Food Snobbery

It started in college when I eschewed all forms of boxed processed foods. I fancied myself a modern woman, and modern women knew their way around the kitchen. Modern women could, as the Enjoli commercial advised, bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. Hamburger Helper? An oxymoron. Spaghetti sauce in a jar? An affront to Italian culture! Boxed cake mix? A mortal sin. Adding canned soup to casserole? Such a horrific act, I can't even discuss it.

My food snobbery started as a twisted wink to feminism and my desperate attempt to be feminine. If I could "do it all" I would be a good feminist. If I could bake a cherry pie, I would be seen as girlie. I didn't realize then that I was on a path I would rarely leave. And I didn't realize then that food prepared from scratch not only tastes better, but it is healthier and less expensive than prefabbed stuff.

But my snobbery turned into a debilitating illness. I found it physically impossible to purchase a can of Campbell's or a box of Betty Crocker. Convenience wasn't just an obstacle, it was impossible.

This past weekend I faced my phobia and purchased a boxed cake mix. I tucked the box under a carton of buttermilk and five pounds of potatoes, and went to a cashier who didn't look familiar. To overcome the shame of my acquisition, I baked up a boozy apple sauce to add to the batter, and the resulting cake was pretty good.


Apple Almond Spiced Rum Cake
Cake Batter
1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Spice Cake Mix (18.25 ounces)
3 eggs
1 cup Apple Rum Sauce (recipe below)
1/2 cup Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease entire inside of bundt pan; dust with flour. Sprinkle nuts evenly on bottom of pan.

Combine cake mix, eggs, sauce, and rum. Mix well (about 2 minutes using hand mixer). Pour batter into prepared pan over nuts. Bake 40 - 50 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Immediately pour hot glaze over cake and around the edges of the pan (glaze recipe below).

Cool on rack for 20 minutes. Remove cake from pan. Garnish with powdered sugar.

Glaze
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup rum
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup butter

Bring ingredients to a boil; boil 1 - 2 minutes or until mixture foams.

Apple Rum Sauce
4 cups good cooking apples such as McIntosh, cored and chopped but do not remove skin
1/2 cup Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
1/4 cup brown sugar

Combine ingredients and place in casserole. Bake in 325 degree oven 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes. Apples will reduce by about half. Puree to make sauce.