Day: December 18, 2012

The Twins: An N.I.C.U. Update 5


Marijo has been going to see the babies every chance she gets.  I’ve been keeping Lew and working on the house or going in to work when I can.  It’s so very hard to be at home with Lew, at the hospital with the kids, at work and with Marijo at the same time.  I now see why even God is three persons!  Aiden is eating very well and taking to the bottle like a champ.  He’s actually eating too much too quickly and forgetting to breathe so his heart stops.  That’s my boy.  Audrey hasn’t mastered the suckling thing down yet but is getting close.  She tries but still pushes forward a bit too much pushing the nipple out of her mouth.  Aiden is doing so well that he may get his NG tube out today.  They didn’t gavage him any in the last 24 hours.  Both have lost weight back to where they were when they were born but are both putting it back on quickly.  Marijo has been keeping them BOTH in full supply of breast milk (hallelujah).

Lewis got his new bed put together last night and couldn’t wait to go lay in it (with Dad of course). I can’t tell you how both uncomfortable and comforted I was last night when my 3 year old asked me to lay with him in a twin bed (I’m still sore). Lewis played on his Kindle with me, and when I said it was time, he reached up, turned his lamp off, shut his Kindle down, reached over and kissed me goodnight and went straight to sleep. Me being the pessimist, I picked him up and put him in our bed later last evening. When he woke up, he was angry he wasn’t still in his bed. Go figure.

Marijo is worried about going back to school already even though it isn’t until March. I’m sure leaving the kids is tough even if it’s for an hour much less 8 a day but you know what they say…

If you worry, don’t pray. If you pray, don’t worry.

Hobbit Seedcake And Cacen Goch Cake

So many of you Tolkieners may have read in the Hobbit or LOTR about seed cake or “second breakfast” and the many times Hobbits stop to eat. Well, I couldn’t stand it. I had to make both a cacen goch and a seed cake. Both are AMAZING!! If you want the recipes, they are below.

CACEN GOCH RECIPE

Recipe Ingredients:

300g Plain Flour

100g butter (softened and cut up)

180g of mixed dried fruit

3 tbsp of black treacle (molasses)

80g brown sugar (demerara)

1 tsp of ground mixed spice

100ml of milk

Recipe Method:

First grease an 18cm cake tin

Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl, then rub the butter into the flour with your fingers to make a ‘breadcumb’ texture. Add in the fruit, spice, and sugar. Mix these in with a wooden spoon, then add in the treacle and mix further. Add in a little of the milk until the mixture becomes easy to stir, but not too ‘wet’, add more if a little dry.

Preheat the oven to 180C

Pour this mixture into the prepared cake tin –Cacen Goch will not rise much, so you can safely fill a small cake tin or individual cake tins almost to the top without worry – and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Check it is done after 45 minutes by pushing a skewer into the centre and see if it comes out clean and hot. Leave to cool for ten minutes and transfer to a cooling rack. This Cacen Goch treacle cake can be eaten on the day but also can be stored in an air tight container for a week.

Serve warm, with a dollop of whipped cream, or cold as a slice of cake on its own, or with apple preserve.

SEED CAKE RECIPE

Recipe Ingredients:

240g butter (soft)

240g caster sugar

4 large eggs (beaten)

320g self raising flour (sieved)

4-6 tbsp milk (or single cream)

2 tbsp of demerara (natural brown) sugar

30g caraway seeds

3 tbsp of brandy

1/2 tsp of ground mace

1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg

Recipe Method:

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350F, 180C

Prepare a cake tin – You will also need a greased, 18 cm round cake tin – with the base lined with greaseproof or silicone paper (if it needs it) good quality cake tins just need to be greased.

Beat the eggs in a medium sized bowl with a whisk. Then in another larger bowl cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture is pale and fluffy, then gradually whisk in the beaten eggs a little at a time. When all the egg , sugar and butter has been mixed, whisk in the caraway seeds, ground mace and ground nutmeg, then lightly fold in the sieved flour. Then add in the brandy, stirring it in.

Lastly add just enough milk (or single cream) to loosen the mixture and give the cake batter a good ‘dropping’ consistency (this means the mixture is neither wet nor dry, but will drop off a spoon when tipped). Once at this point, spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Level off the surface with the back of a spoon and then finally sprinkle the demerara (natural brown) sugar all over the top.

Bake the seed cake in the centre of the oven for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until a metal skewer comes out clean and hot. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool further. This seed cake will taste even better after a day or two, so wrap it in foil or baking parchment and keep it in an air tight tin. It will keep for several days.