Old-Fashioned Orange Cake

Old-Fashioned Orange Cake
Yield: 12 servings

This is tres simple and very good.

1 orange
1 cup raisins
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp buttermilk, divided
2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease a 13" by 9" metal baking pan. (This cake tends to burn when baked in a glass pan.)

Scrub the rind of the orange well. Remove both ends of the orange. Cut orange into large chunks.

Place the raisins in a food processor; pulse 6 or 7 times until coarsely chopped. Add orange chunks; pulse 5 or 6 times to reduce them to evenly sized small pieces. Transfer fruit to a small bowl.

Pulse granulated sugar and shortening together in the food processor4 or 5 times to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs,1 at a time, and process in between, scraping down the sides. The mixture should be smooth, light and fluffy. Add 3/4 cup buttermilk; process to combine.The mixture will be very liquid and may look slightly separated.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon; add to the processor. Pulse just to combine into a smooth batter. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the orange-raisin mixture; pulse once or twice. Add the walnuts and pulse once; do not over-process.

Pour the batter into the pan; bake until the sides have begun to brown and pull away from the pan, 35 to 40 minutes. The cake should still be a little moist in the center.

Whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of buttermilk and the powdered sugar until smooth. Whisk in the reserved 2 tablespoons of the orange -raisin mixture; spread it over the hot cake. Serve at room temperature.

Marge
PER SERVING: 389 calories; 16g fat (37 percent calories from fat);3g saturated fat; 35mg cholesterol; 5g protein; 58g carbohydrate; 2g fiber;146 mg sodium.

(2/26/03)

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Dealing with Nausea

Dealing with Nausea

Peppermint, ginger, pressure points on the wrists that are the same for those seasick bands. Will look them up tomorrow.

I sometimes make a weak broth of ginger, water, a dash of tamari, and a tablespoon of miso paste and sip it. No chicken broth yet. Something in the miso, don't know if it is the live enzymes, but that does calm me down and allow things to settle.

Stewarts ginger beer cut 50% with soda water sometimes helps as well, better than ginger ale.

Keep away from anything too acidic. Cook up some japanese-style rice with extra water and a pinch of salt until it is the consistency of a gruel, and try a few bites of that. Plain, white rice seems to be one of the things that take the edge off for me.

Denise
(2/17/03)

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Carolyn's Everyday Tomato Sauce with Meatballs

Everyday Tomato Sauce with Meatballs
(another of Carolyn's crockpot specials)

When I make sauce in the slowcooker, I put the raw meatballs directly in the sauce. The best way would be to fry them up in olive oil, but its a compromise I am willing to make, because it is so much easier.

My basic meatball recipe is (please remember I have two teenaged sons and reduce accordingly):

3 lbs ground beef, very lean (since you won't be frying it, you need to get the very leanest meat), an egg, a generous handful of breadcrumbs, some Penzey's Italian seasoning, another handful of romano cheese, an onion grated, salt, pepper and some fresh parsely. Add a bit of milk to moisten it a bit. Mix -- it will be soft and rather sticky to work with. Roll into golf ball sized meatballs. Put in the bottom of the cooker, add three cans whole tomatoes (which you have mushed up a bit with your hands), one can crushed tomatoes, several chopped onions (at least three large) and about a ball of garlic, chopped. I like to sautee the garlic briefly in olive oil and throw it all in. Raw garlic in the slow cooker takes on a funny taste. I also add a bay leaf, some more Penzey's Italian, salt, pepper, and, if my tomatoes are bitter, I will grate a carrot for sweetness.

This is my everyday sauce. A sauce for an occasion, would have red wine, lamb (pref. the neck or shank)and perhaps some rendered sausage, in addition to the meatballs, which I would fry on the stove.

Carolyn
(2/17/03)

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Magic Rolls

Magic Rolls

These are called Magic Rolls and are from "The Low Carb Comfort Food Cookbook" by the Eades

Adjust your roll size by the size of spoon you use.
One roll (of 18 made) has 2.8 g of carbs, 5.8 g of protein
One roll (of 16 made) has 3.1 g of carbs, 6.5 g of protein.
One roll (of 12 made) has 4.2 g of carbs, 8.6 g of protein.

3/4 cup cold water plus 2 tbsp
6 tbsp butter (3/4 stick)
1/3 cup vital wheat gluten flour
1/3 cup unbleached wheat flour
trace of salt
3 ex-large or jumbo eggs
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 425°. Prep time 15 minutes  Baking time 25-28 min.

Prepare a 13" x 17" cookie sheet with a NON STICK surface.  Do NOT grease the sheet.

Put the water and the butter in a heavy 2 quart saucepan, preferably with a rounded bottom, over medium heat.  Occasionally stir the mixture while you wait for the butter to melt.

Meanwhile, thoroughly combine the two flours, and a pinch of salt in a medium mixing bowl.

As soon as the butter has melted and the mixture begins to simmer, add the dry mix all at once, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon.  Within just a few seconds, the dough will become smooth and leave the bottom and sides of the pan.  Keep stirring until no flour shows.  Cook for about 10 seconds longer and remove from heat.

Put the hot saucepan on a cold burner or other safe surface.  Stir in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  At first the dough will be smooth. It should be creamy and hold peaks with almost no settling.

Work in the egg white.  Now the dough will be just right; it will still hold its shape, but in softer peaks,  It should form mounds that do not spread on the cookie sheet, but sink back and broaden out slightly. 
Occasionally, you may need to make a judgement call.  Depending on the size of the eggs, the dough may be sufficiently soft even before you add the final egg white.  In that case, omit the egg white or add it by the tablespoon.

The right consistency makes the best rolls; dough that is too soft (i.e., spreads out wide on the cookie sheet) may result in flat rolls.

If you like, use your electric mixer to work in the eggs.  Simply transfer the hot dough from the saucepan to the mixer bowl and beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Do not overbeat because if you do, the rolls may develop large air pockets.  Use a flat beater if you have one.

Put spoonfuls of dough on the cookie sheet, choosing the size you prefer.  Use large teaspoons or even soup spoons to drop the dough.  Place them fairly close together.

Bake the rolls for about 25-28 minutes or until they are golden brown and crusty on top.

Promptly freeze rolls that you do not plan to use the day they are baked.  Take them out of the bag to thaw at room temperature.

You can also put the frozen rolls in the oven, set at 350°F (no need to preheat), and bake for 5 minutes.  You can toast rolls (slice them) but you will need a wide slice toaster to fit them in.  The rolls toast rapidly.

Judy
(2/13/03)

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Aromatherapy Massage Oil for Sinusitis

Aromatherapy Massage Oil for Sinusitis

Hello All!
OK, here's the "miracle" blend that got rid of my sinusitis in three days. Taken from Valerie Ann Worwood's "Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy."

In a teaspoon of vegetable oil blend the following:
5 drops of Rosemary essential oil
5 drops of Geranium essential oil
2 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil
3 drops of Peppermint essential oil

Directions for use:
Use 5 drops only of the blend for each massage. Massage around the neck, behind and in front of the ears, over the cheekbone, the nose, and forehead.

I did the massage three times a day - there's no "prescribed" amount of massages. I guess it's as needed, since we all, of course, are different.

I hope this works as well for you as it did for me!

Marian, who found it on a soap list
(2/6/03)

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