FROM THE KITCHEN AT CRICKET MEADOW
By Julianne Johnson
Several years ago, as often happened, we were at my parent's farm for my husband's and my birthday celebration. We share the same day and it was a lovely night, spent with family, eating a wonderful home cooked meal and ending with gifts and birthday cake, complete with candles. This particular night I remember distinctly because, as we drove away, I was flooded with emotion and loneliness realizing that someday I wouldn't have this experience. I wouldn't be able to drop in and have morning coffee with my Dad, discussing politics, the world situation, the market report, the crop status. I couldn't eat my Mom's delicious meals, read the Bible with her and pray for everything on my heart and hers, to discuss my amazing children that she loved like her own.
I have never forgotten the feeling or the image that night of the silo, barn and farmhouse, cozy and lit up, as I looked back with wistful longing. A longing for my parents, my childhood home, the fellowship, the safety that comes with the older generation in place and loving on me and my young family, giving and supporting us in word and deed.
A few years later, my Dad was gone and, then the farm was gone. It is natural, yes, inevitable, sure. But, as we now head into our 60's and 70's, I fully realize how fleeting life is, how quickly we passed into the roles of married adults, parents, grandparents. I'm reminded of Psalm 71:18 where the Psalmist pleads, "Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me." This is now my life verse.
I love John Mayer's song, "Stop this Train," where he declares "Stop this train, I want to get off and go home again...don't wanna see my parents go, one generation's length away from fighting life out on my own...so scared of getting older, I'm only good at being young..."
Now as I reflect on this new decade I'm encountering, I resolve, by God's grace, to enjoy each day, live my life doing His will and trying to bless others, spend as much time as I can with my family and embrace the fact that people say, "She's 60!" Instead of, "She WOULD have been 60!"
Pass the cake. And more candles, please!
SCRIPTURE CAKE
1 cup Judges 5:25 (butter)
1 cup Jeremiah 6:20 (sugar)
1 tablespoon I Samuel 14:25 (honey)
3 Jeremiah 17:11 (eggs)
1 cup I Samuel 30:12 second food (raisins)
1 cup Nahum 3:12 (figs), chopped
1/4 cup Numbers 17:8 (almonds), blanched and chopped
2 cups 1 Kings 4:22 (flour)
1 teaspoon Amos 4:5 (leavening, such as baking soda)
3 tablespoons Judges 4:19 last sentence (milk)
Pinch of Leviticus 2:13 (salt)
II Chronicles 9:9 (spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg)
In a large mixing bowl, cream Judges (butter), Jeremiah (sugar), and I Samuel (honey).
Beat in the 3 Jeremiahs (eggs), one at a time. Add I Samuel (raisins), Nahum (figs), and Numbers (almonds), and beat again.
Sift together I Kings (flour), II Chronicles (spices), Leviticus (salt), and Amos (leavening, or baking soda). Add to first mixture. Lastly, add Judges (milk). Bake at 325 degrees for 1 and 1/2 hours, or until done.
BACK ON THE FARM PLUM UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
6 to 8 plums, depending on size
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter (8 tablespoons), divided
1-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Use a paring knife to cut the plums in half through the center, twist and separate. Remove the pits. If the pits don't come out with ease, use your paring knife to cut them out. Set aside.
Sprinkle the brown sugar to cover the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan. Dot 2 tablespoons of the butter over the brown sugar. Set the pan directly on a burner of your stove over low heat. Allow the butter and sugar to melt together, swirling occasionally so nothing burns. Place the plums cut-side-down into the cake pan so the fruits are touching. Start with the outside perimeter of that pan and work your way to the center. Set aside. Put the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir with a fork and set aside. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs and mix until thoroughly blended. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix again. Add the flour mixture and to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix together into a creamy, smooth batter. Pour the batter over the plums. Set in the oven with a baking sheet beneath to catch any plum juices that may spill over. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely in the pan, at least an hour. To remove cake, set a plate large enough to cover the pan on top. Flip the plate over so the cake inverts onto it. Lift off the cake pan.
Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONFETTI CAKE
8 tablespoons butter
2-3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
5 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles or jimmies, plus more for decorating
FROSTING
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
3-1/4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
1/4 cup milk
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans; dust with flour, and tap out the excess. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Beat the butter, sugar and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla until combined. Alternate folding the flour mixture and the milk into the batter with a spatula, adding the flour in three additions and the milk in two, starting and ending with the flour, until just smooth. Add the sprinkles, and fold 3 or 4 times until just blended to prevent the colors from bleeding too much. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes on the same oven rack until golden on top and the centers spring back to the touch, 35 to 40 minutes. Rotate the pans about halfway through if they seem to be browning unevenly. Let cool in the pans about 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks and let cool completely.
For the frosting: While the cakes cool, beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar. Once it's all been added, increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until white and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla until blended. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk, and beat to incorporate. Beat in the remaining milk, one tablespoon at a time (the frosting will be spreadable but not runny). Place 1 cake layer right-side up on a cake plate or stand, and spread with 1 cup of the frosting. Top with the second cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Decorate the top with additional sprinkles.
