Poem: "In Our Many Images"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem is from the April 1, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by prompts from lb_lee and wyld_dandelyon.  It also fills the "Love is in the air" square in the Spring and Autumn Bingo public card.  This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.  It belongs to the series Monster House.

Comments

[siege]

A tip for frugal households: If you have a wide-mouthed metal funnel you don't use much (they used to be popular for canning, to fill jars without mess), you can shape the end of the funnel with a pair of pliers to make a basic cookie cutter shape like a house or a heart.

For more complex shapes, making your own will require a sheet of metal; you can get sheets of copper or tinplate as a roofing supply from hardware and building stores, or (particularly copper) as craft material at craft stores, and sometimes other metals like brass or steel are also available. Get something stiff enough to hold up, but thin enough to cut without a sharpened edge (you don't want bleeding, especially if children are helping). Don't get hard metals unless you know how to work them, but copper and tin are soft enough to shape by hand using tin snips and pliers. I suggest using minimal soldering if possible, as metal solders often contain lead or bismuth, which you don't want in your food.

Sterilize before use the first time, but be careful not to melt any solder that way.

I recommend that you do NOT wash hand-made cookie cutters in an automatic dish washer, and that you dry them thoroughly as soon as you can, to prevent corrosion. Modern store-bought cookie cutters are often made of very thin stainless steel, but corrosion resistant metals are not always available when you make your own.

[mdlbear]

Or you could simply get old metal cookie cutters at a thrift store and tweak them.

Tin cans would work, too, especially the shorter ones like tuna fish. Take both ends off, use a pair of pliers to bend down any sharp edges, and re-shape to suit.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Both of those work too. A tuna can is my preferred biscuit cutter.

the art of food

[cflute]

Depending on what shape(s) you want, keep an eye out for end-of-season sales. I picked up a set of three brand-new cookie cutters for under $1 earlier this week. Got a great flying-bat cookie cutter that way last Samhain, as well.

Re: the art of food

[ysabetwordsmith]

:D Sales are awesome.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

A tuna can makes a great blank for cookie cutters. Turning it into a flower is pretty simple. Any basic geometric shape -- square, triangle, etc. -- is also easy. For something as intricate as a picket fence, you'd need copper.