Venusian Pleasures - Poppy Seed Cake

stormlaughterIcon_lock "Oh help me. I'm floating in cinnamon, nutmeg, almond, & poppy seed pleasure. I should say "join me". :)"
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Never mind Neptune. More delicious delights have my attention right now.

My mouth is numb, comfortably numb. I just consumed half my daily calories with Neufchatel. Then I had another piece.

I'm drying petals from a blossom of Ryan's Rose so the kitchen is filled with the rosy fragrance. Couple that with this cake's sweet cinnamon heat from the oven and this domestic goddess is reborn.

This is where my Venus finds her voice.

Poppy Seed Cake
Inspired by a recipe from Gail Gand

1 1/4 ozs culinary poppy seeds
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/8 cup corn oil
1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring
couple of drops of almond flavoring
1 cup self-rising flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch grated nutmeg

Soak poppy seeds in milk for 1 hour. Set aside. Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside.

Whip egg and sugar until fluffy. Drizzle in vegetable oil, vanilla, and almond flavorings. Sift together flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add to batter alternately with the poppy seeds and milk.

Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake at 325o for 45 minutes to an hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Top warm with cream cheese, butter, honey, or ice cream.


Notes: Oh heavens, what pleasure. Use evaporated milk in this recipe if you wish and you can save your regular milk for drinking. Consider trying Homemade Vanilla Flavoring and Vanilla Sugar for desserts like this. Be sure not to use more than a couple of drops of almond flavoring because it can easily overpower this delicate cake. Original recipe made 2 cakes and this recipe doubles flawlessly. Fill the room with the fragrance of roses (or if you're adventuresome, serve with tangy, fragrant rose conserve) to go along with this delight. The cake is moderately sweet and always unfrosted.

Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Venusian Pleasures - Homemade Vanilla Sugar and Vanilla Flavoring

Vanilla Sugar

Place 2 lbs granulated sugar in an airtight canister and label with ingredients and date. Bury a whole vanilla bean pod in the sugar. Shake the container every few days. Let steep for 2 months. Use in any recipe calling for granulated sugar as well as in coffee and tea. One pod will flavor three changes of sugar (6 pounds in all) but use only 2 lbs at a time or it'll be a year before the sugar gets flavored. You can then use the pod for things like puddings and mead.


Bourbon Vanilla Flavoring

Split 2 vanilla bean pods and scrape the seeds into a pint of a bourbon that you like to drink, then add the pod halves. Cap tightly. Shake bottle every month or so. Let steep in the back of a dark cabinet for about a year before use. Marvelous in things like eggnog, hot toddies, and bourbon-soaked cakes. Two pods will flavor 2 pints of bourbon. Just refill the original bottle once you've emptied it. Discard the pods after the second batch. Very nice gift.



Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission. Use the ShareThis link if you want to share this. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else without proper citation, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more effective.

Mummy Food - with Cream of Wheat or Cream of Rice, good potassium/sodium ratio

Mummy Food - with Cream of Wheat or Cream of Rice

3 fresh or frozen figs
1/4 cup dried sugared dates
1 cup boiling water
1 pkg instant Cream of Wheat or 1/4 cup Cream of Rice
1 tbs butter

Plump and defrost fruits in boiling water for 10 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Reheat if desired. Makes 1 serving


Nutritional Notes (you could save 102 Calories, 81.8 mgs sodium, nearly all the fat and all the cholesterol by omitting the butter):

Calories made with Cream of Wheat - 422
Calories made with Cream of Rice - 492
Total fat, either cereal - 11.3 g
Sat. fat, either cereal - 7.3 g
Cholesterol, either cereal - 30.5 g
Carbs made with Cream of Wheat - 74.1 g
Carbs made with Cream of Rice - 91.1
Protein, either cereal - 5
Potassium made with Cream of Wheat - 613.9 mg
Potassium made with Cream of Rice - 637.3 mg
Sodium made with Cream of Wheat - 243 mg
Sodium made with Cream of Rice - 83 mg

General Notes: I know, I know, a whole tablespoon of butter is a lot. Adjust as desired or omit the butter entirely if you like. If you could find unsugared dates you could save some Calories and carbs both. I used the figs I have which are my mother's whole frozen figs from her farm. I didn't include the sodium in the Celtic sea salt that I use when I make this because I imagine most people would shudder at the thought of dried fruit and salt.


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission under any circumstances. Contact me to request permission to link. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more powerful.

