An Easy Way to Deal With Scorched or Burned Pots and Pans

Before you soak or scrub, try this trick first!

I've scorched a lot of pots and pans, lately. While remodeling our kitchen, I've been cooking meals using a single burner hotplate. This little burner has been invaluable, as far as being able to boil, simmer, saute, and warm up food, but the temperature is tough to regulate. 

Pans can scorch or burn even on the best of appliances, and this can happen quickly. You get distracted and turn away from the stove to do something else, turn up the heat too high, or simply forget to stir. Suddenly, whatever you have been heating in a pan scorches and burn.

Hopefully, you can salvage whatever you were cooking, but the pan will be a mess. However, before you reach for caustic cleansers and tough scrubbing pads or leave it overnight to soak, give this trick I've learned a try. I'm not sure if it will work in every case, but so far it's worked for me.

How to Bake a Chocolate Cake That is an Outstanding Winner

 In 30 years of baking cakes, this is the one I’ve made the most.

Image by author, Susan Foster

Do you have a favorite cake recipe? 

Is there a cake recipe you’ve made repeatedly? If so, what do you love about that recipe? 

• Is it the best cake you ever had? 
• Is it quick and easy to make?
• Does it require a minimum of dishes and little cleanup after cooking?
• Is it the one your family or friends most frequently request?
• Do you always have the ingredients on hand?

My favorite cake recipe

For my favorite cake recipe, all the answers to the above questions are a resounding YES. 

I enjoy trying new recipes and I love all flavors of cake, but when I don’t feel like experimenting or spending a lot of time in the kitchen, this is the cake I always make. Whenever I serve it, guests ask for the recipe and always say it’s delicious.

I first tasted this cake when visiting a friend, and she served it for dessert. When I returned home, I realized I just had to have the recipe. I still have a copy of her original email with the recipe, sent almost 30 years ago to me. I have no idea where she got it from.

Throughout the years, I've made some changes to the recipe. Here’s my favorite way to make it:

Image by author, Susan Foster

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

A Simply Scrumptious Scallops Recipe

This recipe is easy and elegant, but it takes hardly any time to prepare.

Image by Susan Foster.

Trying to say Simply Scrumptious Scallops quickly three times in a row may be harder than it is to make this recipe! 😉

In short order.

Years ago, when my husband and I were first married, a friend gave us a subscription to the magazine, Gourmet. It used to include a section called “In Short Order: Recipes That Beat the Clock” and those recipes always made us drool. Since we believed they were the type of recipe we could successfully tackle, even on a weeknight, we tore that section out of the magazine each month and compiled them in a binder. 

Those much-used pages have become dog-eared, bookmarked with sticky notes, and covered with ink and pencil notations.

Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover. How I Became Aware of My Unconscious Stereotype

I previously published a version of this post on 10/23/14. Since newer readers may not have seen it, I've revised it a bit and I'm sharing it again. 

___

Never judge a book by its cover is a worn-out cliché, but it is true advice that I should have remembered during a brief encounter in the past.

The covers on these books have seen better days, but the contents are still classic. 

I visited an auto parts store to buy jumper cables

Almost a dozen years ago, I stopped at an auto parts store one afternoon to look for the jumper cables. I had promised these would be our donation for the “car-care items basket" my son’s class was assembling, to be auctioned at the School PTA fundraiser later in the week.

I wandered up and down the somewhat scruffy and cluttered aisles, feeling very out of my element. I was surrounded by people who all seemed comfortable locating what they needed. I perused every aisle, but couldn’t find the jumper cables.

The store shelves were disorganized and I was overwhelmed

My frustration mounted and I was nearly ready to concede defeat and leave empty-handed. Suddenly, a man in dusty jeans and a rumpled store vest approached and said, “I’ll be with you in just a moment, Ma’am.” (He must have read my mind . . .)

Seconds after he spoke to me, my eyes spied an inexpensive “Emergency Car Kit.” The label bragged that it included all sorts of emergency items, including the jumper cables I had hoped to buy. Lying partially covered by another item on a bottom shelf, I had nearly missed seeing it. 

