Category Archives: To Create

Simply Put: Best Pound Cake

October 28, 2011 By in To Bake, To Be Happy, To Celebrate, To Create Tags: , , , , 3 Comments

I miss my friend Rebecca, and all of my friends and family that are far away.  But baking is one way to bring them closer.  When I make my mother’s banana bread, I think of my mother. And awhile back Rebecca shared with me her wonderful, rich cream cheese pound cake.  It has now become a family favorite. I think of her every time I make it.  It is really delicious — a perfect birthday cake, afternoon tea cake, holiday cake, or cake just for no reason.

Enjoy! (Thank you Rebecca)

Rich Cream Cheese Pound Cake

3⁄4 cup butter (at room temperature)

6 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)

1 1⁄2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla 4 eggs (at room temperature)

1 3⁄4 cups flour

1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

Powdered Sugar (optional, to sprinkle on top if you want to)

 Pre-heat oven -325

 Using electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until creamy

 Gradually add sugar, beating on medium speed for 4-5 minutes

 Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition

 In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt

 Gradually add flour mixture to cream cheese mixture – beat at low just until blended

 Pour batter into greased 10” Bundt pan and bake for 55 minutes (actually, I often use a loaf pan — that works too)

 Cool 10 minutes in pan

 Remove from pan and cool on rack

 Sprinkle powdered sugar on top

Serves 10-12 people

Lemonade (and Lemonade the Movie)

February 5, 2010 By in To Create Leave a comment

Master Cleanse Devotees may claim that Stanley Burroughs (the man behind the Master Cleanse) invented lemonade.  But of course, deep down, they know better.  In fact, lemonade has been around as long as lemons and that’s a long time.

Lemons have a wonderful revitalizing quality.  All the more reason not to wait until the summer to serve up a glass.  We need a little sunny lemon in our lives during these gray February days.

Which brings me to Lemonade the Movie.  Ever heard of the phrase “if life gives you lemons, make lemonade?” (I tried to find the origin of that phrase and the most I could find was some guy who wrote that he had seen the phrase mentioned in a letter in 1976-77 — huh?  Any word mavens out there who can help me)?

Anyway,  these filmmakers took that phrase to heart and filmed a documentary about some folks who were fired and laid off.  The good news is, sometimes bad times do spin around.  Sometimes, out of unfortunate circumstances, good things happen.   And sometimes, given a chance, some time, and a lot of effort, dreams do come true.

I was struck by how much these guys in the film mention the word “time” –as in having more time to be creative, to take risks,  to spend with their family, to eat three meals a day, to make their dreams come true.  That’s what slow living is all about.

Can Women Function as Artists and as Mothers? At the Same Time?

October 18, 2009 By in To Create, To Watch Tags: , , , , , ,

Art takes time.  Mothering takes time.  For artists who are mothers, the challenge is great.  The Documentary  “Who Does She Think She Is?”  directed by Pamela Tanner Boll, explores the difficulties and challenges of being both an artist and a mother.

I try not to write much when my children are around or awake.  It’s too frustrating, for them and for me.   Luckily, now that they are a little older than babies,  I actually do have some time alone to write and also to participate in theater and in films.  When my children were babies, I really did feel a little lost, one of the reasons being that time for my personal creative outlets was greatly diminished.  The needs of my children took, (and continue to take) precedent over anybody elses needs, including my own.  I love being a mother, and I love being an artist too.

The film profiles the lives and art of five women as they seek to remain true to both their art and to their families.  The film defines the struggles which mothers who are also artists face.  As mothers they must nurture their own children, as artists they must also nurture their creativity.  Both tasks require an enormous amount of commitment.

There is a fine line – if I am paying attention to my art, am I neglecting my children?  If I ignore that part of myself, or repress it, I am doing both myself and my children a disservice?paint brushes

The film speaks about how female artists are not valued to the same extent as their male counterpoints and how adding motherhood into the mix seems to further diminish the status of the female artist.  Female visual artists, female writers, female actors and directors, female artists of any medium, receive significantly less recognition for their work than male artists.

Ultimately the film conveys of a message of hope and encouragement, urging women to stay the path as artists, to have courage and to take risks.  I am learning how to balance my art and my mothering, and films like this, in illuminating the struggles of other mothers, are helpful and thought provoking.

For more information about the film and about screenings, check out their website.