When Life Throws You A Curve Eat Some "Carrot Cake" Yum Yum

Hello to all you foodies out there in webland I hope all is well.  Well you know this thing called life is full of surprises for you.   You have everything going for you, you have a family who needs you, a job, grandkids a nice home and then you are ready to retire and you get hit with a bomb.    You go to the Doctor and they find cancer in your body and you go and have the surgery to remove the cancer but they may not have removed all of it.  So your waiting to hear back from them and it takes like weeks to hear.  Well that is where my husband sits now in a waiting period.  If he still has cancer then the only thing they can do is prolong his life.  Life sucks sometimes and what a bitch, its easier to just not know when your time is up.  We've been married for 41 years now and it will be 42 this September and that is alot of years to spend with someone.  We have also had our Ups and downs just like life itself.  I have gone round and round with him when I believe in something and his learned to just to let me do my thing and am alot happier that way.  Any who time will tell what is going to happen and there is one thing I've learned over the years time is something that waits for no man.  It just keeps hoping right along.  Well that is enough talking about this part of our lifes.  Its springtime and getting really close to Easter and am ready to start making my Coconut Cake dressed up like a rabbit.  However we are going to give you a recipe for my famous Carrot Cake that people here in South Carolina enjoy so much.  It has a Cream Cheese Icing which is one of my favorite's.  Carrot cakes have been around for a while now however they became really popular in the 1970's.  Here is the way I make my Carrot Cakes.  I hope you give this a try.

Carrot Cake

2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground Ginger

Sift these seven ingredents together.

1 1/2 cups Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup Buttermilk
2 cups grated Carrots
1 cup Coconut
1 Cup chopped Pecans or Walnuts
1 8 oz. can drained Crushed Pineapple

Mix all ingredients together till well blended.  Pre- Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake in 3 greased cake pan for about 35 minutes or until done.

Icing

1 stick Butter, softened
1 8 oz. Cream Cheese Softened
1 16 oz. Confectionary Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans or Walnuts

Cream the butter and cream cheese until well blended.   Slowly add the sugar.  Then add your vanilla and beat well.  Then fold in your pecans or walnuts.  Ice your cake when it is cooled.

There now I hope that you enjoy your Carrot Cake and please email me at madjon51@aol.com and come like my fan page on Facebook at, "Cooking With MadJon and Friends.  You may watch the TV show and get recipes by going to http://www.aikenstandard.com/ ASTV 95.  Send me some recipes to try because I always liek hearing from you.  Happy trails to you and yours until we meet again.  Bona Y'all.  Eileen Hutson, MadJon.