November 24, 2010

The Blizzard That Wasn't and a new book

Well.

All day at work on Tuesday I kept hearing about this horrendous blizzard that was coming to Utah County in just a few hours. It was to wipe out all life as we knew it and commence a new ice age.

I bet we did not even get a full inch of snow. What's more, most of what we did get has already melted! Talk about a let down. Geez.

On the plus side, in preparation for said blizzard I stopped at Target on my way home from work and picked up some things. So even though I didn't really NEED them, I now have 3 gallons of distilled water (I was in the emergency prep mood), a new set of flannel pajamas, a down comforter, and a space heater. Woo-hoo! I am so warm right now, it is awesome.




Tomorrow I will go to my dear friend Kristie's family's home for Thanksgiving. I am bringing flowers as a hostess gift. While in the flower shop I spied a cute cake cook book. Of course I bought it.
All Cakes Considered, by Melissa Gray.

She works for NPR's show, All Things Considered and bakes a cake for her coworkers every Monday. I think it's a cute idea!

I love this quote from her introduction:

When the cake arrived at All Things Considered (ATC), there was collective amazement ("For us? Really?") followed by a chorus of "yummy" noises, rising up in full harmony from the cubicles. The cake wasn't bad. But as I tasted it, I suspected that the icing wasn't right. The crumb seemed way too dense and a little dry; what had I done wrong? And I wondered if almonds might have worked better than pecans with the brandy and pears. And then I had a thought: I can do better. My next thought, as I looked at my masticating colleagues, their eyes rolling back into their heads in hedonistic pleasure: these people will eat anything. (12)

Funny, funny. The paragraph reminded me of my last big attempt at making cakes from scratch. Too dense and too dry. What had I done wrong?!?!?!
So, I am going to let Melissa lead me through baking from scratch. I will try again. Wish me luck.

5 comments:

Jenny said...

well, i am NOT sad that the blizzard fizzled in utah county. and i hope it doesn't decide to try again on saturday.

good luck with the baking. i will be happy to test out any cakes you make. :)

Carla said...

This book sounds pretty hilarious.

Lyle said...

Yeah, they always say that about blizzards and they're always wrong.

Be careful with that space heater; those things catch fire all the time. Don't leave it running unless you're looking right at it. My secretary's caught fire at work yesterday.

Charles said...

*wishes luck*

Laura said...

Sounds like a good book. Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!