Mrs. Baker's Spice Cake

A little stroll down Memory Lane today!

I've had this recipe since Grade 8. Mrs. Baker, mother of my best friend at school that year, passed it along. I loved it, especially when it was warm from the oven.

It's a simple cake, no special ingredients, no complicated directions, no icing required... a nice treat if people drop by for coffee kind of cake!

Mrs. Baker's Spice Cake

Mrs. Baker's Spice Cake

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

Rub together until you have light crumbs.

Set aside 1 cup for topping.

1 egg

1 cup sour milk (add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to milk)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup raisins

Add ingredients to bowl and mix.

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

Sprinkle on the 1 cup of topping you set aside.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Have a great weekend!

Maggie

Try this idea with the fall leaves you pick!

I saw a great idea on Facebook this morning! 

Before pressing fall leaves, cut out some interesting shapes using a scrapbook punch!  Preserve the little shapes just as you would a regular leaf and use in future projects.

Not sure how to preserve leaves? Click here.

There were no written directions with the Facebook post, but I would suggest you take care to “clean” your punch afterwards by punching a number of paper shapes and allowing the punch to air dry thoroughly.

The possibilities!! Card making, scrapbooking, Thanksgiving place cards...

What's for lunch? Peanut Butter French Toast

May I just say, one of the unexpected perks of being a retired teacher is....

PEANUT BUTTER.

Grilled Peanut Butter Sandwich

Yes, it's something I'm “all caps” excited about.

Peanut butter was a no-no at our school. Allergies made it a risky proposition in a classroom, so peanut butter was restricted to weekend sandwiches on the ski trail.

Now, move over and make room for my jar of pb!

Today at lunch, we “taste tested” two interpretations of an upscaled version of the classic peanut butter sandwich: Grilled Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter French Toast. Am I the last person in Canada to try these?

If you really want all the nitty gritty details, lists of ingredients and directions, click here for Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana...

...or here if you feel inclined to whip up Peanut Butter French Toast.

Peanut Butter French Toast

Not that you really need a recipe. For the Grilled Peanut Butter I used raisin bread, peanut butter and a drizzle of chocolate sundae topping to make a sandwich. Butter the outside (both sides) of your sandwich and gently fry in a non-stick skillet until nicely toasted on both sides.

For the Peanut Butter French Toast version, after constructing my raisin bread, peanut butter and chocolate sandwich, I dipped the sandwich in one beaten egg, coating well. Again, gently fry in a non-stick skillet until nicely browned on both sides. Top with syrup, whipped cream or whatever you enjoy most on pancakes or conventional French toast.

The verdict? Both were delicious, with Peanut Butter French Toast edging into a first place finish. Just something a little different for lunch (or brunch)... : )

Talk later,

Maggie

All ready for baby! Peurperium Cardigan...

Puerperium Cardigan

Well, I had a bit of a “Ta Da!” moment last night...

Fresh off my needles, I'm pleased to introduce a sweet little newborn sweater designed by Kelly Brooker.

Entitled, Puerperium Cardigan, it's a free pattern knit all in one piece on size 4 mm needles using an 8 ply/DK weight yarn. Yeah! No sewing pieces together. It does have all those buttons to sew on, however! : )  Click here to get to Kelly's website.  She has a larger version for sale, but scroll to the bottom for the (free!) newborn pattern.

This version has short sleeves but there are directions for both straight and tapered long sleeves.  

Notice how my suitcase is packed? Yes! Any day now, a new little grandbaby! I'm ready!

Happy Saturday!
Maggie

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

Sorry!

It's all about my stomach today.

And Thanksgiving weekend (in Canada).

Links to three (simple) “fancy” recipes you might want to make this weekend. 

Click on the titles to zip over to each website.  Enjoy!

Easy Plum Tarts

from Dinner With Julie

Puff pastry can fancy up anything!  The only downside is waiting for it to defrost.  Oh, well.  The best part?  Each one took only about 1/4 of a plum, thinly sliced.  Other fruits would work as well. Add a little ice cream or whipping cream...yum!

Braided Sausage Roll

from The Bon Appetit Diaries

In the past, using a similar recipe from The Best of Bridge, this took a loonnnggg time to bake as the filling was raw meat.  Cooking the filling first made this a quick recipe to assemble.  Be sure to follow the directions for putting the roll on a rack!  Try it once following the recipe, but experiment and try it again with your own combination of ingredients.

Maple Scones

from Dinner With Julie

This is a good basic scone recipe with two tablespoons of maple syrup in the dough.  What takes this over the top is the glaze of icing sugar and maple syrup!

5 Ingredient Thai Pumpkin Soup

While making supper the other day, I was thinking about why my interest in cooking perks up when fall arrives.  I came to the conclusion it's because I love comfort food best... stews, soups, scones and biscuits, fruit crisps and (rice) puddings.  I gravitate to those recipes. 

Not so my husband.

Sometimes, it's an issue.... : )

Now, normally my favourite soup is made from roasted vegetables, whatever's in season. My Butternut Squash Soup is a typical example. Life gets even better if I have homemade stock in the fridge.

Add meat, as in Rainbow Chicken Soup, and dumplings... Hey! It's a Full Meal Deal!  


Today's soup idea came from Foodie Crush.

5 Ingredient Thai Pumpkin Soup.

That's right.  Five ingredients, all from my pantry.  That's why I'm tucking this little recipe into my book.  Sometimes, when there's not much in the fridge and you have unexpected people to feed, it's nice to have a quick, simple soup idea you can whip up at the last minute.

Notes:

The original recipe has fresh red chili peppers and uses red curry paste. I only had green curry paste and chili pepper flakes. No big deal. It still tasted good!

I enjoyed the addition of coconut milk. It was a tasty change from my other version - Pumpkin Soup for One.