Last fall Robin Knoll gave me a copy of an old typed recipe from a great aunt. “Will you make it for me?” Finally got around to making it, strange recipe, no butter in the cake and granulated sugar and flour in the icing! It was delicious though I thought it kinda skimpy in size and volume of icing so below is my revamped version of Robin’s great aunt’s
Waldorf Red Cake

¾ c shortening
2-1/4 c granulated sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 oz red food coloring
1-1/2 t vanilla
2 t cocoa
½ 2 salt
1-1/2 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 t baking soda
1-1/2 T vinegar
3-1/2 cups cake flour (sifted)

Grease two 9” cake pans, line bottoms with greased parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F.

Sift together the flour and salt on a piece of waxed paper.

Make a loose paste of the food coloring, vanilla and cocoa.

In standing mixer, cream shortening and sugar until fluffy, add eggs all at once, beating to combine.
Add cocoa mixture. Alternately add buttermilk and sifted flour mixture (1/3 of the milk, then a 1/3 of the flour and so on, ending with flour)
Add baking soda to vinegar in separate bowl (it will foam up). Gently stir into cake batter.

Divide batter evenly into the two prepared pans.
Bake at 350 for approx 30 minutes (rotating pans at 15 minutes) or until toothpick comes out clean – be careful not to overbake – check at 25 minutes.

Allow to cool in pans on rack. Make cooked part of frosting while cakes are baking and set aside to cool or refrigerate)

FROSTING
4-1/2 T all purpose flour
1-1/2 c milk
1-1/2 c granulated sugar
1-1/2 c whipped butter (not stick butter) at room temp.
1-1/2 t vanilla

Cook flour and milk until thick, whisking constantly. This will only take a minute.

It will be the consistency of that gravy you get with biscuits. Remove to bowl and set aside to cool and then refrigerate.

Press plastic wrap on top of flour/milk mixture to avoid a skin on it.
Cream butter and sugar until very fluffy and sugar has dissolved – about 5 minutes.
Add vanilla and blend well.

Add cold cooked mixture and beat again until the icing is the consistency of whipped cream.

Carefully split the each cake into 2 even layers, ice between each layer and the top.

I think next time I make this cake I’ll cut off the mounds on top for even layers – those mounds will be good snacking!
Happy Birthday Robin!

Want to send a zero calorie birthday cake? Walter Knoll Florist has just the cake for you!

I’m ahead of the game this year – hoping to have dozens of knitted gifts to give –
Here are 5 hats I’ve made since mid August or so

I especially like these two, so if you see someone wearing something like this, ask them if Di made that hat!

Please don’t ask me for the pattern! I figure them out as I go along or I copy a previous pattern from one I have made.

Are you perhaps not so nimble fingered and wondering about holiday gift giving? Walter Knoll Florist can solve that problem! Call us about our holiday corporate gift giving ideas! We’ll have beautiful poinsettias, wreaths (decorated and plain – live and everlasting) as well as a whole line up of holiday floral bouquets! After all, we’re Walter Knoll Florist, Your Personal Florist Since 1883 Call us at 314.352.7575 or toll free at 1-800-341-ROSE (7673) WKF.COM

Dinosaurs at the Saint Louis Zoo

Summer 2008

Here are some of the Dinosaurs,

Step back into prehistoric time and enter the world of the dinosaur!

Sixteen life-size animatronic dinosaurs will move, roar and spit in the Saint Louis Zoo’s one-of-a-kind walk-through exhibit opening near River’s Edge in spring 2008. The temporary exhibit Dinoroarus will be open April 18 through September 1, 2008.

Watch the KSDK Newschannel 5 video of their arrival at the Zoo on April 1.

Walk among the reptilian giants and gaze into the eyes of dino mega-stars, including Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops and Stegosaurus.

Young paleontologists can unearth some Jurassic treasures in the hands-on Fossil Dig and climb atop a duck-billed dino “parasaurolophus” for a unique photo opportunity.

Thrill seekers can experience “Dino Island 2,” a 3-D motion simulator (additional fee).

Expand your knowledge of dinosaurs by finding their living relatives throughout the Zoo, including the tuatara at the Herpetarium. Compare and contrast present day giants such as elephants, bears and giraffes, to the size of dinosaurs. Learn how the Zoo is working to protect endangered wild animals from going extinct like the dinosaurs.

Today was the grand opening and Walter Knoll Florist is one of the sponsors of Dinosaurs at the Zoo! below are some shots of wonderful dramatic arrangements! Fun, huh!

Dinosaurs are making a monster arrival at the Saint Louis Zoo in 2008 from April to September. The immersive exhibit will feature 17 life-size animatronics dinosaurs in a naturalistic setting on Zoo grounds. Their booming roars, curious clicks and adorable chirps will fill the air and transport you to a land before time.

Many educational opportunities will be incorporated into this exciting exhibit. This is an opportunity for us to teach children and adults about animal extinction, developing theories, animal adaptations, regions where dinosaurs have been discovered, the science of paleontology, and dinosaur descendants that are on exhibit at the Zoo.

View Video of What it is like to receive flowers from FTD and Proflowers. Flowers from a real florist are a wonderful gift.

NO, I didn’t get mugged – I had a little (!) dental procedure – you see I have (had) a tooth I put some bad Karma on back in my terrible teens (another blog story perhaps). After a root canal in high school, electro-surgery and a crown in dental school (I was married to a Wash U dental student once), losing that tooth during a cleaning in my late 30′s, 2 bridges and another root canal, it was time to get rid of a neighboring tooth. This meant dentures ( NO NO NO I’m way too young at any age!) or an implant (or 2). Unfortunately over the years I’ve had some bone loss in the area and needed donor bone grafting where two teeth once lived more or less happily side by side and also bone grafting in my lower sinus. This is where the OUCH comes in – my dearest friend and the greatest dentist in all the world, Dr Mary McClellan, (950 Francis Pl, 63117 314 726-6966 www.rmdentistry.com) referred me to an oral maxillofacial surgeon, Dr John Monterubio (1034 S Brentwood, 63117 314 721-1010 www.mhoms.com).

Implants are not an inexpensive procedure, but to me the alternative was unthinkable. I found Dr Monterubio very friendly at my consult with him, and one month later for the “procedure” found him to be exceptionally skilled and obviously respected by his staff. The surgery took a bit less than 2 hours (I was not sedated) and 5 days later I’m healing up nicely – still a bit swollen & bruised and beginning to be able to chew somewhat solid food again. (Goodbye sweet cool slippery jiggly Jello and pudding cups!)

My office mates had one of our floral designers (Louise) create this fantastic arrangement to be delivered to me – see the “teeth” in the carnations?

Well I can’t tell you how amused I was to receive the flowers and scare off our driver, Don. (He wasn’t expecting to see me wrapped in ice answering the door.)

You can have anything created at Walter Knoll Florist, from a wacky “International Year of the Potato” arrangement to memorial easel pieces, if you can describe it – our designers can make it!

Both of the above dentists are located near Brentwood and Clayton Rd – easy to get to even with the Highway 40 demolition – so if you need a dentist I hope you will call Dr McClellan and if you need more than a dentist Dr Monterubio is your man. Tell them A Musing Florist sent you.