This post is written to satisfy my birthday cake advocate and dear friend. You know who you are (she’s also the one that is monitoring my salt intake). She created quite a fuss in the family when she pointed out that Helen (my Mom) hadn’t baked a birthday cake for us in some time. My Mom is one of those busy-busy people. She’s always off doing this or that, or “didn’t I tell you dear? I’m off to Jasper for a hike…”.

My competitive Mom rose to the challenge, threw off the oven mitts, and for the most recent birthday in the family (mine), created this cake:

The cake is shy, as you can see. It won’t come out of the refrigerator. But if it were positioned as it should, in front of the birthday girl, you would have a picture of her, and that’s just not allowed.

That cake, my friends, is a Helen Special. It’s an angel food cake, inside the cake is strawberry Jello. It is covered in the MOST DIVINE icing ever known. It’s a boiled icing and is marshmallowy-gooey-sugary goodness. To slice this cake, one has to be very assertive and direct. No namby-pamby dainty slices come off this. You are served a wedge. This cake has been a family tradition from at least the 1970’s. Maybe even before that.

Mom also created, from scratch, chicken Kiev with criss-cross potatoes. If you have our family recipe book, you have this recipe. If not, here’s a picture of what you missed:

Mom would be quite worried if I didn’t mention that there were also green vegetables on the table. There were peas and crudites as well. Michael encouraged me to top up my plate with three more peas to make it an even dozen. I want to eat things that are green. Really I do. But I just don’t have the taste for it. But 12 peas with a swig of water I can swallow.

Back to Helen, who deserves all the praise and thanks and hugs and a book offer to discuss her survival techniques for being my Mom… Thank you Mom!!!! I appreciate it. I appreciate it all. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO.