When life gives you lemons......

...make lemon cake! We still have tons of lemons on our tree. I have already decorated our house and the shop with them, given them away by the truck loads, let the baby play with them. What else could I possibly do with them? Oh hey, maybe make something to eat? I have a crazy sweet tooth so the recipe would have to involve sugar. Then I remembered seeing a great recipe on T.V.


When I was a brand new mom and staying home full time with Violet I watched so much HGTV that I had seen every episode of every show at least once. I had to make a change. Unfortunately the food network, my go to channel, had fallen off of my favorites lists. In my highly emotional state I couldn't handle another anxiety inducing show involving moving an 800 pound, 20 foot tall, intricately decorated cake. Everyone is on the edge of their seat, holding their breath. What if it falls? All that hard work for nothing! People will cry and dreams will be shattered.


However I couldn't end our relationship for good. For years I had said that when I had a child I would learn how to cook. Well that time had come and how could I possibly accomplish a task like that without the help of T.V.? What if I failed? Everyone would make fun of my horrible cooking. Violet's Friends would feel sorry for her, and then she would be embarassed of her mother. So the food network got another try. Thankfully, when I did make the switch no one was battling or challenging or throwing down. Instead the Barefoot Contessa was on. She was inviting me in to her beautiful kitchen in her beautiful home and she was making lemon cake!


So while my emotional state is still questionable, I'm pretty sure that Violet will be embarassed of me for many reasons, not just for my cooking and Ina is my new best friend. No, really. She invited me over the other day and showed me how to make seafood stew.

So my husband, Chef Buddy O'Dell (yeah that's right, I'm married to a chef and I still can't cook) recommended, after the fact of course, that I drizzle a little olive oil down the middle of the cake before I cook it so that it would split down the center. I'll be sure to try that next time.