Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Living in the Moment with Chocolate Loaf Cake

This morning, in approximately 89 minutes, this little girl will get braces on her teeth. I don't really understand all these toothy terms yet, but this will be the first of two phases of braces to correct a crossbite, among other dental disgraces. I wonder how I can be old enough to have a child in braces, but then I remember the high school friend I just made contact with that is already a grandmother. I'll just try to deal with the braces for now. It's easy to dread them, because it means, well, that she is not a baby. What baby has braces on their teeth?
Sometimes I wish that we could go back to this. Or this. Or this time. Four years old is the last year that they truly belong completely to you. When they are five, there is School that must claim its portion.
But I know that to be happy, the secret is to live in the moment, and not pine for times goneby, or whittle away the present waiting for the future. (Like the day when she'll get those braces off.) I've got to embrace this moment, the moment when my little girl has traintracks all over her once pearly whites.
And speaking of embracing the moment, what about dessert? My offering this day is a treat from my weekly baking club, Tuesdays with Dorie. We were supposed to make a Chocolate BANANA loaf, but I ask you, can you really live in the moment with black bananas aging on the counter top? Visually, their black and blistered appearance belongs to the distant past, maybe even the Dark Ages. So I tossed them, and stirred in some buttermilk and made it simply Chocolate (No-Banana) Loaf Cake. (Recipe here.)
I planned the pretty treat for a Sunday after dinner dessert. But friends stopped by on Sunday afternoon, just as I pulled it out of the oven. And since I am practicing living in the moment, we ate it right then and there. Before lunch, even. (Ahem, before I could take any decent pictures.) But we enjoyed it. And that is enough for this moment.
Next Up:
Three Bean Vegetarian Chili in the Crockpot

23 comments:

The JR said...

That's one cute child. Oh the pains of them growning up.

Chocolatey looking cake.

chocolatechic said...

I like living in the moment.

Brilliant idea to add ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Erin said...

this post hit a little too close to home for me, it sounds like our little ones are going through the same thing about the same time. in just a short while i'm picking up my 6 year old to get braces on his teeth. just know there is someone feeling the same way you are at the exact same time. good luck! and the cake looks delicious!

Jen said...

Good luck with the braces. She'll thank you for them in the end :) And the cake looks amazing!

Happy Tuesday,
Jen

Prudy said...

Erin:
Thanks for your words! It's good to know we're in this together. We share something else in common also: our first names.

Julie Harward said...

WILL DO...AND SHE IS SUCH A DOLL..AND I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL MOM, AND FROM YW'S TO WHEN THEY LEAVE GOES SO FAST! THE CAKE LOOKS YUMMY TOO! COME SAY HI :D

gigi said...

Sailor is so beautiful and those old train tracks will just add to that beauty once they are off. I understand where you are coming from, I sat in the waiting room and cried when my oldest got his braces. I just couldn't help it, I was more nervous than he was.

I just hate bananas and chocolate together so your recipe is way better for me to use.
Good luck to you all :)

Susan said...

Your daughter is darling and your banana-less bread looks heavenly!

Rich'n'Rach said...

Any helping hand I can lend to a future college goer I most certainly will! I may have just graduated, but it's a funny thing how that student loan is stuck to me like glue to a shoe...ugh! West won't have to worry about that if I have anything to say about it - my vote is in!

Debra said...

Just wanted to say thank you for sharing your delicious recipes.

baby crib said...

What a cute child! Always be there for her. Growing up is hard really.

Leslie said...

What a doll! And since when did the dentists come up with 2 phase braces? One set isnt good enough? LOL

andrea said...

Yes, they do grow up too fast! My oldest daughter was a baby not that long ago and now she's a sophomore in high school! That cake recipe looks great and I can't wait for the 3-bean chili recipe.

Leslie said...

I loved the pictures.
So sweet.
I wish mine were little too, but the name of the game is progress, isn't it? Everything must progress.
It seems like we're all just on a moving sidewalk. No one can get off and it's just forward march.
March 4th is coming, by the way. I loved the post you did last year about March 4th conjuring up feelings to march forth.
Living in the moment is such a childlike quality to have.
And chocolate cake, chocolate syrup and ice cream can make that moment even better.
Thanks for this recipe, Prudy.
I thought it looked delicious.

The Blonde Duck said...

I love your cake! And how cute Wes is cooking! I'll go vote.

Poor Sailor. Braces are no fun!

Chef Aimee said...

She is so adorable. It goes so fast, doesn't it? Speaking of going fast, if that loaf cake was in front of me, I would scarf it down quite fast! :)

Michal said...

oh my goodness. is she truly that grown up already? here i am feeling sad about my little girl turning 3, and sailor's in braces! i remember her best as an infant, but your blog is letting me peek into her childhood, too. she's a beautiful girl, with or without braces.

Lori said...

I prefer not to think in these terms because then I cry.

She is a doll.

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Sean Butcher said...

Well. Good luck to her braces! My dentist in Murrells, Inlet told me to refrain eating sweets at least a week after the procedure. It's just a week and I know that she can stand with the long hours waiting for you.
You're a cute kid!

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