Invisibility Cloak....

Have you read all of the Harry Potter books?

I haven't.....

Meant to, but since Jack was born, reading a whole book
or speaking an entire sentence with another grown up are things of the past....

Maybe soon I will be able to enjoy books again....

Of course that will be when the kids will have nothing to do with me
and I'll have piles of time to read....

or weep...

Back to Harry...

Of the books I did read, I loved his invisibility cape...

He would toss it over himself and slink down Diagon Alley
or creep through the damp corridors of Hogwarts...

Oh how I wish I had one!

Not necessarily for detective or intelligence gathering missions...

I'd like one so I could just disappear for a little while....

A stealthy time-out, if you will...

I took a couple of good old fashioned time-outs today, anyway...

You see, even though Santa's spy elves are monitoring my children's movements,
the kids don't seem to care...

Today was yet another no school day, the third of six days off in November...

I am quickly tiring of my indentured status as Julie McCoy...

Throw even thirty minutes of down time on these critters
and they are at each other's throats faster than you can say
"idle hands are the devil's playthings"....

On today's agenda: paint it yourself pottery...

What a great way to entertain crafty fingers
all the while creating handmade Christmas gifts for lucky family members...

Amazing how quiet little people get when they are choosing colors,
preparing a design and executing their ideas....

Pure poetry in motion...
until one finishes before the other and the first one then wants to paint more objects...

$$$$$$$...

It was good while it lasted...

As they alternately  rough housed, bickered and tickled each other on the way home,
I was planning my escape...

Little did I know it would take the form of an app....no, not nap...

It was this pet shop game Kate plays on my phone...

I am in no way interested, much less skilled at electronic games,
but dad gum if this one was fun!

After I informed the kids that I needed to take a little rest,
I holed up on my bed and played the pet shop game for a good fifteen minutes....

Refreshed, I reappeared and resumed cooking, dishes, laundry as usual...

And then I received reprieve #2....

A full twenty minutes in Whole Foods, ALONE! 

Tom came home from work
and all he saw was the blur of my jacket
as I dashed out the back to pick up a few things for dinner...

I felt like the cat who escaped out the dog door...

What a lovely twenty minutes it was, too, perusing the bright, happy gourmet aisles,
sampling Irish cheddar, noting the sale on king crab
and selecting fresh veggies for our dinner salad.....

What a treat to amble through the store without  a kick, whine, tattle
or mere mention for the 100th time that this exact spot near the exotic soaps
where Kate barfed last year while we were shopping for lice medication...

Ahhh... the peace and serenity of solo shopping....

Besides escaping my children for a few moments,
the real purpose of the trip was for ingredients for this rock star cake I am making
for a dinner party we are attending tomorrow night...

Col, Rosie...hope you aren't reading this or the surprise will be revealed...  

But this cake will be sooo good.  I have now made the layers and the caramel...

Tomorrow is icing and assembly....

Check out this recipe from the cool new cookbook, "Baked, New Frontiers in Baking"...

Sweet & Salty Cake...

Courtesy of Baked bakery in New York City

• Yield Makes one 8-inch 3-layer cake

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 2/3 cups cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla
• 1/2 cup Caramel with Salt
• Whipped Caramel Ganache Icing
• Fleur de sel, for garnish 
•  
• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans. Line each pan with a parchment paper round, butter parchment paper and flour; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, 1 1/4 cups hot water, and sour cream; set aside to cool, about 10 minutes.
3. In another large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening together until smooth and it appears to create strings inside the bowl, about 7 minutes. Add both sugars and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until well incorporated. Add vanilla, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, and mix again for 30 seconds. Add flour mixture alternating with cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
5. Divide batter evenly among the three prepared pans. Bake until cake is just firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 18 to 24 minutes. Let cool completely.
6. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the first layer on the cake plate. Using about 1/4 cup of the caramel, spread a thin layer on the cake, allowing some of the caramel to soak into the cake. Follow the caramel layer with a layer of about 1 cup of the ganache icing. Place the second layer on top and repeat process with another layer of caramel followed by a layer of ganache icing. Place the remaining layer on top of the second layer bottom side up. Spread entire cake with remaining ganache icing. Sprinkle with fleur de sel.