The South Gibson Star-Times serves the towns of Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch.
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1466637
MY SO CALLED MILLENNIAL LIFE PECAN PRALINE CAKE PECAN PRALINE CAKE By Jennifer Vallee My family and I have a habit of sharing recipes. Mostly it is them sending me something they'd like me to make or me sending something to them to see if they are interest- ed in trying it. Sunday we are planning a get together to celebrate moth- erhood and the fact that we've talked the men in our life into grilling out for us. Yet even though it will be nice to have a little break from cooking, we have decided we aren't trust- ing them with dessert quite yet. So Saturday we will be making decadent desserts that will make a good finale to a meal cooked in love. This Pe- can Praline Cake is one of the desserts we have been pass- ing around for awhile, so we will be trying it out Sunday. I'll let you know how we liked it next week. I hope you will try it also. Enjoy! INGREDIENTS PR ALINE CREAM CHEESE FILLING • 1 Philadelphia cream cheese • 4 cups powdered sugar • Half cup butter • 4 tablespoons chopped pecans • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract PR ALINE TOPPING • 1 cup and half evaporated milk • 2 cups granulated sugar • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1/2 cup softened butter • 1 cup and half of pecan pieces DIRECTIONS 1. Blend cream cheese and butter milk until smooth using an electric hand-mixer. 2. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar, beat for 4 min- utes until well blended. 3. Add pecans, stir and allow to slightly chill before frosting cake. 4. Melt butter, evaporated milk and sugar in a medium saucepan. Stir to thoroughly combine. 5. Bring mixture to a slow boil, then reduce heat to medi- um/low. Let cook for about 15 minutes without stirring. 6. Add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and stir until combined . 7. Remove from heat and pour one and a half cups of pecan pieces into mixture and stir mixing completely. 8. Use your favorite yellow cake recipe to make three layers, spread your desired amount of praline cream cheese frosting onto first layer, then add second layer and spread second layer of frosting, and now top with third cake layer. 9. Let the cake chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then frost sides and the top and return it to the refrigerator for two more hours before serving. Source: Grandma's Secret Recipes Facebook page. YOUTH FIRST TODAY To enter the Birthday Club, fill out the form at www. sgstartimes.com/birthday. Only the person's name, town and birthday will appear in the paper. As an added bonus, one lucky person each month will receive a free six-month South Gibson Star-Times subscription. APRIL WINNER And the winner is... Brenda Jo Grigsby from Owensville. Brenda Jo won a six-month subscription to the South Gib- son Star-Times. Congratulations! THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS Ava Fryman ..................... Haubstadt ...............5/4 Robert Powers ................... Owensville ...............5/4 Patrick Reising .................. Fort Branch ...........5/10 Tony Ambrose.................... Haubstadt ..............5/10 THIS MONTH'S SPONSOR Serving Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch Times 203 S. McCreary St., Fort Branch 812-753-3553 My detailed plan to buy Twitter out from under Elon Musk My Stephanie Hayes Columnist You may have heard Elon Musk is try- ing to buy Twitter for $46.5 billion, the way Veruca Salt demanded cream buns and doughnuts and fruitcake with no nuts so good you could go nuts. You also may have heard financial terms such as "tender offer" and "poison pill" bandied about, because apparently publicly trad- ed companies are structured on riddles from an ancient book of spells. Now, I feel like this Twitter coup at- tempt is probably a nothingburger, like when Romy and Michele said they invent- ed Post-its just to impress the mean kids from high school. However, one can't be too careful, and I will not have Musk buy- ing Twitter out from under me. Yes, me. I am not an eccentric billionaire...yet. I am working on a plan, a plan I can't re- veal at this time because, well, the plan is to stumble into an inestimable fortune. That's right, stumble. One day, having done nothing of note or accomplish- ment, I will simply open my eyes and be gifted billions in United States curren- cy. It might involve a long-lost great aunt named Clotilde, or maybe a trust fund kept secret until I pass a heretofore un- known ethical test. You know, like, "She did it! She gave the correct person a ride to the gas station, and now we can name her rightful heir to the Little Deb- bie empire! " Did I just rewrite "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"? Am I Charlie Buck- et? A lot of things are making sense now, including all the cabbage... Anyway, I'll keep you post- ed. But rest assured, Twit- ter will one day be mine. And when I own Twitter, I will in- stitute the following rules: • It will come with a Breathalyzer. Each user will blow before typing opin- ions about... well, anything, especially