Lemon Pound Cake

Blasphemy! I didn't make it from scratch. But the teenager that was doing our yard work was bathed in sweat today and I felt a "tip" was in order. He loves lemon pound cake, and I used what I had. Well, I had to buy a box of lemon pudding mix, but hey...

Now I NEVER make a cake mix just the way it says to make it. I ALWAYS add an extract. Makes it taste more like home made. For some cakes, it's vanilla extract. But in this case, I had a bottle of organic lemon flavoring (go figure!) and tossed some in.

He told his mom "it's really bad for you, you shouldn't eat any." I guess that meant he wanted to save it all for himself. And that's probably a seal of approval. ;-)

Honestly, this cake does NOT measure up to pound cake at least in ingredients...not enough oil and no butter. But hey, I didn't taste it, I gave it all to the lawn dude.

Also, I never used canned frosting. Eeeew. A dusting of powdered sugar is plenty on this one. MAKE YOUR OWN FROSTING. It's just softened butter and powdered sugar, after all, with maybe a little something extra. Anne Byrn, the Cake Mix Doctor herself, preaches the no-canned-frosting gospel, and I have bought into it hook, line and sinker. ;-D

Cake:
•1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Lemon Supreme Cake Mix
•1 (3.4 oz) pkg instant lemon pudding and pie filling
•4 large eggs
•1 cup water
•1/3 cup vegetable oil
(added lemon flavoring--extract)

1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 10-inch tube pan.
2.Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water and oil in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Pour into pan.
3.Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 25 minutes. Invert onto heat resistant serving plate. Cool completely.
4.For glaze, place frosting in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high power 10 to 15 seconds. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

http://www.duncanhines.com/recipes/cakes/dh/lemon-pound-cake

As I have said before, I keep trying to tell God that I'm not worthy to handle this life. I guess He knows that. I am not worthy to share in His sufferings, but they're deep. This week I have learned about being bitterly betrayed; beyond what I ever imagined. And I thought I should be immune from that. Scripture talks about how we shouldn't expect to have it any easier than Jesus did...okay, I get it. Test over? No, I don't think so.

Hello Hurricane lyrics (by Switchfoot)

I've been watching the skies
They've been turning blood red
There is not a doubt in my mind
There's a storm up ahead

(Chorus)

Hello Hurricane
You're not enough
Hello Hurricane
You can't silence my love
I've got doors and windows boarded up
All your dead end fury is not enough
You can't silence my love

Everything I have I count as loss
Everything I have is stripped away
But before It started building
I counted up these costs
There's nothing left for you to take away

(Chorus)

Hello Hurricane
You're not enough
Hello Hurricane
You can't silence my love
I've got doors and windows boarded up
All your dead end fury is not enough
You can't silence my love

Im a fighter fighting for control
Im a fighter fighting for my soul
Everything inside of me surrenders
You can't silence my love
You can't silence my love

(Chorus)

Hello Hurricane
You're not enough
Hello Hurricane
You can't silence my love
I've got doors and windows boarded up
All your dead end fury is not enough
You can't silence my love

I said Hello Hurricane

these lyrics are submitted by Crazy Fan

Trees

I’m still not used to trees.

Mind you, I LIKE trees. But twenty-some years later, I still think of the glacier-scraped-flat-trees-only-planted-in-straight-lines of my early years. Not many trees on the plains, or hills, or much of anything. Stark, open, easy to see, austere. Driving as an adolescent was extremely easy…nothing to block my view!

When I moved to Nashville, the most striking thing to both hubs and myself was the vast number of trees. They were positively EVERYWHERE! And hills. Lots of hills. A wee bit claustrophobic, we were.

Nowadays I drive through areas filled with trees for hours and hours each day. Whether doing the school route to the high-rent (and, as a result, still heavily wooded) part of my city, or driving to Teleios when I can, trees are everywhere. And I’ve started to notice them.

In the spring, summer, and fall, they are lush. There’s little or no snow here, and a very long growing season compared to the should-I-get-air-conditioning of my home state.

Trees adorn the landscape, clean up the air, do a lot of great things. When they are laden with foliage, they cushion the visibility, blur the lines a bit, obscure some places.

