Breakfast, Pie, Cake, and a Saturday to Remember

As weekends go, this is a good one. I've been doing more cooking than baking lately, but this weekend found me baking a pie for an old friend, and a graduation cake for my nephew. I was glad to see how much they were enjoyed, especially since I cannot partake in the fruits of my labor (carb detox living).  It really didn't bother me at all to skip the pie and cake; it is such a pleasure to see how much they were enjoyed by everyone else!

Yesterday morning (Saturday) started with having breakfast with my good friend Claire at a brand new place she suggested in downtown Saratoga Springs -- SPoT Coffee at Market Center on the corner of Railroad Place and Division Street. It's a beautiful and cheerful coffee bar that also serves cook-to-order eggs and wraps, and lots of other things. I had a big cup of hot black tea and a goat cheese and mushroom omelette, skipping the bread choice that accompanies every order. Claire had scrambled eggs in a spinach wrap and a cup of coffee. We sat by the sidewalk in the heated and enclosed porch and did what we always do when we get such time together, solve our own and the world's problems! Time goes too quickly on such occasions and I can't wait to go to SPoT Coffee again, and do exactly the same thing!

On the way home, I took a detour to deliver the apple pie (Martha Stewart recipe) to Lynn who worked at Skidmore College years ago. Now, in her early 80s, she has finally given up the 9-to-5 and is getting some overdue time to herself! There's no one who deserves it more, and I hope she will be able to now spend more time traveling and visiting with her family, most of whom live a distance away. It was so good to catch up and sit with her while she enjoyed a piece of her pie. It was a surprise, requested by her beautiful granddaughter Kristin who is one of my daughter Tricia's best high-school friends (they're both 30 now!). It just made me realize that time flies so quickly, and that it's good to step back, stop, and smell the apple pie! We chatted until it was time for Lynn to leave for a few hours of beauty with her hairdresser, and me to get home to finish my nephew Patrick's graduation cake.

Lynn's apple pie

Henry and Peter came upstairs to my little apartment to help me finish the cake, a black and white marble cake with buttercream frosting. They got to sample the trimmings, and each had their own ball of fondant to play with while I did the serious work. Henry really helped this time by holding the flower nail as the frosting roses were constructed. He was fascinated seeing the roses come to life, and I was thinking that he just might remember this moment. He's almost five (seems impossible) and we're beginning to have very interesting conversations. Every day he says something worth writing down to remember! Pete was busy drawing pictures with a pink highlighter, and as Henry and were engrossed in fondant, I looked up to see Pete drawing all over my kitchen table, a long, bright trail of pink swirls and lines. I gave him a wet paper towel and he cleaned his artwork until it was all but a memory, so proud of himself!

It was snowing lightly last night, on the way to my sister's house for the graduation party, and I was glad to get there and join the warmth of the evening. Patrick graduated in December from Florida State University, and has landed a good job that he likes, so life is good. Anne and John had a big spread of foods that included lots of no/low-carb options, so I was able to eat well without feeling deprived (shrimp, cheeses, nuts, turkey chili)!  She had a house-full of our family and friends, with little cousins happily playing together. It was a terrific ending to a lovely day, a day that focused on how meaningful relationships make life so much richer!

A warm welcome...

Cousins

Will (left) and Patrick (the graduate, right) Bishop!

Congratulations, Patrick!  So proud of you!

Random Tuesday Stuff

It was a good day.  I finally got the MRI I've been waiting for, so PT for my back starts tomorrow.  It's been a week of lying on the floor, alternating cold and hot, all around working full time and baking a lot.  Kinda crazy.  I'm grateful for my b'friend Russ's chiropractic advice and for the health insurance I'm fortunate to have with my job that allows me to take advantage of the medical services I need.  Combined, I'm on my way to feeling much better, I'm sure.  Like a lot of people, I work as much for the benefits as the paycheck.  The older I get, the more I realize that's true.  BUT, I want to stay as healthy as I can heading toward the big six-oh, and hopefully I'll be able to rejoin my exercise program very soon. 

After work I headed to the gas station to fill my tank - I'd been driving around on fumes and didn't want to risk running out of gas.  I went to the first gas station I came upon, on the corner of Church St. and Clinton Ave. in Saratoga Springs.  While I was filling up, I caught a glimpse of the building across the street.  Every year, this building adorns itself in baskets of beautiful flowers.  Thought I'd share the pretty image with you:

After that, I went to the grocery store to stock up on baking supplies for this coming week and weekend.  I'm looking forward to baking for a baby shower, a bridal shower, and a graduation.  I lugged 10-lb. bags of King Arthur flour and sugar up the stairs to my granny flat!  I can't expect Katie's chickens to keep up with my baking demands, so I bought an 18-pack of eggs.  Cake #1 is out of the oven, and it's for tomorrow.  My nephew-in-law Bob is stopping by with Sarah and the girls after work tomorrow night to pick up a baby shower cake for a co-worker in his office.  The cake just came out of the oven and I'll get up very early before work to frost and decorate it.  I have a lot of ideas about the design -- he left it up to me -- and while I sleep tonight I'm sure the final version will suddenly appear in my head!  That's what often happens, actually.  This is a marble sheet cake.  Henry came up and "helped" as he often does, which made my night. 

I have my windows wide open to let the heat of the oven out and the cool of the night in.  There's a lovely breeze coming through my windows.  I think it'll be a good night to sleep.  

Tale of Two Cakes

This morning I put the finishing touches on the last cake of the weekend.  This cake is for my friend Beth.  Her husband Pat called me Thursday to ask me if there was any way I could bake a cake for the next night, and also one for today (Sunday).  Beth deserves a double helping of birthday wishes, so I was happy to say yes to Pat's request.  Pat said the cakes could be the same, that he would be fine with whatever I came up with.  So, I baked two black-and-white marble cakes.  The first became a buttercream frosted layer cake with fondant calla lilies, since I am enjoying learning how to make flowers.  I thought, though, that I could do something very different with cake #2.  I decided to go whimsical and make a very traditional and festive cake that screams "Happy Birthday!" in appearance. 

Cake One

Today, I made fudge frosting (recipe on the back of the Hershey cocoa tin) and decorated it very simply, with fudge florets and sprinkles (jimmies to some of you, depending on where you live). 

Cake Two

Pat sent me an email message after they enjoyed Friday's cake, stating, simpy, "AWESOME!"  I love hearing that my cake contributed to a happy celebration.  Let the partying continue, and the happiest of extended birthday wishes to you, my friend BBK!!!!