Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Theresa's applesauce Cake



Friendship can be dynamic.  When I was a child, I thought my best friend and I would be best friends forever.  We aren't.  Nothing dramatic happened.  My family just happened to move when I was in Grade 8 and well, distance sometimes means we move on, not for the better or the worse.  Change happens.  As an adult ( wow, I just called myself an adult.), I have come to realize that people come into our lives for different reasons.  Sometimes the friendship is a lasting one.  Sometimes it's a short-lived one, a couple of years or so.  You find you need each other mutually, then life changes and life moves on.  I am, of course, grateful for those long-lasting friendships but those short-lived ones are also often pretty special.  Although they may have come to a quiet end, they still leave something behind.

About 12 years ago while I was going to school in Toronto, I worked at a popular diner serving tables.  ( Don't underestimate my age from that statement.  I was more or less a professional student for quite awhile.  Just ask my parents and husband.)  I worked with Theresa, a woman about ten years older than me but so much wiser really.   She was funny.  She introduced me to Leonard Cohen and yoga.  She showed me areas of the city that I may not have had the nerve to see by myself.  She made my experience of living "in the big city" so much easier than I thought it would be.  When I graduated, I stopped working at the diner and eventually moved out of Toronto.  And that was kind of it.  I sometimes wish the friendship had continued but things can't be changed.

  At some point during our friendship, Theresa gave me a recipe for applesauce cake.  It's a simple, yummy, moist, all-in-one-bowl kind of cake.  I still have the piece of paper she wrote it on.  I want to share it because I think it should be shared.  Let me know how you like it.

Theresa's Applesauce Cake

1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Oil and flour an 8 inch cake pan.

Mix oil and sugar well.  Add applesauce and mix.  Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth.  Pour into prepared cake pan.  bake for 45-50 minutes.



That's it.  Pretty simple but let me know if something isn't clear.

I'm going to end this post with a picture of two little owls.


Acorn owls, that is, in a little felted wool nest.  More wonky than wise but we love them anyways.

6 comments:

  1. Mmmm...applesauce cake. I'll definitely be giving this a go.

    I could have written your post - at least parts of it. I have the very same views of friendship (I also moved in grade 8) and am thankful for the ones that have lasted as well of the ones that have ended.

    I'm thankful for the internet and blogging because it has connected me with so many like-minded mamas that despite the distance between us, I feel like I have dear friends all over. Such a gift.

    I saw Leonard Cohen a year and a half ago - the best concert I've ever seen. He was incredible. In fact, it was down right spiritual experience. AMAZING!

    Oh...and I bet Theresa still thinks of you too. Sounds like the two of you had some special times. xo - ps: love the owls.

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  2. I'll have to give that Applesauce Cake a try--thanks for sharing.
    Time and seasons sure do influence our friendships. Life-long friends are wonderful, but you're right about the ones that step in for a good, short season as well. We just can't hold everything forever. "Quiet end" is a good way to put it.
    Great owls--I have to show my girls:)

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  3. This sounds good. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  4. i am making an applesauce cake today for part of our thanksgiving dessert! it's a little different - but also vegan... yum! i'm making a lot of those short lived friends here in the caribbean and am very grateful for our time together while it lasts. very poignant posts lately... i enjoy reading!

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  5. I love the friendships that really hold a place in your heart. When life goes on as it does and friendships get left behind, I suppose we are saying silent prayers to those "left behind" friends when we think of them. I have some ole friends that I truely miss.

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  6. That looks so good! I love handwritten recipes that have been passed down...there is something magical about them.

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