I was taken by surprise by the excellent customer service

When the salesperson returned to my side, I asked him if the contents of the kit were accurately depicted on the packaging, and told him why I needed it. He confirmed the contents. 

To my surprise though, he added,

How a Mistaken Identity Led to an Unexpectedly Delicious Oatmeal Recipe

Most of us know it is a wise practice to label food items before storing them in the freezer. Sometimes, though, we get lazy or just assume that we will recognize them. Or at least I do. 😊 

Food without a label can acquire a mistaken identity. This can have unexpected consequences, as proven by the oatmeal I made for breakfast.

My recent oatmeal "oops" 

To improve my diet and also just because I enjoy the taste, a while back I started eating oatmeal almost every morning for my breakfast. Not the prepackaged sugary kind. I get out a pot, place it on the stove and add some 5-minute oats (or more recently some steel-cut oats) with water, a pinch of salt, and some fruit. I cook these until they are nice and creamy, then scoop them into a bowl. A dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of nuts, and I see no need for any sugar. 

I recently read that while quick-cooking or 5-minute oats are better than the sugared individual-packet kind, steel-cut oats are even more nutritious. They take a little longer to cook, but the benefits (and the texture) are well worth it. 

I flavor oatmeal without sugar in all sorts of ways. Sometimes I add a little peanut butter and/or jam. It is really yummy with the addition of some fruit. Most often I just add part of a banana or some sort of berry. Fresh or frozen fruit cooks up equally well. 

This week, though, I accidentally added something quite unique ...

My Favorite Hat is a Helmet!

Note: This is a revised and updated version of a post previously published on November 22, 2014, but it seems worth sharing again, while a lot of the US is in the midst of a snowy winter.

I hardly ever wear a hat

I like hats - but I look terrible in them.  Something about the shape of my head and my hair just means that they never fit right.  I rarely wear a hat.

But - - there is one exception.  My ski helmet!

I never wore a helmet when I was younger

When I learned to ski as a pre-teen, there was no such thing as a ski helmet.  About 20 years ago, you might have spotted a ski helmet worn in a ski resort terrain park; then parents gradually started buying them for their small children.  

An article published by the International Skiing Association, Ski Helmets, How We Got Here, states “from 1995 until 2010, helmet use increased from 5% to 76%. Over that period, the rate of serious head injuries dropped by about 65%.” That's a pretty impressive statistic!

Not exactly cute, but it makes you look smart when you wear one

Gradually, more and more skiers over the past few decades have begun to realize helmets are a good way to protect their brainpower.  I was finally one of them.

It took a bit of convincing - I actually bought several but returned them without ever wearing them. I just felt really ugly every time I tried them on.

Finally, I found one that really fit, and I conquered my vanity. It has adjustable air vents for temperature control, a removable (washable) liner, warm ear muffs, and (my favorite) a dial to loosen or tighten the fit.  (Giro calls this their “in-form fit system.”)

Helmets are available at a wide range of prices.  

Even the most expensive price tag would seem like pennies, however, compared to a hospital bill ...  or a casket. 

The very first time I wore my ski helmet, I became a convert.  

Right away, I realized there are three good reasons to wear a helmet

Random Acts of Kindness Week

Did you know this week is National Random Acts of Kindness week? Neither did I, until today. 

Staring out at our snowy property while I'm writing this, I pondered what random acts of kindness that I have experienced. One immediately came to mind:

Returning home in the wee hours of the morning, after a long and treacherous road trip in winter weather, my husband and I were dreading our steep driveway. We knew the snow would be so deep we would be unable to get up it. The thought of having to park at the bottom and trudge up the snowy hill, with all our bags and two very sleepy young children, in extremely cold temperatures, was almost more than I could bear in my sleep-deprived and weary state. 

To our immense surprise and gratitude, when we arrived we found that someone had plowed the driveway for us, while we were away. We never found out who kindly did it - but I will forever be grateful. 

