As we all know there are a lot of monsters in this world. Non more monstrous than war. Today is the day that we remember those who have fallen and those who still serve. To all we give thanks.
SITAR is about ANYTHING art. Your art, someone else's art, writing, photography,
the art of cooking, the art of sewing and textiles. Sharing historical
art, street art, a story about art. Do you have a question or need help
with art? Write a blog post and link it up here. We will all try to help
with it. My only rule is that if someone asks for critique it must be done with generosity and consideration.
This is a place of learning, encouragement and inspiration.
I was going back and forth on a SITAR subject for today, when I answered an email from my good friend Gene.
He had mentioned that he was baking cakes for his mom's 90th birthday. He bakes one with sugar and one diabetic cake. He sent me a photo of a cake he made for his brother's birthday. This is a lovely cake.
We all know there are some outstanding cakes being made by bakers around the world. Today, I want to focus on a bit of history of cakes.
So where did the cake come from?
The earliest evidence of cake baking dates back over 4,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. These ancient cakes were essentially sweetened breads. Not at all like the fluffy, sweet deserts we make today.
In ancient times the ingredients were grains, dates, rains, honey and nuts. They used yeast to make the cakes raise
The first birthday cake came from the ancient Greeks. They baked moon shaped cakes to honor Artemis, the goddess of the moon. They placed lit candles on top to make the cakes glow.
In the middle ages Europeans expanded on cake baking. Their cakes had a dense structure with a high content of sugar/honey and heavy laden with fruits and or ginger. These cakes would last for months and often used as a food source on long journeys. Oh and did you know that the word "cake" comes from the old Norse word "KAKA"
By the 17 and 18th centuries cakes started to be more airy and light in structure.
The growing availability of refined sugar and chocolate (courtesy of global trade routes) transformed cake into an elite, sweet treat.
There are a few Youtubes that bake centuries old cakes. My favorite is Tasting History with Max Miller. He has a lot of info on historical cakes.
This is a civil war cake
There are many election cakes but I like this image.
Here is another cake made by Gene
Here are some of the cakes that I have made and shown on my blog. Not as pretty as Genes.
Lemon cake
Peach Cake
Molasses ginger cake
I had to change my baking habits to kidney friendly when Mr. M. lost one kidney to cancer.
Kidney friendly strawberry cake,
And here is a chocolate graham cracker cake I made just for this post.
I didn't have any regular graham crackers. I seem to always have the chocolate ones. I changed a few things to make it Kidney friendly.
Right out of the oven.
After dinner for Mr. M.
Cake with whipped cream.
It's a strange cake but not too bad.
You will need.
1/2 C APF all purpose flour
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs. About 20 squares. 2 1/2 t baking powder. 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened. 3/4 cup sugar or honey or sugar substitute, 2 eggs or 6T aquafaba, 1 t vanilla extract
3/4 C milk. I did add 1/2 c melted chocolate chips.
In a small bowl mix graham cracker crumbs, flour and baking powder. Set it aside. In a larger bowl mix butter and sugar until fluffy. Add one egg at a time mix in well. Add in melted chocolate chips. Mix in vanilla. Add dry ingredients a little at a time altering with the milk. This is a very thick cake batter. I baked mine in a 9x13" pan but I should have used a bit larger. It took longer for the middle to bake. You don't want this too deep in the pan. Bake at 350°F or 176°C for about 20 minutes. Check to be sure it is baked all the way through.
You
know, ANY type of face, nature, the face of a flower, photography,
drawings, paintings, AI. There just needs to be a face in your blog post, a
link back to my blog and please use the image below.
Thank you.
It's been a busy week. Mostly just everyday things. It makes me feel good that I can do the everyday things.
Now this next portrait I drew I have mixed feelings about. I see so many things wrong with it. If I feel this way, why show it? Showing what we think may be not so great artwork is vital because it shatters the myth of perfection, promoting an authentic human connection to it.
This is my brother Tom. I have never seen him without a smile on his face.
I started drawing from the colored photo, then later flipped it to black n white.
I started in on his portrait.
It started like this.
Then to this. I think it was here I went to black n white.
I was shaking a white pen and ink landed on my paper. uuurrrggg...
I figured I could just draw over it.
I finished like this. I was putzing around with it too much and had to stop.
He has deep wrinkles by his left eye that I just couldn't get right. I lost the curve of his upper lip, and because of that he doesn't have a smiling face. By this time was not into drawing his suit. The things I do like about it, it is dose look like my brother, I really like how his nose turned out and (wait for it) his hair and beard. Yes, I said hair. LOL
I would like a do over on this one. It was a total learning experience and I would like to get right.
