We now return to your regular programming

Thank you for all of the well-wishes for our adoption plans. I've invited everyone to the private blog except for those whose email address I am missing. But I've left a comment for those people on their blogs. So if you haven't received a blog comment or an invitation to the blog, I probably have an old email address. Just send me a new one and we'll get it all fixed up. And, of course, you're still welcome to leave a comment or send me an email if you'd like to be added to the private blog.

And now, on to other things -- cakes! One of the cultural aspects of living in Vienna that I've embraced wholeheartedly is that of consuming coffee and cake at every opportunity possible. Recently, I've found myself needing to make cakes fairly often and I'd love to try out some new recipes. This is where you come in. I hate to be a bother, but do you have any suggestions and/or recipes?

There are a few things to keep in mind when making suggestions:

1. I use the term "cake" very loosely. Basically, I'll accept anything that goes with coffee. I've made the Pioneer's Woman's apricot bars, sweet potato bread, pear bread, and cinnamon bread. Come to think of it, I usually make quick breads and not cake. I'm thinking about trying the cheesecake recipe from a friend in Germany soon. Is 9 a.m. too early for cheesecake? I don't think so.
   
2. Austrians typically don't like things as sweet as Americans. I almost always decrease the sugar a little, use a combination of white and wheat flour and add or increase the amount of oats in a recipe. Cakes like a traditional coffee cake with crumb topping would probably be too sweet for this crowd.
3. It needs to travel well since I usually make it at home and take it somewhere. If it freezes well, that's a plus.
   
4. It's summertime, so I need some good summer recipes. All of the recipes I've used so far are very fall-ish.

Wow, that's kind of a lot to keep in mind. But I hope you won't let me down. If you don't have a recipe, just let me know what you like to munch on with your coffee -- especially in warm weather. Or are Europeans the only ones who drink coffee in the warm weather? Sometimes it's hard to remember these types of things.