I admit it, I am a judging judger.
I try not to judge people, but there are people who you instantly click with and people you don’t. Some people I instantly make decisions about, based on what they wear, how they speak, or how many nose rings, tattoos or piercings they have, or what their political party is. It’s not good. Continue reading
When I was young, my mom went through phases in her food. There was the red wine and onion phase, the hot dog phase, the chocolate chip phase and the peanut butter phase. Although the hot dog phase made for some interesting combos, like the hot dog pizza she made once, it wasn’t her most shining culinary moment. But her chocolate chip and peanut butter phases still fill me with longing.
I think I’m in my peanut butter phase right now. Last blog post was about peanut butter pie with peanut crumble topping. I think I even inspired my brother to make a couple of pies. Thankfully, this week’s recipe is much simpler. It’s a peanut butter and apricot preserve roll.
My apricot and white nectarine preserves with some labels that were my mom’s. The pen is from Wholey’s Fish Market in Pittsburgh!
I bought a bunch of apricots at Costco the last few weeks and made preserves because they’re so stinking good! I made the lower sugar variety this time and they were every bit as good as the regular preserves. I think 4.5 cups of sugar seems like plenty for 7 jars of preserves, right? Normally apricot preserves take 7 cups of sugar! Holy overload, even for a sugar lover like me!
The preserves were so tasty, it inspired me to make one of my mom’s old favorite recipes. It’s a great one to make when you’ve made a pie and have leftover pie dough. children love this and can help make it too!
You just take the remaining scraps of dough, squish them together, then roll them out like a pie crust. Then you spread it with smooth peanut butter and on top of that you spread a thin layer of whatever preserves you like. (I’m a real fan of apricot and I think it tastes the best in this recipe.) Make sure you leave about a half inch all around the edges with no peanut butter or jelly, so you can seal them. Then you start as one end and roll the whole thing up. Once it’s rolled, you dip your finger in water or egg, and run it along the edges and press them together to seal up the dough. You place it on a small cookie sheet and bake it for 20 minutes or until it’s golden brown. Then you cut it up and try desperately not to eat the whole thing in one sitting.
You could do a whole pie crust if you wanted to get crazy. Even buy one at the store, if you don’t want to mess with the whole crust making ordeal. But make sure you roll it out a little more because store bought crusts tend to be a little thick. Then get the kids to spread it with peanut butter and jelly, and you can all roll it up, bake it quickly, and have a simple, yummy summer treat!
Peanut Butter and Apricot Jam Roll-ups.
1 pie crust (bought or homemade)
Enough Laura Scudder’s Smooth Peanut butter to lightly cover the dough – about 1/4 to 3/4 cup (but the amount depends on how much crust you’re covering)
Enough apricot preserves to lightly cover the peanut butter – about 1/4 to 1/3 cup (again that depends on how much crust you’re covering)
Roll out the pie crust so it’s fairly thin, Spread the peanut butter, then the apricot preserves over the crust. Be sure to leave about a half inch with no peanut butter or jelly along the edge.
Starting at one end, roll the pie crust so it becomes one big roll of dough and seal the edges with a little water or raw egg on your finger.
Place the roll on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. For a larger roll made with a whole pie crust and not just scraps, you might need to bake it 30 minutes or more. Just make sure it’s golden brown.
Eat it warm or cold, it’s great!
What pushes a mostly sane woman to wade into a flesh-tearing patch of blackberry brambles? The promise of hot, crisp blackberry pie with peanut butter crust and crumble. Add vanilla ice cream and you have a holy experience.
And I must say thank you to Brian and Pam Ellis, my former next door neighbors, who always let me know when the berries in their yard are ripe for picking. Good neighbors, are a treasure.
Fresh blackberries, (or Marionberries – I think) so worth it!
I’ve written about pie before. This was one of the pies included in my Pies and Virginity blog. But, in retrospect, I think blackberry pie with peanut butter crust and crumble really deserves its own blog post because it’s a delicious pie, that’s destroyed many a diet. It was pioneered by my mother, and proudly carried on by me.
