Sunday Cook: Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Welcome to my third installment of Sunday Cook - the day that I get to spend some extra time in the kitchen - doing something fun - not just meal preparation and dishes! 

Today, as promised, is the day for Cream Cheese Pound Cake. 

This recipe was posted by our friend Renee from Montgomery Alabama on her facebook. Derek was on the computer at the time and read it out to me - I quickly took over the computer so that I could pin it for very future reference. I haven't made pound cake in FOREVER, surprisingly, because I LOVE it!

Now having sampled a few pieces I can say it is very very good. 

So - here we go!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Southern Living November 2001 

Yields: 1 10" cake

300 F

1 1/2 cups butter, softened at room temperature

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened at room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese together at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy (do not overbeat). Use a very LARGE bowl - my largest was almost not large enough as you will see.

gradually add sugar, beating well (I know - a LOT of sugar - right?)

add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until combined. It is a good idea to crack the eggs into a bowl first...

Sift 3 cups of flour with the salt. Since I couldn't find my sifter I had to be creative!

Gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

Pour batter into a greased and floured 10 inch bundt pan. Boy it's been a long time since this bundt pan has seen any action.

Smooth the top of the cake with a spatula to even it out.

Bake at 300F for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes; removed from pan and let cool completely on wire rack. 

Nice - it came out clean!

A LOT of cake for the 3 of us - I'll probably freeze half.

My taste tester was ready and willing!

YES! it is as good as it looks!

It is a very dense and rich cake - a little will do ya!

I do have a confession to make; I made the cake on Saturday instead of Sunday this week. With the long weekend this week I KNEW that we would be busy on Sunday afternoon with more cleaning and racking then usual. 

It ended up going downhill pretty quick however. Since I was busy making the cake - Cassia didn't go down for her map until late in the afternoon - Derek too! I was a bit to geared up to nap so I was still working away in the kitchen when we got a call from the camp host that they were down to 1 container of fire wood! yikes! 

In the end nobody really napped long, dinner was a pretty rushed affair - boy was I glad that I had put a roast in the crook pot that morning, and I got off to work a little later then I would have liked.

Thankfully the night went well - the third busy night in a row.

I'm a bit behind AGAIN and so I am off to get dinner done and be off again. The weather has turned a bit grey and cool - nice that the campers had a warm and sunny day yesterday.

I hope that all of our Canadian followers are having a nice long weekend and the same for next weekend for our American followers.

Next week on Sunday Cook: Energy bars (which we REALLY need here at the park)

Cheers,

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: I'm thinking that on Sunday Cook posts it only makes sense to link one of my go to food or cooking blogs. One that I found a little while ago is Lisa Leake's blog about cutting out processed food 100 Days of Real Food. 

Simple Life grocery shopping

Since we had around two hours of free time while driving to Kamloops the other day, Derek and I were talking about how our spending habits have changed in the last few years, and specifically how our grocery shopping has changed.

Our choices have changed because we live on a pretty small budget and because we are always learning about food - what is good for us and what isn't. The internet, of course, is a double edged sword but what I really like about it is the HUGE access to information about nutrition and health and quite frankly about

all the CRAP in our food these days!

I think the main reason why we can go without certain foods is because we had too. When things got really tough for us financially in 2009 and then again in late 2010 and early 2011 we had to do without what I now call  - luxuries. We could barely afford the staples like milk and bread let alone anything else. And when we were in the USA for the winter of 2010/11 we ate a lot, and I mean a lot, of beans.

What we realized, when we did have a bit more money to spend, was that we didn't actually NEED the stuff we thought we did, and we didn't miss it.

Now - don't get me wrong - we don't suffer.
We eat very well and I'd say we are average to better then average in the 'eating what we should' category. We work at eating right most of the time so that we can not eat right for a bit of the time.

China town in Victoria BC - we prefer to buy our produce locally at fruit and veggie stands - those items we don't grow ourselves of course.

It just so happens that I am interested in learning about food - in what we should be eating for our health and how to make things from scratch - because it is better for us and much cheaper.

Here is a list of things that we would have purchased (and items with certain ingredients) before but don't now:  (I notice that many have to do with sugar amounts.)

