German Apple Cake

I've seen so many versions of this recipe over the years and I imagine everyone who comes across it has added their tweaks and changes. I'm no exception! Everyone has their own tastes and bake according to that. This cake is a fantastic dessert but isn't bad with a cup of coffee when you get up in the morning. Cake for breakfast? Hey, it has flour like in bread, and fruit. It's just toast and fruit put together a little differently!

German Apple Cake
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
4 eggs
Zest of one lemon
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 tart, green apples (Peel and slice thinly)

1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
Dash cloves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a tube pan.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add everything except the apples and mix thoroughly. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Layer with apples and half the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Pour in the rest of the batter and arrage the apples on top. Sprnkle on the rest of the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 mintues to an hour and a half depending on your oven. Cake should be cooled completely before serving.

Two Days for air conditioning . . .

After more years than I want to remember, we finally found a deal we could afford to replace our 30 year old air conditioning unit. The old unit was so bad that it used a lot of power and gave very, very little in return. About five years ago, we stopped using the air conditioning all together which provided us with some very hot weather . . . in the house! Some summer days found us sweating through 90 degrees inside our house. The only little thing that worried us was the installation and how long would that take. The store assured us it would take only two days . . . and they kept their promise and cleaned up after themselves.

The pictures show the multitude of boxes arriving along with the empty space before the new air conditioning unit was installed. The outside one showed up it's age and is very shabby compared with the new one.

We are still frugal with our power usage because we don't like surprise electric bills! We now set the air conditioning at 82 degrees and are relatively comfortable. Amazing what a change in attitude when you don't have to contend with the heat on a full-time basis. We are blessed!

More favorites for a Friday Morning . . .

"Saying what we think gives us a wider conversational range than saying what we know."
-- Cullen Hightower

"People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news."
-- A. J. Liebling

"Cynics regarded everybody as equally corrupt... Idealists regarded everybody as equally corrupt, except themselves."
-- Robert Anton Wilson

"The report of my death was an exaggeration."
-- Mark Twain

My feelings exactly!

Oh! do not attack me with your watch. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.

Jane Austen

More of a nightmare than a Catholic Mass . . .

http://youtu.be/rh_nqtp3VrU

I ran across this UTube video in my Internet wanderings, yesterday. What amazed me, besides the disregard for proper liturgy, was the age of the congregation and priest. I would have thought they would have retained a bit more dignity in their lives through the years. And to some of my friends who might chime in with, "But, it would be wonderful for a children's Mass!", I say that the giant puppets would more likely give them nightmares. The whole service had more of a circus quality and the various antics of the liturgical dancers (which is not allowed in the Church), made one forget what the Mass is actually about. I'm all for joy and rejoicing but this seemed contrived and in your face to me. You have to wonder if God is laughing or crying over his earth full of humans!