Tee-hee!

I just read a NY Magazine article about a toy manufacturer at last week's Toy Fair. If you enjoy laughing at people as much as I do, click here.

Finally...

Happy Snow Day!...from the backyard.

Mmmm!...

Ahhh... Pregnancy and parenthood. The best times to pamper yourself. A little cosseting is necessary if you want to get your body back into any kind of respectable condition after being on loan for nine months. And if baby has been here for a while, relaxation and self-indulgence can literally save your sanity.

Since chocolate is finally getting the good attention it deserves, here's a simple recipe a friend passed onto me. It's originally from Moosewood Restaurant. You'll actually have time to make this cake since it only takes 6 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to bake. And if you have a toddler, you'll both have fun with the recipe because the vinegar has a really cool reaction with all the other ingredients.

I usually skip the glaze and just eat it as a big, and unexpectedly light, mass of chocolate yumminess straight from the pan--not because I don't know the proper way to slice and eat cake, but because it's actually supposed to be eaten that way. If you're looking to make something more elegant, you can use parchment paper, oil and flour like a real chef.

Serves 8
Preparation time for cake: 6 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Preparation time for glaze: 15 minutes
Chilling time (if using glaze) 30 minutes
Equipment: 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pan, 2-cup measuring cup, double boiler

Cake Ingredients
1 ½ cups unbleached white flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup cold water or coffee
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Chocolate Glaze
½ pound semi-sweet chocolate
¾ cup hot water
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375º.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, soda, salt, and sugar directly into the cake pan. In the measuring cup, measure and mix together the oil, cold water or coffee, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the baking pan and mix the batter with a fork or a small whisk. When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly. There will be pale swirls in the batter as the baking soda and vinegar react. Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and set aside to cool.

To make the optional glaze, melt the chocolate in a double boiler, microwave oven, or reset the oven to 300º and melt the chocolate in the oven for about 15 minutes in a small ovenproof bowl or heavy skillet. Stir the hot water and vanilla into the melted chocolate until smooth. Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake. Refrigerate the glazed cake for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!