any reply that starts with, "Actually..." If the poster does not pass, the website will lock for a period of eight hours, the time- line replaced by a flashing message that says, "Water, sweetie." • We need to start compensating people for high-quality original materi- al. Anyone who writes a viral tweet gets a free dinner for two excluding alcohol, because of the previous rule, ($59.99 val- ue) at Outback Steakhouse. In a separate corporate takeover, I will also own Out- back Steakhouse. • Two hundred and eighty characters is fine, unless I feel like more, in which case, I alone will get more. Eccentric bil- lionaire! No rules, just right! • Live T V tweet events will go in one digital location, a place users can elect to attend. That way, there are no jarring spoilers for season finales, nor contex- tless tweets of "OMG!!! " during real-time boxing matches such as the Acad- emy Awards. • No annoying promot- ed tweets. You're not fool- ing anyone that "Fantas- tic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" is actually trending, sorry. I know this eliminates a revenue stream, but remember, I don't need revenue be- cause I have stumbled into a bottomless soup and salad of fortune. • When celebrity names are trending, they will come clearly labeled as dead or not dead or almost dead, because we can't keep worrying about Harrison Ford like this! • There will be bottom-line quotas for entertaining cute animal content. Meet the minimum requirements or get out. • No terrible people! That's it, that's the rule. No, I will not elaborate. Stephanie Hayes is a columnist at the Tampa Bay Times in Florida. Follow her at @ stephhayes on Twitter or @ stephrhayes on Instagram. Promoting secure attachments By Taylor Dore Youth First, Inc. Building a secure attachment between you and your child begins when they are born. Your baby cries to express a need and you, as the caregiver, respond by meeting that need. By doing this con- sistently, your child learns that they can trust you to meet their needs and keep them safe. This is essential to healthy mental, physical, social, and emotional develop- ment. Having a secure attachment with a caregiver increases a child's self-aware- ness, self-soothing skills, empathy, and creative problem-solving skills. The secure attachment that begins at birth continues to develop throughout childhood. Below are four ways that you can work to promote a secure attachment with your child. 1. Use touch and eye contact. The "love hormone" is released in both a parent and child's brain while you are holding them and looking into their eyes. This builds a strong connection in your child's brain and generates feelings of safety. This can be done through hugging, reading a book to- gether in a rocking chair, or by gently touching your child's shoulder while you walk past them. 2. Practice emotional attunement. This refers to reassuring and com- forting your child during tough times. Children learn how to handle their emotions through observation. When they come to you with a prob- lem, make sure to remain calm and re- assuring while you listen. This helps them better understand their own emotions and gives them an opportu- nity to internalize reassuring words. Sometimes it can be hard to come up with the perfect advice for your young ones, but simply listening and show- ing you care about your child's feel- ings can be enough. 3. Create a secure environment. Children should not have to worry about adult matters like bills, wheth- er they are going to eat, or relation- ship problems between their parents. For healthy development, they need to feel safe with their caregivers and trust that their needs are going to be met. When exposed to a chaotic and turbulent lifestyle, children become anxious and struggle with a sense of security. While these life issues can be stressful and unavoidable, be mindful of what it is age-appropriate to share with your children. 4. Share play and fun with your child. Just like touch and eye contact, shared play and fun release hormones in both you and your child's brain, which brings you closer together. Children who play with their parents are happi- er and more securely attached. As an adult, you may not want to play with Barbies or Legos for hours after a long day at work, which is understandable. Instead, strive to find a mutually en- joyable activity that you can genuinely enjoy, such as going on a nature walk, playing a sport, or watching a favor- ite movie. Sometimes even chores or cooking a meal can turn into a shared pleasure, so get creative! Taylor Dore is a Youth First Social Work Intern at Evans Elementary School in Van- derburgh County. Youth First, Inc. is a non- profit dedicated to strengthening youth and families. Youth First provides 78 Master's level social workers to 107 schools in 13 Indiana counties. Over 60,000 youth and families per year are served by Youth First's school social work and after school pro- grams that prevent substance abuse, pro- mote healthy behaviors, and maximize stu- dent success. To learn more about Youth First, visit youthfirstinc.org or call 812- 421-8336. A-6 Tuesday, May 3, 2022 South Gibson Star-Times