L is for Lemon Supreme

Cooking is a complete mystery to me--not unlike writing.  I don’t know any of the tricks. Sure I can cook a few things really well, but I can’t say they always taste the same.  I know I’m not the only one with that problem. Years ago, I gave my mother-in-law a cake recipe; she made the cake and accused me of leaving out a special ingredient because hers didn’t taste like mine. Mine never tastes like my mom’s did either. No, it’s not psychological.

After taking some of my mother’s cake pans and a pancake griddle—ones Mom always used Crisco and flour on/in, I learned the hard way that they don’t respond well to my spray Pam. What’s up with that?

Mom baked wonderful desserts. A family favorite was the Lemon Supreme Apricot Nectar cake. Don’t be turned off. You can NOT taste the apricot nectar.  The glaze was to die for—sweet and tart. The first time she baked it, she told us she used a toothpick to jab holes in the cake so the glaze would seep through the holes. Before long, we noticed she’d graduated from toothpick to the end of the wooden spoon—with a double batch of glaze. Yum!

So my L word is for my favorite cake, and I’m sharing Mom’s recipe with you.

1 Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme cake mix

1 cup of Apricot Nectar

¾ cup of Crisco oil

½ cup sugar

4 eggs

Combine the cake mix, nectar, oil and sugar together and mix well. Then add the four eggs. Mix again, thoroughly. Bake in a tube pan or a Bundt pan at 325 degrees for one hour. Or test with toothpick.

 

Glaze: Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar and juice from one lemon. Stick holes in cake with toothpick (or the end of a wooden spoon) and spread over cake while cake is hot.  You can control the tartness/sweetness of the glaze –more lemon or more powdered sugar.

Baking a cake really is a lot like writing, isn’t it? Sometimes my novels crumble.

Have a good weekend!  I’ll post again on Monday with the letter M.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today is my birthday so I thought I'd share one of the easiest cake recipes I know. Since I found this recipe, I never bake any other cake. Oh, lazy me!

Take your favorite chocolate cake mix and pour in one bottle of Chocolate Slim-Fast. Just two ingredients! Mix well. You can bake in a sheet pan, cup cakes or traditional rounds. Just follow the baking directions on the box. This cake is super moist and delish. We usually pile whip cream on top and drizzle some chocolate syrup. Bake nuts in it, or sprinkle on top. Anything goes!

 Hope you have fun on MY special day!

V is for Vegetarian

Yep, that’s me! My husband and I became vegetarians about a year ago. (Daughter was first.) You would have thought we were slapping our friends and family in the face. I’ve never seen such outrage or heard sarcastic remarks. My goodness, you’d think they all raised beef and their farms were threatened.

Really, there are many kinds of vegetarians and hundreds of very good reasons to be one.  (I'll keep my own reasons to myself.)There are an estimated 7.3 million people who follow a vegetarian-based diet and 1.5 million more say they follow vegetarian-inclined diets. Believe me when I say, they don’t all live in California.

I do eat some dairy products and fish. I’ve completely given up beef and chicken.  If you entertain thoughts of becoming a vegetarian, check out this wonderful book. It’s the best cookbook I’ve found for vegetarians and it’s called The Vegetarian Bible. There’s not one bad recipe in this book--they’re ALL delish!

Here’s my own variation of one of the recipes. I think you’ll love it even if you’re a meat eater.

Taco Rice and Beans

2 TBS olive oil

1 cup water

1 packet taco seasoning mix

2 cans black beans, drained and washed

2 cups cooked brown rice

1/4 cup thick & chunky salsa (your favorite brand is fine)

Heat the oil over medium heat then add seasoning mix and water. Cook and stir until combined and slightly thickened. Stir in beans, rice and salsa. Cook 5 minutes longer or until heated through.

For a great meal fold Taco Rice & Beans into a soft flour tortilla. Add shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend, black olives, jalapeno olives, and sliced avocado. Serves 4 to 6.

Note: The first time our daughter treated us to this meal, I was so overcome with delight, I was absolutely speechless! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me.

Louisiana Saturday Night Recipe

Instead of an author for Louisiana Saturday Night, I thought we might hunker down with a great slice of King Cake. Wish I had a piece right this minute, but the only time I treat myself to King Cake is during Mardi Gras.

New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city for the parties and parades. Cities all over Louisiana celebrate including some in Alabama, Texas and other parts of the country. But let's get back to the King Cake since that's what I like best about Mardi Gras. :-)

Here's an authrentic King Cake recipe for you to try. Mmmmm, good!

Mardi Gras King Cake

For the cake:

½ cup warm water
2 Tbsp. yeast
½ cup sugar, plus 2 tsp.
3 ½-4 cups flour
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon zest
½ cup warm milk
5 egg yolks
½ cup butter
2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp milk, for egg wash

For the icing:

3 cups confectioner’s sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
3-6 Tbsp. water
Additional sugar & food coloring for decoration
1 tiny 1” baby doll

Sprinkle yeast and 2 teaspoons sugar over warm water in a small, shallow bowl. Allow to rest for 3-5 minutes, then mix thoroughly. Set bowl in a warm, draft-free place until yeast starts to bubble up and mixture almost doubles in volume, about 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, mix 3 ½ cups flour, ½ cup sugar, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt. In mixing bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer or food processor, combine yeast, milk and egg yolks. Gradually add dry ingredients and softened butter, adding additional flour, as necessary to achieve a medium-soft ball. Knead dough, again adding flour if necessary, until smooth, shiny and elastic, about 10 minutes.
Place dough in a covered buttered bowl, in a warm, draft free place until doubled about 1 ½ hours. In the meantime, butter a large baking sheet and set aside. When dough has risen, remove and punch down. Sprinkle with cinnamon and form into a cylinder, then twist this cylinder into a circle. Pinch the ends together to complete the circle. Once again, cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Brush top and sides of cake with egg wash and bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack completely before hiding baby doll inside or icing and decorating.

Icing: Mix sugar, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of water until mixture is smooth, adding more water as necessary to achieve a smooth, spreadable consistency. Spread icing over cake and immediately sprinkle colored sugar in alternating color rows.

Now, if you don't have the courage to try the complicated recipe above, how about a pretend King Cake? This one is more my speed.

A Pretend King Cake

Ingredients
1 can of cinnamon rolls, with icing
3/4 cup of sugar, separated into 3 parts of 1/4 each
food coloring

Separate the cinnamon rolls and roll them out by hand so that they look like a hot dog. Shape the roll into an oval, pinch the ends together, and place on a cookie sheet. Cook as directed.

While they are baking, dye sugar with food coloring. Make one part purple using blue and red, one part green, and one part gold using yellow. When the cinnamon rolls are finished cooking, ice the tops with the white icing. Sprinkle the different colors of sugars alternating as you go around the oval.

Great with your favorite cup of coffee.
To read more about King Cakes and try another recipe, click here.