Two Ways to Easy Cake . . .

I like to fuss in the kitchen but there are days when I have to get something in the oven fast and appreciate throw-together recipes. This is one of those recipes. I've seen several versions of it but this is the way I like to do it.

Living on Easy Cake - #1
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons baking soda
Smidge of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Grated zest of one lemon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits, undrained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Vegetable oil spray a 9x11-inch baking pan or two smaller pans. You can divide it between two 8 or 9-inch round ones to have one cake today and another one for breakfast tomorrow . . . after the children and husband are off for the day, of course! Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix to just combine. Baking time will depend on the size of the pan but approximately 20-30 minutes. Check after 15 minutes to see how it is going. Living on Easy Cake - #2 1 cup granulated sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 2 teaspoons baking soda Smidge of salt 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Grated zest of one lemon 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 2 cups canned apple slices, undrained 1/4 cup water if the canned apples don't seem to have enough liquid. (I've used brandy with good results!) Prepare and bake as for the Living on Easy Cake - #1. Remove from the oven when done and cool thoroughly before icing the cake(s). You now have a decision to make: Lemon or Chocolate Icing? Lemon Icing 2 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Enough fresh lemon juice to form a pourable but somewhat thick icing. Chocolate Icing 2 cups powdered sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Dash of cinnamon 1/4 cup baking cocoa Enough milk or cream to form a pourable but somewhat thick icing. (Believe it or not, but Chocolate Icing tastes good with pineapple!) If you have the time, toasting the nuts brings the recipe to a whole, new level. Just be sure the nuts are cooled down before using.

Mark Steyn at his best . . .

I enjoy listening to and reading commentary by Mark Steyn. He manages to put into perspective the woes of the day and give us a grin along with the facts. The Democrats started the 'war on dogs' when they bashed Romney for letting his dog ride on a carrier on the roof of their car. Soon, it was discovered that the president had eaten dog as a child. The Democrats soon realized the conservatives were getting more laughs over this then they could appreciate. It hardly seemed the stuff of politics given the mess the United States is in right now but, as we often hear on the playground, "They started it!"

Now they are taking jabs at Romney being a Mormon. Mark Steyn, as usual, puts it all together for us in a recent column and leaves us chuckling.

Brian Schweitzer, the Democrat governor of Montana, remarked that Romney was unlikely to appeal to women because his father was "born on a polygamy commune." Eighty-six percent of women, noted Gov. Schweitzer with a keenly forensic demographic eye, are "not great fans of polygamy." You can understand the 86 percent's ickiness at the whole freaky-weirdy idea of a president descended from someone who had multiple wives. Eww.

Just for the record, Romney's father was not a polygamist; Romney's grandfather was not a polygamist; his great-grandfather was a polygamist. Miles Park Romney died in 1904, so one can see why this would weigh heavy on 86 percent of female voters 108 years later.

Meanwhile, back in the female-friendly party, Obama's father was a polygamist; his grandfather was a polygamist; and his great-grandfather was a polygamist who had one more wife (five in total) than Romney's great-grandfather. It seems President Obama is the first male in his line not to be a polygamist. So, given the "gender gap," maybe those 86 percent of American women are way cooler with polygamy than Gov. Schweitzer thinks. Maybe these liberal chicks really dig it.

I guess you could say (again!), "They started it!"

Rain to sunshine . . .

As usual, the rain quickly dried up from yesterday and the temperatures are heading towards the eighties by the weekend. My husband is hoping for a cold, June Gloom weather situation this year as he has to tear down a fence and haul it away that month. Not a job for a triple-digit day.

Anyway, I enjoyed the sunshine with our uninvited orange cat and found some blossoms in my husband's garden. The direct sunshine was casting some sharply lined shadows so, naturally, I had to snap pictures of that, too.

The voting booth is now open . . . WIDE open . . .

It is amazing to me that anyone can oppose checking ID when you go to vote. The only reason anyone would be against such a requirement is to perpetuate voter fraud. And you don't have to wonder much why anyone would want to insure uncaught voter fraud . . . in order to steal someone else's vote and stuff the ballot box with your choice to win an election unfairly.

I just read that the judges in Wisconsin are blocking the voter requirement in Wisconsion. Gosh, I wonder if it could do with the fact that they are trying to recall the governor and want to make sure they don't lose? What happened to one vote to each eligible person and the best man wins? From what I understand, Governor Walker has brought the state back from the brink yet greedy people who don't want to take cuts, etc., would rather cut off their noses to spite their faces than recognize the fact that something worked.

I imagine that we will be seeing more and more of this sort of behavior this November when our current administration may have to rely on tactics rather than a reasonable voting platform. So far, there isn't much to recommend a second term based on past performance.

The fact that the election might be swayed by improper voting won't keep me from the polls, however. Every vote counts and if we go to the voting booth with a good heart and a prayer, miracles happen in spite of human deceit and antics.

Mr. Einstein had it right . . .!

"The best doctor in the world is the veterinarian. He can't ask his patients what is the matter-he's got to just know."
-- Will Rogers

"If computers get too powerful, we can organize them into a committee -- that will do them in."
-- Bradley's Bromide

"The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is at all comprehensible."
-- Albert Einstein