Share Our Garden!: More on Cake Pops and Other Mini Foods

" Live Your Life To The Full"

Ken e. Hall

Enjoy your life

to the very full

Be kind to someone

everyday,

Spend your days

doing what you love

Let your friends

have their say,

Be happy with

what you've got

Climb mountains

wearing happy fun,

Indeed the sun will

warm your very spot

Then life will grow you

all your needs,

For you are sowing

all the seeds.

TODAY'S SEEDS OF WISDOM

JUST BLOOMED TODAY
GARDEN UPDATE
MORE ON CAKE POPS AND OTHER MINI FOODS
FAUNA
GARDEN GIGGLE
GARDEN FLOTSAM
GARDEN GOODIES~SHARE OUR GARDEN CRAFT #RA03 TEACHER'S PET
FEEDBACK

JUST BLOOMED TODAY~READER'S GARDEN SHARE

Maureen from Oregon shared these pictures of her front garden

Maureen shares that deer usually destroy flower and gardens in her area but she is determined to have one!

GARDEN UPDATE

97F at 3:45pm in the High Desert. I am hiding inside, as usual, after having all my chores done early while it was still just warm.

We definitely have a rooster from our new babies...a Buff Orpington we named Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. We are working gentling him so he will be a polite boy.

The mulberries are now pretty much all ripe, and right at breakfast level...LOL! Nothing better than picking your breakfast from your own garden as you stroll around.

MORE ON CAKE POPS AND OTHER MINI FOODS

Yesterday we didn't get a chance to mention where cake pops come from. Fellow blogger Bakerella first unleashed these miniature cakes on sticks back in 2007. Once they went viral, pastry chefs, home bakers, even Starbucks jumped on the trend.

The queen of these candycoated creations is Angie Dudley, better known as Bakerella, the Georgia-based blogging sensation. Her precious Easter basket pops — with sugar cones for baskets and green Sour Patch straws for handles — are so intricately designed, one look would make most novices retreat to their kitchens with a bag of Tollhouse Break and Bake.

But Dudley swears that even detailed pops are not difficult. All it takes is box cake mix, ready-made frosting, an edible ink pen, tons of candy — and vision.

“I don’t look at candy as something to eat anymore,” says Dudley, the author of “Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats” (Chronicle Books, 2010). A second book focused on winter holiday pops is due out later this year. “I look at it as inspiration. I look at it proportionally. A Junior Mint is a hat. Coated sunflower seeds make great noses.”

She says the mini madness likely will continue, not only because the smaller desserts are portable and affordable, but also because they’re simply too darn cute to die out.

Inspired by the pops’ portability, moderate calorie content and undeniable cute factor, pastry chefs are coming up with miniature versions of other desserts, from cookies and cupcakes to seasonal tarts, whoopie pies and eclairs no bigger than a cocktail wiener.

There is much to love about these mini treats, says Paulina Tsagaris, whose Campbell-based boutique catering company, Sweet Luna Desserts, specializes in all treats miniature.

“They’re small, so you don’t have to feel guilty,” says Tsagaris, who makes baby eclairs filled with vanilla pastry cream and dipped in Guittard dark chocolate glaze. “And they’re usually full of flavor, so you’re left feeling satisfied in one or two bites.”

Sushi Cake Pops

They’re also small enough that you can try a variety without looking like a sweet-toothed hog.

We know you are dying to try them so here are a few more to spark your creativity! And, thanks, Bakerella!

Bluebird Cake Pops

Boston Terrier Cake Pops

GARDEN GIGGLE

FAUNA

Hamster Ice Cream, Anyone?

GARDEN FLOTSAM

For those of you still growing tomatoes "old school" (non-topsy turvey), and are picking off the tomato worms by hand, here's a neat trick- water your tomatoes from above before searching. The worms will wiggle to shrug off the water and you'll be able to see them.

GARDEN GOODIES~SHARE OUR GARDEN CRAFT #RA-03 TEACHER'S PET
Now that school is ending, what is a cute way to say thank you to a great teacher? This is an easy and simple way to say 'thanks' and your child can give it to their teacher themselves.