Apricot-Nectar Cake

This recipe came from my Grandmother. I know this because it says so on the little recipe card I've been using for many, many years. Honestly, though, I don't remember her ever making this cake. I'm sure she did. It's just that when I think of her cooking -- and she was a really good Southern cook -- I always think of her biscuits. Nobody ever made homemade biscuits the way she did. I wanted so badly to learn how. I had the flour bowl and all the other ingredients. But she didn't know how to teach anyone else how to make them. She just sort of threw ingredients into her flour bowl and out came the best tasting biscuits ever. So that recipe is lost. At least this one isn't.

This is a cake my Mother made on a regular basis. I always enjoyed making it because it's good and it tastes like it requires more effort than it does. I love to cook but sometimes time is an issue. When it is, try this. You'll love it and so will your guests.

Apricot-Nectar Cake

1/2 cup Wesson oil

1/2 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 cup Apricot Nectar

1 box Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake Mix

Mix all ingredients, blending well. Pour into a tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour and 15 minutes.

Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 or 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

juice of two lemons

Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice. The exact amount of powdered sugar depends on how much juice you get from the lemons. Remember that this is a glaze. You need to be able to pour it over the cake -- and then enjoy your super-easy cake.

Apricot Nectar Cake

Carrot Cake

We've been searching for what seems like forever for two jars of junior baby food carrots. My mother uses them to make Carrot Cake. So do I. It works. They taste fine in the cake and no one knows you cheated unless you tell them.

There comes a point, however, when it's time to throw in the towel. Just give up. Grate the carrots. Put them in the food processor. Just get on with it! I reached that point about a year ago. I was alone. My mother never gave up hope. So we've searched for junior baby food carrots in Target and Walmart. We've done so at the commissary (repeatedly!) and at more supermarkets than I care to remember. No junior baby food carrots.

The other day Mother came in and -- you guessed it -- she produced two jars of junior baby food carrots from a brown paper bag. They were suddenly at the commissary. I don't know if the folks out there simply decided to start selling them or if the pleading talk I had with a baby food company rep influenced their decision. I don't even care. We've got the carrots. Now, maybe, we'll get the cake.

Carrot Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Crisco oil
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrots OR 2 jars junior baby food carrots

Sift flour, baking soda and salt. Mix with sugar. Beat in oil. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add carrots.

Cut wax paper to fit cake pans. Use margarine on each side of wax paper, then place the wax paper in each pan. Grease sides of the pans.

Divide batter equally in three or four cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until cake starts to pull away from sides.

Frosting

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 stick margarine, softened
1 box confectioners sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend cream cheese, margarine and sugar. Add vanilla. Stir in nuts until well blended.

Frost cake.

Cornflake Candy

There are few foods I love more than peanut butter. As a child I would dip a teaspoon into the jar and fill it with smooth peanut butter. I would savor it slowly, like a special treat. I suppose this is much like some folks view chocolate. It's that moment when it enters your mouth and the taste is so delicious that it causes your eyes to close so you can fully concentrate on the taste.

While I don't do the teaspoon tasting anymore, I sure haven't given up my love for peanut butter. This candy is a special treat because it's made with -- ta da! -- peanut butter.

Cornflake Candy

1 cup Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
5 cups cornflakes

Cook Karo and sugar over medium heat until it reaches a white, rolling boil. Remove the mixture from the heat. Stir in peanut butter and cornflakes. Drop teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. It's best to have two spoons going. Use one to scoop and the other to shove it on to the wax paper. It is very sticky. Let it cool. Eat.

Crispix Mix

This snack mix is something my Mother always makes during the holidays. I don't know why she doesn't make it during other times of the year. It's perfect for any season. This year she made an extra batch in honor of the BCS Championship Game. For those who don't have a clue, Alabama Won. Roll Tide Roll!! This snack should, however, come with a warning. The more you eat, the more you want.

Crispix Mix

1 cup Crispix cereal
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup pretzel sticks
3 tablespoons margarine, melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Combine cereal, nuts and pretzels in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.

