the ode to summer

“the things we ate did last summer….
i’ll be burning off remember all winter long…” –a line from one of my dad’s favorite songs.

hands down, the chocolate cake that lords it over all of them

i was about to wax nostalgic about the past summer, the cookouts! the road trips! the visiting cousins, nephews, sis’s-in-laws, sightseeing, restaurant meals!! in sharp contrast to the grey skies, the gloomy cold, the ungodly wake up hours, clock-watching :drive: ….
when i once again received the call for my favorite chocolate cake recipe, that’s easy and delicious and a snap to make. there are so many great ones out there but this is my ultimate fall-back all time fave…it tastes like a million bucks, and i promise you won’t have to worry about refrigerator real estate….this. won’t. last.
AND! they translate easily into cupcakes! (decrease heat by 25ºF, line muffin pans with cupcake liners, and start checking for doneness after 25 minutes.)

this is my all-time go-to favorite chocolate cake recipe. moist, dense, dark, deep. as long as you have sour cream on hand, you’re all set.

Rosie’s fudge frosting (from Rosie’s Baking Book):
melt 6 ozs. unsweetened chocolate in the top of a double boiler placed over simmering water. cool slightly.
blend 1 cup plus 2 tbsps. evaporated milk with 1 & 1/2 cups sugar in a blender on medium speed for 2 seconds (i used my stick blender).
add the melted chocolate to the sugar mixture in the blender and blend on high speed until the frosting is thick and shiny, 1 to 1&1/2 minutes. the blender’s sound will change as the frosting thickens.

spoon the frosting into a bowl and allow it to set at room temperature for 30 minutes. then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the frosting to set for 1 hour more before frosting.
do not refrigerate.

“99”, and the things i did this past summer vacation…

[this was meant for yesterday..it’s just too ironic that the day that i finally decide to blog again, the website suddenly went kaput. ay buhay. c’est la vie. such is life.]

hello?
HELLLOOOO? anybody home?

well i’m here, and i want to wish me myself and you a happy 9-9-09 day, and to reveal that my favorite number is 99, and the only explanation i can think of is Agent 99 of GetSmart, one of my favorite spies on television as a kid growing up. (Barbara Feldon, to Don Adams’ Maxwell Smart.) (i also adored Toto, the group, the dog, etc.)

barang i promise to post the links up to the hazelnut pavlova ASAP!

i was having too much fun this summer vacation, which seems a lot longer than our previous ones, no doubt due to the lucky placement of labor day on the calendar this year.
sadly, we only had a total of–what? three “heatwave” days? of 90 degree Fahrenheit weather? (which we never ever complained about!)–to sudden bone chilling 60 degrees these very early school day mornings.

more to come in the days ahead…i’ve successfully relaunched my kids to their back-to-school routines, with nary a scratch or a bruise on myself or them. *heehee that’s a JOKE* :drunk:

back to school cookies! (oatmeal chocolate chip, from Cook’s Illustrated.)