Column from March 18, 2010

The wearing of the green

I’m pretty excited about visiting The Old Hotel Café here in Othello this weekend. Alicia Gonzalez, the proprietress, will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with wonderful decorations, including pretty green lights.

Alicia really likes decorating for the holidays and I always look forward to seeing what she’s done. In fact, after the green lights come down, she will be fixing up the café for Easter. That should be lots of fun, too.

I realize St. Patrick’s Day is past, but because it falls in the middle of the week this year, it can easily be extended into the weekend.

I do have a little Irish in me – well, Scots-Irish, which is close enough. Although I don’t wear a lot of green, for this one day a year I tend to put on something, even if it’s just a little pin. I used to tell people my eyes are green, so I thought I was covered, but everyone tells me that doesn’t count.

Now, I do wear blue regularly, which was the original color associated with St. Patrick. The color changed to green early in the 17^th century because St. Patrick was said to have used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish.

In 1798, in hopes of making a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on March 17 to catch people’s attention. The phrase “the wearing of the green,” meaning to wear a shamrock on one’s clothing, derives from the song of the same name.

I suppose that means Alicia could use blue lights if she runs out of green, but they wouldn’t match the special green dessert she’s planning to make for this weekend’s guests at her café. She was kind enough to share it with my readers, too, so I hope you enjoy it. I think it sounds really good.

Be sure to stop by The Old Hotel Café at 33 East Larch if you’re out and about. It’s open for breakfast and lunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Festive Bavarian bites

1 box (18.25 ounces) devil’s food cake mix

2 packages (3 ounces each) lime gelatin mix

4 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese, at room temperature

12-ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Divide batter evenly between two greased and floured 11-by-15 jelly roll pans, spreading with spatula to cover pans evenly. Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Let cool completely.

In bowl, combine gelatin mix and 1-2/3 cups boiling water. Stir two minutes or until gelatin is completely dissolved. Set aside.

In food processor, puree cream cheese one minute until smooth; scrape down sides of bowl. Stir in gelatin mixture. Puree one minute.

Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in 4 cups whipped topping. Divide mixture evenly and spread on the two cakes. Chill 15 minutes.

Place one filling-topped cake on the second cake layer. Spread remaining whipped topping evenly on top. Cut into squares. Garnish each square with chocolate curls and mint, if desired.

Another version, which Alicia plans to serve for Easter, features cranberry gelatin. Decorate this cake with frozen cranberries rolled in sugar.

There are many ways to create a favorite cake with this recipe. Try using lemon cake with pineapple gelatin or fudge marble cake with orange filling.