Dad's Ugly Cake

My birthday was Friday, the 17th, and what a great day it was. Although it was a Friday, the day Jews and Messianics prepare for the Saturday Sabbath, I did not clean our house nor make up any food for the Sabbath... even though we had company coming. Instead, I was pampered all day.

First, I spent an hour showing and giving myself a facial, then Richard did my toenails. He does a super job and is so entertaining while he does it.  

In mid-afternoon before the dinner hour, we went out to Bard's Food and Drink Establishment where I enjoyed a baked salmon dinner. The salmon was baked in a parchment wrap with rosemary, herbed butter, orange and lemon slices... Oh so good! In fact, I was so enraptured with the food, I forgot to take a picture of the very nice presentation. Not only was our food luscious, it was reasonably priced and the motif was fun, too. Cedar City is known for its Shakespearian Festival, and Bard's follows through on that theme in their decor and even the outfits of  the wait staff . A real winner.  

Later, Richard sang Happy Birthday to me and we had cake and ice cream... but this was no ordinary cake. Oh, no, this cake was like no other... It was the famous Dad's Ugly Cake! 

It's rich! So rich, frosting would be an insult.
It's decadent, So decadent, it's half eaten before you take a picture.
It's UGLY! So ugly, you close your eyes to eat it.
The recipe? At the bottom of the blog post.

Yesterday was Shabbat, our day to observe the Fourth Commandment, doing no work and letting our hearts and minds focus on our Creator. There are no congregations near here, but some weeks we can watch services online. This was not one of them... Connectivity is just not always there. 

So, once again, we went for a drive. We saw another Safari motorcoach in a small RV park in Kanarraville, UT. That is always exciting to us. Safari owners are an interesting and unique group with passionate attachment to their coaches which are no longer built.

We also got a new view of the Five Fingers we visited the other day. Magnificent!!

We wandered the back roads and visited small towns, New Harmony among them. From New Harmony, we took a forest service access road up over a mountain pass and ended up at a charming and historic old ranch house that used to be a resting place for travelers and later a boarding house for iron miners. Oh, the stories it could tell!

Along the way, we saw cattle but no other wildlife. As always, the scenery was stunning and spoke eloquently of the wonders of our God. His magnificence and glory were reflected in the flowers, bright oranges, yellows, purples and greens... Why wasn't I taking pictures? I need to think of that during all we do so I can share it with you.

There were signs warning us that the roads we were on would become dangerous and impassable in the rain. There were but a few fluffy clouds when we set out, but as we traveled, they clumped together and began to look threatening. Finally, a light rain fell but we were on better roads by then.

We spent the later evening reading God's Word. We're studying 2 Kings right now. Then, at last, our beautiful eldest daughter arrived. She is the owner of the house we are parked at. So good to see her!

And now, at last...             DAD'S UGLY CAKE RECIPE 
In a good sized mixing bowl, blend:
     2 cups sugar
     3 cups flour
     2 tsps. baking soda
     2 tsps. salt
     2 tsps. cinnamon 
Then stir in:
     1-1/3 cups vegetable or olive oil (we like olive oil best) 
     2 eggs
     2 tsps. pure vanilla extract
     4 cups peeled and chopped apples
     1/2 cup raisins (Richard likes raisins, so he grabs a BIG handful and throws them in).

Pour this chunky mix into a 9X13 pan (He uses metal) and bake for an hour to one and a half hours (depending on taste) at 325 degrees. Enjoy and don't be afraid to experiment!