Super chocolate.

Last night I made a decadent chocolate cake (which I believe needs some improvements, actually) for a special Valentine's treat (I knew it wasn't going to remain untouched until today, but I figured better to get it made a day ahead of time rather than not get it done at all on Val-day). We ate dinner before Mass and headed out the door, promises of cake for all the good girls when we got back home.

After we got home the sort of good girls got sent to their bedroom to clean up all the toy-mess (lest they be grounded again) before they could partake in the chocolatey goodness. Matt dished himself up a Large Daddy Sized Piece of Cake. As he took his first bite he closed his eyes and said, "I think I've died and gone to chocolate heaven."

I know this man so well. See, instead of making some fru-fru cupcakes or other corny Val-day cutesie treats I thought about the kind of man I married. I decided if I was going to make him something special it was going to be a treat that he'd absolutely love. When we buy ice cream I'm the kind of girl who wants cookies and cream, or maybe some vanilla with hot fudge or caramel sauce. HE is the kind of man who wants double chocolate-chocolate-chocolate, with fudge ripples, and chocolate chunks, and hot fudge poured over the top. When I saw the recipe for the chocolate cake that claimed to have fudgy frosting I knew this was the cake for us. I love fudgy frosting, too. Well, the end result wasn't as fudgy as I expected but I have some ideas on how to improve that. Or just find another recipe for the frosting part. Or even just the filling part.

Late this morning, just before noon, I prepared some lunch foodies for Xander-mander. I've been working on introducing some new foods and textures to his diet. He really loves finger foods and I decided that he cannot live off Zesty Tomato Puffies and Yogurt Meltaways. Well, those things and breastmilk. I felt that his solid foods should have more variety (he does eat some babyfood but usually only about a tub a day). So I brought out the baby mac and cheese. He doesn't seem to like it but I'm going to keep pushing it because John Tesh said on the radio yesterday that you have to introduce new foods upwards of a dozen times before a child will actually take it (on average most parents give up after 3-5 times). Sometimes I think the man is a dork and I don't care to listen to his tips, but other times I am grateful to have caught the particular insight he is sharing. I guess I only really care if I think it applies to me.

Anyway, Xander acts like he hates the baby mac and cheese. I also fed him some peas, which he has eaten before and seriously loved. Today he was rejecting them as well. So, I took a piece of the cake I had served up for myself (post lunch, thank you) and gave him a tiny taste.

He is a boy after his father's own heart. He was on cloud 9. I gave him another small taste. Happy as could be. Then I gave him a bite of his peas.

I kid you not, he CRIED.

I fed him more cake and he was happy again.

More peas. Tears.

More cake. Joy.

Peas. Sadness.

Cake. Love.

So finally I quit and decided he must not be that hungry because Matt walked past the kitchen door and Xander tried climbing out of his seat because he wanted Daddy. I think we got through about half a tub of peas.

The girls, by the way, are in love with the cake as well.

Chocolate Cake.

I think next time I need to add half cream cheese and half sour cream. The frosting isn't as fudgy as I wanted and it's a little sour still, I'm hoping that by cutting it with cream cheese it might thicken it up and add some more creamy and less sour. It's good, but I don't know how into the twang I am. I might just be disappointed because I wanted more fudge than the recipe wound up giving me.