VETERANS DAY

I just want to say about Veterans Day that it is a holiday of celebration. We already have a day of commemoration, that's Memorial Day. Veterans Day started as Armistice Day, a celebration of the end of World War I. Today, it should be a celebration of appreciation for those who have served in peace andwar and lived to tell stories about it - even if they have since passed on. Many of the speeches I've heard today seemed more appropriate for Memorial Day - a more somber day, for sure.

PORK ROAST DE L'ONCLE LONNIE

Marinade:
1/4 cup of vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tbs worstershire
Marinade for one hour.

Insert:
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of sage
2 tsp of salt

chop onions, garlic, sage, and salt.
Insert onto pork shoulder.
Roll up shoulder and tie down.
Place pork shoulder in french oven, uncovered, at 300 degree oven for four hours.

Take shoulder out and place in shallow roasting pan.
Deglaze french oven with white wine.
Add deglazed juices to shallow pan.
Place roast in oven uncovered for three hours more at 300 degrees.

Remove roast and cool to room temperature.
Place in refrigerator for 24 hours
Remove from refrigerator and slice.
Place sliced roast in a pan with gelled juice; cover and heat in oven at 250 degrees for 30 min.

Serve. YUM!!!

Barbeque Spareribs 2

Marinade:
1 package of spare ribs
1/2 cup of apple juice
1/4 cup of organge juice
1/4 cup of vinegar
1/8 cup worstershire sauce
2 tbs of salt
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs black pepper to taste
2 tbs onion powder
2 tbs garlic powder
1 teaspoon celery salt
Marinade the whole slab of ribs for several hours or overnight.

Cover ribs with parchment paper
Place ribs on an appropriate grilling rack over a pan to catch the juices.
Place in an oven at 220 degrees for eight hours to 12 hours.
Take out of the oven and refrigerate for several hours.
Take cold ribs out of the refrigerator and slice them into invididual ribs.

Barbeque sauce:
(secret combination) However, it does include tabasco sauce, ketchup, and molasses. That's all you're going to get out of me.

Place individual ribs on a rack and cover ribs with barbeque sauce.
Place in an oven at 350 degrees.
Check ribs from time to time to base with sauce until you are satisified they've reached the browness you want without burning.
Remove ribs and enjoy the crispy outside and falling-off-the-bone tenderness of the meat, inside.

James Carville Sums It Up

I'm no great James Carville fan, but he sums things up nicely:
"If you think what America needs is a tax cut for people making over half-a-million dollars a year then vote for McCain. If you think middle-class people are struggling – that their incomes are going down and they need help – vote for Obama. It’s a very simple choice".- CNN's Late Edition
more:

NUT'N-BUT-MUTTON 1

This is not my recipe, but it looked kind of interesting.

Governor Sarah Palin or Tina Fey

Who is this lady Governor from Alaska? Are these two people the same? Maybe they are related; twins, sisters, or just the same person. One minute this person is the Governor of the farthest north western state in the USA and then she is an writer/actor in the north eastern part of the USA. There are many questions that need answers. Who is she really?

VERY CHEESY MAC 'N' CHEESE

Here is one of my favorite recipes for macaroni and cheese, I know everyone will like. The secret to bonding the cheese with the macaroni is using mozzarella cheese in place of an egg. Eggs have a tendency to take away from the flavor of the cheese and changes it entirely. Mozzarella cheese not only bonds but compliments all of the cheese used. So here is my tasty recipe for very cheesy Mac 'N' cheese.


3 quarts of rapidly boiling water
1 tablespoon of salt
1lb of macaroni

1lb of cheddar cheese
2 cups of milk
1 lb of American cheese
1lb of Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 lb of sour cream
1/2 lb of mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb of velveeta
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
1/4 teaspoon of white pepper
1/8 teaspoon of salt
4 teaspoons of butter

In a 4 quart sauce pan boil the water. When the water starts to boil rapidly add the salt and macaroni. After the macaroni is cooked drain the water from the macaroni. Place the macaroni in a greased baking dish. Grate the cheddar, American, and Monterey Jack cheese and add half of it to the macaroni.

While the macaroni is boiling start making your cheese sauce. In a sauce pan simmer the milk. Slowly stir in the butter, sour cream, the Velveeta, the other half of the cheddar, American, and Monterey Jack cheese. Add the salt, pepper, and onion powder. Stir until all of the cheese is melted. Pour the sauce over the macaroni in the baking dish. Blend the sauce with the cheese that is already there. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top of the macaroni and gently blend it in with the sauce and the other cheeses.

