Reception Pound Cake and Apple Juice

It must have been a pathetic sight, me sitting in the rain chopping apples and blowing my nose. I have had a cold that won't quit and two large crates full of apples that won't get pressed on their own. With a few sun breaks, I thought today would be my chance. I should have weighed the crates to tell you how many apples you need to make a gallon of juice. Let's just say.....a lot. This is my second batch of juice this year. And besides sneaking a few hot cider drinks out of the batch, I canned the rest today. My first attempt at canning juice so the results my vary.

Our compost if full of apple cores and pulp and each time I add to our compost pile, I am reminded of the hours spent on the apple juice project. So glad I won't be doing this again for another year. I think bribery of friends and family will be in order next time.

The rainy season in Oregon has started and I can't help but feel down. As true for many, this is not my favorite time of year. There are only so many days I can be holed up in my house reading books and sipping on soup to make myself feel better. I think Roscoe, one of our border collies, would agree. He doesn't read, although he has had the taste of a good book in his mouth on many occasions, but he does take a lot of coaxing to go outside for a bathroom break. He gingerly picks his paws up as he slowly creeps through the yard while finding a convenient spot to mark. I wouldn't be bothered by this unless I didn't have to stand with him in the rain holding his imaginary hand all the while. But the dogs had fun outside running around the property today. Here they are post playtime, basking in the sun on the couch.

My cold is a huge setback these days because I feel like a sick puppy with a headache and a smoker's cough that only seems to be soothed by cups of tea and shots of hard alcohol. Each day I have been hoping to be of more help to Ron and assist in projects. But my haze has slowed me. With summer over, I see we didn't do half as many of the outdoor projects I was hoping to accomplish. I think I thought that two people could get boatloads done on 5 acres by themselves. I guess I forgot about work, school, date nights and two high energy border collies demanding attention. And I still think about kids.... Jeez! But I also sit and stew about what I should be doing with my life. Probably a waste of time on many days since I accompany it with coffee/tea or wine, when I am well, along with cake or cookies. And speaking of cake, I recently made my mom's "Reception Pound Cake." I don't know the history of this cake except that it tasted a lot like pound cake and was often served at my mom's many parties. She has always been an incredible host and she would bake late at night after work for work programs and house parties. This and her "7-up Cake" bring back so many childhood memories of being the kid wandering around with punch in my hand and stealing cake from the table while adults spoke about work and things that made no sense to me. I used to sit at the top of the stairwell and listen in sometimes, but mostly disappointed with what I heard. No drama in their lives...... Here is the recipe with a picture of what is left of ours today. Just don't tell her I gave it to you. ;)

Reception Pound Cake
2 1/4 Cup unsifted flour
1 1/2 Cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon, lime or orange rind
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Cup sour cream
1 Cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a fluted tube pan or two loaf pans. Blend all ingredients until moist. Beat batter at medium speed for 3 minutes. Pour batter into pans. Bake for 55-65 minutes. Glaze while still warm or cool completely and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Glaze
1 Cup powdered sugar
1 or 2 Tbs lemon juice.

Blend until smooth.