Column from May 13, 2010

Fruit works for any meal … even dessert

Last weekend, we made our annual trek to the Ronald McDonald’s House in Spokane. Each Mother’s Day, some of us head up there to fix breakfast for the families who are staying at the house.

The menu included scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, juice, milk and … fruit!

I mixed up some strawberries, bananas, mandarin oranges and grapes in a big bowl. Colorful, fun and tasty and everyone enjoyed it.

A helpful hint when making any type of fruit salad is to first slice the bananas into the bowl and add the mandarin oranges on top of the bananas. When you gently stir the two fruits together, the juice from the oranges coats the banana slices and helps prevent them from turning brown.

Then, fold in the other fruits. You can also add mini marshmallows, nuts or whatever else your family enjoys, including whipped cream.

Mother’s Day is only one of three times per year we try to visit the house. We also like to do a barbecue in the summer and a dinner in the fall. Last year, it was spaghetti and all the fixings.

It’s fun visiting with the people there, but it can also be sad and, definitely, eye-opening.

Also, it’s encouraging to talk to the kids who are going through treatments for a variety of problems. They are so full of spunk and seem to take much of it in stride.

Many of them are often called “medical babies.” They have dealt with health issues since birth and truly understand what’s going on.

They are simply amazing children.

When my grandson was a toddler, he would surprise people whenever he went to the doctor. Because he was premature, he was used to tests and being poked and prodded. He would walk into the doctor’s office like he owned the place.

Today, at 6 years old, he hates going to see doctors. I guess he had his fill of them and you really can’t blame him.

Here’s a wonderful recipe for applesauce cake that can add even more fruit to your diet.

Applesauce cake with lemon buttercream frosting

For the cake:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

For the frosting:

1-1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13x9x2-inch pan.

2. To make the cake: Cream butter. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating well after each addition.

3. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Add flour mixture alternately with applesauce to butter mixture until well mixed. Stir in nuts and raisins.

4. Turn batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until cake springs back to the touch. Let cool slightly in pan. Remove cake to serving plate and let cool completely before frosting.

5. To make the frosting: Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer on medium speed for one minute. Reduce speed to low, and add confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating between each addition, until frosting is smooth. On low speed, add lemon juice. Increase speed to medium, and beat for 3-4 minutes, until fluffy. Frost cake.

Yield: Approximately 12 serving.