Comfort Foods and Carrot Cakes

What is your favourite comfort food? 

 "Our Favorite Foods" has been a topic with my family and friends lately.
What foods trigger your happy memories?  Did your grandma make a special treat just for you? What kind of things did you first learn to cook? Have you shared meals that were special dates with your partner? Did you have a favourite restaurant? Our sense of smell and taste connect to our memories in very special and sometimes emotional ways.

My husband and I started dating very young; in fact, I was still in high school. The convenient place to go was a little 10 table restaurant about a 10-minute walk from my house at the end of my street. We almost always got a pepperoni and mushroom pizza. I don't remember how we originally came to make that pizza choice, but it was a decade later before we realized that neither of us really loved that type of pizza and we were just ordering it to make the other happy. That pizza is now a comfort food for both of us because it was part of a happy, loving and secure time with a full future ahead of us.


In difficult times like we are experiencing now, people are looking for comfort and security as they try to deal with the emotional and physical stress around them. Food is one thing we need to deal with each day, so it is natural to try and make choices that give us comfort.

People are currently challenged by problems obtaining food from stores. We are concerned about making our food healthy and nutritious and as the true economic impact is becoming apparent we also want to look at getting the most for our money. More people are finding time to cook while sheltering in place, and we are trying to use what we already have in our homes.  I keep thinking of the families before us that survived the great depression and the shortages and rationing that occurred during the war years.  They found amazing ways to work with what they had and working together rose to the challenge of getting through those difficult times.

A month ago, on a cold Manitoba day, my coworker and I made homemade vegetable soup at work with our seniors. It was an enjoyable experience getting a 10 out of 10 from participants. The warm smell of soup in the hallway was enticing to everyone going past. We had leftover uncooked carrots, and that generated a whole discussion about what we should do with those carrots. Make more soup? Stew? Then someone said Carrot Cake and the rest was history. There was a massive agreement that the best thing to do with carrots was to make a cake! That followed with a discussion about what is the best way to make a carrot cake. Will it be raisins or walnuts, cinnamon or nutmeg, and how about icing?

I have a lot of carrots in my home right now, so I dug out my own favourite simple carrot cake recipe. The house smells Yummy. Give it a try, use what you have and change it up to make it your own. I like to make it as a loaf or as cupcake/muffins for extra easy snacks. This recipe freezes very well too.

The Coopers' Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup canola oil 
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

• 1  1/3 cup  all-purpose flour
• 1  1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1  1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1  1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 2 cups grated carrots

Method
Preheat the oven to 350° F or 180° C

• Beat the sugar and oil in your mixing bowl 
• Continue beating and add the eggs one at a time
• Add vanilla
• Add in the next 6 dry ingredients
• Stir to mix
• Add in the grated carrots
  
• Pour your batter into a greased 9 by 13 cake pan. 
• Cook for about 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. 
  
• Let cool and then frost if desired.

Basic Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

• 8 oz brick of softened cream cheese  
• 1/4 cup of butter 
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 2 cups icing sugar

Method

• Using an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla  in your mixing bowl
• Add icing sugar and beat until it is fluffy 
• Frost your cake. 

Note that you can add other flavourings to your frosting, and you can stir in other items at the end. One of my favorites is to substitute coconut flavouring for the vanilla, and beat in some shredded coconut  to make a cute Easter cupcake treat, especially if you add mini chocolate eggs on top.

Carrot image courtesy of Pixsabay

What is on Your Spring Bucket List?

Do you make a list of things you want to do each season? How about planning what you want to do during the rest of you life?

 I am often thrilled to get the weeks meals planned but planning special activites for the next few months gives me joy and something to look forward to. It has been a long winter and I am so excited to enjoy warmer weather!


I do love making lists!

 I am always making lists. Groceries lists, "To Do Today" items, things I need to do for work events, things I want to get organized, empowering activities for good mental health, are just part of making everyday life work.   There is also my continual list of  "How I plan to lose weight and get fit," plus keeping track of banking, bills and medical needs.  There is even a need to keep track of family members events such as when we need to go to grandkids school and dance performances.

When I had the brain injury my memory took a significant downward dive and lists were the only thing that kept my mental memory wheel from spinning out of control in an endless loop. When in doubt I tried to remember to check the list. As I recovered and my memory improved, I found that I was busier than ever and therefore had a lot more to remember, so I still needed my lists!
The best lists for me are the ones where I plan out the fun activities or make steps toward goals that make me happy or feel proud of what I am accomplishing. A new season is indeed a fantastic time to think ahead to all you have to look forward to in the coming months.


What is a "Bucket List" anyway?

Yes! This is indeed a topic on the internet!  Basically, the idea is that most of us wish to enjoy meaningful experiences in our lifetimes and the point of a bucket list is to get out there and do it before we die or "kick the bucket." Some people think immediately of exotic destinations they long to see and activities that go with it. Others think of personal accomplishments such as learning a musical instrument or a different language or maybe becoming a public speaker or owning their own business. Others might have dreams of setting up a lasting legacy.. a building that lasts beyond them or setting up a scholarship for deserving students or perhaps ensuring that their grandchildren will have a nest egg to help them have the future that they will someday dream about.
A bucket list can be as big or small as you want it to be and it is flexible. You can add to it or remove items from it - after all, it is about you and your dreams! Your bucket list can help give you some direction and purpose. You can ask yourself what your purpose in life is or you can figure out what all you love in this world. It sets out a unique set of goals that are truly meaningful to you, and once you set that goal, you can start to organize how you might actually realize your dreams.

 You do have to remember that beyond the big goals and important moments are made up of smaller steps and special moments. Don't forget those big goals, but also don't forget to enjoy all the wonderful times and to celebrate the everyday pleasures and experiences.


I am looking forward to a few upcoming special events.

• In a few weeks, I will attend the Manitoba Girl Guide Conference in Brandon for a weekend.
• A remarkably large selection of Guiding activities are coming up this Spring in my district. They include everything from an adult award dinner we are planning to youth activities such as hosting a large Mother's Day Tea to a camp, a park clean-up plus so much more!
• We have our Scandinavian Choir Concert on May 13th.
• My husband and I are celebrating our 40th Anniversary this July, and we are planning on making it special.
• I expect to have an opportunity to visit with my oldest daughter who is currently living out of the province.
• In September I am hosting a week-long gathering of members from an online group I participate in called Christmas to the Max.
•  We are hoping to get some major work done at our cottage and get a chance to really enjoy it this year!

A lot of my planning is centred around these highlights, but I still need to plan on some just plain

FUN STUFF! Things that make good memories!

Linda's Spring List!

• Work on Painting watercolour pictures.

• Create a relaxing corner for me to relax and be creative

• Make  Easter cards with my new painting skill.

• Participate in a 30 day watercolour painting challnge.

• Celebrate Earth Day by starting some seeds.

• Go to the big garden center to buy the above seeds

• Buy a new Easter outfit.

• Bake a special bread for Easter

• Make some crafts about Butterflies for work and for home.

• Make some marmalade for the first time in decades.

• Have a picnic in the park.

• Go out for a special dinner and a movie.

• Read a good novel

• Create paper birds to hang in trees or making lanterns.

• Make art pieces out of natural items.

I love comments! 

Please tell us about your Spring projects or adventures!

Amazing Grace.

I work at the personal care home every second weekend and I have the privilege of leading a Sunday Hymn Sing with a group of seniors. Amazing Grace is a song that I always include because it means so much to so many people.

Today, on Good Friday, I wanted to share this beautiful song that reminds us of hope even in our darkest hours.

Happy Easter!

Tulip at Easy Street  (photo copyright Linda Cooper 2011)