Happy Birthday, Jane!

Today is my sister's birthday. She's eight years younger and my only sibling. Yes, for eight glorious years I was An Only Child. I did adjust well to her arrival though despite a somewhat shaky start ... her bassinet stood on kind of wobbly legs and when I bent over to pick her up, I jostled it and two of them collapsed! She flew up into the air, did a perfect summersault and landed (thankfully) on her back. No damage done (except to my nerves -- I thought I'd killed her.)

Later on, I invented a game in which she starred -- I called it "Dump Truck." As she slept face down, I would hook a couple of fingers in the back of her diaper, gently lift it --and her -- up about three inches and -- let go. Our mother marveled at my sisterly devotion; she said, "Every time Jane cries, Nina is right there!"

When Jane was little, it was thought that she was allergic to chocolate so our mother made Maraschino Cherry Cakes for her birthdays. I remember (vaguely) that making this cake was a big deal because the cherries were so expensive -- something like maybe $3 for a 6 oz. bottle? Expensive goods in those post WW2 days.

And, in truth, Maraschino cherries were for the monied. Originally they were made into a liquer -- for royalty and their rich friends in Europe. They were introduced to America in the late 1800s -- in fine restaurants, of course. Today it amuses me to know that I can buy what looks like a half-gallon jug of them at Smart & Final, Iris for probably $8.00.

MARASCHINO CHERRY CAKE
Sift in a bowl --
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teas. double-action baking powder
1 teas. salt

Add --
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup cherry juice
1/2 cup milk
16 (16) Maraschino cherries, cut up
Beat two minutes with an electric beater

Add -- the unbeaten whites of four large eggs and beat two minutes more
Fold in 1/2 cup walnuts

Bake in a sheet cake pan or two layer pans at 350 for 30 minutes. Frost with either powdered sugar or boiled frosting.

A Surfeit of Chocolate

Salon du Chocolate, Place de la Porte Versailles, Paris 75015, France salonduchocoland.fr

Michelle forwarded the site and several pictures of the wonders to be seen at this "All Chocolate; All of the Time" exhibit. Models swirled around a stage wearing dresses made of chocolate..beautiful vases of flowers graced the auditorium -- all made of chocolate.

This is (apparently) an annual tour (I had to cobble together information from various Web sites.) It closed today in Paris and will then go to New York Nov. 7-9, then Moscow Nov. 28- 30; Tokyo Jan. 21 -26 and finally back to Paris Oct. 14 - 16, 2009 (mark your calendars.) I wondered how they transport all of these chocolate items -- and realized they tour in the winter months...

A staistician wrote that Belgians eat the most chocolate -- 23.59 pounds per person per year! Amazingly, we Americans are only good for about one pound a year per person.

The French accounted for $3.44 billion and more than 360,000 tons of it, but the CEOs of such as Cadbury and Karft Foods are hoping for a big break through in China. It's believed that the Chinese have little taste for "sweets" but that once they see this exhibition, Katy bar the door!

Settling In

Getting used to being here ... the bathroom is down the hall; the cafeteria is upstairs.

It's acting like it's going to rain (but probably not; this IS Southern California) so will cook a pork roast for dinner and try this new dish with it. Pork and Sweet Potatos/Yams seems like such a natural to me ...

SWEET POTATO BABY CAKES
1 egg
1/2 teas. lemon juice
pinch of pepper
2 T minced crystallized ginger
1 1/2 T honey
2 medium sweet potatos (about 1 lb.) peeled and grated
1 small onuion, grated
1 1/2 T flour
1/4 teas. baking powder (Say what?)
Oil for frying

Combine the egg, lemon juice and pepper. Add the ginger and honey and mix well. Stir in the sweet potatoes and onion. Sprinkle the flour (going to omit the baking powder) over all, mixing well. Form into small flat patties and fry.

You can save half of them for another time in the refrigerator. Reheat them on a baking sheet at 450 for about 5 minutes.

Happy Halloween to all!
If you're a kid, may your treat bag burst with goodies
If you're an adult, may all the kids hit a different street than yours...

A New Beginning/New Adventures

The bridge behind me blew up with a satisfying WHOMP! The bulldozer came and turned over the soil; then the seeder cov ered the field in salt. Goodbye to Journals @ AOL.com

Now I stand in the doorway to my new digs -- not bad! The walls are painted a soft pink; blonde hardwood flooring -- Great! My "kneeler" chair will roll with the same ease...Crisp, white curtains at the wide window -- there's a round mirror, framed in wickerwork, that reflects the avocado tree outside. If it has fruit, canI help myself or do I have to ask someone? have to find out ...

Yes, I think I can settle in here quite nicely. Onward!