"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important
that you do it."
-- Mahatma Gandhi
-- Mahatma Gandhi
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Variety Cake!
I like a recipe that is open to my notions! This is such a cake.
Variety Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups chocolate cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and continue until well combined. Beat the vanilla and sour cream into the mixture. Sift together the dry ingredients and stir into the butter mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Bake in a 9x13 greased baking pan for approximately 30 minutes or until it bounces back when gently touched.
Variety Ideas . . .
Use another flavor of chocolate chips like dark, mint, peanutbutter, butterscotch.
Add a tablespoon of grated orange zest to the above recipe for a fresh citrus tang.
Substitute a cup of dried cranberries for the chocolate chips.
Use half chocolate chips and half dried cranberries.
Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the above recipe.
Add 1/2 cup toasted coconut and 1/2 cup dried pineapple, finely diced.
Variety Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups chocolate cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and continue until well combined. Beat the vanilla and sour cream into the mixture. Sift together the dry ingredients and stir into the butter mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Bake in a 9x13 greased baking pan for approximately 30 minutes or until it bounces back when gently touched.
Variety Ideas . . .
Use another flavor of chocolate chips like dark, mint, peanutbutter, butterscotch.
Add a tablespoon of grated orange zest to the above recipe for a fresh citrus tang.
Substitute a cup of dried cranberries for the chocolate chips.
Use half chocolate chips and half dried cranberries.
Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the above recipe.
Add 1/2 cup toasted coconut and 1/2 cup dried pineapple, finely diced.
What exactly is our job?
I've met some interesting stay-at-home mothers over the years and strange as it may seem, few of them were very interested in cooking meals for their family. They all had 'good' reasons but the bottom line was they were really not seeing to the health of their children and husband. I'm probably more devoted to my time in the kitchen each day because my mother was a working mother and our meals were either fast food on the run or sporadic because her work started around seven every morning and she didn't usually come home until eight at night. For school children, that is a long time to wait for a hot dinner. I didn't want to ever treat my children like that.
I worked until my first child was born and it seemed so natural to me to be the major caregiver for him and to do my best to see that he ate what was good for him rather than what he liked. My husband, early one, had a rule that everyone had to eat a bite of everything to leave the table. If they wanted dessert, they had to finish their vegetables. These rules inspired me to cook and bake healthy but pleasing meals so there would be happy children and a happy husband at mealtime. It took the edge off of any hectic days when we could all come together and share the meal. Sure, we had our arguments with stubborn children. No one liked everything all the time but I felt like I was keeping my commitment to my family and marriage.
I was an okay cook when I got married but I knew how to read and . . . you read cookbooks! It reminded me of when I started work in my single life. I didn't know everything about my job when I first started but I looked for ways to improve. Same with life in the kitchen! It is really depressing when you present someon with a box of homemade cookies or invite them to dinner and their compliment is, "Well, it comes easy tfor you."
Feeding your children is like helping them with their lessons. You feed their mind through books and you have to feed their bodies in a nutrionally valid way in order for them to progress in their learning.
Just my feelings . . . If you get married, part of love, honor, and cherish includes a decent home and proper meals. When the children come, the love, honor, and cherish should spill over into their care, too.
I worked until my first child was born and it seemed so natural to me to be the major caregiver for him and to do my best to see that he ate what was good for him rather than what he liked. My husband, early one, had a rule that everyone had to eat a bite of everything to leave the table. If they wanted dessert, they had to finish their vegetables. These rules inspired me to cook and bake healthy but pleasing meals so there would be happy children and a happy husband at mealtime. It took the edge off of any hectic days when we could all come together and share the meal. Sure, we had our arguments with stubborn children. No one liked everything all the time but I felt like I was keeping my commitment to my family and marriage.
I was an okay cook when I got married but I knew how to read and . . . you read cookbooks! It reminded me of when I started work in my single life. I didn't know everything about my job when I first started but I looked for ways to improve. Same with life in the kitchen! It is really depressing when you present someon with a box of homemade cookies or invite them to dinner and their compliment is, "Well, it comes easy tfor you."
Feeding your children is like helping them with their lessons. You feed their mind through books and you have to feed their bodies in a nutrionally valid way in order for them to progress in their learning.
Just my feelings . . . If you get married, part of love, honor, and cherish includes a decent home and proper meals. When the children come, the love, honor, and cherish should spill over into their care, too.
Inspired myself!
I guess posting salad dressing recipes resulted in some self-inspiration for this evening's meal. We had just been shopping so I had some fresh fruit and vegetables at hand. There was also some bacon in the freezer. Since broccoli was my dominant vegetable in the refrigerator, I decided on a cold broccoli salad. My basic recipe was:
About two cups of raw broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
Some crispy fried bacon - use your own judgment on this!
One diced apple with the skin.
One diced pear with the skin.
About 1/2 cup sliced bell peppers (I used red, orange, and yellow baby bell peppers)
I went with the No Cream Dressing I posted earlier today but added some dried dill to it. As you can from the picture, it is ready and waiting in the refrigerator for dinner. My husband likes to snack but, according to the doctor, has to lose a few pounds. I always make extra of these kinds of salad as it fills him out but not out. It's healthy, too.
The rest of dinner? Braised beef and smashed potatoes.
I make my smashed potatoes by peeling and quartering the desired amount needed for dinner. I boil the potatoes in salted water until just tender. With a heavy spoon or potato masher, I break up the potatoes and add some milk, butter, salt, and pepper and continue stirring and mixing. Not exactly whipped potatoes but my family seems to prefer this rougher version. For extra taste, I throw in several peeled garlic cloves into the potatoes as they cook.
A good reminder . . .
"It is not to remain in a golden ciborium that He comes down
each day from Heaven, but to find another Heaven, the Heaven of our soul in
which He takes delight." ~St. Therese of Lisieux
Fast salad dressing . . .
How many times have we rushed through the kitchen, trying to get the evening meal on the table and open the refrigerator to find there is no salad dressing left in the bottle. Some kind heart has reserved the place for the future, full bottle of dressing by leaving the empty one there. I have a few dinner saving ways to dress a salad even when the salad dressing didn't make the grocery cart that day.
No Cream Dressing
1/2 cup to 1 cup mayo (depends on how much salad you are making)
1-2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown or granulated sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl using a whisk. It is sweet and tangy and does the job when all else fails! Also, you can add your own touches with dried dill, freshly chopped Basil, chili flakes, finely diced tomatoes, finely chopped red onion . . .
Refreshing Citrus Dressing
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Dash of salt and pepper
1 tablespoon honey
Mix all these ingredients and there you have it. It goes well with a Romaine lettuce salad, cucumbers, and tomatoes.
No Cream Dressing
1/2 cup to 1 cup mayo (depends on how much salad you are making)
1-2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown or granulated sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl using a whisk. It is sweet and tangy and does the job when all else fails! Also, you can add your own touches with dried dill, freshly chopped Basil, chili flakes, finely diced tomatoes, finely chopped red onion . . .
Refreshing Citrus Dressing
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Dash of salt and pepper
1 tablespoon honey
Mix all these ingredients and there you have it. It goes well with a Romaine lettuce salad, cucumbers, and tomatoes.
I think God can handle it . . .!
I am ready to meet my maker, but whether my maker is prepared for the great
ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
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