The Jealous Crumpet

A sweet little blog


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Happy Epiphany: Let Them Eat Cake!

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Today is the day that the three wise men FINALLY showed up to bring baby Jesus some sweet swag. In various parts of the world this is celebrated by eating a cake that has a trinket baked inside of it. The person that finds the trinket, without eating/choking on it, is dubbed king, given a paper crown and a year’s worth of bragging rights.

This year I spent Christmas in France with my husband and in-laws so so we celebrated Epiphany a bit early with Galette des rois (King Cake).

The french version of King Cake is lovely, with a buttery, flakey phyllo housing   sweet frangipane. The trinket or fève is of a nicer caliber than the misshapen plastic Jesus that typically adorns the American versions and can come in a variety of shapes and themes.

My mother-in-law has collected fèves most of her life and has a impressive collection tucked away in a coffee tin. Over the years people have added to her collection and she now has hundreds of miniatures.  There are nativity sets, Disney Characters, monuments, barn yard animals, 1920’s actors, books, etc. I love looking at the every Christmas when we visit.3

I ate my slice fastidiously, confident that THIS year I had the fève.  No fève. But no one got it, so we had to try again later than night at dinner.

I carefully ate tiny bits, not wanting to break or swallow the ceramic prize.  And the Queen was…

My husband. Every freakin year!

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The prize was an adorable ceramic book: Le Diamant de la Couronne (The Crown Diamonds.

But it wasn’t a totally loss for me.  After careful consideration and dagger looks from his wife, my husband dubbed me Queen of the King Cake and I got to wear the crown for a bit.

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Ignore the look of extreme jet lag and exhaustion.

It’s good to be Queen!

If you want to make your own King Cake you can get my recipe from last year. It is simple and easy because I am a lazy chef, but it was pretty tasty if I do say so myself.

https://thejealouscrumpet.com/2015/01/06/galette-des-rois/

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A Christmas Story: Star of Vengeance

star1   This is my favorite Christmas ornament, but rather than symbolize peace and goodwill (as it should) it symbolizes vengeance and spite.

I was working at a furniture store after Christmas and all of our ornaments were reduced to 75% off. This little star was .50 cents. A terrible woman (dressed to the nines and driving a Lexus, so pretty well off) came into the store and wanted 4 star ornaments, but wanted to only pay .25 cents a piece. As we weren’t at a yard sale I said no and she started arguing with me, becoming increasingly rude and belligerent.

After not bullying me into caving she said “Fine! My friend works at the other store in Huntsville and she told me that all the ornaments will be 90% off tomorrow, so I’ll just come back in the morning.

“I can’t guarantee they’ll still be here,” I said.

And the jerk said, “There are 12 stars in the store and I only want 4, so I’ll get what I want.  Prepare to feel stupid tomorrow.”

So in an anti-grinch moment my heart shrank 3 sizes and I bought all 12 of the star ornaments. I then called the other Huntsville store and bought ALL their ornaments. And just to be extra spiteful I bought all the star ornaments in Decatur and Florence. It was the most vengeful $30 I ever spent.

The next morning she was at the store as soon as we had opened. I had the pleasure of telling her that ALL of the star ornaments in North Alabama had been sold to one customer.

For years I gave the ornaments to friends and family, but I saved just one for myself.
12 years later, I still smile when I hang it on my tree.star3