A special afternoon

The 60th birthday tea for my friend Kathi was wonderful. She's a very sharp lady, and in the past has caught on to almost any surprise someone plans for her. This time we pulled it off. She didn't have a clue. When she walked toward the end of the tea room, we opened the door to our private room and shouted "Surprise!", followed by a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday". She was overwhelmed. She put her hands over her mouth and started to cry. As each of us hugged her the tears streamed down her face. As it turns out she'd started feeling very "down" about being 60, and this definitely made it better.

The tea was wonderful. I can't remember what kind they said it was - I know there was a flower as one of the ingredients - very unusual but very tasty. We ate a salad made from the freshest greens you can imagine, garnished beautifully with cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and colorful little "crunches" in gold and red. A small cluster of green grapes set in one corner, and two slices of the most marvelous sweet tea bread. My friend Liz, one of our gourmet cooks, said she thought it was Sally Lunn bread. After the salad came the cake - the most incredible cake I've ever had. Slices big enough for a whole meal. It was "Red Velvet" cake, obviously made with the best chocolate available. Just a hint of coffee in the mocha frosting. As they placed each huge slice on the plate they covered the bottom part of the slice - we thought that was VERY clever - with whipped cream flavored with white chocolate, then garnished with a huge, perfect strawberry. I can close my eyes and picture it now - oops! - I'm in danger of drooling all over the keyboard. I've never tasted cake so incredibly rich and moist. I came home and searched through my cookbooks for a recipe, but was unsuccessful. Time for a web hunt I think.

Special times with special friends are the best!