Preheat oven and bake at 350° for about 1/2 hour or until the Mac 'N' Cheese is golden brown.

Yum! Yum!

Democratic Party

Democratic Party

Facts are facts. Talk radio is entertainment.

GOP GETTING WHAT/WHO THEY DESERVE

One tends, or at least should, to align themselves,politically, with the party that best matches their own ideology and perceptions of the collective policy by which the government should be run. Recognizing certain "truths" and patterns of the Democrat Party (NOT "Democrat'IC' Party), I changed over to the Republican Party. Reasons are yet another Blog. I was comfortable with my adjustment until about 3 years ago. I don't see much of a difference between the two anymore. "Politics" and the intrusion has corrupted the GOP from a party that once had ideas and was rooted in conservatism. Not anymore. In a capsule...

During the Primaries, they waited with bated breath for Fred Thompson to emerge as the "voice of conservatism". It didn't happen. All the while they kicked McCain, Huckabee,Romney and the rest to the curb(even though Ron Paul won every GOP debate). When Thompson didn't resonate, they looked around and John McCain was still standing there. Now for years he has been the "darling" of the media because he was "The Maverick"! Stood up against the Republicans and "WALKED across the aisle to "work" with Democrats. The media endorced him in the Primaries and he has become the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party. While they didn't like anybody else, they got stuck with "The Maverick". The one guy that has gone against "party lines" since he's been a Senator from Arizona.

"Rutt Ro, 'Reorge! What we do now, Kemosabie?"

The media has turned and painted McCain as, "4 more years of Bush!" Maybe rightfully so. He endorses the occupation errrr "War in Iraq" and the Tax Cuts to be made permenent (not a bad idea,but I would digress going further). Other than those issues there isn't "that" much of a difference between him and Barak Obama. I'll give you a visual.

About 2 weeks ago on Meet The Press, there was John Kerry,Democrat for Obama and Joe Liebermann, Independent, kicked to the curb by the Democrats but ran as an Independent and won anyway, and SITS with the Democrats in the Senate, for McCain. He is even under consideration for the VP candidacy with McCain. Hmmmmm. What is wrong with that picture?

I listen to "Conservative Talk Radio" and I'm tickled to death at the hosts trying to "dog out Obama", his wife, his minister,his family, his background, he's an elitist (pot calling the kettle Black...no pun intended),throwing the perverbial "Kitchen Sink". Their problem is, they can't sink Obama deep enough to "raise McCain"(sorry...couldn't resist). They can't say anything positive about "The Maverick"! During the Primaries, they dogged him out and NOW...they're stuck with him. I think it's hysterical!!!! Only Rush Limbaugh has had the guts to admit that he is at a loss trying to promote McCain. He does his "thing" against Obama,but he admitts to be hard pressed say anything on behalf of McCain outside of his stance on the "war". He has been a Democrat with an "R" next to his name for too long.

The GOP has forsaken what brought them to the dance, Conservatism and a mission statement rooted in The Constitution ("W" opened the door to that). They "went ugly early" and for them they are stuck with that "2 at 10" and can't "drink enough" for McCain to become a "10 at 2".

IMneverO...we're hosed regardless.....but I will smile.

Say It Often Enough, Someone Will Believe It

A couple of weeks ago, Barack Obama answered an audience member's question, "What can I do to help save energy?" Obama said among other things, keeping tires well-inflated can make a difference. The opposition party took that comment and just ran with it, trying to portray it as Obama's energy policy. During the course of the week, Obama debunked the notion; pointing out that the Republicans were playing a political game and that tire-inflation was not his energy policy. This week, the Republican governor of Louisiana resurrects the tire-inflation lie, although, carefully saying that it was not an energy policy. However, the inference was that that was all Obama is bringing to the table in the form of an energy plan. The question I pose is whether a news organization, knowing full well that this not only was old news but debunked news had a responsibility to not make it seem fresh, a week later? The Republic party is good for that old adage, (I believe our president once said it too) if you say the same thing over and over and over again, eventually, someone is going to believe you. In this case, in my opinion, the media that ran the Governor's statement is complicit in the deception of the public.

