Time Marches On...

 It was a good day! I'm officially old. OLDER! The phone calls came from four of my kids in the early part of the day. The lemon cake and a beautiful card was delivered by my grandson and his sweet lady yesterday afternoon. The "Yard Guy" brought in a lovely new flowering plant from his family. My good dear friend came for visit just before he arrived. The mail lady left a few more cards. 

I am a great-great grandmother again - this time to a little girl named Luna May. All is well.

My first cousin died yesterday and I'm sure she's in a good place now.  Some leave, some come - it is the way.  We were good buddies when young.

This photo I took at the end of my day shows a part of what exactly has made me happy. The plant is one I had never heard of and is so pretty! It is a Kalanchoe. This was a very happy birthday in many ways. Several days ago a large box of assorted skin care supplies arrived from my NJ daughter and family. 

It rained and the winds blew strong today but I really didn't notice!

Birthdays

My firstborn turned 66 on the 26th. My middle daughter turned 62 today. I baked a cake. They are spending this weekend together so phone conversations and greetings were the day's highlights. She'll get a piece of her cake after returning from the annual celebration of their May birthdays. 

It's a carrot cake with raisins, not nuts. Well it stuck in the bundt pan so that is why it looks so lumpy! The icing is not as thick as it looks - honestly! It is covering lumps! Today's birthday daughter is full of sweetness. Thank goodness that she lives nearby as she is a big help for me. Her beauty goes way more than skin deep.

Yum!

This is the first baking project of the year. Instead of pumpkin pie, I made pumpkin cake! I embellished its interior with dried Bing cherries! Soaked them in boiling water and then used the same water that was called for in the recipe. The butter cream icing was my own, not from a can. This took me all morning to complete, but now I have some to share with whoever....  My old handheld mixer with the wonderful long cord doesn't go on high speed anymore. Guess it's dying, but it did the job. The reason I didn't use Big Red is because the thick glass bowl is very heavy and my shoulder told me not to. Coulda - shoulda! Oh well....  I gloat with my success! It is wonderful!! Sorry that the mail carrier, propane delivery fellow and the sweet woman who does my laundry all came before it was finished. I'll try to save a piece for the yard guy who might be here for snow removal and my daughter may stop in before the upcoming storm. You'd like a piece? Come on over! Hang on to your hat, it is very windy!

You won't even have to help wash the dishes.

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And What's New in Your Kitchen?

Yeowie! It's a good thing we have a freezer!  Deliveries today even include a new mug from my favorite potter. 

When Fed Ex comes way out here, you just know it will be something delightful!

The new mug holds 16 oz. and will be wonderful in the morning when filled with special coffee and slurped with my scone.

The cake was a surprise because I thought the succulents were perfect! She said she couldn't resist.

please enjoy the treats with me by tapping on an image

Spring Gifts

 Our daughter visited today and bought me a lemon cake with lemon icing! (She knows I love lemon!) She also did some dusting and personal care for me.

Her son and his partner arrived - ready to work! The cabin hasn't been thoroughly dusted in two years - pandemic - and REALLY needed it. As you might figure out from the photos this team is terrific! The grandkids work hard all week in the *local wood products manufacturing company and made time for us early in the season because they do more odd jobs on weekends throughout the coming year. They are hard workers.

It's a very good thing that the fan finally was stopped and dusted! It was loaded, BUT.... two of the blades had worked loose! It has hung there for 23 years and every year except last, it is checked for loose blades as it runs 24/7. They were really loose!

After the work was finished we all had birthday cake! YUM! (My birthday isn't until Thursday, but they know that I don't care for a lot of hoopla!) Both back bedrooms were cleaned as well but this photographer stayed out of the way!

Our daughter's twin grandsons were going to be visiting her later so she left before the others, and all were planning to do some yard cleanup later on today. The sun is shining and it is sooo good to see. I forgot to tell you that they undressed James in readiness for his repairs!

*For many years (1972-1980) I worked there as well. For more information about the company click on link:  Diaz Facebook Page

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Back to the 40's

Or it might be the 50's, I'm not sure.

This recipe clip that I found on the internet many years ago came from an old magazine and I had saved it but don't even remember even baking one! Today was the day.

As I got the ingredients out in preparation to make this cake, I noticed that my cocoa had gone lumpy but decided to use it anyway in both the cake mixture and my scratch icing. (It was in a new sealed container.)

