Good riddance, 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Sarah| 1 Comment

Here’s a recap of my year: job loss, shingles, stillbirth.

This year has punched me, shoved me down and trampled me. On many days, I have wanted to walk into a hospital and request a leg amputation. Then people could see the hurt I’ve been through. Instead, I am left fumbling for words every time a stranger asks “Is she your only child?” or “Why did you decide to go back to school?”

Do I invite them into my world? Most people — parents especially — really don’t want to hear about children dying.

And yet so many people have listened — neighbors who I hadn’t met before, friends who I hadn’t talked to in years. We literally got cards from strangers, people who had never met us but heard about Genevieve from our friends and relatives. I didn’t know it was possible to feel so loved and so sad at the same time. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you.

I’m looking forward to 2012. I have to believe it will be better than 2011. I’ll end the year with a bit of wisdom from Winston Churchill: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

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Posted in Unusual

Preparing to play Santa

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Sarah| 1 Comment

Greg left early for work today because his office was providing free health screenings. He arrived home tonight with a chart showing his health data. He passed it to me at dinner and said, “What do you think of this?”

I scanned through the numbers. Cholesterol high. Blood pressure high. Body mass index high.

“These numbers are not good, Greg,” I said.

“But I don’t know if those numbers are even right,” he said. “Look, they got my height wrong.”

They had him listed as being two inches taller than he is.

“Yes, but all of these other numbers look right,” I said.

He again suggested that the health advisers hadn’t known what they were doing.

After dinner, I cleaned up the kitchen and put away the day’s mess. A receipt rested atop Greg’s wallet. It was from Panera, for food purchased shortly after Greg’s health check-up.

One French toast bagel. One cinnamon swirl bagel. One cranberry walnut bagel. One chocolate chip bagel.

“Were these all for you?” I asked.

“I offered them to other people,” Greg said.

“Yes, but did they take them?” I asked.

Silence.

Now I know why Greg is so enthusiastic about my plans to become a nurse.

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Posted in Greg's fantasy world

Gingerbread apple upside-down cake

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Sarah| Comments Off


This is probably the last thing you want to look at after Thanksgiving. Or maybe not. I guess it depends on how much leftover pie you have in your fridge.

I made this gingerbread apple cake several weeks ago, and the photos have been languishing beside those from dozens of other meals. Despite my silence on this blog, we have actually been eating three meals a day here. And, occasionally, dessert.

This cake would make a fabulous dessert for a holiday party. Look how pretty it is! Usually, at least some part of my cake adheres to the pan when I’m trying to flip it. I’m left with a falling-apart cake and a bunch of crumbs and must decide how to resurrect the thing. How do you think frosting got invented anyway? It’s a cake rescue device.

Anyway, this cake came out ready for a magazine photo shoot. And it was delicious. It kept pretty well in the fridge, too. Why are you still reading? Go buy some apples!

This recipe comes from the Smitten Kitchen blog.

Topping
4 T. butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
Pinch of salt
4 apples (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges

Batter
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup honey
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. ground ginger
1 t. cinnamon

For the topping:
Preheat your oven to 325 and grease a 10-inch cake pan. Melt four tablespoons butter in a saucepan and add brown sugar. Simmer and stir about four minutes. Add the salt. Pour the caramel into your cake pan, and arrange the apple slices in a layer on top. I had to overlap some of my slices.

For the cake:
Using a mixer, cream half-cup butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In a bowl, mix the egg, molasses, honey and buttermilk. In another bowl, blend the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Alternate adding the two mixtures to the butter mixture in your mixer. Pour the batter into your cake pan, and bake 45 to 50 minutes. Mine even took a bit longer than that. Let your cake cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then flip it.

The original recipe suggests serving this with a bit of whipped cream, but you could go all out and use vanilla ice cream if you prefer. We did.

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Posted in Desserts, Recipes