The Race Card; The Fairy Tale

I have always been very suspicious of people who are outraged over the suggestion of the possibility that some bias based on ethnicity continues to exist in this country in the year 2008. Now, we have a mixed-race presidential candidate who has gone out of his way to steer attention away from his mixed-raceness to keep that from clouding campaign issues. The possibility that that effort has been a frustration to his former prime Democratic opponent during the Primary season and now to his elder-statesman Republican opponent during this General-election campaign is not too far fetched, in my opinion. During the Primary season, we saw the preemptive accusation that the Obama campaign was injecting race into the campaign. And now the McCain campaign is doing the same thing, saying Obama is playing the so-called "Race Card." (By the way, that's an odious term that came out of the OJ-trial era. It was picked up by the local L-A media and now it is used adnauseum to distill reaction to racial injustice to a simple game of cards. I'm insulted everytime the term is used. It minimizes hundreds of years of racial injustice.) Insidiously, by accusing Obama of injecting race into the campaign, that accusation in itself injects race into the campaign. It's hard to believe that the McCain campaign and the former operatives of Karl Rove that now work for it have not considered the possibility that people will use skin color as a criteria after entering the voting booth. Maybe, they're counting on it. Maybe, that's what former PresidenClinton was refering to after the South Carolina primary when he made reference to "a fairy tale." Was that some innate understanding and maybe frustration that no matter how qualified Barack Obama is, not enough of the American majority will vote for him to allow him to win office? One thing is certain, we will have the answer to all questions after Election day.

POLITICS: THE REAL ENEMY

We all, at one time or another, have thrown in the phrase, ”Oh, that’s just ‘Politics’.”, or “He (or she) got where he (or she) is through ‘Politics’.” It has become the default explanation to all things that “fly South” in a person’s life, particularly when it comes to their job, their Church (yet another commentary), local government etc. Politics is one of the side affects of being “fallen people” by nature. Just about every Deadly Sin can be executed or exercised through Politics.

Every entity has a mechanic, if you will, that makes it “run” consistent with its own propositions and objectives. Standing alone, and permitted to “run” will provide its own success or failure within its own parameters. Government with a Constitution such as these United States has a frame of laws and process to alter those laws built into it. It, of itself, part of the construct, will, by its “nature”, provide fairness to the Greater Good of all who are under it. Will “ALL” be satisfied? Of course not, but in the end the “Greater Good” will be served. “Politics” and its intrusion on the basic mechanics of government and that Constitution disrupts and corrupts those mechanics built into the proposition.

The structure of “this” government has 3 branches, Executive, Legislative and Judicial, each with their “order” in this Republic (we are NOT a Democracy. We “are” a Republic, governed by laws that use a democratic process within those laws. A “Democracy”, on it’s own could be a “Lynch Mob”). The intrusion of “Politics”, for one example, afforded the Judicial Branch of California to overturn the “will of the people”, based on a duly sanctioned voting process, to permit “same sex marriage”. Now I’m not arguing whether “same sex marriage” is right or wrong, but I am saying that the intrusion of a “Political will” dismantled a Legal process, sanctioned under the Law, nullifying “the will of the people” following the legitimate procedure and process.

Presently, we are dealing with an issue with Energy. There are practical and Common Sense considerations on both sides of this issue. “To Drill or Not To Drill”. Well, with the outcry for “Foreign Oil Independence”, the “common sense” action ‘would’ be to drill domestically especially with the knowledge that China, on the other side of the hemisphere ‘will’ in this hemisphere. Intruding on the “debate”, and I use the term loosely, because our Congress refuses to debate the issue, is the “Political agenda” of those who would benefit greatly by dismissing fossil fuels as an energy source. Most people have no problem with a more diversified approach to powering the country, but to dismiss fossil fuels that are attainable “here”, and have been for decades, is tantamount to “throwing out the baby with the bathwater”. The intrusion of Politics in this debate has produced claims of global warming and greenhouse gases that have not been proven to any conclusion. In fact, those who were originally part of the study were summarily dismissed when they uncovered contradictions to the agenda.

“Politics”, by nature, is intended to serve the desires of a select few. It is a, by nature, selfish, greedy, lustful, gluttonous entity rooted in envy (5 out of 7…hmmmmm). Worst of all, it has no kinship to truth or justice in its fabric and that lacking only takes us further away from God.
Just a thought………….

