I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
After leaving Washington D.C, we headed to Richmond, VA for our niece’s wedding. It was a beautiful day and she was a gorgeous bride. The day was filled with love and beauty.
After the wedding, we were on the move once again, this time to Gettysburg, PA. Our first Gettysburg experience was a ghost tour of the town. There are lots of ghosts and lost souls roaming the Gettysburg area, and ghost tours are a big thing, especially at this time of year with Halloween just around the corner.
Our guide. She was very interesting and knowledgeable.
These are the only ghostly encounters we had that night. The people of Gettysburg really get into the spirit of the Halloween season.
We had a fun evening, and at the very least, we learned some of the local history. However, we did have an encounter the next night after we returned from our trip to Amish Country. On our second night in Gettysburg, we had dinner at a local restaurant and were strolling around town afterwards. As we were strolling the sidewalks, I smelled the smells of a cigar and men’s cologne following us around, and NO ONE was around us at all. At the time, we had the sidewalk to ourselves. Our visitor stayed with us for a couple of blocks, then as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone, just like that. Of course Larry isn’t into this stuff and didn’t sense anything. But I did.
‘Tis the season of the spirits. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
OMG!!!!!! I have just gone through ALL the fabulous entries we had for this year’s 2022Great Bloggers Bake -Off. WOW!!! Let me just say you all did an amazing job. As usual, you have made my job as judge very difficult indeed. This year we had so many entries. It grows by leaps and bounds every year. This has been our best year yet. All of you outdid yourselves. We had all kinds of great baked goods, ranging from cookies to savory dishes to breads, to cakes and much, much more. All looked totally scrumptious! There were also beautiful poems and special interviews that were greatly appreciated as well. Thank you for ALL the great submissions, whether they be recipes, poems, advice or interviews. I think I have already gained 10 lbs just by looking at everything. A BIG, HUGE THANK YOU to every single one of you. None of this would have been possible without you.
First I will start with our Most Improved Baker’s Award. This year, it goes to Gary Metcalf, from Bereaved Single Dad at https://bereavedsingledad.blog/ for his Flapjack recipe. Gary has come a long way and has greatly improved since the days when we first started the Bloggers Bake-Off.. Great Job Gary! I am very proud of you. Keep up the great work! 🙂 Gary has gone from Best Efforts to Most Improved. Way to go Gary!!!!!
For the next awards, I have broken it down to the categories of Best Cookies, Best Bread, Best Tarts, Best Savory, Most Creative, and then our #1 overall, Grand Prize Winner
2. For Best Cookies, again, there were quite a few selections from which to choose. Our Runner Up is Brian, from Bushboys World at https://bushboy.blog/ for his Florentines.
and Best Cookies goes toIrene, from My Slice of Mexico at https://mysliceofmexico.ca/ for her Nova Scotia Oat Cakes.
4. Best Bread goes to Tandy Sinclair, from Lavender and Lime at https://tandysinclair.com/for her Seeded Soda Bread Rolls. Tandy is a past winner as well. I love seeing all the repeat contenders. Keep it all coming!
6. Best Tarts goes to Dreamer at Dreamer at https://cinnamondreamer.wordpress.com/ I have a feeling I will be making these myself in the very near future.
7. Best Breakfast Breads go to Milly or Miss Milly Robinson for her berry buns. Oh these look berrilicious!!!!! I do not have a blog site for Milly, but I know Mel knows how to reach her.
8. And now we are coming down to the wire. Who will it be? What will we see?
Both of these lovely ladies are past winners, and both are so creative. Their recipes are always beautiful works of edible art.
And our Grand Prize winner for the 2022 Great Bloggers Bake-Off is …….
Drumroll please. This is Robbie’s winning entry from last year, her Drum Cake.
Sheree, from A View from the Back at, https://viewfromtheback.com/2022/10/15/the-great-bloggers-bake-off-2022/ for her Vegan Nutty Caramel Cake. Yes, it really is a vegan cake. Sheree entered a few different things this year, and it was hard to choose even from just her creations, but this time, her Vegan Caramel Nut Cake came home with the grand prize. CONGRATULATIONS my Friend, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!
