My apologies

As you may have noticed....I haven't posted in a while.  Sadly I got sick and had to have my gall bladder removed.  I am pretty much back to normal now and will post a delicious recipe my family just enjoyed very soon!!! 

Lemon Pound Cake and a cool story

You may already know that I have a SERIOUS sweet tooth.  It's really bad.  I also love to bake...which is only bad for my waistline...But I love measuring out the flour, beating the butter, shortening, sugar, eggs...to turning into something completely new and different!!  It relieves stress and is so satisfying!  This cake is SO good!  Delicate, lemony but not too lemony, moist and DELICIOUS!! I got the recipe from my Grandmother.  She got it from a kind woman who lived in the same apartment complex as her, while she and my Grandfather were stationed in Germany, directly above as a matter-of-fact.  She brought it to my Grandmother once and, my Grandmother loved it and asked for the recipe.  The lady happily gave it too her and said that it came from the Waldorf-Astoria years ago.  Her husband was a high ranking military man and they were eating there.  She loved the recipe so much that she paid the Pastry Chef $100 for the recipe.  She freely shared it with anyone who wanted it.  And that's how this beautiful cake came into my world!!  It's a family tradition in the family I grew up in and now in my own home.  My 4 children love it as well as my husband!  You could say it's part of the family, and since I'm not a recipe hoarder, I'm sharing it with you now.  Enjoy!

 1 cup shortening
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. lemon extract
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. lemon zest
6 eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk
3 cups cake flour, sifted
1/4 tsp. b. soda
1/2 tsp. salt

1.  First take out the eggs.  They need to be at room temp....or so.  Separate them once they are the temp you need and set them aside.  Make sure the whites are in a bowl that has enough room so that when you whip them, they have room.

2.  Ok, now put the shortening and sugar in the mixing bowl.  Beat that until it's light and fluffy.  You'll need about 2-3 minutes on high.  Add your egg yolks one at a time beating well after each addition.

3.  Now add your extract, lemon juice, zest and give a little mix.  Not too much or your zest will start to wrap around your beater, nothing worse than zest tangle....

4.  Ok now we get to the fun part....well....one of the fun parts.  Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together.  Add 1/3 of the flour to the bowl and mix on low speed.  With the mixer still on low add 1/3 of the buttermilk.  Continue adding alternately the flour mixture and buttermilk until it's mixed well.  Turn off the mixer and removed the bowl.

5.  Next beat your egg whites.  You want them to hold a stiff peak....They need to be able to hold their own.
6.  Ok so now your whites are beat and have surrendered....lol....just kidding.  They should be a bit glossy, and nice and firm.  Take 1/3 of the egg whites and add them to your batter.  Fold them in gently but know that this addition is a sort of a sacrifice for the greater good of the cake.  It lightens everything up and gets it ready for the rest of the team to do the heavy lifting.

7.  Add the rest of the egg whites and gently fold them in.  Don't over fold....

8.  Now get a bundt pan (I use my Pampered Chef stoneware Fluted Pan)  and rub it with oil.  If you use a metal bundt pan you'll want to spray it with cooking spray or do the butter/shortening rub with flour massage....It stinks when your beautiful delicious cake is not so beautiful!  Pour it into your pan and bake it at 350 for 1 hour and 10 minutes.  You will want to watch it since ovens are different and the time may be less than that.  Stick a cake tester in there  close to the middle and make sure it's done.

9.  When it's done let it cool about 10 or 15 minutes and turn out onto a cake plate.  Lightly cover and let cool....although it's delish warm too!

Feel the love in every bite!!  Enjoy!
   

Lemon Pound Cake

Egg-cakes aka....Crepes

Here is MY recipe for crepes....because I LOVE them!!  My grandmother used to make them for us when we would spend the nights!  She called them egg-cakes and I never knew until I was cooking for my own little people that they were officially called crepes.  We had several options, slathered in butter and maple syrup, slathered in butter, sugar, and some lemon juice, or slathered with butter and homemade jam.  You can't go wrong with any of them but the newest additions to our families reptitoire' is the following:  Nutella strawberries & whipping cream, strawberries and whipping cream, or slathered in butter cinnamon and sugar....the list of possibilities is endless, which is why I love them so much!!  I've adapted my own recipe and thought you might enjoy.  They aren't difficult to make and if they are the right consistency not hard to shape/cook either.  :-)  Here you go:

1 1/2  cups flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Throw it in a blender and blend it up until combined.  It should coat the back of a spoon and will be runny.  Not pancake batter, it's gonna be more like cream....I cook mine on a griddle that has a bit of a lip on it but is flat.  Mine is a Pampered Chef pan but you can use any kind of non-stick pan you like.  I just like the flat griddle that way I can get at if from any angle I need to.  Cook it on medium to medium-high heat.  Once the batter  is on the pan swirl it into a circle shape with the back of your spoon or whatever you have.  Mine are rarely actual circles.  They really just need to be kinda thin and rolled up you can't tell what their shape is....It should sizzle a bit when you put the batter on the pan.  Cook it for about 30 secs. to a minute and flip it.  Cook 15 seconds and remove.  I roll my crepes so they don't stick together and tear but you can stack em' flap jack style if you want to.

Note:  If you want to fill these crepes with savory stuffins' just omit the vanilla.  :-)  

Homemade Ketchup

I got this recipe from a Gluten-Free food blog that I visit called Adventures Of A Gluten-Free Mom.  It was my first time trying it and I tweaked it to what I wanted it to taste like.  While I was making it the boys came in and said, "Hey!  Why does it smell like ketchup in here?!"  I knew I was on the right track!  Yeaa!  The ingredients freaked me out a bit but they are PERFECT!  Here it is:

2 (6oz.) cans tomato paste
1/2 apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Garlic powder
1 Tbsp. Onion Powder
1/4 tsp.  plus 1/8 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. molasses
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar

Throw everything into a pot/saucepan and bring to low boil over medium heat.  Let it simmer on low to medium low for 40 minutes or until it's the consistency you want.  Remove the cinnamon stick and put it in a mason jar or other container.  It will keep 2 weeks in the fridge.  My kids LOVE it.  They think it's better than the stuff we buy at the store.  Winner!

Pesto

Let's start with an easy one.  Pesto.  Green, yummy, creamy, delicious pesto.  I love the stuff!  I use it for all kinds of yummy things.  Slather it on French bread, over pasta, in place of mayo or with a sandwich!  It's great stuff!  Here's the recipe:

2 cups packed fresh Basil
2 small cloves Garlic
4 Tbsp Pine Nuts
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
salt & pepper to taste
Throw it all in a food processor or in my case a really great blender and drizzle in the Olive Oil.  Refrigerate and enjoy for days....if it lasts that long.  I found this picture on pinterest because my camera isn't working.  This is what it should look like.