cream: get on top

cream, originally uploaded by sarahlpearse.

Today I experienced true generosity on my little block. I was baking the dessert for tonight, a truly divine chocolate torte from epicurious. It is one of the most reviewed recipes on the site, check it out at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/104512 to hear 190 at home chefs express their undying love and affection for this recipe. Aimee made this recipe for her birthday last year--gotta love a girl who bakes for her own birthday--if I were her fortune cookie I would say: "those who bake for own birthday are truly generous friends...in bed". Anyway, this dessert is quite time-consuming to create, so I had to start at 7 am this morning, and I still didn't get to work until 10:30.

After baking the first layer of the torte--a fudgy choclate cake (by the way, I used my recently purchased Scharffen Berger chocolate. Chopping it gave me a little high)---I was onto the mousse layer. Skilled in the art of french cooking, I was whipping the mousse base with a french flair, singing "Aux Champs-Elysees" to myself when I came to the realization that I didn't have one of the crucial ingredients--heavy cream. Standing in my kitchen, in my pajamas, with wet hair, whisking butter furiously over a double-burner, I realized that running to the store was going to put a serious cramp in my baking.

Then-a thought occurred. Javavito, the new "old school" coffee house across the street would surely provide cream to its patrons. And surely, if I wandered in braless and with wet hair, they would not be able to refuse me one scant cup? This was an exercise in trust. I felt as though Javavito was my neighbor, and that wandering over with a measuring cup, I could forge a bond with this new retailer. I was excited at the prospect of not having to drive to the store, and exhilarated by the fact that I wasn't sure what they would say to me or what they would charge me.

Our story ends well---a kind man sold me an iced coffee for 1.63 and an "additional item" (that's how it rung up) for $.50. I got two cups of heavy cream for $.50 and returned home, hair a bit dryer at this point, to finish the dessert.

So-cream, you're on top today. And so are you JavaVito. You made my day.