The Anadama Bread

I learned today that is something called Anadama Bread that is a traditional New England bread made from molasses, corn meal and flour.  This was only slightly embarrassing because I like to think of myself as traditional New England (except for the salt pork in baked beans, bleh), and I had never heard of it before. 

I will also admit that my excitement over the discovery of Anadama bread was really encouraged by the misreading of it being Adama bread, and therefore the bread that Admiral and Lee Adama shared around their Caprican breakfast table.  Imaging my disappointment in discovering that I was wrong about the name of the bread and a super huge Battle Star Galactica dork all in one day!

I decided to make it regardless of my Edward James Olmos disappointment and have been delighted in the process.  I used the first recipe I found, which isn't my norm, but I was working on an iPhone and lacked the attention span to look at the tiny screen for too long.  I was surprised to see that the recipe called for no eggs and I wasn't sure my corn meal-molasses-butter combination was the right consistency, but it all came together well and is currently baking away in my oven, I'm sure inspiring jealousy in the hearts of all of my neighbors who are smelling that fresh-baking-bread scent (of which I'm sure there is no better).  

It turns out that those old school New Englanders knew what they were doing too, because this stuff is quite delicious!

The Fiesta! Cake

Today was my nephew Bryce's 9th birthday.  He had a Fiesta! themed party complete with Zumba instructor, pinata and a Fiesta! cake. 

I wasn't sure what to do for this cake when I first volunteered, but I knew it would involve bright colors and a sombrero.  I also had images of chili peppers and cacti, but those didn't materialize.

I have to give my mother credit for the baking of the cake.  She volunteered because I was running short on time.  When I was in sixth grade, my birthday party activity was to have all of my friends decorate mini doll cakes. It was very cute, there were many different colors of icing and each girl got a cake skirt with a doll pick in it and got to decorate it and take it home.  My mother also made me a doll cake as a birthday cake that year using a bundt pan and my Skipper doll's torso and head.  We put her legs back on after, but she was never the same. 

I digress.

The point of the story is to say that because of that party almost 20 year ago, my parents own a mini doll cake pan.  In our house it's known eloquently as the "boob pan."  That's right, we're classy.

Anyway, she made cakes in the boob pan, a small round circle and a 9x13 sheet cake.  I tunneled out the middle of the small round and used icing to stick one boob cake to it, voila - Sombrero!  I put the sombrero on the sheet cake.  Then I crumb coated the whole thing and put it in the fridge to harden.  Decorating it was fun and the whole thing came together quite well. 

Maybe next year he'll have a desert themed party.  I'll get that cactus in somehow...