I may not remember the name of the actress in the movie I saw 20 minutes ago, but I never forget a life-altering food moment. One of them was the time my mom decided to put peanut butter in a crust she was making for a blueberry pie. I tasted it and knew my mom was a food genius, it was that good.
Then, I decided that if a peanut butter, double crust pie was that good, how great would a peanut butter crumble be, especially one with crunchy peanut butter? And if blueberries were good, wouldn’t blackberries be great? That question got answered a few years ago when I made it for a family get together. Both my brothers, who don’t throw food compliments around liberally, said, “I think this might be the best pie you’ve ever made.”
You can also just make this a crisp, by eliminating the pie crust bottom. It’s also killer good, faster, and a lot less work.
As I’ve said many times, we are all ho’s for blackberry pie and the peanut butter puts a blackberry pie in a whole new category of yum. To make the crust, I just take my regular pie crust before it’s rolled out, put a tablespoon or two of peanut butter in the middle, fold it over, roll it, and fold it again a few times, then roll it out. It leaves the crust looking swirled with peanut butter.
*Also, make the crust first, then the crumble so it’s easier to assemble quickly. You don’t want to put the berries in the crust too long before you bake it, or it will get soggy. And bake it closer to the bottom of the oven so the bottom crust gets crisp.
Mary Tunno’s Pie Crust with Peanut Butter Swirl
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup Butter Flavor Crisco
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. sugar
1/2 to 1 cup very cold whole milk (you can put an ice cube in it to make it colder but remove it before you add the milk)
Mix flour, salt and sugar together then cut in Crisco and butter. Mix well, it forms small crumbs. Add enough milk so that dough can be molded into soft balls. Better that the dough is too soft and sticky than too hard. Once you add the milk and have made about four or five balls, wrap each one in flour coated plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc, and cool it in the refrigerator or freezer.
Then take one of the flattened, cooled pie crusts, roll it slightly, and add one to two tablespoons of creamy peanut butter to it. Fold it over, roll it out a little, then fold it over three or four more times. The peanut butter should look like swirls in the crust. Roll it out on a floured board and place it in bottom of a pie pan. Flute the edges then fill it with berries.
Peanut Butter Crumble
1 cup flour
2 cups whole, uncooked Old Fashioned Quaker Oats
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick melted butter (not unsalted)
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (I use Laura Scudder’s)
Blackberry Pie with Peanut Butter Crumble
6 to 7 cups blackberries or blueberries
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp. flour
Mix together the berries, flour and sugar thoroughly, then place them in the bottom peanut butter swirl crust. Sprinkle a light covering of the peanut butter crumble top of the pie. You don’t want too much because the crumble absorbs a lot of the liquid, so you’ll have all crumble and not enough fruit. (You may need to lay a piece of aluminum foil lightly on top of the pie or crisp, so the crumble doesn’t burn.) Bake at 350 for an hour or more or until you see the pie really bubbling and crust is brown. Use a pie crust shield to protect crust from burning. And make sure you put a cookie sheet underneath or some aluminum foil to catch the drips!
I was just at the grocery store, drooling over all the beautiful nectarines, apricots and peaches that are out and looking ripe, juicy and utterly delicious. But I always wonder, is it safe to eat if it’s not organic? My friend, Dawn, a Key West artist, has always been a big proponent of eating healthy, which means organic food to her, and most people.
But do we have to eat organic? Dawn sent me a print out from a magazine article about what non-organic fruits and vegetables are OK to eat, and what should always be bought organic. A lot of people don’t have the luxury of buying organic food because it can be pretty pricey. I happen to be one of them, but when you think of pesticide residue going into your body, I guess I can’t really afford that either because one day I may be paying for it with my health.
I wondered, do pesticides really hurt you? How could a beautiful apricot be bad for me?
It looks so innocent. Apricots didn’t make the dirty dozen list, so there’s hope!
There isn’t much research on how harmful pesticides are when ingested with fruits and vegetables, but there has been research on people who work with pesticides — either applying them, or picking the fruit –and that shows pesticide exposure definitely hurts you. I thought this article in Consumer Reports called, “Eat the Peach, Not the Pesticide,” was pretty good.
