More food

This time from Vale of York (ipodmomma's mil), her recipe for Rock Cakes.

Monday, January 23, 2006
Yorkshire Rock Cakes

1/2 c. butter or marg
1/2 c. sugar
pinch of salt
beat together

add
2 lg eggs
and beat together
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 c. self-raising flour
leaving a little bit out for dredging fruit

add flour to previous mix. This will be stiff... but you can do it.

Now add a good handful of either raisins or dried mixed fruit that had been dredged in the reserved flour.

Use two spoons to fill greased cupcake tins 1/3 full and now add half a walnut (if desired), then fill in the tins with the remaining dough. Make sure to leave the tops lumpy to resemble rocks.

I then add a mix of PLAIN flour/sugar/butter/cinnamon and sprinkle this over the top. Makes it nice and crunchy.

Bake in hot oven for about 15 minutes or til it smells good and done

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I use self-rising flour all the time but if you don't, be sure to remember to add baking powder. I'd think 2 teaspoons per Cup of flour, but you could check almost any muffin type recipe and it would tell you.

Ann

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The portrait of the girls was taken the day the Court awarded me Guardianship. I was worried the judge might want to meet them so, for almost the only time in their lives, they were frilly (and miserable). They never had to enter the courtroom so it was all for nothing. Still, I wanted the picture. I can't remember what the photographer did to coax those smiles from Elcie and Rochelle. He didn't have much luck with Rebecca who can almost never be coaxed into anything. They all wanted to go home and get comfortable. They're related to me so that figures.

My small copy of the photo has been missing for a while. I found it again today and decided some of you might enjoy seeing them as babies and comparing with the photo on the banner.

It's hard to believe how much time has passed since then. They are fast becoming young women.

Thanks for the compliments they've received in the comments so far. They were cuties and still are.

I had a PFLAG steering committee meeting tonight and took Rochelle and Rebecca along. Rebecca fell asleep on her Uncle Tim's shoulder and Rochelle, the night owl, just barely made it through. We were home a little after nine, only a few minutes past their bedtime. Probably just boredom but they each got a mini Snickers bar out of it.

We spent much of the meeting making tentative plans for community outreach. We're fairly new here. I'll be speaking at a meeting of Democrats on Thursday, we plan to have booths set up at community events, and in general make ourselves available. Some will throw it back in our faces; others may be grateful we're here. We're working quietly with Mental Health and the representative of Planned Parenthod who handles STD education for the county. So much needs to be done, especially in the schools.

We're planning some fun too. The rest of the evening was spent brainstorming ideas for a casino night (with play money and possibly an auction at the end), a "mystery" dinner (a live version of Clue? - I'll have to check it out), and of course our trip to S. F. in July to see the Giants on Until There's a Cure Day. We'll have a message on the scoreboard and my son Jim is planning on bringing his wife and (by then) two month old baby along in full Giants regalia so maybe some of you will see us on t.v. as well. They like to show babies, especially in uniform.

We have a Progressive Faith Carnival update with a link to the next host. If you have posted something (I'm getting it right this time) that you would like to see included, the link to the next host is there or you can send it to me at my gmail address (see sidebar) and I'll be glad to pass it along. As I said before, it's inclusive; hosted next week by a Buddhist. Please include the word Carnival in the subject line to make it easier to track. The deadline is Saturday so the host will have time to put it all together.

Once again, it's late. Rochelle and Rebecca went to their weekly after school CATCH (Children at the Church) program, had dinner there, and then bell choir. Elcie is in an older group and attends once in a while but is more involved with the Wings of Hope choir. One after school program seems to be her limit and that's okay.

Elcie is now doing long division and is really getting into it. I've told her that division is easier than multiplication because the numbers get smaller instead of bigger and her only problem now is learning to write a little smaller. I have ledger paper which might help. Or not, but it won't hurt to try. I've thought about turning lined paper so she'll have the lines to help her keep the numbers where they belong. It's always been a problem for her. She is maturing in some good ways along with being a real butthead at times. She comes home and settles in with homework and needs very little help. In 5th and 6th grade I had to sit with her through most of it. It's a giant leap.

Good night all.