Quiet week here

If you read my blog, From the Heart, you know I've scaled back on spending time in my office. I'm planning to blog only a few days a week for the next couple of months, and to spend substantially less time writing and working. Why? Because...well, just because it's what my life needs at this point. My family has always come first, and now they just need me to be more available than I've been in the past.

Are you wondering what I'm going to do with all my newfound downtime? I'll admit the first week or so that I reined in my work schedule I was a bit at odds. I'm not a big "relaxer" so the idea of having so much leisure time is really very new to me. But let me assure you, I'm learning--quickly!--to adapt to this new lifestyle.

This past week I baked. I love to cook and bake and on any given day I'll spend a good chunk of time in the kitchen but now that I've got all this extra time... Oh my! It's like Paradise! I'm not rushed and can dawdle over choosing recipes and ingredients. I'm having a blast.

Every day this week I baked something. The house smells heavenly, my husband wears a constant smile and I'm getting to create some of my favorite goodies. I'm going to share with all of you two of the recipes I baked this week. Both are from my latest cookbook, Tea Time. Neither recipe is time consuming or difficult to make--my kind of recipes!--so I hope you might consider trying at least one of them. And I hope you and yours enjoy them as much as we do!

You know, too many months of relaxing might just have an adverse effect on my bottom. Hmm...maybe I'll have to think of putting myself on some sort of exercise program...then again, maybe not. ;-)

Happy weekend!

Daffodil Bread

1 cup vegetable oil
1¾ cups sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 t. baking soda
½ t. baking powder
½ t. salt
1 T. lemon extract
1 cup finely chopped almonds
2 cups lemon yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together oil, eggs and sugar.
Add remaining ingredients and mix.

Grease and flour bundt pan.
Pour batter in pan.

Bake for 50-60 minutes.
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Orange Cake

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup dairy sour cream
1 t. soda
½ t. baking powder
½ t. orange extract
Grated rind and juice of 1 orange

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs. Beat well.

Add sour cream.

Sift together dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients and orange ingredients
to creamed mixture and blend well.

Pour batter into a greased bundt pan.
Bake at 350° for 60 minutes.

If desired, cake may be frosted with a mixture of 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
and the juice of 2 oranges.
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