In a separate bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. Pour over cereal mixture. Stir until evenly coated.

Bake at 250 degrees about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread out on paper towels to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Black-Eyed Peas

I hope everyone already has their black-eyed peas in a pan soaking. For those of you who aren't privileged to be Southern, black-eyed peas are a tradition. The saying goes that you'll have one day of good luck for every pea you eat on New Year's Day. I don't know if it's true or not. I was never able to eat that many peas in one day, though I did try as a child. Did you know that black-eyed peas have a way of expanding in your stomach?

The other tradition -- another way of saying superstition in this God-fearing land --is to never, ever wash clothes on New Year's Day. The belief is that if you do you'll be "washing for a corpse" before the year ends. I don't have any idea where that comes from but my Mother has always preached it. Every year. To everyone who will listen and quite a few who don't. Her mother believed it. Her mother-in-law believed it. Frankly, it's easier to bypass the washer and eat.

Black-Eyed Peas

1 bag of dried black-eyed peas
salt and pepper to season
piece of ham, slice of bacon, or other meat for seasoning

Place peas in a pan of water. Soak overnight. The peas will greatly expand during this process.

Wash the peas thoroughly. Place in a boiler with water. Add the meat and a little salt and pepper to season. I've used a slice of bacon or a piece of ham left over from Christmas. Of course, you're supposed to add something I would never dream of buying much less touching. Trust me. Ham or bacon works just as well.

Be prepared to cook the peas for a couple of hours. They're done when the peas are tender. That means soft. You may need to add more water. If you let the water cook out, you'll have burned peas. Not a good way to start the year.

Oh, and don't forget the cornbread. Happy New Year!
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Baked Ham

Has everyone had a wonderful Christmas? I did. I ate my way through. It was fabulous! I've never been one to run around during the holidays telling everyone what I can't eat or even what I shouldn't eat. I choose to eat too much. It's Christmas!!!

One staple of al lSouthern holiday dinners is Baked Ham. I supposed everyone has their own recipe for this. I got mine from my Mother years and years ago. I always used it and people love eating at my house. Well, this year she decided to use a different recipe. I didn't even know that was allowed! I thought there was some kind ofrule that says mothers always have to use the same, good recipes they've always used. The new recipe was fine. But not the same. Christmas is filled with traditions. So here's my recipe for Baked Ham!I know you'll love it!

Baked Ham

Ham -- I prefer the pre-sliced kind
brown sugar
coke -- the real stuff, no diet or cherry flavored allowed

Use two sheets of tin foil to make a "nest" for the ham. Place in a baking pan with at least 2" sides. Put ham in its nest. Place brown sugar on the ham. I pat it all over so that the ham is coated in brown sugar. Pour the coke on top of this. Now you know why you needed a pan with sides on it.

Bake in a 325 degree oven 20 minutes for each pound of ham. Serve warm.

If you're lucky you can use leftovers for sandwiches. Just take sliced ham and place on a croissant. Add mustard, lettuce, cheese. Even tomato, if you must. Watch everyone around you eye your lunch with envy. Enjoy!

M and M Party Cookies

I've been baking these cookies for longer than I care to admit. They're one of my Mother's favorites. They're good to eat any time of the year but I love to use the red and green M & M's that come out during Christmas. It just makes them extra special. And who can resist M & M's? Not me for sure.

M & M Party Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups M & M plain candies

Using a mixer, blend the shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar together. Mix thoroughly. Beat in vanilla and eggs.

Mix together flour, salt and baking soda. The original recipe called for sifting the flour and then sifting the salt and baking soda with it. I've never done the sifting part. It works just fine without that step.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar/shortening mixture. Blend thoroughly. Using a spoon or spatula, stir in 3/4 cup of the M & M candies.

Use a teaspoon to drop the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate the tops with the remaining candies. I always try to make sure I have a mixture of red and green candies on top.

Bake at 375 degrees to about 10 minutes. The cookies should be golden brown. Remove the cookies with a spatula and cool completely on a wire rack.