Everyone, wish A. a Happy, Happy Birthday!

Today is my good friend A.E.R.'s birthday! YEA! If you see her, make sure to wish her a happy birthday! Apparently, Ophelia and I have decided that we only get our shit together for special appearances for people's birthdays these days. So, if you have a birthday, maybe let us know? That way, we'll bake more. Ophelia has been so upset with me that pictures of her have been absolutely out of the question. Um, also pictures of the kitchen, and most of the rest of the house, and me, and my car, are also completely out of the question. Yeah. That's how the job market and dissertation stuff have been going.:P No need to ask.

As you can tell from the photos, things didn't turn out exactly as we had intended them. Is anyone surprised? For weeks now, I've been planning on making A. a CubbieCake, since she is such a huge Cubbies fan. As someone who understands very deeply the connection with sports teams, I was all for this. A. likes cakes that aren't chocolate heavy, so I was going to make a white cake, dye it red, and then put the logo on the top. Um, yeah, that was what I was going to do. Instead, I couldn't get the cake to be red, so it turned out pink. I didn't want it to taste crazy weird because of the food dye, so I had to stop. A. isn't exactly a "pink" person, so that was strike number one. As you can see from previous posts, I like to make things that remind me of the people who I am making them for, so I tried to do the best with what I had. Initially, as you can see from the photos I had intended to do balloons or flowers or something on the top. But, that's just not A. If you know her, you know what I am talking about. She's smart, funny, kind, has a ton of energy, is hard-working, but most importantly, is unique. You'll never meet another person like A. I love her company, and the company of her fiance and two loveable dogs (one of whom we joke is my biological daughter the way she is all over me when I'm there:). With A., it's very easy to go from 0 to silly to serious to silly again. I just couldn't put standard flowers or balloons on her cake. She's anything but standard. So, what happened is my attempt to capture A. in a cake -- colorful, bright, complex, unique, wonderful. Can't wait to have some soon! Happy Birthday A. -- I'm so glad to know you!

Today is K's Birthday -- Hip Hip Hooray!

About a month ago, Ophelia reminded me that my BFF K's birthday was coming up. And, since K and his awesome wife P are how Ophelia and I came to be, Ophelia wanted to do something special for K on his birthday. We decided that for Ks birthday party, we'd make cakes. Two, to be exact, with some peanut butter bars thrown in for good measure at the beginning of the 7 days of K. Why celebrate once, Ophelia says, when you can celebrate for a whole week? I agreed.

Now, K and P appear on this blog, and in my life, often -- we have lots of fun times together, going to movies, eating good food, watching pretty people with problems, playing games, witnessing Bruchi's antics, and most importantly, looking in our mirrors. It's unfortunate for them that they have to spend so much time with me, but since I bake lots, including cakes like those pictured above, I hope they feel like they break even. Of the cakes, actually of all the cakes I've made, the dark chocolate raspberry one is K's favorite. It's a complex cake -- in fact, it's one of the most complex things I've ever made. There are many parts to it, but it is worth the work. Initially, it's a little bittersweet, followed by a prominence and constant of full-on sweet and fruit. Its texture is highly unique, as well -- a crackly, crunchy crust that easily falls away into a softness that melts into the center of every bite. That complexity is what makes the cake as good as it is -- the unexpected surprise it holds makes every single taste exciting. I can see why K likes it; in many ways, it reminds me of him, although a cake could never embody his sense of humor. G.D.M.;)

I wish for everyone they could have a friend like K. I don't have words to explain what that means, but if you're lucky enough to know him or to have a friend who is a good friend like he is, you'll understand what I'm saying. In my humble opinion, the best way to celebrate someone's life is to tell them how much you enjoy and appreciate them, and to eat cake. Here's to you, K -- I hope you had a great birthday, my friend! I am glad to know you. Enjoy your cake!

This Blog Should Be Called Neglecting Ophelia

Ophelia has asked me to post and convey my deepest apologies for neglecting her. You see, since the nasty "Carbomb Cake" incident, I haven't been baking much. I made some cookies, whoopie do, and some peanut butter bars for one of my BFF's (K) birthday week (yea for the 7 days of K. -- tomorrow's present is awesome!). In truth, I've barely been functioning, as evidenced by forgotten or unreturned emails, stacks of ungraded papers, job materials that are in sore need of attention, oh, and that whole, you know, write a dissertation thing. Yes I would like cheese with my whine, make it gouda.;) I love gouda. Mostly I think I just like saying it. Anywho...it's the general neglect that comes with too many things and not enough M.'s. Unfortunately, the bogged-downess of it all now means that I wake up every day wondering why in the world I think I want to do this (academia) for the rest of my life. Am I crazy? Don't answer that question. I think I already know the answer.;) I know it's the standard response, and that everyone at this stage experiences it. Whatever, it will be fine, but I just can't wait until it's over. It's a bad couple of weeks when I don't bake. The worst of it is I have apples on the counter that I must do something with. My friend KSH is coming over tomorrow to help me/learn how to make apple crisp, so that will help at least in keeping the apple population to a minimum.

I just wanted everyone to know that I wasn't holding Ophelia hostage, so if she calls you and begs you to come take her away from this place, know it's not as bad as it seems. I'm workin' on it.