As you may have guessed from my posts on February 1st and February 4th, I've discovered that it's fun to check the National Day calendar and see the celebrations or recognitions suggested there. 😊  Since "kindness" is one of my chosen "words of the year" for 2021, I cannot let a week devoted to kind acts go unnoticed. 

Actually, I think every week should be filled with random acts of kindness, but if designating one week of the year as such boosts the occurrence of these acts, then I'm all for it.

I tried to find a definition for random act of kindness. According to Grammarist, it "is an action that is performed for another, usually a stranger, simply to bring that person happiness." Most often, these acts are done without expecting anything in return or any praise or recognition. 

Paying for the coffee order of the person behind or ahead of you in line at the coffee shop, feeding a stranger's meter, or allowing a person to cut ahead of you in a line are some examples of random ways to be kind. Being kind, however, can be just as simple as saying something nice.

For example:

• Telling a grocery teller you appreciate how speedy she is at her job, might just brighten up her day. 
• A word of thanks to the mailperson for delivering mail even in subzero weather will warm them up a little. 
• When you see a parent being patient with a toddler (or a teenager!) tell them you admire such good parenting. Better yet, if you witness an impatient parent (and if this action seems appropriate to the situation), try to sympathize with them and offer to lend a hand; it may defuse their anger and frustration.
• In this hard time of social isolation, give a call or send a letter to someone you think might be lonely.
• If you read an article or see a youtube video that moves you in some way, leave the author/creator a comment, give it a like or a clap, and/or share it with your friends and on social media sites. You'd be surprised how much that positive feedback to the author actually means.

If you are interested in other ideas of how to spread kindness, the Random Acts of Kindness website has a bunch.

Recently, news reports have contained a lot of anger, pain, and sadness. Goodness does still happen, though, and the following stories helped restore my faith in the goodness of humanity. They are worth taking the time to click and read them:

• Last week, Dr. Jill Biden installed messages of kindness on the White House lawn.

• When it snows, health care workers are shown how much they are valued, by the actions of a group of snow angels.

• Volunteers, (some without heat and power themselves) during record-breaking cold and power outages, rescued approximately 3,500 turtles in Texas from the cold.

Remember that while random acts of kindness are often done for strangers, we should also extend these kindnesses to our friends, family, pets, the environment, and ourselves.

Did you know that in addition to being an aviation pioneer, Ameila Earhart was also a writer? She had some wise things to say about kindness.

"No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves."   ~~Amelia Earhart

Have a wonderful, kind, and caring day. 

Please social distance, wear a mask, wash your hands, get vaccinated, stay healthy, and keep making the most -- of all your moments!

How to Make a Homemade Bow - The Easy Way!

A while ago, I saved the link to a video with easy instructions of how to make a tiny ribbon bow ... using a fork! Since I had several gifts that needed to be wrapped recently, I decided to give it a try.

It really works! These bows are perfect, especially if you don't have a pre-made bow on hand, or prefer to save a few pennies and make your own. While making my bows, I did have a little help. Our cat is always up to any task involving ribbons!

My feline assistant

Did you know that you can make a tiny ribbon bow using a fork?

When my daughter was little, I liked to sew dresses for her and sometimes I made matching hairbows for her, too. Creating tiny little bows to glue on barrettes was always a challenge for me though - somehow they just never tied quite right. I wish I had known about the method in this video back then!

While this video by Handimania.com is really helpful and well worth watching, I drafted a set of written instructions for those of you who learn better that way. Here it is, and be sure to take note of my tips for success, below.

How to Make a Ribbon Bow on a Fork

Supplies needed:

Happy May Day! Did You Say Rabbit, Rabbit?

It's May 1st!

Did you remember to say Rabbit, Rabbit before you got out of bed? A friend of mine told me about this superstition back when we were in high school. Supposedly, if you say rabbit before you get out of bed on the first day of any month, you will have good luck for the next 30 days. Saying it twice makes the luck really stick.

Don't worry if you didn't say rabbit, rabbit this morning though, this NPR article offers some alternative suggestions for a lucky month.

