Hot smoky valentine's

J requested something chocolate for our dinner, so I consulted my stack of yet-to-be-tried magazine recipes for inspiration. We agreed upon a mocha-chocolate cake with chocolate marscapone frosting. It sounded amazing (and the pictures were even more mouthwatering!), so we ventured out to the store for some esoteric ingredients - marscapone and instant espresso powder - that don't usually grace our shelves.

Everything was going well, albeit a little hectic since I was making the cake and frosting simultaneously, until the cream that was coming to a boil on the stove did just that. It boiled, and boiled over before I could catch it! Needless to say, the cream was quickly removed from the heat, and I went about finishing the rest of the cake and frosting. I popped the thick, gooey cake layers in the oven and proceeded to the park with J and the dog to enjoy a little fresh air while the cake baked for 30 min. We got home just in time for the first timer to go off, and luckily the cakes needed a few more minutes so I took my damp coat and muddy shoes off and went back to the kitchen. At the second timer, the layers looked perfect and out they came, onto the stovetop. I thought nothing of it while I left them to cool, and sat down on the couch with my sweetheart. A few minutes later, though, he looked at me and said, something is burning. I could have sworn everything was turned off, but something was definitely charring, so I ran to the kitchen only to find that I had left the burner that had been heating the cream earlier on and it was now in the process of heating my cake layer!

I was horrified! J ran to my aid, and we attempted to rescue or salvage what we could of the burnt layer, but it was no use. The burnt aroma from the parchment paper/cake crumbs/pan had penetrated the entire thickness. No amount of cutting (or frosting) was going to make it better. The saving grace was that he was perfectly happy having a one-layer Valentine's Day cake instead, and the mocha marscapone frosting made up for the lack of a second layer. Here is to love (and chocolate) making all things better.

Getting back up again

I have a terrible confession to make: I fell off the diet horse last week.

I could attribute it to the pre-surgery stress, or the accumulation of my thesis project failures - this whole grad school thing has been a rollercoaster of emotions regarding success or failure of these grand ideas my advisor has - but quite honestly, whatever the underlying distractions, it does not excuse the extreme lack of willpower or qualifications I gave myself these past few days!

Here is to (falling but having the courage to) get back up again and face this week in a stronger, more resolute manner with my self-control! Take that, Mondays!