The
worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent
to them: that's the essense of inhumanity.
- George Bernard
Shaw
Friday, October 28, 2011
The last quote, of course!
"Only the mediocre are always at their best."
-- Jean Giraudoux
-- Jean Giraudoux
"I've been trying for some time to develop a lifestyle that
doesn't require my presence."
-- Garry Trudeau
-- Garry Trudeau
"The young have aspirations that never come to pass, the old have
reminiscences of what never happened."
-- Saki
-- Saki
"I am a Marxist--of the Groucho tendency."
-- Anonymous
-- Anonymous
December Birthdays . . .
I think we have six or seven December birthdays to remember these days. Two of the birthdays belong to my children. They have always been allowed to chose the cake they want and I happily bake it for them and add some of my own touches. The following is a relatively easy recipe that I plan to use for a mint chocolate layer cake. I think I will go with a basic chocolate cake and put the mint into the filling and outside icing. I have a daughter who likes that combination every much. Last year, she opted for a pumpkin pie. I think it is time to go fancier!
Basic Chocolate Cake
1 cup softened butter
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good-quality unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups water
Cream together the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well. Mix in the vanilla and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients, mix a bit, and then add the water. Beat until smooth.
Pour into either three 8-or 9-inch round baking pans that have been greased and floured. You can use parchment paper on the bottom of each instead. Bake for approximately 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool before trying to remove from pans. Compete the cooling on the cooling racks before frosting. Make your own or purchase frosting.
Ideas . . .
You can add chocolate chips (1/2 cup) to the batter before baking if you want a really indulgent cake!
Go chocolate/orange and use half water and half orange juice in the recipe. Increase the contrast and include a tablespoon of freshly grated orange zest.
I'm thinking of trying this - Beating in chocolate-covered peppermint patties into the frosting mix.
For easier serving, you can bake the cake in oblong cake pans and just frost the top and cut and serve from the pan.
Basic Chocolate Cake
1 cup softened butter
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good-quality unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups water
Cream together the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well. Mix in the vanilla and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients, mix a bit, and then add the water. Beat until smooth.
Pour into either three 8-or 9-inch round baking pans that have been greased and floured. You can use parchment paper on the bottom of each instead. Bake for approximately 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool before trying to remove from pans. Compete the cooling on the cooling racks before frosting. Make your own or purchase frosting.
Ideas . . .
You can add chocolate chips (1/2 cup) to the batter before baking if you want a really indulgent cake!
Go chocolate/orange and use half water and half orange juice in the recipe. Increase the contrast and include a tablespoon of freshly grated orange zest.
I'm thinking of trying this - Beating in chocolate-covered peppermint patties into the frosting mix.
For easier serving, you can bake the cake in oblong cake pans and just frost the top and cut and serve from the pan.
Finding treasures in unexpected places . . .
Anyone who peeks into my fabric cupboards will immediately note that I like the color blue! I don't think I have ever come home from the fabric warehouse without at least two lengths of some beautiful blue yardage. The reason I like the fabric warehouse for purchasing material is that they sell quality stuff and by well-known designers of quilting fabric. I have my favorites but don't get too picky if I find a good cotton in another brand.
Today, my husband and I went to Walmart and, as always, I stopped by the fabric area to just browse. Walmart doesn't seem to change the fabrics very often so I seldom purchase anything. Still, I enjoy looking and thinking. I was going through the bargain section today and saw a blue fabric with a starry pattern. The color was soft but rich and the design was pretty. I touched the fabric and it felt different from the usual stock of fabric they carry there. I checked the make along the edge and was surprised to find it was a David's Textile fabric - a favorite of mine. I don't know how or why it ended up at Walmart but I went home with three yards of it. Amazing how little treasures pop up when you least expect it.
Over the years, I have learned to find good, quality cotton fabric by 'feel'. The bargain area at the fabric warehouse is comprised of eight or ten rows with stacks of flatfold fabric from the floor to about five feet up. My way of finding fabric? I run my hands down the sides of the stacks and stick it in between layers. If I 'feel' a fabric that seems likely, I pull it out and look at it. Nine out of ten times, it is by a name designer. My husband laughs because I feel it first before even looking at the design or color. A friend didn't believe me but after spending three hours with me there, she was soon doing the same thing.
Today, my husband and I went to Walmart and, as always, I stopped by the fabric area to just browse. Walmart doesn't seem to change the fabrics very often so I seldom purchase anything. Still, I enjoy looking and thinking. I was going through the bargain section today and saw a blue fabric with a starry pattern. The color was soft but rich and the design was pretty. I touched the fabric and it felt different from the usual stock of fabric they carry there. I checked the make along the edge and was surprised to find it was a David's Textile fabric - a favorite of mine. I don't know how or why it ended up at Walmart but I went home with three yards of it. Amazing how little treasures pop up when you least expect it.
Over the years, I have learned to find good, quality cotton fabric by 'feel'. The bargain area at the fabric warehouse is comprised of eight or ten rows with stacks of flatfold fabric from the floor to about five feet up. My way of finding fabric? I run my hands down the sides of the stacks and stick it in between layers. If I 'feel' a fabric that seems likely, I pull it out and look at it. Nine out of ten times, it is by a name designer. My husband laughs because I feel it first before even looking at the design or color. A friend didn't believe me but after spending three hours with me there, she was soon doing the same thing.
Chick is Conquered . . . for now!
Chick is tired. She enjoyed her walk, today, but did not enjoy the fact that she was not in charge of the walk! We finally found a walking harness that she cannot wiggle out of and escape. She is the first dog we have had that escaped from a regular collar and leash. We got a harness and she learned the first time out how to back out of it. My son has had to actually carry this big dog home more than once when she slipped out of the harness and it was all he could do to fall on her to keep her from totally getting away from him. Today, we put on a new harness that was contrived by someone who had the same problem. Chick made a valiant attempt to escape to no avail. Even when the two cats along the usual walk taunted her, she could not get away to teach them a doggy lesson. She came home tired and not sure if she should be happy or not. I know she will be more than willing to go out for another walk but have a plot in the back of her mind about how to get around this new bondage to her fully enjoying total run of the neighborhood.
Remembering this in my prepayday cooking!
Frugality
without creativity is deprivation.
- Amy Dacyczyn
Almond Sugar Cookies
What can I say? After Molasses Cookies, Sugar Cookies are a great favorite. I have a collection of favorite recipes so will share them as I come across them in my Christmas preparations. This is a super-simple one that goes together fast. The smell of the cookies baking will cause a stampede to your kitchen. Have the cold milk ready!
Almond Sugar Cookies
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 egg
½ cup toasted, ground almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.
Before my mother joined the ranks of full-time work outside the home, she used to stay up late at night to get the Christmas baking done. It was one of the wonders of my little girl years to wake in the morning and find the kitchen piled high (or though it seemed!) with massive varieties of freshly baked cookies. One of the reasons I made sure I could stay home with my children until they went off to college . . . Hoping to instill some memories into their lives!
Almond Sugar Cookies
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 egg
½ cup toasted, ground almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.
Before my mother joined the ranks of full-time work outside the home, she used to stay up late at night to get the Christmas baking done. It was one of the wonders of my little girl years to wake in the morning and find the kitchen piled high (or though it seemed!) with massive varieties of freshly baked cookies. One of the reasons I made sure I could stay home with my children until they went off to college . . . Hoping to instill some memories into their lives!
Good thought for all relationships . . .
If love does not know how to give and take without restrictions, it is not love,
but a transaction that never fails to lay stress on a plus and a minus.
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