Once again, thank you to ALL of you. We had so many amazing entries this year. You all did a FABULOUS JOB!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS and a big round of applause to all of you for a job, or jobs, very well done. This is possible every year because of all of you, your efforts and your support. We all got into the world of blogging to help support each other and this is a spectacular way of showing our love and support for all our fellow bloggers out there. Let’s keep this annual tradition going. I look forward to seeing all of your creative efforts once again next year. Keep up all your great works in the kitchen!
And special thanks to both MelfromCaramel https://crushedcaramel.wordpress.com/ and Gary Metcalf from Bereaved Single Dad at https://bereavedsingledad.blog/. There is so much work and effort that goes on behind the scenes to make this wonderful event happen. Mel and Gary both spend countless hours putting all of this together and they do a fabulous job. Every year it just keeps getting better and better, thanks to both of these two working tirelessly behind the scenes.
Thank you once again for allowing me the great honor of being the judge for this fabulous annual event. Even though my job gets harder and harder each year, because each year we we get more and more scrumptious, mouthwatering entries, I LOVE every bit of it. I am already looking forward to next year and all the delicious treats that we will see. Until then, stay safe, stay well, and I will see you again soon. ‘Til next time, Jeanne.
It is now time for me to get busy with my judging for the 2022 Great Bloggers Bake-Off. I know you are all anxiously awaiting the results. I am too. But before I do, here is one more inspiring submission that talks about this year’s theme. It was submitted by Annette Lewis from Making Joyful Choices And Changes at https://crushedcaramel.wordpress.com/2022/10/16/robert-and-annette-making-joyful-choices-and-changes/ Thank you Annette.
ROBERT AND ANNETTE MAKING JOYFUL CHOICES AND CHANGES
Yesterday we had the delight of hearing from our special BAKE OFF Judge Jeanne, who shared with us her passion for baking and also for nature, and wise advice in managing the challenge of risings costs. In case you missed that very joyful post, here is a link that will that you straight there:
Today on the 2022 JOY OF BAKING GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF we are shining a light on a SUSTAINABLE BAKING and how we can live joyfully in harmony with this beautiful planet.
I know that many WordPressers publish stunning photographs of nature and many have written about both their concern over climate change and the changes they have made to be more in harmony with this planet. But I know one blogger personally who has made some big changes in her lifestyle, and as it is always a pleasure to pop round and chat to Annette, the creator of LADY LEWIS, I asked her to share her thoughts and feelings with us.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT NATURE AND OUR BEAUTIFUL PLANET? WHAT BRINGS YOU THE MOST JOY FROM CREATION?
What a delightful question Mel! How do I feel about our beautiful planet? I think I speak on behalf of many when I say that even during the toughest of times, I am filled with a sense of true awe and gratitude that our home is so magnificent and breathtakingly beautiful. I see no accident in that. It is simply an expression of love and joy – a gift to be treasured and prized.
Robert and I are very concerned about what we have seen with our own eyes. On a small scale, we have seen fly-tipping and vandalism. On a large scale, we have seen top grade timber such as spruce felled to be burnt as an alternative to coal – an alternative that is classed as “renewable energy” but actually produces more carbon emissions. The short-sighted decisions and quest for profit have contributed to what we perceive as great inadequacies in the stewardship of this planet. I am exercising restraint in what I say here Mel, because I know you want this feature to be joyful – but yes we feel deeply concerned about the damage being done.
What brings me the most joy? Well, the combination of nature that particular strikes pleasure into my core is that of water-trees-mountains. We love North Wales and the West of Scotland, and also the Lake District for rewarding us with that spectacle many times over and over.
Other bloggers who regularly share the joy of nature with us include:
HAS YOUR CONCERN OVER THE DAMAGE BEING DONE TO OUR PLANET PROMPTED YOU TO MAKE ANY CHANGES IN YOUR DAILY CHOICES?
