Falling in love with---

Bakers and want-to-be-bakers, today I will be talking about something you simply MUST become acquainted with if you want to learn how to make today's quick dessert recipe.

I never knew about this magical (bow down to the deliciousness) ingredient until about three or four years ago when I stumbled upon it (or some recipe containing it) while searching for a quick warm weather treat.

What is this mystery substance? Chances are if you come from a Southern USA background or a Hispanic/Latino culture you will all ready know about sweetened condensed milk. That little 14 ounce can of heavenly sweetness will bring joy to your baking and enable you to make some speedy and tasty pies using your refrigerator instead of your oven.

Summers get quite warm in the USA and our thoughts in June, July, and August turn toward ice cream and cold drinks. When air conditioning is scarce or expensive you do not want to stick on your oven but you HAVE TO have your sweets. Maybe ice cream is okay for you but when company rolls around, you need to keep a few tricks up your sleeve!

Back to sweetened condensed milk.  Mixing this with a few other items creates a base for a decent pie you can doctor up or down depending on your preferences or the taste buds of your guests.

You can google the term "ice box" pies and get many variations on the theme of "mix it up and put it in the cold box" till it's ready to eat. Ice box sounds so---I don't know, 1940s...I'm thinking of well dressed people all wearing hats, listening to the Andrews Sisters, winning one for Winnie...(sorry, just channeling some past life?)

Anyhow, I can give you a very easy one to try when the weather gets too hot to bake. You just need a can of sweetened condensed milk (remember NOT evaporated!), a container of "Cool Whip" type substance (you can go as cheap as you want here), lemon juice, and a graham cracker or "cookie" based crust.

Now, this is not a health recipe because that "Cool Whip" substance is an artificial cream product that is not anyway related to real cream. I shouldn't use it. I should pony up for real cream but that is another recipe.

We're talking cheap recipe here. If you want to find something else, please carry on!

Okay, so you simply need a graham cracker crust which you can make or buy. If you have graham crackers in the house and some butter, a crust is VERY easy to make. (again, google is your friend).I've done it before and it's okay but (confession time) I don't own a rolling pin, so it was kind of hard to crush the cookies.

They say  you can use a wine bottle but I don't drink alcohol. I will try it with a seltzer bottle next time.

Okay, so you have your crust. Just get out a big bowl, mix your canned condensed milk with 1/2 cup lemon juice and the "fake whipped topping."  You just need the regular size whipped topping, not a huge container. Once you combine all these things, put them in the pie crust and stick the pie in the refrigerator for a few hours.

I dare you not to lick the lid of the condensed milk can...some people wax poetic about spooning it out and eating it from the can. Sometimes I leave a bit inside so I can scoop it out and taste it on its own. Yeah...that's what I'm talking about. Where have you been all my life?

Take it out when you are ready and enjoy. I think  you can get about 6 decent slices out of one pie.

You can vary the pie crust, use lime juice, jazz this pie up with whatever. It's a good basic recipe that you can make your own. Play around with it. Some recipes will include raw eggs but I haven't worked with them in this pie yet. I'm a bit leery about eggs in recipes unless you cook them.

Last time I made this I froze it and it was quite good!

Make this one warm day and enjoy!

Vegetarians in the House---please give me a break.

Well, I am supposed to be looking at new recipes for vegetarian meals and finding some great ideas (yet again) before we hit the supermarket tomorrow.

Good luck with that.

My husband is a vegetarian and my son is an almost vegetarian and I am not so it's always fun making meals at our house (not).

That's why after five minutes of looking for "new vegetarian main meal recipes" I was drifting over to a website promising the best cakes in the world.  Looking at pictures of delicious chocolate ganche cakes filled with maple cream or cream cheese frosting is much more interesting than bean burgers or mushroom lasagna (bleh).

When you have to build a whole meal around vegetables, even nice ones like baked potatoes or corn--you see I can be flexible--it's very difficult for me.  I tend to revert back to the same few recipes all revolving around black beans, some sort of red sauce, cheese, pasta, and the occasional casserole.

