Mary Mary Quite Contrary

This is what the card said that I gave to Mary for her birthday:

You're not one to sit on the porch and watch the world go by.
You're one to yell stuff and make rude gestures.
Happy Birthday.

This is the perfect card for Mary. This describes a part of her that I love. She says what she thinks. She does what she wants. She has great style. She always looks good. She's very particular about who she loves but when she loves you she does so wholeheartedly. She thinks she can do it all on her own but is slowly grasping that it's way better not to.

Mary and me

One thing I must always do for Mary's birthday is bake her a birthday cake. Not chocolate. Lemon would be best. We've celebrated probably more than 20 of her birthdays together. I've probably made her 20 cakes. Never chocolate. A few times I've hinted that I might buy a cake. The response is immediate. No, she won't eat it. She'll only eat cake that I bake for her. So I bake. This year it is Lemon Layer Cake with Raspberry Curd and Whipped Cream.

Lemon Layer Cake with Raspberry Curd Filling

I've asked her many times to bake ME a cake. I've often said that the ONLY thing I want for my birthday is a cake baked by Mary. The response is immediate. No, she won't bake me a cake. She used to bake for a very short time a very long time ago. But there hasn't been any baking coming from Mary's kitchen for a very long time now. Paolo has never had a cake baked for him by his mother. The horror! The deprivation! In order to ensure that Paolo grows up with the right attitude toward dessert I make sure I bake him a birthday cake every year. It seems to have worked because he's very appreciative of every one. Funny how this strategy didn't seem to work with the Daughter or the Adolescent. They don't like cake. They rarely eat my cake. I've tried to not take this personally. I've not been successful.

The Adolescent, the Daughter, and Paolo

This year there's an added dimension of difficulty to making Mary's birthday dinner. Vegetarian. Mary has become a vegetarian. I struggle with the menu. Tofu, quinoa, bulgur, lentils? I think not. I see a lot of recipes with "meat" in quotation marks. That's just not right. I finally decide on Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and Almond Pesto. The key is generously salting the water in which you're going to cook the pasta. And then reserve some of the pasta cooking water and use it to moisten the sauce. This is a delicious dish. The roasting of the tomatoes brings out smoky sweetness paired with the toasted almonds and lots of garlic. Although it takes some time to roast the tomatoes it's actually very easy to make.

The Adolescent, Mary, and the Hubby all have April birthdays

Mary and the Adolescent are both Aries. In fact, they were both born on April 4. This explains a lot.

Happy Birthday dear friend. I look forward to baking many many more birthday cakes for you.