Ginger Oat Cake
Preheat the oven to 350F.
(whisk together)
1 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. whole wheat flour
1/2 C. rolled oats (like you would eat for breakfast, also the regular kind, not the "quick" kind)
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
(beat together, in the following order)
1/2 cup oil (I used almond, also to use it up, but canola or some other mild-flavored oil would be fine)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 C. molasses
1/2 C. powdered sugar (or regular granulated sugar, I just used powdered to use it up)
2-3 TB. fresh ginger paste or about 1-1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
Combine the two mixtures, stirring until just thoroughly mixed (ie no clumps of flour or ginger floating about) and then stopping. (Too much stirring could make the cake tough.)
Grease and flour a medium-sized glass baking dish-- I think mine is 6 inches by 10 inches by 2-3 inches deep-- and pour the batter in, and bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on whether your oven runs hot or not-- mine does) or until the cake passes the toothpick test. (I will repeat it for thoroughness: stick a toothpick or even a fork or the tip of a knife into the thickest part of your baked good, and if it doesn't have gooey blobs of batter on it, or thick moist crumbs stuck on it-- both signs of varying degrees of not-doneness, but does maybe have a couple of small crumbs on it and is otherwise still clean and dry, then your baked good is done.) If you like, slice the cake while it's still in the pan and top it with:
Microwave Hot Lemon Sauce, for Those of Us Who Don't Like to Dirty Two Additional Pans for 1 Cup of Sauce or Spend More Time Making the Sauce Than The Cake
(microwave on high, for about 2 minutes)
1/2 C. water
(meanwhile, mix in a small bowl...)
1/2 C. powdered sugar
1 beaten egg
1/4 C. butter
Once the water in the microwave is bubbling hot, remove it and pour it slowly over the sugar mixture, stirring all the while. Then, put that in the microwave, also on high, for about 3 minutes, removing it every 45 seconds to 1 minute to stir it vigorously with a fork. Stop microwaving it when it gets thick. Then, stir in about:
1-2 TB. lemon juice, or, equivalently, the juice of about half a lemon.
_________
I am enjoying the slow process of cleaning out my cabinets. I think those around me are also enjoying it! It works out well for my creative process and for my need to not get diabetes.
_________
The last time I went to visit Grandmom, she told me the story of how she retired.
Grandmom worked at, I think, the same factory her whole working life. It was boring, but it was good pay, and Grandmom has always been good at sewing, so it played to her strengths. Plus, she got to hang out with her friends on lunch and scheduled breaks. It's New Jersey, which is a union state. If a union could have negotiated scheduled foot massages, it would have by now. Unions in the US, to enter onto a tangent, seem to have progressed on the "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations" plan and, like all who go down that unfavorable road, it is their own fault and nobody else's. If the unions had just quit at fair working hours and safe working conditions, everybody would still love the unions. Instead, they got pompous and cocky around the 1970s, much like the overly-coddled son of a bootstrap millionaire, with the predictable results that always follow too much throwing your weight around.
Anyway, to return to my story. Grandmom and her unionized friends engaged in much friendly rivalry, like all women in the workplace. This included the Secret Bird, otherwise known as flipping someone off across the room while pretending to adjust your glasses. This was mostly before contacts, so almost everyone wore glasses. Even Grandmom and Aunt Kitty flipped each other off on occasion. Gotta love it. Amongst all this Secret Bird Flipping and break-taking, my Grandmom became one of the best sewers in the factory, and was entrusted with the trickiest work. During all of this, the factory changed hands and Grandmom got a new boss. This new boss did not like fixing his equipment. You would think this would be an intuitive act in a factory-- to make sure the factory equipment still worked, much like the hiring and retaining of the workers to run said equipment. However, history is about to prove us wrong.
Grandmom's specialized sewing machine would break. She would go tell the boss. He would, instead of having someone trained in sewing machine repair come fix it, come over himself, pound on it like a Neanderthal trying to invent fire, and leave. It would work for another few minutes, hours, or days. Then this process would repeat itself. Did I mention the as-frequent complaints of this same boss about how Grandmom's productivity was subpar? Eventually Grandmom decided to leave. She did. The boss came personally to her house to beg her to come back. She made him swear a solemn oath to fix the machine once and for all. He made that oath. Grandmom went back. The machine wasn't fixed. So, one day a couple of weeks later, she decided to sneak out in stealth. Around lunchtime, she collected her personal things and went home claiming to be eating out. And she never returned! And she has enjoyed a life of leisure ever since!
Grandpop retired a few years later and maintained their marital bliss by being faithful to his true loves: gameshows and sports on the television. At least once a visit Grandmom comments in disgust that all Grandpop does is sit on the couch and watch tv and yet he never gains a pound! In Grandpop's defense, earlier in his retirement he also: barbequed the best rotisserie chickens ever; maintained the front and back lawns in golf-course-like perfection; vacuumed (including chasing the dog around with it, not out of malice but sheer fur anxiety); drove Grandmom around like a professional chauffeur; and messed around in the basement and the garage with assorted tools. However, despite Grandpop's diminishing activity over the years, it is true that he still has never really put on weight, despite also having a notorious sweet tooth that can only be satisfied by glasses of Boost! with every meal and cake and coffee every night a couple of hours after dinner. You know, so there's room. It's enough to make any woman disgusted.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
(whisk together)
1 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. whole wheat flour
1/2 C. rolled oats (like you would eat for breakfast, also the regular kind, not the "quick" kind)
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
(beat together, in the following order)
1/2 cup oil (I used almond, also to use it up, but canola or some other mild-flavored oil would be fine)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 C. molasses
1/2 C. powdered sugar (or regular granulated sugar, I just used powdered to use it up)
2-3 TB. fresh ginger paste or about 1-1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
Combine the two mixtures, stirring until just thoroughly mixed (ie no clumps of flour or ginger floating about) and then stopping. (Too much stirring could make the cake tough.)
