Cake, Cake, Cake (OUTSPOKEN_DIVA'S Favorite Recipes)

I don't make most cakes from scratch. I tried!!! Several times, I really tried. I mostly fail to put out a decent cake from scratch. My only successful homemade cake is THIS, Fresh Apple Ginger Cake. So if I make a cake, it is probably a "doctored up" box cake mix.

With Ginger Green Tea Lemonade

My taste buds mostly like simple flavored cakes. My only requirement is that they are moist and not dry. I like vanilla, strawberry, lemon, & Sock-It-To-Me. I'm not wild at all about chocolate or coconut cakes, but I really like German Chocolate. I know, it's weird. My favorite cake is basic Yellow or Butter cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

Ooh, you can't go wrong with a great buttercream. If I have my way, my wedding cake will be a vanilla cake with different fruit fillings between the layers with buttercream frosting or royal icing. The baker can save their creative fondant skills for the next wedding.

My favorite cake to make is a Marble Cake. Taking the knife to swirl both different flavors is so much fun. And the results are very pretty, in my opinion.

OUTSPOKEN_DIVA'S Favorite Marble Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Duncan Hines Butter Cake mix
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 large eggs
• 7 Tbsp. softened butter
• 1/8 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F for metal or glass pan(s), 325°F for dark or coated pan(s). Oil sides and bottom of each pan with shortening or oil spray. Use baking cups for cupcakes.
2. Blend cake mix, water, softened butter, oil, and eggs in a large bowl at low speed until moistened (about 30 seconds).
3. Beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.
4. Measure 1 cup of batter into a small bowl. 
5. Pour remaining batter in pans.
6. Blend cocoa with the cup of batter in a small bowl.
7. Spoon onto batter in pan(s).
8. Swirl with a knife and bake immediately.
9. Bake the following chart below. *Add 3-5 minutes to bake time for dark or coated pans. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
10. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Cool completely before frosting. I prefer Fudge Buttercream.

Pan Size / Bake Time Chart

2 8": 26-31 minutes

2 9": 23-28 minute

13 x 9": 23-28 minutes

Bundt®: 33-36 minutes

24 Cupcakes: 18-21 minutes

So, that is my simple life with cake. Nothing more, darn sure can't be less. It's just a piece of cake.

As Always Talking to You In Adult Terms!!!

Maybe She's Gotta Have It Changed My Mind About Reboots

Yeah, it has a few spoilers. You have been warned.

Well when reviewers are not speaking your thoughts, you get them out yourself. There is one person's reviews that I like, but the reviews are slowly coming out one by one. I have never been shy about my dislike of most remakes & reboots. I think most original stories are better. Sometimes I watch them & sometimes I don't.

I've watched the 1986 movie, She's Gotta Have It at different times my life, as teenager, when I went to college, when I decided to live a sexless life, and more recently in my mid-thirties. It's about beautiful Nola Darling, who can't decide what kind of man she wants to date, so she dates three at the same time. And while doing that she searches to find out is she weird for doing so.

The movie has pure storyline. I am a sucker for simple tales. This movie is beatifully shot. The only thing I never liked was the infamous rape scene. It's existence never made sense to me. I have later learned I'm not the only one that feels that way. Then it was announced the movie was getting reboot series. So, I, a horrible binge watcher took the time and watched the entire show.

Pros:

• The Bed: I can always spot a true "She's Gotta Have It" movie fan by ownership or wanting a Nola Darling styled bed. I still want a bed with a candle holding headboard like Nola Darling. The bed is a tad different. It still has some of the candles, but the show's headboard resembles a fence. And if anyone is paying attention to the symbolism, Nola's bed is not a freedom sign for all.
• Soundtrack: I've never liked a whole Spike Lee movie soundtrack. Oh I like a song of two from School Daze, maybe a diddy from Crooklyn & oh the theme from Jungle Fever. The Netflix series is different. Not only is it beautifully scored, the show highlights them during the episode. There is even a song from the movie in the show.
• Cast: This cast is aestheticly pleasing. Other than 80s Nola, Tracy Camilla Johns, none of the main characters were cute to me. Now, that opinion does come from person who never understood the swooning for 80s Denzel Washington, 90s Wesley Snipes, & Jeremy Meeks. But the whole cast looks good in the show. The acting is very good. I never thought Mars Blackmon could be played better than by anyone but Spike Lee. Anthony Ramos gives a great spin on the character. And Dewanda Wise is Nola Darling. She gives the character sway that we didn't know we needed. Oh Tracy Camilla Johns makes a cameo in episode 6.
• Character Devolopment: Because the movie is such a pure tale, I worried about this the most when hearing about this show. In the movie, there is not a lot of talk about the character's job, family and interaction with outside world. That was not going to work for a 10 episode show. These come out to be some the most fleshed out characters ever written. There are backstories, families, jobs, bosses, neighbors and even a strip club. And it all flowed pretty well.
• Raqueletta Moss: Raqueletta Moss is my favorite character.
  
