Chocolate cake and a torta della nonna

It’s happened. I simply cannot tolerate any more winter. I hate it. I am sick of snow and ice and freezing everything and the hardness that seeps into even the kindest of souls by this time every year. Also, our internet and phones have been out all day. Thank god for being able to set up personal hotspots via smart phones.

I’ve been baking. Yesterday, Oliver and I made this chocolate cake just because, and today I made atorta della nonna for a friend’s birthday. Torta della nonna, or grandmother’s cake, is a custard filled tart topped with pignoli (pine nuts). I love its simplicity and beauty!

chocolate cake with vanilla bean-cocoa frosting

torta della nonna

On HuffPo, serious snow, cake

So this is exciting. I’m now a member of the Huffington Post blogging team. OMG! My first piece, a comedic bit, was published this morning: Hating on Winter. I cannot tell y’all how excited I am about all of this.

We are, today, having our biggest snow yet this year. It’s pretty though my entire crew is 100% over it all. I haven’t yet been able to convince the boys to go outside.

(yet another) snow day

Instead, we’re playing Sorry, eating popcorn, and making cake. Two chocolate rounds just came out of the oven, and once they’re cool, I’ll ice them and we’ll dig in. Just cuz.

Serious question

Has winter taken its toll on my dear J? He is furiously writing a new Star Wars movie script and seems not to understand the concept of printing a single copy. ON the color printer. How much blank ink/money is in that pile, I ask you? Why the all-black background on every honking page?

one copy wasn’t good enough?

I chastised him a bit, because really, and I think he tried to pretend like this patchwork, kidnapper thing was his plan all along.

                              what?

It looks like the Unabomber lives in my basement. AND we are sure to have a snow day tomorrow (thanks a lot, pending March snow) and there is no school on Friday. And then it’s the weekend! I can’t.