Banana Split Cake

BANANA SPLIT CAKE

Four layer Banana Split Cake - made from scratch with fresh strawberries, sweetened whip cream, pineapple, peanuts and fudge ice cream topping. This cake is well worth the trouble needed to make it. Keep the cake in the freezer or an insulated container if you're taking it to 'dinner on the ground'. Yummy!


2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe banana (3 medium plus 1 more for garnish)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, in juice- drain well
1 (11 ounce) jar chocolate fudge topping
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

BANANA LAYER CAKE:.

Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder. baking soda and salt in large bowl.

Add to flour mixture banana, buttermilk, shortening, eggs and vanilla.Beat on medium speed 3 minutes.
Pour evenly into prepared pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

Finish cooling completely.
Using a long serrated knife, cut each layer of cake in half. Set aside.

SWEETENED WHIPPED CREAM:.

In a chilled mixing bowl (clean and free of any grease) combine 1 cup whipping cream and 1 tablespoon sugar. Beat with chilled beaters of mixer on low to medium speed until soft peaks form (tips will curl). Do not over beat.

Divide whipped cream in half. Fold strawberries into one half and drained pineapple into the other half.

Heat and stir fudge over low heat until just warm.

ASSEMBLE:.

Place 1st layer of cake on platter, top with strawberry cream spreading to the edge.

Place 2nd layer on top of 1st. Spread 1/2 of warm fudge,let some of it drizzle down the sides. Sprinkle with 1/2 of peanuts.
Place 3rd layer on top of 2nd. Top with pineapple cream spreading to edge.

Place 4th layer on top of 3rd. Spread remaining warm fudge over, again letting some drizzle down sides. Sprinkle with remaining peanuts. Garnish with last banana sliced.

Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Flowery Star Fish

One of my latest acquisitions here at Ragg Baggs is the flowery star fish. The colors are bold and beautiful and will make magnificent focal pieces. Keep watch in the weeks to come for these little beauties to be offered as finished jewelery on my Etsy site.

http://www.r2swanger.etsy.com

Our Deepest Fear

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine,we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Marianne Williamson

Laura Childs - "Eggs in Purgatory"

I have just finished reading Laura Childs' latest book "Eggs in Purgatory". The tale takes place in a little country town named Kindred. The book doesn't say, but it seems like the town is in the Minnesota area.

The story is set in a delightful little restaurant called the Cackleberry Club. The characters are a bit confusing at first because there are so many of them, but they become more recognizable as the book moves along. To quote from the back of the book -

'Suzanne, Toni, and Petra lost their husbands but found independence - and, in each other, a life raft of support, inspiration, fresh baked foods, and their own business. But when the Cackleberry Club open its doors in the town of Kindred, who'd have guessed that the cozy oasis would become the scene of a crime?

Suzanne's lawyer is found in his car behind the Cackleberry with egg on his face and blood on the dash. Suzanne's taking the crime personally. The murder reveals a scandal in her late husband's past and brings a stranger fleeing a messianic sect for her help. Now, discovering the link between the dead man with secrets and a runaway cultist may be putting Suzanne's own life on the line.'

The characters run the gamut from sweet to snooty and, like any small town, everyone knows everything about everyone else.

I have only two bad things to say about the book. The first is the bad language used in the book. There isn't much, but other, more polite, words could have been used to convey the message.

My second objection regards the 2 hair dressers in the story. They are both men and, while, no mention of the word is used, they seem to be homosexual. They serve no other purpose in the story line. Since there is no attempt to condemn homosexuality, the 2 persons could have just as easily been a heterosexual couple, so why drag up such a nasty subject?

All things considered, I will anxiously await the 2nd volume of the series, while drooling over Ms. Childs' wonderful tea series. I highly recommend the tea series with no reservations whatsoever.

An English Country Garden

Top anti-inflammatory herbs and spices

Top anti-inflammatory herbs and spices:

By incorporating these herbs and spices into your diet, you get great flavors with healing properties. Researchers from the University of Michigan have found, for example, that basil has anti-inflammatory activity compared to ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin!

Ginger
Turmeric
Black Pepper
Cinnamon
Rosemary
Basil
Cardamom
Chives
Cilantro
Cloves
Garlic
Parsley