The Once-a-Year Citrus Cake

Every year for about ten years I've made a certain "Rainbow Citrus Cake" some time in the spring. I can't really call it a tradition, because it has moved around from one occasion to another over the years. I think the first time I made it was for Mother's Day, and then it stayed as a Memorial Day staple for several years. 2008 saw it grace a PEO luncheon table.
I've been making desserts every week for the Wednesday suppers at our church here in Virginia, and I plan to make the citrus cake for tomorrow. There's nothing special about tomorrow, as compared to any other Wednesday, but I want to get a chance to make it once here.
To describe it as "once-a-year" may be a bit misleading, because I try so many new recipes that very few things are made more than once in any given year. Something that does get made each year is usually a favorite, and those that are several times a year are definite favorites.
The citrus cake is labor-intensive, and the finished product doesn't freeze well, which is why it has to be for a group. A tricy part is dividing the batter into thirds and getting them even! Each third gets a different citrus rind and color to match. The filling between layers is lemon, and the frosting is orange.

I think I'll make up some part of it this afternoon.

Junior Cookbook Thursday- Cocoa

We made cocoa and had it with some toast for breakfast this morning. I don't think I'd ever made cocoa from this recipe before, but it's surprisingly similar to the in-my-head, just-do-it "recipe" I've been using for a few years, with a dash of salt and some vanilla. In my own version, I occasionally substitute almond extract, to make it that much more decadent. Both my husband and I really like almond extract to flavor anything sweet. Within reason, of course. I don't think it would improve peppermint ice cream!

Bluebonnet poured almost everything into the saucpan, and stirred before I turned the heat on. I think she could have safely stirred with the heat, had she been able to reach fromt he angle where she was standing on her stepstool.
I think I would leave out the water from this recipe the next time; it made the finished product taste a trifle thin.

Use-what-you-have Pizza

Last night's supper was one of those meals designed to use up stuff in the kitchen. We'd had some chicken sandwiches that used a partial bottle of pizza sauce and some mozzarella cheese, which were left. Aha! Pizza!
I made individual slices of pizza on large slices of sesame-seed bread, which I toasted with a bit of olive oil on a pizza stone before putting toppings on. The sauce and cheese were joined by canned mushrooms, chopped onions and chopped peppers. A vegetarian choice, which we enjoy from time to time. Especially being improvised the way it was, I think we had a hit.
One thing I enjoy about homemaking is the experimentation and the hands-on learning I encounter. I didn't know, going in last evening, how well my ideas were going to work. And they say this is a mindless job!

Homemaking updates- catching up

I got very behind on the Home Economics course, so I'm starting back at December 31st. (That explains why you haven't seen me around your blog lately, Elizabeth!)

I would love to be able to garden, even though it would mean learning from scratch. However, this is one of the frustrations of military life. About the best I can do is having things in pots, because we can't really give over the time to create a garden in a place where we'll only stay a couple years. It's a nuisance, for sure. I might try again this year, once we do move. Basil, mint, that sort of thing, at any rate. Maybe some peppers.

I will try to post more about recipes. I make way more than 20 new recipes a year- probably several times that! I just enjoy doing that, although rest assured my DH and DD get some familiar foods frequently. (Like that alliteration?) For me, it's going to include what might be called creative anachronism, or everything old is new again. My mother gave my cousins and me each a copy of the reprinted 1953 Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for Christmas. We have all been having fun trying out Best Two-Egg Cake, Club Chicken Casserole, and the like.

Pots and Pans

Elizabeth's lesson for us in Project Home Economics, yesterday, was about stocking and decluttering our kitchens, and how to choose which tools we need. She included several lists to work from.
My two cents on the subject is that one (or three) thing with which you can never go wrong is a solid cast iron skillet. If you have a good hardware store (read: Ace, or independent) they probably carry Lodge cast iron, for far less than you'd pay at a kitchen store. They'll last forever, they'll add extra iron to your diet when you cook in them, no nasty stuff from the teflon and whatnot that gets used in so many pans (no disrespect meant to DuPont!)- can't go wrong.

My own came from Grove Hardware in Deptford, NJ, purchased for me by Mimi (Mrs. Schroeder, to anyone else)- my spare grandmother, that is!