Tomorrow is Klara’s first birthday party! Fifteen adults and 8 kids are coming over. Of course, there’s no chance I could cook for such a crowd. I came up with a brilliant idea instead: I ordered a bunch of Indian food in buffet trays at the restaurant. Everybody will be happy because they all love this food. Kids are getting all sorts of kid snacks.

It’s summer here, and everybody will get to spend a lot of time outside. There will be games for kids and marshmallow roasting. I always thought American marshmallows were garbage but it turned out they are not to be eaten raw. When you roast them, they become amazing. Our marshmallows are sold ready-to-eat, so I never thought one needed to cook them. 

18 responses to “1st Birthday ”

  1. Dreidel Avatar
    Dreidel

    A very Happy Birthday to your beautiful little American citizen!

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      Thank you! She is such a treasure.

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  2. Evelina Anville Avatar
    Evelina Anville

    Happy Birthday to Klara! (And I agree: toasted marshmallows are amazing. We have a gas stove and I stick them on a fork and toast them on the burner. I love them.) 🙂

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  3. cliff arroyo Avatar

    “Of course, there’s no chance I could cook for such a crowd”

    And you call yourself Ukrainian? hrmmmphh!

    Happy Birthday to Klara!

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      It’s precisely because of Klara. I have to follow her around the house all the time. She moves very fast. I can read while I do that but not much else.

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  4. Shakti Avatar
    Shakti

    Happy 1st birthday to Klara! Enjoy your smash cake!

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      Everybody is shocked when I tell them Klara will not be eating her Birthday cakes (there are two, chocolate bomb and tiramisu. Plus, gulab jamun). But she’s one. The last thing she needs is a chocolate bomb.

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      1. Shakti Avatar
        Shakti

        Smash cakes aren’t really for eating; they’re so she can destroy the cake (if she wants) after blowing out the candle.
        Chocolate bomb, tiramisu & gulab jamun? N must be in sugar heaven!

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        1. Clarissa Avatar

          Shit, why didn’t I know about smash cakes? She’d love that.

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        2. Dreidel Avatar
          Dreidel

          Isn’t ANY cake a “smash cake” to a baby? (Wouldn’t you want it to be edible, anyway, in case the kid put her fingers in her mouth after the smashing?)

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  5. Vic Crain Avatar

    A very happy first birthday to Klara and to her equally excited mother! Now, about marshmallows: a “rite of passage” is the smore (yes, that is the correct spelling, a slang contraction for “may I have some more, please.”) It’s a graham cracker sandwich made up of two squares of graham cracker, a square of Hershey chocolate, and a marshmallow, wrapped in tin foil and roasted over an open flame. One can roast the marshmallow and then put the sandwich together without heating the rest, as a backup. By the way, in summer, hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill are the easy way to feed a mob. However, I didn’t think it was that warm there yet.

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  6. Z Avatar

    Happy birthday!

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  7. Stringer Bell Avatar
    Stringer Bell

    How did it go?

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      It hasn’t started yet. We are preparing.

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  8. Socal dendrite Avatar
    Socal dendrite

    Happy happy birthday to Klara! Will you believe me if I tell you the next year will be even more fun with her than the last? 🙂

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      It’s hard to believe but I’m sure you are right. 🙂

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  9. Pen Avatar

    Happy Birthday to Klara!

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