From the internet

The mayonnaise cake originated during the Great Depression when people didn't have as much access to eggs and oil. Brands who made mayo even added the recipe right to the jar! You can see there is no added salt in this recipe and that is because there is salt already in the mayonnaise. 

My Results:

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OH YES! It was delicious!

AND THEN! I found this article on the internet. This is the image I saved many years ago. Please click on link below.

Recipe from Internet

Back in Business

Well I'm feeling back to normal now so no more word sillies. An almond pound cake was baked.

I took off James' scarf and holiday bells this morning. Still frozen but drying out in front of the heater.

I took pictures of the daffodils that are poking up through the frozen soil. Then I looked back two years ago and was quite surprised that the season this year is very different than the past. Every spring I take pictures of these old bulbs bursting through the frozen soil. You see, my mother planted them when the cabin was first built and they have survived for almost 60 years.

 March 9 this year 

March 9 last year (2019)

March 17 two years ago! (2018)

March 15 three years ago! (2017)

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And so it goes...62° 3:45 this afternoon!

Blueberry Bake

I had never made this recipe before and since it has been VERY nasty here with pouring down rains and even some snowy activity this morning I gave it a try.

The recipe called for a 9" springform cake pan. I don't have one of those - never did, so I improvised with a glass 9" square baking dish.  My blueberries were frozen. My lemon zest and pre-squeezed lemon juice were frozen. Thawing those was the first order of the day.

I should have pushed the 2nd layer of berries deeper into the dough, but it really didn't matter at all because it is a WONDERFUL CAKE! I plan to make it again and this time will  bake it for only 45 minutes so it isn't so tan on the bottom. I forgot to compensate timing for a glass foil-lined pan. A piece for you and a piece for me!

  please click on image to taste the goodness  

RECIPE Blueberry Lemon Cake

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup sour cream (8oz)
• 1/2 cup light olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 medium lemon zest and juice, divided
• 1/2 Tbsp corn starch
• 16 oz fresh blueberries *  
• 1. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment. Preheat Oven to 375˚F.
  
• 
  
• Directions:
• 1. Beat 2 eggs and 1 cup sugar with whisk attachment on high speed 5 min, or until light in color and thick.
  
• 2. Add 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup oil, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt and whisk on low speed until well combined.
  
• 3. Whisk together the 2 cups flour with 2 tsp baking powder then add to batter 1/3 at a time, whisking to incorporate with each addition (DO NOT OVERMIX). Finally, add 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 Tbsp zest.
  
• 4. Rinse blueberries and drain well. In a medium bowl, toss blueberries with 1/2 Tbsp corn starch and 1 tsp lemon juice, stirring until well combined and no dry white cornstarch remains.
  
• 5. Pour half of batter into prepared springform pan and spread evenly. Top with half of the blueberries. Spread with remaining batter then sprinkle the rest of the blueberries evenly over the top, pushing them slightly into the batter (about halfway). Bake at 375˚F for 45 to 55 min, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake rest in the pan 15-20 min then remove ring and cool until room temp or just warm. Serve dusted with powdered sugar.
  
• Recipe Notes
• *If using frozen blueberries, thaw and drain then in step #4: toss with 1 Tbsp cornstarch and omit lemon juice. Do not add more than 16 oz blueberries or they weigh down the cake.

Sunshine Cake

Spring! THE DUCK HAS RETURNED. Every year this single duck returns and stays for a while then leaves.

Last year almost to the day, I baked this cake. It seems as if I forget about how delicious it is until I see my first daffodil! Yes! Today one daffodil opened and it was cause for celebration after awful pouring rains and winds throughout last night into this morning.

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For  complete recipe & better pictures click on link of April 17, 2018.
 Sunshine Cake Link

Blueberry Sauce

After making the blueberry upside down lemon cake the other day, I remembered that I had a recipe for sauce. This is easy to make and perfect for topping over ice cream or cake!

Yes! Wonderful stuff! I did change it a little as I didn't have orange juice on hand. I substituted lemon juice that I had in the freezer. A couple of months ago I bought a bag of lemons and juiced them all, poured the juice (pulp and all) into several little 4 oz. jars and froze it for future use. Why? A time saver, that's why. It came in handy and the sauce came out just right.

Here is the recipe:

See? Doesn't that look good? It is! The berries stayed whole.

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