Either spouse or I have had three phone conversations in the past week with senior relatives or friends. And everyone is struggling: struggling with health issues, or struggling with caregiving issues, or both. One, in her 80's, recently was hospitalized with pneumonia. Another has been trying to provide day care for grandchildren while trying to be a caregiver for someone who recently had to be put into a nursing home. Another, a world traveler, can no longer travel due to her health issues.
These stories make me count my blessings, but it also wonders what my senior years will turn into.
At least yesterday, for Labor Day, I was able to spend some time with my son and one of his friends, someone I've known for years. For dessert, I made a dump cake.
Dump cakes are well named - you take the ingredients, dump them (one by one) into a pan, add a liquid and bake. So, I decided to make one, with Cheerwine (a nonalcoholic cherry soda beloved in parts of the Southern United States), blueberries we had picked during the picking season in August, and a new flavor of cake mix I had never seen before in the stores - strawberry.
There was a time when I would never have come within a mile of a cake mix. Only scratch for me, thank you. And I would have turned my nose up at the thought of RV camping. Now, I use cake mixes 95% of the time, and I am seriously thinking of buying an RV. Aging did that to me - it made me realize my limitations, made me treasure time that is left, and it also sharpened my sweet tooth (making weight loss a necessity).
So, the dump cake is a simple one, because I am on Weight Watchers and I have to remain at my goal weight (well, within a narrow range). Cut up fruit is a great dessert but sometimes you just want more.
I dumped 2 1/2 cups blueberries into a 9 x 13 pan, dumped the cake mix ovre the blueberries and poured a can of diet Cheerwine over all, baked for about 50 min at 350 degrees, and served it to end our Labor Day cookout of hamburgers, a point free variation of cowboy caviar and an ear of corn. My son and his friends both enjoyed it. The strawberry cake mix was so delicious (and no, I am not receiving any compensation for this shoutout.)
Today I am back to work, looking forward to a interesting September. Do I fear the future? Perhaps a little, but I also want to enjoy life as long as I can.
As my friend always said, getting old is not for sissies. I deal with spinal disc degeneration and mornings are not fun. It is important to take care of oneself.
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you on the aging thing, Alana. The innocent question "how is your mom doing these days?" leads to a discussion of assisted living facilities, transportation issues, health care concerns...Things that were on my list of "i'll never do that" when I was younger ae now starting to appeal to me.
ReplyDeleteYour dump cake looks good
Hi Alana - life as we get older definitely can be challenging ... enjoy the return to work - keeping you occupied and some pennies coming in. The Labour Day dump cake sounds interesting ... and you had some fun with your son ... cheers and here's to happy times - Hilary
ReplyDeleteI worked with a guy from North Carolina who LOVED Cheerwine. It's a regional thing, because here in Atlanta the only people who drink it are from North Carolina...
ReplyDeleteThat cake sounds so good and I'm the same, used to only bake from scratch, now I often use boxed mixes as my base.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing your RV decision.
So - you don't add the ingredients it says to on the box? Just dump in with your own choice of liquid and fruit? (I'm a good cook, but a terrible baker. Yet this might be something I could do!) Tell me more...
ReplyDeleteLisa, there are lots of dump cake recipes online and it is so easy. Basically you spray a baking pan with Pam type spray. Pour in the fruit. Sprinkle nuts if you want. Sprinkle a box of cake mix over that (just the cake mix, not the eggs or liquid the box calls for). Pour a liquid like soda over it all. Bake. No clean up. People love it! A lot of recipes use canned pie filling and a can of pineapple. Lots of variation out there. Use a search engine and you'll have recipe after recipe...er, dumped on you.
ReplyDeleteWhy are we not better friends? I love plants and flowers.....and I love dump cakes. Right now I am going to make some snickerdoodles....people just love them
ReplyDeleteAging ain't for the weak, that's for sure.
ReplyDelete