Thursday, February 23, 2017

Farm Trucks, Close Calls and Prayers


I have been working on a series of devotionals and was reminded of an incident from the farm that went along with a point I was making. I couldn't remember all the details, though. Since the incident involved my sister, Kandy, I asked her to fill in the gaps for me. She did that and more, thanking me for bringing back to mind such a traumatic moment in her life! :)


I Can't miss the opportunity to share with you what she shared with me!





Photo by Wisconsin Historical Society

not our truck, but it may have looked kinda like this




Undesired Chores

Dad had an arrangement with the cheese factory where we sent out milk to haul whey for the cattle. It was fed as a nutrition supplement. He had acquired an old milk truck with a tank in order to pick it up. It was my unfortunate duty to occasionally go pick up the whey. There were actually 2 instances where I was clearly protected by God from disaster.


In order to funnel the whey into the truck, I had to pull alongside the building where the large whey tank was located. The driveway sloped down to the end of the building where there was a cross-street, then a short grassy bank into a small river.

Traumatic Instance #1

I always set the parking brake, of course. But on this day, after I was done loading and back in the truck with the motor running, I noticed that the spigot from the tank was dripping. So I hopped out to turn the faucet tighter.

Oh, I neglected to mention that my little brother, LeAdam, had come along for the ride.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed the truck moving. As I turned back toward the truck, I took several steps, jumped up on the running board, and slammed my foot on the brake. I stopped mere inches from the river bank.

All I could see in front of me was water. 

I shifted carefully into reverse and quickly backed up the slope. LeAdam sat there with his eyes wide open!

I also narrowly missed a school bus that had just passed - the driver stopped to see if I was ok.

NOT REALLY OK!! :)

Traumatic Instance #2

Another time while driving home from picking up whey, I came upon a railroad crossing in town where there were no crossing bars or flashing lights. 

I must have been daydreaming because all of a sudden I heard a loud sound, and realized a train was coming. If I hadn't stopped, I would not have made it across the tracks.


So there it is. The sordid tale.

Thanks for bringing up that terrifying moment! Ha!

Kandy
-Gettin' Back to my Roots



Anytime, Sis! You can always count on a sister to remind of times you would rather forget!


The point of dredging up this scary moment in time is to talk about the prayerfulness of our mother. If there was ever a prayer warrior, it would be her. The day of the second story mentioned above, Mom had a premonition while washing the dishes. A concern for Kandy.

Immediately, she stopped what she was doing and began to pray. It was quite a shock to hear Kandy's story when she arrived home.


The Moral of this story:
When prompted to pray,
stop immediately and pray!


Note:
If you are interested in my devotionals, you can receive one once a week by e-mail. Just click on the purple box along the right side of this blog, "Oh Lord, How Long?"

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Recipes: Surprise Cupcakes

Surprise Cup Cakes

Being raised on a farm comes with many advantages, one of these was learning to cook and bake. I learned to bake early in life so when I entered junior high and ended up being required to take Home Ec twice, I wasn't that happy about it.

One thing I did take home from that class was a recipe from my best friend, Martha. One day in class, she demonstrated making surprise cupcakes which have been a favorite at home on the farm, at college, and with my own children.

These cupcakes were quite popular with my friends in the dorm and I made them often. Several friends wanted the recipe, I refused to share it until graduation day. And true to my promise, I wrote out the recipe and passed them out to all my friends on graduation day.

Thanks, Martha, for some great fun and tradition down through the years!


And here it is ... Surprise Cupcakes.



1 package of Chocolate cake mix
8 oz cream cheese
1/3c. sugar
1 egg
dash of salt
1 c. chocolate chips  (or peanut butter chips)





  1. Mix chocolate cake as directed less 1 TBS of liquid.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar, egg, and salt
  3. Add chips.
  4. Fill baking cups to no more than 2/3 full.
  5. Using a teaspoon, add cheese filling to the center of the cupcake taking care to not allow filling to touch the sides.
  6. The cake batter will rise up around the filling so there is no need to add cake mix on top.
  7. Bake using the directions from the cake mix.
  8. Frost with cream cheese frosting.


Note: I have also used my grandmother's chocolate cake recipe instead of a boxed cake mix.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Grandma Easterday's Devil's Food Cake

Zoa Easterday, 1890Carrol Co., Ohio


Devil's Food Cake


Mix together and set aside.


1/2 c. Cocoa or 4oz bakers chocolate2 tsp baking soda1/2 c. boiling water

In a separate bowl, mix in order

3/4 c. sour milk
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c. minus 1 T. shortening to grease pan.
1 Tbs vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Chocolate mixture (above)

Grease & flour 9x13 pan.

Pour batter into pan 

Bake at 350 degrees 

for 35-45 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.