Sweet Potato Bread

This bread is the one I make the most during the Holiday season.
My family and friends love it.

Please try it and let me know how you like it. Enjoy!!!



3 cups Gold Medal® self-rising flour
3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon of salt
4 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)


Heat oven to 350°F.
Grease bottom only of 8x4-inch loaf pan with shortening or cooking spray. In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Add oil, milk and eggs; blend well. Stir in sweet potatoes, pecans and raisins until well mixed. Pour into pan.

Bake 1 hour 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.

Life and Love By Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Fast this Life of mine was dying,

Blind already and calm as death,

Snowflakes on her bosom lying

Scarcely heaving with her breath.

Love came by, and having known her

In a dream of fabled lands,

Gently stooped, and laid upon her

Mystic chrism of holy hands.

Drew his smile acress her folded

Eyelids, as the swallow dips;

Breathed as finely as the cold did

Throgh the locking of her lips.

So, when Life looked upward, being

Warmed and breathed on from above,

What sight could she have for seeing,

Evermore....but only Love?

Preacher, Don't Send Me By Maya Angelou

Preacher, Don't send me

when I die

to some big ghetto

in the sky

where rats eat cats

of the leopard type

and Sunday brunch

is grits and tripe.

I've known those rats

I've seen them kill

and grits I've had

would make a hill,

or maybe a mountain,

so what I need

from you on Sunday

is a different creed.

Preacher, please don't

promise me

streets of gold

and milk for free.

I stopped all milk

at four years old

and once I'm dead

I won't need gold.

I'd call a place

pure paradise

where families are loyal

and strangers are nice,

where the music is jazz

and the season is fall.

Promise me that

or nothing at all.

Here is something I read in a book and I believe it to be very true:

But love, is more than three words
mumbled before bedtime. Love
is sustained by action, a pattern
of devotion in the things we do
for each other every day.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I made this for family and they really loved it!!! A must try Cheesecake.


Crust

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 24 squares)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Filling

1/4cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

2 tablespoons brandy, if desired

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

4 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup granulated sugar

5 eggs

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Grease 9-inch springform pan with shortening. In small bowl, mix cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and the melted butter. Press crumb mixture in bottom of pan. Wrap foil around outside of pan to prevent drips. Bake crust 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 5 minutes at room temperature. Refrigerate about 5 minutes or until completely cooled.
2. Meanwhile, in another small bowl, mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, brandy and pumpkin; set aside. In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in brown sugar and 2/3 cup granulated sugar until smooth. On low speed, beat in 1 egg at a time just until blended. Gradually beat in pumpkin mixture until smooth.
3. Pour filling over crust. Bake 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes or until set but center of cheesecake still jiggles slightly when moved. Turn oven off; open oven door at least 4 inches. Let cheesecake remain in oven 30 minutes.
4. Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake. Cool in pan on wire rack 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight before serving.
5. To serve, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake. Carefully remove side of pan before cutting cheesecake. Store covered in refrigerator.

Beef Stew for the slow cooker

It is getting chilly outside, try this beef stew it is very good. It is easy and best of all it cooks without you being there, or watching over it. It is a great meal serve it with garlic bread.

8 ServingsPrep: 25 min. Cook: 7 hours

Ingredients1-1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed

6 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch slices

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

3 celery ribs, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1-1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup beef broth

1 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon browning sauce

Directions

Layer the potatoes, carrots, onion and celery in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Place flour in a large resealable plastic bag. Add stew meat; seal and toss to coat evenly. In a large skillet, brown meat in oil in batches. Place over vegetables. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, broth, mustard, salt, pepper, thyme and browning sauce. Pour over beef. Cover and cook on high for 1-1/2 hours. Reduce heat to low; cook 7-8 hours longer or until the meat and vegetables are tender.

Yield: 8 servings. Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 cup) equals 272 calories, 11 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 53 mg cholesterol, 381 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 19 g protein.

Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night By Dylan Thomas

Though this poem is dedicated to and addresses Thomas's father, who was terminally ill at the time, it still resounds with the poet's characteristic imagery of natural beauty.

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lighting they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

When I Was One-and -Twenty By A. E. Housman

This poem incorporates one of Housman's favorite themes, that of a naive youth learning fo the world's cruelty.

When I was one-and-twenty

I heard a wise man say,

"give crowns and pounds and guineas

but not your heart away

Give pearls away and rubies

But keep your fancy free."

When I was one-and-twenty

I heard him say again,

"The heart out of the bosom

Was never given in vain;

'Tis paid with sighs a plenty

and sold for endless rue."

And I am two-and-twenty

and oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.

Her Reply By Sir Walter Raleigh

If all the world and love were young,

And truth in every shepherd's tongue,

These pretty pleasures might me move

To live with thee and be thy Love.

