1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour, measured by spooning into cup
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Filling:
approx 1/2 cup jam or a little more (eg. strawberry, raspberry, blueberry or peach), homemade with fresh fruit if you like
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped (can omit)

Cream butter and sugar. Beat eggs and add to creamed mixture a little at a time, beating after each addition. If it starts to curdle, add a tablespoonful of flour. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Fold dry into wet just until combined, don’t overmix.

Butter two 8 or 9″ round cake pans. Line with wax paper. Pour batter evenly into the pans and gently spread. Bake at 350*F for about 20 – 25 minutes until top springs back when gently pressed, or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Run knife around the edge and turn out gently onto cooling rack. Remove wax paper.

When cool, spread one of the cake rounds generously with jam and whipped cream. Place the other cake round on top, and dust with powdered sugar. Serve for tea.

Alternatives:
Fill with lemon or lime curd.
Fill with frosting – chocolate, vanilla, lemon…
Omit whipped cream.
Fill with frosting and jam.
Fill with fresh berries and whipped cream.
Serve with fresh berries and/or ice cream.
Flavor the cake with grated lemon or orange rind.
Moisten with simple sugar syrup brushed over the cake.

Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar and 1 cup water brought to a boil and simmered for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, and allow to cool. Add flavorings as desired, such as raspberry, orange or almond extract, liqueur flavored extract, pureed fruit, 3 tablespoons instant coffee, etc.

These are best made 3 to 4 weeks in advance and allowed to mellow.

Mom’s Christmas Fruitcake
Makes 2 loaves

1 cup butter or shortening
1 cup brown sugar
6 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup orange juice
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups raisins
1 lb candied fruit mix (3 generous cups) *the kind with lots of cherries
1 cup nuts – walnuts are good, or can substitute pecans

Cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs. Stir in juice. Combine dry ingredients and add to moist. Fold in raisins, fruit mix and nuts.

Grease loaf pans, then line with a strip of wax paper (does not need to cover ends) with about an inch of overhang on either side to make it easier to remove cake from pan after baking.

Bake at 300* 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Start checking at an hour. It is done when top feels firm and springy to the touch, or when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Wrap fruitcake in waxpaper, then in a dishtowel and store in cold, dark closet, or in a big Tupperware container. Put in the fridge or freeze if you don’t have a cold, dark closet or cupboard.

The story goes that on at least one occasion my Swedish great grandma cured her fruitcakes by hanging them on the wall in the pans, top side facing the wall It was a desperate move to keep her 5 boys from finding them!

Sour Cream Chicken and Mashed Potato Casserole

1 cup sliced onions (approx)
1 tomato, diced
1 cup frozen spinach (more if you like)
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp butter

5-6 medium potatoes (enough for 6 servings)
1/3 cup sour cream
sprinkle of parmesan cheese (1 – 2 Tbsp)

2 lbs chicken breast (2-3)
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp butter

1/4 – 1/3 cup sour cream
2/3 – 1 cup milk
sprinkle of parmesan

Butter casserole dish and preheat oven to 400*F. Put on pot of water to boil for the potatoes,
and heat a skillet on medium heat.

Saute onions in butter until beginning to brown. Add tomato and spinach and saute
until tender. Season to taste. Remove from pan and place in bottom of casserole.

Peel and quarter potatoes. Boil until just tender but still firm (not mushy!). Drain
and mash with sour cream and parmesan cheese. Layer on top of spinach and onion mixture.

While onions are sauteing and potatoes are boiling, cut chicken breasts in half (lengthwise) and then slice.
Toss with flour, garlic, salt and pepper. Saute in butter until browned and done through
(no longer pink inside). Stir in sour cream, and milk to make gravy.
Sprinkle with a little more parmesan. Layer on top of mashed potatoes.

Cover and place in 400* oven for 15-20 minutes until heated through and bubbly.
Serve with crusty french bread and green salad.

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups fresh peaches, chopped (2 to 3 large peaches, skins and pits removed)

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Toss 1/4 cup of the flour with the chopped peaches to coat. Stir together the dry ingredients – the remaining 2 3/4 cups flour, salt and baking powder. Gradually stir flour mixture into creamed mixture just until smooth and well combined. Fold in peaches (or other fruit). Grease a 10 inch tube pan with butter and then coat with white sugar. Bake 60-70 min at 325* until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 min and then turn upside down on a wire rack to cool. Serve topped with fresh fruit or fruit sauce and whipped cream. Or plain sliced with a cup of tea.

