I had a wonderful plan for dinner last night.  I had some chicken kebobs all put together and ready to be thrown on the grill when I got home.  I wanted to make the Blueberry and Strawberry Buttermilk Cake that was posted on Pinch My Salt (thanks Nicole!) as a perfect summer dessert.  I figured I’d pick some greens from my little container garden so we’d have a salad.  It was a beautiful plan.

That’s when reality stepped in.  After visiting a bit with my husband, I was ready to set the plan in motion.  I went outstide to turn on the grill so it could heat while I prepared the batter for the cake.  And, you guessed it, it wouldn’t light.  I think I may have inadvertantly left the gas turned on a tiny bit so there wasn’t any.  I fruitlessly pressed the ignition button several times…nothing.  Grrrr.

Okay…now what’s for dinner?  I didn’t want to try grilling the kebobs indoors…they really cried out for a real grill.  Hmmm.  Well, I figured we could still have the planned dessert.  I put together the batter while thinking about what else to make.  It’s a lovely, simple recipe and the batter came together easily.  I put it into a square pan (rather than the round pan suggested) and popped it into the oven.

Meanwhile, I had figured out an alternate entree.  I had some skinless/boneless chicken thighs in the frig waiting for an idea.  I quickly lined a quarter sheet pan with a couple of layers of aluminum foil and layed out the thighs.  A liberal sprinkling of salt, some pepper and lavish paprika.  Then I dotted each with a dab of butter.  I placed the pan under the broiler for about 5-6 minutes.

During this lull I contemplated side dishes.  I popped out to the “garden” (I have a tiny yard with a bunch of containers holding tomato, cucumber, pepper, butternut squash, lettuces and herbs) and picked some lettuce and a nice little cucumber.  Okay, salad taken care of!  Then I remembered two things:  1) I had some cooked rice that I had frozen in the freezer (Mark Bittman had a great article on freezing stuff) and 2) I “forgot” to put the berries on top of the cake.  Yes, that’s right, the berry cake was berry-less.

I checked the cake (it had been baking for about 15 minutes) and it was still very soft so I went ahead and put the berries on top and kind of smooshed them down a little with my hand.  This is what comes of reading a recipe too fast…you might miss a thing or two.  Back in the oven it went.  Within a minute or 3, I remembered I hadn’t sprinkled with sugar…so, opened the oven, grabbed a spoonful of sugar and sprinkled.  Sheesh.

I turned the thighs, sprinkled with more salt, paprika and butter.  Back under the broiler for another few minutes.  By now I had placed the frozen rice into the microwave and it was, theoretically, defrosting.  When I opened the microwave to pull it out I learned an important lesson: don’t touch really hot, steamy stuff with your bare hand.  Boy that was hot.  I pulled the mostly defrosted rice out, sprinkled it with salt and pepper and a little olive oil, mixed it well with a fork and put it back in to heat through.

Now the cake and the chicken thighs were done and both were removed from the oven.  The cake to cool on a rack and the thighs to rest.  While the thighs rested, I made a quick oil and vinegard dressing for the salad (basically I just plated the greens and some cucumber slices, applied a little salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil and a touch of cider vinegar.  Then I sliced the thighs cross-wise and added that and the rice to the plate.  While the cake cooled, I served up our little dinner.  I briefly explained the whole plan snafu thing to my husband and, after tasting the thighs, said that my “alternate plan was better than most people’s plan.”  He’s a keeper.

Once dinner was finished, the cake was cooled.  I dished each of us a piece and garnished with whipped cream (have I mentioned that I keep a nitrogen charged canister with cream at the ready in my refrigerator?).  The cake was delightful.  The berries had only sunk in a bit but that was actually fine.  The late addition of sugar created a nice little patina on the top.  My husband’s verdict?  “I could eat this everyday!”