1. cookies, baked goods, granola bars - we make all of our own
2. flavoured yogurt - at least 15 years ago I heard an interview with a man who said that flavoured (fruit) yogurt is VERY high in sugar - since then and ever since then, I do as he suggested - buy plain yogurt and add our own fruit and sweetner
3. nothing with artificial sweetener - and I mean NOTHING
4. pop - I have never been a big pop drinker - maybe a few a week at certain times - tops - but with all the bad press going around on fb lately - I have pretty much eliminated it - I'll only have a coke, which I LOVE - when we go out to eat - and since that is rare my pop drinking is now also rare
5. nothing with high fructose corn syrup - and I mean NOTHING
6. salsa - so easy and cheap to make your own and tastes 1000% better
7. salad dressing - can't say I have ever really bought much of it - more so since I got married for some reason - I've stopped now and will getting back on course of making all my own dressings.
8. soup - why why why eat the canned stuff?
9. french fries - ya - we've bought the frozen ones before but not now - heck we even like ours better then most restaurants - I coat my sliced potatoes in parmesan and bread crumbs or panko - drizzle with oil and bake - they come out crispy every time. I'm going to try sweet potatoes next - Karen at The Art of Doing Stuff promises that if we coat the sliced sweet potatoes in cornstarch and drizzle and bake they will be crispy - fingers crossed!
10. pizza - LOVE LOVE LOVE pizza - I make the whole thing from scratch and it is great (ya - I'm saying that I make a great pizza) maybe I'll make one for a Sunday Cook post soonish.

That's just my top ten - no need to go on and on. Suffice to say that we work at limiting the processed foods we purchase and consume.

There are many foods that you can and should make at home to save money and so that they are healthier to eat. The items  I am going to work on this summer to make myself are: yogurt, bread, pasta sauce, ketchup, ice cream, pudding, beef jerky, almond milk, coconut milk, crackers, and many more (especially after another session of pinterest!).

Here is a great link 45 Healthy Foods to Make and Never Buy Again from Greatist.

We definitely enjoyed shopping at local stands in Florida this past winter - oranges at Sparkman's and....

... strawberries and produce at the Strawberry Palace in Plant City.

One thing I don't seem to do much to save money on groceries is use coupons. I read a great article about this on a blog but can't seem to find it now. The blogger explained that she seldom uses coupons because of the types of places they shop - such at farmer's markets and from the Amish - plus she made an unbelievable amount of her own foods. I WISH that was us. What I find is that coupons seem to be for the extra stuff - paper towels and air fresheners I can think of off hand. However, I do remember to stop and look upon entry into the store.

But I do shop the sales and stock up - definitely!


And I have to say we probably follow almost all of Andrea's 50 Tips for Saving on Groceries. A VERY thorough list by the way.

I'll most likely write more posts over the summer about grocery shopping and living a simple life. I don't feel like I have covered it all this post and there are lots of resources that I have found that I would like to share.

You may have noticed that I have been working on the design. Rather then just do it all at once I have decided just to chip away at it - so it may look different each time you visit for the next few weeks. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was going to try to have it done by the long weekend - well the long weekend is here and I'm not done! That's ok - I feel like I have enough of an idea about how I want it to look and now it is just a matter of doing it. My next task is to teach myself how to add the social icons in a group to the top of the margin. Feel free to comment on the redesign.

Thanks for visiting!

PS - I won't be back again until Sunday with another Sunday Cook. It is a long weekend here in Canada and since we manage two campgrounds, we are pretty busy.

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: I just found this site called the Centsible Life by Kelly - a mom of four. She has lots of articles about budgeting and DIY and such - another resource for learning how to life simple. In her profile she says that she is a lover of coffee and chocolate so she sounds all right to me! 

to Kamloops BC and back again

It has been since May 1st since we last took a trip to Merritt for grocery shopping - so on May 14th it was time to leave our forest retreat once again for the big city. This time we had decided to go to Kamloops for a BIG shopping trip. Since I posted to Merritt and back again, I thought it was only right to post to Kamloops and back again. 

We went shopping on Monday because we received our FIRST pay cheque of the work season, on Sunday. 

Oh happy day happy day!

We also needed some STUFF. 

This is the route we ended up taking. There are two ways we can get to Kamloops - the #1 or the #8 to Merritt and the #5 north. We usually take the #1 there and back but Monday decided to do the loop and track the milage. 

Can you believe it is almost the exact same distance 170 km (106 miles) - so we traveled 340 km (212 miles) to go shopping! grrrrr

We started out really early - on the road just after 8:00 am - we knew it would be a long day of traveling and shopping. 

Sorry about the pictures this post - they didn't turn out all that good and most hit the cutting room floor. I think the angle and brightness of the sun was part of the problem - and the dirty windshield certainly didn't help any!

This is one of our favourite areas in BC - we love the dry rocky hills and sage brush. 

