At The Edge Of The Storm

Caramel Cake

What a weekend! Engagement photos here at the farm had been scheduled for weeks. Who would have thought about an approaching hurricane affecting us? We are about three hours inland from the coast, but the original weather forecast predicted tropical storm winds for the upstate. Our biggest threat  was that of large power outages.

Jessica and Todd only needed one hour of decent weather to have a good outdoor shoot. And glory be, that's about what they got. The rain wasn't due until today, but yesterday was extremely windy. Except for that one hour just before dusk. I can't wait to see all the pictures. The one above was just a "get the camera settings right" shot. There were many others made in different locations around the farm. I'm not sure I would have thought about our pasture as a good location for a photo shoot, but watching this creative photographer work and seeing it through her eyes reminded me that we do live in a beautiful place.

Conversation meandered this weekend, as conversations do, and somewhere along the way, caramel cake was mentioned. "You know how to make caramel cake?" Well, that's about all it took for me to prove that I could indeed bake one.

This recipe has been posted here several times before, but I never worry about posting it again. The cake is the easiest one I know how to make. And it's always good. I usually bake it in a 9x13-inch pan, but caramel cake called for layers. This does not make a huge amount of batter, so use your 8-inch cake pans, not your larger ones. Sometimes I frost it with fudge frosting. Or, we'll have it with strawberries and whipped cream.

This time my frosting didn't seem quite as stiff as usual. So after icing the first layer I nearly poured frosting over the cake. It was only a minute until it started to harden so that I could frost the sides. Pouring the frosting made the top so pretty. I hope I can do it that way the next time!

QUICK & EASY CAKE

2 cups self-rising flour 
1-1/2 cups sugar 

1 cup oil

1 cup milk

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Beat until well mixed.  This can be baked in layers or 13x9x2 pan. (Greased and floured, of course; or use baking spray.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and top springs back when lightly touched.

QUICK CARAMEL FROSTING

2/3 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar (packed)

1/3 cup milk

3 cups powdered sugar (sifted)

In a saucepan over low heat add butter--melt. Add brown sugar--stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add milk--stir and cook while you bring it to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and let it cool for 10 minutes. Slowly add powdered sugar while stirring--keep stirring until thick enough to use as frosting.

(I used a wire whisk to add in the powdered sugar until it got thick and then I switched to a heavy spoon.  This frosting hardens, so ice your cake quickly.) 

Best quote of the weekend came from Little Sister. Mommy showed her an Instagram picture of this cake. She quickly asked, "So Mimi knows how to make my Daddy's special caramel cake?" Guess where he got the recipe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a weekend of snacking as we watched storm updates and having more than one slice of caramel cake, I woke up this morning wanting vegetables. Checked the recipe index on the blog here and compared recipes to what's in my pantry. This easy soup was the winner. I'll toss all ingredients into the pot in a bit and we will have soup for lunch. Soup is never Daddy-O's favorite, but this one keeps for several days, so I can have it again later this week.

Not Quite "Free" Soup

We dodged the storm, but today is still unseasonably cool. We will have rain and wind but hopefully nothing like the first prediction. But soup will still be a good cool day lunch.

The "not quite free" name of this soup refers to the old Weight Watchers soup recipe that was made with mostly cabbage and tomatoes. It had no points because you didn't have to count non-starchy vegetables, hence it was "free" if you were tracking your food. (Some considered it free of taste as well—this version is tastier.) There are potatoes and corn in the frozen soup vegetables, but not many so this one is "almost free."

NOT-QUITE-"FREE" SOUP

1 16- oz bag frozen vegetables for soup
1/2 head cabbage, finely chopped
1 onion, diced (I only had a 1/2 onion)
1 15-oz can cut green beans 
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 pkg dry Ranch Dressing mix*
5-6 cups water
freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

Put all ingredients into a 5-quart pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes or longer, until vegetables are as tender as you like them.

As with most soup recipes, there is ample room for adjustments. Make it your own.  *Having made this several times now, I figured out that we like it best with only 1/2 packet of Ranch Dressing mix, although the original recipe calls for using the whole packet.