Pack Rat takes a look at cake in a cup, and reminds you that the deadline for our Birthday Scavanger Hunt contest is December 1st!

Oh man. Here we go people. I just came across what could potentially be a life changing blog post. Dizzy Dee has posted a blog detailing how to make chocolate cake in five minutes. In a microwave. In a mug. CHOCOLATE CAKE. I am so screwed. Can you imagine, in the time it normally takes to nuke two mugs of tea you can instead have one of nature’s best desserts? The only thing that’s stopping me from leaping over to the kitchen and trying it immediately is my lack of cake flour in the house. And don’t sweat the eggs and milk in the recipe, vegan friends. Dizzy Dee has some helpful readers indeed; one reader named João Taborda modified the recipe for vegans, so that everyone can benefit/suffer from the world’s most easily assembled guilty pleasure. It’s a weird to be excited about, and dreading something at the same time. All I can hope for is that it doesn’t taste as good as the real thing. Fingers crossed.

photo copyright Dizzy Dee

Didn’t Pack Rat put you in a dumpster once?

At my last job, my co-workers and I spent an inordinate amount of time talking about cheese. Someone would say, “You know what I love? Feta.” And from there the next half hour would be spent recounting our favorite types of cheeses, cheese dishes, places to get cheese, etc. One of the ultimate comfort foods, only the most extremely lactose intolerant can resist it’s charms. So color me excited when I found this video from Food Wishes by Chef John, giving a simple step-by-step demo on how to make cheese at home. As Chef John readily admits, making your own cheese this way is neither cheaper nor more time efficient, but if you truly love a food, how can you not want a behind-the-scenes experience unlocking it’s mysteries?

Pack Rat is PLUGGED IN

Hello! Oh it is SO good to be back from that unexpected hiatus. After reading over my blog from yesterday, I realized that it wasn’t clear what being sweaty and smelly has to do with getting internet. The answer is nothing. I was hot and sweaty, and in a pretty grumpy mood at that, because I was working on refinishing a flea market piece yesterday and it didn’t come out the way I wanted. I’ve had a dime store paperback rack for years that was a bit of a rusty mess. I kept assuring my boyfriend it was going to get a fresh coat of paint and yesterday, in a surge of industrious empowerment, I went to it. Well, turns out that I had enough primer but not enough red paint. After a few hours in the blazing sun, inhaling paint fumes I was a little peeved to find this out. But, then joy of joys, rapture of raptures, my cable guy showed up and that brings us to now, the glorious moment of writing this blog. Sorry if I’m a little chatty, it’s been a long time.

But, on with the show. Today I found a fun site called C00kin9 6y Num6er5. I have to come clean with you about something. The truth is I hate to cook. I know, I know, I’m a bad crafty lady to not love the art of food preparation. I don’t know if you all have noticed yet, but that’s why you don’t see a lot of recipe sites on this blog. Usually if I’m cooking, it’s because I’ve run out of frozen Amy’s dinners and have to scrap something together from the hodgepodge of stuff I have in my cabinets and fridge. Well, Cooking by Numbers seems like it’s going to make this process infinitely easier. The site starts with a check list of kitchen staples. You indicate how much you have of each ingredient and voilá! It provides you with a list of recipes that involve said ingredients. Useful and it’s fun. I like trying to stump it. I have bacon, tinned tuna, baked beans, and a bar of chocolate–Go!

Pack Rat Magazine knows not to mess with The Luggage

The subject of this blog post comes via Crafty Crafty

If there’s anything the British seem to know, it’s humor. Monty Python, Eddie Izzard, Douglas Adams, the list goes on and on. For all of you über nerds out there, I certainly hope you have read, or are planning to read the books in the Discworld fantasy series by Terry Pratchett (p.s. I just googled über to make sure I was spelling it right, and I read a whole Wikipedia entry devoted to that one word. Talk about obernerdy). The Discworld is a lot like our own…only different. There’s way too much to go into here, but essentially the Discworld is a planet shaped like a disc that is carried on the backs of four elephants who ride atop a giant turtle, floating through space. Trust me, it’s hilarious. I especially love the character of Death, who always speaks ALL IN CAPS and who loves KITTENS AND BAKING.

Anywho, the long and the short of it is that I’m hardly the only person in love with these books. Kimberly Chapman and her husband Corran are also fans and they have expressed their love in the best way possible: cake form. Visit Chapman’s website for the how-to for this scrumptious literary dessert.

Pack Rat Magazine likes to stir the stew

Well, we here at Pack Rat are pretty much across the board omnivores, but we have our misgivings about the meat industry and have nothing but love for our vegan brethren and sisteren. So, coming across the Post Punk Kitchen, a public access show devoted to tasty vegan meals even made me excited. Delicious sounding recipes like black bean and sweet potato stew, brown sugar fruit cakes, and roast squash pasta have me drooling. If you’re vegan this sounds like a sure thing, and even if you aren’t, who can resist a yummy new recipe?