Hint: An easy way to skin peaches is to blanch them. Immerse in boiling water for about 40-60 seconds. Then take them out and cool until you can handle them. The skins should just slip right off in your hands.

Variations: There are a kazillion variations of pound cake, so just to get your creative juices flowing, I’ll list a bunch of ideas right here. Use common sense – don’t try too many in one cake!

- Leave the skins on the peaches.
- Bake in a 9×13 pan and sprinkle the top with a little sugar (brown, white or turbinado).
- Make a half-batch in a loaf pan.
- Substitute frozen or canned peaches (or other fruit)
- Use other fruit, such as nectarines, apricots, plums, apples, cherries, blueberries, pineapple, coconut, raisins, etc…or a combination
- Add chopped nuts.
- Add up to 1 tsp of almond extract, lemon extract, or a little cinnamon.
- Add 2 to 4 tsp (or more!) lemon, lime or orange zest. Add 1/4 cup lemon, lime or 1/2 cup or more of orange juice.
- Layer in jam. (Put half batter in pan. Drizzle in jam. Top with remaining batter.)
- Leave out the fruit altogether.
- Make it chocolate! Add 1/4 to 3/4 cup cocoa powder. (Mix in with the flour).
- Increase richness and sweetness, increasing the sugar to as much as 3 cups, the eggs up to as much as 6 and the butter to as much as 1 1/2 cups, (or use 1 cup butter and 1/2 cup shortening).
- Substitute cake flour for the all-purpose.
- Reduce flour to as little as 2 cups (if leaving out fruit).
- Substitute brown sugar for all or part of the white sugar.
- Reduce sugar to 1 1/2 cups. You could try going as low as 1 cup sugar if making a plain pound cake, but you may appreciate more sweetness if using fresh fruit or chocolate.
- Add up to 1 cup (8oz) sour cream or cream cheese, buttermilk or yogurt, using 1/4 tsp baking soda instead of baking powder.
- Reduce or omit the baking powder or baking soda altogether.
- Add up to about 1 or 1 1/4 cups of milk (or cream, evaporated milk or condensed milk), fruit juice, coffee (especially if making a chocolate pound cake), or soda pop(!).
- Top with a glaze, or a dusting of powdered sugar.

The original Original pound cake was made with 1 lb butter, 1 lb sugar, 1 lb flour, and 1 lb eggs, no leavening or other liquid added. This equates to about 2 cups butter, 2 – 2 1/4 cups sugar, 3 3/4 – 4 cups flour, and about 8 or 9 large eggs. (A half-batch would be about 1 cup butter, 1 heaping cup sugar, 2 scant cups flour and 4 or 5 eggs). This makes a dense, not very sweet, and potentially dry cake if not made right (hence the addition of some kind of moist ingredient, liquid, or fruit in most recipes; more sugar; and often a little leavener). But it’s a good baseline from which to start, and refer back to when creating your own variations.

It is recommended to have all ingredients at room temperature, and to use high quality ingredients for best results. Don’t overmix the batter; it does not benefit from prolonged beating. And bake just until done – overbaking always creates a drier product.

Small Batch
1/4 cup salt
1 cup flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp oil

Mix together salt and flour. Stir in water, then add oil. Knead well until smooth and pliable. If necessary, sprinkle a little flour on surface as you knead.

Medium Batch
1/2 cup salt
2 cups flour
3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp oil

Mix and knead, as above.

Large Batch
1 cup salt
4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup oil

Mix and knead, as above.

To make sculptures, ornaments, beads, or other shapes:
Shape dough as desired. You can shape by hand, press into a mold, or roll out the dough and use cookie cutters. If making hanging ornaments, don’t forget to put a hole near the top for the ribbon or string – a straw work well to punch a hole. Allow to dry for about 3 days. Then bake at 350*F for 30-45 minutes, depending on thickness of pieces. Watch carefully to prevent scorching. Cool and paint with acrylic paints or watercolors (if using watercolor, don’t use too much or it will start to dissolve your salt dough). You can also color the dough while mixing with food coloring or spices. Or, glue on decorations or sparkles or use glitter glue or metallic paint. As a final optional step of preservation, you can seal with a coat or two of varnish (but that’s not for kids – phew!).

