*sigh* I’m one week post-surgery and I’m bored silly. Actually, bored silly may be a bit more fun than what I really am: bored-bored. I should be grateful. I’m sleeping again and my pain is under control. Paul is taking very good care of me and has the patience of a zen-master. Since the surgery, I’m only allowed to get up to use the restroom (no baking!). I see my orthopedic surgeon for my first post-surgical follow-up appointment tomorrow. I hope all goes well, the x-rays show I’m healing nicely, and my orthopedist allows more moving around.
I baked this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Lemon Loaf Cake, the morning of the day I broke my patella. As it was a busy weekend and Paul was leaving for a week-long business trip, I stuck it in the freezer for a later date.
Yesterday we took it out of the freezer and enjoyed the lemon cake for dessert. Perfect timing for a time when times are strange in our house–we were surprisingly out of treats to eat.
I made 1/2 recipe in a full recipe size pan so it baked up low and dense. I also used my homemade rough and tumble vanilla sugar in place of regular sugar. We liked the lemon flavor and thought it was a nice little cake to enjoy with tea. It’s not a stop-the-presses! type of recipe which lemon desserts have high-potential to achieve, so I probably won’t make it again.
You can find the Lemon Loaf Cake recipe in the book we’re all slowly baking through, Baking with Julia, or on the blogs of the hosts for this week: Truc of Treats and Michelle of The Beauty of Life.
Pink Stripes 
I hope things go well with your appointment! Not being able to move around at all would drive me completely crazy in short order.
I hope all goes well, too! I agree about this recipe, not stopping the presses, but it was fun to try.
I love the look and texture of your loaf. I’m glad your surgery went well and even though you have been bored it sounds like you have been heeding your doctor’s advice and taking it easy. I hope all goes well with your appointment.
Hope the healing goes quickly. I agree the cake is ok but not fantastic.
Love the look of your cake with the vanilla specks. I would go crazy being “down” that long. I recently had to stay flat in bed for 24 hours and just that was horrible! Hope you’re cleared for more than trips to the bathroom tomorrow! 😉
Awww, keep recovering. There is nothing worse than being able to do nothing for an extended period of time.
Yes, this was a nice cake; but she probably wouldn’t get the highest bid at an auction 🙂
Please get well soon!! You poor thing.. hope its not too painful. I agree the recipe was underwhelming…it needed something to make it more lemony to be lemon loaf it claimed to be!!
I hope you continue healing – being laid up is no fun at all! I think most folks agreed that it needed more ooomph. I glazed mine, otherwise I don’t think I would’ve bothered finishing it off. (Nah, who am I kidding – I totally would’ve finished it off. Just with ice cream or something.)
Hope you get better soon!! The cake was good right? Just not GOOOOOOOOOOD
Are those little speckles of vanilla?! Love it! We enjoyed the cake, too, but I agree that it wasn’t a show-stopper. Get better soon!!
I’m glad you’re doing better but sorry you’re bored 😦 That part of post-surgery does suck. Your loaf looks beautiful, though! 😀
I hope you get the all-clear to get back on your feet soon. I thought this was good, but not anything I’d rush to make again. I’m on a lemon curd kick now though!
glad you are doing better. Your cake looks good but like you, I probably won’t be baking this again.
oh, no! I hope you heal quickly! your cake looks great. How do you get so many vanilla flecks into your sugar? I just keep my sugar and split vanilla beans in a jar, and it smells like vanilla, but doesn’t look it.
I make my own vanilla extract.When I’ve used up all the extract, I take my vanilla beans and grind them up and then grind them up some more with the sugar. That’s how I get the specks.
🙂
I make my own too. I’m going to do that the next time I have ‘spent’ beans. Thanks! Feel better, too!
Sending lots of best wishes that you heal quickly!!! Nice that you had this loaf made in advance and ready to share with all of us. I, too, think that this cake needs “something”…there are better lemon cake recipes available with more flavor and better texture. This is definately a cake that needs dressing up. I wish you lived around the corner so I could bring you a nice dinner or help you somehow…glad your surgery went well and hope you are back to baking (and other things) soon.
Poor girl! We really enjoyed it just plain!
Ulrike @Küchenlatein
Wendy, how wonderful that Paul is taking good care of you…psst…he’s a keeper 🙂
Your cake looks great….and, I agree with you, not a keeper…NEXT TWD RECIPE PLEASE.
Take care of yourself!
~Carmen
You poor thing! No baking???? I hope you get a good report from your orthopedic surgeon~
PS…your cake looks wonderful!
I hope you got a good report from your doctor. And I agree about the cake, it was not a “stop the presses” kind of cake. 😦 But it was easy enough that I might make it again for a shortcake.
Hope your appointment went well today! it would stink to be stuck on the couch all day.
I love that I can see the lemon zest and the vanilla specks in your cake!
Beautiful!! Great work!!
So sorry about the broken patella. But I gotta say that your timing on baking that little loaf was perfecto! Hopefully you will be on the mend for Hungarian Shortbread. Something to keep your sights on when you are bored, bored, bored. I’ve been there. Always need something to look forward to. Take care.
Way to think ahead! Glad you were able to get it done and at least be able to blog while you are stuck. Get well soon! I hope you are getting caught up on tv shows, movies and ice cream. All all well deserved.
Get well soon! I liked this recipe. You’re right that it’s not a show-stopper. It’s a modest little treat that’s nice to have around. I have high hopes for the Hungarian Shortbread recipe.
From your pics it looks like that the case freezes well. I have some very dried vanilla beans and I am going to try your idea for vanilla sugar – thanks for sharing!
Hope you’re feeling better. I want to make this because it’s easy, but it doesn’t sound like something I would make on a regular basis, either.
Your post is bookmarked for when I make lemon loaf cake soon. Helpful post! Thank you dear.