21 Comments

You have OPENED THE FLOODGATES of memory with this one, Marissa!

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i hope the floodgates let loose cake and frosting.

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The cake sounds wonderful! Hime’s preferred drink sounds awful.

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Right? Like BLURGH.

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I loved the background on Duncan Hines as I too had no idea he was a real person. I always choose a Duncan Hines mix when I need a boxed cake mix. I also made your Maple Orange Granola and want to recommend it to everyone who likes granola. It is fantastic and excellent over yogurt. I live alone so I made half of the recipe and thought that I'd never eat it all before it gets stale. Silly me.

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So glad to hear you made the granola! I just made another batch. We go through it way faster than I ever thought possible, too!

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I never knew Duncan Hines was a real person. I’m an engineer and my first job out of college was working at the Duncan Hines factory as a project engineer. We made layer cakes and chocolate brownies. I came home from work everyday smelling of whatever layer cake flavor the factory was making.

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Tell me more! That sounds like an amazing job. What role did the project engineer play in the process?

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I add a can of cherry pie filling to a Devil’s Food cake mix and frost with dark chocolate. Very moist!

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I'd try that!

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I have been known to buy trader Joe's mixes if I'm too hungry for the grocery store. The last was a "mochi" cake. I don't recommend, but it was a hit with the preschool crowd.

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Hmmmm. I shall try one...I love that the preschoolers grooved with the mochi cake. Also: HELLO AND WELCOME NEIGHBOR. Everyone: Please meet Mariana, one of my chief taste-testers and baking inspirations.

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Love that first quote! So true!

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If I were given to tattoos...

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I have made many Duncan Hines cakes over the years. His mixes are the absolute best! I make the frostings myself though. Happy St Patrick’s Day ☘️☘️☘️☘️

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I'm of the same camp. Use a box mix if you must, but homemade frosting is the best think you can do to it. Also: use coffee instead of water if making chocolate cake mix

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What a fascinating ramekin-sized biography of a successful sexist egomaniac (brings to mind a few 'successful' men currently hogging headlines). Our Zombie Preparedness 101 Guide at work (yes, really, they do have one) sadly doesn't include the instruction to open a box of cake mix. It really should though!

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Sexist egomaniacs in the news? What? Who ever could you be thinking of.

And, if you're not stocking your prepper cellar with brownie mix, get to it.

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Never fear I have a Costco sized box of Ghirardelli’s double chocolate brownie mix. If the orange sexist egomaniac gets indicted this week I’ll bake a double batch to celebrate!

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A project engineer was responsible for changes made to the equipment in the factory. I once was responsible for installing a second brownie mixer. That is the mixer that made the brownie mix which was then packed into boxes for sale. The mixer made batches of several thousand pounds.

Another time I worked on a filter that went on top of the flour silo which was over a hundred feet tall. It was very scary climbing up the side of the tank using an outside ladder.

It was a very interesting job where I learned a lot. After that I worked in the building that made Crisco.

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March 18, 2023
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LOL. That's good to know.

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