Father's Day Cake

Father’s Day Cake
Dorcas Annette Walker

This Father’s Day our family will be especially grateful to have my husband, Dana, with us. Little did we realize over three months ago how fragile my husband’s hold on life was until he had a slight heart attack, which led to the finding out that the major arteries of his heart were blocked culminating in a 4 by-pass open heart surgery the first of April. The days before Dana’s heart surgery I was mostly concerned that he would make it into surgery before a major cardiac arrest happened as his vitals kept swinging wildly. I figured that once Dana had his heart surgery he would quickly bounce back on his feet like his usual self as my husband has always been healthy with a strong constitution. Unknown to me our life had already drastically changed. Instead of getting off the respirator within a couple of hours after heart surgery, Dana ended up having to stay on the respirator for over twelve hours when his body exhibited high levels of carbon dioxide. The next morning the left side of Dana’s face drooped. I knew this was a sign of a stroke, but when he started moving his hands and legs we became more concerned with the function of his left lung as the lower lobe had collapsed that turned into pneumonia and a buildup of fluid. After a couple of weeks in the hospital all I wanted to do was bring my husband back home and nurse Dana back to health confident that he would soon regain his strength. Meeting other fellows, who had gone through open heart surgery and recovered quickly only strengthened my resolve that Dana could rebound as well. Instead the last two months for us have been filled with continual complications with Dana’s breathing, more evidence with the passing of time the side effects of Dana’s neurological stroke, his sugar that persists in swinging despite taking four insulin shots a day all slowing down his recovery process. Our life now revolves around making sure that Dana gets his meds at the proper time, insulin shots, using his inhaler every four hours, between frequent doctor and ER visits. The last thing I am doing is complaining as I am so very grateful to have Dana still with me. The sad fact of life is that without trying or even meaning too in the daily race of life we take our loved ones for granted until an emergency strikes whether it be a serious car accident, tornado disaster, or a sudden heart attack. Suddenly our priorities change and we focus on what really is the most important to us. For our family having my husband, father, and grandfather with us will be a precious gift this Father’s Day. So on this Father’s Day don’t forget to honor the special father in your life that you still are privileged to have.

I saw this idea for a Father’s Day Cake in a magazine and was instantly captivated by its simplicity. The decoration of the Father’s Day Cake is easy enough that your children or grandchildren can help. Since Dana is on a strict diabetic diet I used a sugar free cake mix and frosting, but any cake mix or favorite brownie recipe could be utilized. Construct whichever shirt pattern you desire first with a toothpick and then decorate with different colored icing using frosting gels, small candies, chocolate chips, or sprinkles to help embellish your Father’s Day Cake. Preparation time varies depending on the how elaborately you craft your cake. This recipe makes one special 9 x 13 Father’s Day Cake.

Father’s Day Cake

1 cake or brownie mix- your choice
1 (15 oz) container of frosting- your choice
decorative candies

Prepare the cake mix as directed baking it in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Let cool, frost, and then decorate. Garnish by placing your decorated cake into a gift box with tissue paper!

Weekly tip: Use a baggie for small decorating jobs with frosting as it is quick, easy to handle, and can be discarded afterwards!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Heavenly Peach Pie

Heavenly Peach Pie
Dorcas Annette Walker

We’ve been having quite a heat wave up here on the mountain lately. As hot as it has been here, I feel sorry for all you folk living off the mountain in the lower altitudes and cities having to survive hotter temperatures. Each day I’ve been making sure that my hens and dogs have plenty of water. I do my outdoor chores early before the heat escalates outside. One thing hot summer days are good for is hanging out wash. It doesn’t take long for clothes to dry on hot days. I hang my clothes out in the morning and then keep an eye on the sky for any scattered afternoon showers. My ducks love it whenever a shower comes by flapping their wings and doing a hop and ducky dance around in the dust as the raindrops fall announcing the good news to the rest of the livestock that dashes for cover. The hot temperature is also ripening my raspberries and peaches. On warm days I love something cool for a dessert so this week I made up a Heavenly Peach Pie.

