Fun Quiz

 Here is a quiz I put together for a picnic game this week:

Picnic Quiz

Can you name the seven colors of the rainbow?

How much did the largest recorded hailstone in the U.S. weigh?

1. 4.17 lbs.

2. 9.23 lbs.

3. 1.94

Where is the wettest place on Earth by annual rainfall records?

1. Emei Shan, China

2. Mawsymram, India

3. Buenaventura, Columbia

According to the USDA website what hardiness planting zone is Eureka, Illinois in?

1. 7

2. 2

3. 5

What is the last frost date?

1. April 30th

2. May 10th

3. April 3rd

Soybean and corn farmers are waiting for the soil to be what temperature to start planting?

1. 50°F

2. 40°F

3. 70°F

A bouquet is primarily Garden Roses, Lavender, and Shasta Daisies; What season is it?

A bouquet is primarily Pussy Willows, Daffodils, and Red Bud Twigs; What season is it?

A bouquet is primarily Mum's, Asters, and Goldenrod; What season is it?

Do you have a favorite flower?

Here are the answers with the sources for where I found some of the answers:

Picnic Quiz Answers

Can you name the seven colors of the rainbow?

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet

How much did the largest recorded hailstone in the U.S. weigh?

4.17 lbs.

9.23 lbs.

>1.94 lbs.< The largest hailstone ever measured in the U.S. was 8 inches in diameter in Vivian, South Dakota, on July 23, 2010. The Vivian hailstone was also the nation's heaviest (1.94 pounds). The world's heaviest hailstone was a 2.25-pound stone in Bangladesh in April 1986. Source

Where is the wettest place on Earth by annual rainfall records?

Emei Shan, China 8,169mm

>Mawsymram, India 11,871 mm source: World Atlas <

Buenaventura, Columbia 6,275mm

According to the USDA website what hardiness planting zone is Eureka, Illinois in?

7

2

>5<

What is the last frost date?

>April 30th<

May 10th

April 3rd

Soybean and corn farmers are waiting for the soil to be what temperature to start planting?

>50°F< Iowa State University Extension Outreach Website

40°F

70°F

A bouquet is primarily Garden Roses, Lavender, and Shasta Daisies; What season is it?

Summer

A bouquet is primarily Pussy Willows, Daffodils, and Red Bud Twigs; What season is it?

Spring

A bouquet is primarily Mum's, Asters, and Goldenrod; What season is it?

Fall

Do you have a favorite flower? I have many favorites. :) My answer right now is Peonies. :)

Tomato Soup Recipe!

 

I have two Mary's (Maries, Marys?) to thank for this recipe. And they are both from Texas! 

Mary Stephens from The Cotton Apron shared a video recipe of this Tomato Soup on her blog from Mary's Nest YouTube channel.

Mary from Mary's Nest gave lots of helpful details and hints in her video. It is a deep dive cooking lesson. She also has a page on her website with all the information in written form. You can check it out HERE. I highly recommend her video/article. She goes over the particulars of each ingredient and why this combination has great mouth feel, balanced acidity, and can be soothing in the belly.

I am so glad that I came across her knowledge. I had never followed a tomato soup recipe before watching her video. I am really embarrassed to admit this; whenever I used to serve grilled cheese sandwiches I would blend up a jar of plain canned tomatoes and heat it up in a sauce pot. That was it. No onions. No garlic. No stock. 

No more! The recipe I am sharing here is my favorite Tomato Soup now and I am never going back. Thank you Mary and Mary! :)

Tomato Soup Recipe

1/4 cup Butter

2 Yellow Onions, Chopped

4 Garlic Cloves, Minced

1/2 tsp. Salt

Dash Red Pepper Flakes

1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

1 TBS. Sugar

2 28 oz. Cans Whole Plum Tomatoes

16 oz. Chicken Broth or Stock

In a large pot saute the onions and garlic in the butter.

Add the spices, sugar, tomatoes and broth.

Bring to a slow simmer. Simmer on low, covered with lid for 45 minutes.

Using an emersion blender blend to desired consistency, or carefully ladle into a blender and blend in batches until smooth.

Enjoy!

