Peeps are Here

Posted on April 19, 2014April 19, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Last year I was still working at my previous employer and that means I was going into an office every day. We were quite a social group and often had pot luck parties. Around Easter last year we had a Spring party and I contributed a “Peeps Sunflower Cake”. Some of my long time readers may remember it.

Since I no longer go into an office regularly and when we do, lunch is usually delivered, I haven’t done any baking since Christmas. (I’m supposed to be losing weight. Just ask my Doctor). But a few weeks ago I ran across a recipe for another “peeps cake”. I cut it out and left it on the end table.

Every night I’d look at it sitting there. Some nights I’d pick it up and read it. Oh I was tempted to try it. It looked so pretty.

Well I finally gave in. The problem was that once I got into it I realized I didn’t have the right size cake pans. It’s a 4 layer cake and even if a 9″ pan worked I only had 3 pans. I could use the 9″ pans and have skinny layers or I could do the right thing and get 4 new 8″ pans. I’d already been to the store and had all the ingredients. It would be a shame to quit now.

So off to Michael’s Craft Store I went. Sure enough, they had 8″ cake pans. They aren’t cheap! But I consoled myself that I’d have them for future cakes.

I baked the cake after work and let the layers cool completely. In the morning I frosted and decorated the layers. And here’s the end result 🙂

I do love being creative!

What’s Your Favorite Easter Candy?

Posted on April 17, 2014April 17, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Easter is almost here. I remember Easter Sunday services. They were a big deal when I was growing up. We always had on our EASTER Sunday best.

You see there was our Sunday best but on Easter we really went all out.

We had hats (Easter bonnets) and white gloves and the first time I was allowed to wear stockings and pointy high heels was on an Easter Sunday. I remember one year Jackie Kennedy had made pill box hats the fashion so that year I had to wear one on Easter.

I went to church every Sunday. I was active in the choir but my Dad only went to church on High Holidays…Christmas and Easter. I remember one Easter I had the Easter Sunday Solo. I was scared to death but so proud that both my Mom and Dad were in the congregation that day.

After the church service we’d all stay for the traditional Easter Egg hunt.

Up in the Adirondacks it was not unusual for snow to still be on the ground where there was shade. Snow banks and snow patches were perfect places for those colored eggs. I wonder if my old church still has Easter Egg hunts.

Back home we got our Easter Baskets. They always had a chocolate bunny as the center peice but the really special Easter candy was a sugar egg. I never see them anymore. They were so pretty and delicate. They were almost magical. Eventually the egg got eaten just like the chocolate bunny and the jelly beans but part of me always hated to eat something so pretty.

As an adult I could almost believe that I dreamed it up but I remember the way the sugar melted on my tongue. It was like eating a sugar cube. But I could never find them anywhere. Then about 6 years ago I found them in a little candy shop in Old Saybrook , CT. I said I’d go back to get one at Easter but I never did.

Recently I did a search on the internet and I found them. There weren’t too many places to get them and they are really expensive but they are just as beautiful as I remember.

So what’s your favorite Easter Candy?

Valentine’s Day in History

Posted on February 14, 2014February 14, 2014 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

I ran across this article on the site This Day in History and thought it was worth a share.

Feb 14, 278:

St. Valentine beheaded

On February 14 around the year 278 A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed.

Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.

To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.

When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.

Legend also has it that while in jail, St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer’s daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it “From Your Valentine.”

For his great service, Valentine was named a saint after his death.

In truth, the exact origins and identity of St. Valentine are unclear. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February.” One was a priest in Rome, the second one was a bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy) and the third St. Valentine was a martyr in the Roman province of Africa.

Legends vary on how the martyr’s name became connected with romance. The date of his death may have become mingled with the Feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of love. On these occasions, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, and he declared that February 14 be celebrated as St Valentine’s Day.

Gradually, February 14 became a date for exchanging love messages, poems and simple gifts such as flowers.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2014February 14, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Without Valentine’s Day, February would be… well, January. ~Jim Gaffigan

New Year the Chinese Way

Posted on February 6, 2014February 6, 2014 by Dusty Roads

It’s the Chinese New Year but unlike Western New Year the Chinese New Year lasts much longer. Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Year’s Eve, the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar. Boston’s Chinatown is holding it’s festivities on Sunday Feb 9, that is if it doesn’t get snowed out.

It seems every time I go to write about something we get another storm. We just finished our 2nd snow storm of the week and if we get the storm on Sunday it will be a trifecta. I know, I live in New England and it snows in New England. Suck it up cupcake! But seriously, I’m getting worn out from this winter that has hit us with one storm after another. Granted they haven’t been blockbusters, but at the rate things are going the next big storm could be right around the corner.

Back to The Chinese New Year. This year is the Year of the Horse. I thought that was really cool. I like horses but the Year of the Horse doesn’t really have much to do with horses at all.

The Horse is one of 12 symbols in the Chinese Zodiac. The Year of the Horse starts from Jan. 31, 2014 (the Lunar New Year / Spring Festival of China ) and lasts to Feb. 18, 2015

So what can you expect from the Year of the Horse? This is the description provided on the astrology page about the Year of the Horse: The spirit of the horse is recognized to be the Chinese people’s ethos – making unremitting efforts to improve themselves. It is energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent and able. Ancient people liked to designate an able person as ‘Qianli Ma’, a horse that covers a thousand li a day (one li equals 500 meters).

Strengths
People born in the year of the horse have ingenious communicating techniques and in their community they always want to be in the limelight. They are clever, kind to others, and like to join in a venture career. Although they sometimes talk too much, they are cheerful, perceptive, talented, earthy but stubborn. They like entertainment and large crowds. They are popular among friends, active at work and refuse to be reconciled to failure, although their endeavor cannot last indefinitely.

Weaknesses
They cannot bear too much constraint. However their interest may be only superficial and lacking real substance. They are usually impatient and hot blooded about everything other than their daily work. They are independent and rarely listen to advice. Failure may result in pessimism. They usually have strong endurance but with bad temper. Flamboyant by nature, they are wasteful since they are not good with matters of finance due to a lack of budgetary efficiency. Some of those who are born in the horse like to move in glamorous circles while pursuing high profile careers. They tend to interfere in many things and frequently fail to finish projects of their own.

Interesting. But I’m only a Rabbit