May Day or May 1st is sometimes celebrated with May Pole dances and flower baskets left on neighbor's doorknobs. Ancient pagans considered it "the day halfway between spring and summer." Ha ha, they certainly didn't live in Montana!

However, I think spring weather maybe has finally arrived here. We did some hiking with our dog on Sunday. It was a different trail than the one I wrote about last week, when we had to turn back because of snow and ice. On this route, we didn't run into any snow. Instead, our descent was made in

Montana Spring Tease

I didn't intend to write this blog post, as I have been working on some other projects. But the weather and a visit to one of my favorite blogs enticed me to share a few lines and pictures here today.

Lana, a friend of mine and the author of the blog My New Happy, is also a contributor to the Lifestyle Collective The Blended Blog. On both of these sites today, Lana's post topic was "Spring Where You're From" and she issued a challenge to other bloggers to link up and share what the spring season is like where we live.

Looking out my front door this morning, how could I resist!

The first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere is officially in March. In Montana, it comes much later than that, in a matter of fits and starts. Whether or not the groundhog sees his shadow is of no concern to us. We know we have at least six more weeks of winter left! 

In mid-March, the roads near our house were still too icy and snow-covered to safely walk our puppy. We made sure she got enough exercise by strapping on our snowshoes and taking her for hikes around our property. I tried hiking our acreage once without snowshoes and sunk down in places to mid-thigh. Fortunately, the dog's four paws kept her mostly above the crust.

Here's a view from our kitchen, taken through the window screen on March 18th. The ground had been covered in snow since October.

By April 4th we'd had some warm weather so most of the snow, except at higher elevations and in the shadows, had melted.

On April 5th though, this happened:

This isn't the first time I've written about spring snow in Montana. On February 3rd, 2015, I wrote a post called A Ground Hog's Shadow and Cars in the Ditch. Click on the link to read the story of when we got 23 inches of wet snow on April 29th, 2009 and I had to call a tow truck!

Yesterday was warm and sunny. My husband and I and our six-month-old puppy hiked part-way up a mountain trail above the city of Helena. The upper trails were still so treacherous with snow and ice that we turned back before we reached the summit, yet it was warm enough to shed our light jackets.

If you look closely at the top-right corner of this photo, you can see part of the city of Helena:

I then spent the rest of the afternoon outside, doing a little yard work and enjoying the wonderful outdoors on Earth Day.

Spring yard work where we live in Montana is not limited to cleaning up garden beds. It includes:

• Raking massive amounts of deer and elk scat off the grass around our house.
• Sweeping huge amounts of gravel from the cement pad in front of our house. With nearby roads and our driveway all just gravel and chip-sealed, a lot of gravel is deposited there by our tires, the wind, shoveling, and plowing.
• Taking our holiday lights down from our trees, which had previously been too snow-covered. Yesterday, I broke my trusty light hanging pole, which we've used since December 2014 to put up and take down our outside holiday lights. I was able to temporarily duct-tape it together well enough to snag and remove all the light strings from this past season. I will definitely be ordering another pole soon. 

I saw a few daffodils poking up through the ground yesterday, and my furry pussy willow catkins were practically flowering before my eyes while being enjoyed by some very fuzzy gray bees. These signs of spring were enough to tempt my husband and me to get out all the patio furniture.

We knew better.

This is what spring looks like here this morning:

At least someone is enjoying the snow today! 

Although we had more snow in Montana this winter than in recent years, waiting this long for spring is not unusual at all. Today's snowfall will melt quickly and warmer temperatures are expected this week, but I'm not removing my snow tires just yet!

What's the weather like right now where you live?

In the spirit of full disclosure, this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on one of them, the price you pay will not be affected but I may receive some small compensation. All opinions expressed, however, are entirely honest and my own.
This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out! 

Everyone Has Some Artistic Creativity in Them

Our artistic creativity is shaped not just by our innate abilities and training, but often by the input of others.

I was rebuked by a Sunday School teacher when I was about 4-years-old, because I had not followed her directions. I cut out the little pictures on my page before I colored them, which was apparently not the order in which she wanted us to do things.

