Every party needs a good cake.
The fact that I had never made a cake in my life did not deter me from trying to make one on the morning of my first child s birthday. I found a recipe and blithely substituted the ingredients I had for those I did not. For white flour I used whole wheat, for butter I used sesame oil, for sugar I used nothing. The resulting concoction had all the aroma and appeal of a circle of carpet underlay. I have to admit, it made a fine placemat.