Good luck with that mixed basket Brad. And hope you had a great Birthday week. I actually moved some of my cold growing hoyas outside for me the summer barring no freak weather. Actually just Polyneura and some of my Carnosa. I am considering moving my Linearis out for the spring/summer at this me too. I may wait for Tuesday evening to pass since the temps will dip that night into the upper 30's but will be back up to the 60's in the day. I would suspect these Hoyas see temps in the 30's at times in habitat. I will be sure to keep them dry in the meantime. Your cake looked great by the way. -David

Elijo, One of my favourite cakes is a . It is a bit time consuming but well worth it. I even made this cake for my own 50th birthday last year. Home Cookin 4.9 Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ================== This cake is from the 1984 Food and Wine Magazine. I have been making this cake for my DH's birthday since then. I have scanned the from the magazine that depict the assembling of this cake. It will make the written directions easier to follow. Genoise ************************************************************ Makes one 10 x 3 inch round layer 1 3/4 cps sifted all-purpose flour 8 eggs, at room temperature 1 1/4 cups sugar 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 1/4 cup clarified butter, tepid Filling 1 cup heavy cream chilled 2 tablespoons confctioners sugar 1 tablespoon framboise, raspberry brandy 1 pint coarsely chopped strawberries sliced strawberries and fresh mint sprigs for garnish ************************************************************ Raspberry Syrup Recipe ************************************************************ 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoons framboise (raspberry brandy) In a small heavy saucepan, combine the sugar with 1/4 cup of water. Bring to boil over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Stir in the framboise. ************************************************************ . Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly butter a 10 inch springform pan. Cover the bottom with a round of parchment or waxed paper. Lightly butter the paper. dust the entire pan with flour; tap out any excess. Sift the flour two more times on a piece of waxed paper and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar and lemon zest. Set over - not in - a large saucepan filled one-quarter of the way with hot water. Warm over low heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and syrupy, with a deep yellow color and feels warm to the touch, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. In a large mixer bowl, beat the warmed eggs and sugar at high speed until tripled in volume and holds a ribbon for a full 10 seconds after the beaters are lifed. (This will take 10 to 15 minutes if you are using a kitchenaide type mixer or 15 to 20 minutes with a hand beater.) Sprinkle half the flour on top of the beaten egg mixture. Using a balloon whisk, fold in the flour lightly but thoroughly, using scooping and swirling motions and lifting the whisk out of the mixture with each folding stroke. Pour the tepid butter on top and quickly fold it in, using the same motion. Spoon the remaining flour on top and fold in quickly and delicately, with a minimum number of strokes; too much folding will deflate the batter. Pour into the springform pan and tap once on the counter to help spread the batter evenly. Bake in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes to 45 minutes, until the cake is golden brown on top and a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and tranfer to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan. Invert to remove the bottom; peel off the waxed paper. Invert again to let the cake cook right-side up on a wire rack for 2 or 3 hours. If making ahead, wrap airtight in plastic and store in a cool dry place for up to three days or freeze. Hollow out the cake: Using a potlid or tart pan bottom as a guide, centre a 7 inch circle on top of the genoise and with the tip of a sharp knife, cut down 1 inch deep into the cake and cut around the circle. Insert the knife in the side of the cake 1 inch down from the top and swivel it back and forth, keeping the knife horizontal. The idea is to remove the 7 inch circle of cake from the top, leaving the sides of the cake intact. Carefully remove the top of the cake and with the cake cut side up, trim off enough of the cake to leave an even layer of 1/2 inch thick. Cut this round into 8 wedges and reserve. Place the genoise shell on a large serving platter. Carefully hollow out the inside with a knife, leaving a 1/2 inch layer on the sides and a 1 inch layer on the bottom. Cut the insides pieces roughly into 1/2 inch cubes and place them in a medium bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the rasperry syrup on top and toss to moisten. Brush the insides of the genoise shell with the remaining Raspberry Syrup, dabbing generously on the sides and lightly on the bottom. Do not moisten the wedges. In a large bowl, beat the cream with 1 tablespoon of the confectioners sugar and the framboise until soft peaks form. Fold in the chopped strawberries and the moistened cubes of cake. Spoon this filling into the genoise shell, spreading it into an even layer. Arrange the wedges of cake decoratively on top, in a spiral pattern with the points meeting in the middle. For decoration, slice whole strawberries almost through to stem and fan out. Place one on the edge under each wedge and a couple in the middle. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and a some sprigs of mint.

Thank you, ssommerville, NancyLouise and cynic! NancyLouise, the movie was very fun and I can't for it to be released on DVD. The trailer for the movie I posted, isn't the best acted or highly recommended film of all time, but I love the music and it never fails to entertain me :-). My favorite characters from the new Oz movie were The Wicked Witches, especially Theodora (Wicked Witch Of The West). Cynic, I bought the Director's Cut of Little Shop Of Horrors a month or so ago and I love how true to the musical it is. Our day yesterday was a lot of fun and the food at Red Lobster was fantastic as always :-). Dad and I didn't have room for dessert, but we enjoyed it very much. I haven't been cooking anything special lately or used my new skillets yet, but, I was texting my one best friend and former high school classmate yesterday and she and I made plans for a picnic sometime soon. We have to work out the details (like what food we want to make, if we just want it for us or to bring a few friends along), but we know we want to make some sangria at least lol. I think she'll like the idea of inviting a few people along, but, like I said, she and I have to work on it. Thank you again, everyone, and Happy Easter. Brad AKA Moonwolf

I appreciate all the kind wishes and hope to be celebrating more years in the future. One of the residents here at the retirement community where I live celebrated her 100th birthday on June 11th. Several of my friends here are 90 and above. The younger retirees here look like youngsters! My birthday fest was great, in spite of a down pour as we were finishing up. You can see my family does not do 'fancy.' We were gathered under a huge patio umbrella in the backyard, with paper cups and plates, where we enjoyed a scrumptious picnic dinner (none of which I had to prepare.) The two well trained dogs came to say hello, and then went off to nap. Even one of the ferrets poked his head out for a minute. The cat stayed in the house. Patti, yes it has been a while since I posted any pics of her cakes and cup cakes. My 6 year old PC went into a decline several months ago, and Photobucket was making a lot of changes and I gave up trying to get anything to work. Now I have a new PC, WIN7, and still trying to get it 'trained.' She has added brownies, creme puffs and gluten free cupcakes to the menu, and still does some weddings. Here is the website if y'all would like to see it. Scroll down and see the link to the Facebook page where there are more pics. www.cupcakecompany.net P.S. I see I still don't have Photobucket worked out. I used the html thumbprint, thinking it was clickable to enlarge. It isn't and goes back to PB. And that pic is too dark. (Sorry. The link was rejected in the Optional/ Name spaces.) It should work if you type it into Google. Sue