Lots of Eggs? – Make a Cake
Baking a cake came easy to Momma. She could make just about anything, and do it successfully. She could plan a full meal for a crowd way in advance, or she could pull a dinner “out of the air” if needed. No one was ever turned away from our table, and her love language was definitely food.
When I was born, Momma and Daddy owned a chicken ranch in Petaluma, California. The town was nicknamed “Chickaluma” because of the massive number of chickens raised and eggs produced. We had 10,000 hens, and that was a small-to-modest sized ranch. Even with that many birds, the big ranches forced the little ones out of business, including ours. The work was hard, and as always with raising livestock, there were never any days off.
Those hens kept laying eggs no matter what!
When relatives or friends came by for a visit, Momma would serve chicken (usually pan-fried or roasted), eggs, or a combination of the two. Cash was scarce, but she sure could lay food on the table. It wasn’t unusual for Momma to fry up six eggs per guest for breakfast in the morning. For dinner she’d make deviled eggs as a side dish, potato salad with hard-boiled eggs, and finish off the meal with a scrumptious dessert that used even more eggs. One of her favorite desserts to serve, especially around Easter, was a coconut layer cake with boiled icing. She adored anything with coconut, and was always looking for a way to use up eggs.
I learned a lot about stewardship from her.
Momma grew up during the Great Depression and knew the value of making the most with what she had. She never wasted anything that could be used in another meal. She could take the meager leftovers out our fridge, add eggs of some form, and turn it into a fresh, crowd-pleasing meal. No one knew the difference.
No wonder we had company so often!
GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!