Tuesday, April 24, 2007

double decker fun

So I went to see Low the other day (well, weeks ago now), and when they came back for the first encore (yes, they did two!) Alan Sparhawk (who, by the way, is quite sexy. y'know, in that rock star kind of way) said in his deep baritone, "We're going to do it a little different. Everybody clap your hands. C'mon. Pretend you're eating cake."

ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup boiling water

instructions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. grease and line pans with parchment paper
3. sift together cocoa, flour, baking soda, salt

4. cream butter and sugar
5. beat in eggs one at a time

6. alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk

7. mix just until incorporated

8. add boiling water, mix for one minute

9. bake ~40 minutes



I found that recipe for
Jan's Chocolate Cake online back in January and have been obsessed with it ever since. I can't stop making it!

I even had to buy a second cake pan to be able to bake it faster
(and therefore more often!).

I've added mint extract to make it minty, substituted hot coffee instead of boiling water to make it coffee-y, added raspberries, blueberries...

The possibilities are endless!


For Party Bobobomo (happy birthday to me!) I used canned blueberries between the layers.



Though now I'm on the hunt for a vegan cake recipe.

Do you know of one?






We also made cupcakes!

Thursday, April 12, 2007

candle with care: music to hold hands to

Look what came for me today:

It's the end of an era. Or at least the end of Candle Records. In a panic I ordered all the Lucksmiths and Darren Hanlon recordings I was missing. I can be a bit of a completist when there is a sale.

If I could only listen to one band for the rest of my life, it would have to be The Lucksmiths. I love them. Not only are they extremely catchy but their craftsmanship of the English language never ceases to amaze me. So many times I'll be dancing around my apartment like a loser and then struck absolutely still by the beauty of it.

How does Tali White sing so flawlessly while banging the drums at the same time? It's a mystery.

Though I've got to say, of all my new CDs, I like the cover art of Darren Hanlon's Hiccups EP the best. Brilliant.

I am such a sucker for a catchy tune and smart lyrics. There's a long list of songwriters that just break my heart.

And now instead of my taxes, I'll have to rearrange my CD shelf.




you can't keep a secret
but you keep a diary anyway
and you get away with murder
because you've got a way with words


This was supposed to be a knitting blog, but whatever.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

mak'n maki












My cereal cupboard is empty, and while I still have leftover chowder in the freezer, a recent tea break at Pearl River Mart in SoHo -->
has got me drooling over ceramic dishes and craving avocado rolls.



Check it:



I like to use the pressure cooker.







Janet says for every cup of rice, dissolve 1/4 cup of sugar in 1/4 cup of rice vinegar and add a bit of salt to taste:

But I never end up adding even half that.
















I've got your picture, I've got your picture. I'd like a million of them all round my cell.
I asked the doctor to take your picture, So I can look at you from inside as well.