I did try the Cream of Tomato Soup version by adding 1/2 cup Heavy Cream at the end, but, surprisingly, my family prefers the non-cream version.

Ding Dong Cake Recipe!

We had a birthday in the family this week! My four year old has requested this Ding Dong Cake for his birthday two years in a row. He has never had a Ding Dong snack cake (and I don't think I have, for that matter, either). He first saw this cake on a popular YouTube channel: EmmyMade. We tried it for his birthday last year and it was so good that he wanted it again this year!

Here is a link to where I got the recipe: https://www.emmymade.com/ding-dong-cake/#recipe

This is a link to where she got the recipe: https://iambaker.net/ding-dong-cake/

The chocolate cake portion of this cake is very moist. It is not dry, not crumbly. Very spongy, I want to say, tacky, with an open crumb structure.

The filling is rich with butter, fluffy and smooth. The technique used to make the filling is very unique. I have never seen this type of filling in any other recipe. It is not made with powdered sugar. It is not as sweet as an icing, which I think is good. We served this cake without ice cream and I think the filling played the role that ice cream usually does at a birthday party. It is kind of refreshing and palette cleansing.

Ding Dong Cake

1 3/4 cups Flour

2 cups Sugar

3/4 cups Cocoa Powder

2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Salt

1 cup Buttermilk (at room temperature)

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

2 Eggs + 1 Egg White

2 tsp. Vanilla Flavoring

1 cup Strong Hot Coffee

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup Milk

5 TBS. Flour

1 tsp. Vanilla Flavoring

1 cup Butter (room temperature)

1 cup Sugar

Glaze Ingredients:

2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream

Cake

• In the bowl of your stand mixer whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
• In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla.
• On low speed, add the wet ingredients to the dry. Slowly add the coffee and mix until just incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Prepare two, 8 inch by 2 inch round cake pans by greasing and lining the bottoms with wax or parchment paper. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake at 350˚F for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes before turning out.

Filling

• In a small saucepan combine the milk and flour. Whisk well to ensure there are no lumps of flour. On medium-low heat whisk the mixture until it thickens to a pudding-like consistency.
• Remove from heat and add vanilla. Press a plastic wrap to the surface and allow to cool completely.
• Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed, until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes.
• Add the cooled milk mixture and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Ganache

• In a large bowl, add the chocolate chips.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the heavy cream to a low simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let it rest for 3 minutes.
• Gently stir the chocolate and hot cream together until completely incorporated. The ganache should be glossy and smooth. If any lumps of chocolate remain, microwave for 30 seconds and stir well.
• Allow the ganache to cool for 30 minutes or until ganache has the consistency of pea soup.

Cake Assembly

• Place a completely cooled cake layer on a plate or cake stand.
• Apply all of the frosting to the cake layer and use an offset spatula to spread it evenly. Add a second layer of cake, gently pressing it into the frosting. Smooth the sides of the cake, filing any gaps with frosting.
• Tuck pieces of parchment paper around the base of the cake.
• Slowly pour the ganache on the top of the cake and use an offset spatula to evenly coat the sides.
• After icing the cake remove the parchment paper to reveal a clean plate.

Cheese Danish Pastry

 

This Cheese Danish pastry is so flaky! When combined with the lightly sweetened, lemony cream filling this becomes a treat worth going off of one's gluten free diet for! Ask me how I know. ;)

Cheese Danish Recipe

Pastry Dough

4 cups Flour

1/2 cup + 2 TBS. Cold Water

1/2 cup + 2 TBS. Cold Milk

1/4 cup + 2 TBS. Sugar

3 TBS. Soft Butter

1 TBS. + 1/2 tsp. Yeast

2 tsp. Salt

Butter for Laminating:

1 1/2 cups Butter (2 1/2 sticks)

Cream Cheese Filling:

2 8oz. Blocks Cream Cheese

2 Egg Yolks

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tsp. Lemon Juice

1 tsp. Vanilla Flavoring

1/4 tsp. Lemon Oil (optional)

 

Combine ingredients to form a dough. Knead briefly.

Refrigerate over night in airtight package.

