From the Recipe Box: Miss Lou’s Pound Cake

Good evening my friends.  I hope that you all have had a relaxing day, reflecting on the true meaning of Memorial Day.

  

My Daddy J

I have been a horrible blogger lately but I hope to “sweeten” you up by sharing one of my favorite recipes.  I had promised Vicky from Life on Willie Mae Lane that I would give her this recipe and I thought I would offer it to you at the same time.

First, I should tell you a little bit about Miss Lou and why this is my favorite pound cake…which, technically, is a half-pound (I’ll explain why in a bit).

Miss Lou is a wonderful, caring, talented lady from my hometown in Alabama.  She and my Mama have been best friends for 51 years.  Miss Lou used to make me this cake for my birthday every November.  It would be covered in home-made caramel frosting…oh yes, Happy Birthday to Me! 

I moved from our little town in Alabama 31 years ago but Miss Lou was very kind to give me the recipe so I could make this cake for myself.  She explained everything step by step and also mentioned that the recipe had been used in her family for over 100 years.  So by now, the recipe is over 130 years old.

I make this cake many times throughout the year and it has become one of my family’s favorite…especially my daughter’s.  It’s topping depends on the time of the year and what is available, so today…we have strawberries.

Miss Lou’s Pound Cake

This is really a half pound cake because it only take ½ pound of butter and a ½ dozen of eggs

I start with ALL of my ingredients at room temperature:

½ pound real butter

1 ¾ cups of sugar

6 large eggs

2 cups of plain flour (sifted)

Dash of salt

1 tsp of vanilla

Heat oven to 300^o

Cream butter

Add sugar and cream until smooth

Add eggs one at a time, cream well after each addition (IMPORTANT)

Add flour one cup at a time and cream well after each addition

Shake in a dash of salt

Stir in the vanilla

I pour my batter into my favorite Nordic Ware tube pan.  Original instructions tell us to butter and flour the pan first but I have started using Baking Pam and found it to work just as well.

Pound the pan on a towel on the counter top to get rid of any air that may be in the batter.  No bubbles!

Bake for one hour.

Cool in the pan...

 ... then transfer to a cooling rack

Cut the top (bottom?) until it sits evenly on a cake plate

Serve with your favorite topping.  

Tonight is was sugared strawberries 

and my sweet husband’s homemade whipped cream.

This cake is very moist and delicious.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Thank you Miss Lou!

Remembering…

…and so very grateful

Thank You Selina!

Hello friends…it’s been a while.  I’ll spare you the details but will summarize by saying that life and my day job have kept me a bit distracted.  While I have been creative, I haven’t had time to post nor have I been able to keep up with my blog reading.  This makes me sad as I have terribly missed my blog friends.

I’m popping in this evening because I owe a HUGE overdue Thank You to Selina.

She is not only a talented and creative blogger… you can visit her here… she is also a very caring person.  When Selina read my post about the Operation: Warm & Fuzzy helmet liners, she expressed an interest in joining.  Click here and here to read more about this charitable event.

Now, our official campaign runs from Memorial Day through October and we donate the helmet liners to Forgotten Soldiers Organization in November.  We can knit year round but we do not typically submit the liners until the campaign starts. 

I received a special package from Selina in February and then another one in April. 

Yes, she has already knitted and donated 5 helmet liners to this effort.  THANK YOU SELINA!  One of her dear friends knitted one so there are six ready to go!

Please visit her blog and read through her posts.  You will find that she not only knits helmet liners but also makes charity quilts, cancer caps and so much more.

Now, I have some catching up to do…

Hope you are having a great week!

Another Little Bag

I have made this little cosmetic bag before. It was a gift for a co-worker and I shared about it here.

Besides the fabric, what’s different?

I learned how to manipulate the design so that I could add a liner to the inside.  (This bag is constructed entirely in the embroidery hoop of my Brother Quattro 3)

I love this little bag…now I just have to figure out how to change the design on the front.

Maybe a monogram? Hmmmm

Happy Tuesday Friends!

Almost a Finish...Butterfly Trails

My daughter's graduation quilt came home today from the long arm quilter!  Now it is time to finish the shams, bind and label the quilt.

For a preview of the quilting, please visit Karen Marchetti's blog.

Karen did an amazing job on the quilt and we couldn't be happier!

The screen door is truly slamming a lot around here these days but not anything that I can really share about just yet.  I've been trying to keep up with the blogs I follow but I'm a couple of days behind there as well.

Such is life!

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

Remember when I told you about this?

I was so happy to receive Stephanie's book Uncommonly Corduroy. Right away I found some projects that I knew I would make.  

Here is one of them…

I call it Travels with Lilly instead of its pattern name Travels with Lou.  Why?  Because I found this awesome Lilly Pulitzer fabric at Laura’s.  (And I didn't ask for permission to call it anything else!)

To understand the pattern name, I strongly suggest you purchase the book. (I am not compensated in any shape, form or fashion for my excitement over this book...which is chock full of patterns and you can't beat the price for all you get!)

I changed it up a little bit…’cuz that’s how I roll J

I added a monogram to the outside pocket. (That's all I changed...so I didn't roll too far)

...Found "fabulous" buttons at Hobby Lobby

Stephanie gives you enough pocket space so I created 3 slots...cuz I'm blind and needed the extra spot

I'm packed and ready for the SUMMER :)

I look forward to making a more traditional bag for the fall.  I promise to use corduroy because that was the original intent of the pattern and also because I think it would be so COOL.

One thing I forgot to share with you is my FINISHED Granny Stripe Afghan…again, inspired by Stephanie.  Do you see a pattern here?

I added a reverse single crochet border and called it DONE!  It turned out just a bit larger than a lap size.

I'm so happy that I changed the yarn.

It looks nice on DH's bedroom reading chair.

My STAYcation is going well.  DD's room makeover should start soon...wish me luck!

Goodnight Irene - March Blocks

I completed row 3 for Terry’s Goodnight Irene Sew-Along.

Good thing we aren’t sewing the blocks into rows yet because I keep moving them around.

I’m currently on a STAYcation with big plans to enjoy the beach and complete some sewing projects.  Maybe I’ll blog more frequently J

Happy Friday!