Friday, October 12, 2018

What's up Chickenbutts? Friday's This and That.

It's a fairly common greeting in my family. I try to mess around and make it all formal and royal like, "Hello, bottoms of fowl." It hasn't caught on yet. I have hope. Not a lot, but like I say some hope is better than none.

I am still knitting that damn baby sweater. (I love the sweater, but for some reason the stripey sleeves are kind of sucking the knitting life out of me.) The truth is that I often can't focus on knitting until about 11pm and I don't always have all my wits about me at that time. The last 2 nights have been some funky sleep cycles. My face is puffy. I hate that.

But some good things my friends! Because we can't whirly bird down the drain of despair any faster. It's not wrong to be a little skeptical, but it's easy to get lost in what we aren't doing or what we'd like better for ourselves and those we care about.

So I offer you 1. CAKE!!!!!! (this picture is of me and my crazy cake face. I have no shame that I love it. Vain? maybe, but hey I am not puffy!!)







YAAAYYY CAKE!!! I love this cake dearly. It took a couple runs for it to become as fluffy and delicious and moist as it did. It's a coffee cake that tastes a little like actual coffee/espresso. Both inside and in the glaze. Get the recipe here. Do not substitute the cake flour.



Alright I'll ease up on the exclamation points for you with this cake. This is a cheesecake bar with mixed berry topping -- end of season out this way. This went pretty fast at the office and I am making another one for our section's Thanksgiving potluck. I prefer the crust with Nilla wafers and pecans vs. graham crackers.

The Goldfinch: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

I finished The Goldfinch and it was crazy good to me. It was definitely crazy. I'm really surprised that I liked it all the way through. It would be a book I would normally take issue with the editor and say, why did you let them ramble on like this? But it worked for me. The story of a child of tragedy that continues to endure a lot of self inflicted pain and conflict grows up with questionable characters also making questionable decisions. There is drug and alcohol abuse. There is art, philosophy and life in parallels to question.

I had friends that seemed to have read it through half covered eyes, wincing at all the crossroads. A few people I discussed it with couldn't back any of the characters and therefore didn't like it.

For me, I liken it to finding myself enjoying some old classic rock? No maybe jam rock? Where it starts off and the first 2 minutes I'm like, this is nice. I think I like this, and then 8 minutes later  I'm pulling my hair out going, "When is this hippie crap going to end?!?"

Essentially some of the drug induced experiences were very lengthy. There's a bit of losing time in certain settings. However for me, I enjoyed the descriptions. I could see and feel and I really had a sense of the pain and the desire to escape. I understood very well that feeling of knowing what you should do, and then not doing it anyways and then beating yourself up about. Rinse and repeat. Empathy, people. I had it.

Well that is all for now. The weather here is getting that fall crispy feeling. Or as I like to say, "smells like knitting weather." To which my entire family replies, "It's always knitting weather."

Love knows.

Wishing you all a good weekend.

21 comments:

  1. Oh, that CAKE!!!! When I can't squeeze into a decent mother of the groom dress in May I am going to blame you. Now I have to go eat some candy corn. It's the only sweet thing in the house at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I amazingly have not had any candy corn this October. Not on purpose, it's just happened. I have to say that I saw some caramel apple flavored Candy Corn at the store and I have questions that may require some answering.

      Delete
  2. I agree with you about The Goldfinch. Enjoyed 90% of the book and accepted the other 10%.

    Love the photo of you and your culinary success - you're gorgeous and the cake looks delish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you enjoyed most of the book as well. I mean I get when someone doesn't but it's fun to know your friend likes something else you did, especially when it's usually crafting that brings us all together.

      You're too kind. I'd share some cake w/you if I could.

      Delete
  3. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh...the CAKES!!! They look amazing.

    Yep....starting to smell like knitting weather here too (FINALLY!).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Dee. I am getting into the spirit maniacally, and knitting too late in the day/night!

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Yes, cake. I could just sit there and smell cake. Honestly the best sweet food smell is still fresh donuts, let no one else tell you differently. It's magic.

      Delete
  5. Oh, some very good cake there, this is good to see. I love the saying 'It smells like knitting weather,' wonderful, I shall use that now. Also, how you've nailed that feeling of enjoying something for a bit then wishing it would end. I hope you have a good weekend. Any football watching on the horizon? I can't remember where Man C are in the Premier League at the moment..? CJ xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to tell you that International Break when there isn't much on the line isn't very fun for me. I pine for my EPL mornings. I often watch it low volume with a cup of coffee in bed, waiting for my energy levels to adjust. Saturdays I often have to leave something good to go and you know, clean the kitchen before I leave the apartment. I am not one to really enjoy it on replay. We are at the top of the table right not, but only by Goal Differential. It is a tight race and too early to tell. Very exciting. Are your boys all football mad again, playing all the time?

      Delete
  6. Nice selfie with the cake! The late night knitting can backfire on you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I feel like it really captures how much fun I was having. I smile when I see that picture of me, because I remember how happy I was.

      Ugh! Late night knitting does backfire and so does late night baking if you want to know the truth. One time I had put a cake in for about 3 mins and just felt, off about it. I read back through the recipe and remembered I forgot SUGAR. I literally scraped it out of the pan, mixed it in and put it back in to see if I could salvage it. It was more of a steamed pudding/cake texture, but it tasted much better than expected ... since I HAD SUGAR IN IT. LOL

      Delete
  7. You are the cutest thing ever my friend. I would love some cake if you have a spare piece. As for that book I have to say I really hated it. I felt like I lost a big chunk of my reading life to that book. But so many, like you loved it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would love to share some cake with you and LB and watch the world run around us with his sweet energy.

      It's so interesting how polarizing this book was. I'm sorry you can't get back that time, but for me I can add you to my list of NOPE! It's for science (ok not really haha)

      Delete
  8. yummy cake and you look so cute!! I might give the book a go since you liked it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Karen! Okay but I warn you the book is not for everyone. Are you one of those people that can put a book down if you aren't feeling it? It took me so long to be okay with that.

      Delete
  9. Im trying to embrace the wooly weather. That first cake is picture perfect. Did I see it on Instagram first? The second, oh my, sounds looks and must taste magnificent. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wooly Weather. I love it. More please!

      You have seen the cake all over any social media I have. It's like my new boyfriend. LOL

      The cheesecake is good. I told my husband I think maybe I should reduce the thickness of the crust, but he likes the ratio.

      Delete
  10. That book was a DNF for me as it was a yawner. Damn girl! That cake look hella good. Look at the perfect swirl! And yummy! Cheesecake with berry toppings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah yes, it's a bit of a meander to get through. However I like that you cut your losses. So hard to find the time to read, and enjoy the stuff we enjoy!

      The cakes made me happy. I'm back to cookies this week. LOL

      Delete
  11. I love your crazy cake face Ellen! Better than Martha Stewart’s any day :) The coffee cake looks delish but the cheesecake had me salivating all over my phone. Cheesecake is my ultimate weakness (besides fried chicken). I have not read the Goldfinch yet but I do love reading all of the conflicting passionate reviews on it. Lots of love/hate going on. One reviewer threw the book across the room and stomped on it because of the ending.

    ReplyDelete