Italian Coconut Cream Cake

This was my mom's recipe and we have made it for years. It's great!

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup buttermilk
1-7oz. pkg flake coconut (1 2/3 cup for cake and 1 cup for filling)
5 eggs

In a large mixing bowl blend shortening and butter together at medium speed. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy. Add 5 egg yolks one at a time. Sift flour and soda together and alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Add 1 2/3 cups coconut to cake batter. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter gently. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and frost.

Coconut Cream Filling

1/2 cup butter
1-8oz. cream cheese and 1-4oz cream cheese
1 pound powered sugar sifted
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/2 chopped pecans
1 cup coconut

Mix butter and cream cheese together on medium speed. Gradually add powered sugar and continue beating until smooth and fluffy. Add salt and vanilla and mix well. Spread between layers and top and sides of cake. Mix pecans and coconut together in a small bowl. After you have spread filling over cake take mixture of coconut and pecans and put on the cake.

Beautiful Song

I was listening to a CD by Beth Nielsen Chapman called Back to Love and there is a song on the CD that is beautiful called How We Love. Listen to it....it is beautiful and I think you will like it as much as I do.

One of My Stories of Faith

Before the month of May ends, I want to tell you a great story of Faith and answered prayer. The fulfillment of this story happened on May 3, 1988. It was the birth of our second son and last child.

Let me go back to l981. In 1979 we had our second daughter and like most people in America at that time our mindset was that we have now had our two children and that's it. We had two beautiful healthy daughters. My husband and I had never really discussed how many children we wanted and it was just an accepted fact that we had two children so it was time to stop. So in late 1981, when I took our youngest daughter out of the baby bed and she started sleeping in a regular bed. I thought it was time to get rid of all the baby clothes and baby bed etc. I had a big garage sale and sold everything. I remember thinking it was sad getting rid of all the baby things and I hated thinking that part of my life was over. As a young girl growing up, I had always wanted 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. My only sibling is a sister and she is 11 years older than me. It was like being raised as an only child because she was married and gone from our home when I was in the third grade. I always envied my friends who had other brothers and sisters at home.

After getting rid of all the baby things I couldn't get rid of the feeling that I really wanted more children. I was 31 at the time and I was feeling that I was getting almost too old to still be having children. I felt like I might have a couple of more years and that would be it. I really got that mindset from my gynecologist.
I still have very vivid memories of this day. The girls were down for a nap and I was praying and I started talking to God about having more children. My prayer went something like this. I don't know if it would be alright with You but I would like to have two sons. You know I'm getting older and I thought if I could have twins I could get it over with in one pregnancy. I don't want them to look alike. I want them to be from two separate eggs. I have always wanted to have a baby in the fall but God you know my dad just died last year and I would really love having sons born on my dad's birthday. I know You know what is best for me so would you let me know if it's ok to have two sons.

As you can tell, I was pretty much of a baby spiritually because at the time I didn't know that God viewed children as a blessing and of course He would want me to have more children.

I'm not going to get into this part of the story. But briefly, God had been dealing with me about love. Loving people that were not easy to love. Finally, one day He said if you don't obey me I can't bless you. In my mind I thought I have to obey you. So I changed my attitude and did what He was asking me to do. The next Sunday, I went to get our youngest daughter out of her class after church and she was waving a picture she had made and wanted me to look at it. It was very cold that day and I told I would look at it when we got to the car. When we got into the car I looked at her picture and it was a cut out of a church glued onto a piece of construction paper and the doors of the church opened up. When you pulled the little doors back and looked inside there were two twin boys sitting in a stroller. I knew God was telling me that we were going to have twin boys. I was pretty excited to say the least.

Two months later I became pregnant and the babies were due in November. I knew God had heard my prayer and these little boys were going to be born in the fall. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was having twins and that they were boys. I never doubted it. I started telling family and friends that I was having twin boys and told them what I had asked God. Mid way through the pregnancy I asked my doctor to check for twins and he told me he didn't think I was having twins. I told him I was having twins. To get to the point, our oldest son was born the day before my birthday in November and he was alone, there was not another son. I still felt that God had heard my prayer but He thought I only needed one son instead of two. He did give me a son and he was born in the fall. So I was very happy and I trusted that God knew what was best.