Very much so. I think for many years Robert and I were perhaps a little stuck in our ways in some respects. But without even discussing it, we both started to make little decisions that were prompted by our feelings on what we had personally researched. I noticed that whenever we dined out, Robert was ordering a vegetarian dish and I was curious about that because when I met him he always ordered game or a hearty red-meat dish. We started to have conversations and although I have been brought with a “meat and two veg” mentality, I started to educate myself on vegetarian and vegan cooking.
I think that the lockdowns and social distancing requirements during the Pandemic were very advantageous for us being able to make conscious changes. Of course we could not host or attend dinner parties for such a long time, so once we were allowed to do so, the passage of time that had elapsed made it much easier to tell friends and relatives, “Oh by the way, we now stick to a meat free diet.”
What prompted that decision are three factors:
health concerns – we wanted a healthier lifestyle
global concerns – we have researched the dentrimental effects of mass cattle farming
pondering the cost of life
That last one might sound odd, but Robert was moved by a documentary he worked on that introduced him to a family who are living off their own land now – they grow their own produce and they keep chickens who supply them with eggs. During the filming, the subject of eating meat was brought up, and the gentleman said that every now and then they will kill one of the chickens. But he said that when you slaughter an animal for food yourself, your view of life and the cost of your food changes. He said their desire for eating meat has reduced for that reason. We cannot help compare their attitude to these fast food chains where people line up to buy a bucket of bread-crumbed chicken without any thought for the the real cost of their food.
I don’t want to sound preachy, because I don’t have an issue with people eating meat. But more thought ought to precede people’s choices. I sort of wish that all meat-eaters went through the process of slaughtering an animal and eating it, simply because the awareness of the true cost of your food deepens. I think there should be better education so that people do invest more conscious thought into their daily choices.
Other changes Robert and I have made – we sold our diesel guzzling vehicle and replaced it with a nippy electric car. We are also choosing to walk whenever we go into town, and use public transport in London. The electric car is handy for life outside of London.
I think the most profound change is in our beliefs. Our appreciation for creation has deepened. We now see more beauty, more wonder than we have ever done so before. This beautiful earth being restored to a paradise has become a focus in our minds, and it is prompting all sorts of changes – little and large.
Other WordPressers have been making changes and choices including:
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO SHARE THE JOY OF BAKING WITH OTHERS?
I enjoy cooking and baking. As you know Mel, I don’t have a sweet tooth at all, but I find great pleasure in seeing the joy that baking brings to others. Robert likes every mealtime to be a shared event – and we enjoy having guests. I love to find new recipes. One area I need to educate myself in is plant-based baking. I think I am still using too much dairy in baking. I was very impressed when you showed me Sheree’s beautiful vegan tart.
Thank you for allowing me to talk about these subjects Mel. I think I want to say in conclusion that choices are personal. Everybody prizes their freedom to make their own choices. But it is important to educate ourselves so that we understand the impact of our choices.
Robert and I have found joy in making choices and changes that help us to feel more in harmony with this planet…and that feeling is I am sure going to prompt us to make more and more choices that feel good and often turn out to taste more delicious than we ever would have imagined.
We still have to wait a bit longer before I announce our winner for the 2022Great Bloggers Bake-Off, but in the meantime, I will share an interview from one of our past winners. Robbie is a fabulous cake baker. She is so innovative and creative. I just love it. Her cakes are truly works of art. hey are ALMOST too pretty to eat. Almost. 🙂
One of the most exciting parts of THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF is when our special BAKE OFF Judge Jeanne designates the STAR BAKER accolade. It seems the perfect way to pre-empt the BAKE OFF this weekend by catching up with one of our fabulous STAR BAKERS.
Two years ago, one of our special STAR BAKERS was the astoundingly talented Robbie Cheadle, creator of Robbie’s Inspiration and Robert Writes and also Robbie Cheadle, was awarded a STAR BAKER accolade for a stunning drumkit cake. Do you remember this showpiece?
Robbie has made a huge contribution to both THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF and also to WordPress. She has a true creative flare, which she expresses in her writing and in her baking.
We were thrilled that Robbie agreed to be interviewed for our special STAR BAKER feature this year. I suggest you make a cup of tea and sit down to enjoy our catch-up with the phenomenal Robbie Cheadle!
