Looking Out the Window: Gay Lewis Talks about the Latest Book in her Sarah Series, Sarah and a Date for Mackenzie, Gives Away an E-book

A Warm Welcome to Gay Lewis

 

Gay will give away an e-book of the winner's choice. To enter to win leave a comment and an e-mail address below.

Gay Shares a One-Hundred Year Old Cake Recipe

Thanks for the inviting me to guest on your blog.  You asked me to share about myself—maybe tell something I’ve never told. So I decided to give you a recipe—one I’ve never given to anyone. I call it The One-hundred Year Old Cake—it’s at least that old and it comes from Alabama, but before you get to the ancient cake, I’ll tell you a bit about me, the cooks in the family and my latest book.

My mother was the best chef I’ve ever known, with my two grandmothers coming in second and third. My mom and her parents came to Texas from Alabama. Talk about good southern cooking—they both knew the secrets. My paternal grandmother moved to Texas from Tennessee—another excellent southern cook. My mom used to make this cake and gave me the handwritten recipe. Her mother brought it from Alabama in a Model T—she didn’t bring many possessions, but she managed to stow away a few recipes. The one I’m sharing is older than the family.

I’m creative—just not with pots and pans. I’ve photographed people and landscapes—and made money from my efforts. I’ve engaged in interior design professionally —still do a bit of that from time to time. And I’ve written books—ten published to date. I also write articles for "The Texas Hill Country" magazine. For my sweet husband’s sake, I wish cooking had been an inherited talent.

I’ve written one novella, Clue into Kindness, it is in the Woman’s Fiction genre, but most of the time, I write a series about Sarah. She’s my whacky angel who helps humans in spite of causing mayhem. The Superiors always send Sarah to Texas. In the first book, Sarah: A Mission of Love, Sarah managed to lose herself many times between Houston and Austin. You see, Sarah is dyslexic and never knows which way to go—including up or down. Since that first book, Sarah pretty much stays close to Houston. Oh wait! She will go to Chicago in a book to yet be published. Sarah and the Double Wedding Woes. Sarah is ordered to follow her charge from Houston to Chicago for a night, and she is terrified. Sarah and the Double Wedding Woes is a sequel to the latest book, Sarah and a Date for Mackenzie.

Each Sarah book stands alone, and there’s no need to read them in order. Here’s a bit of info about my latest book, Sarah and a Date for Mackenzie.

This time Sarah goes to high school.  She's scared to death...that is if a holy angel can be scared to the point of demise. She's never hung with kids before. Teens have never experienced anything like her either.

Sarah plans to help Mackenzie find a date for the prom.

Uh-oh! What about the school bully?

That little old meanie? Poopty doopty! Sarah can fix him.

Three generations of women live together. What about Mackenzie's teacher mom? Oh yeah, Sarah can find a man for her too. Then there's the grandmother. Must not leave her out. Sarah's got her hands and wings loaded to the brim in this one.

 More about Sarah and a Date for Mackenzie

Merciful heavens! Getting acquainted with adult teachers in a high school is one challenge, but hang with the kids too? Sarah, heaven’s little love angel—known for bungles, has dealt with children and enjoyed them, but teenagers? My stars! They are a different ballgame. She doesn’t understand their jargon, clothes or hairdos. And mood swings? Forget it. She knew nothing about them—nada —zippo. She’d seen and heard them from above—even wondered at times why they existed on the same planet as adults. They were unique and interesting, but to mingle with them? Not a chance would she choose to do so—well, not until her latest assignment. Why would the Superiors send a bumbling angel like her to help a shy teenager find a date for a high school prom? Poopty doopty! A nightmare is about to happen.

Okay, now that I’ve introduced myself to you and your readers, I’m going to give you a yummy recipe.

I’m known for many things in life, but I’ll never be a fine cook. I do make this cake at Christmas, and it is my husband’s favorite.  The cake had no name, and since the recipe is at least a century old, I named it.

One Hundred Year Old Cake

¾ lb of real butter
2 ½ cups of sugar
6 large eggs or 8 small
2 ox of Vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
Mix these ingredients

Sift together and add to top mixture.
3 ¾ cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Then add
1 lb pecans
2 packages of chopped dates

Pour into a Bundt pan at 350 degrees and baked one hour or until a toothpick comes out dry.
Thanks for having me, Gail. I hope you and your readers will try this cake. It is a family favorite in the Lewis household.

Yum. It sounds delicious!
 

Visit Gay's Amazon page here

Buy Sarah and a Date for Mackenzie here