Strawberry Lime Bundt Cake

My hands are tan.  The tops at least…the palms are pinkish/orange (my carrot intake might be a touch out of control…again).  They don’t look like my hands.  Honestly, I think they look dirty…I am just so darn used to them being pale.  My mind is weird.  I can see the million tiny crevices and lines much easier now and they don’t seem sooo veiny right now.  The skin on my knuckles are more reddish than tan…perhaps brick red?  My scar on my left hand near my thumb, right at the wrist…the exact spot where your hand would hit the top oven coil if you were pulling a tray of cookies from the oven…that scar is almost invisible – blending nicely with the tan.  And by most accounts…I am still pretty pale.

My hair is lightening up…nothing like it was when I was a little tike (see below)…but definetly blonder…especially the baby fine hair around my temples.  I love the effect that  warm sunshine has on my hair.  P.S  … I was not a photogenic child.  There are a few hundred photos of me, in my parents hutch, of me …with that same exact face…

Freckles across my nose and cheeks have popped and are in full bloom.  They make me look younger than I am.  No matter the amount of sunblock will stop the freckles from sprouting….Freckles have had a permanent residence on my face from spring to fall since I was a child.  I welcome them with open arms…I enjoy seeing them when I glance in the mirror, always a bit of a surprise that first week or so of spring.  I wonder if there will be a summer where they won’t show up…most adults don’t have freckles.  Or maybe they are just wearing makeup, hiding the little guys.

Iced coffee is becoming my morning ritual.  It has thrown the barista at the hospital’s coffee cart for a loop.  Nate now asks if I want it hot or cold…he is a quick learner.  For some reason, iced coffee needs a touch of cream.  Why?  Hot coffee is taken black.  Iced…I need cream.  It is something I don’t understand.  But Nate knows to give me the room for cream when I drink it iced.  He is this good with the entire hospital staff and our insane coffee addiction.

Popsicles have found their way into my fridge.  I bought a mixed box (strawberry, lime, and wild berry) and a coconut/banana box yesterday.  I devoured a lime one on the short car ride home.  I couldn’t wait.  It is a childhood habit.  Remember those Good Humor Strawberry Crunch bars…those were our favorite.  I have switched to all-natural, real fruit, popsicles…but the feeling of summer in the air is the same.  I am thinking of sticking one in my gin and tonic tonight.

I guess what I am saying is that summer has entered into my little world and is letting istelf be known.  Hi.  Welcome. I’ve been expecting you.  Stay awhile.  Warm my skin, lighten my hair,  and brighten my days.

I have been craving lime for weeks now.  The almost nightly gin and tonics with a squeeze of lime have been hitting the spot as of late, but I want more.  I want to put it in everything I cook and bake.  A squeeze here, some zest there…So, when I saw that Joy had whipped up a lime and berry bundt cake…I knew it would be recreated in my kitchen, sooner or later…or sooner rather than later.  I swapped mixed berries for strawberries and added a lime glaze to make it really limey…and ladled roasted strawberries over each individual slice – a total must!  Roasted strawberries in general are a total must, but that is for another blog post…

Not a lime fan?  Swap it for lemon.  Only have raspberries?  Ok.  No bigs.  Make it your own and enjoy it in the late evening with perhaps another gin and tonic.  Eat it as the sun is setting and the shadows are getting longer and the air begins to cool.  Enjoy it as you relax on your patio and smile as you hear the squeals and laughter of the kids next door as they play late into the evening.  Eat it as you sit and listen to baseball on the radio like your grandparents did…  Eat it as you welcome summer…

Adapted from Joy the Baker