WHAT DO YOU FIND THE MOST JOYFUL PART OF BAKING? I usually bake or cook for family events like birthdays, Christmas, or other religious holidays. I am the oldest of four girls and we all live in Johannesburg, South Africa, so we usually gather for events. My parents live in a separate cottage on the same property as my family, so these gatherings are usually hosted by me. The best part of creating these cakes is sharing them with my family, in particular my sons, nieces, and nephews, and enjoying them together. It always amuses me that the small children eat the fondant icing. I find it too sweet personally. The actual creation of a cake is also satisfying, and it is nice to see a cake art idea taking form.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE RECIPE BOOK? OR A FAVOURITE BAKING SHOW? I have four or five recipes for cakes that I have developed myself that I use for most of my cake artwork. My cake recipes are included in my book Silly Willy goes to Cape Town and in my Sir Chocolate series of books. You can purchase my books here:
Depending on the design of the cake, I usually use either my chocolate or vanilla sponge cake recipes for large platform bases or for carving. Sponge cake doesn’t collapse or break easily, and it also is much less crumbly that richer cake mixtures. For smaller cakes that are at the top of a stacked design or other tiering method, I use my rich chocolate or red velvet cake recipes. I have also been known to make cakes in a variety of different flavours for stacked cakes. For my mom’s 80th birthday I made an enormous 5-tiered cake. I used my fruit cake recipe for the bottom tier that carried the most weight, my chocolate and vanilla sponge cake recipe for the second tier with a marbled effect, the third layer was my hummingbird cake recipe, the fourth, a rich chocolate cake, and the final tier was a small red velvet cake.
ROBBIE, YOU ARE AN INCREDIBLE WORDPRESS TALENT. YOU FEATURE FICTION AND FOODIE POSTS AMONGST MANY OTHER FASCINATING SUBJECTS ON YOUR BLOG. WHAT TIPS WOULD YOU SHARE WITH OTHER WORDPRESS USERS TO HELP THEM GAIN JOY FROM BLOGGING ON WORDPRESS?
My first comment about blogging is that you need to keep it joyful. It shouldn’t become a stressful exercise or an obligation. It is important to fit your blogging around your life and if you have periods where life runs away from you, it is okay to slow down with posting and visiting blogging friends for a while and come back to it when your life normalises again. I like blogging because I have a large group of blogging friends who all share similar interests with me. My blogging friends are mainly other writers and authors, poets, bakers, people who like to cook, and photographers. These are all areas I have an interest in, so I read and enjoy their posts and they reciprocate which creates blogging friendships.
IN MANY LANDS, THE COST OF LIVING HAS BEEN INCREASING ANXIETY THIS YEAR – DO YOU HAVE ANY PRACTICAL TIPS FOR MANAGING ANXIETY OVER MONEY?
Managing anxiety over money obviously requires an element of sacrifice and self-control. When the cost of living goes up, you must make adjustments to accommodate for it, but you also need to keep the joy in life. A few tips I have are as follows:
Work from home three times a week, if possible, to save on transport costs. You can also walk or cycle more it that is practical.
Take local holidays and support local business which improves the local economy and is generally a lot cheaper than holidays abroad.
Make changes to your cooking habits without losing taste. A few ideas are as follows: a. Replace butter with a good quality oil or margarine. My cake recipes mentioned above use cooking oil rather than butter which has become very expensive; b. Add more pulse-based foods to meat dishes like stews and mince. I add lentils to my mince and various beans to my stews to make them go further and also because pulses are very good for you; c. I used a lot of canned tomatoes in dishes which I purchase in bulk when they are on special; d. Lastly, I buy smaller quantities of fruit, yogurt, and vegetables. It is more expensive than the bulk purchases but lessens the amount of waste when produce isn’t used timeously and ends up being thrown away. It ends up being cheaper.
IF YOU HAD AN UNLIMITED BUDGET AND UNLIMITED TIME IS THERE A FANTASY BAKE YOU ENJOY MAKING? I am fortunate, Mel, in that I am not on a very limited budget, so I am able to make the cakes and cake art I want to for special occasions. My favourite artworks are the ones I made as Covid-19 memories, specially the twisted Old Woman who lived in a shoe themed cake. This cake featured a young mother and foster mother who has no home help and is managing everything in the home on her own during the lockdown. She is also supervising the home schooling of her children and foster children who are attending on-line classes.
