Elderberry Topped Pineapple Cake

I created this cake today with a little inspiration from an online cake recipe sensation. You know the one where you mix crushed pineapple with an Angel Food cake mix and presto, chango you have cake! I was intending to follow that recipe, but I bought a regular cake mix by mistake so I had to come up with something else. It was so, so yummy I just had to share it.

Elderberry Topped Pineapple Cake

-by Debra Campbell

Cake:

1 White or Yellow Cake Mix

1 15-oz can Crushed Pineapple

1 egg

¼ c chopped walnuts or pecans

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. (325 degrees for dark pan.) Combine egg, pineapple with juice; add cake mix and nuts. Mix well. Pour into a 9x13 inch cake pan. (Grease bottom of the pan.) Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown on top and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool then poke holes every few inches with the handle of a wooden spoon.

Topping:

3 c elderberries

1 c honey

3 T Clear Jel (Cook type)

¼ t salt

½ t cinnamon

1 T butter

3 T lemon juice

1 t vanilla

Add above ingredients except elderberries and vanilla to a non-stick sauce pan. Cook over low heat until combined. Add elderberries and cook to just boiling stirring often. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir well. Pour over cake and spread evenly.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or top with whipped topping.

What Should I Write About??

I like to write. I want to write. I want to get good at writing. That means I need to practice writing since practice makes perfect.

I have several story ideas cooking in my head, but those are not for a blog. However, blogging is a great writing exercise. Maybe I'll just write about my day.

Let me start by saying, my mother-in-law loves to gamble in the form of playing slot machines. A few months ago she talked my husband into becoming a premier member at the Tachi Palace in Lemoore which is about 45 minutes away from our house. As a premier member and because they have spent a little money on the slot machines, they get a weekly prize. They just have to drive over, show their identification and pick it up. One month it was different ice chest type items such as a water cooler, a six pack cooler, etc. Then they received tools such as wrenches and screwdrivers. The most recent prizes have been stoneware baking items and casserole dishes. I love them!

Last week my husband did a little work on my mother-in-law's pickup and so she gave him $40. She wanted me and my hubby to each have $20 to play the slots today. After picking up our stoneware bread pans (this week's prize), we quickly lost our $20; however, my mother-in-law is one of the luckiest ladies I know. She started playing on a certain machine and she was able to play for a long, long time on very little money. Eventually, she cashed out and insisted on giving us each more playing money. Whereas my mother-in-law plays to win the jackpot, I just play to win some money. Thanks to my Fairy Godmother aka mother-in-law, I won a couple hundred dollars. It's enough to pay for gas and groceries so we can go deer hunting.

So after leaving the casino, we went grocery shopping and then came home and prepared to head for the mountains. What a great day! I have a great mother-in-law and I hope you do too.

Yes, I Read... A Lot; So Give Me A Good Review

I didn't start out as an avid reader. In fact, I didn't really start reading extensively until I fell in love with romance novels as a teenager. I babysat for a woman who belonged to some of those book clubs that send you a selection of books each month. This wonderful woman would lend me all her books! It wasn't long before I found myself staying up all hours of the night and even reading until sunrise if the book was really good. My favorite type of book was a good combination romance and mystery.

As the years have gone by I have changed a little in my preferred genres, but not much. I still like a good romance but with a little paranormal or fantasy thrown in for good measure. I still like a good mystery and have even gone for a great thriller. My latest tastes have added historical fiction at times. What I don't read much is non-fiction unless it's about gardening/homesteading.

There are so many great books out there and even at 100 books per year - my current annual goal on Goodreads - I could not hope to read every book I might like before I die.

So what's a girl to do? You've heard "Don't judge a book by its cover."? Yet that is exactly what I used to do. I also chose a book by the  little blurb on the back. It was a rather hit-or-miss method. I would search for books by authors I knew I liked and hope I'd get lucky. These days with the advent of the internet and e-books I can narrow down my choices. (On the flip side, due to a number of books being self-published, there are so many more books to choose from.)

One method I use to pick a book - I judge a book by the price. A good author will be priced at about $7.99 and up with a new release selling for $13.99. That can get expensive. Online libraries help, but they don't have ALL the books I want to read. One of these days I may have to go back to the local library and read a paper book again.

In the meantime, I give a lot of free books a look which means I read the way I eat - I can't afford steak every day either. I've gotten lucky a few times, but usually I have to lower my exacting standards. To keep from wasting too much time on inexpensive or free books, I read reviews. If a book rates less that 3 stars on Goodreads, I don't bother.

Now I'm getting to the main reason I thought of this blog subject - reviews. Do you know the difference between a review and a book report? A book report was an assignment given in school in which you wrote a short description of a book you read as proof you really read the book. Sometimes a sadistic teacher would make you share it in class. A review is stating your opinion of a book. It may contain editorial critiques and how the story affected you. A review is NOT a book report! It is NOT a synopsis! If I want a synopsis of the book, I will refer to the one provided by the author/publisher.

I want to know if a book I'm considering is worth my time. So don't tell me about your terrible day at work or some other unrelated information like your political affiliation. Give me your honest opinion of the book and I'll decide. So keep the reviews coming and I may read a book you recommend.