Save the Date - Save the Day - Save the Recipe

Summer doesn't mean slower days, I guess, as it seems we're busy as ever.  The only difference is we are adding into our days so many more outdoor activities.  So every weekend we try to "play" one day, and "work" the other, with Sunday as our resting day (although there's still plenty we do on Sundays!)  We are so fortunate my Mark has Friday's off, and I am usually able to sneak away from work as well. 

Last Friday we drove through the Rogue Wilderness, on U.S. Forest Service logging roads.  What a blast that was with the top off our Jeep.  I couldn't stop looking UP at the beautiful tall trees, so majestic.  We did make our way down at one point to the Rogue River, and got a chance to talk to some of the people rafting and camping the river.  Also, it was...mighty hot!  We got to go through the Rogue River Ranch,  which has a museum and more.  Oh, it was...mighty hot! 

We sat under a huge old black walnut tree and ate our lunch.

Our lunch included tuna sandwiches, made with home canned tuna.  Melissa and I had spent a day or so earlier canning tuna, after Mark cut and filleted about ten large tuna fish.  We can buy them right off the boats here on the coast.

Back to the Rogue River Ranch...

I loved the table and bench set inside, I think it was made of madrome wood....

I also loved the shade of red they had painted the main house, with the white trim....

Back home....I realized how much cooler we are here on the coast, even on our "hot" days!  The next day we were splitting firewood, after an hour or two (with me at the wood splitter), I said, "I need to stop and go play in the kitchen!"  Off to the kitchen to make something!  I made a yummy sour cream pound cake, and then a batch of cream puffs. 

When it came time to fill the cream puffs I whipped up the whipping cream in my KitchenAid, as I always have, but it just would NOT whip.  That was a first for me.  As a quick stand in we filled a few of them with canned whipped cream---I know, not very Martha-Stewartly.  Have I ever mentioned we don't live close to grocery stores?

The sour cream coffee cake recipe I use is included in my "Taste of Oregon" cookbook.  I *highly* recommend this cookbook. 
















Here's the recipe for you to try out.  I made mine in a round bundt cake pan, but you can use any cake pan you have.

SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder.
    TOPPING:
    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    3 Tablespoons brown sugar
    1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Cream together the sugar, butter, and eggs.  Add the sour cream, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking power; mix together.  Combine topping ingredients. Pour half the batter into a greased tube pan. Cover with half the topping.  Add the rest of the batter and top with the remainder of the topping.  Bake at 350F degrees for 1 hour.  Cover with foil for the last 15-20 minutes to prevent the top from getting too brown. 

Serve warm or cooled---great either way...

I've been having fun painting some "SAVE THE DATE" signs for Etsy buyers.  I needed a photo of a couple holding my sign, to show as an example, but only had Mark and I to use.  I laugh everytime I see this photo, as we're holding the SAVE THE DATE sign and we've now been married over 30 years.  We still save OUR date as one VERY SPECIAL DAY!

Blessings!   ~Heidi

(EDITED to change the recipe name.  It was sour cream coffee cake, not pound cake as I originally had written in error!)