Cake Cake Cake

My original plan was to travel down to metro-Raleigh, NC tomorrow to celebrate Amelia’s 27th birthday, complete with a vegetarian potluck photo montage.  However, the thought of driving 4 hours down I-95, in the rain, and 4 hours back was just physically and mentally exhausting and I couldn’t do it.  I know Amelia forgives me, but I feel guilty for missing fun times with fun people–but I rest assured that our next visit will be for longer and with more one-on-one time.  Besides, I can’t even summon up the energy to lift a vacuum handle this evening, so I feel I made the right choice.

On Wednesday, co-worker Bonnie mentioned she had a bunch of Whole Foods blueberries about to enter that squishy, need-to-be-tossed stage.  “Stop, stop!” said I.  “I will make you a cake.”  And I did.  Chocolate and blueberry bundt cake, a resurrected and reconstructed version of the Chocolate Cake from Vegan Table that I first made back in January.  Delightful!  What an unusual combination I had never considered before.  And luckily Bonnie totally didn’t mind that I cut a big slice for a photo op beforehand.  My hands were clean!  The only reason that co-worker Leslie was willing to share more of the cake with Bonnie is so that Bonnie will film another clip of her 2-year old, Thomas, singing while he eats his cake.  Guilty confession: I think I liked the batter better than the cake, but this is not new.  I was just reminiscing today about getting mad at my mom when I was little ’cause she was too good at scraping the brownie mix out of the bowl, leaving nothing worth licking.  Seriously, it’s a miracle I didn’t die from salmonella.  I swore up and down when I was grown up all I would eat for dinner was brownie batter.

Chocolate Blueberry Bundt Cake

Dinner on Thursday was a mix of friend Marc’s Meatless Tofu Patties and Ricki’s Easy Breakfast Sausage Patties (http://www.dietdessertndogs.com/2009/10/24/easy-breakfast-sausage-patties-and-biscuits-with-smoky-almond-gravy/) with mushroom gravy and a side of sauteed spinach with Creole seasonings. 

2 Types of Patties, Gravy, Spinach

Dinner tonight was a special occasion dinner–a rainy Friday dinner.  Mom soup!  Over Christmas my mom made 2 huge batches of soup for me, froze ’em, and I drove them from GA back to VA and stashed them in my freezer for nights like tonight.  This is calabacita stew with extra extra cilantro and spicy Rotel tomatoes.  Served with a side of beet greens.

Mom Soup and Beet Greens

Finally, a note about 2 books I’ve been reading, which happen to be written by sisters.  In Patterns in the Carpet by Margaret Drabble, I learned that the first “official” jigsaw was invented in 1766.  I also came across the name Kasse Fassett and discovered these fabulous textile prints.

Kasse Fassett Cauliflower

I really enjoy books that make me hop on Google for further research.  Today, while reading Possession by Margaret Drabble’s sister, A.S. Byatt, I came across this line and I’m noting it here because it has stuck with me: “…do not get in the habit of morbid Self-examination.  Nothing so unfits a woman for producing good work, or for living usefully.  The Lord will take care of the second of these–opportunities will be found.  The first is a matter of Will.”  And that’s my deep thought for the day!