A visit trimmed in sweets ...

My friend Donna promised to deliver a Mandarin Orange Cake after our baby was born. She called yesterday to see when we would like to have it. Because she had the afternoon free, I invited her to come over to my home. I enjoyed watching her create her specialty and we both enjoyed the opportunity to chat.

Donna is from Alabama and so has many recipes in her memory and on her cookbook shelf that I have never seen. I intend to swipe her favorite cookbook soon -- the collection of recipes compiled by employees and customers of her former bank, sold in a cookbook to raise funds for Relay for Life.

I think I will try the from-scratch Red Velvet Cake recipe first.