'Twas the Night Before Nut Cakes...

Disability and the holidays.

One must find a way to cope.

Being a creative sort of gal, I tend to create things when I'm stressed. Music, paranoia, poems, food, all sorts of things come to life when I'm under pressure.

Here's this year's Holiday Stress Offering 'Twas the Night Before Nut Cakes.



‘Twas the Night Before Nut Cakes
(With Recipe)

‘Twas the night before Nut Cakes and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, except Mother Mouse.

Her stockings had fallen but she didn’t care,
She had to make Nut Cakes so her legs went bare.

She knew that St. Nicholas wouldn’t chop nuts,
She had to make NUT CAKES but she was a klutz.

Her knuckles were raw from the ends to the palms,
The grater was greater on them than pecans.

She finally got sourdough oiled-up and covered,
Collected the last of the items in cupboard,

With Cat on his pillow and Dog in his house,
Sat down with her feet up did smug Mother Mouse.

When out of the bread machine came such a clatter,
She leapt the recliner to see what was the matter.

Away to the kitchen she flew like a flash,
Tore open the bread machine, threw out her back!

As wild eyes before a loud shouting match glow,
Her face lit up things on the counter below.

She saw not the coffee pot that she had programmed,
She’d turned on the bread machine and it had jammed!

Pets heard her exclaim in her brain-foggy state,
“I’ll never again make Night-Before Nut Cakes!”


Night-Before Nut Cakes

6 tbs butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sherry, apple or orange juice
1 cup fruitcake mix or mincemeat
2 cups unsalted nuts, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp cloves (omit if using mincemeat)
12 tsp bourbon, divided (optional)

Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs until well-blended. Sift dry ingredients. Add to butter/sugar mix alternately with sherry or juice. Gently fold in remaining ingredients.

Divide between 12 paper-lined muffin tins. Bake in slow 275o oven for 30-40 minutes.

Cool on rack. For grownups, pour 1 tsp bourbon on top of each nut cake, cover, and let sit on the counter overnight. Makes 12 nut cakes.


Notes: My ex said one year that he wanted me to make a fruitcake recipe that "mostly nuts with a little fruit". His wish was my command. This makes little cupcake-sized nut cakes with just a bit of fruitcake mix and is a great alternative to traditional fruitcake. Nuts are a migraine trigger for some people. I use pecans and almonds since they don't cause me any problems. Never tried this with peanuts so I don't know how they would do. If anyone does try it, let us know what you think. :)


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission under any circumstances. Contact me to request permission to link. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more powerful.

From the Sparkling With Crystals Kitchen: You-Made-it?! Pork Sausage - recipe

You-Made-It?! Pork Sausage

1 1/2 lb pork steaks or 1 pound ground pork
1/2 tbs crushed red pepper flakes
25 turns of the black pepper mill
2 tbs whole or rubbed dried sage
1/2 tbs sea salt or to taste


If using pork steaks: Remove bone, gristle, and membranes but leave the fat on the meat. Process in food processor until ground and place in glass bowl or pie plate. If using ground pork be sure it's completely defrosted then place in glass bowl or pie plate.

Carefully and evenly sprinkle the crushed red pepper flakes, freshly ground black pepper, dried sage, and sea salt over the ground pork. Thoroughly combine with your hand or a fork.

If using right away, form into patties of desired size or into meatball shapes. Place in cold, heavy skillet like a cast iron skillet and cook on low heat until fully done--if necessary, cut them in half to check for pinkness and cook until evenly done throughout.

Important: Be aware that no matter which pork meat choice you use, this recipe has far less fat than store-bought sausage and might not render any fat at all even if you brown the patties or meatballs very slowly. The patties or meatballs may burn before you know it.

If making ahead of time, reserve the sea salt, combine the meat, herbs and pepper very well, cover meat mixture and place in the refridgerator. Right before cooking, evenly sprinkle sea salt over the entire meat mixture, carefully and fully combine, then form and cook as above. Don't refrigerate non-frozen meat mixture more than 24 hours before cooking.

Be sure to cook the entire batch when you do cook it. Freeze any leftover cooked patties or meatballs for later. Don't freeze the uncooked meat mixture.

Makes 6 to 8 patties or about 10 meatballs.



