Channeling my Great-Grandmother

We all have fond memories of foods from our childhoods. But, over the years when I have tried to re-create family recipes for my dad he has said they were good, but were missing the mark on the way his mother or grandmother made them.

Dad has often talked of a cake that his maternal grandmother made. When we were in Indiana recently I asked my Aunt Becky if she had the recipe for Cold Water Cake. She did and graciously sent it to me.

Dad's birthday was last week so I decided to make the cake to see if I could get it to taste "just like grandmother made it."

The cake has a rich, spicy flavor and it has molasses in it which just  happens to be one of my favorite ingredients.  The secret of the cake, though, is in the ice cold water used. I measured, mixed, and chopped the ingredients with aplomb all the while wishing I had a fancy apron like the women of the 50's wore when cooking so I could really look the part.

The taste of the batter - yes, I know you're not supposed to eat raw cake batter since it has eggs in it, even refused to let my 5 year old nephew taste it - tantalized my taste buds. The smell while the cake was baking was absolutely heavenly. Oh my how I salivated at the thought of what the cake would taste like!

When the cake was done and cooled it was time for the frosting. The recipe for the cake didn't include a frosting and honestly the cake could be served without frosting or a light glaze. But, Dad remembers the cake with a deep, dark chocolate frosting that Grandmother made with coffee. It basically was powdered sugar and cocoa mixed until the chocolate was slightly sweet. Then I mixed it with a strong coffee just until the mixture is spreadable. Surprisingly enough the coffee darkened the frosting, but didn't add a coffee flavor to it.

When I served the cake Dad said the frosting was spot on. The cake was very close although he remembers it being spicier and a darker color. I figured the next time I make the cake I would double up on the nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. However, Dad mentioned it was usually served cold so we put the remaining cake in the fridge.

When he had a piece for breakfast the next day he declared it tasted just like Grandmother had made it! Ah, sweet success. The cake was so good that my sister devoured a piece despite having raisins in it. She hates eating raisins that have been cooked!

What fun I had stepping into the past and enjoying some old fashioned baking! And, yes, if you have read recent posts you know that I have been stepping into the past quite a bit recently. I can't help it, really, since my trip to Indiana earlier this month I have been enjoying my family history. I will get to the end of the historical posts soon and move on to something else, I promise.

Don't forget to come back on Friday for moonshine!!

PS, the sprinkles were courtesy of my nephew who feels that no cake is complete without them!

The Ever Versatile Macaroni

Last weekend I had the pleasure of traveling to Kansas to attend my nephew’s graduation from The University of Kansas. He is the first of the next generation to complete college with his sister close on his tail.

One aspect of the relationship between this nephew and me revolves around what I affectionately call the Great Macaroni War. He has jumped into the war with relish and lobbed his own bombs right back at me. I laughed at his creativity the year my Christmas package was wrapped in layers of grocery bags and duct tape. He has willingly gone along with my dumping macaroni into envelopes and supergluing presents. He had to know that a milestone as big as graduating from college wouldn’t escape the Great Macaroni War.

For several weeks before graduation I worked very hard on some kindergarten art to present to my boy. Using a picture of the famous KU Jayhawk drawn by my very talented niece I filled it in with appropriately colored acini de pepe macaroni. Once the bird was completed in all his glory I framed the art. Now my dear nephew has his years at KU commemorated for all of pasta posterity.

And, now I am on alert that at any time there may be a sneak attack in the Great Macaroni War.

A Saltine by Any Other Name

Is a macaroon!

The truth is I am experiencing some writer's block. I have lots of ideas bouncing around, but I can't seem to get them down on the computer in any coherent manner yet.  This seemingly random sentence is my way of an explanation for the fluff posts recently. So, here we go about macaroons!

Saturday nights my local family have the tradition of going to church with Dad and then having dinner. This started out when Mom was still alive and she couldn't get to church. I would stay with her while the others went to church. I would cook dinner while they were gone. Now we rotate so every third Saturday is my night to cook.

This week was my week to cook again and I came up with a menu of chicken-apple salad, caprese pizzas, and coconut macademia macaroons. The surprise is that the macaroon recipe came from the side of a Premium Saltine box and included 30 saltine crackers.

