In Case of Mental Breakdown, Eat Cake.

I could tell you about the other night, when I was peeling carrots for a stir fry that I would make the next day, but all I could think about was turning them into carrot cake.  I could also tell you about how, late that night, I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking I should go rescue the carrots from the container of other veggies, lest they start to taste like an onion.  I could tell you about how I thought about carrot cake all day long, and stopped at the grocery store to buy all the ingredients on my way home.   Then there's the part where I got home, and the kids both screamed for 2 hours straight, no matter what I did.  I could also tell you that I even tried to bribe them with chocolate, but it didn't work.  I should tell you that at one point, after realizing that I wasn't going to cure their crabbiness, I said, "I'm leaving!" and walked from the living room to their bedroom to get away from the noise.  I should mention that Hadley ran in sobbing, "Don't leave us mommy, please!" and now I'm sure I've created abandonment issues.  The next thing you should know, is that carrot cake saved the night.  I decided to head to the kitchen, turn on the food processor, and grate about 60 baby carrots, with the intention of the noisy food processor drowning out the screaming and whining of the kids.  I might mention that it completely worked, and the noise distracted them to the point that they forgot they were crabby, and life became 30,000 times better. 

But I won't tell you about all that nonsense, because for the sake of this story, there are only three things you need to know about that night:

1.  The kids were monsters.

2.  I made carrot cake.

3.  The world was right again.  

In case you run into your own cranky-whiney-child-parenting-nightmare, I want you to be prepared.  To make the carrot cake, follow this recipe.  Be ready, it's not a wimpy spice cake with a few carrots mixed in.  A slice of this cake is like a meal in and of itself.  I've tried many carrot cake recipes, but this is my favorite.   I use pecans instead of walnuts, about 1/2 cup extra carrots, and bake in three layers for 25 minutes each.  Also, I subbed part whole wheat flour (1 cup) and half apple sauce for the oil.  For the frosting, I typically use a basic cream cheese frosting (you will need 1.5 batches if you are going to frost the sides), but whipped cream cheese frosting is a nice lighter (in texture) option.   The cake always tastes better the second day, but make sure you take it out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before serving.  

Enough with the details about the recipe, because there are really only three things you need to know about this cake:

1.  It's delicious.

2. It is a completely legitimate breakfast food.

3.  Two cakes are better than one. 

In case you don't like carrot cake (weirdo), here is one more way to cure the crabby kid blues:

Bonus points: What did this post have to do with naked mole rats?  If you don't know, then you need to be introduced to Mo Willems.  Our favorites are here and here.