This week

Snark told me today he has had a rash of potty talkers at work. People who are on the toilet and talking on the cell phone. I warned him that might cause unintentional spray so stay away. You can't pee and hold the cell phone without someone getting hurt.

My friends the Proglers came to visit. We had a great time having dinner with them. Why did it take us moving out of state to get together for dinner??? We took them for drinks at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We wandered around and tried to see animals out of night vision goggles. My luck all the good animals left and all I saw was "Duckus Americanus".

My eldest wears size 7 womens flip-flops. I'm scared to see what she wears when she turns 10.

I had three communion parties on Sunday. Thank God(literally) that all the kids go to the same church. We knocked out service in one fell swoop.

Someone royally pissed me off today. She had the nerve to say "I don't understand why people come to our church for a Communion ceremony if they are not going up to partake of communion. That means they obviously don't believe in that holy sacrament." To which I had to say "Your religion does not allow other baptized Christians to partake in your communion. I am one of those. Communion is important to me, but your church will not allow me to participate." She had no answer and obviously is not as well versed in her faith as she thought she was. As Snark says "Don't let your lack of knowledge slow you down."

Tomorrow is my birthday. I got two cases of wine and a bike. My friend Amy and her college roomie used to "drink and bike" I would try it, if it didn't require so much exercise.

Oops! Forgot to post a recipe

So my birthday is Wed. I request this cake every year from Snark. Not too sweet and just right(like me).

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH MASCARPONE AND PRALINE

For praline
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup hazelnuts
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

For cake
3 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

8 ounces mascarpone cheese (about 1 cup) at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Make praline:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a baking pan toast nuts in one layer in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until almonds are lightly colored and hazelnut skins are blistered. Wrap nuts in a kitchen towel and let steam 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove any loose hazelnut skins (do not worry about skins that do not come off) and cool completely.

Line a baking sheet with foil. In a small heavy saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, without stirring, washing down any sugar crystals that cling to side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water, until it begins to turn golden. Swirl pan until syrup is deep golden and remove from heat. Stir in nuts and pour praline onto baking sheet, spreading evenly. Cool praline completely and break into pieces. Transfer praline to a sealable plastic bag and with a rolling pin coarsely crush.

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan (at least 2 inches deep) and line bottom with wax or parchment paper. Butter paper and dust pan with flour, knocking out excess.

Finely chop chocolate. In a small saucepan combine cocoa powder, butter, oil, and water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring until smooth, and remove pan from heat. Add chocolate and sugar, whisking until smooth, and transfer to a bowl. Cool chocolate mixture completely and whisk in egg. Sift flour and baking powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Whisk in buttermilk and pour batter into cake pan, spreading evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean, and cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pan and invert cake onto rack. Discard paper. Cool cake completely and transfer to a plate. In a bowl stir together mascarpone and sugar. Spread mixture over top of cake and generously sprinkle with praline.

recipe courtesy of Cafe Mezzo