O Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast

O wert thou in the cauld blast,
On yonder lea, on yonder lea,
My plaidie to the angry airt,
I’d shelter thee, I’d shelter thee;
Or did Misfortune’s bitter storms
Around thee blaw, around thee blaw,
Thy bield should be my bosom,
To share it a’, to share it a’.

Or were I in the wildest waste,
Sae black and bare, sae black and bare,
The desert were a Paradise,
If thou wert there, if thou wert there;
Or were I Monarch o’ the globe,
Wi’ thee to reign, wi’ thee to reign,
The brightest jewel in my Crown
Wad be my Queen,  be my Queen.

Today, January 25, is Rabbie Burns Day, the bard’s birthday and the day when celebratory Burn’s suppers are traditionally held. In the name of efficiency, I’m posting a weather related poem in commemoration.

More Burns: Sherry of Semicolon has posted a collection of Burn’s graces. 

Recipe Round Up and Snackalicious Super Dishes

 

 

join together in one super-duper carnival

 

of delicious food,

 

for a crowd pleasing recipe bonanza

at Pensieve.

Update on Friday, January 25, 2008 at 10:11AM by rebecca

I spent some time this morning updating the Recipe Round Up information page. Among other changes, I updated the list of past round ups so it’s current. (Current, that is, until tomorrow, when today’s round up becomes a past one.) Here it is:

 

• April: Quick supper fixin’s at Rebecca Writes
• May: Appetizers at Hiraeth
• June: Desserts at Simply a Musing Blog
  
• July: Summer salads at promptings
• August: Outdoor grilling recipes at The Happy Wonderer
• September: Soups and stews at Lux Venit
  
• October: Freezer recipes at  Motherhood Apologia
• November: Favorite holiday recipes at Semicolon
• December: Cookies, Bars, Candy, etc. at Rebecca Writes

We have a volunteer to host February’s round up, but after that, the hosting schedule is wide open. Are you interested? You can volunteer to host a future recipe round up here.

 

And did you know that Kim of Hiraeth is compiling the recipes in each round up into folders (Word Documents) which will end up in a Blogger’s Cookbook? She’ll email the folders to you if you ask. You’ll find her contact information in the sidebar at Hiraeth.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

This is a yummy and easy crowd-pleasing dessert. It yields 16-20 pieces, so if my crowd were a real crowd, I’d double the recipe.

Cake 

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients.
   
2. In a small saucepan, bring butter, cocoa and water to a boil. Add to dry ingredients (step 1) and mix well.
   
3. In a small bowl, beat eggs. Add buttermilk and vanilla; mix well. Stir into cocoa mixture.
   
4. Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.
   
5. Bake at 375F for 20-22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean.

 
Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 cups icing (or confectioner’s) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. While cake is baking,  bring butter, cocoa and milk to a boil in a saucepan, stirring constantly.
   
2. Remove pan from heat; add sugar and vanilla. Mix well.
   
3. When cake is done, spread frosting over hot cake.
4. Cool frosted cake on a wire rack. 

Recipe adapted from this recipe found in Taste of Home.