I almost always have an afternoon cup of coffee. It’s an important part of my day and crucial to my well-being. I get the kids down for their post-lunch rest time, and then I hurry to the kitchen to fix myself a pick-me-upper. But on days like today, when it’s sticky hot, I can’t bear to drink hot coffee, so I make a coffee shake instead. I made an extra big one this afternoon so that Mr. Handsome and I could each have a glass.

Coffee Shake
Adapted from the Frozen Coffee Smoothie recipe from Postmodern Feeding
1/2 cup espresso, or very strong coffee
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
10-12 ice cubes (or however many it takes to make a thick shake)

Whirl it all together in the blender and serve in a tall glass, with a straw to drink it with. Serves two (unless you’re being a Little Piggy).

Variations
*Add some chocolate or caramel syrup.
*Spike it with peppermint schnapps or some coffee liqueur.
*Top with whipped cream and/or grated chocolate.

These days, the garden has been getting a bit too big for it’s britches. And it has an attitude. It back talks me by shooting up the weeds, as prolifically as the filth that streams from a sailor’s mouth.

It slams the door on any fruitful dialogue we could possibly have by just up and dying on me. It invites in hoards of june bugs so they can buzz wickedly about, bouncing off my head, causing me to duck and dodge and yelp.

So this morning I decided it was high time for a little discipline. I ripped out the onions by their hair and laid them out to toast in the hot sun.

I slung the wormy broccoli on to the compost pile. I yanked out a couple giant red beets (who were actually being fairly obedient and docile, so I wasn’t too upset with them). I photographed the zucchini because I didn’t know what else to do with it.

And the pumpkins…

I dug some potatoes because they are doing well and I needed to get something positive out of my garden and it’s always fun to unearth those big, white balls.

Then I brought all my produce inside and studied it for a minute: zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes, broccoli, beets. And then I turned it into lunch. I washed the beets and wrapped them in foil and stuck them in the oven. I swirled melted butter in a 9×13 pan and layered in slices of potato, carrot, zucchini, onion, hotdogs and sausages left over from last night’s fondue, and broccoli chunks, poured more melted butter over it all, sealed the top with foil, and baked it.

When it was done, Mr. Handsome, who at that point was falling over from hunger and trying to help me get lunch on, poured the leftover cheese fondue over it all. And lunch was served.

Watch out, Garden, I’m gonna get you.

Strawberry Cake
This cake is not one of my favorites (I’m more the chocolate type), an oh-my-goodness-you-have-to-make-this recipe, and it’s not a part of our daily diet so I can’t count it as worthy minutia, but I’m going to include the recipe here anyway. The reasons are:

1. It is the tastiest strawberry cake I have tasted.

2. My little girls love pink and cake, so I have a feeling I will get this request again and I wanted to record the recipe for myself.

3. Some of you might have children (and spouses and friends and siblings) who also love pink and cake and therefore could use a recipe for a pink cake. The cake certainly is pink.

4. It is an easy recipe.

5. I already told you about this cake, and it is only fitting that I show you the end result and tell you how I got there.

Note: I used my canned strawberries to make the puree, and instead of using a full cup of milk, I used ½ cup of the canned strawberry juice and ½ cup of milk.

2 cups white sugar
1 package strawberry gelatin (3 ounces)
1 cup butter
4 eggs
2 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted before measuring
2 ½ t. baking powder
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
½ cup strawberry puree

Cream the sugar, gelatin, and butter. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. In a separate bowl combine the cake flour and baking powder. Alternating with the milk, add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter. Add the vanilla and strawberry puree.

Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with circles of wax paper. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for ten minutes before running a knife around the edges and gently dumping them out onto a rack to cool.

Cool the cakes completely before icing and decorating according to the Birthday Kid’s specifications.

Updated on July 13, 2008
Now that there is only about one-sixth of the cake left in our fridge and we are a couple days out from premiering the Strawberry Cake, I feel a pressing need to add some thoughts and comments.

First, it really is a very good cake. I can tell because I’ve had a chance to share it with some people and I have neglected to do so. If I hoard something, it means I like it.

Second, the cake needs to be stored in the fridge. We ate it when it was fresh, and while good, it is even better chilled. Then it gets all creamy and cool and smooth.

Third, some of you wondered what I did for icing. I put cream cheese frosting in between the layers, and I frosted the sides and top with whipped cream (tinted pink, of course). It is a rich cake and best eaten in little slivers.

Fourth, I’m not a fan of jello or of processed ingredients, but the jello is a nice addition to the cake. There is good strawberry flavor and a little bit of a gelatin texture to the cake, which is actually very nice.

Fifth, I think this cake has a ton of room for variations. Imagine this: the cake is made with lemon jello, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and lemon curd is spread between the layers and the whole creation is frosted with whipped cream. Or try a lime cake. Or a cherry cake with chocolate. Use jams and puddings in between the layers. What about an orange cake with bits of pineapple? See what I mean? Lots of room for playing around. If you give it a shot, let me know how it turns out—I’m all ears.