I would like anything from a good bakery. My birthday sometimes falls on Thanksgiving and mostly just before or after. I have had my share of supermarket turkey shaped cakes and cakes with pilgrims. I used to ask for ice cream cakes as a kid because they at least had ice cream and usually weren't awful.....The worst was when I was 16. I wanted something grown up and beautiful. My sister talked my boyfriend and my parents into going to a amusement/arcade park for a surprise. The place was a castle themed park called Camelot. All the kids at my school called it "scam-a-lot" I was horrified. When the girl brought out the cake badly frosted and with day glow icing clowns and balloons I asked them to get it boxed and we went home to have ice cream instead. At least none of my friends saw it all. No I am not stealing this from the show Golden Girls. This actually happened to me! I had another cake disaster for my graduation. My sis and I got the freshest ingredients and made a cake from a cake bible cookbook from the library. I had spent a week prior making frosting roses for this masterpiece had saving them in the freezer. We made the cake and tasted the trimmed off parts it was fantastic! The next day we frosted it and that evening when the family tried it it was so dry no one wanted to eat it. After that I always ordered a cake from the European bakery I love in Pasadena. The other cake fail I was involved in was my cousin's wedding. She knew I could do frosting flowers well so she asked me to come over and decorate her wedding cake. She wanted me to use this lavender icing she made. I decorated the whole thing and we set it by the window. After an hour into the reception, the purple icing in the sunlight faded to blue and was melting a little. My part of the family was out drinking and laughing on the grass. My cousin's husband's family was inside being shocked at the drinking going on outside. The cake suddenly started to lean and lucky her husband's brother was sitting close by and grabbed for it. The top 2 tiers were saved but the lower ones crashed. She didn't put in any supports inside. But, great sport that she is, she just laughed and served her husband's family the upper layers and our family the toppled ones. We didn't mind a bit. She's a great gal and can laugh through anything. One of the weddings I can say I really enjoyed. Sliding color changing cake and all. Please no one get a bright colored cake for a birthday. At my granddad's 90th, my aunt ordered a NASA themed cake with dark blue icing. My Grandad worked in the space program after being in the air force during WWII. Everybody had a dark blue tongue and blue teeth. All these old people with blue lips and teeth! I love a simple cake with almond extract and some fresh ripe strawberries or peaches and whipped cream. I had a fantastic cake once made with 4 different pastel fruit flavored layers and also a very good Black Forest cake by a Belgian pastry chef who used to have a bakery in my city but has now retired. I'm too wary to try a special cake again but I love to make pies and decorate cupcakes with fresh flowers.

Annie the cake is [was] so pretty. You did a great job with the transfers, especially for the first time. A hint for you and Di is if you mist, mist the cake insteadking/msg0623463521068.html"> Your Name: Your Email Address: Subject of Posting: Message: Optional Link URL:    Name of the Link: Information about Posting You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account. Please review our Rules of Play before posting. Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos. After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it. Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use. We have a strict no-advertising policy! If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum. If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help. Learn more about in-text links on this page here Return to the Cooking Forum Most Recent Posts winter gardening â¢Â by gldno1 Can they be saved? 4 months before/after pics â¢Â by greenclaws Should I repot my snake plant ? â¢Â by purpleinopp Health benefits of 'Aloe Vera' â¢Â by katkin Help â¢Â by purpleinopp Wettable sulfur for spider mites - but not as spray â¢Â by WinterCat Is my Whitney ok? What should I do? â¢Â by purpleinopp chili peppers â¢Â by ChickenCoupe 2015 tomato choices â¢Â by VerticalGarden What's wrong with my snake plant? â¢Â by purpleinopp Explore GardenWeb Ann's Cream Cheese Babka Perfect for Holiday Baking Feeding Hummingbirds Will they survive the winter? ItsTheDetails' Kitchen Reveal 1939 Cape Cod Tranformation Â

I live in CT and still order frequently from KA in Vermont. We take semi-annual mini-vacations that includes a stop at KA's retail store in Norwich but seems there's always something during the year that I need (want?!). lol I'm using their organic unbleached flour and it's not yet available in stores and because of shipping costs on heavy items we get that spring/fall on our trips but it's the little stuff like cookie supplies they always seem to get me on. lol I order 'Tamaya Blue' roasted blue cornmeal from the Pueblo of Santa Ana in New Mexico once a year. Probably a good 60% of our food storage (all the basics) is mail ordered. Periodically, I order from Bob's Red Mill - not regularily scheduled though. When we first moved to New England I went into withdrawals 'cause there was no Mexican food available - not even a Taco Bell (can you imagine?!). So, I had quarterly care packages sent from 'home' and that's when I first got serious about learning to cook the cuisine. I order enough food mailorder that the recycle guys that pick up our cardboard on Thursdays are on my Christmas cookie list! :) /tricia

Ann, DH is one of those people who sometimes say they hate something that they have never tried. He really wants to lose weight, but he really likes his snacks. And usually more than one or two in an evening. So I have tried some unusual combinations of things and as long as I don't tell him what's in it before he tastes it, he gives it a fair shake. One of his favorites is sugar-free fat-free vanilla pudding with sliced bananas and cous cous (which he thought was tapioca). I don't lie to him, I just don't disclose everything before the tasting. He also hates eggplant, but he loves my eggplant pizza. I slice the eggplant, brush it with olive oil and broil it (both sides, then add marinara sauce, low-fat pepperoni, fat-free cheese, then bake until the cheese "sort of" melts. There have been several things that DH thought he didn't like - until I found the right venue for that particular item. He now eats tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and vinegar and summer squash several different ways, both items he "hated". As for the garbanzo bean cake, it worked well with the Splenda, but I think next time I will increase it to 1 cup. I didn't take into account the extra sweetness the chocolate chips would have added. The cocoa and applesauce also worked well. I served it with fat-free Cool Whip. DH said it was "okay". I'll keep tweaking it until it satisfies me. This is in no way a reflection on the original recipe, I just have to adjust it to fit our needs.