Note: This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and then make a purchase, I may receive a form of compensation. I only recommend products I believe in.

We were supposed to color first so, when our strokes strayed from within the picture outlines, our crayons would not make marks on the desks. I was shy and eager-to-please, and not

The Learn Something New Every Day project: January 2018

My Learn Something New Every Day of 2018 project went well during its first month. As I explained in my last post, my goal is to recognize and record one thing I've learned at the end of each day. I'm sharing my lessons here, with the hope that you'll find some of them interesting or helpful too. 

Some days the information gleaned was useful and on others quite trivial, but for each day of January, I recorded a tidbit of knowledge I didn't have during the previous 24 hours. 

Note: This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click on one and then make a purchase, I may receive a form of compensation. I only recommend products I believe in.

Perhaps the lesson that amazed me most and was reinforced to me repeatedly this month, is how very quickly puppies grow up! 

Ours has already tripled in weight and grown exponentially since we adopted her.

My List of January Lessons: 

For more in-depth information about some of these topics, more details can be found in my previous post about Week 1 of this project and in future posts (soon to be published on this blog). 

January

Week 1.

•  1. Puppy toys can come unstuffed.
•  2. How to unclog a vacuum. 
•  3. It’s a small world. Well, sort of. 
•  4. Use vinegar to poach an egg.
•  5. The best place to do a puzzle. 
•  6. The aloe vera plant is useful for more than just first aid for burns.
•  7. An interesting political idea.

Week 2.

•  8. It's easy to make excellent artisan bread with a lovely crunchy crust.

I will be posting full details on how to bake bread like this soon, in an upcoming post.

This is the bread recipe I have always wanted!

•  9. Puppies grow quickly. 

The photos above already prove this point, but I can't resist sharing two more. We think she's cute.

I've lost track of how many times we've been told, "Wow, she's going to be a big dog!"





• 10. There's an easy way to get a dog to take a pill without spitting it out.

• 11. I found a few new ways to use the "Notes" feature on my iPhone and MacBook efficiently.

Learn Something New Every Day of 2018: Week 1

One of my goals for 2018 is to learn at least one new thing every day. 

Learning something new every day is not difficult. Being aware that we are doing so is sometimes the real challenge.

The things we learn on a daily basis range from significant to trivial, intellectual to emotional, mind-blowing to diminutive. Some days we learn things we already knew but forgot. Sometimes we learn things we never wanted to know or things we have always desired to grasp. 

Learning something intellectual, mastering a new skill, finding out something new about a friend, or understanding the world or myself a little better are just a few of the ways in which I expect I will meet this goal. I hope to recognize and record at least one thing I've learned every day in 2018. 

Some things I learn may be worthy of being shared. 

Sometimes I may learn things that readers of this blog may also find interesting, entertaining, or informative. When I do, I will try to share them here. This could even become a regular series of blog posts - but the probability of that remains to be seen!

Here are some things I learned last week:

Happy New Year! Some words of wisdom from 1755 to 2017.

In the year 1755, Benjamin Franklin wrote some advice still worth following in 2017: 

"Be at War with your Vices, at Peace with your Neighbours, and let every New-Year find you a better Man." 

I would change this quote to be gender-neutral, by substituting the word person for the word man at the end of the sentence. I can find no other fault with these wise words. 

Happy New Year. Wishing you peace, happiness, and health in 2017.

2016. It changed the world -- and even this blog.

As the year 2016 played out, posts from this blog became intermittent and then just dwindled away. I began spending less and less time on social media and even reading other blogs I have always enjoyed. I can place the blame on a number of things. Some have resolved and some are ongoing. I am not sure yet of the future of this blog, but I cannot let the new year begin without a farewell post to 2016.

2016 ... What a year.  

There were so many moments of 2016 (personally, nationally and internationally) that filled my heart with pride, with fear, with sadness, and ultimately, with hope. It seems as though our world has rotated a bit on her axis, and feels different than it ever has. As we settle into 2017, I am hopeful we can find ways to heal. Our earth needs it, our country needs it; the whole world needs to heal. 

