5 July 2013

Sunshine and joy



Our waiting is over and baby 3 (we'll call her S.) has arrived!  She is a little princess, our little rosy girl.  The kids love to hold and kiss her; on her cheeks, on her head, on her little hands.  M is especially serious in his devotions.  He feels some sort of responsibility to little S and always tries to help when she fusses.  Honestly, watching our little ones, our joy is complete and our cup runneth over.  And we thank God for the family around us which supports our (my) sanity in the chaos that is three children.  I will not write any more about family life yet.  Everything is too new and I think we all have to take a wee bit of time to process our thoughts and feelings.  Also, we're moving tomorrow, so our routines will soon be changing profoundly.  More on this later.



Even with the arrival of a new baby, life continues in its familiar rhythms.  Strawberry season is in full force in our neck of the woods.  Our visit last week to Whittamore's berry patch was tasty and enjoyable, especially for the monkeys.  I think they ate more than they picked.  At least we got a few trays out of the deal.  (And I don't mean the sweet little strawberry that has grown so quickly into our family patch...)  I foresee strawberry ice cream in the near future!




Speaking of sweets and food in general, I think it's been a long time since I posted a recipe.  It's not that I haven't been in the kitchen lately, it's just that I haven't had the time.  Also, I've managed a few recipes that weren't very memorable.  Anyhow, I will sign off with a lovely coffee cake - recipe courtesy of my mother-in-law whom I miss very much these days.  



CHOCOLATE ORANGE MARBLE CAKE

3 cups flour
1 cup milk (or orange juice)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs 
1/2 cup oil
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp orange zest
2 Tbsp cocoa

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease and flour bundt pan.  Blend first 7 ingredients together in large bowl until well combined.  Pour 1/4 of the batter into a separate bowl.  Add the orange zest to the remaining 3/4 and blend.  Take the 1/4 batter portion and add the cocoa.  Add a splash of milk and mix well.  Add the orange zest to the remaining 3/4 and blend.  Pour the orange batter into the bundt pan.  Drizzle the chocolate batter on top.  Take a wooden skewer and swirl around until well marbled.  Bake for 45-55 minutes or until done.  Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes.  Invert to release from pan and then reinvert cake to finish cooling.   Serve as desired.  (Goes very well with summer berries!)


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