It has become clear to me that I cannot go for very long without a hobby.  And it’s often safer for me to have a hobby that keeps me busy and off the streets, lest I get bored enough to start a popular revolt.  It’s never good when I start thinking of ways to bring down the system, especially just because I’m bored.  (Potential employers, please take note, the capitalistic system you save by hiring me, may very well be your own.)

But job woes aside…and how ridiculous is this market…I’ve been spending a lot, and I mean a lot of time lately cooking.  Making bread, working on new recipes, and lately, learning to work with chocolate.

Last week, I had lunch with my friend Toni.  Now, Toni and I have known each other for longer than some of my friends have been alive…which is too scary to contemplate, so let us move past that, and let me say that when it comes to Ladies Who Cook, Toni is amazing.  Seriously, she’s won more cooking contests than anyone I know. And despite being the Queen of the State Fair competitions, she’s just about the most helpful person in the world when it comes to all things baked, jarred, and pureed.  So, when we had lunch, she brought me a bunch of stuff about entering the State Fair cooking competition, which I’m seriously contemplating doing.

Even as I type, I’ve got truffle cream firming up in the fridge.  Today’s batch is Chai Green Tea Truffles which will be dipped in a very dark rich chocolate.  Should they work, I’ll take pictures.  Unless you’re local, in which case I’ll probably be trying to feed them to you.  Please, come eat the chocolate I’m practicing with, or good lord, I’ll need a trolley just to get around the house.

The batch before this was a peanut butter/cheesecake truffle in milk chocolate.  O.M.G.!  So good.  I did the ganache for the outer shell wrong, so it was too soft, but the flavor…man, if you love the core ingredients, it was amazing.

Boy has been loving all the kitchen work.  He’s developing quite the palate for a kidlet.  Also, he wants to make his own recipe for the State Fair…although his proposed recipe sounds pretty weird…ya know, he’s six, and six year olds will eat some weird stuff.

I start cake decorating classes tomorrow, so that’s pretty exciting.  If nothing else, I should be able to make a really groovy cake for the baby shower I’ll be throwing for my friend Brigette. (I think she said she was sending out the invites, I suppose I should find out when a gaggle of women are descending upon me.)

So, anyway, that’s how I’ve been channeling my rage at the Captains of Industry, Princes of Wall Street, and employers who are insisting on ridiculous degree requirements.