By Teri Cayton
The Parsons Advocate
We have another chapter in the never ending saga of my life. And you guessed it, this is about THE DOG! I have (had) my back porch screened in so I could leave my door open and not get the house full of bugs. I came home from work last week and Gracie, for some reason, decided she needed to tear it all down. It looked as if she had lain down and started to chew her way up as far as she could reach.
I had also built a ramp for Bailey to use as she got older and Gracie decided she had to get under it. I have put six ton of gravel in my backyard to take care of the mud and she found the only place I did not put any. I came home and she had dug a huge hole and crawled under the ramp and was covered with mud from head to tail.
It is amazing that I was having all the trouble with Amber until I got this problem child. With the gravel down Amber has not gotten so dirty but Gracie seems to find ways to make mud. Momma Said, “You can never tell what you are going to be handed next, just be happy with what you got.”
I guess my life would be pretty dull without all the surprises. When I get home I never know what I am going to find. She has torn up a truck bed cover, destroyed my air conditioner and eaten half the back porch just this summer. She has now decided that the cat is her personal chew toy. The cat will put up with it for a little while and then she will swat her on the nose, not that it does much good.
ORANGE AND ALMOND CAKE
This is a very unusual cake from the Middle East with a moist, dense consistency that makes an utterly delicious dessert. It will not rise very much, and you may wonder if it will ever bake firm. Don’t worry, it will.
Ingredients
- 2 large oranges (preferably seedless navels)
- 6 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups ground almonds
- Pinch salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- GARNISH: Thin slices of peeled orange sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar and a touch of cinnamon, or fresh raspberries. Serve with whipped cream.
Method
Wash the oranges and boil them in water to cover, without peeling, until very soft, about 30 minutes. Drain, cool, cut into quarters, and remove the seeds, if any. Process the oranges to a fairly fine purée in a blender or food processor or by putting them through a meat grinder. Don’t make it too fine. The little bits of skin, which will not be at all bitter after the long boiling, are pleasant to bite on.
Beat the eggs in a bowl until thick, then add the ground almonds, salt, sugar, baking powder, and orange purée, and mix well. Line a deep 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper. Butter and flour the parchment paper. Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake in a 400ºF oven for 1 hour or longer, until firm to the touch when pressed with the tip of your finger.
Remove the pan to a rack, allow the cake to cool, then turn it out of the pan onto a serving dish. Serve garnished with orange slices or berries, and whipped cream.