It’s winter. All the leaves are long gone. And I can see a long, long way. In the rich part of town, I can see beautiful homes that were not visible the other three seasons. Animals (including deer that nearly collided with my vehicle) peek out of the branches. In a snowstorm or visitation of ice (not an everyday occurrence around here in winter), they are especially striking.

Teleios is on top of a mountain, but isn’t far from some “hollows”, where often folks live in old homes, some in disrepair. The other three seasons, things look fairly normal. When the leaves drop, the piles of hoarded junk and dead cars can become painfully obvious.

In both cases, there’s a whole lot more than meets the eye, for good or ill.

In the last year or so, many of us have seen the leaves of our “trees” dry up and blow away. I know of many who currently seek jobs, or try to get things back to “normal” (whatever that is) after an extended period of unemployment that has recently ended, or see their retirement savings dwindling and have decided to go back to work. It’s particularly stark out in the forest of each of our existence these days. Even if we ourselves are moving along with little adjustment needed (are those folks even out there now?), we all know others who are dealing with lives that have lost a lot of their “greenery” and are struggling mightily.

An ancient story speaks of a really great guy who totally had it made…rich, great family, strong spiritual life, you name it. Justifiably, the question was asked: is he the wonderful, spiritual person he is just because his forest is in all its glory? Not surprisingly, the guy’s forest eventually dropped the leaves. ALL of them. He went through hell right here on earth. All the stuff he had, and all his kids, were dead and gone.

In the starkness of that experience the guy learned what he really had, and embraced it fully. Eventually his forest sprouted leaves again, after he had learned hard yet extremely valuable lessons.

The starkness of “winter” in my life has taught me a great deal. I learned how much more I had than I thought. The losses hurt deeply, but made strong, downright “wealthy” areas of life more visible. I had things to celebrate that I didn’t consider fully till the leaves dropped. Additionally, there were piles of “junk” that became more visible amongst the empty branches. As I work on getting them cleared out, I have a sneaking suspicion I’m getting a wee bit stronger. Or maybe a lot.

Here’s hoping there are great things for each of us in the middle of the bleak, austere forest, and that we can help each other out along the trail.

Letter in the paper: "Let me get this straight. President Obama in his arrogance gives himself a B+ grade (my son would love a grading system where he could grade himself). However, the last poll I saw had his approval rating/grade under 50 percent. That is an F at my son's high school. In fact, it's not even a high F. Guess who gave him an F: the folks that elected him, and that is the only grade that counts."

They stopped taking enrollments for CoverKids and CoverTN on Monday. Tennessee is now the only state that has stopped signing up eligible kids for SCHIP (which is where CoverKids funding comes from). What is especially sad, to me, is that only about one third of the kids who needed the insurance got it. The rest of them had parents who apparently didn't bother. Did I mention that coverage was FREE for a whole lot of those who didn't bother, and unbelievably cheap for the rest? I'll wager that most of those people have late model cars and cable...can't go without that, ya know. *shaking head*

I just told Jesus that I really don't think a person like me deserves to share in His sufferings. I am weak, and whiny, and lack faith. I know He dealt with much worse situations than I am at present.

Fall Farmers Market Finds

I have been given a bunch of organic butternut squash by some fabulous people at market. There's a few acorn squash in there too (which will be used in the squash rolls that were so popular last Christmas), and a couple cans of pumpkin on the shelf as well; not from the market, of course, but fall/squash-y nonetheless. The ever increasing stash of sweet potatoes are destined at least in part for a Martha Stamps biscuit recipe that sounds lovely.

Offhand I can't recall where I found the following recipe. I don't plan to use it in it's original form. I thought putting the mixture in an ice cream freezer would be a lot more interesting. I can envision pumpkin being interchanged for the butternut squash. I also want to try perhaps soy milk, hazelnut soy creamer, or perhaps rice milk instead of the cream. But I think, as a shrink would likely say, I will only change one ingredient at a time. ;-)

Butternut Squash Ice Pops

Cut a butternut squash into quarters and scoop out the seeds. Boil, bake, or microwave the squash until it's soft. Let the squash cool a bit before scooping the flesh into a medium bowl. Add 1/2 cup maple syrup, 2/3 cup light cream, and 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. nutmeg. (Doesn't the thought of freshly grated nutmeg sound good?) :-D Mash everything together with a potato master. Spoon into icepop molds, add sticks, and freeze for at least 6 hours before serving.

