Your brother-in-law Tom loves Kahlua. Your husband is a fan of Amaretto, and your best friend can’t do without her Jamaican Rum. I created this cake so you could personalize it with a heaping helping of their favorite tipple. The liqueur infuses the cake and frosting with added moistness and a subtle “je ne sais quoi.” It’s perfect for special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, and holiday parties. Or if you’ve had a really, really bad day, you can just make a cake for yourself.

Buttons is still too wary of the trap to take the bait.

Buttons Update
Those of you who have been following my blog know that I’ve been feeding and caring for Buttons, a street cat who lives in the alley behind my apartment, for the past year. Since he “talks” to me and occasionally even touches my hand with his paw from behind the safety of the grate under which he lives, I don’t believe he is feral. He may have been lost or abandoned.

In any event, for the past few weeks, I’ve been trying – unsuccessfully – to trap Buttons, as you can see from the photo. I just can’t bear the thought of this sweet cat spending another winter outside in the freezing cold. Once I catch Buttons, he’s going to the vet to get neutered, checked out, de-flea-ed and bathed. And then, he will stay with us for awhile [even though we have zero room!]. I’ll see if I can re-socialize him and teach him somehow to trust humans again. Then we’ll try to find him a loving, forever home. But first things first. I still need to catch Buttons – and he is terribly suspicious of the trap. Please send me good thoughts and any suggestions.

Most of you already know that Pablo is also a former street kitten, who also lived under the grate with Buttons before I trapped him. I used to think Buttons was Pablo’s mamma, but since I didn’t see any kittens hanging ’round this year, I think Buttons is a boy. We’ll see.

Related posts:

1. xmas recap and buttons update
2. look, look! more from the book

SERVES: 4
CALORIES/SERVING: 59
WW POINTS PER SERVING: 1
PREPARATION TIME: 10 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 10 MINUTES

• 450g (1lb) carrots, coarsely grated
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 small green chillies, sliced
• pinch of stock powder
• 1 tsp cumin seed
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• zest and juice of 1 lime

1 Using the coarse side of a cheese grater, grate the carrot into a large mixing bowl. Add the onion along with the remaining ingredients and mix well.
2 Preheat a wok or non-stick deep-sided frying pan. Add the carrot mixture and cook quickly over a high heat for 5-6 minutes, tossing well.
3 Serve hot as a vegetable accompaniment or cold as a spicy salad.

Related posts:

1. Weight Watchers Recipes: Garlic mushrooms
2. Weight Watchers Recipes: Lamb chasseur
3. Weight Watchers Recipes: Chicken Cacciatore