Domestic Notes

Who knew that if you left the pumpkins out (not the jack-o-lanterns, we’re not that stupid, but the big ones standing sentry on either side of the porch steps) long past Halloween, through a giant snowstorm and a week-long freeze, into a week-long melt of 50-degree days, that they would become orange sacs of pulp, sagging deeply into the steps, and you would be mortally afraid of moving them, but know that it had to be done? Luckily, S has no fears.

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We are baking our way through Nigella’s Chocolate Cake Hall of Fame which raises three issues: 1) Nigella, 2) baking, 3) the cakes.

1) Now Nigella is one of those things I’m not quite sure about. On the one hand, she has endured unimaginable tragedy; on the other hand, she has been outrageously successful and is now married to one of the most influential men in Britain (check this out for most of the story, though it’s a bit dated). How any of this relates to cooking in the sexiest outfits I’ve ever seen anyone cook in, I’m not quite sure. And, though one might hope her food would be really bad, if one were that kind of snark, in fact it’s quite excellent: you want to make it and it tastes good--what more could one ask of a recipe?

2) My domestic bailiwicks are knitting and baking. I am a mediocre cleaner, a resentful cook, and, as I’ve made perfectly clear, not a project mama. But knitting is the perfect activity for an incessant multi-tasker--an entire hat can be produced in an afternoon of holiday visiting, and a poncho takes only a couple of DVDs and several swim practices. I’m also good at knitting, and I like to do things I’m good at. I’m good at baking too, and I like that I can choose to bake, unlike dinner which must be cooked, regardless of how I feel about the matter. Baking is also an excellent activity to do with children, which somewhat makes up for the project guilt. Finally, baking produces things I really like to eat--like chocolate cakes.

3) As for the cakes: The Chocolate Gingerbread was first and I loved it so much that I fear it will cast a shadow on all subsequent efforts, though the children did not like it at all, as Nigella predicted. I found the Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake boring and a little dry, though I will agree with the majority that the icing was delicious. The Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake caused a lot of stress: Nigella said it would take an hour to bake and it took an hour and 23 minutes; the chocolate syrup didn’t soak in for a very long time; the plastic wrap--well, we won’t talk about the plastic wrap. Plus we ate it after a long evening of eating and drinking and I was already pretty full. But I’d say it was very good, and if I made it again without all the stress, it would probably be delicious. (And don’t worry about our health with all these chocolate cakes: we have very patient neighbors who willingly accept half cakes whenever we proffer them.)