Even the health of my family had a rough year.  I've employed more of my nursing skills in the past six months than I have for a long time. I'm grateful now that my human family members are on the mend, that our dog is walking on all four legs again, and that I have only one week's worth of antibiotics left to shoot down our cat's throat!

Blogging is different than any other kind of writing.

One thing I've learned over the nearly three-year life of this blog, is that blogging is a very personal thing. Successful bloggers share a lot about themselves, their families, and their friends online. I have always been a little guarded in this; as a nurse I am trained to highly value confidentiality and after all, I did spend years warning my children against the dangers of the Internet! 

The wonderful connections I have forged with faithful readers and my special blogging friendships have gradually led me to become more comfortable sharing my own stories. I always, however, have felt it important to receive permission before posting anecdotes or photos of other people.

Something in my attitude changed again over the course of 2016.  

My hesitancy to include anything in my blog about other people's health led me to question what actually is appropriate to publish. The nastiness of this American election year has me a little repulsed by social media, especially as many posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram seem to have become more egotistical and narcissistic.  (You know the ones I mean!) Perhaps the overwhelming, constant onslaught of information that invades my inbox and social media accounts has simply made me weary.  In any event, I began to question the value of the words and photos that I publish.  All this (as well as various demands on my time) were contributing factors, but my diminished posts in recent months were mostly a result of a muse that disappeared. My writing and creative spark just evaporated for a while.

Lately though, I have been missing this blog.  I suspect I will return to it in some fashion in 2017. My hope is that I can find a way to fill each post with valuable information, in a warm format that reaches out to readers yet maintains firm boundaries between real and Internet life. 

Even after writing this, I am hesitant to hit publish. What value does this post really hold? I feel it needed to be written, though - as an explanation and an apology to my long-time readers for my abrupt and unexplained absence. Publishing this today seems necessary to add closure to the past year of sporadic blogging  - and to pave the way for future posts.

We all have work to do in 2017.

I've rarely touched on politics here, but our upcoming American Presidential Inauguration is on practically everyone's mind. I hope we will all resolve to make the world a better, kinder, more tolerant and healthier environment.  Our work is cut out for us - but I believe in the human spirit. We can learn from mistakes made throughout history and we can stand up against what is wrong, and we can find ways to educate and guide leaders to the right decisions. Every voice and every positive action counts.  Protecting our environment, standing up against intolerance and injustice, and spreading kindness and truth is something we should all strive to do, all of the time.  Those repeated actions may be the best way we can all "make the most - - of every moment" of 2017. 

Happy New Year.  Let's make it a good one.

The Ugly American

The first time I left North America I was 14 years old. During my initial year of living abroad, I became aware that Americans sometimes have a certain “ugly” reputation. It didn't take me long to understand the cause.

“Ugly American” individuals were easy to spot, and made far too frequent of an appearance in my years overseas.  I quickly learned to recognize them and steer clear. Having left American soil as a tourist or sometimes an expat, these poor representatives of America often could be heard even before they were seen. On a crowded bus or at a tourist attraction, his or her English words would rise above the din of the crowd, loud and complaining. Nothing was ever “as good as it is at home.” Shouting, (perhaps because they assumed it would help them to be better understood) they would make disparaging remarks about how “no one around here speaks English.” Their criticisms included but were not limited to the food, the people, the customs, the climate, and all things un-American or different to which they were accustomed. When they rudely claimed (while a guest in another country) that “America is the best nation in the world,” it left their audience with plenty of room for doubt.

At first, I tried to distance myself by emphasizing the Canadian heritage of my dual American-Canadian citizenship. But gradually, I realized the importance of diluting those impressions by acting as a “good" American. By representing the United States well, I hoped to help reverse any negative impact those “ugly" Americans were making. I wanted to prove that most of us are different from those unsavory individuals. 

I woke up this morning still stunned by the results of the 2016 American Presidential election, and realized that a similar situation now exists within the United States. Those of us not willing to be the “Ugly American” have a significant job to do. 

