Let ‘em Eat Cake
Posted: October 21, 2010 Filed under: Joined at the Heart, Recipe | Tags: family Leave a comment »
Aunt Cowgirl Crisp's Strawberry Cake with White Chocolate Icing
Birthday girls (and boys) get to special-request homemade cake, and Cherry loves pink. I’ve made this one before, but the fresh fruit and better-than-shoe-shopping frosting pushed it over the top. Cowgirl gave me the recipe, handwritten on an index card, over thirty years ago. Still works!
Strawberry Cake
- 1 package white cake mix
- 3 T flour, sifted
- 1 box strawberry dessert gelatin, dry
- ¾ cup cooking oil
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup frozen strawberries, thawed
- 1/2 cup water
Add flour, dessert gelatin, water, oil and unbeaten eggs to cake mix in a large bowl. Beat two minutes with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add frozen berries. Beat one minute. Pour into two nine-inch prepared cake pans. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
White Chocolate Icing
- 4 oz white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 T vanilla extract
- 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
Place white chocolate and cream in a small microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high 15 to 30 seconds; whisk until smooth. Let stand 2 minutes; cover with plastic wrap and chill. In a large bowl beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium high for 2 minutes. Beat in cooled white-chocolate mixture until blended. On low-speed, add confectioners’ sugar in batches and beat until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about one minute.
Assemble, with icing and fresh sliced strawberries between the layers. After the entire cake is frosted, use whole fresh strawberries to hold the birthday candles.
Eat first! Life is short.
Long Life Lo Mein
Posted: March 7, 2010 Filed under: Recipe, Writers Write | Tags: family Leave a comment »We are in limbo land. You know, that day before the world changes again. Bacon starts work tomorrow. It’s raining. We are in don’t-spend-a-penny mode, saving for Coco’s eminent hospital bill. So today, I give you a favorite family recipe. It’s quick, easy, and cheap. Noodles are a traditional Chinese birthday dish. Because they are long and skinny, they symbolize a long life. Hence, the name.
Cook a pound of angel hair according to package directions. Do not over cook.
In a wok or giant skillet heat 2 t. canola oil and then add: 1 package precut broccoli slaw, 1 chopped onion, 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1 cup cooked cubed meat. (Any leftover chicken or pork works.) ½ cup frozen, pre-shelled edamame. Do not thaw first.
In a bowl combine: 2 cups chicken broth (1 can is good), 2 T. soy sauce, 1 T. corn starch, ¼ t. crushed red pepper.
When veggies are crisp tender, add the liquid mixture. Turn the heat to high and reduce the liquid by half.
Drain the pasta, place in a large serving bowl. Add 2 T. sesame oil. This is the secret ingredient. Do not use it to cook the veggies because it burns at a low temperature.
Pour the veggies and meat over the noodles, combine gently. Serve in bowls with chopsticks. Drink jasmine tea.
Grape Harvest
Posted: July 4, 2009 Filed under: Aha!, cottage garden, Housekeeping, Recipe | Tags: cottage garden, garden, grapevines, Sour Grape Sorbet Leave a comment »I grow grapes along the fence. Actually, I grow vines along the fence. After 10 years of vines, we had grapes for the first time last summer. I didn’t let the girls pick them because they weren’t ripe. Unfortunately, when we came back from vacation, the mockingbirds had helped themselves. Cherry and Coco weren’t happy. First, I wouldn’t let them pick the grapes green, and then, they didn’t get to pick any at all.
This year’s crop was lush, until a single afternoon when our bird friends claimed half of them. Mockingbirds don’t care if the grapes are tart. We couldn’t let the thieves eat them all, so we picked every unclaimed globe. Here’s our harvest in pictures:
Recipe for Sour Grape Sorbet
Wash and de-stem three cups of grapes. Place them in a heavy pan with one cup of sugar and one cup of water. Bring to a boil, and then, turn the heat down to simmer until the grapes are very soft. Pour all of the mixture through a sieve into a bowl, mashing the solids through with a pestle. I used a big wooden one my mother gave me years ago. Discard the seeds. Return the mixture to the pan, heat again on medium-high. Dissolve 2 T cornstarch in half a cup of water, whisk into the grapes. Stir until it’s thick enough to coat a spoon. Pour it into a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until completely solid. Cut the frozen pieces into chunks with a knife and blend until smooth. I used a hand mixer with a blade, but a food processor would work. Scoop into bowls and serve immediately.
The sour grapes are sweet and sharp like cranberry sauce. A small serving packs a lot of taste.
