Road Kill Cafe

This is my own creation. I won a ribbon with this cake at the Alaska State Fair a number of years ago, I hope you enjoy it!

Lemon Pound Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter softened

3 eggs

3 ¼ cups of cake flour

½ teaspoon soda

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons lemon zest

4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Pre- heat oven to 325. Grease and flour bundt pan or tube pan.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time.

Sift together the flour and soda.

Stir into mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Beat well.(about 2 min. on high speed on mixer)

Add zest and lemon juice. Stir well.

Pour into prepared pan and bake about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pan 20 min., then invert on wire rack, cool completely.

When cool place cake on plate, glaze.

Glaze:

1/3 cup butter

½ teaspoon lemon zest

2 cups powdered sugar

3 to 4 tablespoons hot lemon juice

Heat butter until melted, stir in zest.

Stir into powdered sugar.

Add hot juice and beat until desired consistency.

This should be on the thin side, drizzle over cake.

I finally have the pictures we took of Molly and Scout when we first found them on New Years Day. We also took some pictures of them today. What a difference four months have made!

Here they are on January 1:

Here they are today:

We are guessing that they were 12 to 14 weeks old on January 1st, and are now about 8 months. From what I have read about the Great Pyrenees, they take 2 years to mature. So they will still be “puppies” for a while yet!

We ordered a swing set for Hunter and it was delivered Wednesday. He always gets so excited when he sees either the mail man or a UPS truck. It is like magic for him when either one of them stops here. So when the UPS truck stopped and delivered a very large box he was beside himself with curiosity.

Then he saw the picture of a swing set on the box, broke out in a huge grin and kept saying, “It’s amazin’, isn’t it grandma?” He almost couldn’t contain his excitement while we were putting the swing set together. He was very good at helping to hand us various tools and watched intently as the swing set took shape.

I almost couldn’t get him to come inside for dinner. He kept asking if it was going be there tomorrow. When he was finally assured that it wouldn’t vanish overnight, he kept saying how now he had his own park to play in everyday. We let him play on it until after he would have normally come inside for the day. He wore himself out climbing the ladder and going down the slide.

Watching his joy at having a simple thing like a swing set reminded me that more and more it is the simple and uncomplicated things that bring the most happiness. Along with the most long lasting joy. I feel so blessed to once again see things from a child’s viewpoint and to able to share that excitement with him.

Our two rescued dogs are doing so well. They have grown, filled out and now have beautiful healthy coats. But we were still wondering just what kind of dogs they were. Not being up on all the breeds, we just didn’t know.

Until yesterday when we got a delivery from UPS. The driver took one look at them and said “What a beautiful pair of Great Pyrenees you have.” I had never even seen a Pyrenees before, but a quick web search confirmed what the guy had said. They fit the description to a T. Right down to the extra dew claws on the hind legs.

I have no idea if they are pure Pyrenees or not, but if they are a mix of some sort there is no evidence of it. They look just like the pics of the dogs on the web sites I have researched. Here is one that has a picture, this is what Molly and Scout look like:

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/greatpyrenees.htm

I am just happy to know what type of dogs they are and that they are now happy and healthy. Soon I will have before and after pictures to post. Jeff2 discovered that we still had pictures that had been taken right after they came into our lives, and we will take some current pictures, when it stops raining.

Just for something different, (and because I love to cook and bake), I will be starting a regular Monday feature. I will present a recipe from my files. I have a vast collection, so choosing just one a week will be a challenge (for me).

Be advised that I use real food in my kitchen, butter, eggs, whole milk, real sugar etc.. I do not hold with using chemicalized basterdized versions of the real thing.

This week I will share the recipe for my favorite dark rye bread, and yes I do make my own. I do own a bread machine and it’s only function, for me, is to mix up the bread dough while I am busy doing something else. I have baked in it, but do not care for the results. A big plus, besides the ability to multi-task, is that the machine provides the perfect environment for the first rise of the bread.

Russian Black Bread

• 1 1/2 cups water (warmed to 110 degrees)
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 cup rye flour (I use dark rye flour)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 1 tablespoon caraway seed
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seed (optional)
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 4 teaspoons vital wheat gluten

DIRECTIONS

1. Place ingredients into the bread machine in order suggested by the manufacturer.

Or place all liquid ingredients in a large bowl, add the coffee granules and brown sugar, stir well. Sprinkle yeast over the liquid and stir well. Add the rye flour, cocoa powder and seeds. Stir well. Mix in the rest of the flour. You may need to add more flour, depending on humidity conditions. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed well, until smooth and elastic. (This dough should be just slightly sticky.) Place dough in a large oiled bowl, turning to coat surface. Cover and put in warm place until doubled, this should take about an hour. Punch down, form into either 1 large loaf or two smaller ones. Place in well greased bread pans, lightly oil surface (I use olive oil for this) cover and let rise until double. Bake at 350 (325 for glass pan) for about 30 to 40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan to wire rack (brush top of loaf with a bit of melted butter if you want a softer crust) and let cool.