This is the Thompson River that I have written about and shown pictures of in recent posts - it is the same river that goes by Gold Pan and Skihist - it is still rising....

.... and the train of course - still the two tracks - one on either side of the river.

This picture is closer to the town of Ascroft - the landsape is pretty neat with the dry hills in contrast to the very green irrigated fields.

At Cache Creek we stopped for gas @ $1.289/liter so $4.88/gallon - yup. We actually pulled up behind one of the campers from Skihist the night before. I had just been telling Derek about my conversation with him and his wife... Derek had his own conversation with them while I ended up pumping the gas. 

From Cache Creek we turn right toward Kamloops.

Sure wish this picture had turned out better - but I included it anyway - the combo of the dirt rising from the road and the reflection are the problem.

Difficult to see but if you look to the right of the edge of the mirror you can see some grass and trees down by the river - that is Juniper Beach Provincial Park. One of our favourite places to camp. The PFO's that were here at Skihist prior to us, are the PFO's there now. 

Ginseng farming.

Ginseng farming - close up.

Dry dry dry - and very hot in the summer months - L O V E it!

Coming into the community of Savona along the shore of Kamloops Lake.

That is the end of the pictures to Kamloops. You probably don't want to see our frazzled faces during our shopping day. We are not sure why we do this to ourselves - we try to pack way too much into a day. Coupled with the congested traffic we are just not used to - and a toddler and I can't say we had the best day. It didn't help that it was HOT - about 31c (88F).

By the time we left at around 3:00 we decided to go to Merritt and back to the park instead of retracing our route from the morning. On the way in there was road construction and we could tell that by the afternoon it would be a pretty long wait to get through.

Highway #5 or the Coquihalla highway used to be a toll road. It travels over a very high elevation, there was even snow remaining up in the hills. It is not overly scenic and much of the forest on either side has been damaged by the pine beetle. I WOULD have taken some pictures but I COULD NOT find the camera anywhere within reach from my passenger seat. 

Finally, just as we were coming down into Merritt and the Nicola Valley I found it under the seat.

Back in Kamloops we had decided that if we were going to go back through Merritt we would stop and get our meat again at the Nicola Valley Meat Market. 

Unfortunately - and with a huge amount of disappointment, we drove up to find them CLOSED on Mondays. Definitely an OOPS moment because now we were headed home - ideally for the next two weeks - without meat. 

To help ourselves get over the shock - and to at least go home fed - we decided to have dinner at the Hitch 'N' Post restaurant that I wrote about in the Merritt post. 

Cassia has been having some serious falling issues this week. Her knees are a mess - today was the third - ouch!

A very nice carriage outside the restaurant - the days of horse and buggy - can we go back to that?

That was our day to Kamloops BC and back again. We see - and post - beautiful shots from our travels through the winter but we know that we live in a very beautiful place also. 

We have decided to stick with just shopping trips to Merritt this summer - it is just too long of a day and too much driving and traffic for us to go to Kamloops. I was a bit disappointed because one of my goals was to buy Cassia a little wagon for her birthday but didn't find one. 

Thanks for stopping in!

And yessss we are going to drive all the way back to the meat market this week - grrrrrr.

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: If you have visited our blog before you may have noticed that our advertisements have changed. We now have a BlogHer ad at the top right - they pay per visits to a site rather then hits on the ads. I have removed the AdSense for now - except for the one that keeps popping up at the end of the post - I have NO IDEA how to get rid of that one! 

Sunday Cook - Homemade Hummus and Pita Chips

Welcome to a life made simple's Sunday Cook. Since I take things a little slower on Sundays I have a bit of extra time to cook or bake for our little family of three, with fingers crossed that it lasts at least part of the week ahead!

I was really scratching my head this week about what to make because we are coming to the end of our two week stock of groceries - our last shopping trip was May 1st. With a trip planned for tomorrow to Kamloops I don't have much left in the house - or I have one or two items missing. 

Last week I was excited to find Ree Drummond's The Pioneer Women Cooks cookbook at the library which I had ordered in. Have you heard of Ree? She is somewhat of a star these days - a mom blogger The Pioneer Women - that has gone big time - I mean BIG TIME! From the humble beginnings of her blog from her ranch in Oklahoma she has two cookbooks, a book about their dog Charlie and now her own TV show. 

For inspiration I started looking through the pages - hmmmm - what to try what to try. It wasn't looking so good - I was seriously missing some key ingredients. 

The cookbook just came out - I was excited to get my hands on a copy!

Until I stumbled upon this.....

