HOW CAN YOU TELL I LOVE A RECIPE?

Just in case you ever want to know which are my favorite recipes in one of my many, many cookbooks...take a look at the page below. It's from a German-American one bought at Stars and Stripes store in Frankfurt, Germany in late 1970's. It's a cool book with German recipes on left pages and English versions on right. All of my cookbooks are right there in the mix (literally, obviously) as they're being used. This particular recipe is one of the most used in all of my books for desserts. It IS absolutely delicious, huge, and doesn't need frosting. (called delikater topfenkuchen in German) Years ago I started making it differently because of not having things like sour cream or lemon juice on hand. I'd also seen o.j. made using the whole thing, rind and all and somehow it clicked to try in this cake. It's fantastic and just made one using a tangelo from the box of them we got through Bountiful Baskets (if you've never heard of them or Zaycon foods...google them and get in on great deals!)This is what most of the cake was baked into--pretty, eh? Used a silicon rose mold and also part of it was baked in a small spring-form pan. This is a huge cake--first time I made it, the amount of ingredients didn't register and so were doubled thinking of the regular size of poundcakes. I had cake being baked in all sorts of pans and other stuff! It's also a very forgiving cake...one time before figuring out sour cream wasn't necessary, I couldn't find any in the house and was needing to bake two cakes for a big Relief Society (my church's women's group) celebration. Looked in the cupboard and found a packet of sour cream something or other...just as I watched it being beaten into the dough I realized it was chive-flavored sour cream mix for baked potatoes!! I ended up adding a lot more lemon juice in both the cake and the frosting and no one noticed...helped that we'd had a pretty spicy dinner before hand, but... :)
I'm putting the original recipe here but cannot figure out how to fix it so it'll come out looking like a recipe on my blog, so hope you'll be able to make sense of it.

DELICIOUS POUNDCAKE

3 c. flour 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1 c. soft butter 3 c. sugar 5 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. lemon juice 1 c. sour cream

Sift flour and soda. Cream butter, add sugar gradually. Add one egg at a time, vanilla and juice, beat for 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Add flour and pour into well-greased and floured tube pan. Bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours. Now...here's what I actually do--cut one whole (rind and all) lemon/orange/tangerine/other citrus into quarters and take out seeds if any. Put in Cuisinart (other food processor or blender) along with soft butter and sugar then process until fruit is pulverized (could probably chop the fruit up very finely instead and use a mixer). Then add milk or sour cream if wish and vanilla (I usually add extra vanilla in all my baking). Process well, then add eggs and process until makes a nice dough--this wouldn't like 10 minutes in the Cuisinart, so just use your judgement--a minute or so is more than enough. Pour into prepared pans. I wouldn't use the rose form again for pound cake--makes it too high in middle and therefore cooked about 2 hours and was quite crispy on all the indentations--loved it actually crunchy like that, but probably wouldn't do it again. That form would be find for a regular cake, though...or maybe a meatloaf--funny shape but might be fun to try. Was just thinking other fruit could go in this cake--berries, cherries, whatever...with or without the citrus. Gotta try that next time. Anyway...try this recipe--you won't be disappointed!

Got so many wonderful handmade Christmas presents. Ladybug painting is by my eldest Girlie Girl, Sagie. Isn't it darling? I also got fingerless gloves from my dil Jenny, recipe card holder from Boyly Boy Adam, handpainted treasure box from Boyly Boy Trey, button clock from Girlie Girls Sydney and Sabrina (their daddy taught them how to sew buttons with ladybug and daisy ones for 12 o-clock!) and dd Diannalynn made me a darling heart mobile that will appear on here later.
This is the latest Starry Night block I've finished. Last year in January, I started getting the Mystery BOM Starry Night kits from Wish Upon A Quilt. For some reason, I decided to not only make the kit one but another similar one in regular fabrics and two in batik--I KNOW...TOTALLY CRAZY! Anyway...with one thing and another, I got bogged down and am behind. I also didn't realize (DUH!) that twelve 12 inch squares does not a quilt make and needed a finishing kit. Well...I didn't want to buy the finishing kit, am not going to buy the finishing kit--especially since I'm making three extras...so am doing it with material left over from what I've gotten or used so far and will need to buy some extra but not a whole kit's worth. One of my resolutions is to finish things and this is highest priority right now, so have been frantically cuttinng all the cazillion pieces for the 13 "filler" squares for FOUR Starry Night quilts. Keeping it all straight has been interesting. Hopefully by Monday I at least have all original blocks done and can get pictures of all of them. Well...long post, but hopefully you've enjoyed it and will try the cake. Divide it up for a smaller cake or use it as shown.

FISHIES, PANSIES, LADYBUG, OH MY!!!!!