I did some research and it looks like the article Dawn sent me was also in some other publications, like this one from 2010 on PBS So Cal. There is The Dirty Dozen, which you should always buy organic, and The Clean 15, which don’t need to be organic.
I’m listing them because it helped me and hopefully it can help you. I just broke down and spent the extra buck fifty for organic strawberries at Costco yesterday, so I’m hoping the more common organics become, the less expensive they’ll be! Thanks Dawn. (Writing about food is much more pleasant than tackling politics!)
The Dirty Dozen (Always Choose Organic)
There was a slightly different list on the publication she sent me. It didn’t include domestic blueberries, but did include tomatoes and hot peppers. It didn’t specify imported grapes — just grapes, and it included pears.
The Clean Fifteen (Doesn’t Need to be Organic)
And on this list, watermelon is listed as clean, but on the list Dawn sent, honeydew melon and cauliflower are listed as clean, which are not on this list. But overall, the lists were very similar.
Listen, don’t worry too much. Just go shopping and buy a juicy, (hopefully) organic nectarine, take a big bite, let the juice roll down your face and savor the sweetness. Now that’s summer! Hope you had a Happy Summer Equinox!
If someone had told us 50 years ago, that a news network, started by someone from another country, would come here and start a broadcast network that airs stories that are only in line with one party, we would have said, No, that will never happen, that’s propaganda! If someone said, Democrats and Republicans will be at each other’s throats, so much so, that friends are lost and family connections are strained and even broken, we would have all said, No way, never — that won’t happen in this country!
But it has. News we see clearly as one-sided propaganda in countries like Russia and North Korea, we don’t recognize as propaganda here. And in March, when Fox News own analyst, Colonel Ralph Peters, quit after a decade of working with them because he claimed they were a propaganda machine, even stalwart Fox viewers must have been asking themselves, What motivated that? The New York Times quoted Peters as saying: “In my view, Fox has degenerated from providing a legitimate and much-needed outlet for conservative voices to a mere propaganda machine for a destructive and ethically ruinous administration,” If you can’t believe a respected, retired member of our military, who can you believe?
I’m sure Peters resignation has been hashed out back and forth, and both sides came up with their reasons for either believing or discrediting him. And, in fairness, MSNBC can be just as one sided as Fox.
I don’t usually talk about politics in my blog because I have family members and great friends, who I love and have the greatest respect for, who are members of the Republican party. And yes, I’m a registered Democrat, (but did vote for a Republican once).
If we could just talk issues, without personal attacks, that would be great, but it doesn’t happen anymore.
I simply refuse to paint all Republicans with a broad brush. When your own family and best friends are registered Republicans, you just don’t do that. I know and love these people. We have similar values, we were raised the same way, and if they feel the way they do, I’m sure they have valid reasons. I’m not about to slam them. They have every right to their feelings.
But, so do I.
And we have to ask ourselves as a nation: Are politics worth losing family and good friends over?
Sadly, this post started out with me answering, absolutely not! But something happened that changed my mind.
I don’t post political things on Facebook because I think it’s very destructive. Plus, if I can’t prove a story is real, I won’t post it. Posting untrue stories just furthers ignorance and is incredibly destructive, as is posting demeaning things.
Which is why I recently confronted a Facebook friend over a video she/he posted. It was originally a commercial for Becel Margarine , a product of Unilever, sold in Canada and other countries. The commercial was developed by Ogilvy Canada. It was brilliant advertising, showing how people won’t bother to make an effort when it comes to their health. It shows two people, a black man and a white woman, on an escalator when the escalator stops running. Instead of walking up the stairs the rest of the way, they start yelling for help.
The commercial was then used by the Republican Party and labeled, Democrats on an Escalator during the 2008 election.
The Facebook friend was a relative. I’ve probably spent less than 24 hours in my entire life talking to this person, so I wouldn’t say we’re close, but she/he always seemed nice. Not only is the video insulting to me, as a hardworking Democrat, it’s insulting to the memory of my father, and my still living uncle, one of the hardest working people I know. All of us are Democrats.
