The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.


Ethel Farkwad

Hello Folks!

Well I'll be jiggered! I can't believe a good upstanding person like Aunt Polly would make fun of my up-side-down cake that I was intending on getting first place with at the County Fair.

She always gets the story a little bit wrong because she can't keep up when I'm a telling it. I told her I actually made an upside down pineapple cake, one of my favorites, and the judges too, when that little Dickens boy Tommy and his sister ran into the fair tent right when I had just set the cake on the edge of the table to check it in, and they hit my elbow, flipping the cake upside down, which made it upside up! His sister ran off while Tommy picked the cake up and handed it to me, but had both of his dirty thumbs smack dab in my prize-winning flip flopped cake.

Well, I was so upset he started to cry so I stopped shaking my cane at him and just told him to take the cake and skedaddle. I'm glad I didn't give him a whack but I was standing among all of those ladies who had their jaws dropped as if I was the one doing something wrong! I know I would have won Grand Prize with that cake if it weren't for those two Dickens.

This year, I am out of the mood for making cakes, so everyonoe is pretty lucky.

I'll have to tell you that I and Aunt Polly, and Matilta Winer drove into La Harpe to eat at Travelers Diner this week as everyone was talking about the great food and how nice and hard working Mika, the owner was, but we found it closed! They were nice people but I guess not busy consistently for all he prepares. We was so disappointed, but ended up enjoying some of Witch's Rib BBQ as we stopped by and bought enough pulled pork and buns to make sandwiches back at Matilta's along with her homemade potato salad and sliced tomatoes and rhubarb pie she made that morning. It turned out to be a dandy day after all.

Hope you enjoy the fair. Good Day folks!

Ethel Farkwad

P.S. Here's a small recipe for two upside down pineapple cupcakes. You can serve with ice cream or whipped cream or change the fruit to apples or peaches if you want.

Ingredient:

4 tsp. butter melted, divided
4 teaspoons brown sugar
2 canned unsweetened pineapple slices
2 maraschino cherries
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Pour 1/2 tsp. butter into each of two 10-oz. ramekins coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Top with a pineapple slice. Place a cherry in the center of each pineapple slice.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

Beat in the milk, vanilla and remaining butter just until combined.

Spoon over pineapple.

Bake at 350°, 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes.

Run a knife around edges of ramekins; invert onto dessert plates. Serve warm.