Hmmm - hummus - to be honest I was surprised to find it in her cookbook. Hummus is a staple in our house - I make it every so often - it, paired with pita chips is a great mid morning or mid day snack. I thought it would be too 'normal' to post about but then I thought - well - maybe not - maybe not everyone knows about it - I mean if is in The Pioneer Women's cookbook then it must be worth posting.

And guess what!

Yup - I had all the makings for homemade hummus and pita chips. Now you can buy both in the store - but why - they are way cheaper to make yourself and are VERY EASY and QUICK.

I don't really have a recipe - well I did once. But with making it so much with so few ingredients over time I have adopted the 'a little of this and a little of that' - it all seems to come out in the end. But that won't work here. So here is Ree's version from her cookbook (gee - I hope it is ok for me to type out?) or if you prefer you can find the print version on Ree's site - Classic Hummus.

Classic Hummus

3 x 14.5 ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
3 garlic cloves, peeled
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 tsp ground cumin or more to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or more to taste
1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup to 1 cup cold water
2 tbsp olive oil

Makes 8 servings.

Just a note here - I am a bit of a purist with my hummus - there are tons of versions for every taste - just google it and you will have no shortage of recipes to choose from.

Me? I just go with the chickpeas, garlic, lemon, tahini, and olive oil. I do use a bit of water to help blend. Here we go....

Throw it all in the blender - here are the chickpeas and chopped garlic.

If you are not familiar with Tahini - it is sesame paste. It is really good for you and can be added to tons of things - even smoothies. You should be able to find it at your grocery store in the ethnic food aisle. It isn't cheap but it lasts a long time.

Chickpeas, garlic and now the tahini. Add the rest and blend until...

this consistency. You may need to stop and taste while blending and add ingredients as your taste dictates - I like a LOT of garlic and a LOT of lemon in mine.

Homemade Pita Chips

Yes, you can buy pita chips ready made in the store! I have never tried them - I just can't bring myself to buy them when I KNOW how EASY they are to make. PLUS! I can almost always find pita bread on sale - I just don't think it is a big seller! I usually get it for 50% off - come home and put them in the freezer until I am ready to make them.

Once I get around to it - they go fast - and I mean fast - in our house - Cassia is a little pita chip junkie!

Cut like so....

pull the pieces apart....

and ensconce them in olive oil. Pre-mom days I was a bit more particular - I had nicely cut triangles and I would lovingly bath each one separately with olive oil...

Now? 

There are just not enough hours in the day for that kind of nonsense - cut, throw in a bag, shake, shake, shake and on to the pan!

I bake them at 400F for a few minutes - watch the oven they bake really fast at that heat.

Done! A great snack - at least for a few days.

Nope - it didn't take Cassia long!

Next week on Sunday Cook: Cream Cheese Pound Cake from pinterest

And today is ...  Mother's Day.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to ALL the MOMS!!!!

I am still new to this day being for me - today is my THIRD Mother's Day. Of course it always had special meaning to me - I have a GREAT mom! GREAT! AND I was born on Mother's Day. May 10th, 1970 was Mother's Day. As a mom now I can see how that would have been a really nice thing for my mom. She call's me her 'Mother's Day present' which has meant a lot through the years.

I wanted to share a paragraph that has been floating around on fb - maybe you've seen it - but maybe you haven't. It sure struck a cord with me - being an older mom I am in the position of having a fairly senior mom (she just turned 75) and a very young child (she is almost 3). Here it is - I have no idea who wrote it or where it originally came from (as with most things on fb - right!?):

A letter from a Mother to a Daughter:

"My dear girl, the day you see I'm getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I'm going through. If when we talk, I repeat the same thing a thousand times, don't interrupt to say: "You said the same thing a minute ago"... Just listen, please. Try to remember the times  when you were little and I would read the same story night after night until you would fall asleep.

When I don't want to take a bath, don't be mad and don't embarrass me. Remember when I had to run after you making excuses and trying to get you to take a shower when you were just a girl? 

When you see how ignorant I am when it comes to new technology, give me the time to learn and don't  look at me that way... remember, honey, I patiently taught you how to do many things like eating appropriately, getting dressed, combing your hair and dealing with life's issues every day... the day you see I'm getting old, I ask you to please be patient, but most of all, try to understand what I'm going through. 

If I occasionally lose track of what we're talking about, give me the time to remember, and if I can't, don't be nervous, impatient or arrogant. Just know in your heart that the most important thing for me is to be with you. And when my old, tired legs don't let me move as quickly as before, give me your hand the same way I offered mine to you when you first walked. 