I know this person was fond of my dad and my uncle, and I think, used to be fond of me, but probably no more. I reminded this person that people in the family, including me, are still hardworking Democrats and that she/he is better than this kind of post. I honestly did it thinking that if this person knew this post was hurtful, she/he wouldn’t post things like that anymore. I knew this person to be a good soul. I really didn’t do it to be nasty, and didn’t name call or demean, just pointed out that it was hurtful.
We went back and forth a few rounds, her/his friends chimed in that I had no sense of humor, then this person went on about how funny it was and how good the acting was, not knowing it had been an actual commercial first. She/he went on to post more things that just reinforced other negative stereotypes. When I commented again about the new posts, this person said, “Right or wrong, this is my Facebook page and I’ll post whatever I want.”
And even though I hated to do it, I unfriended this person because clearly whatever connection we had, that used to keep things civil and kind, has disappeared into a haze of ugliness, prejudice and demeaning posts. And just like she/he has every right to post whatever she/he wants on Facebook, I have every right not to have to see posts that are insulting to me and the memory of my father.
In memory of the 50th Anniversary of Bobby Kennedy’s assassination, I wanted to err on the side of love and compassion. There was a beautiful article in the Los Angeles Times last Sunday about the busboy, Juan Romero, who was in that last tragic photo of Bobby Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel. It made me sad all over again and I longed to honor Bobby Kennedy by mustering up all my love and understanding. I know that love always triumphs over hatred and that truth always prevails over lies, but love and truth seem to be losing lately.
Whatever hatred gets the most viewers wins, whether it’s on TV news or Facebook.Whoever shouts the loudest, or calls the other person the most demeaning name wins. Behavior we would have disciplined our kids for we now accept from our leaders, and some of us do it in the name of Christianity. Being mean spirited, bigoted, lying, name calling, and posting things that are verifiably untrue, are all business as usual now. People have seen the lead taken by news media and our politicians, and have jumped on the bandwagon.
And we’re losing family and friends because of it. If Bobby Kennedy was here to see it, he’d be so disappointed.
Memorial Day usually makes me think of cook outs and barbecue, but this year, I’ve been thinking about soldiers. Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching another Ken Burns documentary, this one about World War II. Or maybe its because I know how much being a soldier in that war meant to my dad.
He came back from World War II with an Army tent, his canteen, mess kit, a gas mask, a fork and knife with U.S. stamped on its handle, a very rough wool army blanket and more. He never talked about the war until he was about 95. All he would say was, “War is hell.” Then, suddenly at 95, it was all he wanted to talk about. We would walk into doctors offices and he would strike up a conversation with anyone who’d listen about the war. But there was one story I’d never heard from him until about a year before he died.
My dad, in the foreground, in Marseilles, France.
After training in Ft. Lewis Washington he went to Europe. He spent time in Brussels Belgium, Marseilles France, England and probably a few other places I can’t remember. My dad served as a medic in the war in the European theater. He was under Gen. George Patton.
He said the thing that really got him was the day Gen. Patton showed up and was choosing men for a mission. My dad was one of the ones he picked. He was about 29 at the time, about 10 years older than the other guys, who used to call him Pop. Two younger soldiers who were his buddies said, “No, Pop, we’ll go — you’re too old for this kind of stuff.”
He heard a few days later that his young friends had been killed in the mission and it left him wondering why they had to die and not him.
I bought this for my dad a year before he died. He wore it proudly.
I don’t have the answer. Maybe it’s just luck, or fate, or God’s will, but I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to those two young men. I wish I knew their names, so I could salute them properly. If it wasn’t for their sacrifice, I’m sure I wouldn’t be here. I know my dad thought about them often. I think they would have been proud of how he lived his life and kept his military bearing until his last years.
One of my favorite memories of him was from my last visit with him in New Brighton. I’d been home and done as much as I could for him in the few days I had. He was very appreciative and it was a great visit. As I was leaving we had our usual hug and tearful goodbye. Normally, he’d walk me to the door and wait there, waving until I pulled away, but old age changed that.
