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Those perfect moments: so good; so rare If I�m lucky, I get one moment, once a week, when life is exactly the way I want it to be. The time is Sunday morning, the place is my kitchen table, and the occasion is a long, slow breakfast with two content kids and one happy husband, all enjoying wonderful food. As you might imagine, I don�t get lucky very often. There�s always some element that�s out of place, a variable that dashes that my hopes for Sunday morning harmony. Sometimes, it�s the timing. In a house with two teenagers, either everybody�s around or nobody�s home, or someone�s skipping breakfast � "Thanks anyway, Mom" � because she�s got plans for lunch with her friends. Sometimes, it�s the opposite problem: the house is full of extra folks, a gaggle of sleepover guests who require pancakes by the dozen. It�s not that I mind cooking for a crowd, you know, but four 13-year-old boys don�t often appreciate my insistence on manners, let alone napkins. Sometimes, it�s logistical that kinks mar my Sunday bliss. Either we�re out of eggs or we�re out of milk or we�re out of coffee � heaven forbid! � and I don�t want to get out of my nightgown and into the car to go get more. So my husband and I settle for toast, the kids hit the leftover pizza and the whole scene drains the romance right out of my little tableau. "Might as well turn on the TV," I say grumpily, violating my weekend morning rule. And before you know it, the house is filled with the sound of MTV and the smell of burning bagels. Some Sunday brunch, huh? Sometimes, I think I�m going to get my weekend breakfast thrill, only to have it cruelly denied by the whim of mood or a twist of fate. There was the time, for instance, when I had the table set, the family gathered and the food prepared, only to see my youngest spill a full pitcher of orange juice into the hash browns and onto the floor. When the cat dashed in to dance in the sticky mess, the chaos was complete. And there was the time when everything was fine, except for the two children arguing about who was going to mess up Mom�s favorite meal. "Not me," said one. "Not me," said the other. "Shut up," said the first. "No, you," said his sister. And on it went, until the eggs were cold, the tempers were frayed and I had no choice but to send them both away from the table, unfed. "Exactly WHO is being punished here?" I asked my husband as I wrapped the fruit salad for later use. But sometimes, Sunday mornings are magical. Everyone�s home and everyone�s happy. I�ve thought far enough ahead to ensure adequate groceries and lots of hot coffee. I go to set the table and by some miracle, all the placemats match � and they�re the pretty ones, not the shabby ones with stains. On really good days, I even have fresh flowers for the little kitchen vase. So I pull the coffeecake out of the oven and the eggs off the stove. I settle into my chair across from the kids and call my husband away from the comics. And then I sigh. "She�s doing it again," my son will say, elbowing his sister. "Mom, stop!" my daughter will exclaim. "You�re doing that happy thing." I just smile and nod. This is one week, I think, when I get my moment. If you�d like to attempt Sunday morning tranquility, try the recipe for the Apricot Cream Cheese Coffeecake below. I came up with it one weekend when the recipe I wanted to make called for peaches and I was all out. Apricot Cream Cheese Coffeecake STREUSEL: 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted � cup packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 6 tablespoons flour FILLING: 1 � cups chopped dried apricots 8 ounces light cream cheese, softened � cup powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla CAKE: 1� cups sugar � cup unsalted butter 3 cups flour 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 cup milk Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spritz a 9-by-13-inch pan with nonstick spray. For streusel, mix together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour in a small bowl until crumbly. Set aside. For filling, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Set apricots aside. For cake, in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and then milk. Fold in combined dry ingredients. Spread half the batter in the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle chopped apricots over batter; spread cream cheese mixture atop apricots. Sprinkle half of streusel over apricot mixture. Top with remaining batter and then streusel. Bake cake for 45 minutes, then check for doneness. If a tester inserted in center comes out clean, cake is done. If not, let cake bake for 15 minutes more. Makes 8 servings. (Send questions to A la carte, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501. Reach JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465 or by e-mail at [email protected] ) Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA