king cake

Sweet baby Jesus, we have a winner!

Lent is in full swing, but I'm still savoring the memories of the King Cake we devoured on Fat Tuesday! And now (drum roll please), I'd like to announce the winner of our contest.

I folded your names into colorful squares, and then dropped them into an offering plate I bought on eBay a while back.

KingCakeContestEntries

Then I closed my eyes and drew a name.


(Sorry the picture's upside down–LiveJournal's being naughty again, sigh.)

You ate a tiny sliver of cake, as per your doctor's orders, and now you can brag about this, too, !

Seeing as how we've swapped lots of local photographs over the years, and we share a wide-eyed wonderment about the world around us, I chose this book especially for you.

CaliforniaTheBeautiful
Here, iconic images of the place that I call home, and beautiful quotations, perfectly matched to each picture. It's a talisman of a friendship that's expanded over time, despite our geographic distance. Hope you'll find treasures among its pages, as I did.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

It's Mardi Gras, y'all! Let the good times roll–or as they say in the French Quarter Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Literally translated, le Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday aka Let's Eat!  The timing couldn’t be better—this blog is having big-time cravings for carbs fun and friendship. So I’m hosting a traditional King Cake celebration today, but with a bit of a twist.

First, a bit of background. For the uninitiated King Cakes help commemorate Epiphany, the day Three Wise Men honored the baby Jesus with precious gifts. They taste a lot like gooey cinnamon rolls, but the dough is baked into a ring and decorated with purple, green, and gold–the colors of Mardi Gras. Some say the shape represents unity and friendship; others say it symbolizes the circular path the Wise Men followed, in order to lead King Herod away from Joseph and Mary's baby.

That brings us full circle, to the secret ingredient in this cake: A pecan, bean or plastic doll (representing the baby Jesus) is tucked inside the dough ring before it's baked! Finding the baby is an honor; among other things, it means you get to host the next party, if you wish. 

King Cake celebrations used to be reserved for Fridays during Mardi Gras, but now they happen every day during the weeks between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.  But today's Fat Tuesday, which is all about eating, drinking, and other forms of merriment.

I brought the King Cake. Doesn’t it just look like a party in the making?

King-Cake-1
King Cake image and easy recipe

Help yourself to a big ol’ slice of gooey goodness. Go on, it's guilt-free! And in lieu of throwing beads, I've got a special contest in mind. I’ll draw a name from among the revelers who’ve stopped by to join us–this Friday, how's that? The lucky winner gets a special prize, plus bragging rights.

So who wants the first slice of King Cake? Place your order in the comments.

A king-sized celebration

My writing group works very hard, but we also know how to party. Example: Donna, our Southern Belle extraordinaire, helped us kick-start the New Year with a King Cake celebration.

King Cakes help commemorate Epiphany (January 6th), the day the Three Wise Men honored baby Jesus with precious gifts. They taste a lot like gooey cinnamon rolls, but the dough is baked into a ring and decorated with purple, green, and gold—the colors of Mardi Gras. Some say the shape represents unity and friendship; others say it symbolizes the circular path the Wise Men followed, in order to lead King Herod away from Joseph and Mary’s baby.

A pecan, bean or plastic doll (each representing the baby Jesus) is tucked inside the cake before it’s baked. Finding the baby is an honor; among other things, it means you get to host the next party. King Cake celebrations used to be reserved for Fridays during Mardi Gras, but now they happen every day during the weeks between Epiphany and the first day of Lent.

All that to say…

 

The timing couldn’t be better—this blog is having big-time cravings for carbs fun and friendship. Even in the saddest of times, I think it’s important to reach out to others, and to find joy in the moment. So I’m hosting a traditional King Cake celebration, but with a bit of a twist. 

 

Here’s my King Cake. Doesn’t it look delicious?

Please help yourself to a big ol’ slice of gooey goodness. Go on, it’s guilt-free! On Thursday morning, I’ll draw a name from among the revelers who’ve stopped by to join us. The lucky winner gets the baby, of course. And you know what that means…another party!  I’ll also send the winner a special prize.

King Cake recipe and photo

P.S. Thanks to

[info]seaheidi

 for giving me the Kreativ Blogger Award. I’m lucky to be surrounded by so much inspiration and talent! Each one of you deserves this award, so how ’bout we share?

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