Old woman who lives in a shoe twisted Covid-19 nursery rhyme cakeClose up of the children learning on-line. Can you spot Michael – he is the one sleeping?
WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY FROM THIS BEAUTIFUL PLANET WE CALL OUR HOME? Gosh, that is a wide question, Mel. So many things bring me joy. I love the birds and flowers in my garden and in our local park. I enjoy looking at different fungi and all sorts of insects, especially spiders which fascinate me. I love going to game parks and nature reserves where I can see wild animals in their natural habitat. These are just wonderful experiences.
I get a lot of joy from my family and my two sons. They have both suffered chronic illnesses and I am lucky to have them. When we go through periods of bad health with Michael, I always remember that I am lucky he is alive, and I am thankful for the wonderful doctors who tend to him and help us through the difficult patches. I also get joy from people; I enjoy reading or hearing about their daily lives and joys. I am endlessly fascinated by how other people live and what makes them happy and unhappy.
IF SOMEONE SPECIAL WERE TO BAKE SOMETHING FOR YOU – WHAT WOULD BRING YOU THE MOST JOY? Michael likes to cook and sometimes he makes pancakes for the family. Those are always very happy occasions.
Thank you, Mel, for this opportunity to chat about my love of baking and thank you also for The Great Bloggers Bake-Off, which is so much fun.
THANK YOU ROBBIE!!!
We have so much more in store for you from Robbie this weekend. So look out for her spectacular baking creations!
WARNING – This is going to be a rough one. These are actual photos and history that were recorded. They are extremely graphic. I will NOT show everything. I am presenting the ones that are the “tamest”.
After leaving Arlington National Cemetery, A Somber Day – Part 1 – Arlington Cemetery we headed back into D.C. We were touring the Holocaust Museum, for yet another somber and sobering historic tour. Some might think it was too heavy to do both in one day, and they would not be wrong. However, Larry and I thought it was better to do them both together, and we had made our reservations weeks before our trip.
The presentation was very well done. We started the tour on the fourth floor, with the rise of Hitler to power, and then worked our way down, through each era of the Holocaust itself. I didn’t realize it at first, but the design of the museum was designed to resemble one of the many Jewish Ghettos scattered all throughout Europe.
There is no precise figure for the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. The figure commonly used is the six million quoted by Adolf Eichmann, a senior SS official. All the serious research confirms that the number of victims was between five and six million. The main sources for these statistics are comparisons of prewar censuses with postwar censuses and population estimates. Nazi documentation containing partial data on various deportations and murders is also used.
Sadly, Hitler and his beasts did not stop with killing only the Jews. There were many other millions of people, from all walks of life, from many countries and backgrounds, who were also persecuted and killed because they did not align with Hitler’s view of the perfect Aryan Society. Numerous people fell victim to the Nazi regime for political, social, or racial reasons. Germans were among the first victims persecuted because of their political activities. Many died in concentration camps, but most were released after their spirit was broken. Germans who suffered from mental or physical handicaps were killed under a “euthanasia” program. Other Germans were incarcerated for being homosexuals, criminals, or nonconformists; these people, although treated brutally, were never slated for utter annihilation as were the Jews. This era was truly one of the worst the world has ever known.
My dad, a WWII veteran himself, raised me as a WWII buff, and I have since read many 100’s, if not 1000’s books on the WWII era and have seen many documentaries. Many years ago, when visiting Germany, I toured Dachau, one of the many concentration camps, so I knew what to expect. But no matter how much you prepare yourself, it is always a shock. The pictures and the stories are just heart wrenching.
The Professor who wrote this survived Auschwitz, and emigrated to the United States. He was a professor at Boston University at the time Larry was a student there.
Once again, an eternal flame for remberance.
