Cake Time

Today is S.'s birthday and so celebrations are in order. Fortunately S. is not a very demanding person nor does he have expensive tastes; I think it's entirely possible that I could get away with only giving him excessive sex and snuggles (I have never encountered such a snuggly mofo as he. Note: I began calling him a "snuggly mofo" before I ever even knew what a mofo was. I'm not even sure where I first heard the term. Likely from one of the gangster-wannabe kids on my parents's street. Further note: you should not behave in a gangster street-wise manner if you live in a lovely neighbourhood in a middle to upper-middle class area of Toronto and have your own car before you are 20. It just should not be allowed. I'm not saying you have to wear loafers and polo shirts and talk about the golf club, but, my heavens! If I had to choose between the two I'd say that is slightly less annoying, if only because at least that way I can figure out what people are talking about a little more easily. It must be said, though, that I've met many people, mostly friends of my dad's family, who DO wear polo shirts and loafers and talk about the golf club, and I'm always incredibly bored. So there's really no way to win here, I suppose).

Even more fortunately for S., I am not so cheap that I didn't get him nice presents. He requested one specific item in particular and I always like to get a couple of extra little things. Plus he gets a special breakfast.

I had planned to talk him to a place called Korova Milkbar. S. and I are both Stanley Kubrick fans (though S. idolizes Kubrick more than I ever could) and for those of you not familiar with either the novel A Clockwork Orange or the film version, Korova Milkbar is the name of the cafe (I suppose that's the most apt description -- cafe) frequented by Alex and his droogs. On the menu are various types of milk laced with opiates. A few weeks back I discovered that here in Toronto a new restaurant has opened up, called Korova Milkbar. I was quite excited and even more so when I browsed the internet a little more and came across a blog (which I can't seem to find again), the writer of which was equally as excited as I was.

However, whether or not this writer is intelligent remains to be seen. The blog was singing the praises of whomever decided to open a cafe and name it Korova Milkbar, but the writer was under the impression that the place was, in fact, going to be a real milkbar. The blog mentioned milkshakes and gelato. Later, though, when I sought out the actual website for the cafe, in order to determine where exactly they are located, and what their menu is like, I found that the Korova Milkbar is little more than a regular bar. It offers what seems like a nice brunch menu and a lunch menu as well. There is no dinner menu available yet. And nowhere did I see any mention of milkshakes.

My disappointment is not so sad as the fact that someone opened a bar named after the cafe in A Clockwork Orange, but has failed to ensure that their business is a milk bar. Worse is the fact that I was excited and so I made S. excited. So I've promised that sometime in the near future I'll make him a delicious milkshake and lace it with some Tylenol 3s.

While we celebrated S.'s birthday yesterday with his parents and aunt and uncle, and had a birthday breakfast and sex and snuggles today, the actual party won't take place until June 18.

I love throwing a party. I have to check myself to make sure I don't go overboard. I love to cook and I love food and a party is excuse to whip up something tasty that I wouldn't normally make, like yummy little appetizers. I definitely don't get this personality trait from my mother who has always been notoriously unpleasant before company comes. She stresses out and yells at everyone and then only calms down once dinner is being eaten. I have never witnessed this at anyone else's house. S.'s mother is a domestic goddess who is one of the most fantastic cooks I have ever known. I have seen her become a little rushed while trying to put out a fancy spread, but if she becomes truly stressed she does a phenomenal job of hiding it.

I think that I like making tasty food for people to eat not only because I like to enjoy what I make, but also because I like to see others enjoy it. Plus I like when people tell me I've made something delicious; I get a warm little flame of happiness in my tummy, and it makes me wish I could create yummy food and throw a party everyday, just so that I could hear from others how fantastic it all is.

Here are some delicious things I plan to make:

This layered Mexican dip is a main-stay of any party. Everyone

loves it, it's always completely cleaned out, and it's incredibly easy to make.

(Photo from whisk-kid.blogspot.com)
A couple of our friends have food allergies, and so
I've made a point over the last few years to note what
people can and can't eat. Vegan cupcakes made without
wheat or refined sugar and avocado to replace the eggs
make sure that no one misses out on cupcakes or flavour. (Unless they're allergic
to avocados, and I've never met anyone who is).

I love caprese salad and sandwiches, and so
this is a really fun way to enjoy the delicious
cheese-tomato-basil combination, with no
leftover mess of plates and forks.

Bruschetta is one of my favourite appetizers
and I like to play around with what I make.
Right now I love the obligatory basil with colourful yellow and
red grape tomatoes with a bit of green olive tapenade
spread across the baguette for a bit of a different taste.

Plus the usual party wheels with smoked salmon, and some hummus with gluten-free pita.

Uh-oh. I think this might be turning into a food blog.