Valentine Roses- in new Avatar-DIY Rose Water.

Hello Dearies!!! V day is long gone and the roses are wilted by now, But what about the sentiments that go along with the V day gifting, have they also wilted like the roses. I get 3 roses every V day, and I gift a cake in return., That is set in Ashland. 

We do not budge with the whole spending and breaking the budget over overpriced emotions and things expressing love on one day!!! I visited the regular grocery store one day before Feb 14th, and was amazed to see people, all ages, young big, old buying stuff that was either red, heart shaped and over priced. Please do not get me wrong, but I fail to understand the hype behind showing love on one day and fighting the remainder of the year. 

A regular dozen rose bunch was priced at $50, normally it is for $15-$20. As not to dampen the spirit of showing Mommy a little love, I set the budget to $10 on roses and around $10 for the cake. I am not cheap in gifting, where I need to spend I surely do, but the hype behind some holidays conveys wrong message to kids is what I feel. I may be wrong, but then I am what I am!!!!

I did bake a boxed mix cake and  piped some rosettes with my loved whipped cream pudding icing.

 But the star for the day is DIY Rose water. While growing up, having rose water  at home was a regular thing. My mom used it in sweets, in bath water and even applied on her face to cool off in summer. Rose water is  a natural toner and very useful as a medicine and beauty product.

I have been reading a lot about wellness and using herbs and pantry items to create different skin care lotions. I plan on making a glycerin and  rose water potion to reduce dryness and anti skin aging for the spring months when my skin tends to get very dry and  develops dry patches. Keep reading this space for more on that.

I use the three wilted roses that Mr. Ash and kids brought for me on the V day. There is something about V day roses, they are more fragrant than the regular ones. But come June and my home grown tube roses would also be just as good. Making rose water is as easy as  boiling water.

I refereed to this website for making the rose water but seeping for 3-4 hours was not for me. So instead I boiled the petals with water and cooled it; I got a beautiful colored rose water in less than 30 minutes. The kitchen smelled like a rose valley, which was an added bonus.

You will need;
3 Roses- I had 2 red and 1 white- Pesticide free and if possible organic.
1 cup cold water 

Wash and rinse the petals of the roses. In a pot, take the washed petals, immerse in the cold water. You do not need a lot of water, just till the petals soak. Boil on low heat till the water boils and the petals give away most of its color. Mine took about 10-15 minutes.

Once you achieve the desired color, turn off the heat, and let cool for another 15 minutes. Strain and use the liquid. The rose water can be stored in a food save bottle in the fridge for about 10 days. Put it in a spray bottle and  freshen up dull skin or add in the bath water to experience a Cleopatra style bath. Whatever you decide to do, do let me know how you did it and how it helped you.

Its Raining Cakes in Ashland- Sweet cakes in the offering

Hello Sweeties!!!! Its getting sweeter in Ashland. With Spring in air and on my toes, I have been baking cakes  for my loved ones all along February. 

I am also trying my hand at making chocolate art. Kids cake can be made theme based by using cake toppers/toys that can be washed and used only as decoration. But when it comes to baking and decorating cakes for my family and friends who not necessary are all young kids at heart, I get stuck at decorating them. Using Fruit is one option, but again it takes away the essence of eating dessert that you can actually feel guilty about.

For the chocolate art, I put the bar of good choclate in an icing bag and zapped that in the microwave to melt it, cut the tip of and used it to trace some design on an silicon mat and froze it for 30 mins. After that kind of gently removed the frozen chocolate and used it as a cake topper.

 

Desserts need to be sinful and they should make the girls feel guilty of indulging in, only then they can give you a blissful feeling of  feeling happy. I am sharing the pictures of cakes I have made recently. The cakes are not necessary from scratch and are semi home made i.e. from boxed mixes, But the icing is all home made with whipped cream and custard and even bit of vanilla splashed in for aroma and flavor.

The above cake is the Cake I want to mention specially. This cake has been made and decorated by a very special 6 year old friend with her moms help and tiny winy help from Ms. Ash. Her mom is my good friend and when she requested me for a cake decorating class, I was stumped. What do I teach a 6 yrs old girl about decorating? 

 Her mom instructed me to do a class as I normally would or an adult and she would have no issues with it. And boy was she right!!! This girl did not budge for the entire 2-3 hours of the class and we did  decorate this beautiful cake which she took home for her dearest Daddy!!! She taught me a very valuable lesson that if you have the passion and the right encouragement, age my friend is just a number. You are never too old or young to learn new skills.

Likewise no celebration is complete without some cake. What better gift can be than making a cake for your friend. So enjoy making, decorating and showering cakes on your loved ones.