Who says it never rains in Southern California?

It has been raining steadily for over two days now. So Cal has been on "Storm Watch 2010" since the first drizzle. The pool is close to overflowing!

And my poor rose garden is sunken--in more ways than one.

Chocolate Vodka

My brother, Scotty Wonderful, turned me onto chocolate vodka.  My sister in law,  Lady Di,  shared it on facebook after he made some, and you know I just had to try and make some myself.  It is quite simple to make.  Get some vodka.  I chose Kirkland, a fine Costco brand, because it was cheap inexpensive.

Next I purchased some fun size Milky Way bars because they were cheaper a better value than buying full size candy bars.  Chop up those babies and...

drop them into the bottle of vodka.  I poured off at least 1/2 the bottle because you know Costco and those jumbo sizes.  But I didn't pour it down the drain.  Nope, I decanted it into smaller bottles.  Waste not, want not.

You won't believe the next step.  Seal it tightly.  Okay, that part is believable.  And run it through the dishwasher.  You heard me, the dishwasher. 

Once through wasn't quite long enough to melt all the caramel, so I ran her through again.  I think those dishdrawers were made for Costco bottles!

Then I shook the dickens out of it.  I shook until I couldn't shake anymore.  And then I strained out the last little bits of caramel, stuck it in the freezer for awhile and voila!

You will not want to serve it in a glass this large.  Trust me.  I poured half of this back after the photo shoot.  But this is the coolest glass I own (thank you Sara!) so of course I had to use it.  If I make this again I will use a better quality vodka, but I'm not sure I can contaminate Kettle One or Grey Goose this way.  Oh, and I had to add some cream to make it a little smoother.  But you know, after a couple of sips, it tastes pretty darn good!

My new blog

Let me tell you a little bit about myself.  I'm a retired public school teacher, married to a retired cop.  We live in a neighborhood that was carved out of an orange grove in Southern California, hence the name Girl With Oranges.  We have one daughter who is married to a wonderful guy.  We're all happy.  We have a good life.

My hubby, Mr. Oranges, likes to cook.  Aren't I lucky?  Wait, it gets better, much better.  He does all the grocery shopping, too.  I know! Don't hate me.

One thing Mr. Oranges does not do is bake or make sweet things.  So if that is going to happen in our house, I must be the one to do it.  So today I did!

First I loaded some Christmas movies into the DVD player and watched my favorite one first.

 Can you guess the title?  Yep!  Holiday Inn.  I. Love. That. Movie.

Next I set up my mis en place...I love using French phrases...

Today I am baking Madeline cookies, cinnamon rolls, and two cakes.

 An important ingredient in my kitchen is the phone...so when Mr. Oranges goes to the grocery store he can call me to verify that yes I want heavy whipping cream, not just whipping cream.  And no, I do not want that stuff in the spray can or worse that stuff in the plastic tub.

 With all that mess going on in the kitchen I didn't even bother to change out of my workout gear.

 I mean, why bother looking like June Cleaver if the place is going to look like this within a matter of minutes? 

 When that mess overwhelms me I can look at my nice tidy baking cupboard. 
Sigh...Tupperware, I love you!

 You know what I need more than double ovens?  Double mixing bowls.  Make that triple. 

 While the cinnamon rolls were rising I had to mix my cake by hand (while holding the camera with my left hand to get this shot!).

 Several hours later I had 24 Madelines, over two dozen cinnamon rolls, one pumpkin dump cake, and one chocolate cake.

This is my plan for the cake.  Wish me luck.

Stay tuned for chocolate vodka.  Say what?