The Time for Fall Baking is Here!

Several years ago I was given a cookbook from my Great Grandma called "The All-New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook". It was actually a Christmas present because my grandma knows just how much I love to cook! Growing up I would spend my time with her in her kitchen and she would pull out old recipes clipped from newspapers and magazines that were pasted onto 3x5 index cards. I learned a great deal about preparing delicious food from her. I'm so grateful for those memories...

At any rate, back to today, I had some left over red delicious apples that I needed to use before they started turning. So, I pulled out this handy cookbook and used this recipe for Honey Apple Cake (with a Honey Sauce drizzle! Yum!). I only made 2 changes but I'll mention them after I jot down the recipe for you.

Honey Apple Cake
Prep: 15 min Cook: 1 hour Other: 15 min

Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped pecans, divided (1/4c and 3/4c)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 large eggs

- 3 cups all-purpose flour (I use unbleached flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I think I may have added 1/2)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (homemade with Ugandan vanilla beans!!)
- 3 cups chopped Golden Delicious apples (I used Red Delicious*)
- 1/4 cup milk *

Honey Sauce
Vanilla ice cream (optional)


Directions

Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan; sprinkle 1/4 cup of pecans evenly on the bottom. Put aside for now

Beat the sugar, oil, and honey at medium speed with a mixer until well blended. Add your eggs 1 at a time, beating just until blended.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Gradually add this to the sugar mixture at low speed until blended. Add 1/4 cup milk, beating until just blended. Stir in vanilla, remaining pecans, and chopped apple. Spoon batter over pecans in Bundt pan.

Bake at 350F for 55 to 60 minutes. Cool IN pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and place on a wire rack over wax paper. Pour 1/2 cup of Honey Sauce over warm cake. Cool.

Serve with heated honey sauce and ice cream, if desired.

Yields 12 servings

*The recipe didn't call for milk but I added a little because my batter looked a little dry. And I used the red delicious apples instead of golden delicious but I don't think it really matters. It's still yummy!


Recipe for Honey Sauce
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup milk


Bring all ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, constantly stirring. Let boil, while stirring, for 2 minutes.
Yields 1 1/2 cups.

Enjoy!

There is a reason for the way I am, for the things I do

Gosh! I haven't written a post in a long time! One whole year! But today as I was sitting and reading in Psalms, I felt such an urge to once again put down into words the thoughts I had about the beautiful truth I was extracting from these scriptures.

Psalms 119:32 " I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding."

I often hear from various sources whether it's on the news as someone's opinion or reading in different circles of the internet, that for those who are not followers of Christ, surrendered to Him and living in redeeming grace, express how archaic they perceive reading the Scriptures and taking it as a guide for one's life seems to be. I've even heard following the commandments as being barbaric. These opinions astonish me when they arise. So, I ask myself the question, "Why would some one think that the age old truths and commands from the Bible that I love and try my hardest to adhere to were out-dated or even heinous? Why don't I think they are?"

Well, first of all, I know that being one with Christ has a lot to do with why I don't think His commands are out of date. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That means His Holiness, His Kindness, His Justice, and His Love are the same towards us, His creation, at all times. So, asking Him to "create in me a pure heart and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalms 51:10) daily means that He works on making me more like Him, which means loving truth, righteousness, peace and justice just like Him. So, if He is the same yesterday as He is today, it only makes sense that the essence of the Scriptures, no matter how long ago they were written have the same depth and applicability to today's world I live in.

But, secondly, this Scripture in Psalms 119 I think really reveals to me the heart of my Heavenly Father for me, His Child. See, sometimes I have stayed up late at night asking why do I feel such a longing for God's truth. Why do I have such a yearning to do what is right in His eyes? Do I seek His approval? Do I think acting right will get me more love? Well, in light of these questions, I obviously know that anything I will ever try to do in my own strength to seek God's approval will ultimately be worthless...because I know the sin that I was drenched in before He saved me. I know the debt I owed before He ransomed me with His everything. I know...that I cannot win God's love...because He already loves me...and He demonstrated that through Jesus. So, again, why this yearning if I know that I can't win more love or approval? And the answer lies in what I mentioned before...that the heart of my Father towards me is good. He wants me to pursue His truth in His commands because He KNOWS it will increase my understanding of Him! He desires for me to obey Him...so that I can truly see His goodness and somehow understand this incredibly mysterious Maker and Giver of Life!

When I read this verse today, it clung to my mind. As I read it again and again, I felt that small surreal feeling...that little warmth that builds right in your chest as if almost to make you cry and laugh at the same time...the feeling of revelation. God revealing to me that even in this unraveling of understanding I was having at this very verse...I was experiencing that goodness He has for each on of us! He so wants all of us to know how He loves us. And He loves in so many ways it is unbelievable! So, I'm praying for my brothers and sisters right now, that God will reveal just how He intends to show you His goodness, whether it is through a sunset, a child's laugh, but especially His word. I'm praying we dive more into His word. He has so much He wants to share.