December 21, 2010

The Solstice Cake is a-Baking

And we are almost ready (just a few rows left to knit if I can distract the recipiant for a half an hour!) The first time we had a Solstice Cake, we were living in Ireland where, no matter what you believe in terms of religion, the shortest day of the year was significant. That far north it's far more noticeable just how short the days get in December, and having that behind you, knowing that brighter (but still rainy) days are ahead, is a welcome relief. Our first cake was bought from our local bakery, a wonderful place that was totally responsible for the fact that I lost no weight while we lived there despite our almost two year stint without a car. EVERYTHING was good. EVERYTHING was tempting. You could pack on a few pounds just passing the purple painted door. So when they offered Carrot Yule Logs, of course we had to try one. Why carrot? I have no idea. Weirdly they sell carrot roll cakes in the freezer section of the grocery store here so it must be a thing. In any case, we were hooked and other than a few odd years when I've tried something else, carrot yule log is a must.
This year, with the help of my trusty assistants, I'm trying out this recipe (oh please let there be a food processor under the tree, 3 cups of grated carrots were not going to happen and the dreaded mini chopper was not very efficient). Although, to be honest, Briton didn't assist much other than filling me in on a new theory involving a time when Dinosaurs and Dragon's coexisted on this earth. Sadly the Dragons felt the Dinosaurs were encroaching on their half of the planet and so sent a giant ball of dragon fire, i.e. a meteor, to kill off the Dinosaurs. Which is good to know, you know, in case I'm ever on Jeopardy.
Tonight we'll eat cake, light candles and pass around some of our homemade gifts and the rest of the week will be taken up in the swirl of Christmas so I'm planning on signing off until Monday. Have a wonderful, restful, joyful Holiday everyone.

Gillian