  Raqueletta Moss is a principal & Nola's boss. Raqueletta Moss loves her students and works hard to make sure they get a good education.  Raqueletta Moss tries to mentor Nola in teaching her students. Yep, Raqueletta Moss talks about herself in third person. It's how she deals with a painful past life. I love her because she is an example that Black Women Are Not a Monolith. She's not depicted as the usual angry black woman trying to cope with pain. Even how we deal with our pain is different. Now, should she talk to a professional about that? Don't we all need to talk to a professional about past pain.

Cons:

• Nola Darling: Nola is my least favorite character. Me disliking the main character is common thing with me. I didn't like Meredith Grey until after she adopted Zola. I know Nola is 27 years old, but she is a bit much & not really everything she claims to be. She's can be self-absorbed & neglectful. She claims to be an ally for many causes, but her judgements & ignorance to them tells another story. Once she was beard for male friend, but announced to a table of people you was not his girlfriend.
  
• Sexuality: Nola's celibacy phase is wrong. Giving up sex with men, but having sex with a woman is Not How Celibacy Works. And I need somebody to tell Nola Darling & the writers that. I hope somebody in the LGBT community is offended by Nola's actions, also. I would think it downplays lesbian sex. Like sex between two women is fake. I'm a heterosexual woman, but it seems common sense to me. And why does Nola say she is pansexual? Maybe they'll explore that more in another season.
• Social Topics: Some of the social issues need a little bit explaining. Like Back Alley Butt Shots & the people that give them needed a discussion. I know the folks that perform them are also billboards of their work. Other people may not. Then there were other topics that were just left incomplete. But that is a common issue I have with All of Spike Lee's Joints. A little fleshing out won't hurt.

And that's how I feel about Netflix's She Gotta Have It. It gets a solid B. I can come back to watch another season. If they are having one. Oh, I still dislike most remakes & reboots

As Always Talking to You In Adult Terms!!!

Ugh, Social Media Prudes

A Prude are defined as a person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity. They are a weird group of people to me. My friend, Love knew a woman who literally stuffed her ears with her fingers & loudly sanged "La-La" when someone said, "I would hit that".

A few months later, her boyfriend & she were expecting child. That's another reason why they are weird to me. Most prudes I've known in life are having sex. On the flip side of that, people who frequently talk about sex and very sexless. I know, another peculiar group of people Life has us to know.

Social Media Prudes are the weirdest group of prudes to me. I'm not talking about being offended because someone sent you unsolicited pics of their nude body parts. I'm not talking about getting upset because somebody randomly added you to social media group full of men & women verbally talking about sex.

These are not the people educating anyone about different rape cuture examples. The prudes of social media are people sqwaking about ALL the topics discussed on #TwitterAfterDark" all the time. Why haven't these people muted that hashtag as soon as they could? These are the same people that have respectability rankings of current & former IG models. People who ask you to stop "reacting" (👍❤😁😢😯😡) to a picture they feel is to sexual, because it is frequently showing up on their timeline. 

I know because I don't publicly talk about sex, often. And when I do, I talk about it in creative terms & ways. Yeah I called going to see male strippers, revuing. If the term male revue become a part of pop culture's vocabulary, I have other words. *wink* 

So, me complaining about social media prudes may be a tad shocking to those outside of my inner circle. The outer circle see some "Miss Manners" juice radiating from me. Stereotypes taught them that, but knowing me debunks the stereotypes. Sorry prudes, I'm not an ally. But yeah, I agree Facebook & Twitter telling your "friends" or "followers" about what others like is annoying. They think because of similar interest, you want to know when you don't. But instead of dictating how everyone should morally act on social media, how about deleting those that are bothering them. It is your timeline & the options to streamline it are there.

Again don't understand being a prude, but social media has thungs to create your own unoffendable bubble. Make your bubble and leave others outside of it alone. Stop bothering those who aren't bothering you with those that are bothering you. Block Them!!!

As Always Talking to You In Adult Terms!!!

I Brought The Green Bean Casserole (OUTSPOKEN_DIVA'S Favorite Recipes)

There is no secret, I am a black woman from a black family that loves Green Bean Casserole. According to "popular" opinion, my family is not "black norm". Guess what? Like me, my family has never been popular. LoL, Our favorite recipe is made by my mother. Muh Diva made it one year in the 90s. We loved it & it is a beloved Thanksgiving star on our table. Her version has a family inside joke of a mistake in it and that's why I won't ever share it. I don't feel like telling the story. I just let greatness be Great. LoL

I will say if you have had the dish at Highland Park Cafeteria(Not A Sponsor) in Dallas, then you came very close to tasting my mother's recipe.