Dad, in the front yard with a flag my brother Bob bought him.
This time, as I was walking away, he struggled out of his recliner chair, wobbly without his walker. He stood as straight as he could in the middle of the living room, wavering slightly, and saluted me. It didn’t register with me at the time, but now I know that was the highest honor he could have given me. It was the last time I saw him conscious.
On Memorial Day, I salute him, and all the men and women who’ve fought and given their lives for our country. I know I would’t be here without two of them.
Well, I can’t say I’m Eleanor Roosevelt, when it comes to creating change in the world, but maybe if I start, one street at a time, I can make a difference.
I just finished watching Ken Burns: The Roosevelts on Netflix and was absolutely mesmerized by these remarkable people. I’ve been searching for political figures who inspire me lately, and I remembered my mother always speaking so fondly about President Roosevelt. I thought I’d watch and see why she felt that way.
It was a seven part series and I became totally engrossed in it. Teddy, Franklin and Eleanor were all truly remarkable people we were so lucky to have. They were all such stellar examples of how adversity can really test a person and make them come out that much much stronger. If you haven’t seen it, check it out.
I was a little surprised to see that history pretty much keeps repeating itself and we keep having the same arguments and discussions. Too much government interference, not enough government, and on and on and on. It seems to me that things improve by tiny increments, instead of leaps, but they do improve. We just can’t give up.
It’s as if they expected a waitress to come along and just pick it up.
Which brings me back to my trash issue. I’m not sure why, but I’ve always been concerned about trash. The giant pile of trash floating around in the Pacific Ocean is the biggest manifestation of the problem. But I also worry about our landfills and all the plastic that’s not recycled there, and how all that trash is going to come back to haunt us someday. Then there’s all the trash I see when I go to the ocean or the river. Why are people so cavalier about just tossing stuff in the street? How do they not get that this is the only planet we have? I’ll never understand it.
So, since I’m so vexed about it, I decided to write to the City of Glendale. And guess what? They wrote back! Two people wrote back, which thrilled me. The first response said that I was not alone in my concern and lots of people are complaining about the trash situation – so yay! And here’s what his supevisor said: “I agree with you, please give me a day or so to go up and assess the issues and get back to you on this.”
Then he wrote again and said: “Fran, we are putting together a Community Beautification team leader position and a crew for that person, for this kind of thing so it’s in the works! I went out today we have six litter baskets around the college area but none around the school so I will be working that. Thanks”
Well, it’s a start. I’m going to write to the elementary school principal down the street from me and see if they will start teaching their kids about the litter all over our streets and what they can do to make a difference.
Like I said, we just can’t give up.
Sitting on the couch tonight, I had my arms crossed over my head, thinking of what to say about Mother’s Day. My fingers on my right hand happened to be touching my pulse on my left hand and I could feel that tiny, steady, thump, thump, thump. And it occurred to me that that thump started with my mom giving birth to me all those years ago.
And I wonder where my kids get their inability to take a normal photo with me.
Along with that pulse, I was lucky to get love, encouragement, a wonderful family, a twisted sense of humor, and a serious appreciation for delicious food. They’ve all been essential in my life, but none more than encouragement.
My mom always encouraged me. Always told me I could do anything and be anything. The only person who doesn’t agree lives in my head. She’s been there forever. I’ve tried to evict her, but now I just let her say her peace, then tell her to shut up.
As Franklin Roosevelt (a man with a mother who encouraged him) so wisely stated, “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.”
So, I salute all you moms this Mother’s Day. If it wasn’t for your encouragement, sense of humor, and love there wouldn’t be people out there daring to live life and make a difference in the world, with whatever gifts they have. God bless every one of you. Happy Mother’s Day!
My poor mother. Here she is trying to give me a dollar so I can buy her a lottery ticket. But I had to get his shot first.
I celebrated Earth Day by picking up all the crap stupid people have thrown in the street in front of my house and cursing them under my breath. Then, I came upon an empty cardboard box in the street with a name and address on it. I wanted to drive to this person’s house and drop it in the street in front of where he lived with a note that said, “How do you like it when people throw trash in front of YOUR house?”
