Connie Cox's Blog, page 11

Foodie Friday: Coca-Cola Cake

Coca-Cola.  You just can't get much more Southern than that!

Not only does it have the perfect fizz and burn on a hot summer day, it makes a really moist cake that tends to lean toward the brownie side of the spectrum.

My friend Marthe Lewis Ballard from high school days made this one for me way back when.   Then I lost the recipe.  I was looking for it and guess what I found!?!  Martha!!!

I hadn't talked w/ her in years, but I looked her up on facebook and viola!

So here's the recipe that reunited old friend:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2  cups sugar

1 cup Cola-Cola (from a can.  The bottled stuff doesn't always have enough psshhht.)

3 Tablespoons cocoa

1/2 cup buttermilk (I never had buttermilk on hand.  To make buttermilk from regular milk add 1 Tbl vinegar to 1 cup milk and let  stand 5-10 min.)

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon of vanilla (the real stuff.  Not the imitation stuff)

2 cups mini marshmallows

Icing: ( you gotta make the icing.  It's the best part!)

1 stick REAL butter

6 Tablespoon Coca-cola

1 box powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons cocoa

1 cup toasted pecans of almonds, which I always leave out.

Combine flour and sugar, mixing well.
Bring butter, Coca-cola, and cocoa to boiling point. (Melt butter in microwave first so that other ingredients don't scorch while you're trying to  get the butter melted.)
Pour over flour and sugar.
Add buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla and mix well
Fold in marshmallows
Pour into 9X13 greased cake pan; note: cake will stay in this pan, don't turn it out.
Spread marshmallows evenly over the top (they will float up a bit)
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes

Icing

Cream butter
Add rest of ingredients and beat well
Pour over cake while still in the pan.

Cake keeps for days in pan–except ours is usually eaten fairly quickly

Here's a few things you might not know:

In Louisiana, all carbonated drinks are called Coke.  In a  restaurant you'll say, "I want a Coke." And the server will say "What kind?" or "What flavor?"

Then we'll say diet Coke (my fave), or Dr. Pepper, or 7-Up or whatever.

Yes, Coca-cola did its marketing well in our neck of the woods.  We're not really a Pepsi crowd around here.

Pop or soda all sounds funny coming out of my mouth, like I'm pretending to be someone I'm not.  Soft drink comes out a little better, but it still feels funny.

Oh, and, when I was little, the only way to get Coke was in glass bottles.  (No, I'm not THAT old.  That's just the way they were sold around here.)  My Grandmother always wrapped a paper towel around the bottle so our hands wouldn't get too cold—legacy from keeping her Cokes stored in buckets of ice.

My book Taking Flight is set in Monroe, Louisiana which is also the home of Joe Biedenharn, the man who invented bottling of Coca-Cola.  Really interesting story here. although Vicksburg, MS is where the bottling happened.

(Some day, I'll have to tell you about Delta Airlines and Monroe, LA.)

 

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-06-19

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–>This non-profit gives away dogs to soldiers w/ PTSD… http://fb.me/NMcYApvu #
Foodie Friday: Zingy Peach Smoothie (no cooking!):http://bit.ly/mDskFJ #
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FoodieFriday: Zingy Peach Smoothie

I don't know about where you live, but it's too hot to cook around here.

I invented this recipe to enter into a Better Homes and Garden contest.  Alas, I never heard back from them, but I really like how this no-cook recipe turned out.

Zingy Peach Smoothie

1 banana

1 6 oz Greek yogurt

1 ½ cup fresh peeled and diced peaches

2 tsp honey

3/4 tsp fresh, coarsely grated ginger

 

1.Freeze banana in skin.

2.Blend yogurt, peaches, peeled banana, honey and ginger until smooth.

Makes 1 16oz serving.

 

I love this recipe for breakfast during the dog days of summer because I don't have to heat up my kitchen to make it.

Fresh peaches are one of my favorite summertime treats.  We even have an annual Peach Festival in nearby Ruston, Louisiana, so, of course, I buy my peaches locally.

This smoothie fits my healthy eating effort, too.  The peaches add vitamin C and fiber.  The banana is great for fiber, too.  Greek yogurt has extra protein to keep me full all morning, as well as calcium which I have a hard time getting enough of.  Honey helps stave off my allergies and adds a rich sweetness.  And fresh ginger adds zing to take this smoothie from ordinary to extraordinary, not only by adding spiciness but also for all it's folkloric medicinal qualities, i.e. antiviral, anti-inflammatory and aids digestion.  (Did you know that ginger's horticultural name is zingiber officinale?)

By the way, I peel and grate my ginger with the side of a spoon.  Quick and easy.  No scraped knuckles or messy grater to scrub.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-06-12

.@KeriFord how was mini-con? #nolastars #
Invented this one myself. http://fb.me/ZAQHjggr #
Foodie Friday: Tropical Rum Cake http://t.co/hNw9QI5 via @conniecox #
Remember the pondering I was lamenting? Well, it resulted in an article on pondering. http://bit.ly/mxEInB #
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Doing the egg timer writing thing this morning. #amwriting under self-bribery. #

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Foodie Friday: Tropical Rum Cake

Using up my two large ziplock bags full of airplane booze has been a challenge–a fun challenge, but a challenge never-the-less.

For instance, what do you do with 1/4 cup each of mango and coconut rum?

Well, I twisted a traditional rum cake recipe on its side and made a tropical rum cake.  And it was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

Though, when I make another one, I've already thought of a variation I want to try.

Here's what you'll need:

1/4 cup mango rum

1/4 cup coconut rum

1/4 cup light rum (for glaze)

(If you have to buy a whole bottle, whatever will you do with the leftover rum?  I'll leave that one up to you.)

