Olychick, I don't think you're missing anything. To me, red velvet seems like a chocolate cake wannabe, not enough cocoa to really be chocolate. It's really pretty at Christmas and Valentine's Day, though, if you can stand the thought of all that dye... As Plllog mentioned, the texture is meant to be a factor, that's why it's "velvet", but with today's proliferation of cake mixes, the red velvet has become just another kind of cake mix cake, in a different color but with the same fluffy/puffy texture as all other boxed mix cakes. It's why the technique in the scratch cake requires those various steps as well as the buttermilk and vinegar in addition to the leavening, for the texture and structure of that specific cake. Sherri, I have not tried it with beets, but I'm going to, now that you've mentioned it. I've been meaning to for some time now and just haven't gotten around to it. Let us know if you do it and how it comes out, if it's horrible you can save me an experiment! Annie

Neely, the pavlova still looks fine to me, and those strawberries are lovely. Anglophilia, the pork sounds delicious. My husband says I'm boring, every morning I have one egg, over easy, some type of toast and a cup of coffee in my favorite little Jadite mug. It's the perfect size, I can actually drink it all before the coffee gets cold! Anyway, a dear friend gifted me with some Portuguese muffins, so I've been having half of one of those with breakfast. They are more dense than regular English Muffins and a little sweet, with raisins, very yummy: I've been hungry for beef barley soup, so I made some of that today: Yesterday I made a big salad with some of the turkey. I'm not crazy for salads, but Elery loves them, so occasionally I cave in and we have salad for supper. He had some homemade maple oatmeal bread with his, the salad alone was enough for me: We've been busy making other things too, like a batch of Habanero Gold jelly for Christmas savory cheesecake: A big batch of venison and cheddar sausage: Elery was packaging the sausage while I made cookies for the freezer. These were those flourless peanut butter cookies, all scooped out and the frozen lumps will be placed in a freezer bag until I want them, then they'll be thawed and baked: Somehow these four didn't make it onto the sheet pan and had to be baked. "Oh, darn", was Elery's reaction, LOL. Tomorrow Madi and Maci will be here while Ashley goes hunting, last day of deer season here for rifle hunters. I'm thinking pizza..... Annie

The head marking is hilarious. I first thought a fried egg, (Egglet), then a flower like a 'Daisy'. 'Bullseye' is perfect. One of my favorite YouTube vlogs is Cog Hill Farm. They have a pig named Peaches, an Emu named Nugget, and many others. Adorable family. I've learned so much about chickens from their 10 year old daughter MaryCarl. The standard NewYears day faire here like so many others. Ham, black-eyed peas, cornbread, cabbage. Next day sliders. Lots of soup from ham hock/leek top stock. Ham packets for the freezer...Ham twice a year is just about perfect. Soup season has arrived. Horseradish cream on the sliders Last nights Smoked Oyster Stew was the closest I've ever come to giving a meal a 10+. As well as the appy. Smoked oysters, then under the broiler. 10+. 10++ if I had classic oyster crackers but homemade croutons at the table was equally nice. While I was at it, I smoked two small salmon filets, two pork chops previously SousVide then frozen. (smoked them frozen), and a chunk of frozen Romano from that big wheel. YUM ! I pulled the smoker inside the kitchen door as it was snowing this morning. Smells like a BBQ joint. (not a problem). The chicken last week we smoked longer, two pans. Last night was just 45 minutes, the oysters 30 minutes. One pan. Perfect amount not wanting to 'cure'. Maybe a Smoked Salmon Corn Chowder tonight. Still coin-flipping with so many choices. Our cheese making organic farm friends gifted us some cream cheese. I had planned to make a smoked salmon/chive 'shmear'. For bagels I have in the freezer. Bummer. Could not find it, head scratching NewYearsDay. Found the container in our bed spotlessly licked by a bad pup. 😂 Adore the look on their faces when confronting them with container in hand. Head lowered in shame. Not at all sorry they did it.

I don’t, Zalco, only because I have only made mushrooms and acorns and easter eggs with it and they are so easy no directions are required. There are plenty of youtube videos on the subject but i find if i just look for photos I can copy what i see. You need to use paste or gel to color marzipan, as liquid coloring will make the stuff too wet. It gets hard when left out in the air so you want to keep it wrapped and sealed except for the bit you’re working on. It’s like play dough and a lot of fun to work with. True story: the first time I tried making cake decorations with it i had no idea how much i would need and ordered a SEVEN POUND TUB of the stuff from a vendor on Amazon. I could have made a Christmas village with that much marzipan! You can get it at the grocery store in tubes like toothpaste. Not the best quality but good enough to learn on and the packaging keeps it fresh.