Spin Cycle: Whatchu want, baby, I got it..

This will be a short one today since I need to get the next Spin topic up and out of my brain.

Seriously, topics spend way too long in there and my schedule begins to suffer.. (Wednesday was a write off.) (So was Tuesday if you ask my boss.) (Don't ask my boss.)

First of all, happy birthday to the Spin Cycle!!! Two years! I'll save you the birth story however. Way too many dangling participles to post on a family site.

(Potty training this site is going to be sheer hell. How do you train a blog? Comparatively, Sprite was a cake walk. Blogs don't fall for m&m's.)

Now, normally, I'd bake a cake to honor the occasion, especially since I've not made a scratch cake yet, but since Harry Houdini (yes, that nickname has been sticking since Monday) decided to enroll us in the Friends and Neighbors program without our knowledge, I am now going to dedicate my culinary skills this weekend to doing something nice for the guy who kept Harry safe until our neighbors could come claim him.

John loved the idea and will throw in a gift card too, but we can't afford much more than that. As for our neighbors, the dad is diabetic, so no sugar for him. What can I make/bake for diabetics? Really, if you have an answer, leave it in the comments. Short of prayer or incantations, I like a baking challenge.

Okay, enough of the verbal spew, on with the Spin Cycle topic!

The next Spin Cycle assignment is:  RESPECT.

(NOW the title makes sense.)

(And if it doesn't.... No, really. It SHOULD make sense.)

What does respect mean to you? Is it something to be earned? Is it something that can be faked? How does someone go about getting respect?

How can someone prove themselves to be respectable?

How can someone make a respectable whole wheat bread? (I may or may not be trying that this weekend too. You only WISH you can smell my house right now..)

Write it up, show your respect, and show the Spin Cycle some respect by getting it in by September 3rd!

SEPTEMBER 3RD????

Holy Fall Equinox, this year is slipping by!

See you next week on the Spin Cycle!

Comments

[SuziCate]

R*E*S*P*E*C*T....if I could sing like Aretha, I'd belt it out and let that be my blog post! Alas, I'd have you all holding your ears, cringing, and running for cover...so guess I'll see what I can come up with!

[Michele]

There are recipes for sugar free cake. Try the American Diabetes Assoc. http://google.diabetes.org/search?site=Diabetes&client=default_frontend&proxystylesheet=recipe_frontend&ie=UTF-8&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&entqr=3&oe=UTF-8&ud=1&output=xml_no_dtd&requiredfields=main_ingredient%3A.course%3Adessert&getfields=meta_title.description&filter=p&q=&main_ingredient=&course=dessert

[Arwen]

My father-in-law is diabetic, and we lived with him for a year, so I tried several naturally sweetened recipes. I'll pull out the book and get back to you.

[Arwen]

Here you go. First the pitch: I don't like artficial sweeteners, so I bought the book "Sugar-free Toddlers" because all of the recipes in it are naturally sweetened. Then I ended up cooking for a diabetic for a year, so we tried several of them. The best one, I think, is the gingerbread, which we still make from time to time. You can find the recipe here:

http://desertspor.blogspot.com/2008/07/ice-cream-cake-its-good-for-you.html

I made the "Pineapple Yellow Cake" for my husband's birthday, and everyone thought it was pretty good. I think I added pineapple rings to it, like a pineapple upsidedown cake:

1/2 cup chopped apricots
3/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained well
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup flaked unsweetended coconut

In a blender jar, mix apricots and pineapple on high until smooth (I think I ued dried apricots, so if you don't have any fresh or canned, that's a possibility.) In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, pinapple mixture, oil, milk, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Beat well. Stir in the coconut. Cook in an 8x8 greased pan on 350F for 15-20 minutes until brown and inserted toothpick comes out clean (if you go the pineapple upsidedown cake route, you may have too cook it a little longer).

There's also some frosting recipes in here if you're interested in topping it with something besides pinapples. There's an apple fritter recipe that's also really good, but those are best still warm, so I don't know if they'd make good neighbor gifts, and there's a pretzel recipe, but that involves yeast, and I didn't know if you wanted to go to that much trouble. Let me know if you want any of those.

[Laufa]

I think with diabetics and baked goods, most of the recipes substitute fruit purees for sugar, that way it is more natural. I came across this one: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/Desserts/
My Dad is diabetic, so I was wondering myself.
Now I need to think about my spin? "I get no respect!" Sorry, my Mom mentioned Dangerfield this morning and it was stuck in my head.

[KJ]

Oh! Hi!

I'm kind of new to the Spin Cycle. Jan's Sushi Bar led me to the Cycle. (Jan is my best friend's mom).

My blog is also very new, but I have Spun, so here it is.
Http://whenyouhavedoubt.blogspot.com

Have a nice day, happy reading.

I'm not good with introductions, can you tell?

[Peg]

Holy Crap! It's already almost September???? WOW... Where DID the year go?

As for your dilemma... how about Charlie Bread? It's a version of corn bread with real corn in it! Delish! If you want the recipe email me and I'll send it to you. Only problem is once people find out you know how to make it and they taste it they always want more! LOL

[Jan]

Well, there's my little KJ! *waves madly*

Re: the treat for the diabetic neighbor - if you don't mind going the whole Splenda route, take your favorite cheesecake recipe and simply substitute the sugar with Splenda. You can either make it crustless, or substitute the flour/graham cracker crumbs with almond flour. You can find it in the organic section of most grocery stores, and in health food stores.

[Mama Badger]

Whew, the Spin Cycle is back. I was getting nervous there. Last Friday seemed endless.

I have nothing for the diabetic neighbor that hasn't gone before. Other than the suggestion that not everyone in the house is diabetic, so some real cookies for the daughter and Mom who were doing the on the street bit might be a nice treat for them (as someone who lived with a diabetic).

Stop mentioning September, already. I'm panicked enough as it is. And how is it my kid is a year old? What did you do with the last 12 months??

[K Odell]

sounds like a great spin!

[tulpen]

Happy Birthday Spin Cycle!!

I just may have something to say on this one. And with school starting on Tuesday I just may have time to sit and write it!

[Pseudo]

I had cake at bookclub last night that was made with a box of cake mix and a diet coke. Pretty good.

Happy Anniversary Spin cycle!

[apartments in dubai]

That was really nice post and what I liked the most is the questions you asked here?? How can someone prove themselves to be respectable? I used to say I am a respectable person but I have never ever think about it. You are really great writer matt.

[Casey]

Leave it to Michele to come up with a recipe for you. That girl is good. Off to read about this Houdini character...

[Shelby]

I've got nothing but questions!
http://www.genxmomsblog.com/?p=2223