Mamere told me a little about her recipe. Apparently she got it it when she worked at the General Motors factory (must have been late 40’s) from a girl whose father worked in the kitchen at the Waldorf. Amazingly, the internet lists the Waldorf Astoria as the possible origin of the recipe. I am from Ohio and have eaten this cake almost every birthday of my life, so I certainly wouldn’t say this is a southern recipe, but somehow it has that reputation. See the end of this post for the recipe.

On to the birthday loot… I had to show you a few pictures of some gifts I got. Ingrid showed up with a perfectly wrapped gift… She sewed a little bag to serve as the giftwrap!

inside…. Last Minute Fabric Gifts Awesome!

Some other goodies include the cutest doormat in the world (from target!) and The Meat Club cookbook

I am off to finish my whiplash entry… Click ‘more’ if you don’t see Mamere’s Red Velvet Recipe below

Warning: This cake is a lot of work and takes a long time. After making it you will realize why cake mixes were invented. And it doesn’t stop at the cake. The frosting is something that I think many people of my (young) age have never even bothered to try – You have to cook it. There is flour involved… a lot of things could go wrong. BUT it is a delicious cake and even if it doesn’t turn out perfectly, you will enjoy it.

Mamere’s Red Velvet Cake

Traditionally, this cake is made in two small pans, and layered. Lazily, i made it in a 9 x 13 pan and had an extra thick layer of frosting on the top. Don’t even try this recipe without an electric mixer.
Cake:
1/2 cup butter (Mamere uses sweet cream butter and it doesn’t seem too salty to me)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups cake flour (sifted)
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 oz red food coloring
2 Tablespoons cocoa
2 eggs
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix the cocoa and food coloring together into a paste.
Cream butter and sugar together with a mixer. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Add the food coloring/cocoa paste and mix well. Add salt and vanilla. Alternate sifted flour and buttermilk, mixing well. TURN of off the mixer and get out a spatula and get ready to be quick. In a small bowl mix together the vinegar and baking soda. while it is still fizzing, pour it into the batter. Then gently FOLD it into the batter. Don’t mix it with the mixer or you’ll beat all of the bubbles out.

pour the mixture into a greased 9×13 pan and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Frosting:
5 teaspoons flour
1 cup milk

1 cup butter (this should be room temperature)
1 c sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

On the stove top on very low heat cook together the flour and milk until thick. If anything turns brown, throw it out an start over. The goal here is to make an Elmer’s glue-like substance. Once thickened LET IT COOL COMPLETELY (this takes a while). Meanwhile, Cream together the butter and sugar in a mixer. Add vanilla. When cool add the flour/milk mixture and whip until fluff. Ice the cake when cool.

That’s it. If you make one, let me know how it turns out.

Begin All About me Content

Hey it’s my birthday (well, actually it was yesterday, but close enough)! I went to the beach to celebrate.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes internet friends!

Sweatshirts are standard wear on a northern california beach year round. In fact, I saw some kids in sweatshirts “swimming.” We were also the only people there without a kid or a dog. Until the hippies showed up… But they had a drum which is kind of the same.

Cheryl had a meme that i was kinda curious about, so i thought i would give it a go. It is a list of things that you may or may not have done. Click ‘more’ if you really want to see mine.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins — unlikely, the ocean is the world’s toilet.
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg — and when doing so hopped on a nd floated away from shore….
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment – me and church kinda don’t get along. from stations of the cross to my brothers 8th grade graduation… i get kicked out all the time.
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse — i bet on a lot of losing horses while drinking the world’s best bloody maries. i guess you are not supposed to pick them based on the color scheme of the jockey’s clothing.
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster— woo-hoo Cedar Point!!
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking — i think i am always a fine dancer, but sarah says this one applies to me
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving – i hope that sarah b can help me out with this one.
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving — see #02
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain — nice warm midwest summer rain. not the stuff out here.
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business Master of half-assed craft businesses since i was a child
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight – we are not going to talk about this one
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest — I was a sequined unicorn.
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo – anything permanent is a bad idea
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert” — It is only a matter of time….
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark — my list of strange foods contains: turtle (accidental – chinese restaurant), Bear, moose, musk-ox (delicious).
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship — see #02
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over –
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse – summer horse camp
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat – and i am about to do it again!!
127. Eaten sushi – i have to think that if i would have finished grad school in a reasonable amount of time that this might never have come true.
128. Had your picture in the newspaper — front page of the ‘westside messenger’ baby!
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school — i have been in school continuously since i was 4.
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach – not only that, I encouraged visitors to COSI to pet them as well.
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad – and the Odyssey — in the original ancient greek even.
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions — not intentionally, but so far yes.
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language — what the hell does this mean? do they mean written code for an existing language??
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ – DJ Beatnik fly, WBUR
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone’s life