Busy!

The last few days have been busy ones.  I've got two cakes due in the next 3 days and while they aren't difficult cakes, they both involve some thought process and a little bit of research.  Just an example:  I probably bought $10 in different kinds/brands of fruit leather, looking for the perfect color/texture, etc.  Found out there is quite a racket on this stuff.  Why in the world is it so expensive??  After buying a bunch, I found a recipe online to make your own.  And it only involves two ingredients and an oven.  Here's how you do it:

Homemade Fruit Leather

4 - 1lb baskets of Fresh Strawberries
1/2 Cup Agave Nectar
(tiny bit of butter for greasing)

Preheat oven to 150 degrees.  (Any higher and they will burn)  Cut parchment paper to fit a jelly pan or cookie sheet(s), then grease with butter.  Wash and hull strawberries.  Place in blender with Agave nectar until well blended.  Pour mixture in pans and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.  Place in oven with door slightly cracked open.  Fruit is dry when it is no longer sticky to the touch.  (Convection oven 6-7 hours/Conventional 10-12 hours)  Cut into 2" strips and store in air tight container.
You can do these right before bed and place them in the oven and they will be ready when you wake up.  With such a low oven temperature, there shouldn't be any danger of fire.  This also work great with other berries.


What could be simpler than this?  Evidently, running to the store and buying fruit roll up #1, running to the store and buying #2 and, again, running to the store and buying #3.  By now, I am an expert on Fruit roll ups, fruit leather, fruit sticks, etc.  But it's all in the name of cake, so I won't complain........anymore.  :-)
Last night we watched the movie Lincoln Lawyer.  Since I'm a HUGE Michael Connelly fan, I was really looking forward to seeing this.  The book is always better, but the movie was good too.  I never sit thru movies, but actually managed to sit and watch the whole thing.  Liked the movie, but felt that it lacked the intensity that "Mickey Haller" should have had.  I think Matthew Mcconaughey plays a good lawyer, as he did in A Time to Kill and it's a very similar character in The Lincoln Lawyer.
Got up early this morning to get our Co-Op Basket from Bountiful Baskets.  It's all fruits and veggies and something I was really looking forward to.  Check out the Bountiful Baskets in your area:  http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/
Here's a look at what we got this morning, for $15.

Aside from the fact that you have to get your order at 7:30am on a Saturday morning, it's a great way to get your fruits and veggies each week.  They also offer great whole grain breads!
Since we were up and at it so early this morning, I feel like we got a lot accomplished.  We went to the grocery store, cake supply store in downtown Phoenix, Sprouts, and finally a couple of mattress stores and still made it home before noon.
Speaking of mattresses....we are in the market for one.  Not sure what we want to go with.  It's amazing how many choices there are and how expen$$$$ive they have become.  Who pays $8K for a mattress??  I want something a little firm, as I have really bad back problems.  Anyone have any suggestions?  We've looked at Temprupedic and sort of like the feel of them, but am a little hesitant because they hold heat.  While I freeze for the first 3 hours I'm in bed, the remainder of my 5 hour sleep is spent like I'm on fire!  I have always constantly run a high body temp.  Every time I go to the doctor, they ask me if I know I have a temperature.  YES!  I know!!!  That brings me back to the problem.  Evidently, memory foam mattresses hold in the heat.  It would be my luck that I somehow start the thing on fire at 3am, due to me rubbing my feet together and causing friction.  If anyone has any experience with these types of beds, let me know.
Finished one cake and now it's back to work to get another one out.  The trash is building up and dogs and cats are waiting patiently.......