Baking in the Age of Pandemic in And So It Goes

. I’m still thinking about the baby in the medical building I’m pondering themes of racism, poverty, and isolation in Rhodesia caused by the system of Apartheid in a 1955 novel, The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing. We are still overrun with strawberries. Farmers cannot afford to harvest, transport their crops. YouPick Blueberries are five dollars a gallon bucketful. At the packing plant down the road tomatoes,Roma, regular and cherry sizes are five dollars a produce shipping crate. Things are just rotting in the ground. A nearby dairy is dumping milk. This from the Florida Department of Agriculture website. We’re a whole lot more than Disney World and Universal Studios.

Florida Agriculture
More than just produce, Florida is a major player in livestock production, ranking 12th i”From juicy tomatoes to abundant seafood and iconic citrus fruits, Florida farmers grow everything under the sun. The state boasts 48,000 farms spread across 9.5 million acres. In 2012, the state’s agricultural cash receipts totaled an impressive $8.22 billion. Many Florida growers supply the U.S. and the world with fresh produce, as the state’s top crops include grapefruit, oranges, sugarcane, bell peppers, fresh market tomatoes, snap beans, squash and sweet corn. In fact, the state ranks second in the nation for vegetable production, only behind California, and is responsible for 63 percent of the nation’s total citrus production. The state is also No. 2 in the U.S. for the production of greenhouse and nursery products.
n the nation for beef cows and 18th in total cattle, as well as forestry, field crops and agricultural exports. In 2012, Florida broke the top 10 for agricultural exports, coming in at No. 8 with a $4 billion value.”
We’re a whole lot more than Disney World and Universal Studios.

My heart is heavy and my mind is very tired…too much sorting, sifting and pondering. I turn to things I know best. Things that soothe my body and spirit. Things like cleaning, cooking, and baking. “Do this and that, add this and voila’ a finished product all neat and nice.” To this end, I leave you with a cake recipe I made today. It’s an old standby that everyone loves. It’s very easy
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FRENCH CUSTARD STRAWBERRY CAKE

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. sour cream
16 oz. fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until pale and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
Fold in strawberries. Spread the batter in the prepared cake pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar evenly over the top of the cake batter.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely on wire rack.
Note: You may get a wet toothpick back when you test the center of the cake for doneness. It is a spot where you hit some of the custard threaded throughout the cake. If your cake looks like my cake in the photo below, it’s done.

Last updated April 16, 2020