We are hangin (trying to sound like a true valley girl) out in California waiting for cooler weather to arrive in Texas before going back. Randy is going ahead and buying our burial plots here as he doesn’t think that will ever happen. Anyhow, going thrierough a friends stack of cookbooks I just found this and am now craving apple cake. See what you think.
Cake
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs,room temp
1 teas vanilla
1 teas salt
1 teas,baking soda
2 teas baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour
3 cups apples,chopped
Topping
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teas cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Vanilla Sauce
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tables flour
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
2 teas vanilla
For cake: beat oil,sugar,eggs and vanilla together. Blend in dry ingredients. Stir in apples
Press into a lightly oiled 13×9 pan.
For topping:
Combine all ingredients and sprinkle over cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes depending on your oven. For vanilla sauce:
blend sugar and flour together in a saucepan. Whisk in whipping cream. Add butter and cook over medium heat, whisking often, until thickened. Add vanilla and stir. Serve cake warm with vanilla sauce.

1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temp

2 1/2 cups sugar,divided

4 extra large eggs at room temperature

1/3 cup grated orange zest (about 6 oranges)

3 cups flour

1/2 teas baking powder

1/2 teas baking soda

1 teas kosher salt

3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice,divided

3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature

1 teas vanilla

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons orange juice ( freshly squeezed if possible)

Heat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour to 8.5 x 4 and I have my 2 1/2 inch loaf pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper. Cream the butter and 2 cups of the granulated sugar in the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about five minutes or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium beat in the eggs one at a time and the orange zest.

In a large bowl sift together the flour,baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a different bowl combine 1/4 cup of the orange juice,buttermilk and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilkmixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans,smooth the tops and bake for about 45_55 min or until cake tests done.

When the cakes bake, cook the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with the remaining 1/2 cup orange juice and a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes. Take them out of the pans and place them on a baking rack set over a tray. Spoon the orange syrup over the cakes and allow the cakes to cool completely . To glaze combined the powdered sugar and orange juice and a bowl mixing with a wire whisk until smooth . Add a few more drops of juice if necessary to make it pour more easily. Poor over-the-top of cakes  and allow the cakes to dry; wrap well and store in the refrigerator.

Today my sweet husband turns a year older. As I stated in a previous post, it angers me that we eat the same foods, yet he is healthy as a horse. He just returned from getting pictures taken of his heart to find any plaque that has accumulated. Any number under 5 is good. His number was 1.35….HOW DOES THIS WORK? I’m sure if I got up the nerve to go have the same test, my number would be 10, (but hey, I will take being a number 10 anywhere I could get it, even if it means plaque build up in my heart).

It seems that the older he gets, the healthier he gets. The older I get, well….let’s not go there.

He requested his traditional birthday dinner of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, hot rolls and German Chocolate Cake. He will sit and digest several plates of this food, along with the cake and ice cream, wake up, stand on the scales and probably find that he has lost a pound or two. I will wake up and find that not only will I not fit in anything that is in my closet, but will certainly have added 25 points to my cholesterol count.

At least he apologizes now for being so healthy. During the first 10 years of our marriage, he would come in the door smiling, after his yearly check up and throw down  in front of me,all the Dr reports, telling how great all his numbers were, “yelling, “boo ha….beat these numbers!!!” It was then than I began to change my will and begin to add a stick of melted butter to his morning “health shake”. After all, I can’t let him outlive me long enough to find some little 70 yr old to begin enjoying senior aquatic swimming with.

So besides our birthday celebration with family coming over this evening, we will sit and plan our next adventure for this coming year. We have done this traditionally in the month of July, since both of our birthdays are in the same month. Lord willing, we will be going to Italy for a few months hoping to experience “life in Europe”. It will be so exciting to spend our next birthdays there. Since I won’t be able to get my daily Dr Pepper or bake, maybe by the time we get back to the states, my numbers will have fallen into at least the high normal range, and we will have a little more in common.  Not that I have any hostility towards this very healthy precious husband of mine, but I have already planned his tombstone to read, “Here lies Randy, with no plaque in his heart, his cholesterol count shows good on the chart. There is no cellulite to be found, so then why in the world is he laying here beneath the ground?”

Happy Birthday to the best husband in the world, even if your numbers make mine look bad.

1 cup butter

8 -1 oz squares semi sweet chocolate

1 cup sugar

5 large eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream. Soften

6 (2.07 oz) Snickers candy bars,chopped and divided

3/4 cup chocolate sauce

garnish: chocolate sauce and caramel sauce

In a large bowl, combine butter and chocolate. Microwave at high in 32nd intervals, stirring after each, until chocolate is melted and smooth.

