Then here is our dining room, decorated for the party. My brother Sam is going to be twenty tomorrow, so we've left the streamers and stuff up so we only have to add a few things for him. Just so it's a little different. We don't want him to feel like he's only good enough for leftovers. Aren't they spoiled. I'll probably just add a few more balloons and curl some ribbons and hang them from the chandelier. He's shy about celebrating anyhow. And my Mom gave him all his presents yesterday because he was in a bad mood. Personally, I would have made him wait. It builds character to learn how to pull yourself out of a slump.
Here, below, is the meal Mikey chose for his Birthday dinner. It sounds simple, but boy was it actually a lot of work. Homemade french fries, fried haddock, and a yummy salad. The french fries took forever to peel, soak, and fry twice. Because, my mother claimed, that is how the French do it so they stay crispy. They were, in fact, totally awesome fries. Perfection in a potato, but lots of effort for the outcome. Same with the fish. But Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!!!
And, of course, the cake. A white cake with a raspberry buttercream frosting, layered with raspberry jam. And, topped with fresh berries! Mikey likes chocolate but he really can't eat it because it gives him headaches and then we have to listen to him complain. So he got the chocolate haters dream cake instead. We liked it too. But it didn't really come out as good as it should have. I'm not exactly sure what I did wrong. I mean, it was edible, even tasty. But just not right. It should have been much more light and fluffy. It was supposed to be six layers, and it ended up being only three because my cakes just didn't puff up like they were supposed to. Maybe I didn't whip it enough. Maybe my raising agents were bad. Whatever it was, I don't know, but I do know that I won't rush to make this recipe again. I only like to reuse recipes that work great without a lot of fancy moves and rules. But, alas, it fulfilled its birthday cake role.
And lastly, Mikey's big smile as he blew out his candles. I think he was really happy that we did so much for him for his B-day. I haven't done much for the past couple years, just because we've been so bumming. We just had to work so much, any extra effort was just too much. So, finally, we can appreciate the finer moments of existence. We can enjoy the highlights of life. We have the time, finally, to pay attention to the details rather than just slogging through the best we can.
Happy Birthday, Buddy!!!!!
WE LOVE YOU!!!!
2 comments:
Nothing like homemade cake for a birthday. Used to be store bought was special but now that no one has time to bake, it's homemade that's the best.
If you separated the eggs, and whipped the whites, you might have over stirred them in and lost the bubbles from whipping.
I've had cakes that didn't turn out well for unknown reasons. It's so disappointing.
Jeannie - YES! I did have to separate the egg whites! And the egg white whipping is nearly certainly where I went wrong. It was still edible, and even good, but that's only because I was the only one who knew what it was supposed to look like. Oh well, it is disappointing, but I guess there's always next time.
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