ago. Why are British murder mysteries so relaxing? We may never know…
Pictured: chocolate box (cinnamon dark chocolate rose, lemony white chocolate crown, ruby heart, dragonfruit crown, silvered rose (with rose flavor))
Packing Day for Patreon!
We’ll get at least all the Earth tier boxes out today, and the rest should go out tomorrow. Darius and Stephanie are here to help, and I think Emmanuel is coming by too, so I have hopes for a very efficient packing morning. Fingers crossed. Wish us luck!
I feel a little iffy claiming this is an ‘autumn’ box, but on the other hand, I think it’s technically autumn until the solstice, so I have a few more days! And maybe the seasons are different in Wonderland anyway….
*****
Earth tier ($40):
• the White Rabbit’s mulled apple cider marshmallows
•the Caterpillar’s smoked & salted vanilla marshmallows three ways:
– dark chocolate with crumbled graham crackers
– ruby chocolate with a dizzying array of colored sprinkles
– white chocolate with green glitter and gold stars
• Queen of Hearts cherry-rose scone
• chai-spiced banana bread
• Autumn in Wonderland falling leaves iced sugar cookies
• chocolate box (dragonfruit crown, silvered rose (with rose flavor), cinnamon dark chocolate rose, lemony white chocolate crown, ruby hearts)
• the Sleepy Dormouse’s garden party tisane: cacao nibs, dried fruit (peaches, cranberries, apricots, pears, nectarines, and raisins), crystallized ginger, rose petals
• the Mad Hatter’s cocktail / mocktail mix (hibiscus powder, crystallized ginger, dried pineapple)
•Wonderland hand-colored bookmark
•the Caterpillar’s trippy amber & sandalwood soap
Pouring Hot Water Into a Tisane
30 seconds of pouring hot water into a tisane.
The Sleepy Dormouse’s Garden Party Tisane
Cacao nibs, mixed dried fruit, candied ginger, dried rose petals.
How much do I love those little Drink Me tags? SO MUCH.
Leaf, Hedgehog, and Acorn Molds
Little molded milk chocolates for the top two tiers of the Autumn Wonderland treat boxes. Time-consuming to make, but I like the results on the leaf, hedgehog, and acorn molds. The hedgehog and acorn would make adorable cupcake toppers too, I think.
The twig broke every single time I tried to get chocolate out, bah, and the tiny bunnies were just too tiny for me. If anyone local would like those two molds, please let me know; maybe you’ll have better luck than I did!
Milk Toffee Candy-Making
Milk toffee for the flash sale. Yumyum. I’ve finally figured out how to make it come out right with a different pot (because my old one died).
Candy-making = fussy!
A Set of Three
One of the Kickstarter reward tiers involved a set of 3 chutneys, sambols, pickles, that kind of thing. Clearly seeni (sweet onion) sambol had to be one of them, and green tomato chutney was a lovely way to use up the last of the summer’s tomatoes. But what to do for the third choice? So many options!
I went with a pineapple achar (pickle), one of the new recipes (I think) in Vegan Serendib. There’s a little bit left in my fridge for me, so I’m planning on having that with fish curry and uppuma later today. Mmm…. We also have some roast chicken, and I think pineapple achar would make a great sandwich component with that.
