Saturday, April 11, 2015

Pound Cake Recipe!


For the Cake:

1 Cup of butter/margarine (2 sticks) 
1 Cup of Vegetable Shortening (I usually don't use shortening, but I added it to the recipe because I have heard that it works well)
3 Cups of Sugar 
6 Large Eggs 
1 Cup of Evaporated Milk 
3 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour 
1 teaspoon of Baking Powder 
1/2 teaspoon of salt 
1 Tablespoon of Vanilla Extract 
3 Tablespoons of Lemon Extract (or whatever extract you're gonna use) 

For the Glaze:


2 Cups of Powdered Sugar 
2 Fresh Lemons

1) Set your butter and eggs out and let them reach room temperature. This will allow the butter to mix easier and the eggs will allow the cake to rise better. 

2) Get out your big mixing bowl, electric mixer, measuring spoons and cups, a sifter, a baking sheet, and a cake plan.
3) Preheat your oven to 300F with the rack in the middle of the oven. 

4) Grease your Cake Pan and dust it with flour. 

5) Cream the cup of butter and shortening together in your big mixing bowl with that electric mixer (or attempt to whisk it). 

6) As you go, add eggs, sugar, milk, and both the lemon and vanilla extracts. Make sure the mixture is smooth.

7) Sift the flour, and add your baking powder and salt to the batter. Add the flour in increments.

8) Now for the baking!  Scrape the batter into your cake pan and place it on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven. Set your timer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

9) Put 2 cups of powdered sugar in the bowl and squeeze 1 1/2 lemons worth of juice into the sugar and mix well. 

10) If your cake is done, perform the toothpick test on it (toothpick in and out; any batter on it, then it isn't fully cooked). Turn off the oven and let the cake sit inside for 10 more minutes. Then transfer the cake to a plate. Do not worry if the top of the cake is browned and cracked - it's supposed to be like that.

11) While the cake is hot, apply the glaze to your cake. If you have a crack in your cake (usually!) make sure to fill that up with glaze.

12) Congratulate yourself on making a delicious cake, and then invite friends and family over to eat it so you don't end up finishing it all yourself! :) 
Tips:
1) Remove the lemon extract to get plain vanilla (or replace it with a different extract).
2) Watch your cake while it's in the oven. Only YOU know when it's done! Every oven is a little different.



Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Indonesia Child Smoking

Can you imagine a young child smoking when he or she barely knows how to walk? In Indonesia, children as young as three-year-olds are smoking cigarettes. And over the years, things have been getting even worse. Lisda Sundari, deputy director for education and advocacy at the local children NGO Lentera Anak, said the quantity of kids 10 to 14 who smoke has multiplied in the course of recent years, and has tripled for 5- to 9-year olds.
Sixty-seven percent of Indonesian men and 41 percent of 13 to 15 year-old young men smoke. Indonesia is one of the few nations on the planet that hasn't agreed to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This implies cigarettes are still cheap to a great degree  (around one dollar a pack) and cigarette advertising has not been outlawed.
What is so bad, you ask? The harsh additives in cigarettes narrow blood vessels and puts enormous strain on the heart. It also leads to a lack of oxygen and shortness of breath. Nicotine, a dangerous chemical in cigarettes, is not just exceptionally addictive for youth, its a poison - a drop of pure nicotine would murder a person.
Additionally, cigarette ads are still completely ubiquitous across Indonesia. These promotions are on television, in daily papers and magazines, and put on trees lining the streets. Indonesian urban communities are crowded with announcements guaranteeing pleasure, style, and confidence. Cigarette organizations support the majority of the nation's concerts and sporting events.
Ladies and gentlemen, next time you see a child or teen anywhere in the world that doesn’t understand the effect of these dangerous chemicals, remember these young kids in Indonesia, and tell them to do the right thing.