Cake Disaster

It was a very rainy day yesterday. Lots of wind too so after the gym and groceries, I hibernated. I worked on my, not sure if I like how it's turning out, Kaffe Fassett New Orleans Star quilt with Amy Butler fabric and did some baking.

On the positive front, I got 3 squares done. I realize working on this quilt that I don't really enjoy small piecing projects. This is good information for choosing future projects.

I also made some excellent Chocolate Biscotti from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours. There are some really good recipes in that book.

On the not so great front, I also made the Flourless Chocolate Cake from Caprial's Desserts. It was an absolute disaster. A throw in the compost pail disaster. I've looked at the internet this morning to see if there was a problem with the recipe and didn't find anything. I don't know if I missed something in the recipe. I've reviewed it a bunch of times and don't think so. It was obviously very disappointing. However, huge calorie avoidance from all of the pieces of cake I won't be eating this week.

Seeds

This is one of my favourite times of year. Spring is in the air, the days are getting longer and my seeds arrive for planting in my little area in the basement. I always order too many but I just can't help myself. I usually just order veggies but this year went a bit crazy and picked up some perennials and annuals too.

The last 2 years I've ordered seeds from The Cottage Gardener, an heirloom and organic seed company located in Southern Ontario. Their catalogue is fun to read because they provide stories about the seeds. I have had great success so far with these seeds. The ones I've tried have had an excellent germination rate and the veggies have been very tasty varieties.

I just finished reading The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket. This is a very nice book. It includes lovely photos that inspire me to get creating, cooking and appreciating the world around me.

Great Cookbook

Before Christmas I picked up a copy of the book "Bite Me" by Julie Albert and Lisa Gnat. In addition to being a goofy read (which I am highly in favour of), the recipes are really good.

The first recipe I tried out of the book was Crusted Lamb Chops with Balsamic Reduction, an excellent and fast recipe for rack of lamb. The lamb is coated with a breadcrumb Dijon crust which tastes fantastic with the flavours in the Balsamic Reduction.

Sara Lisa's Iced Banana Cake has more banana flavour than an actual banana largely due to the banana in the icing. Yum.

Other favourites: Walnut-Crusted Halibut with Lemon Wine Sauce, Balsamic Chicken with Sweet Peppers, Southwestern Sweet Potato Fries, Sweet Balsamic Roasted Carrots, Oasted Ray Egetables-Vay with Pecans and Parmesan ...