Four years later, in 1987 quite to my surprise I became pregnant. And guess what, this baby was due on my dad's birthday. I knew from the moment I found out I was pregnant that this baby was a boy. Well on May 3, l988 (my dad's birthday) our last son was born. When I was pregnant with him I was looking in a book of baby names. We already liked the names Will or Sam but I was just looking to see if there were any other names that hit me. I saw the name Jonathan and I knew in my heart God was telling me to name him that. I didn't particularly like that name but I knew God wanted me to name this child Jonathan. The meaning to the name Jonathan, is God's gracious gift. During the pregnancy, I had been dealing with a lot of fear but God kept reassuring me to trust Him. He had given me a scripture that He would deliver me at sunrise and I wasn't sure what that meant. I went in the day before my due date for an appointment and my blood pressure was too high. They kept me and was going to induce my labor the next morning. Well my water broke during the night and my labor started and the baby's heart beat kept dropping and three different times during the night they thought they would have to do an emergency c-section. The last time the heart beat dropped was around 5:00 in the morning. They rushed me to the operating room and once again the heart beat returned to normal. I laid on that table for almost an hour and they thought it would be ok to take me back to my room to continue laboring. When they pushed me through the doors there was a large window in the hall way and the sun was just coming up. I knew I would be ok. About 1:00 in the afternoon that day our last son was born and when he was delivered the doctor said, "oh this is the problem." Our son had a knot in his umbilical cord. The doctor also said, "you are very lucky most babies don't make it when this happens." Jonathan truly was God's gracious gift. That afternoon I was a truly blessed woman. I got my second son and he was born on my dad's birthday and God had saved his life and I was almost 38 years old.

Several months ago, my daughter and I were talking about children's names and she asked me what girls names I had picked out when I was pregnant with our sons in case the baby had been a girl. I told her I never had a girls name picked out because I knew they were boys.

I hope this story encourages you to pray and believe. I truly believe we have not because we do not ask. You can never give up on a promise from God. Always remember, we are on God's time table not our own.

Delectable Veggie Sandwich

I love this sandwich. It's really healthy except for the mayo and barbecued sauce. It is very filling and these sandwiches can be made up and wrapped in plastic wrap and kept in the frig and they are wonderful the next day. You can put them in whole wheat pita bread or use whole wheat tortillas. I got this recipe probably 20 years ago from Fit for Life Cookbook. When I first saw the recipe, I thought there is no way that can be good with that conglomeration of vegetables but let me tell you it is wonderful and all my children love it as well. You'll love every bite as it runs over your hands and down your arm. :)

1 cup broccoli
1/2 cup cauliflower (optional)
2-3 tablespoons carrots, finely grated
2-3 tablespoons red cabbage, finely grated
2 tablespoons yellow squash, finely grated
1/4 c. barbecued onions (recipe below)
1 whole wheat pita or tortilla
1 tablespoon mayo
3 thin slivers of dill pickle
1/2 cup lettuce, finely chopped
1/2 cup of alfalfa sprouts
2-3 slices of avocado

Cut broccoli into thin lengths, using only florets and upper stalk. Break cauliflower into florets. Place in a steamer until crisp tender. Combine carrots, cabbage and squash and mix well.
Warm pita in oven (or tortilla on a hot skillet) a few minutes until soft. Spread inside of pita or tortilla with mayonnaise. Place a line of broccoli inside pita or in middle of tortilla. Beside that, place a line of cauliflower, then pickle, then grated veggies, the barbecued onion. Top with lettuce, sprouts and avocado. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

In the pictures, you will see that I didn't have cauliflower or sprouts or lettuce the day I made these but they were still yummy.

Roses

Some of my first roses of the spring and some flowers from my chives.

A friend and I were talking several days ago about how good our roses look and I attribute it to putting banana peels under my rose bushes. She started trying it last year and she has noticed a difference in her roses. They really look healthy and to me the green leaves are emerald and they look beautiful.

I shared this tip with my friend. When I see bananas at the store sacked up at a reduced price, I always buy a bag. Come home and take off the peels and put 3/4 of the bananas in the freezer for smoothies and the other 4 or 5 bananas I use for making banana bread. You have a lot of peels you can put under your roses.

Brussels Sprouts

Ok, I know most people don't even think of buying Brussels sprouts but do it this one time and try this recipe. I think you will really like this and it might even become a favorite. It has really great flavor with onions and bacon. Two of my favorite things. You can use pancetta instead of bacon if you like.

1 1/2 lbs. of Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
4 slices of bacon or 4 oz. of pancetta (diced)
1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

Bring about 3 inches of lightly salted water to a boil and cook Brussels sprouts until crisp tender, 6-8 minutes. Drain and run under cool water to stop cooking process. Take a large deep skillet and add diced bacon or pancetta and cook over medium heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel. Now add sliced onion to the bacon drippings and cook stirring occasionally until onions are tender and golden about 8-10 minutes. Increase heat to medium high and add sprouts, salt and pepper and cook tossing until heated through about 3 minutes. Add bacon and vinegar and toss to combine.
This will make 4 servings.

