Thursday, January 17, 2008

A Fun New Book


We received this great new book for Christmas. My kids want to read it every night and I enjoy reading it to them. It is about a wonderful, loving mom who prepares what her kids want to eat: warm milk, freshly squeezed pink lemonade, poached eggs, applesauce, to name a few. When she only had one child, she did it "patiently." As she added more kids to her family, she still prepared their favorite foods, but with more weariness. Her kids go from being "silly eaters" to "foolish" and "fussy" and even "persnickety." But she does it because she loves them. The best part of the book is the ending where mom gets a pleasnt surprise from her seven silly eaters.I love the illustrations and I love the mom. I can relate to her and I only have three silly eaters. If only I was as patient as she is.

And I just discovered the recipe for Mrs. Peters' Birthday Cake. I can't wait to tell my kids. Porter has been wanting to make it.

Mrs. Peters’ Birthday Cake

½ pound (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup oatmeal, quick or regular
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
4 drops red food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 10-inch tube pan.
2. Warm milk to 70 degrees and add 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Let sit 10 minutes until milk has thickened.
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending well.
4. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in oatmeal.
5. Blend applesauce with thickened milk and red food coloring.
6. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with the milk/applesauce mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
7. Pour batter into prepared tube pan. Set on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until cake pulls away from sides of pan and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan.
8 to 10 portions

3 comments:

Day Family Blog said...

So does the mother finally get to have some rest? I am sitting here thinking, how does it get resolved, or is she just taken advantage of for the whole book (the rest of her life), there has to be a "happy" ending, right? The kids grow up eventually don't they? The books sounds a little too much like my life, I will have to check it out. I love how you post recipes and one day I will make one of them. Those chocolate and candy cane ones still tempt me, but I am trying to lay low on the sugar still.

Jen said...

What a fun cake idea. I'll have to try it sometime, too.

Dansie Family said...

it does have a happy ending for all.check it out at the library.