Secret Subject Swap: All the Wine

Welcome a Secret Subject Swap. This month 12 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. Read through mine and at the bottom you’ll find links to all of today’s other Secret Subject participants.

My subject is: How much wine could a stressed out mom drink if a stressed out mom could drink wine? 
It was submitted by: Not That Sarah Michelle.

Have I told you lately, Sarah, how much I love the way you think?

You'd think a riddle like this would be hard to answer, but not so much. 

All the wine.

That was a short post.

Actually, I started this blog to relieve stress. It's a way to completely engage my mind for a while and not think about whatever fresh hell my kids conjuring up that I need an emotional respite from. I also said that this is why I bake. And drink.

My mom didn't really like that I kept saying that. I'm sure she felt as though people were thinking that I drink so much I slosh when I walk. This isn't true, of course, I don't. Sometimes I eat my wine.

Berry Sangria Cake

I want to be careful here because alcoholism is a disease, a heartbreaking one. A serious one. And sometimes a fatal one. It hasn't touched my life but that doesn't mean I'm insensitive to it.

I'm not an alcoholic. I'm lucky because it means that I can use it as a crutch now and then. And I do. 

Sometimes it's just a glass with dinner. Which, if it's red and won't keep, can turn into the necessity of finishing the bottle. 

Sometimes it's just a way to unwind, even ensure I'll get to sleep quicker and sleep well.

But add kids to the equation and you've got a whole plethora of reasons. Many of which I've already written about. Like:

*The time PurDude, with his brand new learner's permit, was stopped in a turn lane waiting to turn and a police car came barreling at him full speed in PurDude's lane. The kid had no choice but to pull over into oncoming traffic.

*The time PurDude (still driving on his learner's permit) was pulled over for suspicion of robbery.

*The time PurDude called me on my birthday to tell me he broke his leg.

*The time PurDude dropped his brand new $600 cell phone into the toilet.

*The time College Boy got in trouble at school for video taping a fight. And then the next year did the exact same thing again.

*The time College Boy clogged the toilet, left the house and texted me at the grocery store to tell me the toilet was clogged.

*The time College Boy decided to turn the space behind his dresser into a trash dump.

*The time College Boy lit my car on fire.

Need I go on? I could . . . 

So to answer the original question, How much wine could a stressed out mom drink if a stressed out mom could drink wine? I'm staying with my original answer. And yes, I speak from experience. All the wine.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup and check them all out. See you there:
 Southern Belle Charm
Not That Sarah Michelle
Spatulas on Parade 
The Bergham Chronicles 
The Diary of an Alzheimer's Caregiver 
Dinosaur Superhero Mommy 
My Brain on Kids  
The Lieber Family Blog 
The Angrivated Mom 
Confessions of a part time working mom 
Climaxed 

Berry Sangria Cake

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 (3 oz) box strawberry creme or vanilla instant pudding mix
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder

 8 oz mixed berries of your choice, rinse and pat dry
1 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP cornstarch 
3 TBSP red wine

 4 oz raspberries

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp raspberry or strawberry extract
3 TBSP powdered sugar
1 TBSP red wine

  Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 X 13 baking pan.
*Beat the butter with the sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, milk and vanilla, then lastly the flour, pudding mix, salt and baking powder.
*Spread evenly into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center springs back to the touch. Allow to cool completely.
*While the cake is baking, place the 8 oz of mixed berries in a pan on the stove with 1 TBSP sugar and 1 TBSP red wine. Use a whisk to stir and to break down the berries while heating on medium high. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil for one minute, then lower the heat to low.
*Mix the cornstarch with 1 TBSP cold wine. Whisk into the berry mixture and continue whisking for one minute. Remove from heat. Mix in the 1 TBSP of wine. Push through a strainer, discarding the seeds. Allow to cool completely.
*Rinse the raspberries and pat dry. Count them. Using a thick utensil, like the back of a wooden spoon, poke as many holes in the cake as you have raspberries. Be sure not to poke all the way to the bottom of the baking pan. Push a raspberry down into each hole.
*Using a smaller utensil, like a chopstick, poke about 20 to 30 small holes in the cake around the raspberries.
*Slowly pour the wine and fruit mixture over the cake and, using a spatula, manipulate the liquid into the holes. Place in the fridge while making the topping.
*Beat cream until soft peaks form. Beat in the extract and powdered sugar and wine. Continue beating until firm peaks hold.
*Frost cake. Cover and store in refrigerator.