This bread makes excellent sandwiches!

Mother Nature has really been undecided lately. We were enjoying lovely spring weather, clear skies, warm breeze and everything bursting to life. Then as suddenly as the warmth arrived we were slammed with frigid temperatures once again. If you listened closely you almost hear the young plants and new growth crying out in surprise and pain. Then once again the temperatures moderated and the plants struggled back to life.

Last night the thermometer recorded yet another freeze, not just barely dipping below 32, falling to the low 20’s. Once again the rhubarb is lying withered and lifeless in the afternoon sun. A sun that shone brightly, but without a lot of heat. As the afternoon changed into early evening the sun was swallowed up by an increasing cloud mass. There is a cool damp chill to the air that promises rain.

A person can learn a lot from observing the world that surrounds them. The struggle sometimes for life itself. Being able to roll with the punches that are sometimes dealt without warning. Dealing with unbearable cold, stifling heat, drought and too much rain. And yet when you look around you there is a source of peace to be found in the trees, grass and even the weeds. They do not struggle against nature, they flow with it, through the changing seasons and conditions.

There is quite a lesson of patience there to be learned, if only we take the time to see it.

The cold weather that we have had has done some damage to the plants. In the warm temperatures that we had before this lots of things were growing and blooming, but they have taken some hits.

The freezing temperatures killed off the rhubarb, but they are hardy plants and have already started re-growing. So I believe that no permanent damage has been done to them.

The old fashioned lilac in the front yard was in full bloom. It had masses of budding flowers, just beginning to open with a few in full bloom. Now they are sad brown withered things surrounded by curled frost bitten leaves. It was so pretty, last year it had only one flower on it, and this year it was loaded.

Even though we covered the fruit trees, they still suffered some damage. Lots of brown and wilted leaves that had just started to emerge, one of the apple trees even had the bud of a flower. I am hoping that with the return of warmer temperatures that they will bounce back. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it this will not stunt their growth.

A lot of trees had leaves that were just emerging so time will tell how they have fared this unusual onslaught of freezing weather. It is so sad to see all the things that had been so vibrant and alive now struggling to come back to their former glory.

Two days ago I was out mowing the lawn. The sun was warm, the breeze was warm. I was enjoying the feeling of the sun on my skin. I was even enjoying the sweat I was working up mowing in the warm sun. After I was finished mowing, I went for a walk, barefoot with my grandson in the warm soft grass. It was 84 degrees.

Later that evening we had some wild thunderstorms move through, heralding a cold front. Thunder, lightning, wind, rain and hail. It made for an interesting evening.

Now, just two days later I am looking out the window at………snow. It has snowed enough that there is white on the tree branches and the longer grass by the creek.  There is snow covering the blooms on my lilac bush in the front yard. And on my lawn mower……….

We have covered the fruit trees in an effort to keep them from being frost damaged. I really hope that they will be spared any problems from this chilly blast. They were doing so well.

I am hoping that the warmth of spring will return, soon!

A bright silver-yellow disk rides low in the night sky,casting its diffuse rays wider as it rises in the darkness, climbing ever higher into the star lit heavens. Under its gentle light a world half in darkness notes its passing.

In the hayfield the moonlight filters through the ghostly mist that hovers above the newly green grasses and blooming weeds. A faint breeze stirs the mist creating swirls reminiscent of other worldly dancers performing a long forgotten waltz to unheard music. The baby leaves on the trees applaud in hushed and reverent tones.

The moon filters through the trees along the creek mingling reflected light and shadow upon an unpainted and unnamed masterpiece. The gentle symphony of tumbling water joins the chorus of serenading night bugs, providing the perfect background harmony.The dew silently gathers on the tips the grass and reflects the lunar incandescence as if it were a carpet of diamonds stretching into forever.

Overhead untamed wisps of cloud tenderly embrace the moons voyage through the sea of stars. While below the creatures of the night continue their nocturnal meanderings until the moon nonchalantly slips into the far horizon and the rising sun dusts the sky with a violet hue.