... in which Lyscey breaks in the kitchen.

That would be “breaks-in” by the way, which did not involve any actual breaking! Go me!
Small disclaimer: My kitchen looks this way as a result of un-use and neglect, not through any actual effort. With my mom coming and going, and myself coming and going in the last few weeks, plus almost total lack of cooking I do for myself, the kitchen has stayed clean pretty much since Alex left. No one likes cooking alone, or for just one person, so I’ve been eating mostly chicken nuggets and Ramen… I’ve reverted to my college state, as it were. I wouldn't want you to think I was actually that neat about anything.
However, it’s in that spirit that I bring you this blog post, about the first time I’ve used both my kitchen in weeks, and the totally sweet KitchenAid stand mixer that recently arrived at my house. The mixer is a wedding gift that got a little misplaced for awhile, from my lovely father-in-law. When it came I vowed to unpack it and do something really cool with it when the opportunity came and so I have. I have made, for your stalking pleasure, a seriously awesome cake.
For starters: my new mixer!!!


I took the recipe from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. I picked out some little tweeks to the recipe and ended up with “Chocolate-cinnamon cake and mocha buttercream”.
Sounds like a latte, right? I’m hoping it tastes like one.

Mmm... Melted chocolate. Like my make-shift double boiler?



And the final product (insert dramatic drum roll in your heads please):


YAY!!!
It was surprisingly easy with the mixer. I did very little work, really. But I will take as much credit as you'll give me. I haven't tasted it yet, as it's for a little dinner party I'm going to tonight, but I did taste the batter (shh... Don't tell my husband, he thinks it's gross when I do that) and it tasted pretty good. I'll come back and tell you how it turned out in the comments when I get home. I'll also post the recipe in the comments if anyone wants it.
For now, I'm off. Please wish me luck and for me to be less of a spaz in front of these people. Also that my cooking skills, vague though they have always been, haven't atrophied in Alex's absence to the point I can't cook anything anymore. Speaking of which:
Alex, if you're reading this, thank you for the encouragement, and don't worry: If it turns out to be really good, I'll make you your very own when you get home. What do you say, instead of Christmas dinner, Christmas cake? I love you, sweetness. So much.

Thanks for dropping by!