He's Making a List

Merry Christmas! 

Betty Crocker: Where Did the Three-Layer Cake Go?

 

My mom has been gone for 21 years now, and I don't have a lot of her belongings.  But one of the things I do have is her Betty Crocker's New Picture Cookbook from the fifties.  It's worn and falling apart in places, but all still there. 

Flipping through it, it's clear that it was written during a different time, a time when a woman's place was in the kitchen and nowhere else. 

Thank God, women can do and be anything they want these days.  Ironically, one of my daughters is toying with the idea of becoming a chef. 

Back to the cookbook: I love the retro drawings and the pictures of food you'll probably never see today. 
The degree of creativity that went into some of the creations is mind-boggling.  Today, most people, including myself, rarely take the time to make a three-layer cake.  It's a sheet cake or nothing. 

But it's fun to look back and dream of a time when life wasn't quite so hurried, and a three-layer cake was the only type.

I'm Salivating Just Thinking about These Cinnamon Rolls

 

Just saw this at The Pioneer Woman Cooks and had to post.  These look like the best cinnamon rolls EVER.  Check it out!  Have a look around and drool.

Chocolate Decadence Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups Nestle's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
3/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk

Topping

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp. powdered sugar.
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract


Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350° F and line 9-inch-round baking pan with foil. Lightly grease.

• Microwave 1 cup of morsels in a medium, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 1 minute, then stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

• Beat butter and sugar in large mixing bowl until creamy. 

• Add eggs and beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Slowly add in melted chocolate.

• Gradually add in flour, alternating with milk. Stir in remaining cup of morsels.

• Spoon into prepared baking pan.

• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until wooden pick inserted comes out clean.

• Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

• Beat whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in small mixing bowl until soft peaks form.

• Lift cake from pan and remove the foil.

• Top with cream.

My New Baby: Mommy Works Online

 

If you're bored on these long winter nights and want something to do, check out my new site, Mommy Works Online.  It's a little bit work-at-home opportunities, a little bit personal, and a lot of work.  But I'm having fun playing around with it. 

Once Upon a Time: A Teapot Story

 

Once upon a time, long, long ago, there lived a wife and mother of three.  Her life was relatively calm and drama-free, and so she had time for things like collecting.  Her favorite thing to collect, by far, were Hall teapots from the 1920's to 1950's.  She loved the colors, the unique design of them, and just the fact that they were old.  She especially liked to think about where these teapots had lived before coming to her house, whose tables they had sat on, whose tea had been poured from them. 

But alas, her calm life was not to last.  Suddenly a single mom with three kids to feed and very little income, she was forced to part with the vast majority of her collection in exchange for groceries.  Oh well.  She still has a few of her favorites and dreams of the day when she can again indulge in the frivolity of collecting something just because it's beautiful. 

If you've never heard of Hall teapots, K and M Antiques Store has an article here to introduce you to them.  You can find them easily at most antique stores, flea markets, etc.  They're relatively inexpensive, and there are enough to keep you busy collecting for years.  The picture above is a Melody Autumn Hall teapot, I believe. 

Christmas Popcorn Ball Recipe

 

I've been surfing the cooking sites today, looking for new recipes to try for Christmas.  I love simple, old fashioned treats. I came across this recipe for popcorn balls on Cooks.com, and  it seems like a fun thing to make for Christmas.  Here it is!

Ingredients:

2 c. granulated sugar
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
5 qt. popped corn

Directions:

• Butter sides of saucepan. In it, combine sugar, water, salt, syrup and vinegar. 
• Cook to hard ball stage, 250 degrees. 
• Stir in vanilla. 
• Slowly pour over popped corn, stirring just to mix well. 
• Butter hands lightly; shape balls. Makes 15-20 balls.