Easter Thoughts, a.k.a. Ramblings

March came in and went out fairly mild in my neck of the woods but others haven't quite been so lucky. I wish them,and all of us Better Days ahead.










Gardens are cleaned; some starting, some ending. Here it is spring and is the time to prepare the path of new beginnings. To fertilize them with our hopes, dreams and intentions. A time to give flight to spirits, hearts and minds.






For others, it is a time to hold close the comforts of home , family and friends . To fortify thier lives with with love and promise of the lights return. To fill thier hearts with what they reap and to hope and dream of they might sow in the new season of growth to come.






But for all, it is a time to make new friends












and to greet and embrace old ones












to let our hearts bloom with love and light










to determine, prepare and take the steps to achieving our goals













to reach out to the light and to each other







to sprout forth on our plotted courses











to brighten






to warm








To be light hearted and gay

Placed on Front door.












Placed on back door . April 1st. ( aka.. April Fool's Day ) Not original maybe, but it got us and others a few laughs which was the whole point right?









to ponder and reflect in order to find the path most direct









to that which makes us happy










and to be filled by that which nourishes us and makes us whole.








So no mater the direction the wheel of your year is turning, may you find in its coming months all that you need, sprinkled with a bit o' what you may want.

Blessings of the light and fertility of life be upon you !
Ma Fey

Grama Grace's Poor Man's Cake

This was My Grama Grace in 1933
(aka my "Cha-caw-go" Grandma. She was very insistent we learn how to say Chicago properly!) and this is what I inherited as her recipe for a cake she called a "Poor Man's Cake ."

I am making no claim that she invented this cake in any way ! I am only saying that this is how she made them and what she taught me about them and making them .

Poor Mans Cake was big thing in our house. After she and Grampa came to live with us, it became even more important. She would ship these cakes all over to family and friends most often at thier request.

The Magick of the Poor man's cake was all the substitutions you could use to make it work. It was a cake that could be made with what was on hand in the depression era kitchen, and it always tasted the same .. WONDERFUL!!!
For example , if there were no eggs in the house then you could sugstitute with 1 teaspoon baking soda in 2 teaspoons hot water for 1 egg; or if you couldn't get brown sugar,then for each cup needed in brown sugar, you would mix 1 cup white sugar with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the best molasses ( or sorghum) you had on hand .If you didn't have Shortening, you could use lard (don't reduce salt if using lard)or fresh creamery butter and reduce salt in the given recipe to 1/2 teaspoon ). If you didn't have or couldn't afford to buy raisens, but you had dried apricots or cherries or apples or currents or..( you get he picture) other fruites from the tree out back or put up over the summer for winter storage you could use that fruit instead of the raisens. If you had Just a hand full of nut meats you could chop and add them , or if you were lucky enough at Yule to get your hands on an orange , you would grate the peal and use it in the cake for an extra holiday zing, and you didn't waist any part of that precious orange either. (the above photo shows 2 cakes staked. I divided the batter to make 2 some what different cakes and to make them go further.)

Making Grama's Poor Man's Cake also tought us about problem solving, flexibility, and to appreciate what you had and not worry about what you didn't . I often think that being raised by Depression era elders has helped me help my family in so many ways in these currant and in past economically trying times.

I am posting the recipe the way she wrote it and the way I most often use it , but I must admit I do like to play with it a bit, adding different fruits and nuts and some times a bit of chocolate chips ( especially white) to the cake .. I love this cake almost as much as I love my Grama Grace, I am so glade to have such wonderful memories too, they make me feel as though she was right there in my kitchen , filling me with her love and guidance every time i make Grama Grace's Poor Mans Cake.

Grama Grace's Poor Man's Cake
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups good water heated till hot
2 teaspoons shortening
3/4 cup raisins
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground fine
1 teaspoon cloves, ground fine
1/2 teaspoon allspice, ground fine

Boil all the above for 5 minutes, cool!


next add the following:
1 teaspoon baking soda in 2 teaspoons hot water .
stir in well then add:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Mix all together well!!
pour into greased tube pan(s) ( also known as a bundt pan)

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

If you divide the batter over 2 pans, you will want to start checking at 45 minutes for
done-ness ad keep a close eye on it after until done as this cake can burn fast!

