Lick my balls...

...or, better yet, bite them!

I've been dreaming of cake balls ever since I stumbled upon a site that mentioned cake pops, which inspired a Google search, which led me to Bakerella.

So for a couple of weeks now I've been plotting flavour combinations and decorating possibilities. I finally found myself healthy enough (after having the flu) and with enough time (dog-sitting for mom) to plunge into what I kept telling everyone was my 'Secret Easter Baking Experiment'.

Early Saturday morning kiddo and I headed over to the grocery store for cake mixes, and to the Bulk Barn for decorations and various other Easter-related baking nonsense. We spent waaaay more on sprinkles than on cake mix somehow, and I now have enough supplies to make hundreds of cake balls.

I thought for my first time I would stick with tried and true chocolate...for the cake and the frosting, and let kiddo go crazy with the decorations. What a great weekend activity to do with kids! Cake balls are super easy, although a bit messy, and just a little time consuming because of the steps involved:

1. Bake a cake.
2. Let it chill.
3. Break it up into crumbs.
4. Mix with icing to make a 'dough'
5. Chill.
6. Roll into balls.
7. Chill some more.
8. Dunk in chocolate.
9. Decorate (optional - and do it quickly before the chocolate dries!).
10. EAT!!!

Saturday afternoon kiddo helped me bake the cake, one of her favourite things to do (even more than eating cake - seriously) cause she gets to stand on a chair in the kitchen, help stir, and then lick the spoon.

I crumbled the cake and mixed in the icing while watching Saturday Night Live (my love for Seth Rogen only grows stronger) and then put the dough in the fridge overnight. Rolled the dough into golf ball-sized balls in the morning, went out for breakfast while they chilled in the fridge, and came back home full of bacon and ready for the fun part.

I used candy melts for the coating...Bulk Barn has a ridiculous rainbow of coloured candy melts. For this batch we used white, pink and milk chocolate melts. A quick swim in the chocolate and then kiddo attacked with rainbow chips, sprinkles, and flower and butterfly candies.

One batch made at least 60 balls, and they have so far been loved (and devoured) by friends, family and co-workers, and I still have a box to last me through the week.

I have more cake, more sprinkles, and a LOT more ideas, so stay tuned, more cake balls to come...

My first road kill

Just after cresting a hill on the unpaved marvel that is Sawmill Road on this dark night, my car took out a possum. The worst part of it all was that it didn't die...not immediately anyway. I watched it writhe around on the road for a while wondering if I should put it out of it's misery, and then all of a sudden it was gone...creepy.

I don't like possums, but it was still a terrible experience. I realise it was worse for the possum, yet somehow my remorse is lacking.

My research tells me that possums are native to the southeastern United States, and were introduced to the West during the depression as a source of food (ick) and have now made it into Ontario somehow. They're also North America's only marsupial (who knew?!).

Well I say, send 'em back from whence they came! Or maybe in these tough times some adventurous people will find use for them. According to the Joy of Cooking (page 515), after trapping a possum it's best to feed it on milk and cereal for 10 days before roasting (ICK!).

And just so you can't accuse me of not being fair and balanced in my blogging, here is the opposing view:

Stewing

I've been ruminating about rapini since it came on a pizza while visiting the fam last weekend. I am now experimenting in the kitchen...and singing along with Nina Simone. Stay tuned, I have a good feeling about this...

OK, here it is...

Rabeanage Stew (got a better name?)

Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion
5 chorizo sausages, casings removed
1 bunch of rapini (or broccoli rabe), chopped
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 cup of dried navy beans, soaked and cooked
2 cups of chicken stock
LOTS of black pepper and a wee bit of sea salt

Directions:
Saute onion in a large pot with some olive oil. Add sausage and break it up with a spoon. Cook sausage on high heat until cooked through, drain excess fat. Throw in all other ingredients, and cook on medium heat until rapini is tender.

The verdict? Tasty, and nothing like some dark leafy greens to make you forget you're eating sausage! Well worth the effort...and the blood-loss resulting from stabbing myself with the rapini's twist-tie at the grocery store's self-checkout. But I predict it will taste even better tomorrow.