“I’m here at home,” Hannah answered, wondering why her mother sounded panic-stricken. “Are you and Doc all right, Mother?”
“We’re fine, dear. We were worried about you. I tried to reach you three times on your cell phone and it kept saying that your phone was out of service.”
Hannah gave a little groan. “Sorry, Mother. That’s my fault. I forgot to recharge it when I got home from church.”
“Well, go plug it in right now while you still have electricity. I’ll wait.”
Hannah grabbed her cell phone, which was on the table by her house phone, and plugged it into the charger cable. “Okay, Mother. It’s charging right now.”
“Good. They’re saying this storm is going to turn into a blizzard, Hannah.”
“I know. I was watching KCOW and that’s why I called you. Have you heard from Michelle and Lonnie?”
“Yes, dear. They’re here right now. I told them to stay here until the storm’s over and not try to drive out to your condo. Doc just got home from the hospital and he says the roads are close to impassable already.”
“That’s the reason I called. Did Michelle and Lonnie agree to stay with you and not try to drive out here?”
“Of course they agreed, dear. Both Doc and I were very firm with them. We’re all going down to the Red Velvet Lounge for dinner, and then we’ll come back up here and enjoy the garden.” There was a pause and Hannah heard her mother sigh. “I wish you could join us, but I don’t want you to drive in weather like this, Hannah.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Mother. I’m fine here.”
“But aren’t you lonely?”
Hannah glanced down at the cat who’d just nestled down in her lap. “I’m not lonely with Moishe here. He’s sitting in my lap and purring right now.”
“Oh, good. I’ll let you go then, dear. Will you promise to call me if there’s any problem?”
Hannah couldn’t imagine any problem that would necessitate a call to her mother, but she knew better than to argue. “Of course I will, Mother.”
“And call if you’re lonely. It doesn’t matter what time it is. I’ll be here for you, Hannah.”
To Hannah’s surprise, tears came to her eyes. Her mother was being uncharacteristically empathetic. “Thank you, Mother.”
Once they’d said their goodbyes and Hannah had replaced her phone in the cradle, she reached for a tissue and wiped her eyes. But the moment after she’d dried her eyes, she felt them well up with tears again. She hadn’t felt at all lonely until her mother had mentioned it. And now, even holding her sleeping cat, she began to wish that she was with her mother and Doc and Michelle and Lonnie, enjoying good conversation and good food at the Red Velvet Lounge in their condo building.
Hannah imagined the evening they’d have together. After dinner, they’d go back up to Delores and Doc’s penthouse and sit in the climate-controlled garden under the dome that would protect them from the elements. Hannah’s mother would open a bottle of Perrier Jouet, her favorite champagne, and they’d watch the snow swirl outside. Now that Hannah thought about it, she missed her family dreadfully.
“Nonsense!” Hannah said aloud, startling the cat in her lap. She gave him a scratch under his chin and a rub behind his ears, and soon Moishe was asleep again. The attention had soothed Moishe, comforted him and assured him that everything was okay. And knowing that made Hannah wish she had someone beside her to comfort her.
There was only one cure for feeling lonely and abandoned, and Hannah knew exactly what it was. She would bake. She always felt better when she baked. She’d try out the new cake recipe that Lisa’s Aunt Nancy had given her. If it worked well for her, it would be a great addition to their Valentine catering menu.
The recipe was in the bottom of her purse, neatly folded with Hannah’s inscription “TO TRY.” She read through the ingredients and began to smile. She had everything she needed to bake Aunt Nancy’s Ultimate Strawberry Bundt Cake.
Hannah headed to the kitchen with a smile on her face. The day that Aunt Nancy had given her the recipe, she’d picked up a strawberry cake mix at Florence’s Red Owl Grocery. She had sour cream in her refrigerator and she’d even stopped at Lake Eden Municipal Liquor to buy a bottle of strawberry liqueur. Instant vanilla pudding was no problem. She always had that on hand in case she wanted to make her Fake Orange Julius. And there was a jar of strawberry jam in the refrigerator.
Quickly, Hannah assembled the ingredients and prepared her Bundt pan. Since Aunt Nancy’s recipe said to use something called Pan Coat to brush on the inside of the Bundt pan instead of greasing and flouring it, Hannah followed the second recipe Aunt Nancy had gotten from her friend Judy to mix up the Pan Coat. She brushed it all over the inside of the Bundt pan, set the oven to preheat at the proper temperature, pulled out her electric stand mixer, and began to mix up the cake.
In less than fifteen minutes, Hannah’s cake was ready to bake and once she’d slipped it into her oven, she flicked off the overhead lights in the kitchen and went back to the living room to find something to watch on her flat-screen television set.
PAN COAT
This recipe is from Judith Baer and it works like a dream!
? cup flour (just scoop it out and level it off with a knife)
? cup vegetable oil
? cup Crisco
Place the three ingredients, in the order given, in a bowl.
Judy’s 1st Note: This recipe is simple: Today, I made some more Pan Coat and put the flour in the bowl first, the oil next, and then the Crisco. I use the same half cup measure for all of them, and I do not wash it until I have all three ingredients in the bowl. If you do this in order, the Crisco will easily slide out of the measuring cup.
Whip the ingredients together until the mixture is thick and creamy. (This is easier with an electric mixer.)
Brush Pan Coat all over the inside of your baking pan.
Yield: Enough Pan Coat to coat the inside of several baking pans.
Judy’s 2nd Note: If you have Pan Coat left over, place it in a jar, cover the jar with a square of wax paper, and screw on the lid. It will keep in your pantry or cupboard without refrigeration until you are ready to use it again. The ingredients will separate, but all you have to do is mix them together again.
Aunt Nancy’s Note: Judy got this recipe when she took a cake decorating class. She uses it when she bakes wedding cakes and gingerbread houses for Christmas.
Hannah’s Note: Pan Coat will work on any pan that needs to be greased and floured. (And it’s a lot easier than greasing it first, dumping in some flour, and then standing over the kitchen wastebasket trying to get the flour on every inside surface.
ULTIMATE STRAWBERRY BUNDT CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
4 large eggs
? cup vegetable oil ? cup strawberry liqueur (I used Drillaud Strawberry Liqueur)
8-ounce (by weight) tub of sour cream (I used Knudson)
1 Tablespoon strawberry jam
box of Strawberry Cake Mix, the kind that makes a 9-inch by 13-inch cake or a 2-layer cake (I used Pillsbury)
5.1-ounce package of DRY instant vanilla pudding and pie filling (I used Jell-O)
12-ounce (by weight) bag of white chocolate or vanilla baking chips (11-ounce package will do, too—I used Nestlé)
Prepare your cake pan. You’ll need a Bundt pan that has been sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and then floured. To flour a pan, put some flour in the bottom, hold it over your kitchen wastebasket, and tap the pan to move the flour all over the inside of the pan. Continue this until all the inside surfaces of the pan, including the sides of the crater in the center, have been covered with a light coating of flour. Alternatively, you can coat the inside of the Bundt pan with Pam Baking Spray, which is a nonstick cooking spray with flour already in it or use Pan Coat.
Crack the eggs into the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix them up on LOW speed until they’re a uniform color.