Anything but frigid...

Since being on my own and making my own money for the last 14 years, I'd buy whatever I wanted or needed when I wanted or needed it.  I didn't wait for the winter holidays or my birthday for family & friends to get me things.  My best friend has even said that it's hard shopping for me because I seem to have everything that I want or need.  And for me, material things are unnecessary...to be loved & appreciated are all that I ask of my family & friends.  To add to that, I consider myself a simple & low-maintenance person in that I don't require a lot of things.  I've gotten only one mani & pedi in my life (and yeah, I'm a girly girl though ;-P).  I've never owned a smartphone and barely got into texting the earlier part of last year.  I want a sports car but will instead buy the practical car.  The list goes on. 

With that said, today I was surprised...not once but twice.  My contract with the current clinic site ended today (insert huge sad face!).  I was not expecting anything but a 'normal' clinic day when I went in to work.  I had bought a small gift as a token of thanks for my clinical preceptor, Dr. R.  But Dr. R had other plans. ;-)  We were working ENT clinic so no patients specifically for audiology were scheduled.  There was a lull, and Dr. R says "I want to show you something" so I follow her to the staff lounge.  I see a cake on the table which I recognized as a mocha chocolate icebox cake, and I was excited to see that Dr. R had made it.  You see, I've turned into a Food Network junkie in the past few months and saw two different cooking shows with a recipe for an icebox cake.  I thought it was really neat to make a cake without even baking it in the oven!  And as a full-time grad student, I'm always looking for an easier means to make delicious food.  Anywho, I had never heard of an icebox cake and then found it interesting to see two different recipes for it on TV in the span of like a month.  Dr. R and I lunched together just about every day that we were at clinic together.  So we'd chat about a lot of topics. Yes, non-audiological stuff like cooking. :-)  I asked her if she had ever made an icebox cake, and she told me that she hadn't.  So I e-mailed her the recipe for the mocha chocolate icebox cake that I saw Ina Garten make on her cooking show, "Barefoot Contessa".  This recipe calls for a springform pan which I did not own at the time.  I had asked Santa (uh, my parents ;-P) in May for a springform pan, a mini muffin pan, and cookie cutters.  Those were items that I didn't have but didn't exactly need, so I knew I could continue living without them.  But if Santa needed a hint or two on what to get me, I had a little list ready.  Well, it turns out that Christmas came early for me since Santa got me the requested items in June. 

Apparently Christmas for me spilled over into July. :-)  Dr. R didn't bring in the mocha chocolate icebox cake just to show me that she had made it.  She had made the cake specifically for me for my last day of clinic!  In addition, the springform pan she used to make the icebox cake was also for me!  This springform pan is especially spiffy because it has a glass bottom.  I was floored.  I rarely get surprised, and it happened twice today.  Plus refer to the previous blog entry regarding my surprise last week of an Edible Arrangements fresh fruit bouquet.  I am spoiled and blessed!  My oh my.

Pictured is the superb chef AND superb doctor of audiology.  She was about to start cutting us a slice of cake when I shouted for her to stop as I ran back to the office to grab my cell phone to take pictures. 

Here's a shot of the inside of the cake.  You can see the layers. 

The recipe calls for thin, hard chocolate chip cookies.  I'm so glad that Dr. R told me she used chocolate Teddy Grahams.  Otherwise I would have been freaked out to see a tiny face looking up at me while I was eating.  Can you see a smiling Teddy Graham head in the picture below?

If you're not familiar with a springform pan, below is a picture of a cheesecake made with this pan and you can see the glass bottom.  This is the awesome pan that I now own! :-)

Thank you so much to Dr. R for her thoughtfulness and kindness!  Not just today but for the past four months.  It's really special to find someone you click with on a professional AND personal level.  I'm honored to call her a friend.  I'll miss working with her and seeing pediatric patients 100% of the time.  But as the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end".  And as another saying goes, "when one door closes, another door opens".  It was a rough time in my life for awhile there (refer to the 24 May 2011 "See no evil, Hear no evil..." blog entry if needed), but thankfully my life has been anything but frigid lately. :-)

I'm "Hear 4 U Always"...and happy as a clam.  Oo - clams...maybe I'll try a recipe with those next like linguine with white clam sauce.  Yum.  And if you're wanting the mocha chocolate icebox cake recipe, go to  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mocha-chocolate-icebox-cake-recipe/index.html.  You have gotta try that recipe.  The cake is soooo good.  It tastes like tiramisu.  Bon appetit!  Take care of your ears and your tummy.