Grease and flour a medium-sized glass baking dish-- I think mine is 6 inches by 10 inches by 2-3 inches deep-- and pour the batter in, and bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on whether your oven runs hot or not-- mine does) or until the cake passes the toothpick test. (I will repeat it for thoroughness: stick a toothpick or even a fork or the tip of a knife into the thickest part of your baked good, and if it doesn't have gooey blobs of batter on it, or thick moist crumbs stuck on it-- both signs of varying degrees of not-doneness, but does maybe have a couple of small crumbs on it and is otherwise still clean and dry, then your baked good is done.) If you like, slice the cake while it's still in the pan and top it with:
Microwave Hot Lemon Sauce, for Those of Us Who Don't Like to Dirty Two Additional Pans for 1 Cup of Sauce or Spend More Time Making the Sauce Than The Cake
(microwave on high, for about 2 minutes)
1/2 C. water
(meanwhile, mix in a small bowl...)
1/2 C. powdered sugar
1 beaten egg
1/4 C. butter
Once the water in the microwave is bubbling hot, remove it and pour it slowly over the sugar mixture, stirring all the while. Then, put that in the microwave, also on high, for about 3 minutes, removing it every 45 seconds to 1 minute to stir it vigorously with a fork. Stop microwaving it when it gets thick. Then, stir in about:
1-2 TB. lemon juice, or, equivalently, the juice of about half a lemon.
_________
I am enjoying the slow process of cleaning out my cabinets. I think those around me are also enjoying it! It works out well for my creative process and for my need to not get diabetes.
_________
The last time I went to visit Grandmom, she told me the story of how she retired.
Grandmom worked at, I think, the same factory her whole working life. It was boring, but it was good pay, and Grandmom has always been good at sewing, so it played to her strengths. Plus, she got to hang out with her friends on lunch and scheduled breaks. It's New Jersey, which is a union state. If a union could have negotiated scheduled foot massages, it would have by now. Unions in the US, to enter onto a tangent, seem to have progressed on the "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations" plan and, like all who go down that unfavorable road, it is their own fault and nobody else's. If the unions had just quit at fair working hours and safe working conditions, everybody would still love the unions. Instead, they got pompous and cocky around the 1970s, much like the overly-coddled son of a bootstrap millionaire, with the predictable results that always follow too much throwing your weight around.
Anyway, to return to my story. Grandmom and her unionized friends engaged in much friendly rivalry, like all women in the workplace. This included the Secret Bird, otherwise known as flipping someone off across the room while pretending to adjust your glasses. This was mostly before contacts, so almost everyone wore glasses. Even Grandmom and Aunt Kitty flipped each other off on occasion. Gotta love it. Amongst all this Secret Bird Flipping and break-taking, my Grandmom became one of the best sewers in the factory, and was entrusted with the trickiest work. During all of this, the factory changed hands and Grandmom got a new boss. This new boss did not like fixing his equipment. You would think this would be an intuitive act in a factory-- to make sure the factory equipment still worked, much like the hiring and retaining of the workers to run said equipment. However, history is about to prove us wrong.
Grandmom's specialized sewing machine would break. She would go tell the boss. He would, instead of having someone trained in sewing machine repair come fix it, come over himself, pound on it like a Neanderthal trying to invent fire, and leave. It would work for another few minutes, hours, or days. Then this process would repeat itself. Did I mention the as-frequent complaints of this same boss about how Grandmom's productivity was subpar? Eventually Grandmom decided to leave. She did. The boss came personally to her house to beg her to come back. She made him swear a solemn oath to fix the machine once and for all. He made that oath. Grandmom went back. The machine wasn't fixed. So, one day a couple of weeks later, she decided to sneak out in stealth. Around lunchtime, she collected her personal things and went home claiming to be eating out. And she never returned! And she has enjoyed a life of leisure ever since!
Grandpop retired a few years later and maintained their marital bliss by being faithful to his true loves: gameshows and sports on the television. At least once a visit Grandmom comments in disgust that all Grandpop does is sit on the couch and watch tv and yet he never gains a pound! In Grandpop's defense, earlier in his retirement he also: barbequed the best rotisserie chickens ever; maintained the front and back lawns in golf-course-like perfection; vacuumed (including chasing the dog around with it, not out of malice but sheer fur anxiety); drove Grandmom around like a professional chauffeur; and messed around in the basement and the garage with assorted tools. However, despite Grandpop's diminishing activity over the years, it is true that he still has never really put on weight, despite also having a notorious sweet tooth that can only be satisfied by glasses of Boost! with every meal and cake and coffee every night a couple of hours after dinner. You know, so there's room. It's enough to make any woman disgusted.
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