I was a little foggy Saturday morning admittedly. I was out the night before with all the young ’uns and some of the old ones (like me) from work saying goodbye to our photo intern Dan Little. And maybe I should not have had that shot of tequila toasting Dan Little. Shots are for the young. When will I ever learn?

Well, anyway, I had big cooking plans for Saturday morning. I planned on making two shortcakes for strawberry shortcake for two gatherings. I thought I had all the ingredients. But I was short on butter, and the baking powder was on the old side. Trip one to the store. I bought butter and what I thought to be baking powder. LET THIS BE A WARNING. The baking soda is packaged in a little can just like the baking powder. Something I didn’t realize until after the shortcake, yes the doubled recipe, was in the oven made with baking soda.

I don’t know why it didn’t dawn on me before that point, but it didn’t. I was very disgruntled at the Davises (baking powder makers) for doing this to me. I looked at the baking soda can and it was clearly marked. But it is in the same little can.

The messed-up shortcake looked beautiful when it came out of the oven, nicely browned and fluffy. I thought maybe it would be OK. I tasted it. Not good. Into the trash it went. Dang.

I went back to the store for more baking powder. And made another doubled recipe of shortcake. Thankfully it came out just fine and strawberry shortcake was enjoyed by all.

Lessons learned: Don’t do shots of tequila with the young ones and be sure to READ THE LABEL!

— LUCY

Now you know why I keep Davis baking powder and Arm & Hammer baking soda.

No possibility of confusing the two, they look totally different.

And as for the shots of tequila, I have never done such a thing. But then again, there was that going-away party, like the one you attended, where we all killed a very expensive bottle of cognac, and the other time when we did a fair number on Tito’s vodka straight from the freezer.

But other then those two times, and maybe some I don’t remember, or choose not to remember, I never do shots anymore.

Forget the baking powder and baking soda, you can get quite baked doing shots.

Maybe you should have used the tequila in your shortcakes.

P.S. In no way am I advocating the abuse of alcohol.

— LOU