Sadly, there are still far too many deniers, who say this horrible atrocity never happened. Unfortunately, it did. It is a very real and an abominable part of our history. I believe things like this NEED to be seen and remembered, to prevent them from EVER HAPPENING AGAIN! History, both good and bad, is part of what makes us human, and tells the stories of both our triumphs and our disasters. We cannot change or erase our history. We can only learn from it.
On day 2 of of Washington D.C. adventures, we started off by going to Arlington National Cemetery. Our first hotel was very close by and it was something we really wanted to see. It is a beautifully maintained place of honor for all the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifices while protecting our country and our freedoms. Today, approximately 400,000 veterans and their eligible dependents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Service members from every one of America’s major wars, from the Revolutionary War to today’s conflicts, are interred at ANC.
Arlington National Cemetery rests on the property that was once General Lee’s personal family estate (though he never lived there). The land was confiscated by the government due to failure to pay property taxes. On June 15, 1864, the Arlington House property and 200 acres of surrounding land were designated as a military cemetery as Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs wanted to ensure that Lee could not return to the site. The first burial at Arlington National Cemetery was that of Private William Henry Christman of Pennsylvania, who lies in Section 27, Lot 19. In 1882, what was once General Lee’s estate, became Federal property, that is now hallowed ground for all fallen U.S. military, from all divisions and their loved ones (if eligible). Eligibility for in-ground burial at Arlington National Cemetery is the most stringent of all U.S. national cemeteries. However, most veterans who have at least one day of active service (other than for training) and an honorable discharge are eligible for above-ground inurnment.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been guarded, every minute of every day since 1937. For 100 years, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has served as the heart of Arlington National Cemetery. As a sacred memorial site and the grave of three unknown American service members, the Tomb connects visitors with the legacy of the United States armed forces throughout the nation’s history. It stands as a people’s memorial that inspires reflection on service, valor, sacrifice and mourning.
Since November 11, 1921, the Tomb has provided a final resting place for one of America’s unidentified World War I service members, and Unknowns from later wars were added in 1958 and 1984. Tomb Guards are volunteers – part of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as “The Old Guard.” It is the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army, serving the US since 1784. The Tomb Guard marches exactly 21 steps down the black mat behind the Tomb, turns, faces east for 21 seconds, turns and faces north for 21 seconds, then takes 21 steps down the mat and repeats the process. (The number 21 symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed, the 21-gun salute.)
President John F. Kennedy is one of two Presidents buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His gravesite, as well as his wife Jackie’s, are guarded with the eternal flame. Because JFK was a World War II veteran, he qualified for a plot at Arlington National Cemetery, but he also deserved a special site befitting his presidential status. A flame is widely accepted as a symbol of eternal life. An eternal flame at a war memorial symbolizes a nation’s perpetual gratitude towards, and remembrance of, its war dead.
This is the Iwo Jima statue, NOT at Arlington, but these brave men were dedicated to preserving our freedoms all the same.
Thank you yo all the brave men and women who served, fought and sacrificed so others may be free. I am eternally grateful for all that you have done and continue to do.
Here are some more baking poetics to get you ready for the big awards “ceremony” coming your way soon. These poems and baking treats are lovingly brought to you by Ingrid, from Experiments in Fiction. https://experimentsinfiction.com/ Thank you Ingrid for these beautiful treats.
This very joyful weekend has been a jam-packed celebration of the warmth and flavour and joy of WordPress – international flavours, fun and friendliness and creative talent. Our Special Guest Poets have given us the opportunity to celebrate a massive part of WordPress – poetry!!!
Our next Special Guest Poet has delighted us with two poems…and I believe we have two bakes to accompany them. First of let me tell you a little about Ingrid, the Creator of EXPERIMENTS IN FICTION. Ingrid is a writer, a poet, an independent publisher who has shared some gorgeous photographs of nature and of course baking!!!
Many of you will remember one of 2020 STAR BAKERS Benji, the creator of BENJI’S VERY BIG BLOG and his perfect shortbread. It is clear to see the baking talent runs in the family.
