In Case You Think We Only Eat Around Here . . .

The total number of books read in 2008 was 79. I don't really have a goal, but I think typically I read about 50 per year, or one a week. I blame this on my friend and neighbor who goes with me to the bookstore and twists my arm into buying new books all the time.

Back to the eating, my parents gave us this old burger cooker from the 1970s.

My mom used it a lot when we were kids. It came from Sears, still works great.


The burger chef is proud to be making them all by himself. . .

My MIL gave me a big bag of black walnuts and I had seen Paula Deen make this cake on TV. Also, I got a new Crate and Barrel cake stand and dome for Christmas, which needed to be used.

I haven't tasted the cake yet, but it got mixed reviews on the site. I added an extra banana and a quarter cup oil, plus 1/4 cup baking soda, and reduced the cooking time. All of these were recommendations people made, so we'll see if it's moist when I cut it. I have a terrible time with scratch cakes being dry, so I hope it works out. I don't think anybody in my family likes black walnuts either, so this one will probably not be too popular around here.  More for me.