And since she knows I love Green Bean Casserole, the wonderful owner & consultant of Diet Solutions(FB Page) asked me to try a lightened version she saw me talked about on social media before the holidays. As many recipes & pictures that Diet Solutions has let me use, of course, I would review a recipe for them. Will this be a good dish? Will the absent calories be missed? Should this version be served on Thanksgiving?

Skillet Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 pound green beans (fresh or frozen)
• 2 (1-oz.) slices whole-wheat bread(We used toasted white wheat)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic 
• 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese (about 6 Tbsp.), grated and divided 
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion 
• 4 ounces white mushrooms, sliced 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1/2 cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson) 
• 1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk 
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
  
  

Directions

1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. Cook beans in a large saucepan filled with boiling water 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. 
3. Plunge beans into ice water; drain well.
4. Place bread in a food processor; pulse until coarse crumbs form. 
5. Stir in parsley, 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, and 2 tablespoons cheese.
6. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium. 
7. Add onion and mushrooms; sauté 8 minutes. 
8. Mix cornstarch, stock, and milk together. Stir in cornstarch mixture.
9. Bring to a simmer; cook 3 minutes.
10. Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining 4 tablespoons cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. 
11. Add beans to pan; toss to coat.
12. Sprinkle evenly with breadcrumb mixture. 
13. Broil 2 minutes.
14. Rest for 5 minutes
15. Serve after resting

Skillet Green Bean Casserole is a delicious dish. It stands well with the beloved recipes we know. Because of green beans, onions, & nutmeg, it's sweeter taste gets to shine a bit. Having 41 calories less than most traditional recipes, your "health conscience" loved one might hug you for making this. It also is lower in sodium because of none of the ingredients from a can. I think if you pair this good & hearty casserole with a simple garden salad, you would have a nice balanced meatless meal. My household & I had it with that salad & some balsamic baked chicken. It was a hit. Because of its ease for us, it has been added to our regular recipes.

Should one make it for Thanksgiving? The politically correct answer is Yes. Whatever the Lord blesses you to have on the table that day belong. LoL But okay in my humblest opinion, unless you are serving less than 7 or 8 people, I say No. I don't recommend mass producing this casserole. Keep it simple & serve it hot.

No matter what you have on your table, remember those who are less fortunate and be grateful for whatever you have. I tell people all the time if material things are how you define the word Blessed, then your dictionary is wrong. It's my whole-hearted belief & I hope it is yours.

Be Thankful! Be Joyful! Be Blessed!

As Always Talking o You In Adult Terms

Tell Those Turkeys To Mind Their Business (Answering Questions)

It's the holiday season, guys. Time for family, friends, food, & fun and also the underlying foolishness that come along with it. But it is ok, we will get through it.

Q: My family loves to ask the most offensive questions during the holidays. I Hate It!!! How do you handle those offensive questions dealing with Dating/Marriage, Kids, & School/Career?

A: Simple Answer is "Not Well at All".

I Love my loved ones! I truly do!!! But unfortunately, I act like a jerk with those type of questions. Pray for me, you hear. I have been such a jerk, my family dislike asking me anything about me. Two of my aunts tried to talk about boys with me as a teenager. I stopped them, immediately. My sex life will never be topic I talk to everyone about. Around the same time, I observed how people were talking about those that would bring someone different all the time to family events. So, by the time I was 18, I knew not to bring no one I was dating to family events unless he & I were nearing engagement. And because of that personal rule, I have Never officially brought any man home.

Oh & when I graduated from college and many were confused that my degree was in Family & Consumer Sciences and not Nursing. I understood my extended family like great aunts, great uncles & their offsprings having questions. But I knew I had informed my immediate family about the change after I did it, two years prior to graduating. I felt unheard & ignored and some folks were told off. Pay Attention, The First Time!!! I also come from a family that have a few that loudly say, "When I graduated from high school, I was through" when anything about education comes up. I know they're not dissuading anyone from going to school, but I give them some fierce, educated side eye, whenever I hear them say that.

Don't Act Like Me!!! I do work hard at not being rude. But we must find direct & considerate ways to tell people that those questions are not something you will be talking about.

