Need more 9" rounds...

First of all, this is the best chocolate from-scratch cake recipe I've ever tried! I'm sure 3 cups of sugar had nothing to do with that. But anyway, this is...or was... Mom's birthday cake. :) And if you look closely, you'll see the bottom layer is...slightly squarish. The recipe said it was supposed to have 3 9-in. layers. We've got only 2 9-inchers, so what do you do? An 8-inch round on top would have looked silly. *grin* "And a square cake on bottom doesn't?" Be quiet, Hannah. I didn't ask for your opinion. Just makin' do with what we had. Nothing a few careful camera angles and pink drizzle won't fix up. Nobody complained. :D Oh, and by the way, this is no ordinary chocolate cake. It had layers of white raspberry creme on the inside, and the chocolate frosting you see under all the pinkness is raspberry chocolate buttercream. Wow. Square layers will be tolerated if there is creme. I've always said, creme filling is like love...it covers many baking "sins". Not that square layers are baking sins, necessarily...oh man, I think I need to stop typing. I'm tired and that is never good when I'm writing. I might actually attempt a pun or something if I keep going. And my attempts at puns are never funny. Too much chocolate. Wait, scratch that, I'm not sure such a state as "too much" exists. Okay okay, stopping now.

Triple Daffi

Okay, look closely at the three daffodils on the left. Isn't it cool? They all came out of the same sheath. I LOVE baby daffodils! Well, all spring bulbs, really. But the baby daffodils are just so cute!!

And Can It Be?

And can it be that I should gain

An interest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death purused?
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God shouldst die for me?

He left His Father's throne above;

So free, so infinite His grace.

Emptied Himself of all but love,

And bled for Adam's helpless race.

'Tis mercy all, immense and free,

For, O my God, it found out me.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature's night;

Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light.

My chains fell off; my heart was free.

I rose, went forth and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;

Jesus, and all in Him is mine!

Alive in Him, my living Head,

And clothed in righteousness divine;

Bold I approach the eternal throne

And claim the crown, through Christ, my own.

Amazing Love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

"And Can It Be?" written by Charles Wesley

Irish Freckle Bread

A new St. Patricks' day recipe I tried today! Soooo yummy!

Irish Freckle Bread

1 pkg. (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast

8 T. sugar, divided

1 c. warm water (110-115 degrees)

1/2 c. butter or margarine, melted

2 eggs

1/4 c. warm mashed potatoes (w/out added milk or butter)

1/2 tsp. salt

3-1/4-4 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. raisins

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 T sugar in warm water. Add the butter, eggs, potatoes, salt, remaining sugar and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into eight portions. Shape each into a ball. Place dough balls in a greased 10-in. spring-form pan. Cover and let rise until doubled. about 30 minutes. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown Remove sides of pan. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Yield: 1 loaf

I made this in the bread machine, made lots of smaller balls and put them all in a 13x9. They were super soft and yummy, though it did take quite a bit more flour than they said. Oh, and I, uh, served with green butter. Not entirely necessary, but fun for the day! :) Also...if you go to make a small batch of mashed potatoes specifically for this recipe, and decide to microwave your peeled, diced potato pieces...I would highly recommend putting them in a bowl with WATER covering them. Unless you want baked potatoes that stick to the bottom of the bowl so badly that you have to soak them. Then I suppose you could skip the water. Live and learn.

(picture from www.tasteofhome.com )

All-knowing...

"O LORD, you have searched me and know me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it."

Psalm 139:1-6

Pistachio Mallow Salad

Happy green food day, all!!

Pistachio Mallow Salad

INGREDIENTS
1 carton (16 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant pistachio pudding mix
6 to 7 drops green food coloring, optional
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained
1/2 cup chopped pistachios or walnuts (I omitted)

1 lg. can mandarin oranges, drained (my addition :))


DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine whipped topping, pudding mix and food coloring if desired. Fold in the marshmallows and pineapple. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with nuts. Yield: 12 servings.

(picture from www.tasteofhome.com)

The Surrendered Life

"I have been crucified with Christ..."

Galatians 2:20

To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin, but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things. Being born again by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to let go before we can grasp something else. The first thing we must surrender is all of our pretense or deceit. What our Lord wants us to present to Him is not our goodness, honestly, or our efforts to do better, but real solid sin. Actually, that is all He can take from us. And what He gives us in exchange for our sin is real solid righteousness. But we must surrender all pretense that we are anything and give up all our claims of even being worthy of God's consideration.

Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to surrender next. Along each step of this process, we will have to give up our claims to our rights to ourselves. Are we willing to surrender our grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives? Are we ready to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?

--Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

The Mover

O Supreme Moving Cause,

May I always be subordinate to thee,

be dependent upon thee,

be found in the path where thou dost walk,

and where thy Spirit moves,

take heed of estrangement from thee,

of becoming insensible to thy love.

Thou dost not move men like stones,

but dost endue them with life,

not to enable them to move without thee,

but in submission to thee, the first mover.

O Lord, I am astonished at the difference

between my receivings and my deservings,

between the state I am now in

and my past gracelessness,

between the heaven I am bound for

and the hell I merit.

Who made me to differ, but thee?

For I was no more ready to receive

Christ than were others;

I could not have begun to love thee

hadst thou not first loved me,

or been willing unless thou

hadst first made me so.

O that such a crown should fit

the head of such a sinner!

Such high advancement be

for an unfruitful person!

Such joys for so vile a rebel!

Infinite wisdom cast the design of salvation

into the mould of purchase and freedom;

Let wrath deserved be written on the door of hell,

but the free gift of grace on the gate of heaven.

--The Valley of Vision, "The Mover"

Healthy fruit

I love fruit.

Especially because once there's fruit in a dish, it's no longer dessert and "bad" for you, but in fact, healthy! *wink wink* And once it's healthy, you can have a second serving, right? This is one of my all-time favorite recipes for fruit compote from my Oma...dad's mother, and a wonderful cook! It's wonderful hot or cold. The blogger enjoys it at whatever temperature she happens to find it.

Oma's Hot Fruit Compote

Crumble 6 coconut macaroons (or oatmeal cookies) in buttered 9x13 pan.
Layer drained:
1 can sliced peaches
1 can apricots
1 can pineapple chunks
1 can pear slices
1 can Bing cherries
Crumble 6 more macaroons (or oatmeal cookies) over top & pour mix of 1/4 cup butter, and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Bake 350 for 50-60 min.

Could even have this for breakfast, eh? By the way, the oatmeal cookies I've used before are the prepackaged kind that are crunchy and have the light glaze on them. Wow. Fruit...oatmeal...what more could you ask for in a nutritious fruit dish such as this?