Twelve Rivers Musings

I’m sure many of you have read articles over the last few weeks on New Year’s resolutions.  At first I felt compelled to throw my hat into the ring discussing success in implementing changes.  But, I had to be honest with myself. I’ve never been one to make new year’s resolutions. Why? I’m just one who doesn’t look at a new calendar year as a milestone. Same with my birthday.  They’re just another day for me, not a self-imposed deadline or kick off for change.

I’ve always admired those individuals, though, who do use the new year as the impetus for a desired change in their life.  I’ve just never done it.  I am more about periodically taking stock of my life, evaluating where I’m at and where I want to be.  But I don’t necessarily do that at the beginning of a calendar year.  It’s more of a very slow climb with many setbacks throughout time.

So how does one make changes in their life successfully?  I could talk about goal setting, breaking the goals down into specific steps, and evaluating solutions that work for you personally.  I could discuss analyzing each goal so you know what is looks like for you and you alone. Or finding a friend to hold you accountable. I could share many suggestions pulled from pundits and personal experience, but I’m sure you, like me, have heard them all.

Bottom line, here’s what I’ve learned.  Goals can’t be achieved unless they are heartfelt.  Many goals sound good in theory but unless you can wrap both your heart and mind around them… really internalizing them, the goals will never be reached.

So, where does that leave us?  Let me just close by passing on a challenge that was recently posed to a group of us.  I view this as the essential foundation for all goal setting.  It is this:

It bears repeating. Don’t waste your life by being mediocre. You want your life to matter.  Never underestimate the impact and power of your life alone.

Mull on that for a bit, as I have. Then…. start setting your goals for 2010.

Mmmmmm……. I grew up on this cake, made often for special occasions. I now make it for my family, especially at Christmas. It’s well worth the effort as it’s quite wonderful!

This variation uses a different type of frosting than most red velvets. I especially like it since it isn’t overly sweet and it leaves the red of the cake exposed making the final result a treat for the eyes as well!

You WILL be using your reusable shopping bags when you run to the store for these ingredients, won’t you!

CAKE
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 oz. bottle red food coloring
1 oz. bottle water (use food coloring bottle)
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the base of three 9″ round cake pans with waxed paper. Spray pans lightly with vegetable oil spray.

Cream shortening and sugar together. Add eggs. Make paste of food coloring, water and cocoa, then add to creamed mixture. Mix buttermilk and salt together. Add to creamed mixture alternately with the sifted flour. Mix soda and vinegar together quickly and add to cake mixture; mix well. Divide batter equally among the three pans. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes clean. When cool, remove cakes from pans and remove waxed paper. Stack layers, frosting the top of each layer. Let frosting drizzle from the top layer down the sides of the cake.

FROSTING
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix flour and milk in saucepan. Cook until thick. Cool. Cream sugar, butter and vanilla together until fluffy. Blend the two mixtures. Do NOT beat. Frosting should be the consistency of cold oatmeal.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Twelve Rivers!

I remember someone once telling me her goal while in high school was to have enough clothes to be able go at least a month without repeating an outfit. Granted each outfit was probably composed of separates that mixed and matched. Still, one has to wonder if an outfit was really worn only nine times during the school year!

Contrast this to The Uniform Project by Sheena Matheiken, so named for her days of school uniforms where students found inventive ways to convey individuality with additions or slight changes to the assigned outfit. In The Uniform Project – 1 Dress. 365 Days, Sheena has vowed to wear the same dress every day for one year. A friend designed a basic black dress to be worn flipped either to the front or the back for versatility.

Sheena has taken layering and accessorizing to another level giving the same dress a whole new look each and every day. Numerous accessories have been donated or designed for her, many from materials typically thrown away. She is currently on day 230 of 365.

Any funds Sheena raises from this project go to the Akanksha Foundation for the education of underprivileged children in India.

Take time to scroll through the weeks of variation on the little black dress. Sheena is extremely creative while utilizing unusual accessories. Think what you could do with some of the basics in your closet with just a little ingenuity!

*** A few friends groaned when they saw the directions for heating the pumpkin & tempering the eggs. I reworked this to make it easier for you all! The texture will be slightly different, but the taste just as great! Also added in directions for a ginger snap crust, if you’d like that instead.***

Cheesecake has been my son’s favorite for years. In fact, it’s been his choice for birthday cake since he was a little guy.

When it comes to pie, pumpkin is his first preference. Naturally, I had to combine his two favorites to create a pumpkin cheesecake. This recipe has gone through several tweaks over the years to what you see here. Absolutely delicious!

