Second Breakfast (Elevenses) is Ready!

Okay, that first hit of caffeine is winding down and you need fortification. A second cup of Harney & Sons will last until late afternoon (at least it does for me, LOL) but perhaps you need coffee. Oh, and a bit of cake. Your choice of tea and lemon poppyseed cake or coffee and coffee cake. Or mix it up!

And I wonder why I can't lose weight! Sigh.

If you choose to BUY Double Crossing today, you will receive a Kindle cover zipper pull. Send the order confirmation number, of course, to megmims (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Here we go, talking about food again. After Lily's father is murdered, her friend Charles Mason (who wants to marry her) agrees to escort her on the transcontinental train. Lily is hungry after sleeping against Charles' shoulder through the night on the first class train. She also befriends a young woman, Kate Kimball, who is heading to Cheyenne to meet her fiance. Charles buys sandwiches for "lunch" - probably from a train "butcher" who sells candy, newspapers and such. Researching all the details of the train, of what is available to eat or drink during travels, even going to the "washroom" (if you want to know what it was like pre-1900, read my book!), makes writing about the 1800s great fun!

This is the (later famous) Thomas Edison who worked at the age of 12 as a "candy butcher" on the Grand Trunk Western railway in Michigan. I cross those tracks every day. The Edison laboratory is located in Dearborn's Greenfield Village, which inspired my love of history.

Here's some historical facts about Tom:

"At the age of 12, Edison began work as a "candy butcher" aboard the Grand Trunk Railroad's commuter line between Port Huron, Michigan, where we lived with his parents, and Detroit. He sold newspapers, fruit and candy to the passengers. The train left Port Huron about 7:00 in the morning and returned at 9:00 or 9:30 at night. The trip included a six hour layover in Detroit, during which time he claims to have read "the entire public library." He was an omnivorous reader and loved to experiment with chemicals and machinery. He constantly wanted to investigate how things worked and liked to see if he could make things better. On the train he was allowed a table in an empty baggage car on which to work. He even brought a broken printing press, repaired it and taught himself to print. He may have produced the first newspaper printed on a moving train..."  Courtesy of  Thomas Edison House

For those of you who bake, here's a great recipe for Lemon Poppyseed Cake as a bonus. I like short cuts, so you use a Lemon cake mix! How cool is that? I found this on All Recipes.com...

Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

• 1/4 cup poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs

Directions

1. Soak poppy seeds in milk for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in water, oil, and eggs. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Blend in poppy seed mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. 

I'm not that incompetent in the kitchen - drizzle on some white glaze (a spoonful of water added to at least 1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar, or whatever until it's not too runny or too thick) and ENJOY!!

While you're copying down the recipe, don't forget to comment! Book earrings! Hand-made with the help of several "Lunch Girl" friends! Here's a preview of the prizes:

As you can see, they're quite small. But nice!  BEST OF LUCK to the winners! And buyers. :-D