"We are all wanderers on this earth...our hearts are full of wonder, and our souls are deep with dreams." ~ Gypsy proverb

Monday, July 16, 2012

Cake and Kafka

Rum cake can be eaten anytime, anywhere, and for no good reason at all, so we just sat on the front porch and ate as much as we wanted. The breeze was strong, plucking leaves from their branches and tossing them onto the plate. I picked them off then went back to licking my fingers :). I think next time I will add more rum.

This weekend, in between a sleepover, the laundry, preparing for dinner company, the kids--all seven of them, running in and out of the house, and quiet moments with the cat, I sought out Kafka. We are only in the beginning of our relationship, but Unmasking the Confidence Trickster told me we already had a lot in common. I understand that he was a strange and unhappy man. But discovering a sliver of ourselves in the saddest, even angriest, of people, helps us find compassion-- for them and for ourselves. In another time, if I ever had a chance to meet Kafka, I would have offered him rum cake :).

Happy Weekending...

xoxo

14 comments:

  1. rum cake sounds delish. i can hang with a girl that is willing to lick her fingers to get that last taste of cake ;-)

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  2. I'll eat rum cake with you any ol' time.XO

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  3. My husband loves rum cake, I am not sure why I only bake it during the Christmas holiday. Thanks MJ, I think I will bake him one this week as a surprise.

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  4. you made it? recipe! i do like me some rum flavour... and cake, naturally.

    enjoy kafka, he's an old friend of mine.

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    1. Okay friends, here is the rum cake recipe--warning it is not all natural or healthy, but I promise you deliciousness and easy-peasyness...

      Mama's rum cake

      1 box yellow cake mix
      1 3.4 ounce box instant vanilla jello pudding mix
      4 eggs
      1/2 c. cold water
      1/2 c. vegetable oil
      1/2 c. dark rum

      1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

      Glaze:

      1/4 pound butter (1 stick)
      1/4 c. water
      1/2 c. granulated sugar
      1/2 c. dark rum

      Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, and grease and flour a Bundt pan (or any 10" fluted pan)
      Sprinkle the nuts over the bottom of the pan (again, optional)
      Mix all cake ingredients together by hand or mixer for 2 minutes
      Pour into pan
      Bake 1 hour
      Cool
      Make glaze as cake is cooling

      Glaze:

      Melt butter, stir in water and sugar, boil 5 minutes stirring constantly (or it will overflow!)
      Remove from heat and stir in rum

      Flip cake over and prick holes over surface of cake
      Drizzle some of the glaze and smooth evenly over top and sides of cake
      Allow cake to absorb glaze and repeat until glaze is all used.

      Voila!

      Btw, the cake tastes even better on day 2 as the flavors have all settled.

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  5. Ooh, rum cake sounds amazing, as does the whole weekend. Would love to join you for a slice! :)

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  6. the more often I read Kafka the more I wonder if he was really sad or unhappy. he lived in difficult times. maybe he just had a very clear view of human nature and a weird way to express it???? there is a lot of truth and insight in his writing that applies to now as much as then... just wondering...

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    1. You know, I think his ability to write so insightfully the deep recesses of human fear, sadness and suffering is because he felt these things so often. So many of his stories feel burdened by loneliness, I think maybe writing was his only way to release these feelings. He did want everything burned after his death, which of course didn't happen. But I agree with you that his views are painfully truthful and timeless...

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  7. Lovely. Those cat moments are so precious. Glad you had some loving. Katie xxx

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  8. any weekend that contains rum cake sounds absolutely perfect!!

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  9. I've never had rum cake! But this post makes me want too...

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  10. mmmmmmm...rum cake sounds delish! Thanks for the short story, I've never seen it before. We had a lovely weekend camping with friends.

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  11. Your cake looks great. Kafka has always fascinated me, but I have yet to read his work. Didn't he write a story about a man turning into a cockroach? Fascinating!

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  12. I haven't read that one yet - I'll have to look through our bookshelves to see if we have it.

    p.s. I bet Kafka wouldn't have been quite as unhappy if someone had just offered him some rum cake!

    xo
    cortnie

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“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
~ George Bernard Shaw