Happy Birthday Dad

Marion Mills(always known as Dutch) was born 100 years ago today to Thomas Jefferson and Alice Mills in Payson, Oklahoma. He was the youngest of seven children. Five brothers and two sisters. His father secured their homestead in the Oklahoma Land Run. We still own the homestead today. My father lived in Payson, Oklahoma until he was 21 when he moved to Oklahoma City and lived with my aunt and uncle and worked at my uncle's gas station. It wasn't long until he was hired by the Oklahoma City Police Department and he started out walking a beat at the Stockyards. During this time, he started dating my mother and they married in 1936. He retired after 25 years from the police department as a detective. He went on to work for one of the county commissioners still working in city government until his death in 1980. He had two daughters. He was an avid sportsman. He loved to hunt and fish. He raised bird dogs and sold them and his other passion was woodworking. I have some beautiful pieces of furniture in my home that he made for me. I might add he had an eighth grade education.

Now, let me tell you a little about my daddy. He is probably the most patient man I have ever known. When I was a young girl, I remember my mother and grandmother saying of my dad "he has the patience of Job." When he became angry I knew it but he was always in control of himself.

These are some of the wonderful memories I have of my dad. My most cherished one is of a hot summer day and the ice cream man is coming down our neighborhood ringing his bell and me and five playmates are playing outside my home and I start to run inside the house to ask for ice cream money when my dad steps outside the house and starts walking towards me and my friends. We are jumping from one foot to the other on the hot pavement and my dad pulls out his little plastic football change purse that you squeeze from each end and it opens up(remember those) and he gives not only me ice cream money but each one of my friends. We were all so excited and I remember thinking that I had the best dad in the world.
This memory is so funny. He would always play in the floor with me, tickling me and chasing me on all fours and I would run screaming through the house but after we had settled down I would go and get bobbie pins and wet his hair down and roll pin curls all over the top of his head. I was playing beauty shop. :) Then after a while I would comb his hair out and I thought it looked beautiful. He did too! :)
This memory is precious. We had a gas floor furnace and at night my mother always turned it off because she was always worried that we might get gassed during the night if the flame blew out. So, it was extremely cold in the house in the winter when you woke up. When I got up in the morning my dad was usually dressed sitting with a chair pulled up to the edge of the furnace warming himself and drinking his coffee. I would run and jump in his lap and get all warm. He would hold my feet out over the warm air blowing up from the furnace and then draw them back. Then when I got dressed I would go back and sit in his lap and bring my socks and he would hold my socks over the heat to warm them up and then put them on my feet.

I have so many wonderful memories of him. Him teaching me to fish and showing me how to put a worm on the hook, teaching me to water ski.....and Oh, learning to drive with a stick shift was hilarious. I about jerked his head off. Today as I sit and remember him and what a wonderful man he was I know how blessed I was to have such a wonderful father. I want to say that he was not a religious man but he lived out the life of Jesus without ever saying a word. I saw in his life what it meant to be a friend to others. He was always there to help family and friends and gave generously of his resources. The day of his funeral there wasn't even standing room. I think that says it all.

Several years ago God was preparing me for something and He told me three things. The last thing He told me was "Trust Me like your Daddy."

Lemon Ice Box Pudding

This recipe is at least 80 years old. It was one of my dad's favorite desserts. There is a cute story that goes along with this dessert. It came from my dad's old girlfriend. The girl he dated from his home town before he met my mom. Dad said, "many Sunday afternoons were spent enjoying a bowl of this wonderful pudding." After my dad and mom were married he asked mom several times if she would mind calling the old girlfriend and asking her for the recipe. It was funny hearing them tell the story. My mom really didn't want to do that. Finally, my mom humbled herself and called this woman and she gladly gave her the recipe. And as my mom told the story the old girlfriend was very gracious and wished them well.

This recipe is very lemony, light, and cool. Great for the summer. Hope you enjoy.

1 pkg vanilla wafers
1/2 pt. whipping cream
1 cup sugar
2 egg whites
Juice of 3 lemons
Rind of 1 grated lemon

Crush wafers and whip cream until stiff peaks form. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites and cream together then add in sugar, lemon juice and lemon rind. Fold ingredients until all is mixed well.

In a 6x6 baking dish first add a layer of crushed vanilla wafers, then a layer of the cream mixture. Continue to alternate layers ending with the cream mixture on top. Cover with Saran wrap and let it set in the frig. over night.