And you WILL be grabbing your reusable bags when you head to the store for these ingredients, won’t you!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 package graham crackers crushed (approximately 1 1/4 cups)

OR

1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cups crushed boxed ginger snap cookies (about 28 depending on the brand)

Mix and press into large spring form pan or a 9″x13″ pan lined with foil. Bake crust at 350 degrees for 7 minutes. Cool.

Filling
3 8-ounce bars of cream cheese, softened at room temp
1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (about 1 3/4 cups)
4 large eggs

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in brown sugar. Mix in the spices, and then beat in the pumpkin puree. Add eggs one at a time, beating in each thoroughly.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly. (If using a spring form pan, wrap the pan with foil and place pan into a larger pan with an inch of water during baking to keep the crust from cracking.) Bake at 350 degrees for 55 -60 minutes.

Topping
1 16-ounce sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix all together and pour on top of cheesecake when it comes out of the oven. Bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Overnight is even better. Garnish with pecans before serving, if you wish.

Enjoy!

* If you purchased the 29-ounce can of pumpkin puree you’ll have some left over. You may want to try my Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Foot Scrub!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

This is the time of year for pumpkins and yummy foods created with the puree. So, several pumpkin recipes will be posted this week for you to try.

Our neighbor, Helen, recently brought over a pumpkin bread that was, quite honestly, the best we’ve ever tasted. I, of course, promptly asked for the recipe. When I saw the ingredients, I KNEW why it tasted so good…. lots of shortening, eggs and sugar! I started experimenting to achieve a healthier version. The result…. great taste without the guilt! I’ve included my healthy version along with the original.

Decadent Pumpkin Bread
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt

Measure out and sift together into bowl. Set aside.

3 cups sugar
1 cup solid shortening (Crisco)
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups pumpkin
2/3 cup water

Cream sugar and shortening together. Add eggs and continue beating until smooth. Beat in vanilla, pumpkin and water. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour into two large loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Four smaller loaf pans may also be used but reduce baking time to 45 minutes.

Healthy (but still Decadent) Pumpkin Bread
(What makes this recipe healthier? Extra pumpkin puree replaces the shortening, honey or agave syrup replaces the water and reduces the need for so much processed sugar, more vanilla increases the sweet flavor in lieu of the sugar, and finally, one of the eggs is eliminated without any negative effect on the final result.)

3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt

Measure out and sift together into bowl. Set aside.

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups pumpkin
1/2 cup honey or agave syrup

Beat sugar and eggs together.  Beat in vanilla, pumpkin and honey/agave syrup.  Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour into two large loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Four smaller loaf pans may also be used but reduce baking time to 45 minutes.

Look for more pumpkin recipes this week…. Pumpkin Foot Scrub and Pumpkin Cheesecake!

And, of course, please use your reusable shopping totes when you run to the store for these ingredients.  Those cans of pumpkin would look great with any of the bags in EDEN’s Taupe and Red Hot Collection!

I’ve just returned from a week in the Seattle area, my home away from home. After years of flying into Seattle, the view of Mt. Ranier from the plane never ceases to take my breath away.

The area talk was of the impending bag fee, a vote being put to the people of Seattle. Last year, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels proposed a 20-cent-per-bag fee on plastic and paper grocery bags that was later passed by the Seattle City Council. Today, Referendum 1, the Seattle Bag Fee, will go up for public vote.

It will be interesting to see what decision the people of Seattle make and, to what extent, their decision will affect other U.S. cities discussing bag fees and bans. We, here at Twelve Rivers, believe it would be a step in the right direction, although we’d prefer people wholeheartedly accept the reusable bag lifestyle rather than being strong-armed into it!

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations . . . One School at a Time is one of my recent favorite reads.

Three Cups of Tea is a compelling account of the difference one person can make in the world. What started as a failed mountain expedition in Pakistan for American Greg Mortenson kicks off a monumental life journey. Mortenson vowed to repay the generosity of the village leader and his people who saved his life by building them a school.

Mortenson struggles to fulfill that promise and then commits to fundraising and building many more schools for both boys and girls in this Muslim country . There are obstacles that would discourage the best of us as well as unexpected twists of fortune that rescue his efforts from oblivion.

Although I won’t likely venture to the high mountains of Pakistan, Mortenson inspired me to find ways to make a difference in my world, be it my neighborhood, community or our country at large.

It’s a must read for all!