Not everyone plays nice

One of the reasons I have had a lot of trouble writing as I age is due to the fact that I don't understand people.  I just don't.  Logic doesn't seem to apply when I believe that it should.  How am I supposed to write anything that isn't in the first person if I can only, somewhat, understand myself?  What about all the other characters?  I haven't quite gotten to the point to where I can fake the chaos.  More importantly I seem to have lost a skill that I had, even if for a short time, in high school. Faking it.  Yep. I was a big fat faker when it came to confidence, performing and my opinion of myself.  I could use this skill right now, in so many ways.  However, as I so vividly recall... faking so much came at a very high price. Is it worth even tempting fate with the possibility of going through all of that again?  Up to this point the answer has always been 100% NO FREAKING WAY.  So while I come to terms with my humanity and dealing with other humans enjoy this hilarious meme.

Tribal dancing in the kitchen

Ok.. so here are the skates I got back in August.  Timely of me right?  I <3 them.  I may post a recent picture, as they are a bit war torn and broken in.

A lot of my joy that I find in the kitchen is through blasting music, singing loudly, dancing and creating edible art.  Recently I've been blasting Florence + the machine, Radiohead and Queens of the Stone Age.  Though many make the list.  It's liberating to have such a private moment in an area I always considered family space.  This is my office, at the moment, and where I feel most in my own element. Being away from home and being in another country makes it more difficult to eat the food I'm used to. So cooking became not just a necessity, but a way to time travel... or just travel. Yay, food therapy.  And maybe, someday, my office won't also have the laundry room in it.  That will be nice.
Baking is the best, for some reason it makes me feel closer to the women in my family... the ones around and the many who have moved on.  Note to self: purchase french cookie iron.  Ideally I would like to buy a lamb cake mold as well. There was a tradition in my family, sort of an inside joke, that you would get a lamb cake for your birthday.  I need to find out what the joke was exactly... I wrote a short story about it 5 or 6 years ago.  It was sort of terrible, but I should probably revisit that at some point.

The intricacies of social interaction and Crumbcake

It may seem like a good idea when you are new to a situation to give more experienced people the benefit of the doubt that they know what they are doing. Showing respect for others sounds like a good idea, though often can be seen as being passive or weak, particularly if showing dominance is key to success. Complications may follow when they either don't know what they are doing, or they attempt to use this power to their own benefit.  Making others feel small due to their lack of experience (or confidence) in a certain subject shows a weakness in character, and said person is best to be avoided. Often this person had confidence issues of their own. Keeping a clear distance for observation is recommended, only pursue friendship if above situations have been overcome or avoided. Watch Star Trek. Stir gently.  Repetition does not necessarily lead to success.

I have made this recipe more times than I can count.  It's turned out amazing every time. I usually use blackberry jam, but what ever you have in your fridge works just fine.  My major alterations to the recipe are using real milk and white vinegar.  Also, I don't sift things.

Swirl Crumbcake

3/4 cup soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup raspberry jam

For the topping:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease an 8×8  pan. Measure out the soy milk for the cake and add the teaspoon of apple cider vinegar; set aside to curdle. Then begin preparing the topping.
Make the topping:
In a small mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Drizzle in the canola oil by the tablespoonful (you can eyeball it, no reason to whip out a tablespoon.) Use your fingers to swish around the mixture until crumbs form. Alternate swishing and adding canola oil until all oil is used and large crumbs have formed. Some of the topping is still going to be sandy and that’s fine, just so long as you have mostly nice big crumbs. You can add another tablespoon of oil if needed.
Make the cake:
In a large mixing bowl, mix together curdled milk, sugar, canola oil and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until smooth.
Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Add spoonfuls of jam randomly on top of the batter and use a knife to swirl it in. Evenly sprinkle on the topping and pat it down just a bit. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted through the center comes out clean.