When those days come, don't feel sad... just be with me, and understand me while I get to the end of my life with love. I'll cherish and thank you for the gift of time and joy we shared. 

With a big smile and the huge love I've always had for you, I just want to say, I love you... my darling daughter."

From one daughter to another and one mother to another - 

Happy Mother's Day MOM - I love you!

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: Well, I'm a mom because I have a child - Cassia - a toddler! I had to laugh a while ago at this picture of a toddler's brain - no Elmo is Cassia's but the endless repetition sure strikes a cord! Visit Wub Boo Mummy to find out How does a Toddler's Brain Work - too funny!

Alkaline Water is a good thing

I have been planning on writing this post for months now - I'm glad to FINALLY be getting to it.

Alkaline water - are you drinking alkaline water?

It is a good thing.

This story starts way back in December when we were in Montgomery Alabama visiting with Pastor Steve Gotberg at the Grace Bible Church. We were there mainly to attend Pastor Jerry Lockhart's seminar on the book of Acts and were parked in behind the church for just over a week. We enjoyed our visit immensely for many reasons which you can read about here.

We were also happy to enjoy alkaline water via the church's Kangen water system for the week, which I posted about here.

As I mentioned in that last post - the Kangen water system - although great - is WAY above our financial abilities. However, we also learned at the time that there is a water pitcher that can be purchased for a lot less that will also make alkaline water. Hmmmm - we thought - let's try to fit that into the budget.

So, by the time we got back to Texas and Pastor Jerry Lockhart's we decided to invest in our own water pitcher and shower head.

First of all - alkalinity is about the PH level in the water - or in food for that matter. The food we eat is either acidic or alkaline. Generally, our diets are very acidic both in our food and the beverages we consume. This sets our bodies up for failure and disease - so they say.

The best way to counter that of course is to concentrate on getting enough acid in our bodies but not to much. The Alkaline Sisters is a website I found recently that provides a ton of information on alkaline food with a food chart and recipes.

In addition to making the right food choices another great way to move your body towards alkalinity and less acidity is through the water you drink and bath in.

I'm going to stop right here and FIRST check that you know about how to get good water these days!
Please please please tell me that you have heard about and know about fluoride!

It is bad - REALLY BAD - it has been pushed for years and thankfully the information on it is coming out and going mainstream.

I had to laugh at the strange timing - again - when I saw that Andrea over at Frugally Sustainable was also talking about water. You can read her article The Benefits of Good Water and if you are quick about it you can even try to win the Berkley Light water system she is giving away.

I bring this article up because with the alkaline pitcher we purchased the water coming from the tap first needs to be filtered. We don't have to do that here at the cabin because we are not on a municipal water system and nothing is added - it comes from an aquifer into a reservoir up at the top of the campground and down to us. We are sooooo happy about that. But if you have chlorine etc. in your water you first need to filter prior to making it alkaline. Good to know right.

I suppose this is starting to sound a bit much - a bit complicated and a bit expensive.

And does it really work?


Well, you have to be the judge of that for yourselves and your family. We think the investment is worth it. We've decided to trust the research believing that good water can only help us. There is a ton of information about alkaline water on the net just google it and do some searching.

Here is our water pitcher - yes - on our lawn - we just don't have enough light in our cabin.

I'm pretty happy with the pitcher - I know I'm drinking good water and that is good. You can read more about the our power water pitcher here.

But what I really really really love is this:

Our new shower head.

Now the shower head is something to really get excited about....

I   L O V E   IT!

I like it because I know that alkaline water is getting in through my skin but I LOVE it because it provides a 5 star shower in a -5 star shower stall! Because of the long arm the shower head is right over us and with all the little holes it feels like a gentle rain. And even better is the smell because of the vitamin c filter and citrus aroma. The filter also removes chlorine. I could go on and on... you can read more about the shower head here.

I'm trying hard to make sure you realize how much I think these products are a good thing and not sound like a commercial. I wanted to write a post about alkaline water because we believe it is a good thing - something that everyone should learn about and even incorporate into their lives.

AND if you want to get the same products we have - we can get them for you! Derek and I aren't necessarily into selling things per se but we decided to also become distributors of these (and other) Dream Tree Family products. We are going on the idea that this way other's can can a hold of these products and perhaps we can make some money in the process. You may want to consider distributing yourselves!

So - if you want to know more or place an order just send us an email at alifemadesimple3@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: Here is another link about Alkaline water and diet. The site seems to have some really good info which I have just started to read. I have linked the article Your Tap Water is Shocking - more about what your tap water is like coming in and the importance of also filtering your shower water.