I’ve been doing more baking in the past year, especially of things like shoo fly pies and other pies and cakes, and I’ve been keeping them in a plastic cake holder that I got who-knows-when. I decided that I needed something better than plastic, so I bought an acrylic cake stand. It’s actually multifunctional and … Continue reading My New Cake Stand
Food
Tuscan-Style Beef Stew
I picked the wrong day to make Tuscan-Style Beef Stew. Saturday is laundry day. I do all my laundry on Saturday morning, so that means I’m running up and down the stairs many times, and I have to strip the bed and than make it, and well, it’s more than enough work for one morning. … Continue reading Tuscan-Style Beef Stew
Whole Wheat Pancakes
I love pancakes but they’ve never seemed to be a very wholesome meal, so when I came across this recipe for 100% whole wheat pancakes, I thought, hmm, that makes them sound actually healthful. The basic recipe makes way more than I need, so I just make half the recipe, which I’ve provided. I generally … Continue reading Whole Wheat Pancakes
Apple Upside Down Cake
I had some Granny Smith apples left over so I went in search of recipes that could use them. I found one for Apple Upside Down Cake that sounded good. It’s pretty much like Pineapple Upside Down Cake but without the pine (ha-ha). I discovered that I no longer had any cake pans. I know … Continue reading Apple Upside Down Cake
French Apple Cake
The original recipe calls for a tablespoon of Calvados, but who has that on hand? The substitutes are apple brandy or white rum. I had white rum so I made that the primary and the others the subs. It’s a pain to remove the cake from the bottom of the pan, so just leave … Continue reading French Apple Cake
Preserved Lemons
Some time ago, over a year certainly, I came across a mention of preserved lemons. Hmm, sounded good, I thought. And versatile. You could add them to lots of dishes and salads. Why don’t I try them? I found a bunch of different recipes on the web, but I needed to order a canning jar, … Continue reading Preserved Lemons
White Angel Food Cake
When my sister and I took our mother, Arlene Troutman, to the assisted living facility in the Watermark here in Philadelphia a little over ten years ago, she was already showing signs of dementia. But she still had her memories of her youth pretty much intact. So when she met some of the Watermark employees, … Continue reading White Angel Food Cake
Fruit of the Range
I’ve been doing some baking with the new range and so far everything has been turning out very good. I should also mention once again the standing mixer that I bought a few months ago. It’s making the mixing of the batter and the cookie dough a lot easier, at least in those recipes where … Continue reading Fruit of the Range
Nut Chopper
When I first saw Lisa McManus demonstrate the Progressive Nut Chopper I thought it might be nice to have, but I didn't chop enough nuts to make it worthwhile. I have enough gadgets, I didn't need another one. But since then I’ve been doing a fair amount of baking and a lot of it involves … Continue reading Nut Chopper
Shoo Fly Lessons
I have probably baked close to a dozen shoo fly pies by this time, and I’ve learned a thing or two. In general I’d say I’ve gotten better at making them, thought I still make some mistakes from time to time. I still put the pies on a cookie sheet to catch any spills in … Continue reading Shoo Fly Lessons