Recently my husband celebrated his 46th birthday. Recovering from knee surgery, he was grumpy and not much into going anywhere to celebrate his middle age. When I asked him what would make the day special, he told me, "Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake." His now-deceased mom used to make it for him as a child.
Ummmm...what? I don't think we ate that in Connecticut. Nosiree.
But hey, you know me, I'm all over food and family history stories and memories. So I pawed through his mom's cookbooks and found the recipe in an old New Jersey church lady cookbook. Later I discovered I could have also found it on the internet, but nevermind. There's something about that connected and nurturing feeling I get using an old cookbook smeared with bits of unidentifiable food from a loved one's past that makes me high.
Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake is a spice cake made with cinnamon, nutmeg, and oatmeal in the batter. It's topped with a broiled coconut and walnut frosting. It's simple to make. The only thing I changed was that I used butter instead of margarine. Margarine will never find its way into my cooking. Ick.
I don't know about others, but there comes a point in my life when I have everything I need so a birthday gift of jewelry or trinkets just doesn't excite me. Make a special meal, though, and I'm in grateful tears. My husband is the same way (minus the grateful tears lest he appear too girly). I know that eating his mom's Lazy Daisy Oatmeal cake was all he really needed this year.
I'm grateful to be with a guy who feels as I do: there's more to food than fuel for the body. It's a pure and evocative expression of love.
Ann Zuccardy, Vermont Shortbread Company President and Lazy Daisy Crazy Baker
