Monday Musings

Check out the sand dancer - amazing artistry for your enjoyment.

Reflections

"God rises up out of the sea like a treasure in the waves, and when language recedes His brightness remains on the shores of our own being."  Thomas Merton 

Saturday Simplify

Friday Food Feature

Delicious Carrot Cake

2 cups All-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
½ teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
3 whole Large Eggs
2 cups Sugar
¾ cups Vegetable Oil
¾ cups Buttermilk
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups Grated Carrot
1 can (8 Oz. Can) Crushed Pineapple, Drained
3-½ ounces, weight Flaked Coconut
1 cup Chopped Pecans
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BUTTERMILK GLAZE:
½ cups Sugar
¾ teaspoons Baking Soda
¼ cups Buttermilk
¼ cups Butter
½ Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
_____
Cream Cheese Frosting
¾ cups Butter, Softened
11 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, softened
3 cups Sifted Powdered Sugar
1-½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 8-inch (or 9-inch) round cakepans with waxed paper. Lightly grease and flour the waxed paper. Set pans aside.

Stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Beat eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in grated carrot, pineapple, coconut, and pecans. Pour batter into prepared cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center come out clean. Drizzle Buttermilk Glaze evenly over layers; cool in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on the top and sides of cake.

BUTTERMILK GLAZE:

Bring sugar, baking soda, buttermilk, butter or margarine, and light corn syrup to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring often, for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth.

check out the original recipe and set by set photos via TastyKitchen

My French Find

Today I am beginning a weekly post on Thursday's entitled "My French Find".  I have always embraced my ancestry and loved all things French. Due to lack of time I stopped blogging on my other blog Simply French. I decided I would bring a bit of "je ne sais quoi" to this blog with a weekly French feature. 


I do love French Country Decor. Check out the online boutique Belle Escape for some great French Design selections. Click on the items for more detailed information on their website.

French Swag Hutch

Parisian Arm Chair

Buffet

Through My Lens - Wordless Wednesday

Coming Home by Denise Dion-Sullivan

Treasury Tuesday

This week I am featuring a wonderful treasury assembled from Buttons and Bottles Mixed Media on Etsy entitled "Stay out of hot water with your Valentine". Check out by the fabulous finds by clicking on the photos to visit the shops and do a bit of Valentine shopping!

Monday Musings

My favorite "Far Side" comic for you this Monday Morning:

Reflections

 It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.  Henry David Thoreau

photo by Denise Dion-Sullivan

Saturday Simplify