Friday Favorties

 

Coming soon!  I absolutely cannot wait to tell you more about this!  

Wednesday on Writing: When You’re stuck

 

It happens to all of us from time to time. Below are my thoughts on what to try when the words won't come. 

Re-read.  Read what you have, and remind yourself of how far you’ve come.  It’s a good rule of thumb to go back and re-read your entire story every 5 chapters.  This refreshes your memory about plot twists and conversations and, if you are a pantser like me, sometimes you will get an “aha!” moment where something that happened early in the book can suddenly work with a twist later down the road. Almost like your muse knew what it was doing all along.
 

Do something mindless.  For some reason driving, being in water (washing dishes or taking a shower), folding laundry, vacuuming or tidying up, starting to paint that room you’ve been putting off—always helps jar something loose.  Maybe we use a different side of our brain for some of these tasks.  But it can help.

 Write the scene you see happening next.  This does not always work for pantsers like me.  The fun is in not knowing what will happen next and if I write a scene that’s farther along in the story than I am, it can spoil the “carrot on the stick” motivation I had going to get to that scene.  But sometimes it’s all you can do.

 Write something else.  Now tread with caution here because this is how we end up with 47 unfinished stories.  But sometimes taking yourself out of one story and into something else will help.  Maybe a blog post, or Facebook rant would work, or, if you do have some unfinished stories, immerse yourself in one of them.  Maybe something you wrote a few years ago and never finished will inspire something for your current WIP. Some writers find it helpful to just start typing random words and phrases on the page, sort of a way to purge the clutter, unclog the drain, and get the right words flowing again.  

 

Refill the well.  A friend of mine used to talk about letting the well fill up again.  Read.  Watch movies.  Bake.  Take a break from the blank page and create elsewhere or just give your mind and body a little break.  Hot cup of something, a cozy blanket and a good book or movie.  Sometimes that empty canvas in our mind is our body’s way of telling us it needs a break.

Til next time, remember...  Stories aren’t written all at once.  They’re written one sentence at a time.  Keep writing!

 

 

 

Monday Morning Musing: Finding peace in the Quiet

 

You know you are getting older when a great weekend means you stayed home and didn’t have to go anywhere. 

 

When you have spent years first as a daily caregiver and then most weekends cleaning out an estate, quiet weekends feel both rare and precious.  No, we are not done with the cleanout, but I think the need to spend every Saturday over there is pretty much over.  After three years.

 

Spending a quiet Saturday morning in the kitchen baking things that smell wonderful and draw your loved ones from their beds is one of my favorite things ever.

 

Getting up first and having the house to yourself for quiet time with prayers, coffee and pets is the best.

I used the word "quiet" a lot today.  I guess that's where I am finding peace these days.  In the quiet.

Until next time… may your coffee stay warm and your heart stay hopeful

 

 

In the Kitchen with Nic: Old Fashioned Lemonade Bundt Cake

 

Well it might not be the exact recipe I was searching for, but it's the closest I could come. 

Apparently the other recipe doesn't exist anywhere in any Betty Crocker cookbook, old or new, so it was either a family recipe, thrown together with ingredients on hand (those are the best!  But not always written down ), or it was in a magazine or on recipe cards.  

Either way, here is what I've come up with, pieced together form other recipes and clues from the cake mentioned in the nostalgic recipes video. 

I'll be making it this weekend! 

Happy Baking!

Til next time, remember... Some recipes aren't just recipes. They're family history, written in cups, teaspoons, and a pinch of love.

OLD-FASHIONED

LEMONADE BUNDT CAKE

A White Butter Cake Soaked in Fresh Lemon Syrup

———  ✦  ———

This cake brings the bright, tart flavor of summer lemonade into a tender white butter cake. The warm lemon syrup soaks deep into the crumb, and a thin crackled glaze finishes it—just as they made it in the old days, long before box mixes.

THE CAKE

2¼ cups  cake flour (or sifted all-purpose flour)

1½ cups  granulated sugar

3½ teaspoons  baking powder

1 teaspoon  salt

½ cup  (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup  whole milk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon  pure vanilla extract

4  large egg whites, at room temperature

LEMON SOAKING SYRUP

¾ cup  granulated sugar

½ cup  fresh lemon juice (from 3–4 lemons)

SIMPLE LEMON GLAZE

1½ cups  powdered sugar, sifted

3–4 tablespoons  fresh lemon juice

Optional:  1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

METHOD

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Thoroughly grease and flour a 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan (or use a baking spray that contains flour). Be generous in the crevices so the cake releases cleanly.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well combined.

