Recipe Day

The Bag Lady realizes that a lot of you are probably going to curse her for this, especially if your New Year’s Resolution includes losing weight. But her philosophy is that you occasionally need a treat, and this particular recipe is not as bad as some – at least it has some fruit in it!

She has, in the past, resorted to dieting to the extreme. You know the kind of diet she means – restrictive, with your own little Nazi in the back of your head, screaming “you vill NOT eat zat – zat is verboten!!” The diet that always works for her is the Scarsdale Diet. It is very restrictive, which is why it works. It is very restrictive, which is why it doesn’t always work, too! She has lost lots of weight with that particular diet, and kept it off for quite some time, but as soon as she is under stress, she starts to eat, and the weight comes back. (She has been very stressed for the last 3 or 4 years now...)
The Cowboy calls it the “Starvedale Diet”.
Anyway, this recipe is definitely not something allowed on the Starvedale Diet.

Banana Spice Cake

2 ½ C flour
½ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp ground cloves
½ tsp nutmeg
2 ½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ C shortening
1 ½ C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ C mashed bananas

Sift dry ingredients.
Beat shortening ‘til fluffy, add sugar, beat well. Add eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with bananas. Pour into 2 greased 9-inch pans.
Bake at 375 for 25 – 30 minutes.

Here’s an added bonus for you. This icing is terrific, and is not too sweet. In fact, that’s what it’s called.

Not Too Sweet Icing

4 Tbsp flour
1 C milk
½ C margarine
½ C Crisco shortening
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix flour & milk. Stir constantly while cooking over low heat ‘til paste forms. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Mix shortening and margarine 4 minutes at high speed. Add sugar, mix 4 minutes.
Add paste & vanilla. Beat until smooth.

The Bag Lady hopes you enjoy the cake...