If you plan to ship this cake to some one , let it completely cool. then glaze it with a fruite jelly mixed with 3 tablespoons hot water and basted on the whole cake surface . let set 12 hours more on wire rack to "dry" , then sprinkle with a bit of sugar ( powdered) before packing in a wax paper lined cake tin . Ship right away.

Hope you enjoy , it's great in the morning with some scrambled eggs and hot coffee!!

Blessings !
Ma Fey

Aunt D's Apple-Patty-Cake; uses Patty Pan Squash

( this cake takes a little effort and time but it is SOOO worth it!)

Prepare the bundt/tube pan with "bakers grease"

3 Tablespoons flour

3 Tablespoons Vegetable oil

3 Tablespoons good shortening.

Blend together well with an electric hand blender, with an emersion blender or small food processor until well blended, using a basting brush, coat the sides of the tube/bundt pan well being sure to coat all creases and grooves, don’t for get the bottom and tube. The lightly but evenly, dust the coated pan with flour and set aside.

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Note: The large old fashioned “White Flying Saucer” Patty pan is the variety-style-type I am speaking of and working with in this article; there are other variety-style-type of patty pan squash in the garden but these are my favorite for this cake

For the purpose of grating raw for cakes and breads, the skin does not have to be pealed, but if you prefer to do so , the skin is easiest to work with when the skin is White, lightly-green/blue-tinted or palest-palest yellow. As the squash gets older and its skin darkens the patty pan squash will become as hard, or harder than, butternut squash to peal. (Note: When the skin is this tuff is when they are best for baking stuffed, or roasted.)

with a whisk, combine the following in a medium bowl, then set aside

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons of wheat germ,

1teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon of Sea salt.

Using a stand mixer, beat together (or electric hand mixer)

3 eggs,

blend then next three ingredients in small bowl and slowly add to eggs while beating, :

1 cup organic (or regular white) sugar and 1 cup dark or light brown sugar

1teaspoon of dry ginger,

1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg

add the following to egg-sugar-spice mixture

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Beat till smooth then turn off the mixer and let rest 5 minutes.

Beat again at low-medium till the mixture turns light in color, about 1 min

With the mixer on low(stir), add the flour mixture slowly and turn to 2(medium)

beat 1 min.

then with the mixer on stir low, fold in the following:

Add them one at a time, and give at least 15 seconds between the additions to allow the beaters to “extract” moisture from the squash and fruits into the batter.. this is what makes it so moist!

1 1/2 cups of pealed, grated patty pan squash

2 med-large winter banana apples,(or other semi-sweet apple you like)

1 cup of raisins.

1/2 a cup of chopped pecans, (optional)

pour into 2-medim sized prepared tube/bundt or 1 large prepared tube/bundt pan or into large muffin bundts . What ever pan you choose should be no more than 1/2 to 2/3rds full of the batter.

Bake for about 50 min, ( smaller sized pans may need as little as 30 min ) till a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake in several places come out clean and the cake is a med-dark gold-ish brown

To un-mold the Cake(s):

let cake(s) cool in pan for at least 10 minutes ( if they can sit till they are completely cooled it is better) . Give the cake a bit of a giggle in the pan to be sure it is loosed from the sides, if needed take a very thin spatula and run it along the sides of the cake gently to loosen form the pan, then invert it onto a plate lined with wax or parchment paper or onto a wire cooling rack placed over a foil lined pan.

Topping Glaze:

1 and 1/2 cup Apricot-pineapple preserves

3 tablespoons Star Thistle honey

1 tablespoon Vanilla extract

Powdered sugar

Heat the preserves till they are liquid again, add the honey and the vanilla and stir well together. Brush this on to the entire surface of the cake, pushing the preserved fruit pieces to the too to adorn the top. Don’t forget to coat the center. Let this sit for about 5 min then sprinkle with the powered sugar.

To Freeze

If you want to make this ahead and freeze, once you have glazed and sprinkled your cake, cover loosely with waxed or parchment paper and set flat in the freezer till completely frozen. Them wrap 1^st with plastic cling wrap, then foil, then freezer paper to protect.

This cake freezes well for up to 60 days ( at least I have never had one sit any longer in my freezer to find out if it is still good being frozen longer. )

To defrost,

completely unwrap the frozen cake and place it on a cake plate lined with parchment paper about 24 hours before you want to serve it. You may need to re-dust it with powdered sugar.