Saturday, February 5, 2011

cake therapy

No, I give in, I can't overcome the essential dreichness of the day. I know the weather is outside, gusting its grey murk around like an interminable wash-cycle of grubby clothing, and I know that I am inside the walls of dear old Signs Cottage and can, after a fashion, create my own climate-of-the-innerspace. But dreichness has seeped through the cracks and got under my skin. This is more likely to happen when there has been a night of disrupted sleep; and I have got myself over-tired (as if I'm ever under-tired) and overwrought. I drove to Brighton and back yesterday in order to meet with a friend and let her into Brighton flat, and lovely it was to see her, we haven't met for some months and she is a long-standing friend, but it follows as surely as night follows day that there will be payback for such extravagance; and today I have simply been unwilling to lie back and count my blessings or zone out on muscle-pain reducing medication. I have been trying to push on with the writing to no great effect as I began it too late in the day.

But - but - a potent smell of oranges is in the air because I have a couple of them simmering, the plan being to make one of my (Claudia Roden's) orange and almond cakes. I have been reading recently (I think it was in one of Julia Cameron's books) that it is impossible to make a cake and feel suicidal. Not, I hasten to add, that I feel suicidal. No. Beneath the myalgic invisibility cloak I am the same ray of sunshine as ever I was, the very incarnation of Polyanna. Wait. It is beginning to sound as though I am protesting too much. But I can prove what I say: for already the thought of cake begins to work its magic and I haven't even begun the mixing and stirring yet, and I am chewing a piece of Nicorette gum instead of rolling a nice tube of Golden Virginia. No-one who was even remotely suicidal would be doing that. Just take my word for it.

7 comments:

Digitalesse said...

Reading Julia Cameron inspired me to get baking too. My speciality is a carob cake based on an old fashioned Victoria sandwich recipe from my mum's old Be-Ro recipe book. Fancy a slice?

Reading the Signs said...

Yes, Digi, I do. But have never been that keen on carob so could you make it chocolate please? Or even just plain Victoria sandwich - heavenly.

Fire Bird said...

oh god yes the dreichness is a killer... sun showing it's face peek-a-boo style here this morning.
Cake - oh I wish - my guts have requested I lay off the glories of fat and sugar. But have just enjoyed bacon and egg, toast and marmalade (do I contradict myself???) - also guaranteed to keep fingers off self-destruct buttons...

Reading the Signs said...

Bacon, egg, toast and marmalade are excellent things FB. But I see what you mean: if those, then why not cake?

Mellifluous Dark said...

Lovely (in many ways)... I can smell the aroma. Signs, I also made a chocolate cake yesterday and it was definitely therapy. And I got to eat it, too.

Mim said...

Orange and almond cake should lift your spirits as culturing yogurt would not. Before I read your post I had been looking at directions for making yogurt in a slow cooker. Don't even think of it. You've got the right idea: citrus and sweet!

Reading the Signs said...

Mellifluous - is it really you? And with chocolate cake too - welcome back!

Mim, yoghurt in a slow cooker? Ah, make a cake! As I gave the orange one away to Son I feel I must now make another.