Red Velvet Cake

I found this recipe on a blog called Apple a Day last spring, she adapted it from www.saveur.com.

It will make one 8 inch 3 layer cake. Or three 8 inch 1 layer cakes. You do what you think is best... ooohhhhh my kids hate it when I say that. What is it about the responsibility of having to make a decision for yourself???

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

For the cake:
2½ cups cake flour 1½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs
1½ cups vegetable oil 1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons (1 oz.) red food coloring 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

For the frosting:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
12 ounces butter, softened
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1½ cups chopped pecans (optional)

1. For the cake: Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa, and salt into a medium bowl.

3. Beat eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until well combined. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

4. Divide batter evenly between 3 greased and floured 8″ round cake pans.

5. Bake cakes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Let cakes cool 5 minutes, then invert each onto a plate, then invert again onto a cooling rack. Let cakes cool completely.

6. For the frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Add sugar and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes.

4. Put 1 cake layer on a cake plate, level off with a serrated knife, and spread one-quarter of the frosting on top. Set another layer on top, level, and repeat frosting. Set remaining layer on top, level, and frost top and sides with the remaining frosting. Press pecans into the sides of the cake, if desired. **Tip: after leveling cake, turn it upside down to reduce numbers of crumbs. I also did a crumb coat on the outside, let it set for ten minutes, then finished with remaining frosting. (from Jenny: I don't use the pecans or level off with a knife or bother with a crumb coat.)

5. Chill for 2 hours to set frosting. ~if you can wait that long to dig in.

Mike made this taste temptation for my birthday last spring. It was magical. Smooth. Rich. Delightful.

His friends at work remember things like that so when they decided to have a potluck for Veterans Day they requested he make Red Velvet Cake. So today I made it for him to take. What's the good of being a full time homemaker if you can't make yummy treats for your man to take to work?

What surprised me the most is that he asked me to put it on the glass cake pedestal! Fancy man that Mike.

Onions?!?

I heard a story recently about a man who was in the hospital near death when he was a child. His Italian grandmother came to the hospital and asked a family member to go buy her a large onion and a new pair of white cotton socks. She sliced the onion open then put a slice on the bottom of each of his feet and put the white cotton socks on him. In the morning when he awoke they removed the socks. The slices of onion were black and his fever was gone.

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was a Doctor that visited many of the farmers in his area to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their families had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon one farmer and to his surprise, everyone in the family was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different his wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home. The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions to look at under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he found the flu virus in the onion. It had absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

This story comes from a hairdresser in Arizona. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick.

Here's another one: This person had contracted pneumonia and was very ill. She came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion, put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar, placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs. Sure enough it happened, just like that....the onion was a mess and she began to feel better.

It has also been said that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago.

They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

I wish these stories had been brought to my attention 3 weeks ago. But nevertheless, I will definitely be trying it for the rest of the winter and next year as well.

Go Onions!

Mean Joe Green is 63

Mean Joe Green turned 63 on September 24th. I was listening to the radio that morning when they announced it and all sorts or childhood memories came flooding into my mind. Memories of three brothers. I was surrounded by boys. I have two sisters too, thank goodness! But they are 5 years older and 5 years younger. The boys and I were all born within 5 years of each other... I am right in the middle.

A Squirrel and his Booty

I follow a great blog called Twisted Fencepost. Becky lives on a farm way south of here and has a wonderful way with words. She lives with squirrels, spiders, horses and cows. The other day she shared an adventure in nut gathering and her race with the squirrels to gather them. It reminded me of a little adventure we had several years ago.

We lived in a great little rambler on the other side of town with a cedar shake roof that originally looked something like this: but was beginning to look a little like this: The time had come for a new roof. After researching every person and everyplace he could think of Mike was ready to "Do it Yourself"!

We purchased supplies, prayed for sun and borrowed tools. We were ready to replace the old wooden shingles with a beautiful new composition roof.

Next to our house was something I really miss. A huge beautiful 100 foot pine tree. Granted, when the high winds of autumn came I always prayed for a deep root system which is a little uncommon around here, but I still miss it. Because of this tree and the nature of where we live, we discovered that our roof was the backyard and playground for life we were then unaware of. I hope you can sense the anger. This guy did not want us on his roof! Well, this isn't the original, I found him on the web, but very similar and not happy with us!

Then we discovered the booty. Nuts. Everywhere.

Squirrels used our roof to hide their nut booty.

Peanuts. Under roof tiles. All over the roof.

I wonder where else we might find their booty?!?

By replacing that roof we were robbing unsuspecting squirrels of forgotten nuts from years gone by.

6WS To Swine or not to Swine

The Flu has left the building! (finally!)

We never went in for confirmation if it was or wasn't H1N1... but we definitely had The Flu.

Two weeks, four victims.

I don't like the flu.

Our symptoms have run the gamut. The first culprit had a full range of body aches, severe head, back, and leg pain. But no cold symptoms. The doc thinks the rest might still come... I hope not.

The second was worse. Fever, body aches, sore throat, coughing, more fever... but no nausea. What a relief! That one got better for a few days and then worse again. The doc thinks we might be working toward pneumonia. Yikes.

Kid #3 was pretty happy the first week that they were such a good hand washer! But then Halloween arrived with a fever, body aches and... you guessed it throwing up. Ugh! It sure is nice others were willing to share trick or treating booty!

Since I can't stand to be left out of things the family is doing I just had to join in. Mine wasn't too bad. At least I was only down for a day and a half.

Hope you're having better health at your house!

Please stay away from the pigs! (six)

~just kidding, I know it's not caused by pigs! Where did they come up with the name Swine Flu anyway?

Visit Show My Face for more Six Word Saturday Fun!

Dinner Rolls

These are the easiest quickest homemade rolls you will ever meet. They are best if given the double rising 'required' for dinner rolls (and most bread) but... they don't need it to be delicious. Check out this recipe... So easy, I can almost make them in my sleep.Quick Dinner Rolls from my friend Verlene:

4-5 cups flour (I always use unbleached white flour, it just seems healthier)
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 cup warm water (to dissolve yeast)
2 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
1 cup Scalded Milk
1/4 cup margarine

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Heat milk and margarine together in microwave for about a minute and a half. Mix dry ingredients. Combine all together and knead. (I just let my Kitchen Aid do the kneading.) Let rise double. Form into rolls. Let rise. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.Sometimes I don't let them rise at all, I just form into rolls and pop them in the oven. They are more dense that way but still mouthwatering and irresistibly tasty.

Homecoming

The Homecoming Dance at our High School was on Halloween this year, and...
the students were NOT allowed to come in costume.

Beaner and I went shopping a few weeks before the dance. Fully expecting to find a dress that would require adjusting for modesty. We found a cute one in the second store we tried. It would require some adjusting but nothing a cute little black Tee and a yard of black fabric couldn't fix!

By letting out the hem which thankfully was four inches deep and adding another four inches of black fabric the dress made it to her knees. Here's a secret about The Beaner, she is always wearing a pair of basketball shorts! If a dress is too short to cover them... it's too short!We spent about an hour curling her three heads worth of hair and she looked beautiful!
Do you recognize her date? New Kid! They went trick or treating in our old neighborhood, ate at Red Robin, went to the dance and had a great night with good friends.