let them eat cake
after last night's 13 innings of cheering before adding another "L" to our column, i soaked in about 6 hours of sleep. now i'm at work, ready to be semi to almost productive (if the right opportunity presents itself; namely, an iced chai with soy). or at least, i can be partially productive once i've posted about last night's delivery. no, not on the mound. although most of our pitchers delivered and more--namely, huston, who downed red bull instead of vitamin water before, get this, dallas braden began warming him up. kurt (aka zuki, KSu, and/or moped) ran out to finish the job, but it was nice to see dallas (and his semi de-fro-ed mane) back in the bullpen. or half-squatting to catch a slider.
the coliseum itself was rocking about 11,000 fans, and because of the low monday turnout, a good majority of the concessions were closed. thankfully, i had stopped at whole foods to pick up some vegetarian dinner snacks, including pineapple chunks, heirloom tomato salad, spinach dip, blue potato chips, and iced tea. yes, it was girly, but no, after 13 innings, todd and i weren't starving. and that's what matters. now on to the baking!
since we were playing the tampa bay devil rays, i figured something florida-esque would fit the bill. luckily, i grew up in florida, so i know a little thing or two about the state. like there are alligators that will sunbathe at the edge of the swamp, and come aknockin' on your kitchen door when they're hungry. hurricanes aren't just a weather system gone wonky, but also the university of miami's sports teams' moniker. and that everyone really does love gloria estefan. no matter what, the rhythm is gonna get chu.
with this first-hand knowledge brewing in my frontal lobe, i went out on a limb and made orange sour cream pound cake, more appropriately titled "orange ya glad to be an A" cake. todd helped me with this one, measuring out the flour and zesting the orange, and the cake turned out very moist and tasty. it'd make a fine breakfast bread.
before the game last night, i made the pass off to security, and the bullpen barely moved for the first four innings. my only assumption is that they ate some cake and took a nap before their sunflower seed shell spitting contest started around the 7th.
Recipe
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs (whites)
1/2 dairy sour cream (light)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Bring butter, eggs & sour cream to room temperature. Grease and lightly flour a loaf pan or bundt pan. In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder and soda; set aside. In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or till softened. Gradually add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on medium to high speed about 6 minutes total or till very light and fluffy. Add vanilla and almond extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low to medium speed for 1 minute after each; scrape bowl often. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream, beating on low speed just till combined. Gently fold in orange zest into the batter.
Spread batter in the prepared pan. Bake in a 325F oven for 60-70 minutes or till cake tests done with a knife or toothpick. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely. Makes 10 to 12 servings.
From the Better Homes & Gardens Old Fashioned Home Baking Cookbook.
Italicized items are my addition.
the coliseum itself was rocking about 11,000 fans, and because of the low monday turnout, a good majority of the concessions were closed. thankfully, i had stopped at whole foods to pick up some vegetarian dinner snacks, including pineapple chunks, heirloom tomato salad, spinach dip, blue potato chips, and iced tea. yes, it was girly, but no, after 13 innings, todd and i weren't starving. and that's what matters. now on to the baking!
since we were playing the tampa bay devil rays, i figured something florida-esque would fit the bill. luckily, i grew up in florida, so i know a little thing or two about the state. like there are alligators that will sunbathe at the edge of the swamp, and come aknockin' on your kitchen door when they're hungry. hurricanes aren't just a weather system gone wonky, but also the university of miami's sports teams' moniker. and that everyone really does love gloria estefan. no matter what, the rhythm is gonna get chu.
with this first-hand knowledge brewing in my frontal lobe, i went out on a limb and made orange sour cream pound cake, more appropriately titled "orange ya glad to be an A" cake. todd helped me with this one, measuring out the flour and zesting the orange, and the cake turned out very moist and tasty. it'd make a fine breakfast bread. before the game last night, i made the pass off to security, and the bullpen barely moved for the first four innings. my only assumption is that they ate some cake and took a nap before their sunflower seed shell spitting contest started around the 7th.
Recipe
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs (whites)
1/2 dairy sour cream (light)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Bring butter, eggs & sour cream to room temperature. Grease and lightly flour a loaf pan or bundt pan. In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder and soda; set aside. In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or till softened. Gradually add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on medium to high speed about 6 minutes total or till very light and fluffy. Add vanilla and almond extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low to medium speed for 1 minute after each; scrape bowl often. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream, beating on low speed just till combined. Gently fold in orange zest into the batter.
Spread batter in the prepared pan. Bake in a 325F oven for 60-70 minutes or till cake tests done with a knife or toothpick. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely. Makes 10 to 12 servings.
From the Better Homes & Gardens Old Fashioned Home Baking Cookbook.
Italicized items are my addition.
Leave a comment