CAKE POPS VS. BAKE POP - THE SMACKDOWN

Last week I mentioned my foray into the world of the infomercial -- namely buying the Bake Pop pans for making Cake Pops.  The results were good, but to me not nearly as delicious as the Cake Pops I'd had at a friend's party.  In a fit of Consumer Reports-like mania, I decided to whip up a batch of real Cake Pops and compare the results.

I used the standard Cake Pop technique of crumbling a baked cake and combining it with canned frosting, followed by rolling the mixture into balls.  After they spent a few hours in the fridge, I dipped the balls in the same Wilton Candy Melts as before.  (I get no points for my decorating abilities on either type, but I was trying for taste, not appearance.)

And the verdict?  Which was superior -- the Cake Pops or the infomercial Bake Pop?  Well, it depends on who you ask.  The Inmates and I all found the Cake Pops far superior.  They had a wonderfully flavorful, moist center.  Others, such as The Vulcan, found them much too sweet and preferred the cake-only center of the Bake Pops.  In fairness I have to say The Inmates and I are sugar-addicted.  We're tempted to sprinkle sugar on top of our Froot Loops.

I guess the winner depends on your personal preferences.  I will say, however, that the process of making the real Cake Pops was not nearly as painful and time-consuming as I expected.  It takes the better part of a day, from start to finish, but most of that time is spend waiting for cake to cool or for cake balls in the fridge to get firm.  The actual hands-on time is not much more than with the Bake Pop pans and the clean up was much easier (although it may have helped that Foghorn didn't assist me the second time).

My conclusion?  If you prefer a less-sweet Cake Pop, the Bake Pop pans are a nice option.  If you're strictly looking for something to save you time and effort, the pans don't really make much of a difference.  And if you consider high fructose corn syrup to be a fifth food group, go with the traditional Cake Pops.


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AN ARMY OF PHILS (OR A PAPER CHOMPER OBSESSION)

My daughter's latest crafting craze is about to push me over the edge.  She came home whiny and weepy the other day, wanting to know how to make "Phils."  I had  no clue what she was talking about, which just added to her frustration.  A couple days later she returned from school, thrilled that someone had put one in her desk.  This, apparently, is a "Phil":

Think recyclable Pacman and you've got the basic concept.  I have no clue who named the damn things, but apparently at least one of the second grade classes is running around calling these things Phils.  After Googling I finally found that they are known as "paper chompers" and nobody on the Internet as far as I could tell is calling them Phils.  (There is, though, apparently a really good place called Phil's BBQ out there...)

Nothing gives me the pip worse than when Foghorn drags out her supplies and gets into some elaborate project that scatters a forest's worth of paper around my family room.  My only hope when she started assembly line-style Phil production was to get her a box.

She began to call this her "army."  WELL, you can't very well have an army around a 12 year old boy without him wanting an army of his own, so The Professor spent last evening making his brigade.  (I then sent him out to the garage for another empty box.)

There are apparently great plans for an upcoming battle.  Foghorn has already annoyed me so many times by having Phil chomp in my face that I threatened to put him in the paper shredder.  I'm sure the battle will be very civilized until somebody wrinkles somebody else's chomper and then all hell is gonna break lose...


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UPDATE ON UPSIDE DOWN TOMATO GROWING -- SCREW IT!

In early August I wrote about the thrill of my first tomato harvest.  Yes, it was only NINE cherry tomatoes, but they were fresh, organic tomatoes for Foghorn to nibble to her heart's content.  Then I waited for more...and waited...and waited...

I'm still waiting.  Oh, I got lots of lovely little flowers which promised to turn into tomatoes and then didn't.  I also finally had another full-fledged tomato sprout about a month ago and I've just been waiting for it to turn red.  The little b*astard won't so much as blush for me.

He's taunting me, I swear.

Does it really take a month for a tomato to turn color?  Much to my shock, this week I see that there are two other little tiny green tomatoes on another vine.  Of course, if I have to wait as long for these to redden I'll be picking them in the snow.  Which, of course, reminds me of my other problem --- namely the upcoming cold weather.  Tomato growing season is almost over and I've had NINE lousy tomatoes for all this time and money.  I have this overwhelming urge to grab a tennis racket and whack those little green Chihuahua testicles right across the yard.  Not that I'm bitter...

A friend told me her husband bought one of those commercial upside down planters last year and didn't get a thing.  I got the pitifully small eight from three tomato plants.  Now, I know there are people who grow them successfully upside down  Not being a gardener I can only speculate that maybe I needed a bigger pot with more soil, but since my current planters already weigh enough to make wrought iron bend I'm not inclined to try to hang anything heavier.  My personal opinion on upside down tomato growing is...well... I'm trying very hard to control my profanity around the children these days, so I'll just simply say "it stinks."


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*  UPSIDE DOWN TOMATO GROWING