CAROLINE'S CORNER: BAKING AT THE BEACH

My father-in-law, Boulware Sr., and I share at least two common interests -- a love of the beach and good food. We agree that the best scenario imaginable is good food at the beach. During our annual family reunion week at the beach, we enjoy sitting on the front porch of our rented seaside home-away-from-home.

During the day we look for dolphin families frolicking in the waves.

During the night we look for lights on the horizon and wonder who it is and what in the world are they doing way out there in the dark scary seaweed.

We eat at restaurants and Boulware Sr. orders key lime pie. He always asks if it is "real" key lime. The waiter says, "Of course it is real." It never is.

During the other 51 weeks of the year, Boulware Sr. and I share food and recipes. He sends us Georgia pecans (pronounced pee-cans by the natives), Florida oranges and Georgia sweet Vidalia onions.

I return some of the pecans, coated with sugar and oranges, and the circle goes round and round.

Boulware Sr. likes anything orange, key lime or guava. He also likes cakes.

Recently he sent me a recipe for the best chocolate rum cake ever from the Valdosta Daily Times. The ingredients are: two quarts rum, one tablespoon soda, one cup butter, one half cup cocoa, two large eggs, lemon juice, one teaspoon baking powder, one tablespoon pee-cans and one cup dried fruit.

The directions are: before you start, sample the rum for quality. Now go ahead and select a lare mixing bowl. Check the rum again. It must be just right. To be sure of this, pour one cup of rum into a glass and drink it. Repeat.

With electric mixer, beat one cup of buerrer in the large fluffy bowl. Add one seaspoon of thugar and beat again.

Drink another cup of rum to ensure quality. Add two arge leggs, two cups fried druit and beat until high.

If druit gets stuck in the beaters, pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the rum again. Sift three cups of pepper or salt. Sample the rum again. Sift one half pint of lemon juice. Fold in butter and pee-cans.

Add one babblespoon of brown thugar or whatever color you find. Wix mel. Grease oven and turn cake pan to 350 gredees. Now pour the whole mess into the boven and cake. Check the rum again and bo to ged.

Boulware Sr. has asked me to make the cake for the family at the beach.

If he will supply the rum and pee-cans, I will supply the labor. After enjoying the fruits of my labor, we may sit in our rockers on the front porch and watch mermaids making real key lime pies and solphins ditting on the dock of the bay.