Whisk in sugar. Add eggs, what time whisking well after each addition.

Whisk in flour until smooth. Pour batter into greased 10 inch spring form pan.

Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

In a large bowl combine ice cream and half of chopped snicker bars. Spread chocolate sauce evenly over cake layer.

Spread ice cream mixture over chocolate sauce. Cover and freeze for four hours or until firm. Drizzle cake with chocolate sauce and caramel sauce if desired. Sprinkle with remaining chopped snicker bars

Thank you Paladine for yet another great summer delicious ice cream treat.

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We are in Phoenix visiting our kids…last night we spent the night in Las Cruces,NM.
After Randy took his shower,he walks out of the bathroom (now this is a picture you want etched in your mind forever)and holding up a pair of clean underwear,proceeds to say,”what happened to my new underwear?” As I sat there looking and laughing at gray undies with huge bleach spots all over them, I remembered that I was going to put that pair way back of his drawer, but got so involved with packing, guess I folded them and stuck them in the suitcase. Because I am so used to throwing all of his underwear in with the bleach water, I had forgotten that he had bought new colored underwear and still threw them in the water with bleach. Still laughing, i told him that if tie-dyed clothes come back in style he will be totally in fashion;plus he has a pair of “one of a kind” underwear and should be so thankful that at least I still do wash his clothes. So many of the wives today insist that their hubbies do their own laundry. So that shut him up real quick. I am hoping that if I ruin too many of his clothes in the wash, he will volunteer to do all of the laundry. Ladies, remember there are other ways,besides nagging,to get men to help around the house. You just need a big ole gallon of bleach and turn the dryer setting to “hot”!..forgot to mention that his new designer undies wouldn’t even fit a 10 yr old now. Who says you can’t get a man to do a women’s job?

Walmart has the cutest colored plastic mason jars which I bought to use for individual servings of either salads or desserts. Layered lemon pudding, combined with cream cheese topped a bottom layer of crushed shortbread cookies, then topped with blueberry pie filling and whipping cream, finishing off with a swirl of a little more crushed cookies. Served them to friends, who ate every bite. A great little summer, quick dessert when short on time and energy!

Go get some of these cute little jars, while they still have them!

We went on another adventure today with our brother and sister-in-law to Heritage Homestead, just a little north of Waco, TX.

We had heard from some friends that we needed to go there. I have lived in Texas off and on for years and had never heard of this little community that is tucked back away off the interstate 35. There are about 1000 folks that live there. Each family home schools their children and they grow their own food for the entire community. There is a pottery shop, a blacksmith, general store, diary and a gristmill, where I bought some freshly ground flour, just ground for baking. No preservatives, nothing has been taken out or refined.

We dined at their restaurant, Café Homestead. All I can tell you is that all 4 our us agreed that the food was some of the best food we have had in quite some time. The foods there are grown without any pesticides. The ice cream is made with organic milk. Randy and Don had the chocolate and said it was really good. We also had raspberry cream cheese pie that was made with the whipping cream and the cream cheese is made right there on site. The crust was made from just crushed pecans and butter. AMAZING!!!

If you are looking for a day trip anywhere around Dallas, GO!  We were able to watch a 14 min video about the community. We talked with several of the ladies and young men that were there and was fascinated about how they live in todays world, teaching their youth the importance of integrity, purpose and hard work. We watched as a young boy probably no more than 10 wiped down the tables in the restaurant with a smile on his face, then set it for a family of 4. It was just so great to see these young kids doing something besides play video games. They actually conversed with visitors and seemed to enjoy the interaction of people visiting their community.

So take a Saturday and head down Interstate 35. You will be transported to a much simpler way of life and some of the best food around. We plan on going back down to one of their monthly dinners. Here is a sample menu of what they served in February. Each month is a different theme and the dinners are $48 per person. Here is the Feb menu:

Berry Peach Tea

Blooming Onion with Dipping Sauce

Texas Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Fresh Herb and Gorgonzola Butter

Slow Roasted Glazed Carrots

Twice Baked Potatoes

Fresh Baked Rolls with Butter

Peach Fried Pies with Homestead Vanilla Ice Cream

We brought home some Homestead Fresh Baked Bread and the best Almond Cherry Scones you have ever put in your month. It was a lovely day, full of great food and laughter. Thanks Don and Janece for taking us.