UNCLE ALONZO'S PANCAKES SUPREME

Let's face it, Sunday mornings without pancakes is like Wednesday without Meatballs & Spaghetti. So, here is a recipe that is easy and from scratch and a lot better than that boxed, pre-mixed stuff with all the chemicals.







1 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cinnamin (optional)
1 cup half and half
1 egg
2 tablespoons of melted butter.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Melt butter. Add melted butter to the dry ingredients and mix.
If you have a hand blender, this works real well. Blend egg and half and half. Slowly pour into the butter batter will blending. Blend until the batter is smoothe. And there it is, ready for the griddle. Uncle Alonzo's Pancakes. I recommend Vermont Maid syrup.

In "MY" Lifetime?!?!!?

I would have NEVER in my wildest dreams or stretches of imagination, would I have ever dared to consider a Black candidate,from one of the "main" political parties, running for President of these United States, in MY lifetime. Even as, politically, a Black Conservative, I have to "Smile". Even with most of the positions and outlines he "has" expressed so far, flipping and flopping as all politicians do, and disagree with heartily, I have to "Smile".
Those of us who are the "Black Baby Boomers"who grew up with or were made aware,because we grew up in the North or were the next generation of immigrants from the West Indies, or their children; lived through, with, surrounded by the "20 Century Reconstruction" that was the Civil Rights Bill of 1964; the Assassinations of Malcolm X, John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luthor King Jr, to say nothing of Medger Evers, and lived our adult lives riding that "20 Century Reconstruction" Rollercoaster of survival and advancement, "have to Smile". I probably will not vote for Barak Obama,but for sure, I will dwell over his name on the ballot. I won't be voting for John McCain either,but that's another blog for another time.
In the meantime, I will "smile". I will also shake my head as the Barak Obama gets caught up in the patterns that are all too familiar to Black Folks assending into the "White hierarchy" and the stones thrown by the "Black Detractors". One test will be the standard, "He must be twice as good,twice as smart,work twice as hard, do twice as well....yadda yadda yadda". The other test is, "Is he 'Black enough'? Is he 'down with the struggle? He's only half Black! He ain't never lived in 'da hood!...yadda yadda yadda".
And let's not forget our Media and The Republicans. Boy did the GOP screw themselves up this time! So did the Media. The Media hated Hillary Clinton so much that they stalled "her train" just enough in the beginning....well she didn't help herself much and her HUSBAND.......weeeelllllll.....and Barak's train kept chugging along. The Republicans didn't like anybody they put up and now are stuck with a "Chimp" that they "have" to put a tuxedo on, take to the banquet, and PRAY....he doesn't pick up the untensiles with his feet!
Barak Obama vs John McCain for the Presidency of The United States of America. Not Ali/Frazier or Hearns/Hagler. Those were "fights". No fight here. It's Obama's to lose. He would have to step on his tongue with golf cletes repeatedly to lose. I don't see that happening. As a Conservative, I can't win. McCain is no Conservative. He isn't even much of a Republican (another Blog). But for once....in MY Lifetime....I will disappointed in this country and its politics...but "this" time.....I'll shake my head.....with a SMILE.
NesWaite

The Dominican Republic

Last week I was on vacation in the Dominican republic. I had a great time. The food there was wonderful, so now I have to go on some kind of a diet. One of the breakfast foods that I really enjoyed there was Mangu, which consists of mashed green plantain topped with pickled purple or red onions. It is delicious and very filling. Here is a recipe for Dominican Mangu.



4 fresh young green Plantain (Platano)
A good pinch salt per plantain
5 fluid ounces of water
3 fluid ounces of milk
4 ounces/125 grams stick of butter
Salt and pepper

Red or Purple onions
vinegar

Remove the outer peel of the green. Cut the plantain into chunks. Place the chunks in a pot and cover with water. Add salt and stir. Cook until the plantain is soft. Drain the Plantain. Save some of the cooking water. Mash the plantain well with a potato masher. Add about a cup of the cooking water until it is smooth. Also add the milk and butter. You can also add a salt to taste.

Pickle your onions over night in vinegar

When the Mangu is ready to serve top it with the onions.