Peaches are a classic sign that summer has arrived and are quite a versatile fruit. The peach is a member of the rose family, originated in China, was considered symbol of longevity and immortality, and mentioned as early as 79 A.D. Known as “Persian apples” the peach was developed in Persia, went to Europe, and then came to America with the colonist. The first peach orchard noted in Florida was in 1565. There are over 700 varieties of peaches- some Chinese peaches are flat- with two main popular classes: clingstone and freestone; white flesh and golden. Peaches are sometimes referred to as “stone” fruit due to their pits. Most peaches are cultivated by grafting different combinations of rootstocks. Nectarines are peaches without the fuzz. The season for fresh peaches is June to the end of August. China is the largest worldwide producer of peaches followed by Italy. The peach blossom is Delaware’s official state flower, South Carolina is known as the “Peach Capital of the World”, while Georgia is considered to be the peach state. The world’s largest cobbler is made every year in Georgia measuring 11 feet by 5 feet. Peaches do not gain flavor with cooking. One large peach has fewer than 70 calories and is a good source of vitamin A and C. The saying, “you’re a real peach” originated from the tradition of giving a peach to your loved ones.

My Heavenly Peach Pie with its light fruity peachy taste is quick and easy to make year round using canned or fresh fruit. You can substitute the regular crust for a graham crust or even use the peach filling as a salad instead of a pie. Preparation time for my Heavenly Peach Pie is around fifteen minutes (not counting cooling time) and this recipe makes one 9-inch deep dish pie.

Heavenly Peach Pie

1 (3 oz) box of regular or sugar free peach jello
1 c boiling water
1 (15 oz) can of slices peaches or 1 c peeled diced fresh peaches
1 c cold water or peach juice
1 (8 oz) cool whip
1 9-inch deep dish baked pie crust

Combine the boiling water with the peach jello in a medium sized bowl stirring until dissolved. Dice the peaches and add cold water or peach juice mixing well. Refrigerate until set. With a Wisk thoroughly blend the cool whip and jello. Pour into the pie crust and chill. Garnish with sliced peaches and serve!

Weekly tip: How to tell if a peach is ripe- the flesh should have a slight give using your entire hand to give a light squeeze only as the fruit bruises easily while checking for an even coloring!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Tuna Salad

Tuna Salad
Dorcas Annette Walker

My husband loved to fish- something I never became enamored with. Hiking through tall weeds to get to a fishing site, fighting hungry misquotes, or wading up an ice cold creek was never my idea of fun- not to mention having to touch and hook squirmy worms that to my mind belonged in the garden. Before our daughter, Dawn, attended grade school and then later on our son, Dwight, all valiantly followed their father on his summer fishing trips. I stayed home waiting for the sun burnt worn out fishermen to arrive exhausted late in the afternoon triumphantly holding up their day’s catch. While Dana gutted and cleaned the fish I got my iron skillet hot and ready to fry up the fish for supper. There is nothing tastier than a mess of fresh fish fried crispy golden brown with homemade hush puppies and tartar sauce on a summer evening. To my husband’s chagrin once he taught Dawn and Dwight how to fish, they always managed to out catch their dad. Competitions ran high each summer bringing home an abundance of fish that I was able to freeze. Now that both kids are grown, Dana’s fishing equipment lies neglected in his workshop and I miss having fresh fish each summer to fry up. Thankfully today one can buy frozen or canned fish year round.

We are all urged to add more fish in our diets and for awhile tuna was the rage until someone decided that tuna contained high amounts of mercury causing a health scare about eating tuna. Further studies have concluded that the benefits of eating tuna in moderation outweigh the dangers. Lately I’ve been seeing advertisements about the jellyfish’s ability to give a person a better memory. Next thing someone else will decide that jellyfish are a health danger. It never ceases to amaze me what idea or notion shows up. Since I don’t live by the ocean I have no worries that one of the fishermen in my family will catch and bring a jellyfish to my house. While I know how to fry fish and use tuna in the kitchen, I’d have no earthly idea how to prepare a jellyfish. So I’ll just leave the jellyfish eating to the experts.