I couldn't resist the idea of an easy macaroon recipe so I gave it a whack....literally! The recipe called for 30 crackers finely crushed. So I got out the rolling pin and beat those crackers to a pulp :-)

The cookies were delicious and definitely something I will make again.

Bugs for Dinner

This was my week to do Family Dinner on Saturday night. Saturday dinner is a tradition that started in the last few years of Mom’s life when she was no longer able to attend Mass with Dad. I would stay with her and fix dinner while Dad, my sister and the kids went to church. In the last few years we have begun rotating houses for dinner.

This week I made a yummy white bean chicken chili from one of my favorite cookbooks....

Don't you just love crockpots!?! What could be easier than throwing everything in the pot and letting it cook all day. This is my kind of cooking!

For dessert I made these adorable Love Bug Cupcakes.

I found these cute love bugs  over at Beth’s The Stories from A to Z blog. Mine didn’t turn out quite the same as Beth’s, but they were cute and the fam enjoyed them :-)

I happened on Beth’s blog quite by accident, but the first thing I saw was the post about the love bugs. I perused her blog for a while and have revisited several times since then. Her blog is a lot of fun to wander through, see all her great ideas of creating beauty out of chaos, and she hosts lots of fun “parties” where other bloggers get to join in! I encourage you to head on over and check it out.

Some facts about ladybugs....

        A Ladybug will not fly if the temperature is below 55 Degrees F

        If you squeeze a ladybug it may bite you


        Ladybugs chew from side to side


       The spots on a Ladybug fade as it gets older


       A Ladybug can live until it is 3 years old

The Great Macaroni War

So, here’s a bit of truth about me – I hate surprises. Not all surprises, just the kind I know are coming. I certainly don’t mind the ones that comes out of the blue. “You’ve done such a great job; here’s a ginormous raise to show our appreciation.” (Phil, Gary are you reading this!?!) I’m quite all right with those unexpected events.

But surprises like Christmas presents under a tree? It drives me absolutely batty. I am not a patient person and all those wonderfully wrapped presents beckon to me and torment me. As a child Christmas time was torture for me.

Yes, every year I would try to find new and clever ways to find out what my presents were. I would scope out all the hiding places in search of unwrapped gifts. Once they were wrapped it became a little more challenging, but I persevered. I soon became quite adept at unwrapping presents and then rewrapping them so no one would know that I had peeked. To this day you can find me shaking gifts as soon as they appear under the tree.

Several years ago my brother had my name in the family gift exchange. My gift came with a warning to open upside down. It was heavy – I had asked for books – and it rattled; an intriguing combination for sure. When I opened the package macaroni spilled out explaining the rattle and marking the start of The Great Macaroni War. My brother may have won that battle, but the war was far from over.

I retaliated the next year with a sweet little box loaded with macaroni. To keep it from rattling I folded a piece of cardboard and stuffed it on top of the pasta. I taped the lid down, tied a blue bow around it and sent it off to my unsuspecting brother. Silly boy had become complacent and had no idea what was about to happen. Cue evil laughter…

Later my brother’s son took up the fight and packed one of my presents with macaroni. You gotta love a kid like that! But, he was no match for me. I fired back on his next birthday with a gift card encased in a CD jewel case, filled with birthday candle confetti, and super glued closed. He vowed his revenge and began plotting.

That Christmas I received a present on which my nephew had very sweetly written, “To my favorite aunt.” I beamed with pride as I pulled the paper off to find a package wrapped in duct tape. Under the duct tape were several layers of plastic grocery bags, more duct tape, and more grocery bags. I laughed as I unwrapped and unwrapped and unwrapped…

I definitely have a formidable opponent, but I am crafty. I am wily. I will not be outdone. Every year around this time darling neph and I begin trading jabs about macaroni. No one knows when the next scrimmage will happen, but the anticipation hangs in the air.

The Great Macaroni War seemingly has become a family tradition. Family traditions are not only fun, they tie us together and strengthen our bonds. Because of our traditions and strong bonds our family has supported each other in tough times. It is comforting to know I can always rely on them. And I don’t even mind not knowing what will happen next in the Great War!


Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. - Ecclesiastes 4:12