New vs Old

Remember going to grandma's house and heading straight to the kitchen? There was almost always a cake waiting to be enjoyed at my grandma's house and just thinking about those cakes is enough to make my mouth water. If you like to go back in memory to times such as those, try these old fashion cake recipes for some real treats! In Indiana I grew up around a lot of Amish communities. In fact, the Amish built our home. And they are wonderful cooks using simple ingredients. This coffee cake is a recipe directly from a great Amish lady who was an excellent cook. Simple in the Amish style but very tasty with a good cup of coffee. The Chocolate Chip Date Cake is also simple and a reminder of the past. Neither of these cakes need icing which was often the case with the old time cakes. Grandma was busy and cakes without icing were easy and they seemed to keep better.

HOMEMADE AMISH CINNAMON COFFEE CAKE

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 9-inch square baking pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, and baking powder. Gradually stir in the oil and the milk. Pour into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the batter. Slice butter into thin pats and place over the brown sugar. Sprinkle the cinnamon over all. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

CHOCOLATE CHIP DATE CAKE

1 cup chopped dates
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/4 cups + 3 tbsps all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place dates and 1 teaspoon baking soda in a mixing bowl. Pour boiling water over the dates. Set aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar. Beat eggs into the creamy sugar mixture. Add date mixture to the sugar mixture and mix well. Sift together the flour, salt, and 1/3 teaspoon baking soda. Add to the other ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with the topping recipe below.

TOPPING:

1 pkg (6-oz) chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Mix all ingredients together and sprinkle over the cake before baking. Bake in 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

I love Big Mac

McDonalds is probably one of my favourite restaurants. I didn't like it as much as a kid, due to fears of clowns, Ronald McDonald and his bright coloured alien friends. But as I grew older I learned to overcome my fear, and no longer dreaded the monthly birthday parties to the world's favourite fast food restaurant.

While McDonalds has its staple menu of Big Mac, Quarter Pounders, Chicken Nuggets and French Fries, it often tries to diversify its menu in interesting ways. For example, it introduced the Big Tasty a few years ago, which in my view was their version of Burger King's Whopper burger. Personally, I was not a fan, though our Swedish developer used to eat them religiously after a few beers.

There are also regionally developed menu items, such as the McLobster in Eastern Canada and New England, the McCurry Pan in India, and the Shogun Burger in Hong Kong. These items are due to locally available produce as well as cultural sensitivities.

For example, Lobster is cheap and easily available in Eastern Canada, but is much more expensive in London. Being a fan of Lobster's, I've always wanted to make a McLobster pilgrimage to Canada, but just haven't got round to it. In India, 80.5% of the population are Hindus, and therefore cannot eat meat. 13.4% of the population are Muslim and can't eat pork. Therefore, McDonalds does not sell pork or beef products in India. (Statistics from the 2001 Census of India).

Taking all these facts into consideration, my experience of McDonalds meals is probably quite limited. I have not yet tried any of their healthy salads or deli items. But I have tried their new M Burger, most of their chicken range and Fillet-O-Fish.

After making my way through a small portion of McDonald's widely ranged menu items, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that my favourite menu items are definitely their staple Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Chicken Nuggets and French Fries.

While I love the Chicken Nuggets dipped in BBQ sauce, I often find that the various chicken burgers are poorly made, and the bread is often a bit dry. Quality of Big Macs and Quarter pounders seems to be much higher and more consistent. This could be because the chefs in the kitchen have more experience making their most popular products. And seeing as the turnover is highest in these areas, the ingredients are probably fresher.