Since I always keep a couple cans of tuna handy in my pantry it only takes me a couple of minutes to make up a batch of my Tuna Salad. My favorite way of eating Tuna Salad is in a sandwich with lettuce and sliced tomatoes along with chips. Tuna Salad can also be layered in a soft tortilla to make a wrap or placed on top of a tossed salad for a different twist. However you serve your Tuna Salad you will have a filling and healthy addition to any meal. Preparation time for the Tuna Salad is ten minutes and this recipe serves five to six.

Tuna Salad

2 (12 oz) cans of tuna- your choice
1 hardboiled egg diced
1 heaping tb of dried onion or 1 small fresh onion minced
1 c mayonnaise
salt & pepper

Drain the tuna and dump into a small bowl with the egg and onion. Stir in the mayonnaise adding salt and pepper to taste until well mixed. Chill and serve!

Weekly tip: To save freeze fresh fish in lidded containers completely covered with water. To use frozen fish thaw, roll in a mixture of cornmeal and flour, and then deep fry!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com

Homemade Root Beer Floats

Homemade Root Beer Float
Dorcas Annette Walker

Even though summer doesn’t officially begin until June, I’ve always considered the Memorial Day weekend as the kickoff for summertime. School is usually out or almost finished and as any mother will tell you summer begins when the school year ends no matter what the calendar says. Here in the South on the mountain Memorial Day weekend means grave decorations and family reunions. I love seeing hillside cemeteries covered in floral arrangements. It always brings back memories of my past. I called my daughter and asked her what she remembered most about her grandmother. To my surprise not only did Dawn remember my mother, but also my grandmother on a rare visit to her house one summer when she was a little girl. Dawn enchanted all my Yankee relatives with her southern accent. I remember Dawn asking me one evening when I tucked her into bed why they all talked so funny. Her best memory was of my grandmother, Dawn’s great grandmother, making Homemade Root Beer Floats. Then my mind when down memory lane of when I was a girl having root beer floats (sometimes my grandmother used cream soda) at my grandmother’s house on a hot summer day listening to the adults talk about when my mother was a small girl and how they made homemade root beer. They would mix up a batch of root beer, put it in bottles with corks, and place the bottles up on the tin roof. When the corks begin to pop and the liquid fizzed they knew the root beer was ready to drink. This Memorial weekend I’m going to make sure that my grandchildren (the fifth generation) have Homemade Root Beer Floats to keep our family tradition going.

Root beer is a carbonated sweet beverage made primarily from the sassafras root or bark. Today homemade root beer is usually made from a concentrate. Charles Hires, a Philadelphian pharmacist, was the first to introduce root beer to the public in 1876 that became an instant hit. By 1893 his family began manufacturing and distributing bottled root beer. A & W, the number one selling Root Beer Company in the world, founded by Roy Allen, began marketing root beer in 1919. Root beer floats is also called “black” or “brown cow” in some areas substituting chocolate ice cream for vanilla or cola instead of root beer. Although there is no congressional record or presidential proclamations, August 6th is celebrated by many as National Root Beer Float Day. I discovered recipes for root beer cake, root beer cupcakes, liqueurs, etc.

Nothing hits the spot more on a hot summer day than a Homemade Root Beer Float. Not only is making your own floats more cost effective, but you can create your own family recipe by experimenting with different flavors of ice cream and soda. You can add toppings of whipped cream, maraschino cherries, or candy sprinkles for decoration if desired. Instead of stopping at the nearest ice cream parlor for cold treats, start your own family tradition at home or at a family reunion with Homemade Root Beer Floats.

Homemade Root Beer Float

vanilla ice cream
root beer soda

Place a couple scoops of ice cream in a tall glass and pour in the root beer until it foams up to the top of the glass. Serve with a straw or spoon!

Weekly tip: To frost a glass to keep your beverage cold longer this summer simply place the glass in the freezer. For a complete coating first rinse the glass inside and out in cold water and then place in the freezer. Caution: Don’t freeze beverages in a glass as it will break. Also be careful when handling a frosted glass as it is more slippery!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com