The following day, cut the butter lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick strips. Arrange these butter pieces on a large section of wax paper. Cover the butter with another section of wax paper. Using a rolling pin smash the butter together and roll the piece into a 7 1/2 inch square. Chill this butter square in the refrigerator while you prepare the dough.

Take the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it into a 10 1/2 inches square.

Retrieve the butter from the refrigerator and position it, at an angle, onto the dough.

Fold the extending corners of dough over the butter. Pinch the seams together, encasing the butter in the dough. As illustrated in the picture.

Roll the dough/butter package into a 8×24 inch rectangle.

Fold 1/3 of the dough over onto itself.

Fold the other end of the dough over the center layers.

Wrap the dough of plastic and refrigerate 20 minutes.

Repeat this rolling, folding, and resting twice more. Wrap in airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

The following day mix the cream cheese filling ingredients by first beating the cream cheese until smooth and then adding the rest of the filling ingredients

Take the dough from the refrigerator and press it in several places with the rolling pin to "wake up" the dough.

Roll the dough into a very long and narrow rectangle about 44×10 inches. 

Cut a couple inches off of the ends to square up the ends. 

Cut the rectangle into two even pieces. As shown.

Dollop half of the cream filling down the center of each piece of pastry.

Spread out the filling, leaving about a 1 inch space from the ends. 

Using a sharp knife cut 1/2 inch wide strips all along each edge. As shown.

To make the woven top of the pastry; 

Take a dough strip and stretch it (stretching it is supposed to help the layers flake better).

Fold the strip over the cream filling. Repeat with each strip, alternating from one side to the other side, all the down the the end.

Place each Cheese Danish on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.

Make an egg wash with the egg white left over from the filling. Mix the egg whites with 1 TBS. of water and brush each Danish with the egg wash.

Let the Danishes rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Before the Danishes go into the oven give them another egg wash.

Bake 25 minutes, rotating half way through the baking time.

Cool until warm. 

Enjoy!

Your Walk Talks

 Hebrews 12:1 
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about 

with so great a cloud of witnesses,

 let us lay aside every weight, 

and the sin which doth so easily beset us, 

and let us run with patience 

the race that is set before us,

Romans 12:1+2

 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

"Your Walk talks,
And your Talk talks.
But, 

Your Walk talks louder
Than your Talk talks."

This tongue twister reminds us to make sure our walk matches our talk.

We will have more influence with people when we have the integrity to practice what we preach.

"Do as I say, and not as I do," does not work.

The more consistently that you live in alignment with your beliefs the more credibility you will have with those who watch your life.

Our brothers, our sisters, our spouse, our children, our coworkers; these are the people that spend the most time around us. They can tell if we are hypocrites. Hypocrites demand a standard that they themselves are unwilling or unable to live up to. Hypocrites act one way at Church and another way during the week. Hypocrites have no credibility. 

If you want to be an effective witness, act out your faith. And, when you fail, acknowledge your fault. Don't blame others. Ask forgiveness from God and from those you hurt. Then correct your behavior. 

We will be a better more effective witness this way, and we will, also, be happier more blessed children of God. 

Proverbs 3:5-7
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Stepping In The Light is a good hymn on this topic. Let us press more closely to Him who is leading.

How To Sew On A Button And Add A Shank

 

This is how you sew on a button and make a shank with the thread. 

The trick is to use a darning needle to hold space.

You could also use a toothpick or something of that diameter.

Adding a shank makes the buttons easier to manipulate and put through the button holes.

Double the thread on your needle. Place the darning needle across the top of the button.

Stitch three stitches through each set of holes in the button going over the darning needle.

The last time you make a stitch direct the needle out under the button, 

between the button and the garment 

Pull the darning needle out from under the stitches.

The loops of thread will be loose.

Take the needle and thread and twist it around the button.

Go around 3 to 4 times. 

Now there is a shank on your button!

It is hard to see in the picture, but the shank allows

 for some space between your garment and the button itself.

Shanks make it easier to button and unbutton closers.

After creating the shank, 

push your needle through to the back side of the garment

 and tie off as you normally would.

Tada! Ready to wear! :)