Watermelon

Early yesterday morning I was watching an old John Wayne cowboy movie on the Turner Classic movie network. The movie was called "Haunted Gold", from 1932. I was very surprised to see that John Wayne had a Black male sidekick. But anyway, besides that towards the end of the movie, the Black sidekick went back into a cabin located on top of a haunted gold mine to try to save John Wayne, who was tied up in a chair. Because he was a Black actor from the 1930's his character had to be afraid of spooks, haunts, ghost, and act like a buffoon. Then he had the nerve to put on the black see through sheet that belonged to the original person that played the phantom, who scared everyone else in the movie. Well to make a long story short, the Black actor was able to free John Wayne. After John Wayne left, the Black actor stayed back in the cabin to continue to scare the two bad guys that held John Wayne prisoner. He blew his cover by stupidly repeating, "I is the phantom, I is the phantom........". Then the two bad guys said to themselves, "why he is speaking watermelon language, he's not the phantom!" So they chased the Black actor and he fell into the haunted gold mine.

So I thought to myself, what the heck is this big joke about Black people and watermelon? It is an old 20th century and I guess 19th century joke, about watermelon and black people. As a little kid I remember the old cartoons that would have a black character with white lips eating watermelon. My mother also said there was a song when she was a child, about a little Black boy singing how much he like watermelon. But I did not get the joke then and I still don't get the joke now. I also remember an incident in Howard Beach, New York a few years ago, where Rev. Al Sharpton marched in protest of a murder of a Black man and the white people threw watermelons at him. What was that supposed to mean? Are Black people supposed to be afraid of watermelons or something? When the incident happened I even asked a white gentleman that worked in the office where I worked, who also lived in Howard Beach, what is the significance between Black people and watermelon. Why is it so funny or is it scary? He did not know the answer either.

I guess the joke then, is the same joke that there is now about Black people and fried chicken? I like watermelon and fried chicken :).

What do you think?

Barbeque Spareribs

Barbeque Spareribs

1 package of spareribs
2-3 cups of water
2 Celery sticks
2 Garlic cloves or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
2-3 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
¼ cup of vinegar
1 large onion
1 bottle of barbeque sauce.

In a large pot add spareribs and pour vinegar on the ribs. You can cut the spareribs to fit in the pot. Chop celery, onion, and garlic into pieces and add to the meat in the pot. Add salt and pepper. Pour water into the pot, so that it is about half full. Let the spareribs steam for 30 minutes or until you have the texture that you like. Place in a flat roasting pan. Roast for an hour or more at 375°until it browns into the color that you want. After it browns, brush on the barbeque sauce. Let the sauce cook on the meat on one side. Then flip the meat over and brush on barbeque sauce. Cook until it looks like color and texture that you like. You can cook two packages spareribs; just add more spices, celery, onion, garlic, and vinegar.

Beef Pot Roast

My Pot Roast recipe is pretty standard stuff. I think I got my first variation it out of "Boys Life Magazine" when I was a scout as a kid. I'll just say at the top that the secret ingredient is (once again) ketchup.



Ingredients:
1 hunk of beef
some lowery season salt
a few twists of fresh ground black pepper
one onion, chopped
one potato, cubed
a couple of carrots, chopped
a dash or two of worstershire sauce
a dash or two of tabasco sauce
2 bay leaves
a pot of boiling water

Brown the beef in a bit of your favorite oil, (I like peanut oil because it takes the heat very well) in a dutch oven or roasting pan. At the same time, in a separate pot, boil about a quart of water. After the beef is brown on all sides, take it out of the pan so you can pour off the excess oil. Sweat the onions with a bit of salt in the roasting pan. At your discretion, add the carrots and potatoes. Add the dry seasoning. At some point when everything starts to smell good, place the hunk of beef back in the pan. By now, the water is certainly boiling in the other pot. Pour enough of it into the pan to almost cover the beef. Add the liquid seasonings and the bay leaves. Here's where I add the secret ingredient, about a half of a cup of Ketchup. I like Heinz. Stir it a bit. You could add some more water, at this point, until the meat is submerged. Cover the pan or dutch oven, and turn the heat down to a simmer. I like to cook it for about two hours or until the meat is so tender you can cut it with a dull knife. Adjust your seasonings from time to time and check to make sure the water has not boiled out. There it is,

Do You Like Fish? Well, I don't.