And even though I am rude if you ask me something that will offend me, I make sure I act how I want to be treated when talking to others. If you say school or work is Fine, Fine is the answer. If that person is not expecting a child, "having children" is not topic I bring up. I don't have children and believe it is more to everybody than being fruitful & multiplying. When people bring their significant others over, I engage with them. But if my loved ones have to ask me later if I like them or not. I don't offer that opinion all willy, nilly. The day I bring "The One" to a family event, I want him to be treated like I have treated others.

So, How to Handle Offensive Questions...

• Do be Direct about your feelings but not Rude
• Don't be Offensive to Others also
• And be as Loving as possible

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms

On the Dope Science Show!!!

I'm so excited to tell you this information. Yes, I Was On A Podcast!!! That podcast is the Dope Science Show With Science Steph. t is one of my favorite podcasts. Stephany Lowe is such a sweet & knowledgeable lady. In her words, she is "Making science a daily conversation. We are all dope scientists"

Her main show is a fun science-inspired show. That has covered topics like Sickle Cell Anemia, Space ~vs~ Atlantis, Artificial Intelligence, & even a little Love. She also has two shorter shows called Dope Science Minute & Hit the Street. On Dope Science Minute, Steph talks about the science behind topics like Koalas & the movie, Get Out. Hit the Street is a lady of the street style show where she interviews strangers at a day party spot in LA about things like Memories & Evolution.

On this episode featuring myself, we talk about Black Female Characters in TV & Film who are Awkward & Nerdy. The kicker is sometimes while enjoying these characters we don't see them as such. We just see them as a part of that weird monolith called "The Black Woman". The interview is based on a blog post I wrote. HERE is the link if you have not read it. It is a Fun show full of Blerdette love and some memories of the 80s, 90s, and early Millennia. She also announces a live tweet event featuring some of the entertainment's great Blerdettes. The hashtag will be #BlerdetteTV.

So, listen to Episode 30

Android Users

https://m.soundcloud.com/thedopescienceshow

iTunes Users

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dope-science-show-podcast/id1157965145?mt=2
Google Play Users
http://bit.ly/2yiNrtz

And show your love. On Apple, Leave a 5 Star Rating, or On Soundcloud, Hit like❤ & Leave Comments. And listen to other shows she has up. Treat your ears to some goodness.

To know more about Science Steph & The Dope Science Show, Visit

http://www.thedopescienceshow.com/home

Hope you enjoy it & I will see you on Twitter, on November 5 for the 1st week of the live tweet event!

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms

Ooh Shut Up!!! Scary Movies are Scary!

Dear Horror Movie Lovers,
If I say it's scary, my racing heart & I say It Is Scary.
Alright,
My Frightened A-Word

I don't watch horror movies. The last movie I watched that I consider horror was Skeleton Key. I prayed through it with all the lights on at 9 am. I will leave a room or hum during a horror movie commercial. I know it's not real, but I still get scared. I also am not a fan of my heart racing while I am sitting & watching a movie. That's a sedentary activity, I need my heart in a resting state.

I knew I had a problem after seeing the movie, Tales From the Hood.  I saw it in theatres when I was in high school.

I had a serious crush on Joe Torrey then. That movie was not scary to watch at all. But hours later, home alone with my brother, G, I got scared. Around 11 pm, I was washing dishes while my grandparents & mom picked my sister up from work. The pilot on the water heater reset itself and all I could think about was Clarence Williams III turning into the devil & taking Joe Torry & the other two to hell. I left those dishes, rolled G into the lit living room, and sat in there until our family got back. Yeah, I knew I had a problem at that point.

There are other instances through my life that say horror & I are Not friends

• For 6 months, I was scared to eat ice cream & yogurt after seeing "The Stuff" as a little girl. Threw a bowl of Blue Bell on the floor and my grandmother took a switch to my butt. *hangs head in shame* Yes, once I disrespected Blue Bell. Texas, Forgive Me!!!
• I hid my Learn How to Dress clown because of the movie, "Poltergeist".
  
  I smashed him deep down in the toy box. A lost library book brought him back to the top. Now, I wonder was that why I wore velcro sneakers until the 3rd grade.
• Freddy Krueger will Forever be the scariest horror movie villain. Only a psycho maniac would mess with a person's sleep. Like seriously, I can avoid the woods. I can avoid clowns. I can avoid colleges. I won't buy talking dolls. But my sleep, My Sleep??? That's Evil!!!

Scary Movies Are Scary!!!

But anyway, enjoy Halloween in a safe & fun way. Black, Brown, Red, & Yellow face is still RACIST.

I'm watching "The Worst Witch" on Halloween. Let me know if you want to join me.  It's Not Scary. Oh, can anyone bring me a couple of packs of SweeTarts & a Caramel Apple Laffy Taffy or two? My taste buds would appreciate it.

As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms