Skorda's Seaside Taverna: another chocolate birthday cake

Skopelos and Virgin

-by Skorda

Swallow that campari moon
when first you see it
across the water,
rising round and new above the mountain.
Open your mouth and swallow
while youth holds its roundness near,
and you are running fearless in the dark.
Hold it inside, it is still warm
and you will need its light,
there, inside you.

Down the road of time, somewhere
after you’ve aged, traveled,
Explored, discovered.
And the dust around your doorway
has been pounded hard and smooth under your feet.
When you find yourself growing weary and bored,
when your eyes see only ruins,
and your heart is empty.
You may believe, in your exhaustion,
that this is truth, at last.
That the mystery has unraveled,
leaving no wilderness to explore or tame.
All secrets have been shared,
the frontier has dissolved.
Know then, with these thoughts,
you have been swallowed.

The warm belly of the beast
comforts with confining darkness
and lulls with rhythmic sounds
Murmuring to you,
Curl up and sleep,
just go to sleep.

Shake your head,
stretch your legs,
do not sleep now.

Remember what you know.
You swallowed the moon,
you hold it inside you.
Not as a magpie hoarding shiny things,
or wearing the moon for beauty
or bartering the moon for wealth.
You swallowed the moon for this moment.
When you will walk to the water’s edge,
open your mouth, release the moon
and let its light build you a pathway
across the wine dark sea.
©Skorda 2008

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

another chocolate birthday cake

Chocolate Cake
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
1-2/3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick softened butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk or reg. milk with 2 ½ T powdered buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla

PREHEAT oven to 350°F.
In saucepan melt chocolate in 1/2 cup water. When smooth add ½ cup sugar and stir until sugar is melted. Let cool.

Mix together flour, baking soda and salt.
Beat butter and remaining 1-1/4 cups sugar in bowl of electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in flour mixture alternately with the milk. Add chocolate mixture and vanilla; and mix.
Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.

BAKE 30 to 35 min.. Cool in pans 10 min.. then remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack. Frost. I like vanilla frosting with berries or jam between the layers and chocolate frosting on the cake itself.
To make easy frosting mix:
1 stick butter
I box confectioner’s sugar
4 T milk
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
a pinch of salt.
Remove enough vanilla frosting to spread between the layers. To the remaining frosting add 2 squares of melted unsweetened chocolate and mix well.