I'm not really a fan of fish, especially fish with skin and a head on it. I'll eat tuna salad, shrimp, crabs, fishcakes, and fish from the frozen food section (with more crust than fish). But fresh fish and lobster I do not really like. Even my cat Piggy does not like fish. She eats turkey, chicken, & beef. If I eat fish in a restaurant, I'll order the fried fish platter. So in order to get my ration of Omega-3, I bought some fish oil supplements.
My son loves fish, so I bought 16 trout from Omaha steaks. I tried frying them at first and that seemed like too much work. So I tried stuffing and baking them. I did not eat any of it, but I was told that the trout tasted pretty good. I made a homemade stuffing made out of leftover potato rolls and Italian sausage. After I stuffed the fish I tied them up with some string. So out of the 16 trout I have 8 left, maybe I'll attempt to eat it one of these days.
What do you think?

Mother Sylvie's Orange Carrot Cake

Here's another one of our family favorite recipes for orange carrot cake.



1 large orange
2 cups of unsifted flour
2 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons of nutmeg
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups salad oil
4 eggs
2 cups of grated carrot
1/2 cup of pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup of raisins

Preheat oven 350°

Wash orange and cut into eight wedges with a sharp knife. Remove the white center and remove any seeds. Place the entire orange with it's skin into an electric blender and puree.

In a large mixing bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir together and add oil, orange puree, and eggs. Mix thoroughly. Blend carrots and nuts until fine. Add blended carrots and nuts to the flour mixture.

If your family has nut allergies, you can replace the nuts with raisins.

Pour into greased floured Angel food baking pan or a bundt cake pan . Bake in oven for one hour or until the cake tester comes away clean. The cake will start to pull away from the side of the pan. Remove from the oven. Cool cake in the pan for 5-10 minutes and remove from pan.

Dust with confectioner's sugar or add cream cheese icing, if desired.

If not used on the same day refrigerate.

Homemade Marshmallows

Homemade Marshmallows

3 1/2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup of cold water
2 cups of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of corn syrup
1/2 cup of hot water
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 cup of confectioners' sugar

In an electric mixing bowl sprinkle gelatin over cold water. Let it stand until it softens.

Oil bottom of a rectangular baking pan and dust with confectioners sugar.

In a large sauce pan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, hot water, and salt using low heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat until it reaches 240° on a candy thermometer or boils for 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over gelatin mixture. Beat the mixture on high speed until it is white and thick for 6-10 minutes. In a large bowl beat the egg whites until they have stiff peaks. Beat the egg whites, sugar mixture, & vanilla together.

Pour mixture into the rectangular baking pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar over the top of the entire mixture. Chill uncovered until firm for three hours up to 1 day.

Loosen the marshmallows from the pan using a knife. Drop it on to a cutting board and cut marshmallows into 1 inch squares. Place marshmallows into a plastic storage bag with the rest of the confectioners sugar and toss until they are evenly coated. Keep marshmallows in an air tight container in the refrigerator or freezer. The marshmallows will not freeze.

Great Grandmother's Old Fashioned Pound Cake

Many years ago, as children, we sat around listening to our Great Grandmother tell stories about her experiences and she gave us a recipe for pound cake. She said that the cake's ingredients should have a pound of everything in it, like a pound of flour and a pound of sugar. So here is the recipe for Great Grandmother's pound cake.

3 3/4 to 4 cups of sifted flour (1 lb of flour)
2 cups of sugar (1 lb of sugar)
1 teaspoon of salt
10 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoons of lemon extract or almond extract
1 lb of unsalted butter or 4 sticks

1 teaspoon of mace could be used in place of the lemon & almond extract for that old fashioned taste.


Preheat the oven to 325°

Eggs & butter must be at room temperature. Place butter, sugar, & salt in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until light. Add vanilla & lemon or almond extract to the creamed butter. Beat in 5 eggs, one at a time. Then reduce the speed of the mixer and add 1/3 of the flour, beat until smooth. Stop the mixer to scrape the bowl. Then add another third of the flour. Beat in the last of the eggs. Scrape the bowl. Then add the last third of the flour until the batter is smooth. Pour batter into buttered loaf pans or ring pan. Bake from 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours until the cake is risen and brown. To test if the cake is done, stick a toothpick or fork in the cake and it should come out dry. Cool cake for about 5 minutes and then take out of the pan to finish cooling.

Try it and see if it works out well.

