Saturday rituals on the farm....

As I sit working on the computer and watching my housekeeper clean, I have flash-backs to when I would clean for my mother long ago. I love having a clean, fresh smelling house, but unfortunately, I can't clean like I used to and have a housekeeper who comes in to clean my floors, dust and do an overall deep cleaning once a month. Having the housekeeper is one of the pleasures I enjoy and even though she may be expensive, I appreciate all she does for me.

Growing up, my family knows that once a week on Saturdays, we would clean house. Bathrooms, mopping floors, dusting, and sweeping floors. I remember my mom telling me, "To get the floors really clean, you must get on your hands and knees and scrub." I would get on all fours and with a knife, scrape and clean the floors changing the water at least two to four times. Washing the utility room floor was a different matter because this was like a mud room and the floors would get so dirty especially since dad was a farmer and dairyman. The visual picture still remains in my head as I remember cleaning those floors.

Each person had their own "chores" in cleaning while growing up. I tried to instill in my own children to clean the house once a week and it worked until they became teens. One of my favorite things to do was to pay one of my daughters a quarter every time she cleaned the bathroom (the one area I still don't like to clean). Believe it or not, she would jump at the chance to make a bit of money. I look back at this and just laugh and if you asked her, she would tell you all she could think about was the quarter she would earn. (Side note: When this daughter and I moved into a new house, I needed to clean up some rocks around the house so I paid her 1 cent for every rock she picked up. That's another story to tell at another time, but it was funny too with what happened.)

Okay - So back to my growing up years.....While cleaning, mom would be cooking, baking or getting ready for the weekend meals. Saturday nights would likely include chocolate cake with frosting, Zwiebach, cold cuts and peaches or some type of fruit. Here is her recipe for sour cream chocolate cake. Enjoy....As a side bonus, this cake uses no shortening or butter.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
3 Tablespoons cocoa (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup sour cream

Combine all indgredients and mix with a beater for 3 minutes. This is a smallish cake and you can use a 13x9 pan or a square 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Here is a trick to get your cakes out of the pan fool-proof. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. When your cake comes out of the oven, use a knife to loosen around the edges and then flip the cake onto a cooling rack.

Chocolate Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
pinch salt (probably 1/4 teaspoon)
milk

Mix these ingredients together and use the milk to make the frosting to a spreading consistency. Spread on the cooled cake.