3.  Add the softened butter, milk, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes until the batter is smooth and creamy.

4.  In a clean bowl with clean beaters, whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whites into the batter in two additions, taking care not to deflate them. The batter will be light and airy.

5.  Spoon the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a long wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. The top should be lightly golden.

6.  Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the syrup: combine the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Do not boil hard. Remove from heat.

7.  Carefully invert the warm cake onto a serving plate or cooling rack. While the cake is still warm, poke holes all over the top and down into the ridges with a thin skewer or fork. Slowly spoon or brush the warm lemon syrup over the cake, letting it soak in thoroughly. Allow the cake to rest 20–30 minutes so the syrup can penetrate.

8.  For the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice together until smooth and pourable (add a little more juice or sugar to reach a good consistency). Drizzle the glaze generously over the cake so it runs down the ridges in thin streams. Let the glaze dry until it forms a delicate, crackled shell.

Note from the kitchen

This cake was made to stand up to July heat. The lemon syrup keeps it moist for days, and the thin glaze does not melt the way buttercream would at a picnic. Bake it the night before, glaze it in the morning, and it will still taste bright and lively by afternoon.

 

—  Enjoy with a cold glass of real lemonade  —

Friday Favorites

 

Well the week is drawing to a close, so rather than talking about writing, I'd like to share a few favorite finds with you today.  

1. Vintage recipes.  I tumbled head first down a  rabbit hole not long ago, in search of a vintage Betty Crocker Old Fashioned Lemonade cake recipe.  Still haven't found "the one", I am not looking for a cake mix recipe, this is a recipe from the 50s or 60s that pre-dates boxed mixes.  I'll share when I find it, but this search, and the amazing recipes I've turned up along the way, has reminded me all over again how much I love cooking from scratch--the joy of creating something from what you have on hand, rather than opening a box.  You simply cannot beat the peace of mind that comes from knowing exactly what's in the food you prepared. 

2. Shauna Kay's Book Club on YouTube.  In my downtime, I love juicy biographies, and I have a real soft spot for stories about the royal family.  Especially vintage biographies about the royal family, which are often out of print.  I guess I am a spoiler alert person, but it's kind of fun to read them from a modern day perspective knowing how things already worked out (who would have ever guessed Camilla would be wearing the crown and our beloved Diana would be gone-- and don't get me started on Harry!)  But finding the time to read them all let alone sifting through the thousands of books to choose from is a bit overwhelming.  Both Shauna Kay's Book Club and her Vintage Read Show YouTube channels are great to listen to if you love those books as much as I do.  Her book choices are always spot on and her commentary and perspective are entertaining and thought provoking.  If I have a lot of work to do, a long drive ahead or just need some distraction, I love to browse through her playlists and choose something to listen to. She never disappoints.  (Her Substack is great, too!)  

3. Redecorating my blog.  After years of neglect, my blog needed a good spring cleaning.  So it was out with the old, outdated background and in with one that feels fresh, new and more like me. Some custom images to use for new posts make it feel even cozier. Wish redecorating my house was this quick and easy!!

That's it for this week! 

Wishing you a weekend filled with good books, good coffee... and maybe a cookie or two.

Wednesday on Writing: Gifting Yourself the Time

 

We've talked a lot here over the years about motivation, determination and the results of the very simple "butt in chair" philosophy.

Todays thoughts on writing are about the basics.  Gift yourself the time.  As a friend of mine once said "it's the only thing we get to do for ourselves."

Don't let work drama, family drama, financial worries, or other people's problems in right now.  Just go breathe life into those characters who are waiting to tell you their story. Whether you can give yourself an hour or just fifteen minutes, this is your time.  Make the most of it. 

Gift yourself the time.  🎁

Until next time, remember:  Stories aren’t written all at once.  They’re written one sentence at a time.  Keep writing! 

Monday Morning Musing

 

Random thoughts on this Monday morning, largely fueled by a stressful weekend and the push/pull of cleaning out my IL's estate over my husband's objections...

 

 

It is hard to move forward with someone who is stuck in the past.  People, especially husbands, really don’t like it when you try to push them forward.

 

Fearing technology is silly.  Learn it, embrace it and ask yourself what you have to learn here.  If nothing, move on.  But we all need to stay curious and be open to new ways of doing things.

 

Sometimes a chat with a friend, even when you aren’t sure you are up for it, is all you need to break out of a sulky mood

 

Counting your blessings is a lot harder to remember than focusing on the things that make you unhappy.  It’s good to remind ourselves, even on hard days, that the life you are living now is the one you once prayed for.