More socks!

Went out for a delicious dinner with both mothers and my grandmother (which reminds me... the remaining half of my curried chicken wrap is cowering in the fridge, awaiting my wrath). Cake was obliterated. And apparently my grandmother takes an interest in the occult. I guess it really does run in the family.

Spent the rest of the evening mucking about with Mother Two's camera. It may be proof that I have some small shred of a photographer's soul, because as soon as the cats were milling around the yard, I was flat on my face, slithering commando-style through the dirt to get better pictures of them. I'm not doing the butt-in-the-air flower photo thing*, though. I refuse.

But hey, here's the other pair of socks I got a little while ago. And RJ, again.

Yes, I'm wearing a wool coat in May. Bite me.


*Why do people do this, anyway? Crouching is superior on all counts unless one's knees are plotting their untimely demise.

CAEK!

I've lost the original source of this recipe; I tripped over a link to it via comments on Ursula Vernon's blog a few months back and have since mutilated it slightly to suit my tastes.

It results in enough cake for one or two persons, depending on how hungry they are and whether or not PMS is involved. It is very dense and eggy in texture, not overly sweet. What I really like, though, is that it can be made in less than ten minutes, cooking included.

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil (though I've also used melted margarine with great success)
A dash of salt (if you so desire)
A wee bit of vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients. Add the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla and mix well. Pour into a lightly oiled mug and microwave for 2.5 to 3 minutes. There, you have cake.

Standard knife blade/toothpick tests for doneness work just fine while you're trying to nail the exact time down. Be aware that the mug will be obscenely hot. This actually makes it doubly useful for those suffering from cramps, as it makes for an excellent warming pad.

If melting a substitute for oil, do it in the mug itself. Just swirl it around the cup to coat it a few times before adding it to the batter, and you've saved yourself the trouble of greasing the mug.

I'm presently out of vanilla. I tried a bit of almond extract in its place, but it wasn't quite my thing. A few dry frozen raspberries mixed in to this evening's batch went well, and a palmful of chocolate chips would surely be a nice variant.