Notes: Personally, I like the flavor of pork steaks so I use them whenever I can. Ground pork is very convenient though. I have one of those small hand-crank-style choppers and it works beautifully for chopping the pork steak into ground pieces. If you grind the meat yourself be CAREFUL not to over-process because the meat heats up quickly and the fat will soften and melt, causing the mixture to become a gooey mess that's unpleasant to handle.

You can buy peppercorns in bottles with grinder tops if you don't have a pepper mill. No pre-ground black pepper can compare to freshly-ground black pepper. I don't like multicolored peppercorn mixtures--just don't like the flavor--so I can't give an opinion of how it may work here.

This recipe is a good example of when to used dried herbs over fresh ones. I LOVE fresh sage but it burns way too easily here. Also, using dried sage and crushed red pepper flakes will sort of act like a 'dry rub' of sorts if you make the meat mixture overnight, permeating the meat with the marvelous flavors.

It's important to sprinkle the herbs, salt, and pepper evenly over the ground meat--don't dump them in a pile. Sprinkling the herbs, salt and pepper will make for a more consistently-flavored sausage and make combining the meat mixture much quicker and more pleasant.


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission under any circumstances. Contact me to request permission to link. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more powerful.

Oatmeal-Flaxseed Bread - recipe

Originally posted on my other blog The Carmelite's Habit for Holy Week. Great bread for fasting on bread and water. I'm working on a variation where the grain and flaxseed are pre-soaked in buttermilk.


Oatmeal-Flaxseed Bread
1 1/2 lb loaf

1 cup plus 2 tbs water
3 tbs corn oil
3 tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup oat bran
2 tbs whole flaxseed
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tsp bread machine yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine in order listed. I like it with a medium crust.


Notes: A mild-flavored olive oil works nicely in this recipe too. If you think you might want to keep the loaf for a day or two, reduce the sugar to 2 tbs and add a heaping tbs of malt syrup. It will help to naturally preserve it and will really give it a nice rich flavor without adding any additional sweetness.


Nutritional Information for recipe as given

Per 1 ounce
Fat 2.9 grams
Calories 91.7 grams
Sat.Fat 0.3 grams
Carbs. 15 grams
Protein 2.3 grams


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission under any circumstances. Contact me to request permission to link. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more powerful.

Three Sisters Vegetable Stew - vegetarian recipe

Native Americans-First Nation Peoples-American Indians call corn, beans, and squash the Three Sisters. Here's my version as a nice, warming vegetable stew.


Three Sisters Vegetable Stew

1 quart field peas, butterbeans, butter peas, black-eyed peas, or limas
1 vegetarian bouillon cube (with salt added)
1 quart frozen or 4 cups sliced fresh summer squash of choice, defrosted if using frozen
Fresh corn from 3 cobs, sliced twice around the cob and any remaining corn juice pressed out with the back of the knife
1 medium or 1/2 large onion, chopped
3 tbs good olive oil
1 tbs butter
1/2 tsp salt

In large saucepan bring the peas and vegetarian bouillon cube to a boil in 2 cups water. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Add squash, return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for another 20 minutes.

In the meantime, slice off the corn off the cobs and rescue any corn juice you can get. In a skillet heat olive oil and butter on medium high until butter is bubbly, then add corn and onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss around for about 15 minutes or so until most of the non-fat liquid is gone.

After the peas and squash finish the 20-minute simmer, stir in the corn and fanatically clean the skillet into the saucepan. Every smidgen in the corn skillet will be exquisite and must be put into the saucepan. Add remaining 1/2 tsp salt.

Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Correct seasoning and serve. Makes six to eight servings, or four to five servings for hungry folk. Really nice as a leftover or to take in a thermos for lunch.


Notes: An alternative is to omit the corn and serve the peas-squash-onion stew over cornbread with lots of pot liquor. For people unaccustomed to non-meat meals, the cornbread would add welcomed texture and satiety. I plan to omit the corn and make jalapeno cornbread next time to see what that's like.

Another plan is to brown a pound of ground beef along with the onion in the skillet and drain fat, before adding the corn, but that would be a different sort of dish and of course non-vegetarian. But likely tasty. I might omit the corn if I use ground beef and just serve it over cornbread. Many possibilities! :D My brother the hunter would vote for venison instead of ground beef. He's welcome to it. :p


Copyright 2008-2009 Parin Stormlaughter, Sparkling With Crystals, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I do not grant reprint permission under any circumstances. Contact me to request permission to link. And remember that if my work gets published anywhere else, I'll pray for you. And perhaps take legal action. Rest assured, prayer is far more powerful.