Grandma's Sweet Bread With A Cup Of Tea

Grandma's Sweet Bread with a cup of tea


6 to 7 cups of unsifted flour
2 packages of dry yeast
2 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 sticks of butter or margarine
2 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 cup of water
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of salt

Filling
2 cups of shredded fresh coconut or packaged shredded coconut
2 cups of raisins
2 teaspoons of Cinnamon
1/2 cup of sugar

Sugar water
1/2 cup of water
4 tablespoons sugar



In saucepan combine milk, 2 cups of sugar, butter, and salt. Heat until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Put it aside to cool. In a large bowl add 6 to 7 cups of unsifted flour. In a smaller bowl combine dry yeast, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a 1/2 cup of water. Mix the yeast until it is dissolved. Add the cooled butter and milk mixture to the flour. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and milk mixture then mix thoroughly. Then place on a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. The more you knead the better. Place in the large bowl and let rise until double in bulk. Punch down dough once and let it rise again until it doubles in bulk again.

Combine shredded fresh coconut, cinnamon, and sugar or raisins, cinnamon, and sugar in a bowl. Mix thoroughly.

Empty dough on to the floured board or mat and divide into pieces. Knead and flatten one piece and spread the mixture on top of it. Roll it over and shape. Place in a loaf pan or desired baking pan. Let it rise over night. Work the other pieces of dough the same way.

Combine water and sugar until dissolved.

Pre-heat the oven 375°. Brush sugar water on the top of the loaf. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until done.

Remove bread from pan, slice, and serve with a cup of tea.

Lentil Bean Soup

Lentil Bean Soup Recipe

2 carrots

2 stalks of celery

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic (or more)

1/4 cup of olive oil

1 can of whole tomatoes and basil

2 tbs of ketchup

1/2 bag of dry lentil beans

fresh ground black pepper to taste

salt to taste

fresh oregano

fresh tyme

1 bay leaf

Soak lentil beans in water, overnight. Rinse. Boil a quart of water. Heat some of the olive oil to slight smoke in French/Dutch oven. Add chopped onions. Add some salt to sweat the onions. Add chopped garlic. Stir with wooden spoon. Add chopped celery. Add chopped carrots. Add tyme and Oregano to taste. Add lentil beans. Stir. Add a can of tomatoes. Stir. Add half of the boiling water. Add Bay leaf. Add Ketchup. Add the rest of the Olive Oil. Cover and simmer on low/med heat for an hour and a half.

Serve with a small ball of Mozzarella per bowl. Two Calamata Olives.

Recipe For Barbadian Style Fish Cakes

Here is one of my favorite recipes for Barbadian style fish cakes.

Cod Fish Cakes

2 lbs. salted boneless codfish (bacalao) or salted pollack
1 large pot of water
2 cups of Bisquick or flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 large onion
1 large green pepper
2 large white boiled mashed potatoes or 2 cups of dry potatoes
2 large eggs
2 cloves of ground or finely chopped garlic
Barbadian style hot sauce
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
Oil (vegetable, corn, etc.)

Soak fish overnight, pouring off the water several times. Then boil the fish in water until soft & flaky. Taste the fish to see if it is too salty. If too salty, throw away boiled water, add fresh water and boil again. Drain the water from the fish.

In a bowl, flake or pound the fish into the texture that you like.

Chop onion & Green pepper, not to fine and not to chunky.

In a frying pan, saute half of the onion and the green pepper.

Add the other half of raw onion & green pepper to the fish.
Also mix the garlic, hot sauce, & spices into the fish.
Beat the eggs.
Add eggs, Bisquick, mashed potatoes, & sauteed onion-green pepper into the fish mixture.

Additional hot sauce & spices could be added to taste if it is not spicy enough.
If the fish mixture is to wet, more Bisquick & potatoes could be added for texture.

Heat oil & spoon the fish cakes into the size that you want & fry.

Enjoy!

How do pronounce the word plantain?

From the time I was a child my family always pronounced the banana type fruit plantain as plan' tin. Lately I have noticed more and more on television that people are pronouncing the word as plan' tain, with an emphasis on the tain. The first time I noticed people saying plan' tain was when Cosmo Kramer from the "Seinfeld" television show went shopping for fruit and he told Jerry that he bought a plan' tain. It may seem a little nuts, but I had to look up the pronunciation of the word in Webster's New World Dictionary and Thesaurus and it states that plantain is pronounced plan' tin. Then I said to myself, "ah ha", I knew that I was right. If we start saying plan' tain then we might as well start saying moun' tain and foun' tain instead of pronouncing them as mount' n and fount' n. Some people even try to separate green plantains from the sweet plantains by saying that the sweet plantains should be pronounced as plain' tain and the green ones should be pronounced as plan' tin.


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