
The first of five March birthday preparations are underway. The WALNUT COFFEE LAYER CAKE is freshly iced. (Nigella Lawson recipe from NYTimes cooking app). Stock for soup made and strained. Mushrooms for tarts, sautéed.
Also on the menu: sesame seed encrusted salmon a la Jamie Oliver (his One Pan Wonders on BritBox is my new favorite cooking show), wilted cukes, and green beans. Gonna roll out some puff pastry and fill little triangles with those mushrooms and goat cheese as a starter.

Roasted some pumpkin seeds in a chili spice mix that I just made up. Learned this from Deb and will be eternally grateful. These will top a Ginger Butternut Squash Soup.
It rained and sleeted throughout the night and now it’s snowing. A slightly inconsequential effect of the climate crisis : weather reporters consistently getting it wrong. First, it was thirteen to fourteen inches of snow, then three to six. I’ll be surprised if we get two.

I would like to learn how to make and edit videos for this platform. Any suggestions? I do all my blogging on my iPhone X.
Just filmed myself turning the pages of my most recent collage notebook and it was an epic fail. A four minute mess. And BTW, watching a crafter awkwardly turn the pages of a cloth book (no matter how gorgeous) is the worst. Don’t want to fall in that camp.
Well I want you to know that I got out my most favorite “fancy” sweater, an olive green wool sweater with cowl neckline, leather button, a bit of lacy knitting on the irregular hem, so that I can be property attired when I come to your birthday feast. I have just brewed a cup of tea so I am ready for a slice of that luscious cake. Your so delectable menu just called for a bit of dressing up to honor you. the chef! Each dish has me swooning with gastronomic delight. What a special gift you are giving to the birthday person.
This comment makes me smile and smile again!
Wow Dee…such a gift this meal will be! J. was drooling over the cake 🙂
Enjoy the blitz of birthdays!
The cake was good! Made in the cuisinart, start to finish. Never done that before.
That cake looks sooo delicious! Lucky recipient! Also, I have that same exact Spode cake plate, which I love. Happy celebrations.
That plate is one of my favorites. And BTW I thought of you, because of course I did, while setting the table. A humble effort but I took care.
Glad you like doing the pumpkin seeds that way! It’s really one of my favorite things. That cake looks divine…
Instant coffee is the key ingredient.
the spacing of those walnuts will surely lead to some wonderfully generous slices … and yes, I’m smitten by the description of the courses that will precede it
as for videos, I’ve got nothin’ … but hope you will share what you will surely learn
The fish took twice as long as Jamie Oliver said it would. Thicker filets I guess.