Apple Cake and Bundling Up

Like my little baby doggie dress?   Some animals don't like being dressed up, Sophie is not one of them.  I think she feels naked without clothes on.

 Meet Joe, he's my neighbor. 

And his sweetie wife, Laura.  Sophie stayed with them while I was at Pokagon.  We all went out for pizza at Pizza Hut last night.  

This morning I got up nice and early, knowing that a trip to Wal-mart lies in the horizon.  Since my fridge was nearly bare, except for a few yogurts hidden in the back corner, I had to get creative with breakfast. 

So, I made smoothies. Tossed in yogurt and any bits of edible fruit left in the crisper, which happened to be a mere handful of grapes.  Then I raided the freezer, which I had a baggie of extra ripe banana pieces, strawberries, and blueberries.  The smoothie needed a liquid and luckily there was just enough cranberry juice on hand to use up.  I'm not really a smoothie fan, but it was a pretty good breakfast on the go.

After surviving Wal-mart, (it was very busy due to the impending snow storm), I baked a cake.  I know cakes are not the best thing for someone trying to get fit, but we are expecting company and girls gotta have cake.  Besides, this one is chucked full of apples, so at least it's somewhat healthy, right?. 

 I'll post the recipe at the end.  This cake is extremely moist and quite easy to make.  The hardest part was cutting up all the apples.  They do not have to be peeled even though I peeled mine.

This is how the batter looks:

Here's my side kick/photographer:

I used a bundt cake pan.  It will cook up fine in a 13 X 9 pan too.  

Taadaaaa!!

Let's talk about bundling up seeings as how the temps are expected to drop.  Sophie is in her parka and boots, ready to go sledding. 

Normally, if I'm going to play in the snow, I get into my snowsuit, put snow gloves on, a hat, and I'm good to go.  However, my snowsuit and gloves are soaking wet at the moment.  The following is how I bundle up without my usual snowsuit.  Start off with good socks; think warm and thick.

Next, double up by adding a second layer of pants.  Two pairs of sweat pants work out fairly well.

Good boots are a must.  If you don't have boots that are waterproof, then playing in the snow isn't for you.  Cold toes are no fun.  Also, make sure to tuck the first layer of pants inside your boots and the second layer over your boots, to help keep the snow out. 

As for the top layers, a couple sweatshirt layers work out nicely in a pinch.  Since my snow gloves are soaked, I doubled up by using a cheap pair of knit gloves under fleece mittens.  Either of those by themselves are not going to keep my fingers warm for the long, but the combo of both does a good job. 

A hat and scarf and I'm all set.  If the temps are in or below the single digits, staying inside might be a good idea.  Otherwise, if you must go out, adding an additional under layer in the form of nylons and/or long-johns is a good plan.  Also, make sure every bit of skin is well covered as frostbite can set in as quickly as 10 minutes or less if the wind chill is severe.

I know it looks as if the kids are sledding in the middle of the night, but it's really only about 6pm.  The temp is 20 some degrees.   Mic is being introduced to belly whopping.

I wasn't going to include this next pic since it's blurry, but Gladys wanted me to show proof that she was at the bottom of the pile.  We all have had a ball with this floaty that we rescued from Giest Reservoir over the summer. 

Besides going down the hill and seeing who all can remain on the floaty, another popular thing we do is race.  We each pick our sled and riding style and see who goes the farthest and/or gets there the fastest. 

Apple Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 Granny Smith apples (or other baking apple), cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (3 cups total)
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray a Bundt pan with nonstick spray then set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat butter, vegetable oil, sugar, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla until well combined.
3. Stir in flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until well combined, then fold in apples.
4. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan then run a knife along the inner rim and invert cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. Garnish cooled cake with powdered sugar.