But Time drives flocks from field to fold;

When rivers rage and rocks grow cold;

And Philomel becometh dumb;

The rest complains of cares to come.

The flowers do fade, and wanton fields

To wayward Winter reckoning yields:

A honey toungue, a heart of gall,

Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall.

The gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,

Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies,

Soon break, soon wither--soon forgotten,

In folly ripe, in reason rotten.

Thy belt of straw and ivy-buds,

Thy coral clasps and amber studs,--

All these in me no means can move

To come to thee and be thy Love.

But could youth last, and love still breed,

Had joys no date, nor age no need,

Then these delights my mind might move

To live with thee and be thy Love.

Prayer For Peace By St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of Your Peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon,

Where there is doubt, faith,

Where there is despair, hope,

Where there is darkness, light,

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may

not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Thoughts By Jacqueline Bouvier

I love the Autumn,

And yet I cannot say

All the thoughts and things

That make one feel this way.

I love walking on the angry shore,

To watch the angry sea;

Where summer people were before,

But now there's only me.

I love wood fires at night

That have a ruddy glow.

I stare at the flames

And think of long ago.

I love the feeling down inside me

That says to run away

To come and be a gypsy

And laugh the gypsy way.

The tangy taste of apples,

The snowy mist at morn,

The wanderlust inside you

When you hear the huntsman's horn.

Nostalgia---that's the Autumn,

Dreaming through September

Just a million lovely things

I always will remember.

She Walks in Beauty By George Gordon, Lord Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies,

And all that's best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes,

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress

Or softly lightens o'er her face,

Where thoughts serenely sweet express

How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek and o'er that brow

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goddness spent,--

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent.

November Seasonal By Brooks Haxton

Crocuses in April broke

their muddy scab of ice,

three drops, three red drops,

swollen each as if to open

into a garnet cup, each

opening to be torn

by sleet that day.

The days grown long

grew short. Red

leaves, and everything

they fell among, fell, too.

A dark and an indifferent

cold came making themself

a place with room for us.

Song of The Rose By Brooks Haxton

Her memory of the rose

may yet grow less from little,

for all her husband knows,

though to his mind what grows

more troubling, like a riddle

in his memory, is the rose

bruised under the blows

he dealt her. No acquittal,

no tenderness he knows

can mend, no plea transpose,

or make the least less brittle,

her memory of the rose.

Blooms full-blown may close,

and love turn noncommittal.

This, by now, he knows.

Since, when she left, they chose

to let the lawyers settle,

her memory of the rose

is hers: that's all he knows.

When You Are Old By William Butler Yeats

WHEN you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled and paced
upon the mountains overhead and hid his face
amid a crowd of stars.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.


Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

In loving memory of Fr Bertram Griffin -- 1932-2000 Requiescat in Pace

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3, 5-6

Apple Pudding Cake with Cinnamon Butter Sauce

This is a great recipe, my family really loves it. It is so simple to make and is great for entertaining guest or just the family. Trust me and try it.

INGREDIENTS

Cake

1 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped peeled or unpeeled cooking apples (2 medium)

Sauce

1/3 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup half-and-half
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
1Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.
2In large bowl, mix brown sugar and softened butter with spoon until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Stir in flour, baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, the nutmeg and salt. Stir in apples. Spread batter in pan.
3Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
4Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat sauce ingredients over medium heat, stirring frequently, until butter is melted and sauce is hot. Serve warm sauce over warm cake.
You can bake the cake and make the sauce a day ahead and store them separately (refrigerate sauce). Warm the sauce in a saucepan over low heat, and heat individual pieces of cake uncovered in the microwave on High for 25 to 35 seconds or until warm.
Braeburn, Cortland, Granny Smith or Rome apples are all good choices for this pudding cake.

Contact information E-mail Rose.corbin@gmail.com or 347 758 3291 to order.

I apologize for being away for a long time. I know I don't have anyone who really visits my blog but I promised myself that I would add a poem a day or atleast write something new everyday, and I haven't followed through with it, so now I am going to give it another try. So I hope I can get a few new people to visit my site. I also will be giving some recipes that I think are great. Everything from appitizers to main dishes and my favorite part of the meal ... deserts. Some will be healthy some will be very unhealthy but very tasty. I hope you will try these recipes and let me know what you think of them.

Please feel free to let me know what you think of the poetry I write or the poetry I post from other writers. I so want to add that I am promoting my baskets since it is the Holiday season it is the perfect time to think about what to get your loved ones please take a look at my baskets and feel free to contact me if you would like to order some. My baskets vary in ingredients and baskets itself. Happy reading!!!!

Thank you for reading my blog and Happy Holidays to everyone!!

Rose