What did you learn in 2024? Anything new? Or did you visit the same unresolved issues? I re-learned that I make my own life, so I have no one to blame for my mistakes but ME. I also re-learned that no matter how hard I try, I can’t change others or carry their burdens. I enjoy my writers group, mostly. My son is improving in some areas. Politics continues to suck. I heard someone call their dog the same nickname they call me. Bye-bye!
Wild Cooking Woman 1/7/25
A Baker’s Dozen
Are the foods in your shopping cart ultra-processed? Play this game to find out. I learned something!
Do you know what a “yoga boob” is? Plastic surgeons do.
Having a reasonable work ethic does not require any particular skills or certifications.
Did you know there are 19 items professional chefs never refrigerate? I was surprised, and immediately made space in my fridge.
As a public school teacher, I had a pottery jar (with a cork stopper) that said “Ashes of problem students” on my desk. Some of the ashes were from my fireplace. Here are some other uses for fireplace ashes.
Take another road home is the message of the Magi. In The Cottage, Diana Butler Bass writes: ” A megalomaniacal authoritarian despot exercised his power to destroy the weakest members of society. Jesus’ family fled to Egypt as refugees. The Magi escaped by a different route. ” See Matthew 2:1-18.
As President Biden prepares to leave American politics after 50 years of service, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley joins Tara Palmeri to reflect on Biden’s legacy on Somebody’s Gotta Win podcast.
Have you ever had Texas-style lasagne?
Do you do vision boards? Journal? I do a vision journal. I’m no artist so I use magazine cutouts where needed. I keep them and look back on my birthday to see what might have changed – and what I am still wallowing in. Really clarifying and very helpful.
Bad news for some of us. US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called for alcoholic beverages to carry warning labels about the increased risk of cancer associated with their consumption. See the report and an informative summary here. Find out if you live in one of the USA’s drunkest counties here. So what should we do with our liquor? Cooking is good?
Here are eight life skills millennials learned in the 90s that are completely obsolete now. Driving a stick shift might be one of them.
Strawberries are the one fruit I always buy organic.
Did you know that Jeff Bezos was originally named Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen? Or Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III? Or that JD Vance was originally named James Donald Bowman?
| January by Robert Bridges Cold is the winter day, misty and dark: The sunless sky with faded gleams is rent: And patches of thin snow outlying, mark The landscape with a drear disfigurement. The trees their mournful branches lift aloft: The oak with knotty twigs is full of trust, With bud-thronged bough the cherry in the croft; The chestnut holds her gluey knops upthrust. No birds sing, but the starling chaps his bill And chatters mockingly; the newborn lambs Within their strawbuilt fold beneath the hill Answer with plaintive cry their bleating dams. Their voices melt in welcome dreams of spring, Green grass and leafy trees and sunny skies: My fancy decks the woods, the thrushes sing, Meadows are gay, bees hum and scents arise. And God the Maker doth my heart grow bold To praise wintry works not understood, Who all the worlds and ages doth behold, Evil and good as one, and all as good. This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on January 4, 2025, by the Academy of American Poets. |
Abraham Lincoln’s Favorite Cake – Vanilla Almond Pound Cake
For the Cake:
- 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/4 cups (about 7 ounces) toasted blanched almonds, finely chopped
- 6 egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup candied cherries, finely chopped (Optional)
For the Fluffy White Frosting:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Grease the bottom only of a 10-inch tubed pan. Line with waxed paper cut to fit the bottom; grease the waxed paper. Set aside.
- Make the cake: Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cream butter with extracts. Add 1 cup sugar gradually, creaming until fluffy. Beating only until smooth after each addition, alternately add dry ingredients in fourths and milk in thirds to the creamed mixture. Stir in almonds.
- Beat egg whites until frothy; add 1 cup sugar gradually, beating well. Continue beating until stiff peaks are formed. Gently fold meringue into batter just until blended. Turn batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake at 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) for about 1 hour, or until the toothpick test comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove from the pan and cool completely.
- Make the Fluffy White Frosting: Combine all frosting ingredients except extract in the top of a double boiler. Set over boiling water and beat with a hand rotary or electric beater for about 8 minutes, or until soft peaks are formed when the beater is lifted upright.
- Remove from water and add extract; beat 1 minute.
- Frost completely cooled cake with Fluffy White Frosting. Decorate with candied cherries.
Recipe adapted from the 1974 “American Family Cookbook” —New Revised Edition.
No surprise that vaginas change with age. How? Let us count the ways.
Thinking about traveling in 2025? Is your passport up to date? Do you have at least 6 months left before it expires? If not, you may need to renew before hitting the road. A new program launched by the State Department may save you time and allow you to renew your passport online.
Someone asked me how old my dog is. I don’t know, exactly, since she was a rescue. Then I found this article which helps you convert dog years to human years. I’m still guessing, but she seems to be about 5-6 years old in calendar years.
Did you know that ProPublica has a tool to help you appeal denied health insurance claims? ProPublica’s Claim File Helper lets you customize a letter requesting the notes and documents your insurer used when deciding to deny you coverage. Get your claim file before submitting an appeal.