Let the River Flow

Last Sunday I was invited to sing with the worship team at a local church, and one of the songs we sang was entitled: Let the River Flow.  Although the song had nothing to do with rivers...it seemed an interesting choice considering the recent behavior of the muddy Missouri river that borders our county.

Let's just say it hasn't been minding its boundaries.

Although miles and miles of farmland has been flooded, the major populated areas of Doniphan county have escaped disaster so far.  Many people predicted that this years flooding would be worse than the infamous '93 flood, but somehow it wasn't!  Some experts said that the river carved down into its bed as the water barreled south...crazy huh?  Crazy awesome!

Capturing the Elusive Sponge

     Not long after moving to the Isle of Lewis, I developed feelings for the queen of tea accompaniments, the Victoria Sponge.  The Victoria Sponge is amazing.  I wish I could translate the texture, taste and aesthetic beauty of this wonderful dessert into a description worthy of its splendor, but all I can think to say is that it's amazing.  It's perfect when made by experienced hands, even if those experienced hands are supervising.  That's right, back on Lewis, I successfully baked a Victoria Sponge under the careful supervision of a master.  It was...yeah...amazing.

     Anyway, back to the story.  I decided I'd make this dessert for my family last month, so after taking another look at a tested and tried recipe given to me by the best sponge makers on the island, I gathered my supplies.  It didn't take me long to find some holes...  Caster sugar?  What is that?  Obviously something that Americans don't see the point of.  Which would account for my never having met a cake worthy of the Victoria Sponge on this side of the pond.  Once I decided to just use regular sugar, I realized that we didn't have any self-raising flour handy, but I'd already set my heart on making it that second, so I used regular flour with some baking...soda?  powder?  Something along those lines.

     So, I made my cake.  I could tell fairly early on that it would not be the kind of sponge I was used to hogging at various music nights, and tea breaks on Lewis.  Here's the finished product...

     Well, it was spongy.  Like, dish spongy.  The taste was ok, and made it edible, but good grief what a let down.  Some people decided to forego the pleasure of my sponge...  Smart kid.