Ingrid has busily preparing for a book launch, so we are very grateful for her lovely poems and baking photos which capture all the fun and warmth we love about BAKE OFF. Here is Ingrid’s “Lemon Drizzle”, both her cake and poem below:
Lemon Drizzle
Lemon drizzle
It’s the shizzle
Tingles the tongue
Makes tastebuds twizzle
If you’re looking for a slice
Of happiness then this’ll
Take you to a happy place
A culinary paradise
To wet your whistle
Some of you may remember the 2019 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF – our first ever BAKE OFF – invited participants to bake a Sandwich Cake. We were amazed that we ended up with a huge variety of different cakes – all different flavours – which is astonishing. We have loved the wide array of bakes and styles and ingredients that have made up these joyful BAKES OFFS – but there is one bake that represents classic yummy baking so very well! This is Ingrid’s (not Victoria’s) Sandwich Cake and a brilliant poem too!
Victoria Sponge
Victorious Sponge, perfectly risen:
Measured and moulded and baked
with precision;
jam-sandwiched and sprinkled
with sugar so fine
you are not Victoria’s Sponge:
you are mine!
All the entries are now in. I will be making my selections soon. You will just have to wait a bit longer. We had so many participants and entries this year for our 2022 Great Bloggers Bake-Off, which is amazing. Thank you ALL!! None of this could have been possible without all of you and your support and enthusiasm. While you wait, here is another poem to enjoy, by Punam. You can check out Punam’s blogs at Whisk Affairs, https://paeansunpluggedblog.wordpress.com/
Whisk Affair
When my mind is in a whirl unable to stay in line I then give my whisk a twirl shifting focus works each time
shaky hands calmly measure exactness begs attention deftly effecting erasure of the nerve-racking tension
as vanilla marries nutmeg and butter embraces flour I beat blues as I beat eggs sugar counters my mood sour
My worries scatter and dart as I wield my trusty whisk mellowness cradles my heart the sweet, warm smell a balmy mix
satiated sighs, leftover crumbs are my craven heart’s refuge when depredation makes me numb baking, antidote to news deluge.
We were on a very tight schedule on our first day in D.C. There was hardly anytime to take a break. So lunch was from one of the many food trucks lined up on the street.
I wasn’t particularly hungry, but Larry was, so we split a gyro and some fries. But we made plenty of friends who were more than happy to help us with our lunch.
We made friends with some squirrels, one in particular;
starlings and pigeons. The starlings kept growing in number. First there was one, then two, then three, and then I lost count.
We couldn’t feed them all, but there were plenty of other people around to help out. 🙂
Larry and I were both very excited about the opportunity to take the Capitol tour while in D.C. We both liked it a lot more than The White House Tour, though don’t get me wrong, that is very good too. Touring Washington D.C. – Part 1. Larry and I both love history and thought this tour was fascinating. We learned so much. We did not get to meet any of the Congress men or women or any of the Senators either, but it was still a great tour. I wish we could have met some of the representatives. That would have made it a lot more special indeed.
The tour started with a short little video about both Congress and the Senate. Once the video ended, we took a guided tour
This lovely lady represents FREEDOM.
Our very knowledgeable guide.
This star is located in the center of Washington D.C.
Everything was so beautiful and ornate. This is the beautiful and intricate flooring of the Capitol building.
This chandelier is just exquisite. I think there are over 350 crystals used and it takes about 3 days to fully clean.
The Dome
Each state is allowed to send two statues to the Capitol, and they must be there for a minimum of 10 years. They can choose anyone they want o represent their state.
This statue represents Lady Liberty. An American eagle stands to Liberty’s right, and the scroll in her right hand is the Constitution of the United States. To her left, a serpent, the symbol of wisdom, is entwined around a section of a column.
This is the old Senate chamber. This was used until until 1859, when the Senate outgrew this chamber and moved into the new chamber that is still in use today. Because this chamber is no longer is use, other than for historical tours, we were allowed to take pictures. However, we are not allowed to take any pictures at all of the current chamber.
This is a stock photo of the current chamber, the only kind we are allowed to use.
Once again, it was a very informative and interesting tour. We are both so glad we were able to do this tour. I think it is beneficial for as many people as possible to take this tour, and to get a better understanding of our country and how it works.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 