Scribbles & Munch

      It's been a week of ups and downs. The most striking of these was an email I received on Tuesday from the agency which had expressed interest in my manuscript, saying that after careful consideration they had decided it wasn't for them. They gave me a bit of very good feedback, and they were kind enough to tell me that I am a talented writer. All in all they were gracious and professional, and I am grateful they were willing to give me a chance.
      Of course, on Tuesday I wasn't able to articulate that very clearly: I was too busy crying and eating molten chocolate cake. But that's just how I deal with things.
      It would have been against all odds for them to actually take me on as a client, a new writer with no previous published work, on my first attempt, so it wasn't a surprise that I was ultimately rejected--but it was a strong disappointment. While I haven't heard back from a little over half of the agencies I contacted, chances grow ever slimmer that any of the remainders will be interested. Alas, Sweet Dream, farewell to thee! My heart aches with surrendering your comforting illusion, and my mind is heavy with the weight of reality, sinking me back to cold, practical earth. I weep...and I bake...and I use overly flowery language to ease my sorrow. *sigh*
      So then what was the up? That would be today: National Ice Cream Day! Yes, this really is a real thing here in the U.S.A. I have no idea where it came from, but more's to the point I have no idea why this isn't more widely recognized! There are parades all over the place to celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and that's a dusty old document--you can't eat that! So where's my ice cream parade?
      Clearly, there was no way I was letting this important date pass without indulgence. I decided on a Malted Chocolate Ice Cream, and I made the custard mixture yesterday. The recipe, you may notice, calls for 12 egg yolks. If I was a chicken, I would wince just reading it. I abhor kitchen waste, so I decided to make an Angel Food Cake as well, because that uses 12 egg whites. Last night I stuck the whites & the custard in the fridge & the ice cream making bowl in the freezer and went to bed, ready for a morning of baking and churning to be followed by an afternoon of deliciousness!
      Then I woke up this morning and found that my ice cream maker had sprung a leak, and dribbled neon blue toxin all over the bottom shelf of my freezer.

      CURSED, CRUEL FATE! AGAIN YOU SMITE ME WITH YOUR LEFT HAND, CAST ME INTO THE LOWEST PIT OF YOUR DISDAIN AND MOCK ME IN MY ANGUISH!!!

      Alright, maybe it wasn't as bad as all that. The leak was on the outside, from a pinpoint hole so tiny I couldn't even see it, I only knew it was there because of the tell-tale azure droplets. After careful consideration, my husband and I determined we could probably go ahead and make the ice cream if we were careful, but then any further use of the apparatus was out of the question. The whole thing was really quite surprising to me, because this was a Kitchen Aid brand ice cream maker, and attachment for my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. And frankly, Kitchen Aid is the last word when it comes to stand mixers, and I just expected everything they made to go with would be of similar quality. I only had this ice cream maker for a little under a year and a half, and I think I only made about a half-dozen batches of ice cream. I took really good care of it...I even stored it in the original packaging when I put it away! After the fact, my husband did a little research and discovered this is not an uncommon equipment failure. NOW we find out--and I literally recommended this contraption to my mother only the day before!
      So there was another down. But the ice cream is made, the cake is made, and I'm going to indulge here in about an hour. While I wait, I will work more on my current project--I believe I have a plot twist waiting to be penned.

P.S. - the votes are in regarding the Pie for July. (Whee, more rhyming!) Since my mother chose to vote by phone, the Plum Pie wins! I will be baking it later this week (probably after the ice cream and cake have been fully devoured).