Well, I suppose I should start with this lovely cake. This insufferable summer has caused my cake cravings to be put on hold. (Of course now we are in the middle of Hurricane Isaac weather--so far I've personally measured a rainfall amount of an inch and a half. Much needed rain.) I was worried about my sweet tooth issue. Nights would pass and not a single crumb of dessert could be found. I jumped in with a few batches of chocolate chip cookies--keeping the dough in the freezer for an occasional nibble, but other than that, nothing. I was confounded by this. My thoughts tended toward the "dark" side. (Or the hormonal.) Where had my sweet tooth gone?I have some ramblings to share first. Feel free to jump to the bottom of this post for the recipe--this cake rocks. Husband summed it up best: This tastes like a lemon brownie! And it did--a superbly sweet, tart, moist, heavenly treat for both a midday snack, or midnight dessert. We loved it. It is a quick-to-mix cake--which to me makes it that much more lovable. I modified the recipe by adding a bit of cornmeal and subbing for the AP flour with a bit of whole wheat pastry flour and some lemon extract and almond extract to the batter. (I feel lemon and almond have a natural affinity for one another.) I'd bake it in a glass loaf pan as I like how the glass browns the edges of the cake so you get a bit of crunch along the edges when eating.
I had this weird dream. I was sitting alone in a dark theater. In walks Clint Eastwood (not in a poncho which is my favorite look for him, btw), but in a suit. He steps up to this podium with an empty chair placed next to it. He begins babbling incoherently. I am awe struck but unable to speak because I am asleep. On and on he goes, until this comes out of his mouth: Well do ya punk? To no one. Then I am jolted awake by a wet nose ready for her morning walk. I just hope I don't dream of Robert De Niro talking to an empty chair spewing, You talkin' to me?
Of course the dream could have been on account of the 102 degree fever I was running last week. I have not had a fever like this in years. I was fine on Tuesday. Went to guitar class. Had a pre-scheduled doc appointment that just so happened to fall on Wednesday--the following day. Suddenly Tuesday night, things began to feel really bad--all over. I was exhausted. I could barely walk across the bedroom floor, let alone to the kitchen. I was also alone as Dr. Thyme was out of town. I went to bed early thinking I may be suffering from the ravages of this horrible Missouri climate I'd been forced to endure these past four months. My body telling me it's had enough of Southern summers. So I went to bed early.
I woke in the morning to find myself under four layers of blankets, and wearing my flannel PJs. It was ninety outside. Uh-oh. I called the doctor and said it might not be a good idea to have my check up. They thought otherwise and said to get in there. I went--after downing four ibuprofen and packing two bottles of Gatorade. I was ghost white by now. I began coughing. I got into the exam room, was handed the "paper gown" and said to have a seat until the doc came in. I opted to lay down in said paper gown and began to doze off. Then the door opened and my doc was like, Whoa! You comfortable there? Then saw my clammy skin and knew this was not funny. I had a slight fever, swollen glands and irritated redness on my throat. Oh, and I could hardly keep my head up. For some reason he insisted I get my flu shot AND anti-pneumonia vaccine. I was like, whatever. My doc and I go waaay back and he had insisted on seeing me because he'd not seen me in over two years.( I have "doctor issues".) By the time my visit was over and I'd made it home (after stopping for liquids at the store which I found to be harder to do than running a marathon)--I was back in bed. Again, the fever coming on. To make matters worse, the arm where I was given my pneumonia vaccine began swelling like I'd been stung by five bees! What the?! I was on the phone with the doc again. Um. This shot you gave me--it seems to be spreading down to my elbow. . . any thoughts as to why? Oh and about my fever, it's worse. Uh-oh again. The antibiotics were phoned in to the pharmacy as was an inhaler (because having asthma never helps in situations like these.) To make matters worse, I learned the "reaction" to the vaccine happens in less than one percent of the population. Wonderful.
