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love thursday: a girl and her elephant
Hey, if a boy can be cute with his tiger, why can’t a girl and her elephant* get some love?
P’s niece with one of our gifts for her Valentine’s birthday.
I think she’s wondering why everyone didn’t get her a stuffed elephant, but that’s just my opinion.
*Although I would’ve preferred it, I couldn’t find a donkey.
Happy Love Thursday everyone!
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[tags]love thursday, stuffed animals, elephants, birthday[/tags]
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day–probably because up until last year, I was always single on February 14th. Anyway, surprise surprise, not much has changed just because I’m part of a couple.
I truly hope no one out there is sad or depressed about being alone on today or any other day, because you’re not alone. Really.
And besides, it could be worse:
Seriously though, that’s all kinds of cute, isn’t it? Thanks to John for pointing it out.
Happy Valentine’s Day one and all!
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[tags]valentine’s day, valentine’s day greetings, skeletons, skeletons embracing[/tags]
What’s Cooking Wednesday: Best Chocolate Cake Ever
A little over a month ago, P and I went to his sister’s house to celebrate the Epiphany. I took my most favorite chocolate cake of all time–the one that I *always* requested from my mom for my birthday. P’s sister had, coincidentally, made a chocolate cake that day too. I was shocked since most Italians do not usually have a dessert prepared, but lucky me, I had competition.
And I won.
The other day, P’s sister called me and asked me to make this moist, delicious treat for her daughter’s birthday party, which is today, Valentine’s Day. I didn’t have time to run out and get anything really special for the cake, so I worked with what I had, and this is what I came up with:
My mom had sent me those gummy hearts for Valentine’s Day, so they were the perfect addition, I think.
Also, P’s sister has asked me for the recipe; I haven’t yet translated it into all Italian measurements and ingredients, but if any of you in Italy have questions, please feel free to email me.
Now for this week’s What’s Cooking Wednesday:
Mary K’s Most Moistest Chocolate Cake in the World
3 cups flour
1 cup powdered baking cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups hot strong coffee
2 tsp baking soda
Pay special attention to the way the ingredients are grouped as these go together.
First put the coffee on to brew.
Then sift the flour, cocoa, and baking powder and mix together well in a medium-sized mixing bowl, and put aside.
Beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl. The large bowl is important, because this will eventually be the home of your entire batter.
When the coffee is done, add the baking soda; it should bubble if your baking soda is working. I use a pourable measuring container for the coffee.
Now, to the egg mixture, alternate adding the dry and wet mixtures. I do all of this by hand now with a whisk, but I used to use an electric mixer. Makes no difference as far as I can tell. The batter is moderately runny, definitely not thick.
This recipe is for a 13 x 9 pan, which should be greased and floured. The cake is so moist that it *will* stick if you don’t do this well.
Bake at 350° F (177° C) for 35-45 minutes. You can also make lovely cupcakes, as my mom did when I was still taking treats to school, just reduce the baking time.
When the cake springs up from your touch, it’s done even if it’s slightly gooey inside. It’ll still cook when outside the oven.
FYI, the recipe I used for the icing can be found here, although I added a bit more milk. I should also add that I normally wouldn’t even ice this cake as it makes it own nice soft, icing-like top after it sits for a while, but for the sake of the Birthday Girl, I went all out.
Buon appetito and Buon San Valentino!
rainbows sure are purty
Today’s weather is crazy!
When I prepared the last post, we were having all kinds of nasty weather. There have been high winds the entire time, but we’ve also gone from cloudy to foggy to rainy to sunny to hail-y back to the rain, sun, clouds, oh the whole gamut over and over again in cycles. Some thunder and lightning mixed in for fun.
Oh, and did I mention that rainbows are part of the cycle?
Here’s the first, faint rainbow:
And then about fifteen minutes later, this one:
And then another fifteen minutes later, this one:
We’re currently in a high winds and clouds state, but more rain/hail should be coming soon. P tells me this used to be what March was like around here–seems like we’ve skipped a month somewhere along the way….
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[tags]weather, rainbows, calabria, crazy weather[/tags]
oh no you di’nt
Oh yes she did.
Shannon called me out as the person most likely to respond to this meme.
Dammit I’m such a people-pleaser.
1. What is your occupation? Writer, teacher, translator.
2. What color are your socks right now? Black (both pair). My feet would always be cold in the winter if I didn’t layer. The under pair are just anklets like I’d wear in the summer with sneakers, and the outer pair is the more traditional, mid-calf-ending sock. And yes, my feet are toasty.
