MY FIRST AND LAST MERCEDES and LEMON BLUEBERRY LOAVES

I'm not sure why this story has been on my mind lately, perhaps because it is summer, and it occurred in July, or perhaps because we are contemplating purchasing another car...hope you enjoy one of the MISadventures from the archives of The Happy Cookers!

It was a stressful time in my life. I had just purchased a restaurant as chef/owner in the midst of a busy tourist season and was struggling with the adjustment and financial strain, as well as juggling a husband, three daughters and a catering business. I was barely balancing when the ball dropped... my car developed a fatal flaw. I worried, "How was I going to manage?" On my mind especially was an important catering consult the next day for an upcoming event which was going to improve our cash flow and promote the restaurant and catering businesses.

Lo and behold, my husband to the rescue! An almost new, blueberry blue, Mercedes sedan, registered and with a full tank of gas showed up in the driveway the next day. PERFECT, I could relax, get started on all my errands, keep the all important catering appointment, and...oh no! The car had a manual transmission, stick shift; my only experience was with an automatic.

After some quick instruction, I chugged and bumped and gasped up and down hills all day until finally I arrived at the coveted appointment, hastily parked the car and briefly met with my partner before going in to inspect the hall and meet with the client.
It was a lovely location on the waterfront with boats tied up along the granite pier. All went well and we left with a hefty cash deposit to secure the event and a sense of relief. Having to buy a new car along with incurring all the unexpected expenses of operating a restaurant was wreaking havoc with our finances. Oh yes, the catering job was going to help without a doubt!

Heading back to the parking lot,I looked for my car and had a sense of foreboding when none of them looked familiar, until I remembered that I was looking for a new, blue car, NOT the old grey one... then, suddenly I saw it... hanging precariously on a rock, headed into the harbor. People had started to gather around at the curiosity. One of them hailed a crane driving by from a nearby construction site.
Before I knew what was going on, my car was being lifted from its dangerous perch and plunked down on the gravel. I was handing over the entire cash deposit to the crane driver and waiting for a tow truck to haul away the blue Mercedes.

My hasty instructions on manual transmissions did not include how to park. I had left it in neutral gear and there was a slight incline and, as they say, "the rest is history".

The car never truly recovered. The front end was realigned, but it was never the same. We had a very stormy relationship(the car and I, that is), and my husband finally got rid of it and I lived happily thereafter with a nice little BMW with an automatic transmission.

Epilogue:
A subsequent BMW had a manual transmission and I took several lessons and we coexisted nicely.

The Blue Mercedes showed up in our driveway for one repeat performance as a "loaner" when my husband's car was being fixed. He was the only driver.

The following recipe is a tea bread which became the brunch signature bread of my White Rainbow Restaurant, the blueberries a commemorative touch for the Mercedes.

LEMON BLUEBERRY LOAVES

1 cup canola oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 lemons, grated rind and juice, separated
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups blueberries, tiny wild if possible*
1/2 cup additional sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease of spray 2 loaf pans
Mix oil, eggs, lemon rind, milk, flour, baking powder and salt and 1/2 cup sugar together
Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Fold in blueberries
Pour into loaf pans and bake for 1 hour
Mix remaining lemon juice with sugar to dissolve sugar
Pour over loaves when they are still warm. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before removing from pan.

*is using frozen berries toss them with some flour