But I could just hear my daughter saying, “Mom! That’s what a crazy old lady would do.” So I did the slightly less crazy thing and sent the man a letter, enclosing the label from the box I just recycled for him.
As if a waitress was on every corner.
I couldn’t help it, I was so ticked off! . My block is only 287 steps long, I only picked up my side and it totally filled a kitchen garbage bag!
So, below is what I wrote. Please read it and let me know if I’m getting pissy, or what…because I think I might be. At what age does getting cranky/pissy/irritable start? I know some 20 year olds who can be pissy, so I don’t think there’s an age limit. I think I’ve just been too nice all my life and finally, I’m fed up. Especially when it comes to littering our beautiful earth with trash.
Dear _________
I was out walking this morning and saw you left an empty cardboard box, with your name and address still on it, on the street near my home. Why would you do this? Do you not have recycling or trash cans in your home? Was your car so full you couldn’t have taken that small box home and disposed of it there? There’s a garbage can right down the street from where you carelessly dropped the box, could you not have dropped it in there, at least?
What the hell?
You must be somewhat intelligent, you’re ordering things for your computer, so how do you not understand the effect of dropping your trash in the street?
The world, and my street are not your trashcan. When you leave trash in the street, it gets pushed into our rivers and oceans, polluting them for our children and grandchildren. Maybe you don’t have any children today, but you may someday and you’ll have to answer to them about why our oceans are so polluted. It’s because people like you don’t care at all where you toss your garbage. Please think about it and do your part to save the environment, while there’s still something to save.
In the meantime, please keep your trash to yourself or in the trashcan, not on the street where I live!
Sincerely,
A Concerned Resident
He is probably laughing his head off, or maybe it got through. I ‘m an optimist, I like to hope it got through to him, particularly since it cost me 50 cents to send it.
I remember the very first Earth Day. I was in ninth grade and through the window I could see high school kids scurrying around on the fresh spring grass, picking up trash. I was so hopeful that people would start caring about the environment, but I definitely don’t see much evidence of that on my street. And it’s a shame. As French President, Emanuel Macron so eloquently put it, “There is no Planet B.”
So, a belated Happy Earth Day to you. I plan to contact my local government to see if we can get some trash cans installed or someone (besides me) to come and clean up the area, or get an education program started, or something, so I don’t get really cranky and start accosting people on the street. And I think a Sierra Club membership may be in order. If nothing else, it’ll be a group of people equally cranky about the environment, and we can all rant together.
I wish you and all of us an Earth that gets more beautiful as time goes on.
This was all the garbage on my side of the street –one short trashy block.
Debra Deyan with her late husband, Bob after winning the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Audio Publishers Association.
Today, my friend Nicol Zanzarella (audiobook reader and actress extraordinaire) and I decided we needed to take our friend Debra Deyan, owner of Deyan Audio, out for a belated birthday lunch. Deyan Audio records audiobooks and has won so many Audie Awards (the audiobook equivalent of the Oscars) it’s almost unfair. Deb and Nicol are amazing, and two of the most driven, dedicated people I know, so getting together with them is always a treat for me.
I decided to surprise Deb with “Fran’s Clearly Superior Carrot Cake” for Deb’s birthday because it’s her favorite. I called this blog, “Finally, A Carrot Cake Victory,” because last time I wrote about my carrot cake, it was a cake-off with my friend, Joan, and I came in second. Well, I was vindicated by the popular vote this time around and couldn’t have been happier. Honestly, my self-esteem clearly needs so much propping up sometimes!
We went to a restaurant in Burbank called Market City Cafe. As soon as we walked in, the waitress was so sweet, she asked if she could put the cake in the refrigerator for us! How many places do that? Usually they give you the stink eye for not buying their dessert!
Then we sat on the patio and talked for a few hours, which was wonderful. As we were wrapping it up, our fabulous waitress (I think her name was Alexa, but I could be totally wrong) got the cake out and put the candles on it for me. (All I had was the 22 left from my daughter’s birthday, so I brought them because who doesn’t want to be 22 again?)
