Random Acts; or What I Did This Summer

Hey kids!  Long time, no write, I know (except for that weird post in August, but I will explain that in a minute).  I've been a bit busy the last year and I know you've heard it before, but seriously this time, I was super busy.  See, I had a kid!  Yep, I made a baby hipster!  She's pretty amazing and I am digging this mom thing.  But don't worry, this isn't going to become a mommy blog (not that there's anything wrong with that.  Some of my favorite people are amazing mommy bloggers!).  I will occasionally be talking about the baby (Blueberry) or her dad, my awesome partner and love of my life.  But I'm still the Small Town Hipster, so I will be amusing you with my adventures, and cool beer and booze talk, and food, and basically whatever else I want to write, as per usual.  So don't fret, dearies!  So, back to explaining that entry from August.

I'm a big fan of the show Supernatural.  If you've never seen it, check it out.  It's about two brothers that drive around in a cool ass Impala and slay supernatural creatures.  But the best part of the show is the chemistry between the cast members.  They obviously all enjoy what they do and who they get to work with.  One of those actors is @MishaCollins.  He plays an angel with all kinds of issues.  It's pretty great.  But Misha also has an active life outside of the show.  He created GISHWHES (Greatist International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen).  This is basically a big scavenger hunt where teams from around the world complete strange tasks to score points.  The points really don't mean much, it's definitely all about the experience.

I have participated previously by myself, where I got placed with strangers from around the world (some of which I am still friends with!).  But this year, I got to work with all people that I know.  Our team was Unicorn_Rodeo, because what's more awesome than that?  For one week, myself and 14 friends traded messages discussing the best way to pour wine from 3 stories up, or if anyone had a coffin we could borrow.  It was an amazing, absurd, ridiculous week.  And it was a great send off for my oldest friend's daughter, Marching Chief.  She started her freshman year of college a couple weeks later.  And she was the mastermind of a lot of the awesome moments of the hunt.  We all had a wonderful time, got to be ridiculous, (which we are all pretty good at), and got to help out an amazing cause.  What's better than that?

So, I'm super glad to be back to y'all.  I missed you more than you probably missed me.  ;). Keep an eye out for some awesome new stuff from me.  I know have a website and I will be working on that to get it prettied up and running for your reading pleasure.  I have lots of hipstery stuff to write about, plus I'm going to be adding a recipe section to the website, so you guys can recreate some of my inventions.  Lots and lots of things happening over here!

So, as always, until next time, stay hip!

Peep Show

I'm obsessed with sugar.  Ever since I was a kid, I have had a special place in my heart for anything sweet.  I'm not talking about a passing fancy, like standing in the grocery line and grabbing a candy bar.  Not a once a month craving for chocolate.  Not raiding the kids Easter basket for the black jelly beans (which is what my mom used to do).  No, I'm not talking about a casual relationship with candy.  I'm talking a long term, jealousy inducing, passionate love affair with anything that may constitute an area on the Candyland game board. 

And of course, I have my favorites.  Depending on the time of year and my mood.  Fruity, sour, chocolate, peanut butter, pretty much anything goes.  (Except for coconut.  Ew.)    But around this time of year, I have a craving for a special treat.  A sugary gem that causes controversy and intense opinions.  Unnaturally colored, overly sweet, and used in many inventive, (and strange) ways.  Of course, I'm talking about Peeps.

A passel of Peeps

I'm sure almost everyone on the planet has heard of Peeps.  But how many peeps (hehe) realize the versatility of these little delights?  Peeps can be used on cakes, to make awesome s'mores, and even used in pop art sculptures. (Yes, I did that.)  But this time, I took an idea from Pinterest to try something different.

Now, if you don't know about Pinterest, go check it out.  In fact, check it out right now!  Go, I will wait. 

Are you back?  Good.  Did you start following me at www.pinterest.com/sthipster?  No?  Go and do that, I can wait again.

Our fondue display

Okay, now that we have all that finished, let's get back to the Peepsapalozza.  Pinterest is an awesome, addictive, social media forum that spawns a million projects.  Pretty much anything you can dream of is a pin on Pinterest.  I have used it as inspiration for craft projects, gifts, recipes, DIY's, and home décor.  Not to mention it sets my nerdy heart on fire.  But this project is one of the more colorful pins I've seen.  The original pin is from www.hoosierhomemade.com.  In it, she takes the plain, old, ordinary Peep (haha) and makes it even more special.

Fondue is a 1970's throwback where food is cooked or dipped in oil, cheese, or chocolate.  Remember earlier when I mentioned how Peeps make an excellent s'more?  Well, they make a pretty awesome and fun fondue, as well.  We used chocolate, of course.  (Not that I wouldn't try it with cheese, like maybe a nice brie, because, why not?)  Crazy, you say?  Not in my vocabulary.

Chocolate-y death awaits.

My family is used to my crazy ideas.  They are pretty comfortable with all my flights of fancy and random acts.  So when I told them the plan for dessert on Easter, no one batted an eye.  I started it out with the chocolate for dipping.  I used a combination of milk chocolate and semi sweet chocolate chips to create the sauce.  I just threw both packages in my crockpot and let them melt all through dinner.  If your chocolate gets a little thick, you can always add a bit of heavy cream to thin it out.  Melting chocolate in the crockpot is the easiest way to get a nice chocolate sauce. 

Oh, No!

Once the chocolate was ready, it was dipping time.  I used Peeps chicks and Peeps bunnies for this experiment.  The chicks are my preferred shape, because I'm a traditionalist, but the bunnies actually worked better at picking up the chocolate and other toppings.  And boy, were there others. 

When I do something, I go hard or go home.  In this case, I decided to add to the diabetes risk and coat the chocolate covered Peeps with more candy.  I used Nerds, M & M's, sprinkles, and colored sugar in spring colors.  I also cut up strawberries, apples, and pound cake for those that didn't necessarily need their sugar with a side of sugar.

Peeps and Nerds in love.

Then it was a free for all.  We put the Peeps on bamboo skewers to make the dipping easier.  And then we made a mess.  Chocolate and candies everywhere, Peeps being exposed to all sorts of sugary degradation.  It was fun, it was ridiculous, and it was awesome.  We were laughing and joking and having a great time.  And really, isn't that what holidays are for?

The finished product.

There's a reason I love sugar in all forms.  Candy, cakes, and other sugary treats are happy food.  I mean, who can look at a Peep, with it's bright glittery outside, and not smile?  Candy has always associated with fun times in my book.  And they are meant to be shared.  All happy things.  So, the next time you are looking at a display of Peeps, whether you like them, or not, think about silly, happy, laughing, smiling, and other feel good stuff.  It will change your perspective, I promise. 


Join the Peeps fan club at http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/.  Check out their recipes and all the other cool things that peeps (hehe) are doing with these fantastic little candies.

And as always, stay hip, my friends!