Monkey of the Week...

It was 2 degrees this morning.  

It took an extra ten minutes to bundle the kids up.  

They looked like Randy from "A Christmas Story" as they waddled to the car.  

My poor car wheezed to life, whining, as I turned the key.  

As we walked in to school, our nostrils stuck together in the frigid, dry air 

and our fingers burned within seconds of being outside.  

 

Now what is my favorite wine (whine)? 

"I wanna go to Bocaaaa!"  

Feeling it today.....  

We knew this Arctic blast was coming....

It comes with the deal of living here.  

At least there aren't piles of snow everywhere... 

In celebration of this fabulous weather, I actually made the igloo cake I mentioned last week. 

I felt the call...

Don't ask me why...

You can find the instructions in the January/February issue of Food Network Magazine.  

The cake was delivered to the teacher's lounge as a morale booster 

for all the trouble the teachers go to bundling up kids in the winter....

Can you imagine buttoning, zipping, scarfing and hatting 30 kids two or three times a day?

Not to mention the petri dish that is school...drippy noses....hacking coughs....

These teachers need a break! 

The igloo cake is actually quite simple to make.  

Here are the instructions:

Ingredients

• Unsalted butter, for the pans
• All-purpose flour, for the pans
• 1 18.25-ounce box yellow cake mix (plus required ingredients)
• 1 pound white chocolate, chopped  ( I used half that amt and it was enough...)
• 1 8-ounce container white sanding sugar
• 2 16-ounce tubs vanilla frosting
• 2 drops neon blue food coloring
• 1 cake doughnut, halved
• 4 drops green food coloring
• 3 sugar ice cream cones  ( I did not make the trees...)
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Make the Igloo:
Butter and flour an 8-inch-round cake pan and a 1.5-quart ovenproof bowl. Make the cake batter; divide between the pan and the bowl. Bake at 350 degrees F until a toothpick comes out clean, about 35 minutes for the pan, 40 to 45 minutes for the bowl.

Let cool, then unmold the cakes onto a rack.

Microwave the white chocolate at 50% power in 15-second intervals, stirring, until melted, about 2 minutes. Pour onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and spread to 1/4 inch thick with an offset spatula. Sprinkle with the sanding sugar. Chill until set, about 10 minutes.

Remove the chocolate from the refrigerator. Break most of it into rough 1/2-to-1-inch pieces to form the ice that covers the igloo.

Use a paring knife to cut a few even 1/2-inch tiles from the remaining chocolate (these are for the tunnel entrance).

Assemble the igloo: Mix 2 1/2 cups frosting with the blue food coloring. Spread some blue frosting on the flat cake, then cover with the bowl-shaped cake.

Spread some frosting on the cake where you want the tunnel to go, then attach a doughnut half, cut-side down. Attach the other half with frosting to extend the tunnel.

Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of blue frosting (this is called a "crumb coat," which is like a primer; it doesn't have to be perfect). Chill, uncovered, until the frosting sets, about 15 minutes.

Spread the remaining blue frosting evenly over the cake and doughnuts.

Arrange the white-chocolate pieces on the igloo in a mosaic pattern. Place the even white- chocolate tiles around the tunnel entrance.

For the trees, mix 3/4 cup vanilla frosting with the green food coloring. Spread on the cones, flicking the frosting with the tip of an offset spatula to form branches. Arrange the trees around the igloo and dust with confectioners' sugar.

It really was easy and pretty eye-catching.

Today it's Jack's day in class.  

He is the "Monkey of the Week", aka star of the week, I guess.  

So, earlier today I attended his class and witnessed his "Show & Tell" presentation.  

He brought his karate stuff and he and his dad made a video over the weekend 

where Jack shows off his dad's armored car factory.  

It's pretty cute and the bloopers are funny.    

Here it is:

He did a great job and beamed when the kids laughed at the bloopers and asked him a ton of questions. 

I felt that motherly pride for my son.....sigh!

  

Well, it's colder than a welldigger's butt.  

We will be congregating around the fireplace tonight, 

hopefully drinking a bevvie or two and watching bad TV.  

Stay warm.......