For a brief moment yesterday afternoon I felt like the breath of my exhale might be felt a few states away. It has been go go go go go for so long, at such a fevered pitch, and then in an equally quick moment it was still, and quiet, the only noise was the rattling of the old single pane windows as the sky threatened afternoon showers. Or perhaps they too rattled from that escaping breath.
I poured out coffee from the bottom of the press – the dregs some might call it, sitting there all morning steeping, then growing cold. I put the mug in the microwave for a minute, pulled out two crystal plates reserved these days less for fancy dinner parties and more for nap time desserts for the older crowd. I called in the older crowd to join me and had one taker. I considered that a success, although she didn’t really put her book down for me, she merely stuck a finger between the pages to hold her place and rested it briefly in her lap.
The pound cake was not made by me, but four slices were wrapped up for us, and I will seek out the recipe because it was one of the best cakes I’ve ever put in my mouth. Tangy and buttery and just a little bit sweet with cinnamon. Crispy at the edges, all concentrated goodness. My companion, the bookworm, suggested berries which stretched out the eating just a bit longer. I noticed her bites were getting smaller as she progressed – as mine were – and we laughed together at how we both wanted the piece to go on and on. We opened up a book and stared at our next dessert challenge, and then the oven beeped to tell us it was ready for rhubarb, and the microwave beeped telling me that my now twice reheated coffee was once again warm and sludgy and delicious, and my exhale (like my cake) was done. Time to wash off the fancy plates and get back to work.
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The recipe was for a rhubarb pie sundae from Jeni’s cookbook. A whole wheat pie crust cookie sprinkled with sugar, topped with roasted rhubarb compote and lime cardamom frozen yogurt, and a dollop of homemade whipped cream. I took it to work today, and then squirreled away the last bits to bring home to share. And they did share, more or less.