Store leftover dough in ziploc bag in the fridge or freezer.

Alternate Really Salty and Really Really Salty Recipes (no oil in these):

Really Salty Salt Dough
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
3/4 cup water

Really Really Salty Salt Dough
1 cup flour
1 cup salt
not quite 1 cup water (1 cup will be too much, so add gradually and stir until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl nicely.)

Knead well. Shape. Bake at about 200-225*F for 2-3 hours, depending on thickness of pieces. You can turn the pieces part way through if they’re thick. Cool and paint or decorate.

Fry bacon over medium heat until brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels and blot grease. Allow to cool and then crumble.
Stir together mayonnaise and sour cream until well combined. Add bacon, onions and chives and stir in. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir in tomatoes right before serving. Serve with crackers, crispbread, bagel chips or similar.

Basically, just fold whipped cream into chopped fresh and/or drained canned fruit. You can even add raisins (or dried cranberries, cherries, or berries), flaked coconut, marshmallows, or unsalted nuts (like walnuts, pecans or sliced almonds). Use your creativity, favorite fruits, and what you have on hand.

Here’s a couple of basic recipes to give an idea.

Whipped Cream Fruit Salad made with Fruit Cocktail and Marshmallows
30 oz can fruit cocktail, drained well (blot dry on paper towel)
8 oz can mandarin oranges or pineapple chunks, drain well and blot dry
1 1/2 – 2 cups marshmallows (opt)
approx 1 cup whipped cream (lightly sweetened or to taste)

Fresh Fruit and Whipped Cream Salad
1 – 2 apples, cored and chopped fairly small
1 – 2 bananas, sliced or chopped into chunks
1 – 2 cups seedless grapes (approx), halved
approx 1 – 2 cups whipped cream (sweetened to taste)

Some other great fruits to use are:
fresh sweet dark cherries, halved, pits removed
pears, peeled, cored and chopped
kiwi, peeled and chopped
strawberries, tops removed, sliced or chopped
blueberries
raspberries
peaches, fresh or canned, skinned and chopped

Zucchini Sabzi

2 zucchini, cubed (cut in quarters lengthwise and then chopped)
1 – 1 1/2 Tbsp butter
approx 1/2 cup onions, finely sliced or chopped
1/2 – 1 tomato, chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 – 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin (jeera), ground or whole

variation: add diced jalapeno, a pinch of cayenne or hot red chili powder for heat; minced garlic, minced ginger, or whole or ground coriander (dhaniya) to taste.
optional garnish: fresh cilantro or coriander leaves; pinch garam masala.

Heat butter over medium heat and saute onions until carmelized (light brown). Stir in tomatoes and spices. Add zucchini and mix well. Cover and simmer until zucchini is tender. If too juicy, remove lid and cook a couple more minutes to reduce liquid.

Fudge

1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 cup milk

2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp vanilla or other flavoring (I used orange extract)

Stir together the cocoa, sugar, salt, corn syrup and milk in a heavy bottomed, medium size saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to 234*F on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla and beat until it is no longer glossy (this may take several minutes). Pour into a buttered dish and allow to cool, undisturbed. Cut into small squares and wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap.

Buttermilk Waffles

3 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups buttermilk (or soured milk)
1/2 cup oil (or melted butter if you want to be decadent)
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Plug in waffle iron to heat while you mix the batter. Stir together dry ingredients. Add wet and beat until smooth. Let batter sit until waffle iron is hot. If you’re using a traditional Belgian style waffle iron, it will take about 3/4 cup batter for each waffle, and will make about 10 waffles. Serve with butter and warm homemade brown sugar syrup, honey, jam, fruit sauce, or fresh sliced fruit and whipped cream.

Any leftover waffles should be covered (such as with an overturned bowl or with plastic wrap) and can be stored in the fridge. Or, you can put them in a plastic bag and freeze them. Waffles can be reheated in the microwave, toaster, toaster oven or regular oven.