Jared asked for some chocolate cake

Its your typical Sunday in the Hanlin household.  We went to church this morning, came home and ate some lunch, and now we're being lazy well in to the afternoon.  I love Sundays when Jared isn't in a show. Anyway, we had just finished eating the omelets Jared made from random leftovers we had in the fridge (yum!) and I had settled in to looking up new recipes to try for dinners this week.  While searching and making notes on my grocery list, I ask Jared if he has any sort of sweet in mind that he would like me to make.  With half of his attention on Super Mario Bros Wii and the other on trying to answer my question, he (without breaking visual contact with the television) says, "um...chocolate." "Ok...chocolate pie, chocolate cookies, chocolate cake... " I say in an attempt to draw a more detailed response.  "cake."  I had my answer.  So I start going though recipes on my favorite food blogs, and find one that sounds interesting on Delish-blog.com.  Texas Sheet Cake.  hmm.  I glance through the ingredient list, and wouldn't you know, I had everything needed.  God must want me to make this cake.  (Or maybe because I'm starting to bake more frequently, I am acquiring more ingredients...you choose, but I'm leaning towards destiny)  I go about mixing, boiling, sifting and pouring, and in no time I'm pouring the icing (more like a glaze) over the fresh-from-the-oven cake.  I sit back down on the oversized chair in our wee little living room, and appreciate the chocolatey-goodness smells that are lingering in the air.  (although I have a peanut-sized nose, I actually have a very keen sense of smell.  Thats probably why I focus on this sense when describing food, even though it wouldn't take giftedness in the olfactory department to appreciate the smells of this cake)

After waiting a few minutes for the cake to cool down a bit and for the icing to really sink its way in, I dish up two plates so Jared and I can give it a test.  And....oh baby.  The cinnamon, which I was a little curious about, really enhances the chocolate, and the pecans in the icing give just a little crunch to compliment the density of the cake.  Someone (or a group of people) should come help us eat this cake, because I feel like I just gained a pound over a pretty small slice.  (Please notice both the Mellow Mushroom pizza box in the first picture from dinner Friday night, and also the goofy grin Jared is making after eating his specially requested chocolate cake.  My weekend is now complete.)

Here's the link if you want to check out this recipe:

http://www.delish-blog.com/2007/07/cake-this-good-well-it-must-be-from-texas/

Baking/Cooking is a tasty obsession

I don't know if its because I'm bored, or I need a little excitement in my life, but I've become more and more interested in baking and cooking.  But not just interested, more like excited.  Like, I get excited about looking up new recipes to try, utilizing wonderful baking and cooking blogs.  Is there something wrong with me? Probably.  I've never pretended to be entirely normal.  But that would be lame, right? So anyway, I find these recipes with beautiful illustrations and jot them down, drag Jared to the grocery store, and work my experiments in the kitchen, often late into the night (for me, that means around midnight.)  This past week I made a delicious Mexican Casserole, I nurtured a homemade Beef Stroganoff, and lastly, last night I made some pretty awesome Fresh Strawberry Bread.  Jared is the only one who can attest to the dinners, but I've gotten some pretty good feedback from my co-workers on the strawberry bread.  Or maybe they lied. Either way, I choose to take the compliments.


So, in preparation to begin my bread adventure, I laid out all the ingredients and realized my obsession with Great Value brand products.  Wal-Mart brand, for those non-Arkansans/purveyors of regular grocery stores.  Wal-Mart is king around here, especially since there aren't really any other comparable options.  But hey, its good, and its cheap! A newly married's friend.  Foodwise, that is.

While I'm diligently mixing and chopping, I look up from my "work" to see what the rest of my little family is doing, and I find Jared enjoying his Christmas present, boxing away on our Wii and MiMi, our little fur child, hoping I'm going to drop something on the floor for her to eat.

She always thinks she wants what I'm making, but I can't seem to convince her that I don't live off lunchmeat (her favorite).  Poor mimi.  After much persistence I gave her a small piece of strawberry, and she lunged, then recoiled, at my offering.  Oh well.







So, the finished product smelled heavenly, tasted pretty fantastic, and photographed poorly.  Can't win them all I guess.  But, other people ate it, even asked for some, without me pushing it on them or without them feeling like they have to lie to me.  I think.  Well, in one day I'm already down half a loaf, so if you want to come by and make up your own mind, you'd better do it fast.