As 2019’s first major winter storm closes in, memories of summer seemed in order, not to mention a recipe for one great and classic cake.
Garry wanted pound cake for which I needed eggs. Our half-and-half was going “off.” With pound cake, we obviously will want coffee, hence we need fresh half-and-half. I wanted new pictures; Garry needed a photo airing too.
We accomplished it in one fell swoop (click here for a history of fell swoop), merely by driving around the block.
It’s a dairy farm. Milk, eggs. Sometimes local honey. Today they had homemade jams and organic lip balm. The eggs come from the chickens wandering around the yards and are often fertilized. The milk is from the happiest bunch of cows I’ve ever seen. They loll around the green pasture which lies along the Blackstone River.
There are several pastures. The pasture further down the road has a small creek running through it. They take the cows there in very hot weather so they can wade in the cool stream and graze on the wildflowers and weeds along the banks. It’s shady there. The calves have a pasture of their own and graze together along a hillside on the other side of the barn.
The milk isn’t homogenized or pasteurized, which means it’s very close to half-and-half, but you have to shake it before using because the cream rises to the top.
I splurged on a jar of homemade elderberry jam. They had fresh corn, but I don’t need corn today. Maybe I’ll go back Monday, get some corn then. We don’t eat a lot, so I try not to over-buy things that will spoil and end up getting thrown out.
And we got pictures. I haven’t downloaded most of them yet. These are the first batch.
Here’s my recipe for pound cake. I’ll be baking as soon as the butter softens.
- 1 pound (3-1/3 cups) flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 4 sticks softened sweet butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (use the real thing)
- 9 large eggs, lightly beaten.
It makes two cakes in standard loaf pans. I’ll freeze one. We will happily devour the other. I can feel my hips expanding as I write.
The elderberry jam is delicious. And 2 pound-cakes are baking in the oven. The smell is … wow.
Categories: #animals, #BlackstoneRiver, #Food, #Photography, #Recipes, Anecdote, farm
Thanks for sharing… Love the farm photos and now I’m yearning for summer and for a piece of pound cake! 🙂 No excuses for the latter now that I’ve got your recipe. xo
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I was going to say that would be an awfully big cake, but you actually make two and freeze one. Good move.
Leslie
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The recipe is what it is and I don’t think ANYONE could eat two-pound cakes and not die of some kind of heart disease.
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FBL (full belly laugh)…some things are worth dying for….
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I can almost smell the delicious aroma from here. Enjoy.
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Cow manure. Yum!
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🤣
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That’s my kind of farm, full of happy cows and with horns
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No one removes cows horns around here. They seem pretty content, horns and all 😀
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Horny cows?
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Nothing like being able to buy local produce.
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If only summer were longer! Right now, we can’t get out of our driveway, much less shop.
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I’m sitting under a cloud of smoke and ash from a bushfire in the area.
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Oy. You can see the smoke for miles.
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The cows and chickens are so friendly. I think they like us because we talk to them and listen to their complaints about working hours. I usually say, “I get you. I understand. Thank you for your service”. Some of the older cows used to watch me on television. The horses are more skittish. I just stare at them until they slowly trot over and we exchange pleasantries.
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But do they give you their best side when you take their pictures?
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Always.
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Thanks for sharing the recipe — and the photos! I now understand why it’s called a pound cake! I love the barn — glad it’s close to your home so you can picture it often!
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