I Heart Week, Day 4: I Heart Cake!!

March 5, 2010 By 40 Comments
I Heart Week, Day 4: I Heart Cake!!

Yummy!

I used to use one exclamation point. I mean, isn’t one enough emphasis? But lately I’ve been noticing a trend in people using two (!!) exclamation points. Initially, I thought: overkill. Then it seemed cute. And now I see cases where one “!” is just not enough.

As I wrote on The Huffington Post, this has been kind of a “feh” week for me. I had a lot of insurance work to do. I found out that yes, I can add new chapters to the paperback version of Cherries in Winter–but I have to write them in the next three weeks. Hooooo nelly. Our newly adopted beagle, Bella, is only happy when she’s at the dog run, playing with other canines. I found out recently that beagles don’t exactly thrive in apartments as single dogs. And we still have a hole in our bedroom ceiling thanks to the leaks, which are probably doing a great job of growing mold as well as weakening the sheetrock. How ironic that it should be “I Heart” week on my li’l ol’ blog while so much “feh” was going on.

I Heart Week, Day 4: I Heart Cake!!

Pretty.

The only known cure for the “feh” state? Cake.

I’m about to give a huge thank you to Nora Schultz of Naturally Nora cake and icing mixes. I received a sample box of Nora’s goods, and to say they were good is an understatement. Not only are these baked goods great, but they have nothing–NADA–in them that you wouldn’t put in a cake you were making from scratch. In fact, I don’t believe any of her ingredients has more than three syllables (whoops, forgot about “baking soda”). Hence the “Naturally” part of the name.

I Heart Week, Day 4: I Heart Cake!!

Easy!

Why use a mix, when I can make the real deal myself? Two reasons: 1) Nora’s cake is better than what I make, and The Hubbins will back me on that; 2) I was, and am, in too far a “feh” state to make my own.

If there’s anything better than great cake, it’s FREE great cake. And we have it here on (drumroll, maestro) the very first Cherries in Winter Cake Giveaway! Naturally Nora has generously offered samples of her glorious cake and icing mixes to the first five people who leave comments here. No, I’m not even going to make you ask a question or give me a recipe or anything. Just leave a comment. Something nice, please; I’m very sensitive. Especially this week.

So, free cake!! (That’s deserving of two exclamation points, don’t you think?)

I Heart Week, Day 4: I Heart Cake!!

Feh-fighter!!

Filed Under: food, general Tagged With: , , , , , ,
  • Helen

    Hi,

    I would love to compare Naturally Nora cakes to my Six Minute Chocolate Cake via the Moosewood Restaurant. It has a bittersweet chocolate glaze or use a fruit compote. Yummy!

  • Mary

    That cake looks fantastic!!

    I have thought about your last post all day….I can so relate to being in a funk, and this time of year I think the weather and lack of sunshine can make it tougher. Your post was so honest, and it also made me smile. We all want a day (or days) when we can just lay low, not wash our hair and eat what we want. Hang in there – you really are a positive and talented person. Your story has inspired me – I loved your book, and now I look forward to reading your posts every day!!

    *I kind of like the double exclamation points!!

  • http://giveawaygal.blogspot.com Charity Lyman

    I would love to try this!! Please enter me:) Thanks!!

  • elaine

    Yes, nothing like chocolate to perk up a day.
    I hope you will add chapters to the paperback version of your book. I’m taking my hardback copy to my mom this week. It was one of my Christmas gifts and I’m just now willing to let it go to her house for a while. I know she’ll enjoy reading it.

  • Jen

    Thank you for this post, You lifted me from my “Fehs” I would love to try Nora’s cake, looks fabulous! Reallly looking forward to the paperback coming out with additional chapters and recipes too! thanks so much Suzan :) <3

  • susanne morse

    A cake would be the perfcet remedy for my “feh-stival”!! Please include me!!

  • Donna

    I have a fear of baking. Cooking I’m not afraid of but baking scares me. It’s a leap of faith. When I cook I can taste and adjust and wrestle into something edible. When you bake you don’t know what you’ve got till you take it out of the oven and serve it. You can’t cheat and taste a part of it – everyone will know if you serve a cake with a piece missing. And then what are you going to do if it’s no good? You have to go back to the drawing board. I love the idea of a really good mix that doesn’t have ingredients I can’t pronounce that will give me some assurance that what I put in the oven will come out edible.

  • Denise

    cake!!!

    3 weeks–no sweat. you’re a MARATHON runner suzan. you can do anything.

  • Amanda

    This looks delicious!

  • Julie Farrell

    Very inspiring! And looking at the picts makes me want to eat cake right this very moment! Yummy is right!

  • cindi

    After having 2 cars totaled in less than 4 months and dealing with doctors and insurance companies – I am so ready for a Feh Day Cake!

  • TxKim

    WHAT?? Free cake?? I’m in!!! (Note: TRIPLE exclamation points) I was wondering how you got your frosting to the consistency where it ran down the sides of the cake. That looks scrumptious!!! (Triple exclamation point worthy)

  • Glenn

    Just discovered Naturally Nora’s cake mixes. I can’t believe how good the cakes turn out. My family and friends think they’re home made! Can’t wait to read your book!

