Thanksgiving

It’s the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving and I’m sitting thinking about all of the things I could or as a food blogger, should write about. But, if you scan the web you’ll see there’s hundreds of articles on how to make the perfect turkey or some crazy twist on the traditional pumpkin pie. There’s blogs that’ll tell you the importance of giving thanks and even how to do it. Frankly I think we all can find an article on how to cook a Thanksgiving dinner. We’re also all very capable of knowing the things in our lives that we’re thankful for. Shouldn’t we be grateful for all these things everyday and not just once a year?

To me the thing that many of us, including myself, fail to do is to slow down for a little around the holidays. There seems to be very little regard for what some would call idleness. However, there is great reward in the act of doing nothing. I’m not talking about sitting in front of the television and bingeing on your favorite series. I’m talking about reading a good book and letting it absorb into your mind or taking a walk out into nature and listening to your own thoughts for a while. It is in these moments that profound things happen. Answers to questions come to us seemingly from out of the blue. Creative ideas are born, problems are solved and a closer bond with oneself is usually achieved. You can come away with a different perspective on life and realize how amazing and truly remarkable each and everyone of us is. There is something inside of all of us to be thankful for, all you have to do is be yourself and let it out.

• 

• 

• 

I take as many walks in nature as I can. On this trip to Arizona I was lucky enough to catch three days of rain. I know usually rain on a vacation doesn’t seem like luck, but water makes the desert come alive. I hiked along a stream and listened to the water as it rushed over the rocks, it seemed to invite me to settle down on the bank and just be for awhile. A hawk in the distance sent out a call to its mate. Squirrels scampered over a fallen tree and the smell of the wet creosote brought back memories from my childhood. For a brief moment my mind was calm and open to whatever the universe had in store for me. I was reminded of how this time of year is filled with memories of my mom’s cooking. There is one special recipe that popped into my head and I want to share it with you. This recipe has been in my family for at least four generations. It’s a cake that we have always had at Thanksgiving and Christmas but it’s so delicious you can make it anytime. Be warned if you’re not careful you could end up eating half the cake once you taste it!

The cake is simply called Pumpkin Cake with Maple Frosting. Awhile back I was reading a culinary magazine and there was an article about a chef in Vermont who had created the most amazing cake ever to be tasted by mankind. As I read further I was getting a little miffed, almost to the letter the ingredients where exactly the same as my great grandmother had written down. I know that she may have gotten her recipe from someone else but I do know her’s was much older because it called for lard. I do understand that in that chef’s mind he certainly did create this cake, but I know where it came from, at least in my family about 90 years ago. So let’s get started and if you try this cake please let me know how you like it!

• Hillbilly Pumpkin Cake With Maple Frosting.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• 1 cup of oil of your choice, you could even use lard!
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs beaten into sugar mixture
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, plus just a pinch more.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Using an electric hand mixer, cream together the oil and sugar.
• Blend all the dry ingredients together then slowly add to creamed sugar mixture.
• Add the pumpkin puree to desired consistency. (Honestly I usually add 2 cups of pumpkin into the creamed sugar before adding the dry ingredients. I’ve made it so often I know how much pumpkin I like)
• This mixture will be rather thick.
• Pour it into a 13×9 inch cake pan
• Cook for 45 minutes or until a fork stuck in the middle comes out clean.
• Allow to cool before frosting.
• Maple Frosting
• 1 stick of butter at room temperature. You may also use cream cheese instead of butter, this gives the cake a different dimension.
• 1 small can of evaporated milk
• 1 bag of powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple extract
• Using a hand mixer combine all the butter with 1 cup of the sugar at a time and pour in the milk. Use just enough evaporated milk to get the right consistency. (you won’t use the entire can) Do this until you have used at least half the bag of powdered sugar. Then add the vanilla and maple extract. Add more maple if desired, ( I like the frosting to have a strong maple flavor)
• Now you can frost the cake and lick the bowl, but don’t eat the cake yet….just walk away!

There it is, very simple yet so delicious. If you’re wondering where the pictures are I haven’t made the cake yet because if I make it today I will eat it before Thanksgiving. It’s that good. I will make it Wednesday evening and use my nonexistent skills of willpower to shun that first taste. I really hope you give this recipe a try and I hope it becomes something your family will love. I am truly thankful for all of you who read this blog and for just being alive. I know we often forget all of the wonderful things we have in our lives, so give doing nothing a try and see how much you have to be thankful for. As always if you have any questions or comments please leave them in the box below. Happy Thanksgiving! Until next time Boone Appétit!

• 

•