3. What are you listening to right now? Sweet silence interrupted by thunder. We’re in the middle of a storm, so I have everything unplugged, including this laptop, which is on the battery. I have another hour for either the storm or the battery to surrender. I’ll have to wait until the storm is over to post this, too, since I’m afraid to plug in the phone.
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Pears and gorgonzola.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Not yet, but there’s been talk around here of my attempting to conquer the whole Italian driver’s license thing. In case you aren’t aware, most cars around here aren’t automatic.
6. If you were a crayon what color would you be? Probably white since I’m so freaking pale. Although I wear a lot of black to balance that. Maybe grey then.
7. The last person you spoke to on the phone? My dad.
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? The founder of What’s Cooking Wednesday? She’s fantabulous!
9. How old are you today? 3o. Incidentally, I know several people who celebrate their birthday today, February 13th, so Happy Birthday/Auguri!.
10. Favorite drink? Cappuccino.
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? I’ll go with college basketball even though I haven’t watched any in years. *sigh*
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? I’ve highlighted, and I’ll do it again. I’m sure I’ll be actually dying (my hair) soon though as I’m noticing far too many (unwanted) white visitors.
13. Pets? Luna Balloona! The chickens and whatnot don’t count as, you know, we eat them and all.
14. Favorite food? I go in kicks with food. Right now I’m really into the pears and gorgonzola (see #4). But this too shall pass. I don’t know what will be next.
15. What was the last movie you watched? The Terminal with Tom Hanks. I hadn’t even heard of it but I really enjoyed it. Especially the second time when I watched it in English–Tom Hanks with a Russianesque accent is too cute!
16. What do you do to vent anger? Stew, breathe, and call my mom.
17. What was your favorite toy as a child? Hmm…probably crayons and coloring books–I seem to recall two that I actually finished–Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake.
18. What is your favorite season? Fall, but more so in the States than here. We don’t have all those pretty colored leaves all over the place, unfortunately.
19. Hugs or kisses? Yes please!
20. Cherries or Blueberries? Depends on my mood, and my continent. We don’t get blueberries around here, you know.
21. Do you want your friends to email you back? My friends, acquaintances, faithful and casual readers, yes; German spammers no (don’t know what’s up with that).
22. Who is most likely to respond? Vanessa even though she doesn’t have a blog. At least I hope she responds.
23. Who is least likely to respond? Everyone else I know who blogs (I’ve got that one covered, eh?).
24. Living arrangements? Yes, I have them. Oh, you mean like with P and Luna in a centuries-old stone house? See #2.
25. When was the last time you cried? While reading an email this morning from an old friend; it’s not the first time it’s happened.
26. What is on the floor of your closet? Uh, what *isn’t* on the floor of my closet?
27. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? Since this is going out into the blogosphere, it’s hard to tell. But probably that one from #25 since it’s hard to know me longer than he has and not be related to me.
28. What did you do last night? Ate dinner, watched the end of Mission Impossible 2, read a few pages in a Sue Grafton book, and went to sleep.
29. Favorite smells? Lavender, vanilla, jasmine, Nivea body wash.
30. What are you afraid of? See #5.
31. Favorite dog breed? Luna Balloona, whatever she is. You tryin’ to start trouble in this house?
33. Number of keys on your key ring? 3. My house, P’s house, and P’s parents’ house.
34. Favorite day of the week? Tuesday. I’m not sure why, but I’ve just always liked it.
35. How many Provinces have you lived in? Ooh, interesting, since we don’t have these in the U.S. But let’s go with different places in which I’ve been registered to vote–counties (3) and this province in Italy, so 4 all together.
36. Favorite holiday? Thanksgiving. A whole day dedicated to overeating!
37. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? No, and I have no desire to do so. I’ve been on a motorcycle, but no heavy machinery is coming to mind. As an aside, driving a motorino is a distinct possibility in the future.
38. Ever left the country? I’ve left more than one country.
39. Favorite kind of music? Anything that doesn’t give me a headache from a repetitive dance beat. I tend to like folky, acoustic stuff with just a guitar and a singer. Some other instruments allowed so long as they don’t give me a headache.
40. Last book you read? I’m finishing a Sue Grafton (G is for Gumshoe) I started a long time ago. I forgot about it in a bag. In case you’re wondering, I haven’t decided whether to finish Charlotte Simmons. It’s rough going there.
41. What career do you wish you had pursued? I wish I had pursued writing from an earlier age, but I’m catching up methinks.
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[tags]memes[/tags]
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
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