En Vacances

I don't know if I spelled that right, but it's supposed to say I'm on vacation. The kids and the husband are home this week, so we are spending some quality time together. That is to say, we are wasting brain cells by playing the Wii, watching TV, going to the movies and shopping. But we haven't become complete zombies yet. Only partially. My kids still know how to read. I'm just not sure I do.   

As for the gingerbread cookies, the one and only batch I was going to make this year turned out awful, kind of like what I imagine the desert must taste like, with the texture of sand or maybe baby powder. As you can probably guess, this was quite a disappointment both to me and my family. I'm still trying to figure out two things: 

1. What went wrong? I could have forgotten the white sugar, or the shortening, which I think must be a year old, went rancid. Or, according to my mom, the weather adversely affected my baking (I'm going with this one.) This is the only time these cookies have not turned out. Could it be that I'm jinxed, and should never set foot in the kitchen again? (I can only hope.)

2. Why did I eat four cookies, just to make sure they really did taste as bad as I thought? (Two without frosting, then two more with frosting to verify that nothing could save them.)

Fortunately, my neighbor Janet brought over a plate of goodies just when one of my kids bit into a gingerbread cookie. "What's wrong with these things?" my son asked, grimacing. My husband walked by, cookie in hand. "They taste weird, don't they?" Another kid, standing next to the trash can, licked the frosting off and tossed the cookie into the bin when he thought I wasn't looking. I snatched the cooling rack full of nasty cookies, hurled them into the trash, and noshed on the gift from my Janet instead. (I had to get the taste of sandy gingerbread cookies out of my mouth and that seemed the best way to do it.) Somehow, eating Janet's pecan bars made everything better--at least for a few minutes. 

So you see, it's a good thing I didn't try to bake this Christmas season. Okay, so I baked yesterday, but it was a birthday cake for my oldest. It turned out only slightly better than the gingerbread. When I tried to turn the cake out onto the cooling rack, nothing happened. So I shook the pan. That's when half of the cake reluctantly plopped down to the counter. The other half remained stuck to the pan. So I scraped the batter out with a spatula and attempted to smash the remains back onto their other half. Then I assembled the cake as best I could, hoping that the ganache and frosting would kind of glue it all back together. And it did. Sort of. The cake looked like I made it during an earthquake or while under the influence of drugs. Had you been passing through the kitchen, you might have mistaken it for a science project about plate tectonics. But my boys are not finicky about aesthetics when it comes to birthday cake. Everyone ate a piece without complaint or unwanted critiques. And no one licked the frosting off the top and threw it in the trash when I wasn't looking. Plus, the kitchen smelled divine, all chocolatey and rasberry-ish and positively decadent, just like it should in December. And so, I will return to baking. Next year. But only to make a birthday cake, and only under the influence of Janet's pecan bars.  

Comments

[Amanda]

I had to make two batches of gingerbread this year because my first batch was rock hard! The only reason I tried a second batch was to try and redeem myself.

[MaryB]

Don't feel too bad...I think everyone has times when cooking/baking just doesn't work out. I've been to your house many times when you served up delicious food and goodies!

[shelby]

Good for you and your family for enjoying your time this week!

I must say this post sounded all too familiar. Ever since I moved here, most of my precious baking recipes have failed. (I think its the drier climate and higher elevation compared to Cali) So, every time I step into baking mode, Mike rolls his eyes and lectures me about not getting upset when it doesn't turn out the way I want. (And that only makes me NOT want to share it with him when it DOES turn out!) :)