Somehow, despite having just elected as our next president a man whose well-documented episodes of prejudice, vulgarity, lack of judgment, and hatred characterize him as the “ugliest” of Americans, we must now find a way to show the world (and ourselves) that most citizens of the United States are better than that. It is up to each of us to ensure that what ensues from this election does not perpetuate and make that ugliness any more of a widespread reality. If the majority of American citizens do not uphold the core values of acceptance, respect, inclusivity, decency and basic humanity, then America should not be called the "land of the free."  

I am fearful that many of the votes in this election were cast in support of racism, misogyny, intolerance, and hatred; however, I maintain hope that most Americans do not really want these injustices to take stronger root and flourish. We must all now assume responsibility to be certain that this does not happen, and find ways to encourage our new President-Elect to consistently behave better than he has in the past.

America has long been referred to as a "melting pot" of people, and it has been our differences that has helped to make us strong. Every American who despises bigotry and inequality must now strive even harder to set an example that is consistently tolerant, accepting and just. We cannot afford to let the hatred that was unleashed in this election take hold and reverse the strides we have been making towards human rights and equality for all. 

If we are to shed the image of the ugly American both at home and abroad, we must all  - including our politicians and our newly elected American President - treat every human being with equality and respect each other's differences. We can only hope that even the people who have not behaved so in the past will soon begin to change ... for our future, the future of our country, and the future of the world. 

**~**

Blog Owner's Note: I haven't published here for some time, for a variety of reasons. I apologize to anyone who has visited here and been disappointed to find no new content so far this fall. I'm not yet sure of the future for this blog, but today I just could not let the results of the election take place without comment. 

Feel free to leave your comments, but please try to refrain from any "ugliness."

Red, White, and Blue. Add an Easy Patriotic Touch to Any Treat!

I have a little tip for adding an easy patriotic or festive touch to almost any dessert.  A simple homemade red, white, and blue candy garnish can make any dessert more American, or you can use the colors of whatever country/event/club/organization that you are celebrating.

Treats such as cherry pie, strawberry-rhubarb pie, a flag cake, or red, white, and blue muffins are always a hit on an American holiday such as Memorial Day, July 4th or Labor Day. 

However, you are not limited by these choices. You can make almost any dessert special for the occasion with a quick little candy treat. Cakes, pies, cookies, and bars can all be made patriotic and festive with them, and you can even place a candy garnish or two gently on the top of a pudding or custard (or on a plate beside them.)

I decorated individual servings of white chocolate mousse with snowflake candy decorations for a fancy winter party.

Even if you buy a dessert instead of making one, you can make it more special with this decorating trick!

How to Make Candy Garnishes for Desserts

All that you need is a few minutes and:

How to Divide Cake Batter: An Easy Tip for Even Layers

I have loved to bake cakes for as long as I can remember.

For years, however, the task of making a two-layer cake intimidated me.  It never seemed like I could get the layers to bake evenly, and my cakes were always lopsided.

One summer when I was in high school, we were visiting my grandparents in Pennsylvania. Various family members were coming to dinner for my grandfather's birthday. I offered to make the birthday cake, and my grandmother supplied me with a cake mix.

We had been living in Spain, and the only cakes I had ever made were from scratch. By comparison, the cake mix seemed so easy.  My cake layers (of course) were horribly uneven, but I decided it was nothing that a lot of icing couldn't fix! Using the only chocolate frosting recipe I knew, I made up a batch of frosting and smeared it between and on top of the two layers until the top appeared flat and smooth.

Later that day, to my horror, I realized that one layer had slid nearly off the other, and the whole cake was breaking into pieces. The heavy frosting had just been too much for the light and airy cake texture that the cake mix had produced.

I was mortified and begged my grandmother to let me make another cake before dinner. She saw no sense in wasting what would still be a delicious dessert, and scooped it into a 9 x13 inch pan. She told me we would serve it from the kitchen, and "no one would ever know."

My grandfather had a sense of humor. He had caught on that something was not quite right with his cake. When we started bringing plates of cake to the table he said, "But, where's my birthday cake? I want to see