hummingbird cake: birthday edition.

(Pictures coming soon ... actually that's a lie, we finished the cake off yesterday. Oops, sorry!)

My birthday was in January. My roommates made me a cake ... it's tradition, we've talked about this.

First we went out to Jose Tejas for a belated birthday dinner. The wait was pretty long, as they don't take reservations (why), but it was soo worth it. Their food? Very good. I recommend the swordfish tacos veracruz, with fresh mango salsa and grilled avocado. I also recommend at least one margarita, preferably strawberry. Delicious and dangerous if taken on an empty stomach. 

The very fun night ended with us chilling till late, talking and joking around while picking out of this cake, in traditional fashion. 

That was all Friday ... now it's Wednesday. Andrea and I chunked the cake today after a bus ride that eliminated any ideas of personal space and four totally unnecessary hours of biochemistry. Food therapy never fails.

Then my aunt visited, from her trip to the city, with rice pudding from Pera! It was fabulous! You could taste the cream and sugar, with some of the rice grains still retaining their crunch while others had totally absorbed all the liquid and formed a nice base. Pera is a high class mediterranean place in the city ... gotta love Restaurant Week. 

Her and I actually went earlier for my birthday dinner to Restaurant Week, as well ... that's another story. 

You're here for the cake, aren't you? It was absolutely delicious. Hummingbird cake is made with mashed banana, crushed pineapple, and pecans. The two layers are sandwiched and covered with cream cheese frosting. 

It was beautiful. There were some bigger chunks of banana, which I originally thought I'd dislike, but they're so good! They trick you into thinking you're eating the frosting, because come on, that's everyone's favorite part. I am also a huge fan of crushed pineapple in things. 

I would highly recommend this for a birthday. Or a get together. Or if you're meeting a friend you haven't seen since freshman year, and you both really just want to chill and eat ice cream cake, but all the stores are closed, so you eat a ton of cake instead. 

I have been baking recently (dabbling with bourbon and browned butter), but between stressing over preparing my med school app, preparing for Dance Marathon (2 MONTHS LEFT), school, and salvaging my social life (just kidding! sorta), I haven't had time. Also, I forget how to blog. Sad days. 

I'm hoping for this post to change that! Here's to more blogposts in 2013!