Two latest finished creations are staying at our home. Stained-glass one just screamed "Eileen" when I saw it since it's got the ladybug and pansies, which are one of my favorites and in colors I adore. http://www.bearpawproductions.com/store.php?cat=3 It was a pain to make...not because of directions or pattern, but because basting glue I used just didn't work well. It was a different glue than she suggested so that might make the difference!! To do another stained-glass pattern I'd use fusible web. Made bias because just couldn't see paying money it would have cost to get iron-on type. Of course, for ease, it would have been a lot easier. Someone posted about a glue stick something like lapel stick and might try that another time. Ended up buying one of those bendable lights for my machine and an open toed foot as my old eyes just couldn't see what was going on for sewing bias. Love both of them for other things, too and got a pretty good deal on light at a local sewing machine store. Batiks were used for both of these projects. The fish one was a birthday present to dear hubby...who picks out most of my fabrics for me!! He loves it and it was ridiculously easy!! It's a Ryan Mckenna design. I used corner triangles for hanging it:
http://www.embtreasures.com/articles/QuiltSleeveTriangles.htm shows how to do it. My dear sil hung it up in hall, then cute grandson Trey, made sure to take Boppa out to see it...had to walk him by it a couple times before he noticed it!!

They're similar in size...about 24 x 32.

CHRISTMAS IS A COMIN' BUT NO GOOSE IS GETTIN' FAT HERE!

Winter has come to our area. Not ready for it, but sure does make things look pretty with snow on them. Look at this beautiful art Mother Nature left on my porch early this morning! Would love to try free motioning something like that someday.A few days ago it was cold outside but still some fragrant roses on my lovely arbor. I've been so happy to have this strong rosebush survive and bring me such joy.

The thought of eating goose or duck has always made me ill. For years I didn't know why until Mom reminded me of this experience...my father worked building trades when I was an eight year old and broke his arm that year with unemployment benefits not available to him. The only income was from my mom selling RealSilk door to door. (anyone remember that company?) As a result, we had enough to pay rent and that was about it. We did have a freezer locker full of geese and ducks my father had shot earlier in the year and had that for breakfast, lunch and dinner for about two months. I really don't remember eating the foul fowls, but obviously, it's instilled in memory!! Another fowl, however, is residing at my house for now...below are a couple sneak peaks.

Here's some more fowls living at my house right now. Aren't they adorable along with their snowman and snowwoman cohorts? They're from Bunny Hill's free Snowbound BOM. So far 11 blocks are done and I'm anxiously awaiting number 12. This week I'm working on the 13 blocks that will go between the snowbuddies ones. Will probably not be doing what the BOM suggests,

but we'll see.

Here's where I am so far on the ladybug quilt along at Ivory Spring. I changed things by halving all the sizes of each block, and used fabrics I had on hand. Aren't those Betty Boop corners just adorable? They worked out to be the exact size needed...is that cool or what?

Home Tweet Home was a BOM started last year, but I found it earlier this year as a completed pattern set that I couldn't resist. Wasn't sure I'd be able to do the applique by hand with old, old hands, but it worked well. I don't know what it's called, but I sewed light fusible pellon (right sides together) to each piece then turned them and ironed them in place. Took all the pieces to the ocean in September and turned and pinned them there. For the small berries, I made tiny yo yos for the best results. There are eight blocks of different sizes and some have darling pieced sections to them. Not sure this will get done before Christmas and at this point it's mine!! My daughter thinks it would look great on her living room wall, but for now all that work and the cuteness of it all means it's home tweet home is here!

Went to western Washington for boyly boy Adam's baptism. Got some really good pictures with my phone of him with his mom, dad and baby brother, Spencer. Trey (10 years old) gave a talk on baptism that was so great. Girlie girls, Sabrina and Sydney (they ARE twins) in the beautiful dresses Diannalynn made. And beautiful Sagie played all the music for the program. What a great weekend we had.

Cute Chef Gavin at his "kitchen" that fits conveniently under his mom's kitchen counter. His toque is from a free pattern I found online last year. He wouldn't have anything to do with it at the time--had to be bribed with a peanut butter sandwich to even try it on, but the other day he popped it on his head himself and Jenny got a quick picture while he was baking one of his Toy Story toys! The picture of my Adam and girlie girl Olivia was in Philadelphia last month. I love how she's grabbing Daddy's sleeve; what a sweetie pie!
The last picture is the head of one super cute and rambunctious little Spencer. Are those curls wonderful or what? He's so fun and just a joy to be around. Makes my life so full to have all these fantastic grandchildren to adore and Christmas time can't come soon enough for me to enjoy my whole family here.

Ladybug Quilt Along

Geesh!! I don't need another project to start but since I love ladybugs so much, this just seemed like a have to! http://ivoryspring.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/announcing-dottie-a-summer-quilt-along/ is the site for this. Figure it'll get done as it gets done around here with everything else I'm doing. Not sure what fabrics I'll use--have some black and white prints and a few more coming, so like that idea. Not expecting to start on her beginning date--it's our 40th anniversary!