1 cup finely chopped pecans (if you like pecans.  Because my hubby won't eat them, I left them out :{ )

1 box Yellow Cake Mix–yup, taking a shortcut here

1- 3.4 oz package Vanilla instant pudding mix

1/2 cup canola oil (you can use any kind of vegie oil you want, but canola seems to be the most invisible oil to me.)

1/2 c water

4 eggs

1/2 stick butter (that's 4 TBSP, btw) (for glaze)

1/2 c regular granulated sugar (for glaze)

Bundt pan (ever since I saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Bundt pan cracks me up)

The Cake

1) Preheat oven to 325degrees F.

2) Spray Bundt pan w/ nonstick spray, then flour it up really well.

3) IF you are including pecans, sprinkle them in the bottom of the Bundt pan.

4) With electric mixer on low speed, mix together cake mix, pudding mix, mango rum and coconut rum, oil, water and eggs.

5)Pour batter into your Bundt pan and back for about 58-60 minutes.  It will stay on the pale-ish side with just a slight cast of golden brown, but should spring back when pressed lightly.

6) Here's the cool part–literally.  Let it cool for about ten or so minutes.  But don't let it get completely cool.

7)Pour light rum over cake while it's still in the pan.  You can poke toothpick holes in the bottom if you want to, but you don't need to.  The rum will absorb all by itself.  (Optionally, you can remove cake from pan and pour rum over it, but it's a little messier this way.)

The Glaze– Whatever you do, don't skip the glaze!!!!  (Even if you don't make the cake, make this glaze!)

You're going to make a light syrup here:

1)In a sauce pan, melt butter over low heat.

2)Add water and sugar, stirring constantly.  Gently and slowly increase the heat to medium to bring your syrup to a nice rolling boil.

3)Back down to low heat and let syrup thicken slightly for about 4 or so minutes.  Continue to stir.  If not, this will be a big, sticky mess.

4)Remove pan from heat and stir in 1/4 cup light rum.  Stir just enough to mix well.

5)Pour over warm cake.   No-calorie treat:  Breathe in and enjoy the aroma.

6)Allow all rum to be absorbed and cake to cool a bit before un-Bundting it.

That's it! BTW, the mango and coconut flavoring are very subtle.  At first, the rum taste is bold due to the glaze but dissipates over time.

Covered w/ aluminum foil, this cake is good at room temp for four days.

Or, you can freeze this cake, if any is left over.

Here's the part that's like the outtakes at the movies: What I would do differently next time.

Because the mango and coconut flavorings are so subtle, I would use 1/2 cup mango flavored rum for the cake and 1/4 cup coconut flavored rum for the glaze.

If you try either version, let me know how they turned out!

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Pondering on pondering

This past week, I have been doing a lot of web surfing, a lot of crocheting, a lot of walking and a lot of staring out the window.

I lamented on facebook that all this pondering was killing my productivity.

I am SO GLAD I have such good facebook friends!  They were quick to remind me that pondering is part of the process.  Not just the writing process but the process of life.

When did I forget that? What part of my super-ego work ethic gorilla'd up on my philosophy of life id and convinced my most cerebral and spiritual side that doing was more worthy than being?

Are you feeling antsy?  Like you aren't fitting into your own life no matter how many chores you cross off your to-do list? No matter how much page count you rack up? No matter how hard and fast you work?

Been there.  Done that.  Found the cure.

Just sit still and ponder.  It works wonders for me.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-06-05

Just cashed in frequent flyer pnts for Marriott gift certificates No turning back now. #RWA11 or bust #
Reading SixWeek Marriage Miracle, by Jessica Matthews: 100 http://goodreads.com/user_status/show/6531821 #
Foodie Friday: Egg in the Hole http://fb.me/AmTEjbFQ #
Summer Newsletter from HSReaders – http://eepurl.com/d73sH #
Want free books? I'm making room for more, so I'm putting up a ton of them at Goodreads bookswap. I'm not sure… http://fb.me/LdUZQ6at #
5 of 5 stars to Housekeeper at His Beck and Call (Kep… by Susan Stephens http://goodreads.com/review/show/173067060 #
Kensington hosts contest for aspiring authors (they've published writers from this contest in the past) http://fb.me/Z5oczMtH #
Wow! Monogamy: http://t.co/GzNl7gS #
On this Memorial Day, thanks and prayers–never forgotten http://fb.me/KNrJEpL4 #

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Foodie Friday: Egg in the Hole

I think Egg in the Hole is the very first thing I ever learned to cook. We still eat them on a regular basis.

I thought about saving this one for the Friday before Father's Day, thinking it would be a great breakfast for your little one to serve up to Daddy, but then thought–maybe they might need to practice a few times, first. So here it is:

Ingredients:

Bread — I like multi-grain brown bread best. Or pumpernickel. Use your favorite

Eggs

Butter–real butter, not margarine, okay?

Optional: Cheese slices (no, not that nasty fake cheese-like rubber stuff, no matter what their cheesy commercials tell you. Notice the sarcastic pun? )

1)With a small glass or jelly jar, cut a circle in the middle of the slice of bread.

2)2)Put bread in skillet and heat on medium. Put a slice of butter in the hole.

 

 

3)Crack egg and dump into hole.

 

 

 

4)Butter holes and brown them while letting egg cook to desired hardness. (I Like mine runny but husband like's his solid.) Then flip and let the other side cook.

Add a slice of cheese on top if desired.

That's it! Pour yourself a glass of orange juice and let's eat!

Eggs in the Holes would make an excellent light brunch after a morning of sleeping in, don't you think?

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Mondays make great beginnings…

I'm just saying–(Will say more later )

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