As the Tulip Poplar ... [quote]

 

Amish Cobblestone Coffee Cake

 

 Oh, it's good! And easy, too.

 First, you can find the recipe here. I'll offer some suggestions to make it even easier.

 I simplified the directions by first combing the "wet" ingredients (melted butter, eggs) and then adding the sugar, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt). Mix this thoroughly (a large spoon is fine).

 Add the flour last and mix again. The batter is thicker than I'd have expected (quite pasty) but it makes it easier to spread into a pan and then place the cherry pie filling atop. By the way, I skipped the almond extract. It was $3.99 for a small bottle and I didn't figure it was needed (it wasn't).

 By the way, I used a 9x13" metal baking pan. Normally I'd shorten the baking  time when I substitute metal for glass but I found the full 35 minutes just right.

 When you add the  second half of the batter a spoonful at a time, it'll just sit there as "lumps" but they'll melt down as it bakes. Here's how the basic cake looks when it comes out of the oven.

 And here's a wide view just after the icing is drizzled onto the cooling (though not cold) cake.

 A close-up view of a corner of the cake.

 It's quite a nice cake and just as easy as can be. I don't know why it's called a "Coffee Cake" because there's no coffee in the ingredients (I think a true coffee cake should include it). Sure, it's great as a breakfast treat with coffee ... but still.

 We three (Bob, Tom and myself) just had a nice-sized slice as we played our Saturday morning game of cards. Delicious! And far better and fresher than the store-bought pastries.

 Wouldn't this be great with other pie fillings, too? I'd like to try blueberry. But peach would be another great idea.

I Think Our Lives ... [quote]

 

Pecan Loaf

  Mom used to make something similar to this. It was mostly rice and pecans and, like this recipe, was a vegetarian stand-in for meatloaf. This isn't it; but it's close.

 Mom got her original recipe from Kettering Medical Center and I absolutely loved it. If we still have the recipe - and I assume we do - I can't find it. So that led me to an Internet search for something similar.

 Food.com has a "Pecan Loaf" which will work in a pinch. If I remember correctly, this  recipe uses fewer pecans. And I don't think Mom's recipe used oats at all (and probably not a bell pepper). Here is the recipe I used.

 I didn't have "quick" oats but I had a large container of regular ones and I made sure the resultant "paste" was wet enough to cook the oats while the loaf baked. In fact after I cooked the rice I used most of the leftover water in this recipe. I also used more rice than the 1.5 cups that was called for. And I used regular white rice, too.

 The recipe fills a regular loaf pan quite nicely. I greased the pan before spooning in the paste. It does not appear that it would have stuck anyway.

 This meatloaf substitute is certainly delicious. I miss the original recipe, though.

I Want for Nothing ... [quote]

 

COVID Vaccine Taken

  Tom and I have spent nearly the past year by ourselves. We get out some: groceries, eating out infrequently, occasional shopping trips. But for the past year we have stayed mostly here. And when we leave the house, of course we are masked.

 No one wants to live through a pandemic. But that is better than dying during one.

 COVID-19 worries color our life right now. Worldwide 2.3 millions have died and there are 105 million cases of the virus. In the United States  alone, 450,000 of our fellow Americans have died; 26.9 million have been infected. Those are the newest statistics I could find.

 I have been waiting for one of the vaccines to become available to my age group (70+). Last Monday (02/01) Ohio opened up that group to eligibility. But where to get the shot? I have been watching various websites for an appointment. I even managed to get my name onto one list.

 One morning this past week Tom received an  email that CVS in Germantown had some openings. I quickly got on their website. All appointments were already taken. But they suggested their Eaton location as a possibility. I found a slot open and I booked it.

 I asked Tom to come along with me, both in hopes of making it easier to find the drug store and also to drive me home if I didn't feel well. We arrived about a half an hour early.

 Sign-up went easily and I was sent to "Aisle 17" to get into line. The line was short. Only a dozen or so were in front of me. When I reached the front of the line I was asked a few questions and my temperature was taken.

 Finally, seated for my vaccine, my left arm was swabbed with alcohol and the shot administered. It was painless.

 Afterwards I was told to wait 15 minutes before leaving to make sure I didn't have an allergic reaction. I continued to feel fine.

 For the next nine hours I noticed no side effects at all. My arm didn't even feel sore. But after I went to bed, I began to have minor chills and a slight headache and this went on for about two hours. My arm also began to be sore.

 Now, the next morning, I feel a little worse for the wear ... but it is nothing compared to contracting COVID. I will happily endure a little discomfort for being able to avoid the disease. Though I was initially set-up to have the Moderna vaccine, I was given the Pfizer one (that would have been my choice had I been given the option). Why? Because it has been administered longer and the most experience lies there. The 95% effectiveness seems a real plus.

 In three weeks  I'll be back for the second and final dose. I understand that's when the side effects are most noticeable. So we'll cancel Saturday morning breakfast with Bob and I have the luxury of being able to take a day off as needed.

 Ohio, by the way, has recorded 11,571 deaths and shows 915,000 cases of COVID. Montgomery County, where we live, has had 467 deaths and 45,256 cases of the virus. Are the numbers low enough to go without the vaccine? Perhaps, but not taking the vaccine keeps the peril present and does nothing to held achieve "herd immunity".

With a 2019 population of 11.69 million, Ohio residents show 7.8% of the population infected. Some people call the risk low (less than one out of ten) but it's enough to concern me. The vaccine is free and the risk seems relatively low.

 So I am proud to be  among those vaccinated.

Mom's Apple Crisp

  When Bob and I were kids, Mom used to make Apple Crisp fairly often. It was sweet and cinnamony and that's about all a kid needs to know. Of course it contained apples so it was also probably a  sly way to get us to eat fruit. But we never thought of that. We just liked it.

 Yesterday I noticed that Tom's bag of apples in  the refrigerator were getting a few dark spots. I had several apples there, too. All told: eight.

 I have never made Apple Crisp and didn't, in fact, even know where Mom kept the recipe. So I started a search and I think I found it. She almost certainly used an old Mennonite recipe, the source of many of her favorite desserts.

 It's simple enough:

Apple Crisp

8 apples
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (heaping)
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup margarine (one stick)
1/2 cup water

 I cored the apples and cut them into bite-sized chunks and layered them in the bottom of an (size) glass baking dish. I greased the pan first to prevent sticking. I added the water to them.

 The remaining ingredients were  mixed in a bowl. The margarine is "cut in" with a  fork, making a crumbly mixture that is them spread over the layer of apples. I smoothed it out with the back of a tablespoon.

 The pan is baked for 40 minutes at 375° (uncovered).

 I like how the top becomes uneven as it bakes. This is due to the pockets of margarine melting and  dripping down through the base of apples. After the baking time was up I gave the dish perhaps a little less than a minute with  the broiler on high so that the cinnamon topping would darken a bit at its highest spots.

 The completed dish takes hours to cool but I suppose one might jump the gun and  serve it while still warm. I preferred waiting a day for any liquids to be  absorbed by the apples.