Book Club

This week I went to my first book club meeting, which I absolutely loved.  I’ve wanted to join a book club for some time, and it finally worked out. It was just so nice to sit and chat with other ladies who love books as much as I do.  In other words, it was a safe place for my inner book nerd to come out.

This month’s book was Jane Eyre, the classic by Charlotte Bronte. Somehow I never had to read this in school. I didn’t know anything about the book, so it was a surprise – a good one – for me.  (Bonus: Jane Eyre is free on the Kindle.)  The book is a little long, but the story itself was interesting and I found the ending very satisfying. 

Though it’s not for my book club, the next book I’m going to read is The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. A friend loaned it to me a few months ago, and I figure I better read it and return it before my friend adds me on her “do not lend” list. 

What are you reading?

You know you're a food fanatic when...

...you call the cable guy to come out because the Food Network channel isn’t working.

Ahem, I cannot confirm nor deny that I did this.

But let’s just say that, if I did, my friends will be very glad to know that the channel is now working, and I will no longer have to hijack their TV on Saturday mornings to watch the Pioneer Woman cooking show.

P.S. Has anyone else been watching the PW cooking show? I'm definitely a fan!

Boston Cream Cake

Why hello there.  I wish I had some good reason why I neglected my poor blog here, but I don’t have one.  And though I can’t say that I was doing anything super exciting this summer, I can say that I’ve done quite a bit of baking.   

I recently made this Boston Cream Cake. It was a birthday cake for someone very dear to me. The birthday girl is crazy about Boston cream donuts, and that became the inspiration for the cake.  I found a few websites that gave me ideas.

I ended up using:

1 yellow cake mix (18 oz)

1 tsp lemon extract

1 box instant vanilla pudding (3 oz)

Chocolate glaze (in the baking aisle, next to the frostings)

I made the cake mix according to the instructions, but I added 1 tsp lemon extract. I baked the cake in 2 round cake pans. Once the cakes cooled, I assembled everything, spreading the pudding in the middle and the glaze on the top. In the looks department, I think it was pretty close in resembling the donut.

But, for some reason, I thought that the cake wasn’t quite right. It tasted too sweet to me.

After reflecting on it later, I told the birthday girl the next day, “It won’t hurt my feelings if you throw out the leftovers. I think it was just too sweet.”

She said, “Are you kidding? I already ate the leftover piece as a midnight snack.”

I call that a birthday success.