strawberry ripple teacake

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Shanda

Let love and faithfulness never leave you…write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 3:3

Today I have a delicious recipe to share with you. It is a cake that I began making many years ago, when I was a teenager. I am forever grateful to my Mom for giving me free reign in the kitchen to learn to bake before I was married. This recipe is special to me because everyone who tries it loves it. It is a very simple, quiet cake to make by hand; no mixer is necessary.

The cake itself is an uncomplicated butter cake with a surprise thickened fruit filling in the middle. The original recipe suggests raspberry filling, which is delicious, but I typically make it with strawberry, my favorite.

It is beautifully cream colored and golden, buttery, with a layer of pink, perfect for any time and perhaps Valentine’s Day, which is four days away. Men love cake. My dear husband Rich loves this cake, especially. Your man might be similar to my man and prefer this cake over any other. I am sure he would love this particular cake as an edible Valentine’s gift from his loving (and devoted) wife. Maybe for dessert after a juicy steak dinner?

If your man does not like cake, might I suggest baking it for the children?

S T R A W B E R R Y R I P P L E T E A C A K E

1 10 oz package sweetened berries in juice (from the frozen section at the grocery store)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch or flour

For the Filling: In a small saucepan, stir undrained fruit and cornstarch till combined. Cook and stir until thick. Remove from heat, set aside to cool.

For the Cake:
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup salted butter or margarine
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup sour milk (1 T.vinegar, add milk to measure) OR buttermilk

Grease and flour a 10 by 12 round tart pan. You may also use a round cake pan.

In a large bowl stir together flour and sugar, cut in butter. Set aside 1/2 cup for topping. Into remaining flour stir Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt. Make a well in center for combined egg and sour milk. Stir until just moistened. Spread 3/4 batter in bottom of pan. Spread filling on top of batter, spoon on remaining batter and crumb topping.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

This is what the unbaked cake looks like after dropping batter on top of the filling. The cake will spread and come together when it bakes, so don’t worry about covering the filling entirely.

The crumbs also cover the filling. This is what it looks like after sprinkling them on top, right before popping it into the oven.

Oh happy day, the cake is baked.

Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing..
for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

Baking a cake for a sad/lonely or happy/celebratory person/family would also be a good idea. This is a great cake to give away.

Enjoy.

*****

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life…It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” Melody Beattie

“Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”

old news

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Shanda

Super bowl sunday was an entire week ago but I must blog about it because it was such a fun day.

First of all, that morning Rich had a wrestling tournament to coach. He had Seth, Caleb, and David with him.

Second of all, Sarah Joy woke up with the stomach bug. Horrors.

Third of all, Isaac and Cass wanted to come to church with me which left me in a quandary because I typically don’t leave sick babies home with older siblings.

HOWEVER, she wasn’t sad or overly grumpy so Rich and I decided just this once that she would be fine if I left her home with Grace to take care of. Mike had spent the night that night with the boys so when I left for church that morning I had Cass in the front with me, then Mike, Ethan, and Isaac in the middle, and Jacob in the back (soon to be joined by Emily, whom we picked up on the way).

We talked and laughed all the half hour way to church. It was such a joy to me, as I spend most of my time with younger people (four year olds).

After church we went to the Chinese buffet where Isaac ate so much he got the “meat sweats”. As I predicted, he ruined his appetite for Super Bowl food. Anyway, it was hilarious and I took this group selfie when we loaded in the car after eating……

When we got home Cass and I started getting things ready for the party. We made a salad and some hot artichoke cheese dip.

Zak was one of our guests for the day. He is on the wrestling team and a friend of Ethan, Jacob…..and Parker the dog, too. 🙂

There was nonstop partying going on once everyone arrived. Another wrestler, Dom, came, and our good friends, the K’s came, too. Amanda and Jason came with their friend Inna, and their three kids, Abbie, Naomi, and Weston.

I was very distracted but tried taking some pictures of the evening, in the midst of socializing, keeping the kitchen going, and helping Sarah throw up. (Sarah was quarantined in my room.) Multitasking!!!

Isaac brought me a Christmas gift from Dave, which was in the blue container seen on the coffee table in the picture. ^^ It was a bottle of fancy cherry balsamic vinegar. Thank you, brother!

We piled on the couches, and the guys in the back of it were sitting at the black bookcase behind the couch, on stools. The game was great….so exciting!

I made Jason very uncomfortable by taking his photo.

Today is actually their six month wedding anniversary!!!!!!! Let me gush for a moment just because I’m their big sister……Isaac and Cassandra are such a great couple, I get all teary eyed thinking about them. They are in love like lovers, best friends, AND siblings…they tease, laugh, and snuggle constantly. Isaac won’t let Cassandra open her own car door. I mean, they are just the most encouraging people to be around if you have doubts about true love these days. They have it, and it’s a beautiful thing to see.

Our good friends, Caroline and Chris, are in fact Jacob, Ethan, and Grace’s “second parents”. 🙂 They live just a few miles away from us and have two teen children. We love this family so much.

I kept trying and trying to take a good picture of Gracie and Abigail and finally settled on this one.

Weston ADORES his big cousin Jake. He was so thrilled to sit next to him for a picture. As you can see, he also respects him highly, too. 😉

Rich and Jason, (my husband and my sister’s husband)….these are all around GREAT men in the workplace, family, and community. So thankful.

