COLUMN: Lake City Cookin’ — It’s time to be thankful for all we have

Hello, November. The year of 2009 is spinning out, and this is the month of a favorite holiday for many people, including me, and that is Thanksgiving.

A very wise man once said that if America has a holiday she can really celebrate, it is Thanksgiving, because we have so much to be thankful for. When we think that some people live in caves and under bridges and keep all they own in a shoe box, how can we not be thankful?

I receive in the mail so many great magazines because I do freelance writing. Most of the magazines are food related, are full of recipes and come complimentary. It is nice for me and keeps me updated on what’s new in the world of cooking as well as in kitchen utensils.

I find the preparation and presentation of food fascinating to study and love to keep up with the culinary world of kitchen and cookery.

Even when I do not have to cook, I feel at times a need to go into my kitchen and try out something new. This seems to satisfy me, and now as we approach the cooking and baking season, I am in my element. I bake a fruitcake about this time each year — never the same one. I want my cake to age, so I make it well ahead of Christmas, wrap it well and keep it in the bottom of the fridge.

If you are one of those people who will not eat fruitcake, well, you owe it to your self to try this one. It is not really a fruitcake as such; it is made with marmalade, cinnamon and pecans. It is just the best. When I owned a catering company, I sold these cakes. Once word got around how good they were, the cakes sold like the proverbial hotcake.

I am giving you the recipe for this one because it is easy and good and perfect for any day of the week. You will love it; this is moist and luscious.

Carolina Cake

This cake will keep for weeks in the fridge, if it lasts that long. I always bake two, giving me extra to serve to the many who may drop by. Using Bundt pans, this is a pretty cake when sliced. 

In a large bowl, beat on medium speed a box of yellow cake mix with three eggs, a cup of buttermilk and a third of a cup of vegetable oil. Then add a cup of sweet orange marmalade, two teaspoons of ground cinnamon, the juice of a fresh orange and a teaspoon of orange zest and mix well.

Then add a cup of chopped pecans. Pour the batter into a prepared pan; you may use a Bundt pan, two round cake pans or a nine-by-13-inch pan, as you wish. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until test done. Cool completely. 

You may wish to frost this great cake with cream cheese frosting. You will need four ounces of cream cheese at room temperature. Add two tablespoons soft butter, mix well with a tablespoon of orange juice and mix in two cups of powdered sugar. Add a teaspoon of orange zest, a fourth of a cup of orange marmalade and a cup of chopped pecans. Spread over the cake, and keep this cake in fridge. This cake tastes better cold.

Thanksgiving

Now back to Thanksgiving. When dinner is ready, what is your favorite dish on the table? Not counting the roast turkey, I will tell you up front I like the stuffing, also called dressing, a big hit at my house along with the giblet gravy. Also, this takes the most ingredients as well as the most work. I do my stuffing a day ahead; a seasoning out is needed for this dish, and it takes a while.

I make the Southern cornbread type of stuffing and, on the side in a small baking dish just for hubby, his favorite — oyster stuffing. A great deal of chopping with the celery and onions, baking the cornbread, adding the sage and poultry seasoning and chicken broth, poaching the oysters — I do all that the day before.

I will not attempt to tell the great Lake City and local cooks how to prepare their traditional dishes. We all have our own way of doing Thanksgiving, but let me help you with a great Thanksgiving breakfast to start the day out right.

Fantastic French Toast

This would be great to start out your Thanksgiving Day — a quick brunch. It’s so easy to do, and kids love it.

Beat together in a large bowl five large eggs with a fourth of a cup of buttermilk, a half-teaspoon of vanilla, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a fourth of a teaspoon of ground nutmeg, and two tablespoons of sugar, and beat the ingredients together. This will cover eight to 10 slices of bread.

Use a hearty white bread or brioche or challah-type bread, melt butter mixed with oil on a griddle or skillet, dip bread slices in egg mixture, fry both sides until golden brown, and serve with warm syrup. This is kid pleasing.

What’s New Department

Never forget your fabric sheet again. Have you tried the Bounce Dryer Bar? It goes in the dryer and clips in; it’s so easy to use, and it gives a fresh smell and provides softness to your clothes.

The bar lasts for two to four months and is safe for any fabric. I am enjoying the one hubby placed inside my dryer. Thanks, hubby.

Our new white cabinets are in and are so enjoyed by all of us. I took the white Irish lace curtain down from over the big picture window over the double red sink, and my kitchen is now flooded with so much light and with a great view of the treetops and birds in flight. I may not re-hang the curtains in there, as now the big window has a real alive, ever-changing picture with pretty scenery.

And yes, I said red sink. I fell in love with the double sink over a year ago, when I found it while browsing in a place I enjoy looking around. The sink was sitting there almost like it was waiting on me. I fell in love because I love red. Now, when anyone walks into my kitchen, they come to a full stop and say, “I love these red sinks.” Well I do, too. They really pop, and the white cabinets were made for them.

I am a bit eccentric, I think, in that I march to a different drummer and like what I like whether anyone approves or not. Did that come with age? Nah. I have always been a bit off-kilter, or so I’m told, and fun to be around, I think. And the best part about that is that I give everyone I know the respect to do the same. So be your self and all will enjoy that, because you are a good and fun person. And on that positive note, we wish you a great November and a happy Thanksgiving.

Wellness center grand opening

I spoke with Tracy Romine, membership sale director for the iH3 Wellness Center. She was excited about a great scholarship program that will offer preventive wellness service to low-income residents who have a medical necessity for a health and fitness program. Frankly, I am very happy to see the center open; this is just a blessing to Lake City. Let’s get involved with this.

For more information, call Tracy at (843) 374-4433 or e-mail her at ; she will be happy to answer your questions and help you learn more.

This fantastic 14,000-square-foot facility will offer cardiovascular and strength equipment, health and wellness workshops and seminars, nutrition and weight management programs, technology that makes working out easy and fun, and a group fitness class at 148 Sauls St. in Lake City. Welcome to Lake City, wellness center. 

And if I may wish a happy twelfth wedding anniversary to the cutest little couple I know, Christopher and Siobhan, who were married November 1997 and honeymooned in Hawaii. The honeymoon is on going for these sweet kids.  I should know; I am grandma to their boys, Conor and Eamon Cummins, ages 6 and 5.

I wish the same for all you couples, no matter how long you have been married. Let the honeymoon continue. You can do that.

Bye for now; I will see you soon.

— Cummins is a freelance writer working from her home office. She contributes articles on cooking and travel and writes book reviews for magazines and newspapers. Shirley has been writing the Lake City Cookin’ column for the News & Post for 10 years. She can be reached via e-mail at .