Bella’s Old-fashioned Coconut Cake

1/2 cup solid coconut oil
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
5 egg whites
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (I use Silk Coconut milk.)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In electric mixer, cream the solid coconut oil with the sugar. Add egg whites and whole egg slowly and mix until batter is smooth. Add salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until blended. Add vanilla and coconut milk and mix just until blended. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing 2 minutes or until batter is smooth.

Pour evenly into a 9 × 13 inch greased and floured pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting
1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine (softened)
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons flour
2/3 cup coconut milk (This should be tepid temperature and added slowly. I use Silk Coconut milk.)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Flake coconut

Cream together the softened margarine and Crisco. To this mixture, add sugar, flour (one tablespoon at a time), coconut milk (add slowly), and vanilla. Beat 8 to 10 minutes at high speed until frosting is smooth. Spread over the cake and sprinkle the top with flake coconut.

Caprice’s Easy Beef Bourguignon

(As printed in SILENCE OF THE LAMPS)
Coat 5 quart slow cooker with nonstick spray.

6 slices bacon (keep 3 tablespoons of the drippings)
2 ½ pounds stewing cubes
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Fry bacon and remove from the drippings. When it is cool, crumble it and set aside in the refrigerator. Save three tablespoon of the drippings to use in preparation.
Dry beef cubes as much as possible with food-friendly paper towels. Combine flour, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper in a Ziplock bag. Drop in a few stewing cubes at a time to coat them, then place the coated cubes in the crock pot.

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup peeled and sliced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic (grated)
1/8 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
3 cups beef broth (I use Swanson with no MSG)
1 ½ cups white burgundy wine
A tiny pinch of red pepper flakes (4 to 5 flakes)
Add onion, carrots, celery, marjoram, garlic, one teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and the pinch of red pepper flakes (4 to 5 flakes).
Pour broth over the mixture, add three tablespoons bacon drippings and the wine. Cover and cook on low for five hours or until beef cubes are tender. Stir every two hours for a smooth gravy base (with no flour lumps!).
Serve over noodles (I use a pound of wide egg noodles) and top with crumbled bacon.
Serves six to eight.