What to do with all Those Extra Eggs... Chocolate Angel Food Cake: Gluten Free or not

 

We have 17 chickens and every once in a while we get an over load of eggs. Our favorite thing to do when that happens is to make ANGEL FOOD CAKE!!! Gluten free, of course! And it comes out delicious.

Angel Food Cake 

1 1/2  cups egg whites (10 to 12  large eggs)

1 1/2  cups powered sugar 

1 cup brown rice flour 

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup granulated sugar 

(For the chocolate version, add 1/4 cup of cocoa powder.)

1. In a mixing bowl allow egg whites to stand at room temperature. Meanwhile, sift powered sugar and flour together, set aside. 

2. Add cream of tartar and vanilla to egg whites. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed till soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating till stiff peaks form.                         

3. Sift about one forth of the dry mixture over beaten egg whites. Repeat, folding in remaining dry mixture by fourths. Pour into an ungreased  10 inch tube pan. Gently cut through batter to remove any large air pockets.
4. Bake on the lowest rack in a 350 oven for 40 to 45 minutes or till top springs back when touched. Immediately invert cake (leave in pan); cool thoroughly. Loosen sides of cake from pan; remove cake. Makes 12 servings.

         

Serve with freshly whipped, lightly sweetened cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.  Don't waste any crumbs! 

Luckily, there were a couple extra taste testers around!

Their expressions say it all.... The cake got eaten in no time! Maybe we'll make another one tomorrow! :) 

Isabelle and Annika Baker

 

Moses' True Account of Catching a Criminal

Since some of you were wondering about the 21st Random Fact About Our Family, Moses orally narrated the story to me so I could write it down for you to read. Enjoy reading about Catching a Criminal!!! 

Four score and seven years ago.... Um, sorry! I'm in the middle of memorizing the Gettysburg address... It was more like three years ago, our cousins and us helped to catch a criminal.
  Here's the true account of what happened that fateful day. As luck would have it, just as our mom was about to walk out the door and leave my sister babysitting for the first time ever, we got a call from our aunt. She said the school was on lock down and that an armed and dangerous man was on the run from the police right in our neighborhood! So we quickly changed our plans and decided to go stay at out aunt's a couple miles down the road while our mom was gone. Armed with our BB guns, my brother and I escorted our family to the minivan. Sure enough, the neighborhood was eerily quiet and police were driving around. We sure had to drive the speed limit, or we'd be pulled over like a dead duck! We were relieved when we reached our aunt's house safely without any criminals opening fire at us.
 Later on, we walked down the driveway to meet our cousins at the bus stop. Maybe the dog got a whiff of criminal because he headed down to the road, and, of course, we went after him. Sure enough, he was right! Around the corner came a real life criminal on a peddle bike! He matched the description perfectly! Black coat, gun handy (we think!) and a suspicious backpack. And a criminalish look about him.
   "Run! It's him!" We shouted.
   He looked our way and peddled wickedly fast. And we ran! And, boy, our hearts were pounding. We tore up the driveway, glancing suspiciously over our shoulders.
    "Call 911!" We told our aunt, as we poured out our story.
   She did alright, with five excited kids shouting out answers to the be relayed to the 911 operator.
    "He had a beard!"
    "No he didn't!"
     "Yes, I'm sure he did!"
   "We saw his gun!"
   "You did?!"
    Well, they got enough information, I guess, cause they caught him head to foot. Right down the road! Must of ditched his gun though because he was unarmed when they got him. Sure with we found his gun!
   I'm glad the dog smelled him or we would of never had the chance to catch a criminal. At least, I might not have until I'm in the National Guards.

Moses is looking forward to being our guest writer on here! He is the story writer of the family and is very creative, as you can see! :) 

Moses Baker w/ Isabelle

O Beautiful for Spacious Skies, For Amber Waves of Grain!

"If you're not from the prairie, You don't know the sun, You can't know the sun. Diamonds that bounce off crisp winter snow, Warm waters in dugouts and lakes that we know. The sun is our friend from when we were young, A child of the prairie is part of the sun. If you're not from the prairie, You don't know the sun. 

If you're not from the prairie, You don't know the sky, You can't know the sky. The bold prairie sky is clear, bright and blue, Though sometimes cloud messages give us a clue. Monstrous grey mushrooms can hint of a storm, Or painted pink feathers say goodbye to the warm. If you're not from the prairie, You don't know the sky." ~ David Bouchard

One thing I love about South Dakota is the sky. You can see it for miles around, and it's blue almost every day. Every evening you can see the sunset, and it is different and  beautiful every time. At night it is so clear and the stars are so bright! 

                   

        

 Winter sure isn't my favorite season, but I love the days when the sun is shining and the snow is sparkly, and when the trees are all frosted and jeweled. It looks as though glitter is sprinkled over the earth! Those are my favorite winter days.

"Each little flow'r that opens, Each little bird that sings, God made their glowing colors, He made their tiny wings. The purple headed  mountains, The river running by, The sunset and the morning red That brightens up the sky. The cold winds in the winter, The pleasant summer sun, The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one. He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell, The goodness of the Father, Who doeth all things well. Yes, all things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, And all things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all!" 

~ Cecil Frances Alexander 

                 
                                                         

Isabelle A. Baker

30 Random Things About Our Family

1. We read a lot.
2. We like history.
3. We never have enough books.
4. We love the library.
5. We don't take very good care of our library books. :(
6. When we get a fine, our dad threatens to take away our library card for good.
7. We're trying to learn to take better care of them.
8. We can eat a whole cake in one day.
9. We like strong coffee.
10. We love to laugh.
11. We like to sing.
12. We hear at least one fact about dogs and Alaska every day.
13. We enjoy Sunday evening walks.
14. Our dad sings really annoying songs to wake us up on Sunday mornings.
15. We like going on road trips.
16. Our favorite part of being on the road so far was when we went to Yellow Stone in 2013.
17. We really hope our mom has a new baby.
18. Once we got caught on a tornado in our van!
19. Much to our dismay, our mom is going to make us drink goat milk AND milk a goat.
20. We finally have a dishwasher after a year and a half of hand washing.
21. One time we helped catch a criminal.
22. Once we butchered a pig on our kitchen table! (Eww!)                          23. Our dad reads us the Bible almost every night.
24. We are very thankful that we are home schooled.
25. We have the best Grannie in the whole world.
26. We are always late, everywhere!
27. Our mom freaks out when she sees blood.
28. Four of us have blond hair and five of us have brown hair.
29. Three of us have brown eyes like our mom, four green, we're still hoping for some blue eyes like our  Dad's.
30. We have 1 dog, 2 cats, 17 chickens and soon a few goats.

Isabelle and Annika