I'm not going to delve into any of the dubious details about it. It's great! We even had to cut the grass this week ... so it's growing, despite doubts about that. Stay tuned for the automated lawn mower robot....hmm.....
It's time again, and somehow I just can't bring myself to do something normal (though perhaps tasty). Instead I think I'll go for something that I have no idea how we are going to eat it.... though I will strive to keep the ingredients edible.
Perhaps you saw how, last week, our Esteemed and Glorious Leader: Mick "Guru of the Make, Manipulator of the Way, These-ARE-the-droids-you're-looking-for" McManus decided he wanted grass to go with our new "Green" office space. Not deterred by the fact that about the only place to put it is about 30 square feet in a narrow strip in the shade, 3 stories up, hanging off the edge of the building, he succeeded:
I'm not going to delve into any of the dubious details about it. It's great! We even had to cut the grass this week ... so it's growing, despite doubts about that. Stay tuned for the automated lawn mower robot....hmm.....
Look at that green, green grass! Isn't it beautiful? Almost delicious looking?
So on to my Dessert Club tribute to our green, green grass! Join me tomorrow ON our sod for some edible(hopefully) sod!
I have a sort of "diarama/architectural cut-away" image in my head (Something like this: 
) but in dessert form.
Instead of dirt, I figure cake is a good thing (and will provide at least some edible parts). Chocolate, of course (for the "dirt" base...)
I baked it nice an flat on a big cookie sheet. Mmmmm.... cake.
Now... the grass is tough. I really don't want to go with something cheap, like just frosting it green. That would be lame (and far too easy...)
So I've seen those cake guys on that cable channel make all sorts of stuff out of spun sugar... how hard can that be?
I guess you just heat up some sugar and water.... I'll mix in some green food coloring...
After I cooked it down, mixing so it doesn't get all clumpy, it turns out it has a very weird texture....
and pretty much winds up being clumpy and uninspiring....
Not at all what I remember from "The Amazing Samurai Cake Battle".... or whatever that cable food channel show was called...
So a bit of research (What *did* people do before Google?!) I discover I probably just didn't get it hot enough. So break out the thermometer and cook some more....
This time it comes out syrupy and nice...I spatter it around with a homemade tool made from wooden skewers....
Sorry no pictures of the process. I decided that 300 degree sticky stuff flying around my kitchen was enough of a problem without adding a camera to the mix.
After scraping up the cooled sugar... it really does look like grass:
Don't believe me?! Here are a couple of comparison shots with the real thing:
Unfortunately, I need a whole bunch -- and I already almost ruined a pan (shhh!) doing that little bit.
Also it seems kind of dangerous (i.e. sharp. I almost cut my foot on a dropped piece) and, well... it really is not very edible.
I think I'm going to have to dump the spun sugar idea. :-(
A google search for "Grass on cake" brings up about only one idea:
http://arcthomas.blogspot.com/2006/10/weekend-cake-peek-tags-childrens-cakes.html
The grass is looks OK... for frosting... but it still looks like frosting... just doesn't seem right...
Anyway... I have another idea....you'll see below.
So on to building the structure....
It starts with the decking (sugar wafers):
And to prevent leaks we'll need some sort of rolled roofing material...
I really don't know much about the "fruit rollup" -- it is a snack that is "after my time" as a child. Funny though... despite a VAST ARRAY of brands, shapes, and flavors I found in the market, they don't seem to make fruit rollups in black or gray. I guess I'm not that surprised. The red-and-dark-purple was the best I could do....
Also I was disappointed that, although this brand is even called "Fruit by the Foot", they did not, on the package, specify the square feet of fruit included in a package! Well... I guessed and got close enough.
I put a "brick" wall around the roof-deck. Tasty frosting mortar! Luckily I don't need one of these
to cut those pesky end-run-bricks, because my "bricks" aren't that hard...
So when putting down sod on a waterproof surface, it's good to have some drainage, so I decided to use a mixture of crushed gravel and river pebbles (pecans and mini-marshmallows)
Here's the "dirt" layer of the sod.
And to help sort of glue down the "grass", some more frosting.
And here is the grass:
Can you tell what it is? Yeah. It's coconut. There was some question of whether it would take the coloring well. Yes, it does. Very nice!
Here's an extra bit that I can make a rolled-up piece of "sod" with...
Here's B (who came over to teach C's class tonight) obsessively improving the drainage by arranging the edges
And another layer of bricks (this time with some stylish white mortar)
And we're done!
Is it edible? Dunno... but it is puuurteeee... I guess we'll find out tomorrow....
If you have any questions about my snack, send me some email.