Bring Back the Memories

Once upon a time, I was in the Army and got stationed in Germany. 

My second Christmas over there, I went to the local open air Christmas market.  I bought some lebkuchen (Christmas cookie) to send home (and a box for me).  Well, I got back to the barracks with my purchase and opened my box of lebkuchen.  Ummm, errr...I loved them so much that I ended up eating more than my share and had to go out and buy more for my family back home.   These lebkuchen were delicious.  Sort of a cross between a gingerbread and a fruitcake.  They taste like Christmas.


Over the years, I have tried various recipes trying to recapture that magic.  This year, I tried this recipe:

Lebkuchen V - Allrecipes

I have just taken the first batch from the oven and tasted it.  Yummmm...this is one of the better lebkuchen recipes.

So, if you are looking for a cookie that just says Christmas, this is the deal.

Wonders of Baking Soda

Aaahhh...baking soda. It is non-abrasive, making is safe for your treasured cookware. It works with little effort. It costs little. Perfect. What more could you ask?

I had heard it was good as a non-abrasive cleanser quite some time ago. I don't know why I took so long to try it, but finally, I did. I tried it on my beloved Corning Ware. I definitely wanted something to clean it, but it had to be gentle. (I have had my Corning Ware for over 20 years and fully intend to have it until I die.)

I was expecting it to take more "elbow grease" than those commercial cleansers, but NO...It works so well with so little effort that I have been using it on more "cleanser" duties. I am amazed. It works great on my crockpot as well.

This has motivated me to look for other uses for Baking Soda. A quick search on Google found "Sixty-one uses for Baking Soda", including a recipe for making your own baking powder (without aluminum); and this book on Amazon.com:

Baking Soda's natural cleansing and deodorizing qualities makes it affordably "Green". Since we live in a time of concern for our environment and our pocketbook, I will be exploring more uses for Baking Soda and other common and natural products...like vinegar...hmmm, I will get back to you.

Lemonade Layer Cake

Lemonade Layer Cake Recipe - Fruits - MyRecipes.com

My husband's birthday was this past weekend.  He loves lemon and requested a lemon cake.  So, I made him this one.  It was delicious and lemon is not even my favorite flavor for cake.  I am a diehard chocolate fan, what can I say?  My husband loved it, too.

I ran into a glitch.  I thought I had more powdered sugar (for the icing) than I in fact had.  It was the middle of the night and I live in a small town.  No all night supermarkets here.  So, I was forced to use granulated sugar.  I first put the granulated sugar in a bowl with the cream cheese, hoping it would dissolve some.  Then, I finished the recipe as written.  The icing was a bit grainy, but was nevertheless delicious. 

Note to self:  Make sure I have plenty of powdered sugar on hand.