  • Sarah Royse

    I love, love Nora’s cake and brownie mixes. They are as close to homemade as will ever find in a box. That cake looks so good I may have to make one today. No special occasion needed!!

  • Stephanie

    This cake looks amazing! My daughters love baking, and we’ve been trying to use more natural ingredients. We bake at least once a week to try and get out of the “feh” moods, especially with this long winter – double-exclamation points help get rid of the “feh” moods, toO! :)

  • Gwen

    Yum, gotta love chocolate!

  • Michelle Green

    Ooohh, i just discovered Naturally Nora products. This looks scrumptious!!

  • http://highmaintenancemom.com Audra

    YUM! I am obsessed with chocolate cake! I would love to try it.

  • Michelle Green

    And good luck managing your stress. You’ll get it done and Bella will adapt.

  • Christine Bentley

    I HEART cake as well, especially that chocolate cake you have pictured on the top of your blog. As far as using two exclamation points…go for it!! Nothing better than being super expressive about something you love!!

  • Joelle

    I would love to try Nora’s cake mix. I am always looking for shortcuts and great natural food! Thank you!

  • http://www.thishumanscondition.wordpress.com Mary

    Yum, yum and MORE yum. I haven’t tried Nora’s yet but can’t wait to!

  • http://facebook Dana Ricciardo

    That cake looks awesome. I have got to make it.

  • http://www.sarahphillipsphoto.com Sarah Phillips

    I’ve been wanting to try one of Nora’s cakes! Looks delicious!!

  • Beth

    What can be better than the first sunny days of spring and chocolate cake? Life is good.

  • Nora

    This looks absolutely scrumptious!! The idea of cake mixes without tons of artificial ingredients is very appealing. Plus, I wholeheartedly approve of the name. You’ve got to love a company called Naturally Nora!! :)

  • Tonya

    I would love to try Naturally Nora products, but no one around here sells it and I haven’t gotten around to ordering any. This year I started a resolution to eat healthier and am so happy to find more and more products without preservatives!

  • Amanda

    looks great! a perfect snack!

  • suzancolon

    If only it had been a perfect snack and not many perfect snacks… Oh wait–I said I wasn’t going to apologize for eating so much cake! :) Yes, it was perfect–every single time.

  • suzancolon

    Hey Tonya,
    I feel your pain on the scarcity front. Did you take a look here, at Naturally Nora’s retail page? Hope one of the stores near you will supply this cool line. So glad to hear you’re eating better :)

  • suzancolon

    I’m so glad you think it looks good, because frankly, I’m really self-conscious about my food photography. I haven’t quite figured out how to make my dishes look yummy; I think my camera work makes the cats look more delicious! Oh dear…

  • suzancolon

    Amen, sister! A little sun and some chocolate and it’s “feh” be gone time for little Su ;)

  • suzancolon

    Kim, my friend, I am super grateful that you noticed my special ganache effect on the frosting, which I’d love to say was the end result of the baker’s dozens of hours I spent watching Ace of Cakes. Instead, it was the happy accident of nuking the butter instead of exercising some patience and waiting until the creamy stuff was room temp. So, slightly too-warm butter plus frosting powder plus soy milk equals ganache. I felt so professional when I poured it over the cake and it dripped off. Drips, by the way, have no calories–did you know that?

  • suzancolon

    As my friend Chris would say: Oh my stars and garters! Cindi, are you okay? I am sending good thoughts your way regarding the doctors’ visits and the insurance companies. Get well soon, my friend…

  • suzancolon

    Sarah, I agree completely with your “no special occasion” rule. After all, any day that has cake is a special one, don’t you think?

  • suzancolon

    Denise, I’ve got to get off this cake marathon and back on the More half-marathon!

  • suzancolon

    Hooray! I love mother-daughter book sharing. Especially when it’s my book that’s being shared, and especially when it’s slightly unwillingly ;) Please let me know how Mom likes it. And yes, I’m definitely adding a few new chapters–and recipes–to the paperback version of CIW. Thanks for encouraging me to do that!

  • suzancolon

    Mary, you could write encouraging, morale-boosting, smile-inducing letters for a living. (Now there’s an industry waiting to be born.) Thank you so much–I’m looking forward to reading your posts every day!! (Note double exclamation points for extra zingy emphasis and happiness…)

  • http://www.queenofthecastlerecipes.com lynn

    Free cake, and I missed it. I think that’s worth three exclamation points!!! I have read your book, by the way, and enjoyed it greatly. I hope there are more food books coming.

  • suzancolon

    So sorry you missed the cake, but I’m working on giving away more yummy stuff to you lovely people. And thanks so much for reading the book! Yep, there’s more coming, including additional chapters and recipes for the paperback version of Cherries in Winter. I’m far too obsessed with food to keep from writing about it ;)
    BTW, loving your blog, lady! That banana plantain crisp looks DELICIOUS. (Forgive me for yelling; I get very excited about desserts, and about plantains. They are one of my favorite foods.) Liked the potholder too, but they’re not one of my fave desserts. I’m going to repeat your site address here so people can visit. Thanks for writing, Lynn!