On Danish Transportation

At a Phillies game that I went to before I left the states (because I'm originally from the land of the Phightin' Phils and because my best friend's family is awesome), they made this announcement to "Stick around until the 7th inning to hear why our fans LOVE SEPTA!"  To which I called shenanigans, because no one loves SEPTA (SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority).  At best, people tolerate SEPTA because it kind of gets you where you need to go sometimes.

But public transportation here in Copenhagen is top notch.  I am obsessed with how simple the Metro system is (two lines, which go pretty much exactly the same places except for like 5 stops), then there are busses and the S-train, which is the regional train that takes you out to the outerlying neighborhoods of Greater Copenhagen.  And everything runs pretty consistently so you never have to wait more than like 10 minutes.  It's awesome.

But this evening, my lovely American roommate and I managed to get completely lost because we got on the right bus going the wrong way.  We were off in search of food: fun fact, they pretty much force you to go into the city from our little suburb-type neighborhood by just not having food anywhere around here.  So we hop on the 33 bus, which runs between our neighborhood and the City Centre.

...And, apparently, the outer reaches of Vestamager, which is two zones past what our school-provided transportation passes cover.  And the fine for getting caught on public transportation without a pass or with an insufficient pass is 750 kr (or about 125 USD).  So, thank god, we just pulled the "stupid, confused Americans couldn't understand the Danish bus schedule and accidentally got on the wrong bus" card and the bus driver was pretty understanding and took us home.

Today's lesson: Don't stray from the path.  Accept the role you have and don't try and adventure, because otherwise you will end up in Zone 4 which is nothing but houses anyway and you could get in lots of trouble.

Confusedly yours,
Rachel Leigh

On My Life As a Domestic Goddess (Or: Cupcake-Decorating 101)

This post is completely unrelated to what I normally post, but then again, I normally post whatever anyway.

If you know me, you know I like to bake.  If you REALLY know me, you know I worked as a cake decorator for four years and still take my decorating very seriously (especially on my cupcakes).  As such, I've gotten a couple questions on everything from the materials and techniques I use to the virtues of professional training.

So, here are Rachel's Tips and Tricks for decorating:

1. Buy cheap pastry bags and good decorating tips.  A cheap decorating tip will warp, bend, clog, and generally be a pain to work with.  Invest in sturdy ones.  Pastry bags, on the other hand, are disposable.  Even if you take excellent care of them, they rip, fray, and stain after a couple uses.  If you have to choose where to splurge and where to save, splurge on the decorating tips.  If it comes down to it, you can even use a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off to save money on pastry bags.
2. Know your materials and how they behave.  Cold, stiff frosting is harder to work with, but it holds up better than a warmer frosting, which wilts, melts into the cake, and falls apart if you look at it funny.  Don't try to use cookie frosting on a cake -- they behave completely differently and serve different purposes.
3. Practice and experiment.  It took me a good six months before I could pipe a frosting rose that didn't smoosh up or fall apart the second my hand moved.  Everything from learning the amount of pressure needed to pipe certain shapes and patterns to deciding if a design that looks cool in your head actually works in reality requires practice and a willingness to experiment.
4. Don't be afraid to get messy.  I worked one shift in high school where I had to leave immediately after to go set up and help out with senior class graduation, and it took me 12 hand washes and a shower to scrub all of the food coloring and icing off of my hands and arms.  You WILL end up covered in food coloring and having to wipe down your work station a lot, but it gets neater and easier with practice.  Don't wear anything you'd be horrified to see ruined until the mixer and food dye is safely away.

That's it for now.  If you guys like this kind of post, let me know and I might do more of them!  In the meantime, here is a picture of the cupcakes I made yesterday:

Letting them eat cake,
Rachel Leigh