We had so much food it was ridiculous. I only took one picture of it and here it is. THE CRACK. It’s funny because Isaac and Cassandra make this as their specialty. It’s graham crackers with butter and chocolate and I don’t know what else….we call it crack. It was pretty much the hit dish of the night, along with Caroline’s meatballs.

Those two lovely ladies were adorable all night long. Love them. They helped out so much, too, making veggies and dip and bringing lots of food, and sangria, for the party.

GROUP PIC!

We kinda want to have a Super bowl party every weekend! Love you guys!

{this moment}

Image

{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

a song of snow and sea

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Shanda

(music)

The Lord is my strength and shield.

I trust Him with all my heart,

He helps me and my heart is filled with joy.

I burst out with songs of thanksgiving.

Psalm 28:7

The children woke this morning to the news of a two hour delay, but none of us would have been surprised or disappointed if there was a full snow day. It has been snowing nonstop since we got out of bed and nature has added even more fluffy inches to what was already accumulated earlier this week.

“Oh, it doesn’t show signs of stopping”

I opened the door to take a picture of the older children who stood outside for almost 10 minutes waiting for the bus. I smiled to hear their talking and laughing. Then, when they saw me, “What is mom doing?” they casually asked one another, huddled in a tight sibling group. “Mom, my hands are freezing!” he wanted me to know, all with fun and smiles.

They have all safely left for school and it is now 10:30. I really should get dressed soon……….

She found me.

“Mom, what are you doing in my room?!?!?”
“Taking pictures out your window!”

I think it’s safe to say that it will be a while before I make any attempts to get outside into the woods with my camera. It is enough for now, and quite fun, to lean out doors and windows, photographing the beauty. I love snowy days and the cozy feeling inside the home when it’s coming down so steadily, beautiful, white, and fresh.

Considering the endless topic of books, despite (or, because of) the weather, my current longing is for books featuring the seaside. I asked my 15 year old daughter Grace if she had any suggestions and we both jumped up off the couch and started exploring the bookshelves together, searching for our favorites, with hearts of gratitude for a home library gathered up over the last 19 years.

Books for Snowy Days, about the Sea, to Read by the Fire

Along the Shore, short stories by L.M. Montgomery
The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float, by Farley Mowat
Li Lun, Lad of Courage, by Carolyn Treffinger
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife, by Connie Small
Master and Commander, by Patrick O’Brian
The Light on the Island, by Helen Glidden
Burt Dow, Deep Water Man , by Robert McCloskey

“The spell of the sea and the wind surged into her heart and filled it with wild happiness and measureless content. ” ~Along the Shore

*****

****

The North wind doth blow

and we shall have snow

and what will poor Robin do then, poor thing?

I saw a Robin fly into one of the bushes by the house and ran to get my zoom lens. The pictures are pretty terrible because I shot through glass AND screen, but it was a lovely sight to see. The Robin’s feathers were fluffed and he kept trying to perch on various thin branches, losing his balance, which caused his wings to fly out in order to steady himself. The Robin reached for berries as I wondered if he was getting enough to eat. He seemed to sense my question and turned around to show me under his tail feathers (see above, last picture). “I have enough to eat but my behind is caked with snow.” After the initial shock of seeing a bird butt, I sent through the air my silent sympathies and best wishes.

snowy birthday for seth

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Shanda

Seth turns six years old today and received his first wristwatch. It’s adorable when he calls out the time. He also received a lego set from Uncle Dave and Aunt Maria, a remote control car which every child in the family loves to play with, and a wallet with twenty dollars to put inside of it.

He has requested a turtle cake. I mixed up the batter and baked a round cake, and a dozen cupcakes. Later on, after they cool, we will put the cakes together as a turtle and frost them green and brown. Seth scraped the batter from the bowl and had to have his face washed.

Our fifth son Seth is a loving, energetic, impulsive, happy, bright little boy just like his brothers were before him. He teases and laughs, jokes, and dances. He burps and toots. He is healthy and strong. He has a thin, wiry body and his Dad calls him his little Scrapper. Rich says the part of Seth he loves the most is his fearlessness. My favorite thing about him is that he endearingly calls me “Moo-Moo” and still loves to be by my side constantly, talking to me, hugging me, kissing, and snuggling. He still says, “I want you, Moo-Moo! Can you come sit on the couch with me?”

He is in Kindergarten and learning so many things.

He wrestles and has a lot of talent and heart.

I put a little extra time into his birthday portraits this morning because we are having a snowstorm and school was cancelled. I wet his hair down, washed blue candy stains off his lips and put some clean clothes on him. I bought two photography apps for my laptop to edit the portraits with and enjoyed looking into his handsome eyes as I played with the editing tools.

Outside the window there are snowflakes blowing around from the sky and off the roof of the house, snow on the ground is slowly getting deeper, and hungry little chickadees line up to select sunflower seeds at the feeder. The nine of us, and our six pets, are all snug and warm in the house. Jacob is putting dinner into the crockpot for later and Grace is reading a book, The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier. It is actually Jacob’s reading book for school. It looks as if she’ll have it completely read before he does, which he finds somewhat annoying.

David and Caleb are playing together in their room and Ethan is drawing. Rich is working from home and the two little ones (birthday boy and his sister) are taking naps. We were up late last night *having a super bowl party* so they are tired and need a snowy day sleep in the afternoon.

*****

Happy Birthday, Seth!