My Cleveland visit...Part 2.

Here we are in the middle of summer, and I'm showing you winter photos...how silly is that!?
The reason for that is because I need to catch up over the last six months that I have missed posting.
Thank you so much for your sweet and kind comments that you left on my blog, and I truly appreciate that you care and have missed me...as I certainly have missed you!

So here we are, on our way to visit my parents' grave near by...me taking the beautiful scenery winter photos which I rarely get to experience since I moved away from Ohio decades ago to sunny S. Florida! One thing for sure, I don't miss the terribly cold winters, but I do love the snow when it's just like this, with a bit of sunshine, clear skies -minus- the snow storms.

We arrived at the cemetery, all the graves are covered with blankets of crisp fresh snow, glistening in the sun. It's about 27 degrees F. way too cold for me, but I decided to take a 'selfie' of us and my sister actually was happy to pose for the photo!
Now comes the good part...she thinks she recognized our parents' grave which is near that tree in the background (turns out it was actually in the next row) also near the tree!
In the meantime...she decides to say a prayer and have a conversation with our parents standing on the wrong grave...to say the least!

I must share this most amazing, super moist and sooo delicious Apple cake that Susan, (my nephew's wife) made for us, after a scrumptious Bolognese sauce with homemade gnocchi!
You probably recognize this famous Jewish Apple cake...a recipe which I also had from the seventies and eighties that is still very popular!

This apple cake is super moist, with all these wonderful apple chunks half of them in the middle of the batter, and the other half on the top which makes it so attractive...so pretty!

Mom’s Apple Cake
by: Smitten Kitchen 

6 apples, Mom uses McIntosh apples
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.
Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool completely before running knife between cake and pan, and unmolding onto a platter.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY...

Sunrise on our beach, Palm Beach, Florida...Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014...7:00AM

My granddaughter Gabby and I decided to take photos of the sunrise...depending on the weather, which happened to be a lovely sunny and pleasantly warm Sunday!
Linking to:
Be there 2 day...Wordless Wednesday

Eerily  quiet morning, virtually empty beach... a bit 'nippy' mid 60's, gentle winds, and waves caressing the sand...@ 7:04 AM

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY...

photo taken by me, on our private beach, Palm Beach, Florida...1-28-2014

While the rest of our country...even in the deep South was in a 'frozen frenzy' yesterday, here in S. Florida we had the most beautiful sunny and pleasant day of 79 degrees F. Not so, today (dreary, raining, and damp-cold-windy-chilly-nasty day)
Linking to:
be there 2 day...Wordless Wednesday

Chocolate Crinkles

Happy New Year, to all my blogger friends...(not excluding readers who may not comment)...equal time to all!
Hope you all had a wonderful, and safe New Year's celebration...as we also did! This post may seem like a 'forgotten' or an 'after thought' post of my Chocolate Crinkles...but let me assure you that it is not a forgotten post of these lovely cookies that everyone loves around the Christmas holidays!

Chocolate Crinkles
recipe source: Gold Medal Flour

• 1/2cup vegetable oil
• 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted, cooled
• 2cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4eggs
• 2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
• 2teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2cup powdered sugar

Directions

• 1
  In large bowl, mix oil, chocolate, granulated sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours.
• 2
  Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray.
• 3
  Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar; roll around to coat and shape into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
• 4
  Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no imprint remains when touched lightly in center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

I find it a little odd to be posting a Christmas cookie (now, that Christmas is over) Chocolate Crinkles are so popular here in the U.S. and all over the world by now, I assume. They are so attractive with the light and dark contrast, and most certainly perfect for an interesting addition to a cookie tray or for serving by themselves, any time of the year!

I did not have a Christmas tree at my small beach condo apartment; but at my daughter Lora's they have a beautiful live and tall tree every year, and I spent time just about every day there to enjoy the holiday festivities, especially at City Place!



Christmas @ City Place...West Palm Beach, Florida
Friends, and Family, on Christmas Day Celebration!