The problem with cake

Let them eat cake - and at a wedding, nearly everyone does, especially when the bride and groom thoughtfully provide an array for guests, rather than the one, big, spectacular tower. Yet even with the variety we had last night, including an Almond Joy cake (coconut, chocolate and almonds), lemon (with lemon curd filling) and others with decadent buttercream and fondant, I must confess: I don't really like cake. Most cake, to my taste, is dry and it becomes just the vehicle to hold the filling and frosting, which has about as much nutritional value as a Hershey's kiss. The one exception is carrot cake, which not only is moist, but has a vegetable in it. But even that cake is loaded with fat and sugar, and probably tilts into the unhealthy category.

Still, with all the dancing that rings in the new bride and groom, maybe cake is just the fuel to keep the company going through the night. It certainly reminds us that we all need a little sweetness in our lives.

Food and kitchen tips

My Uncle Vernon passes along a little something in his e-mails to me each day. A lot of times, it's just a joke or two, but today's offering is worth passing along to you (with a bit of editing to make it more food-oriented and more about healthful eating - but if you really want the Snickers bar and apple dessert recipe, click on the comments section below, leave a message, and I'll post it tomorrow).

• Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little "stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it. 
• Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster. 
• Store chunk cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold.
• Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking. 
• Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic. 
• Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. 
• Put cooked egg yolks in a zip-seal bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done - easy clean up. When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.
• (Note from Lori K: If you buy natural peanut butter and can't seem to stir it well enough to mix the oil and the solids, a whirl around in the food processor for a few seconds will keep it mixed and easy to spread once it's in the fridge.)
• Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out. 
• To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2" with apple cider vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!