There were lots of fun decorations. And sombreros.

Jack zoomed around the backyard and investigated every bug and old baseball.

The Boyfriend played soccer with my little cousin.

My mother dropped the plate of hamburgers and hot dogs as they were about to go on the grill. We dusted them off and ate them anyway.

We had chicken and pasta salad and grilled CSA veggies and cake and white sangria.

Many fabulous presents were opened.

It was loud and and crazy and everybody ate too much.

It was perfect.

Thanks, family!

Okay, maybe this rule only applies to me. And my sister. Who celebrated a very snowy birthday last weekend with lots of yummy eats.

We met up in New York for some sisterly birthday celebrations, which entailed walking, talking, and eating. All day long.

Most of the day was spent tooling around Soho and the Village, but my sister absolutely insisted that we go uptown for Absolute Bagels. I’m not one to turn down a good bagel, so I agreed.  

We split a plain bagel topped with Tofutti (non-dairy “cream cheese”), which turned out to be tasty and not a bad compromise for you lactose intolerant folks out there. If you’re around Broadway and 108th (or go to Columbia University), I, in all of my intimate knowledge of the bagelries of New York, recommend Absolute Bagels. Personally I’m just gonna buy some Tofutti next time I make homemade bagels.

I had wanted to take my sister to Crumb for some birthday cupcakes, but they were closed. (For being the city that never sleeps, New York sure feels pretty drowsy on Sunday evenings). We were saved by finding a Magnolia Bakery stand in the dining concourse at Grand Central.  

I bought us each two cupcakes. The birthday girl tried red velvet with whipped vanilla frosting and a pretty purple-topped white cupcake.

I went with the Hummingbird (banana and pecan cupcake with cream cheese frosting) and a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting.  

I am a true lover of cream cheese frosting, so the Hummingbird was the winner of the cupcake competition. It was like a moist slice of banana bread covered with cake frosting! So good.

We shared, just like Mom always told us. Even so we ended up with leftovers when we parted ways in Grand Central. Yum!

By the end of this post you will note that, even though I spent the day in fabulous New York with my fabulous sister, I have pictures of neither. To this I say: a beloved sister and a pretty city are forever; cupcakes and bagels are fleeting.

At any rate, here’s a charming photo of the two of us from yesteryear:

Then again, this was the sight that met my eyes when I walked through the door this evening:

That would be a slice of cheesecake from the one and only Cheesecake Machismo. How do I feel about Cheesecake Machismo? I would like to fill my bathtub full of their cheesecake and soak it in through my pores. I’m hoping one day they will hire me to be their personal cheesecake tester. Just hearing the word “cheesecake” bring me unabashed joy. Cheese? Wonderful. Cake? Yes, please. Cheesecake? WELL, IF YOU INSIST.

I suppose I should stop my drooling for a moment to mention that this phantom cheesecake was purchased and set ever-so-sweetly upon my desk by the one and only Boyfriend. I sent him a text earlier detailing the fact that I was having a crummy day full of gray skies and blue emotions. (I believe the text went something like “shmeh.”) And because he is wonderful he bought me cheesecake. Bliss.

The cheesecake was a good buffer to the other thing I came home to:

That, dear friends, is a large pot. Normally I would use such a pot to boil up a large vat of pasta, sprinkle it with a little cheese and pepper, and call it dinner. But on this day, we are using this pot to collect the rain that is falling from our living room ceiling.

Drop by drop…

This is the fourth or fifth leak we’ve had in the apartment since we moved in last spring. We’re all delighted, as you can imagine.

It’s been raining all day along in Albany. But yesterday it was doing a little something like this:

Albany finally got its snow.

Nearly everything was cancelled, so The Boyfriend, Roommate, and I clambered into the Roommate’s minivan and ventured to the Gateway Diner for a late breakfast. Speaking of why you’re fat:

When one’s city is blanketed in snow, one is left with no choice but to consume copious amounts of breakfast foods to cope with the pending hibernation/starvation of a snow day. You understand.

I can only hope spring will be here soon, at which point I will stop eating like a bear.

(P.S. I know the layout of this particular post is all distorted.  I have no idea why.  WordPress and Ecto are both being whiny children today.)

The table was set for 18 of us.

The plates are a special set my grandmother saved for Thanksgiving.

While everyone chatted over wine, my aunt finished dinner.  With help from various relatives, including my sister who was assigned to potato mashing.

A poorly-lit photo of our spread:

On the table:

• Turkey
• Candied yams
• Bread stuffing
• Don’s Pumpkin Dish
• Rutabaga puff
• Green beans
• Mom’s Stuffed Mushrooms
• Sausage stuffing
• Mashed squash
• Gravy

We stuffed ourselves silly.  I probably won’t become a dietician anytime soon, since it is usually my goal on Thanksgiving to try a little of everything. (That being said, I don’t gorge away.  Think of it as sampling.)

After dinner came The Big Clean during which we attempted to digest/make room for dessert.  My 11 year old cousin demonstrated his new skills on the trumpet by playing “Tequila” while a 4 year old cousin shouted “Tequiwa!” right on cue.  The baby ran around, the boys wrestled, football came on, and the coffee pot started gurgling.  When the dessert was laid out on the table, my sister and I glanced over the options: apple, pumpkin, and mincemeat pies, and cheesecake.

Looking at each other we nodded and said, “Let’s do this.”

