Darienne

Now that one sounds good.

And a Happy Birthday to you kayb for Monday.

The subject heading says it all. Today is my birthday and as usual I am making my cake. Sunday is Ed's birthday and so at this point, we are sharing this cake. And, of course, I have made cakes for our children, our parents, and all sorts of friends. A dear friend dropped over this afternoon with a plate of brownies as a gift and on her birthday, I always make her a new version of a peanut butter and chocolate pie. Imagine a wonderful cake bought from a terrific bakery...I don't think we have any terrific bakeries in the small city near us. We lived in it for 25 years and now 23 years outside it, and I sure don't remember any good bakeries. Or imagine having someone else make you a birthday cake. Fair to boggles the mind. Who makes your birthday cake?

Would love to go there. Have several friends from Newfoundland and heavens knows, all our best comics hail from there. The topography looks amazing.

ChocoMom, I don't know whether to laugh, cry or smile broadly...

You're a good son, CD.

We live in Ontario just on the edge of the Canadian Shield and have a 150' drilled well (I probably have the depth wrong but Ed isn't here to ask) and our water is so good it's hard to believe. We have it tested faithfully year after year and it's always been pure and devoid of the bad stuff they test it for and that is a boon. Alas, I don't really like the taste of water very much although I am trying to drink more of it for health reasons. OTOH, although our farm is worked by Other Ed, the soil is not too good and that's too bad.

I have nothing positive to say in this one. We were in Moab Utah, which is not the center of kitchen ware, when my old hand mixer went, and we had no choices except the Hamilton-Beach Speedburst. It's lasted a few years already...now that's good...cause nothing lasts anymore...but I wouldn't buy another one. As I recall it was pretty inexpensive though.

On Kayb, I am overwhelmed reading your post. My Mother hated cooking and it was Ed who taught me how to cook. I got married knowing only how to make salad dressing. I cannot imagine having a warm, loving, cooking, baking Mother. Ed's Mother was one. (Not all Mothers are nice, but you knew that.) And I hated cooking also until 10 years ago. I thank my lucky stars for eGullet and the warm and generous folks on it, like you, who have added so much to our lives. And I have already made a crazy cake and am planning the next one with some changes, of course. Thanks again, ElsieD.

I know nothing of this cake. Do you have a favourite recipe for it, Elsie? And would you share it please?

Wonderful heartwarming post, ChocoMom. Next time we are in the States, I'll look for the Sander's Bumpy Cake and an Awrey's Chocolate cake. We haven't shopped at too many Kroger's but the Moab City Market (a Kroger's) has wonderful in store made pastries...even including decent croissants. Amazing.

Just love the cut-up cakes. What a wonderful Mother you had and such good memories. Alas, my memories are not of that type. My Mother refused to cut my sandwiches into boats...and after 58 years of marriage, my dear Ed still cuts my grilled cheese sandwiches into boats always. 😊

Oh, I don't know...I kinda think of you as at least the Food Recall Ambassador...

I could use that recipe. Please.

Reminds me of Moab, Utah, my home away from home. They have no municipal recycling there, partly because the town is so far from everything. The two nearest cities are two hours north and two hours south, and both in Colorado. There is recycling, but it's privately run, mostly with volunteers and if you use it, you are asked to donate money to help keep it going. The center accepts cardboard boxes. And you never saw so many boxes from Sysco. Almost all the "restaurants" in Moab are fast food outlets.

You have posted a dish which features an almond sauce and yet you make it with a peanut sauce. I've never actually made a peanut sauce. Would you please post your favorite? Thanks, andiesenji.

Hmmm....I never thought of myself as crazy, but there you are. We do recycle plastic bags and also reuse many of them and no matter which, they are washed out with soap and water and hung to dry in the garage. My husband insists that they be washed out. I hate doing it, but I do it faithfully. And certainly in the summer, just storing them in the garage between recycling pickups would make the garage smell, particularly if the bag had contained meat of some kind. No, don't worry. I am not hurt or offended at all.

Good heavens. I didn't even know there was side specific baking paper. You won't do that one again....

Did not know that Tonic water came in diet format. I'd have to check the 'sweetener'. Can't tolerate Aspartame.

Does anyone actually use leftover rinds. I have my own little collection...

Something to consider. I am not a soft drink drinker. At all. But I found this suggestion about drinking Tonic Water because it contains an amount of quinine which is supposed to help with night leg cramps. (Boy do I hate night leg cramps.) I was mistaken about how Tonic Water might taste and find that it's not bad at all and it certainly cuts through everything which I like a soda pop to do. It's about 100 calories per can. Not exactly zero calories...but not too bad.

Speaking of repressed cake memories...many years ago for fun I made one of those refrigerator cakes using two packages of Christie chocolate wafers and whipped cream...oh, such a lot of work...NOT!...and my oldest son loved it so much that he asked for it every year for his birthday cake. "Whatever you would like, my dear" said the doting Mother.

I think of Pineapple Upside-Down cake as a cake from the past. From my past at any rate. I think it was the only cake my Mother made.

It was enjoyable re-reading this thread and seeing how we all lived. Of course, rules have changed in our area since I last contributed in 2015. Against the wishes of the entire township, our current mayor re-instituted garbage pickup but we hardly ever put out anything. Recycling no longer takes foam of any kind...but the library collects used batteries. We have county depots far away from our home where electronics and paint cans can be taken and we pay for that privilege. We even dispose of our dog poop in a special container which Ed has moved once in 23 years. Mostly they do their business out on the farm land during our daily walks. I keep our backyard poop-free because of our constant exposure to giardia on the farm. As for throwing out food. Doesn't happen. Anything vegetable gets roasted and kept in the freezer for soup or enchilada making. Our pots and pans are really old. Some made in Korea and Japan even. And we have something you don't often find...a metal grilled cheese and waffle maker. We all remember metal...we just don't see it anymore in a lot of appliances. I hate washing plastic bags but do it faithfully. We use cloth grocery bags...where we live you have to pay for plastic bags if you want them. I hate, hate, hate the plastic packaging which we buy. Batteries for one. Just about anything from Canadian Tire. The packaging of supplements drives me slightly batty. A bottle big enough for 1,000 pills I swear with 60 in it. We are not saints and not as green as I would like, but we do our own best. PS. And while we are on the subject (and here comes the ranting part): We keep our house cooler in the winter and hotter in the summer than most visitors like. For them I change the temperature settings. But apparently Ontario, which has tremendous sources of electric power, and we are exporting much of this to the USA at a loss, has the most expensive electricity prices in all of North America. There. I'm finished.

I'm 'from' Montreal, Quebec, but live in East Central Ontario. And yes, there are lots of eGers from Canada.