ROMPER, STOMPER, BOMPER, BOO...

As a kid, I loved March 29^th. Birthdays were special days, and then some, in my home. My mom was Party Central for my brothers and me. She had 2 or 3 parties for each of us with all of our favorite foods. And cakes. And gifts.

The only disappointment was that I never got what I really wanted in the gift department. When I was about 5, and never missed an episode of Romper Room, I began to hint for a “car.” Remember the milk wagon? The cute little truck that delivered milk to the children on the show? Well, I wanted it. I dreamed of it, daydreamed of it and begged incessantly for just such a vehicle. It’s funny my parents kept letting me watch Romper Room, for all the agitation it brought.

I just could not fathom why they couldn’t make that happen for me, but year after year I was disappointed to find that was one wish that wasn’t going to come true. When I was about 10, my parents began letting me drive on quiet country roads by moving way over in the driver’s seat to accommodate my arms on the steering wheel and my feet on the pedals. Then, when they realized my desire to be a teamster, let me drive lunch to the field (on the field road only) and soon I was able to get my farm permit and run errands like picking up twine for the baler, graphite for the planter, feed for the cattle.

This morning as I drove the John Deere Gator I realized what a perfect vehicle that would have been for me all those years ago. I love driving it and anything else I get behind the wheel of. So today, on my birthday, all these years later, I have a “no gift” policy. But I am behind the wheel of my dream vehicle and there is a confetti angel food cake waiting for me in the kitchen. That is all the gift I need or want.

BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST CAKE

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

4 eggs

3 cups flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

21 ounce can cherry pie filling

1/2 cup sliced almonds

In a mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter. Stir in vanilla and almond extract. Beat in eggs. Add flour and baking powder and mix well. Spread 2/3 of batter in a greased jelly roll pan. Batter will be scant and thin. Scatter spoonfuls of cherry filling over the top then dot remaining batter on top of that. Using the back of a spoon, flatten each mound of batter slightly. Sprinkle sliced almonds over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 28 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.

FAVORITE COCONUT BIRTHDAY CAKE  

4 egg whites

1-2/3 cups sugar

1 cup butter

2-1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/4 cups coconut milk

3 teaspoons coconut flavoring

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 ounces white chocolate

4 cups powdered sugar

2 cups coconut

Beat egg whites in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/3 cup of the sugar, beating continuously until stiff peaks form; set aside. Cream 1/2 cup butter in a medium bowl with mixer on medium speed. Beat in flour. Sift in baking powder, salt and the remaining 1-1/3 cups sugar, beating until the mixture is sand-like. Add 1 cup coconut milk to butter mixture with 2 teaspoons coconut flavoring and vanilla, beating until combined. Add the egg white mixture with the mixer on low speed, beating just until combined. Do not overbeat. Divide batter evenly between two greased and floured 8-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. For the frosting, place white chocolate in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl and heat in microwave for 30 seconds; remove and stir. Add remaining 1/4 cup coconut milk, the remaining 1 teaspoon coconut flavoring and the powdered sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well combined. Cool to room temperature. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup butter. When fluffy, frost bottom layer of cooled cake. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of coconut. Place the other cake on top. Frost and sprinkle the remaining coconut over top.

RETRO BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES

1 package white cake mix

3 ounce package strawberry jello

1 cup boiling water

Whipped cream

Prepare cake mix according to package directions, using egg white version. Fill 24 paper lined muffin cups. Bake as directed on box. Let cupcakes cool in pan for 15 minutes. Spray a fork with non-stick spray; pierce cupcakes with the fork at 1/4 inch intervals. Place cupcakes on a paper towel-lined tray and set aside. Combine gelatin with boiling water, stirring until dissolved. Spoon liquid over cupcakes. Chill for 3 hours. Frost with your favorite frosting or top with sweetened whipped cream. 

A SHORT-LIVED BUT GRAVE UNDERTAKING

When I was a 14- year- old country girl trying out ideas for my future, I discovered an opportunity to volunteer at the Meeker County Memorial Hospital. The position of “candystriper” came to my attention. Those days that was as glamorous as “flight attendant” in my mind and seemed to fit with my servant nature, which was honed daily at the side of my farmwife Mom. She thought it would be a great experience for me. And so I promptly talked my dear cousin and best pal Kathy into joining me in this lofty endeavor.

Always eager for another adventure, Kathy gleefully agreed. School was out for the summer and we were anxious to try something new and exciting. However, since we both lived 16 miles from Litchfield, we had to make arrangements for being shuttled to our 2 hour weekly job. In those days, trips off the farm were planned far in advance, never a spontaneous jaunt that didn’t include various stops. Mom drove us a few times, filling the car with groceries as she waited, Dad brought us once and went to the dentist and the John Deere store, Kathy’s big brother Richard even ushered us to town once, as I recall.

We were quite excited to don our new uniforms: pink and white striped jumpers. We looked like peppermint sticks. Our duties included bringing floral arrangements to the rooms, delivering meal trays to the patients, freshening their water glasses, basically following the nurses around to help them when needed. We learned to change bedding on the patients’ beds (a skill I already had down to perfection, thanks to training by my invalid aunt when she wanted fresh sheets on her own bed. It was she who taught me to make the “hospital corners” on each end that I still practice to this day).

We only lasted about 6 weeks. I remember exactly the day we resigned and why. Towards the end of my shift, I was finishing topping off water glasses in each room in my section. I filled the glass of an old man who appeared to be asleep. Upon leaving his bedside, I witnessed a gurney being rolled into the room by a doctor and a couple of attendants. They asked me to step outside and, suspicious, I waited around the corner until I saw them leave with the man. Totally covered. Totally dead. I was totally done.

When I breathlessly informed Kathy of what I had just witnessed, she willingly handed over her jumper that day, as well. Wimps? Yup. We wanted to escape the world of sickness and confinement. Not sorry we had tried our hands at care-giving but, oh, so happy to return to the carefree days of summer with no dead bodies in it. We rejoiced at the thought of picking rocks, baling hay, baking cakes, canning tomatoes. It was the best summer of our lives in comparison to our latest undertaking. No disrespect intended.

GET WELL CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

4 cups chicken, cooked and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 bay leaf

4 whole allspice

8 to 12 cups chicken broth

8 ounces noodles

Salt and pepper, to taste

Fresh parsley, cut up

In a stockpot, sauté onion and celery in butter for 5 minutes. Add bay leaf and allspice. Stir in carrots and broth. Simmer. Add noodles and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Add chicken and parsley before serving.

PEPPERMINT STICKS

3/4 cup butter

6 tablespoons sugar, plus additional for dipping

1 egg, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 cup crushed peppermint sticks

Hershey kisses

In a mixing bowl, blend butter with 6 tablespoons sugar. Mix in egg yolk and vanilla. Blend in flour, 1/4 cup at a time. Stir in crushed candies by hand. Beat egg white until frothy. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Dip top of each into egg white and then into extra sugar. Place on cookie sheet, sugared side up. Put thumbprint in top of each cookie and top with a Hershey kiss. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.

BACK HOME LEMON POPPY SEED LOAF

3 cups flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup lemon juice

3/4 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons lemon zest

1/2 cup poppy seeds

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Stir in lemon juice and sour cream. Add dry ingredients. Stir in lemon zest and poppy seeds. Pour into 2 greased 9 by 5 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan.