Culinary Adventures with Camilla

For the August-September selection of  Cook the Books , Debra from  Eliot's Eats  invited the group to read  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  by Lewis Carroll. Read  her invitation  and join the fun, if you wish, because you still have more than a month before the deadline. I knew that I had read the book in college for one of my literature classes, but when I read Debra's invitation and she mentioned the Salvador Dalí illustrations for the book, I was excited about re-reading it.  I had seen some of those prints at a museum in San Francisco. And, though we have the largest Dalí collection on the West Coast at a museum here, I've only been once and I don't remember if they have any of those. But I do remember really liking them. My favorite is "The Mad Tea Party"... from amazon.com I excitedly dug into the book, but within two dozen pages, my enthusiasm had waned. Maybe my patience with nonsense is thinning as I get older. I found this a mind-bog...

I have never worked with fondant before, but I needed to figure it out fast. Thankfully, my cousin Tiffany, AKA the Cake Whisperer!, told me how to make an easy marshmallow fondant. Thanks, Tiff! I don't have a microwave, so I adapted her recipe to the stovetop...and I also increased proportions because I didn't want to run out. We'll see how this works out tomorrow when I roll it. 6 C minature marshmallows - loosely poured, not tightly packed 6 C organic powdered sugar 3 T water Food coloring or flavored extracts, optional Place the marshmallows and the water in a large saucepan.  Cook, on low heat, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. I added a few drops of color at this point. Add 4 C of the powdered sugar ...