I know, there are plenty of terrific vegetarian meals--if only everyone like the same vegetables.

First off, my husband is quite easy to please and will eat anything or try anything without complaining. I think this quite good of him considering I have been making this bizarre and alien type of food for over twenty years. I actually admire him not eating meat. I love animals and do get guilty when I think about them being killed for food.

I admit I am weak. I am not giving up chicken or the occasional burger.

Anyhow, my husband has decided suddenly he hates all forms of pasta. Also he is not a big fan of rice.

Probably number two--my son is a HUGE fan of pasta. He would eat pasta, pizza, pasta, pizza, mac and cheese, pasta, pizza, and so on every day.  He like black beans and rice, and has unfortunately inherited my sweet tooth.

Me--well, by dinner time I would grab a bowl of cereal and say that's over with, so let's just move on to something interesting. Or let's all eat some chicken and rice and maybe some corn and leave me alone to dream of cake or cookies or read my book or play a game on my computer.

Not going to happen.

My husband is pretty good about making his own meals when I get sick of doing it. His cooking is very basic and very boring. Beans on toast (yes, he is English),  Or beans on toast with peanut butter. Stepping up the game.

Sighing, I return reluctantly to the vegetarian recipes Hopefully I will find something for once we all like. Otherwise, I guess there's always pizza.

No one was coming, but I baked a cake...

June is busting out all over (how many song references can I add today I wonder?) and after a few very hot days up here in New Hampshire, we have had some extremely cool weather. No wonder someone said somewhere that you never put your coat or jacket away in New England.

Anyhow, I took advantage of the break in the heat to do some baking this week.  I bake to save money and because homemade breads, rolls, cookies, pies and so on taste better than ones you can buy. In the last two days I have made homemade pizza with homemade dough, chocolate chip muffins, peanut butter cookies, and today I made a cake.

Baking is actually my therapy. I don't do drugs, drink alcohol, smoke or use any medications if I can avoid them. Like many people, my family has some financial stress (thank you Recession) and I home school my wonderfully special son who has mild autism. I have a very lovely but needy Pointer Lab/Something Houndy dog who would prefer we walk all day instead of home schooling! I feel pulled in 50 directions some days and the only way I can get myself a bit calm is pulling out the cake pans or yeast dough and making something with my two hands.

I used to think that odd, but I read someone else says she does this, too, and I bet many of you do, as well.

Anyway----

The recipe of this cake, known all over the internet as Jessie Young's Radio Cake is not mine. It's Jessie Young's (you can read all about her if you google the lady). The whole idea of people visiting by radio out West seems fascinating. Maybe it's something other lonely people could adopt in the 21st Century-but visiting by Skype or something similar.

This is a good cake if you don't have any eggs in the house or if someone you know is allergic to eggs or just hates eggs. I rarely bake WITHOUT eggs but sometimes I do taste the batter mindlessly (bad, bad) because raw eggs can have salmonella.

It is a bit time consuming but you can do it in steps like I do when I can grab a few minutes here and there. The nice thing is the ingredients are probably in your home if you bake at all and you won't have to run to the market for some extract of coconut or other odd item you may only use once every year.


Enjoy!

Jessie Young's Radio Cake

 THE CAKE

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1/4 cup boiling water

1 cup sour milk or buttermilk

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

THE FILLING

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

TO MAKE THE CAKE: Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream the sugar and butter in a large bowl. Stir the cocoa into the boiling water, then combine that with the sugar and butter. Add the remaining cake ingredients one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a sharp knife inserted into the center of the layers comes out clean. Cool the layers in the pans on a cake rack.

TO MAKE THE FILLING: Mix the cocoa, cornstarch, and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Beat in the water and cook the mixture over medium heat until it is thick and creamy. Remove from the heat, cool for 10 minutes, and stir in the vanilla.

Turn the cake layers out of the pans and spread the filling on one. Place the second layer on top.Use any desired frosting for the top, but leave the sides unfrosted.

10 TO 12 SERVINGS