Late Wednesday night, husband came home to find me in quite a "state". I didn't call him, I just sort of sent a couple of emails because had he heard my voice, he'd have lost all concentration and focus for his meetings. So via emails he knew I'd not been feeling "well". He could tell this virus or whatever it was that had me, had me good. I wasn't going anywhere for some time. (Plus being a scientist and knowing way more about illness in humans, he was a little worried himself, not only about my symptoms but also about the massive swollen hive I had on my arm.) I was a hot mess. No pun intended.
Finally, by Sunday, things began to lessen a bit. By Monday, I had to get outside. Doing so caused me great exhaustion. But I needed fresh air and some time with the garden. It helped. I still have the horrible cough. I tire easily. But am on the mend overall. At least I've been flu/pneumonia-proofed. We're spending the weekend relaxing and reading.
While I mended and when my temp wasn't in the triple digits, I did manage to finish two really wonderful books: Just Kids by Patti Smith and Reading Jackie by William Kuhn. They were available through my Kindle and library loans. I so loved the book on Jackie. This autobiography deals with Jackie as an editor--we learn about her through the books she helped publish while working as an editor first at Viking, then at Doubleday. So much has been written about JKO--her clothes, her grieving widow status, but this book completely dispels the illusion of some lonely widowed ex- First Lady. She was incredibly smart and incredibly well-read. And someone for whom reading about will stay with me for quite some time. I was always in awe of her. The Patti Smith book was equally as engaging. I know very little about Patti Smith other than her song "Because the Night". It was an anthem for much of my angst-ridden young life. Incredible story, beautifully written. Highly recommend.
Finally, after much deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that as I near fifty, I am ready for change. As if there weren't enough "change" happening already (night sweats, confusion, lack of focus, MOOD swings)--I thought it time to see what color my hair "really" is. I've not seen her since I was in my early twenties. I have a lot of gray around my temples. So much so that as I waited between appointments with my Loreal box, it didn't appear that I needed a touch-up unless one looked beyond the hair framing my face--the gray almost stepping in as the blonde faded. As time wore on, I wondered how much more gray was actually there. It was hard to tell. I saw streaks of gray peeking out around my neckline, too. Obviously, the trend was spreading.
If this goes as planned, I should have a pretty good idea of what I've got cooking up top in about eight weeks. (I'm sporting a fun little pixie right now--I channeled Jamie Lee Curtis and Sharon Stone). I would also like to add that my "profile" pic you see on the blog, well, let's just say, that is several years older than this blog!
Vanity is work. I don't want to spend that much time staring at myself in the mirror any longer. As it is, we do not own a full length mirror in this house. I won't allow it. Now that the first fifty are nearly behind me, I am hoping for the next fifty (god willing) being a little less focused on the mirror and a bit more focused on the window--looking out.
Vegan Lemon Cornmeal Pound Cake*Adapted from Damon Lee Fowler's New Southern Baking
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour1 1/2 tablespoons cornmeal1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon lemon extract1/8 teaspoon almond extract1/2 cup unsalted vegetable margarine3/4 cup sugar1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk3 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 6 tablespoons waterzest of 1 lemon
For the glaze:1 cup sifted powdered sugarjuice of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 9" loaf pan with non-stick baking spray. In a medium bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients: flours, baking powder, salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream the unsalted margarine with sugar until light and fluffy--about 2 minutes. Add the Ener-G Egg Replacer, lemon zest and extracts to the sugar mixture--beating until well-incorporated. Add the flour and then milk alternately--beginning with the flour and ending with the flour. Pour the batter into your loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. While the cake bakes, mix your glaze, then set aside. Cool cake in pan for about 15 minutes. Poke the top of the cake a few times with a knife then pour the glaze over it. You can leave it in the pan for a bit longer to allow the glaze to sink into the cake--slice and serve warm. I stored the rest of the cake sliced in pieces in an airtight container in the fridge. I loved it cold!
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