Fran’s Clearly Superior Carrot Cake, it’s almost healthy!
Alexa brought it out lit and ready to go. (I’m so mad I didn’t get a photo of any of this!) So, since our waitress was so nice I told her she could have a slice. She was eating it in the back where another server saw. She asked if he wanted a bite, and he dismissed it, saying his grandmother’s was the best.
He begrudgingly took a bite, and became a convert. He liked it so much, he came to our table and said, “Who made the cake?” I said I did and he said it was better than his grandmother’s, but he would never tell her that. Honest to God, for a baker that is the highest compliment you can get! I was beaming.
Then, because we were sitting outside, a woman walking past, who apparently had just eaten there, asked if it was the restaurant’s cake. We said no, then she asked if she could have a piece. (Gutsy, but kind of funny!) Then Alexa asked if I would share the recipe and if she could have a piece to take back to her boyfriend. It was kind of like a feeding frenzy, minus the sharks. I wondered who else might come along and want some.
I took the opportunity to hand out a few of my blog business cards, where my carrot cake recipe lives, and enjoyed basking in the warmth of cake adulation. When you get fantastic feedback on something you’ve made — it feels like applause and totally makes your day. Sitting with an accomplished actress and a business tycoon could make a person feel a little insecure, but the accolades propped me right up. I completely understand why my mother loved food praise. It was her moment on stage, every day.
Maybe that’s why I cook so much, I’m just starved for attention. Well, today I got it and it was great! Now you know how shallow I am. The link to Fran’s Clearly Superior Carrot Cake is above, but in case you missed it, I’m posting it again. There seems to be a demand.
Fran’s Clearly Superior Carrot Cake
(This would never exist if it wasn’t for Donna Tunno’s Award Winning Carrot Cake recipe, with which I took some liberties.)
Donna’s neatly printed card, smeared by many bakings, then my adaptation underneath.
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped toasted pecans (Toast about 10 min at 350, but watch them carefully, so they don’t burn. As soon as they’re aromatic, take them out.
3 c. grated carrots (press them down with your hand so they’re densely packed but not totally squished)
1 20 oz. can drained, crushed pineapple (process it if you don’t want small chunks of pineapple in your cake but I like the small chunks)
3/4 c. canola oil
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 cup toasted finely chopped pecans to press on the sides of the cake (These MAKE the cake!)
I always toast my pecans first, toasting them adds a whole new layer of flavor – trust me! That way they have time to cool before adding them to the batter. I toast them whole, then chop the ones I put in the cake by hand, so they’re not too fine. I put the second cup of toasted pecans in the food processor and finely chop them and set them aside. Then, I put my pineapple in a strainer and let it drain. Then I peel and process my carrots, then set them aside. (This cake is some work, but the accolades are worth it.)
Combine all dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in one medium bowl. Combine oil, sugar, eggs and drained pineapple in second large bowl. Add dry ingredients to the oil mixture. Blend in carrots and pecans.
Flour and grease two 9″ cake pans and divide batter into pans. Bake at 350 for 40 min to an hour (test with toothpick starting at 40 min.) And here’s a tip from a friend whose cakes were always so moist. After you take the cake out of the pan, wrap it in plastic wrap, so ask it cools, it retains the moisture. This cake is moist anyway, but that makes it even more moist
If you make cupcakes, they only take 20 minutes, but test them with a toothpick first. If it comes out dry, your cupcakes are ready. Donna’s recipe is for a bundt cake, but I like baking two layer cakes because of the additional cream cheese in the middle. Once the cake is cool, ice it and press the chopped toasted pecans all around the sides.
Fran’s Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8 oz. package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1/2 c .butter
1 lb. confectioners sugar
4 Tbsp. half and half or whipping cream
Pinch of salt (to taste)
1 to 2 tsp. vanilla
Bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature. Mix well in an electric mixer until fluffy. Add confectioners sugar, vanilla, half and half and salt. Be sure to taste to see if there’s enough salt. When thoroughly combined, apply to cooled cake. Then decorate with dots and enjoy! So what if the kids laugh!
