He Loves me! and Amazin' Raisin Cake

I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my husband for Valentine's Day. One week later, only the daisies have survived. (Actually, I forgot to change the water and there was none left in the vase! Shame on me!!) I made two smaller bouquets.  Don't you just love daisies?! As a child, I used to play the game, "He loves me, he loves me not". I got to thinking today, that as a child of God, each petal that I pull says, "He Loves Me!" "He Loves Me!" There is NO, "He loves me not". Isn't that wonderful!!

Isaiah 40:8 says, "The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever." What a comfort!

I made a cake today for my parents. I do that often since my mother has had a TIA almost three years ago. She has limited use of her right hand and they enjoy a piece of cake with their coffee breaks. I thought I'd share the recipe with you. It came from a recipe book of hospital employees.

Amazin' Raisin Cake

 

Beat together:
2 cups sugar
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs

Hand mix in:
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cloves

Add:
3 cups chopped peeled apples
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (I don't include these)

Grease and flour a bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. (Every oven is different) Enjoy!
 Blessings, Diane

Kitchen Table Centrepiece

I hope you are staying warm and cozy inside while the snow is blowing outside. We are definitely getting our winter season this year! Being inside gives me opportunity to create. Recently I put together a centrepiece for my kitchen table. Bit by bit it came together. I like that part. I'll start by showing you the centerpiece and then explain how it got put together.

 

 

 I came across a tutorial to paint plastic fruit black and cover with cinnamon. So off to the thrift store I went and there was lots to find. I didn't take any pictures of the plastic fruit but you know what they look like! I just used regular black paint that you find in the craft store. Make sure you have a plastic table cloth to work on because it gets messy! Once you've painted the fruit it helps to rest it on something that will best prevent the paint from peeling off once it's dry.  One suggestion was to rest the painted fruit on an ice cube tray (I had some old ones laying around or you may come up with a more clever idea!)

 

 

When the fruit is dry (don't worry about the couple of spots that have the paint smudged off because the cinnamon will help to cover them), apply a coat of modge podge (you'll get nice and sticky!).

I sprinkled the cinnamon on and used a foam brush to help spread it around. You could use a container that you would put powdered icing sugar in. (Don't know why I think of that when I was doing this!) Again you'll be using the ice cube trays to let the cinnamon covered fruit dry.



They smell oh so good!!

 

 

When the fruit was done, I put a doilie in the wooden crate and put the fruit in. On either side I put a candle stick that I had painted in a linen colour. The tablecloth was a single curtain panel that I was going to make pillows out of but then got the good idea to use it as a table cloth. I also found a burlap type runner and put that on top. You don't have to spend a lot of money to make something for your home. I didn't have this in mind when I painted the candlestcks or the fruit, but that is the fun part of creating. It always has a way of coming together.
Aren't you glad that God knew what His plan for you was when He created you?!! There is such a comfort in knowing that. Be the person that God made you to be and that is how you show the glory of God to others!
Blessings, Diane

Pancakes on Groundhog Day

For some reason I have always thought that Pancake Day was on Groundhog Day. I don't know why I thought that, it just got stuck in my head somehow. It was only last year that I found out I had been serving pancakes on the wrong day all along! ( I make them periodically, but always made it a point to make them on Feb 2.) But now my son Josh has the expectation that pancakes will be served on Groundhog Day. Isn't it funny how we get things "stuck" in our heads? It's kind of an odd feeling when you realize you believed something that was not true. Serving pancakes on Groundhog Day does not really matter. What matters is having the Word of God "stuck" in my head...right? Because God's Word is true and will never steer you in the wrong direction. "Thy word have I hid in my heart" from Psalm 119:11, "that I might not sin against you." Some things need to get "unstuck" in our heads or hearts. That has happened to me many times over the years and I'm sure it will happen again. OK, back to the pancakes.

 

 

Talking about "stuck", I use the same recipe all the time!
 

Blueberries were picked last summer.

 

 

 

Mmmm!

 

 

 

Here is the recipe that I use.

 

Buttermilk Pancakes

(Taken from The Monarch Flour, Canadian Cook Book)

Blend together: 

• 2 cups flour (I sometimes use 1 cup whole wheat with one cup white)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar

Beat 2 eggs

 

Blend in:

• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk (I use 1/4 cup vinegar with 1/2 cups milk)
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Add 1-2 cups blueberries

 

Stir liquid into dry ingredients, beating until almost smooth. Pour batter onto preheated

griddle. Turn when bubbles break on surface.

Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

 

Enjoy on Fat Tuesday!!

 

Blessings, Diane