Dear Customers,
Everybody has joined the movement to get all the sponsorship money they can possibly squeeze out of advertisers. There is a new collective bargaining agreement that allows MLB teams to wear a patch on their uniforms, identifying them with an advertiser. The Pirates wear a Sheetz patch, the San Diego Padres have Motorola, the Boston Red Sox are endorsed by MassMutual among many other teams. $$$!
Driving through Central Pennsylvania last weekend, I saw a billboard advertising a local jewelry store who proudly announced themselves as “the official Jeweler of the Penn State Nittany Lions”! I turned to my wife with the obvious question, “what does Penn State need an official jeweler for?” Be that as it may, this naming practice is rampant and not just with sports teams.
As I’ve mentioned before, October is National Apple month, along with about 37 other designations! In the past I’ve mentioned my mother-in-law’s baking prowess. The recipe that follows is relished by virtually everyone in our family, kids, grandkids and sons-in-law! She makes it on special occasions, and it does not last!
NANA’S APPLE CAKE
| 4 cups chopped apples | 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour |
| 2 cups sugar | 2 teaspoons baking soda |
| 2 eggs | 2 teaspoons cinnamon |
| ½ cup vegetable oil | 1 teaspoon salt |
| 2 teaspoons vanilla | 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional) |
Combine apples w/sugar and let stand. Beat eggs lightly. Beat in oil & vanilla. Mix and sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt – stir in alternately with apple mixt ure. Stir in walnuts (Nana leaves them out as per our request!). Pour into greased and floured 13”x9”x2 baking pan. Bake at 350°F for about an hour or until cake tests as done. Let stand in pan until quite cool. Frost with lemon-butter frosting.
LEMON BUTTER FROSTING
| 5 tablespoons butter or margarine | 2 tablespoons lemon juice |
| 3 cups confectioner’s sugar | 2 tablespoons cold water, little salt |
Cream butter thoroughly, adding sugar gradually. Beat in lemon juice and enough cold water to make a “spreading consistency”. Beat in a few grains of salt then spread on cool cake. STAND BACK-FAMILY COMING!