For a decade, my youngest son Daniel Baran has asked us to make him a kitty litter cake for his birthday, and for ten years my response has been the same: "Ick! No!"
Because we have several cats, scooping multiple litter boxes is a daily project of carrying a large bagful of #$#% outside to the garbage can so, no, a litter box cake served in a real (brand-new, but real) litter box and dished up with a real scoop had little appeal to us.
This year, however, Daniel turned seventeen. We're too broke for presents, and he dislikes most cake. He asked again, and turning him down again seemed most unfair. I relented.
"Only you buy the litter box," I said.
Daniel agreed.
For the unitiated, a kitty litter cake is prepared from several baked cake mixes (white and chocolate), pudding, and green food coloring. Tootsie Rolls are melted, bent, and added to the cake to resemble cat droppings. I told Daniel he could have my share of the feast.
After last Saturday's author fair, we stopped at a grocery store to buy said litter box. Rebekah had seen some there priced for "litteraly" a couple of dollars, perfect for a teen budget. Well, the store must have had a rush on them because Daniel soon came back to car saying, "May I borrow twenty-four dollars?"
"Twenty-four dollars!" I exclaimed. "There's got to be cheaper ones."
"I'll pay you back," Daniel promised.
That didn't feel right to me. I handed him the money and said, "I'll buy the litter box as your birthday present. It's the least I could do for the son that has given me seventeen years of pure joy."
Daniel scampered back inside the store to claim his prize.
That night, still basking in a good mood from a wonderful fair and shaking my head over such an unusual birthday present, I had an idea to extend the fun and give Daniel kudos for being such a good sport. I posted this on Facebook:
So tonight I bought my son Daniel a most unusual birthday
present. I'm betting no one can guess what it is. However, IF someone does
guess it, I will give that savvy individual a free copy of the official
"Bryony" cookbook.
To show I am fair, I will offer clues in "Twenty Questions" Q & A style. None of my six children are eligible for this contest.
At first, the guesses were fairly predicatable (a cell phone) and then turned unusual (a flu shot, an ape, a seventeen year old girl). Finally, I tossed out, "Why isn't anyone asking if it's bigger than my breadbox?" and the fun really began.
One hundred and fifty-eight comments later, we had a winner for a free copy of Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony:" Sue Hovanes. She has already received her cookbook (autographed by both Daniel and me) and consented to an interview about the contest and her take on both Bryony and the cookbook.
1) Sue, what made you jump into the game?
"I had just logged on and since I follow your newsfeed, I saw your game going on. I love playing games that make you think, so I jumped in."
2) What did you think when you learned what the gift was?
"That was indeed a strange gift for a seventeen year old boy.
3) You’re already familiar with the Bryony story, having read the book. What did you like/dislike about it, and would you recommend it to others? Why or why not?
"I really like that it was not the typical vampire blood & gore book. I absolutely recommend it to all my "vampire" friends. The only disappointment for me was that a couple of the characters don't have much back story so it takes a bit to figure out how they fit into the story."
4) What do you think of the cookbook so far?
"It's fun to read how the Victorian Era women phrased their recipes. It must have made it hard to share them."
5) Which two recipes were you thinking of trying?
"I want to try Sue's Diner Apple Pudding and Darlene's Pumpkin Roll from Steve & Brian's Thanksgiving Dinner."
6) What’s the most bizarre recipe you’ve encountered in the cookbook so far and why?
" Fish Skin to Clarify Coffee...why?...just EWWWW, fishy coffee!!!"
And finally, Daniel's kitty litter cake!
Because we have several cats, scooping multiple litter boxes is a daily project of carrying a large bagful of #$#% outside to the garbage can so, no, a litter box cake served in a real (brand-new, but real) litter box and dished up with a real scoop had little appeal to us.
This year, however, Daniel turned seventeen. We're too broke for presents, and he dislikes most cake. He asked again, and turning him down again seemed most unfair. I relented.
"Only you buy the litter box," I said.
Daniel agreed.
For the unitiated, a kitty litter cake is prepared from several baked cake mixes (white and chocolate), pudding, and green food coloring. Tootsie Rolls are melted, bent, and added to the cake to resemble cat droppings. I told Daniel he could have my share of the feast.
After last Saturday's author fair, we stopped at a grocery store to buy said litter box. Rebekah had seen some there priced for "litteraly" a couple of dollars, perfect for a teen budget. Well, the store must have had a rush on them because Daniel soon came back to car saying, "May I borrow twenty-four dollars?"
"Twenty-four dollars!" I exclaimed. "There's got to be cheaper ones."
"I'll pay you back," Daniel promised.
That didn't feel right to me. I handed him the money and said, "I'll buy the litter box as your birthday present. It's the least I could do for the son that has given me seventeen years of pure joy."
Daniel scampered back inside the store to claim his prize.
That night, still basking in a good mood from a wonderful fair and shaking my head over such an unusual birthday present, I had an idea to extend the fun and give Daniel kudos for being such a good sport. I posted this on Facebook:
To show I am fair, I will offer clues in "Twenty Questions" Q & A style. None of my six children are eligible for this contest.
At first, the guesses were fairly predicatable (a cell phone) and then turned unusual (a flu shot, an ape, a seventeen year old girl). Finally, I tossed out, "Why isn't anyone asking if it's bigger than my breadbox?" and the fun really began.
One hundred and fifty-eight comments later, we had a winner for a free copy of Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony:" Sue Hovanes. She has already received her cookbook (autographed by both Daniel and me) and consented to an interview about the contest and her take on both Bryony and the cookbook.
1) Sue, what made you jump into the game?
"I had just logged on and since I follow your newsfeed, I saw your game going on. I love playing games that make you think, so I jumped in."
2) What did you think when you learned what the gift was?
"That was indeed a strange gift for a seventeen year old boy.
3) You’re already familiar with the Bryony story, having read the book. What did you like/dislike about it, and would you recommend it to others? Why or why not?
"I really like that it was not the typical vampire blood & gore book. I absolutely recommend it to all my "vampire" friends. The only disappointment for me was that a couple of the characters don't have much back story so it takes a bit to figure out how they fit into the story."
4) What do you think of the cookbook so far?
"It's fun to read how the Victorian Era women phrased their recipes. It must have made it hard to share them."
5) Which two recipes were you thinking of trying?
"I want to try Sue's Diner Apple Pudding and Darlene's Pumpkin Roll from Steve & Brian's Thanksgiving Dinner."
6) What’s the most bizarre recipe you’ve encountered in the cookbook so far and why?
" Fish Skin to Clarify Coffee...why?...just EWWWW, fishy coffee!!!"
And finally, Daniel's kitty litter cake!
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