One major problem with homesteading is predators.
Deer, rabbits and foxes can devastate all your hard work in a moment because they love it just as much as you do, if not more. Tender young bush beans attract deer and rabbits from all around. Foxes and hawks have plagued our chickens for the past several years. But sometimes, the biggest threat is already inside our homes and I’m not talking about the dog.
As soon as she came down the stairs, ready to go, she started yelling. She must have seen something that I missed because I was looking at the same piece of cake sitting in the pan and didn’t see what she was complaining about.
“Alright, who did it?”
I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew that she wasn’t happy. I just got up to walk to the restroom to wash my hands and there was a pound cake sitting on the stove top. She must have just pulled it out, judging by how hot it was.
My wife makes the most delicious pound cake, but it’s really only good if eaten right out of the oven, about 5 seconds before it cools off enough to avoid second-degree burns in your mouth.
“Eric, it’s half-eaten,” she exclaimed. Then she asked me if I saw anything. She was mad about the whole situation.
I tried to explain everything I knew, to the best of my ability. And it worked. At least I thought it did. I offered to get more ingredients so she could try to make another.
While she was still talking, I secretly reached under the pound cake and took another piece. If I’m going to get punished for eating the cake, I might as well get to enjoy it, too. Besides, I think she could have used a little more vanilla.
Everybody raves about her pound cake, but the best part is the crispy layer that gets cut off for plating. Most people use a knife, but I like to use my fingers because they’re more precise. I usually delegate myself to this important job and I try not to remove too much but it’s hard to determine what the perfect amount is. Sometimes I make mistakes and remove a little too much on one side and then I have to correct it.
After being married for nearly two decades, you must learn how to fight as a couple and this wasn’t worth fighting over, despite what she thought.
Despite trying to listen attentively to her criticism, I began nodding my head and did the only thing I knew how to do … I turned my married ears on. Married ears are a special kind of hearing protection that muffle out unwanted sounds; usually, unwanted comments, complaints and nagging.
By the time she finished talking about whatever it is that she was talking about, I discovered that we were running out of pound cake.
Next time I think she should just make two.
Hey Eric, would your wife like to share the recipe?
Hi!! It’s Tina! Eric’s Wife! Here’s my Blueberry Pound Cake Recipe, I also have a plain pound cake as well that’s a little Different, but Eric sneaks & steals just as much!!
Happy Roots Homestead Blueberry Pound Cake
Ingredients:
1½ cups butter room temperature
1¼ cups brown sugar
1 cup sugar
5 eggs room temperature
3 cups flour
1⅛ cups milk room temperature (I use Raw)
3 tsp vanilla
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions:
Grease and flour bundt or tube pan
Preheat oven to 325°
Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs one at a time. Beat egg until just incorporated before adding the next.
Add flour alternately with milk
Add vanilla
Fold in blueberries
Pour batter into greased bundt or tube pan.
Bake for 1 hour 15 Minutes. (Will be a heavy/ dense cake)
Married ears – I LOVE it! In the ~30 years I’ve been coupled, I’m just now learning the art of selective listening. If I’d grasped the concept sooner, maybe I wouldn’t be on my second life partner :))