Life is short.  Savor your options.  All four of them.

A food coma ensued, of course, from which I have only recently woken.  I found there was enough time to lay around and digest the following day since I don’t celebrate Black Friday, I celebrate Lack Friday, during which there is a distinct lack of activity.

Specifically, I’ve been dreaming about this cake:

That would be the pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting I had at Scratch Bakery Cafe last week.

Yum.

I finally recreated my own.  It’s a little healthier, yes.  But it is still cake.  The recipe is basic and easy:

Pumpkin Cake

• 1 box yellow or white cake mix
• 1 c. canned pumpkin (not the pie filling, just the plain pumpkin!)
• 1/2 c. sour cream or plain yogurt

Mix it all together.  Pour it into a greased cake pan. Bake according to the box’s instructions.

I used our jack-o-lantern cake pan.  It’s still pumpkin season, people.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz. package of non-fat cream cheese
• 1 (ish) c. confectioner’s sugar (I just sort of dumped a heap of it into the bowl and mixed away. Adjust the amount to your taste.)
• 1 t. vanilla extract

Mix it all together.  The end.

I will take this opportunity to note that I am INCAPABLE of using powdered sugar without getting it all over myself.  As I type this my jeans are slightly whiter than before this culinary fiasco began.  Confectioner’s sugar just does not want to be confined to a silly bowl.  Hopefully you fare better than I did.  Godspeed.

Anyway, this cake is not birthday cake sweet, but it is midnight snack perfect.  And it’s another step on my journey to consume all of my vegetables in the form of baked goods.

Scratch just looks so cute from the outside that I’ve been wanting to eat there for ages.  It’s a really low-key bakery and sandwich shop with some surprising menu items. The sandwich fare is basic, but delicious.  I got a turkey sandwich with tomato, lettuce, avocado, Swiss cheese, and pesto mayonnaise.

The pesto definitely made the sandwich.  And can we just take a moment to appreciate the glorious things avocados do for any sandwich? Mmm! It came on soft wheat foccacia with a pickle and carrot sticks, which upped the cute factor for me.  The Boyfriend got a turkey panini with sundried tomatoes and Provolone cheese which left him, to quote, “full.”  (This is a big deal in The Boyfriend’s book.)

I was all about the sandwiches, but I did notice a small selection of notable lunch options: Chobani and granola to go, sundried tomato macaroni and cheese, and quinoa and cranberry salad.  They do some regular off-site catering gigs, too, which probably helps business.  There were only two other people in the cafe when The Boyf and I walked in and a few passers-by popped in for coffee.  The place seems like a great little neighborhood haunt.

I was already sold on Scratch’s sandwiches, but I stopped to admire the small selection of homemade baked goods.  They have the typical pastry and cake as well as some vegan and gluten-free options. The Boyfriend caught me drooling over the Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and bought slices for The Roommate and myself.  There’s just something about the combo of pumpkin and cream cheese that really does it for me I guess.  I ate my slice for dinner (pumpkin is a vegetable!) while folding our laundry.

The cake was divine and presumably the same thing could be said about the other baked goods at Scratch Bakery.  I’m willing to be the guinea pig and test them out. Just a team player like that.

If you’re in the Albany area, definitely check out Scratch Bakery and Cafe for a laid-back lunch.  Take your own boyfriend or a friend you haven’t seen in a while.  Scratch has a quiet, casual atmosphere that is perfect for catching up.  They also have a nice selection of beverages including tea and coffee, and some items from the cooler.  I’ll leave you with my Honest T bottle cap quote:

I really enjoy this quote. And I’m glad I snapped a photo because I totally threw the bottle cap away even though I was going to save it as a reminder to my scatterbrained self…

**Chobani Giveaway

Don’t forget there is still time to enter the Chobani Giveaway! Enter via comment or tweet!

Food is easier.

This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada.  I’m not really sure what Canadian Thanksgiving is all about, aside from the obvious gratefulness and appreciation for our abundance.  I’m not a Canadian myself, but I celebrated nonetheless with an abundance of cake.  I won’t reveal HOW much cake was consumed because, frankly, I’ve already had to lie to myself about the number of slices, but I will give you an idea by saying that in the past five days I’ve celebrated the birthdays of four people, including the Boyfriend.

The Boyfriend has a fascination with dinosaurs.  He used to want to be a paleontologist.  We own the Jurassic Park box set and he will frequently hum the theme (upon request or not). If tickets weren’t so flipping expensive, I would have bought him a couple to Walking with Dinosaurs.

But instead I made him a dinosaur cake.

The pan

A dinosaur emerges

Roar!

Since I am sort of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants sort of girl, I baked the cake in a dinosaur-shaped pan, then eye-balled the outline.  I think it turned out pretty well.  I used a mix for the cake, but the frosting and icing were made and dyed by me.

Buttercream Frosting

1/2 c. shortening

3/4 stick butter, softened

1/2 t. vanilla

2 T. milk

4 c. powdered sugar

Cream the shortening and butter.  Add the vanilla and milk.  Add in the sugar without making a mess of yourself and your kitchen.  (Next time I’ll take my own advice.)  The recipe makes three cups, which was plenty for this green masterpiece.

Was there ever a happier birthday boy?

The general consensus? One friend commented, “This cake is delicious! And not just because it looks like a dinosaur.”

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