What is it? Guesses will be accepted excepting those who know. All will be revealed tomorrow in the update. Tonight, WordPress imposes a deadline. It’s my favorite non-chocolate cake of my youth, almost precisely as I yearly asked for it. The only change is knowledge, as in I learned something new about making it this … More It’s A Mystery. My Birthday Cake.
Chocolate layer cake, chocolate cream cheese frosting with rum flavoring and sprinkles are featured in today’s birthday-by-proxy for my daughter in London. My daughter has taken several pages out of my book, the most recent of which are going to London for an advanced degree and deciding to shave a number of years off her … More Happy ____th Birthday, M, by Proxy
My daughter was off to London this week for an MBA program and will, again this year, miss her birthday at home. Nevermind, I covered both events with one cake, making use of more neighborhood rhubarb and the occasion of the annual Block Watch Party to share a moist, unexpected, non-chocolate cake* on a hot … More WordPress forces early Birthday Wish
In 1969, while a nanny, I took a night extension class at Bainbridge Island High School with the late Bob McAllister who was to become a local icon teaching, writing and bringing play production to a superb level. Surprisingly, it changed my culinary life but had nothing to do with food. The class was World … More Thank you, Bob McAllister, for Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls
The mother of a neighbor child asked me to make her daughter’s birthday cake again this year. She wanted a three-layer cake with two white layers, top and bottom, a chocolate layer in the middle and with vanilla buttercream filling, top and sides, to provide cake for 18-20 people. I said that a 9″ cake … More Feliz Cumpleanos, otherwise Happy Birthday without the tilde
Sponge cakes require more attention than I gave this one today. It was intended for a belated birthday event. However, the phone rang just as the batter was finished and it was five plus minutes later when it was duly poured into pans. Result? Chocolate cake sunk in the middle because the dry and wet … More Sink. Sank. Sunk. Salvaged.
Years ago at an annual November arts and crafts show in Edmonds, I had my first buttery, cheesy, crispy square and knew they’d enter my appetizer menu, especially after I bought the cookbook which included the recipe. What made the show special for me and why I went again every year thereafter was the appetizers, … More Hot & Cheesy Sourdough Squares
We’re having a Winter Social on Sunday afternoon in the neighborhood, an annual event for many and a first for me on my one year anniversary of the move to Seattle. I attended the Seattle Night Out* block party last August, took along three items and met some neighbors new to me. The upcoming Social … More Vanilla Snicks with Lavender Caramel Accents
Sunday was Mark’s 65th birthday so I invited a few of his close friends over for a casual lunch and chat and cake. One of the attendees had a birthday two days prior, so we sang the song to both and they both blew out a candle. Someone asked how this cake is made. “Easy. … More Pineapple Upside Down Cake, 2 Methods, 1 by Navy Seal
I hosted a small, casual luncheon birthday party on Sunday for Mark’s 65th. I made hot, soft sourdough garlic bread with Montana Starter #1 served with a dipperful of Tomato Khanooj. Eggplant is roasted. Red sauce is made. The two are chopped to bits in a food processor, the same as baba khanooj, only different. … More Tomato Khanooj or Eggplant Parm Dip
Ms Chef in Seattle 