Friday, September 21, 2012

Update - The Prepared Family Cookbook


I know I have been promising a cookbook for over a year but, wow, what an undertaking!  I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  My original plan was to have the cookbook ready for release in early autumn - just in time for the Sustainable Preparedness Expo, however, the book is not quite ready.  But, not to worry - I have made wonderful progress and the book will be ready for review by the end of October.  I'll keep you posted, but we should be having a book release (bomb) day around the middle of November!

Here is another recipe to wet your whistle.  This is a specialty of Maid Elizabeth's.  She has always loved Pound cake but when she added poppy seeds and almond extract, she knew she had a keeper.

Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Cream together:
2 C butter (1 pound)
2 1/4 C sugar (1 pound)
The longer you beat the butter and eggs, the lighter the cake

Mix in:
9 large egg yolks (1 pound)
1 C milk
3 T brandy or sherry (optional - we never use this)
2 tsp. vanilla or almond (our favorite) flavoring

Add  and stir to combine:
4 C flour (1 pound)
1 T baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 to 1/2 C poppy seeds (depends on how many seeds you like)

Fold in:
9 stiff egg whites

Preheat your oven to 350°

Pour into a lightly greased and floured tube pan or two 5 x 9 inch bread pans and bake for about 1 hour or until the top surface of the cake springs back when you press on it gently with your fingers.

Let the cake cool thoroughly after it is done, cover and store for a couple of days to allow the flavor to mature.

Note:  You do not have to separate the eggs and whip the whites.  You can just add 9 eggs and call it good.  We like to separate the eggs so that the cake is a little lighter.

Did you know that a pound cake was so named because the original recipe called for a pound of each ingredient?  The first pound cake consisted of 1 pound of butter, 1 pound of sugar, 1 pound of eggs and 1 pound of flour.  This created a dense, but immensely flavorful cake.  Our version has added leavening agents to lighten the cake, but it is still heavy on the flavor.

Pour a stiff cup of coffee and enjoy!


9 comments:

  1. Oh my, that looks deee-licious. Poppy seed anything is a favorite. I'll be making this over the weekend. Thanks, and looking forward to the cookbook.

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  2. oh boy! that is good news about the cookbook. i will one of the first in line for it when it is ready...yipee

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  3. What is the AMOUNT of poppy seeds you put into the cake. ?

    Love reading your blog, Thanks for helping us.

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  4. How much poppy seed is needed?

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  5. Sorry guys - I have updated the recipe. I never measure the seeds, I just dump, but I measured this time, just to give you a ballpark figure.

    Enola

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  6. hello just a little note for you and the poppy seeds.Some people who have ate food with poppy seeds can come up positive for drugs. tests.http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/10/19/foods-failed-drug-tests/

    So if you're up for a drug test don't eat anything with poppy seeds. Just a thought here.Oh I love poppy seeds!

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  7. Your recipes look good! I want your book.

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  8. Annaightflyer,

    I started to post the same warning and then saw yours. I have a very close friend who runs a hospital clinical lab. They heard about the poppy seed and since they are all subject to random drug tests and some of them like poppy seed muffins and such they decided to run a test and see. Sure enough, they tested some folks then had part of the group eat poppy seed and the other not.
    Then they re-tested and the poppy seed eaters came up positive.

    That recipe looks so good that it might well be worth the risk anyway!!!

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