The next segment of the beginning of the end, or the beginning of the beginning...

It's a momentous occasion. The little kid who pounded on our door eleven years ago is on his first college visit. The kid's no longer little, though; they tower over us. Based on their test scores, at this school I think--hope--pray they would get a lot of scholarships if this were the choice. They will have to. God, I (try to) leave the outcome in Your capable grip.

And to think Metro said they would likely never read. HA!

I'm giggling a little as I wait for them to finish the tour and their interviews. At the beginning of the visit, I asked kiddo if they wanted me to go into the admissions office with them; they said yes. However, I also told kiddo they should come up with a "code word" they could say to me to get me to "disappear" so they could do the college meetings by themselves if they wanted. Wasn't only a few minutes after kiddo finished the paperwork that they whispered that very word; and I left them with the admissions rep for the tour.

Roots, and wings. May they both be strong, and sufficient for the journey ahead. Amen.

Tomato Herb Biscuits

I made some sundried tomatoes this week. Well, they weren't really sundried. I cut romas almost in half and opened them up like a book. Then I placed them on racks (baked good racks) on top of cookie sheets and baked them in an extremely slow oven (200 degrees) for seven or eight hours. My experience is that you should periodically check them and take out the smaller ones as they get dried but not crispy (you're aiming for raisin-like quality). Pack them in olive oil, but I would definitely refrigerate them. I just packed them in a jar and put them in the freezer for future use.

Here's a lovely use for them;

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In med bowl combine 2 1/4 c. all purpose baking mix, 1/4 cup drained and finely chopped oil packed sun dried tomatoes, and 2 T chopped parsley. Stir in 2/3 cup low fat milk. Drop dough by heaping tablespoons 2 in apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or till golden. Cool slightly on wire rack.

Flourless Nut Butter Chocolate Cookies

I have no idea where I found this one. I would suggest you use a natural nut butter for this one. Options might include peanut butter, sunflower butter, or almond butter. Usually almond butter is way too pricey, but Trader Joe's has done a good job of cutting the price substantially, and Whole Foods has had to follow suit. Five bucks a jar is still pricey, but is's not the nine to eleven bucks K-Roger insists on charging. Sometimes I swear that they buy their specialty stuff at retail and then keystone it from there. ;-)

1 c nut butter
3/4 c sugar (I'm gonna try honey as well, but I imagine I may have to tweak the amounts).
1 lg egg
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

sir together first five ingredients till well blended. Stir in chips. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls two inches apart onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes or till puffed and lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets on a wire rack five min, and then remove to wire rack. Makes 2 dozen.

Interesting Cookbook

I found this cookbook online. It is filled with recipes from native americans. Some are southwestern in nature which look interesting (haven't tried any yet). In addition, it covers use of commodity food from the government; in these times I think anyone can probably find something in here that would help us all save some bucks.

Pear Butter

(at least this is how I did it)
About six pounds of pears; peeled, cored, and sliced on my apple peeler (the softer ones had to be done by hand)
Three big cooking apples from my friend Teresa the veggie grower--completely optional of course)--peeled, cored, sliced.
I cooked the above till soft in my crockpot, and then used the stick blender to make a nice smooth pear sauce, although I guess you could probably leave it chunky.

Then I added about a half cup or so of demerera cane sugar, and part of a bottle of organic agave syrup I had left over--maybe half a cup. I guess you could sweeten it a lot more than that if desired.

Then I threw in some allspice and ground cloves to taste--watch it on the cloves! ;-) I grated some nutmeg and tossed it in there. The I cooked it in the crock pot with the lid ajar so as to cook out some of the moisture. When thicker, I canned in hot sterilized jars using the water bath method--at least ten min for half pints. I do a longer time for pints. Let cool and listen to the lids pop. :-D