Me and My Shadow

Me and my shadow
My shadow and me
We're always together
As close as can be.

As I walk our country roads on a sunshiny day, I often think about the song, "Me and My Shadow" from the musical, Peter Pan.

I heard that song dozens of times when Brent was little guy. We had a VHS tape of Mary Martin starring as Peter Pan on Broadway. It was Brent's absolute favorite movie. He watched it so much that the tape actually wore out in one spot. His Grandma Marie made him a Peter Pan outfit for Christmas.

As I walk, a shadow is my constant companion. Most days, it's my only companion, unless you count my four-legged friends who sometimes make the four-mile trek, too.

As I move, the shadow moves. It's connected to me. It's impossible to separate myself from it.

It got me to thinking about God.

The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your shade at your right hand. Psalm 121:5
How would my day change if I remembered that God is as close to me as my shadow? Would it change how I act? Would it change what I say? Would it change what I do?

God sent us His Holy Spirit so that we would have a constant companion. You don't have to "friend" Him on Facebook. You don't have to dial a telephone number to reach Him. We don't need to send Him a Hallmark card to commemorate National Friendship Day this August.

He's as close and as constant as a shadow on a sunshiny day.

Proverbs 18:24 - New Living Translation (NLT)
²⁴ There are “friends” who destroy each other,
but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

The Holy Spirit can be a holy model for our earthly friendships. It is a gift to have a friend to call when we're happy or grieving, mad or glad.

Thanks be to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit. And thanks be to God for the gift of human friendship!

If you want to celebrate Friendship Day with a special friend or group of friends, try this recipe for a Friendship Torte. Dark chocolate, nuts, white chocolate drizzle ... They'll be your friends for life!

The recipe is from Artfully Done Across the Generations: Recipes of Carlene Banks and Friends with Art from the Wichita Art Museum. Besides tasty recipes, there are lots of photos of the artwork on display at the museum. One of my friends surprised me with this beautiful book several years ago, and I've enjoyed using it ever since.

Decadent Glazed Chocolate Torte

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (you may substitute pecans, if you prefer)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze:
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
White chocolate or almond bark (opt.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and corn syrup in the microwave. Stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth (If you need to, you can heat in the microwave again at 70 percent power, taking care not to burn the chocolate.)

Add sugar and eggs to chocolate mixture, and stir until well blended. Stir in flour, nuts and vanilla, mixing well.

Bake in a 9-inch buttered, floured, wax paper-lined cake pan for 35 to 40 minutes or until center springs back to touch. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Loosen and turn out onto wire rack.

Glaze: Prepare glaze by melting all ingredients in the microwave, heating at 70 percent power at 1-minute intervals until it's melted. Take care not to burn the chocolate.

Place a piece of waxed paper under the wire rack. Pour the warm glaze over the cake and spread with a spatula. Chill about 1 hour before transferring to serving dish. Torte freezes well glazed.

If desired, melt white chocolate or almond bark and drizzle over glazed torte with a decorator's tube.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

***

Some recipe notes, complete with photos:

When I'm making a layer-type cake like this one, I always line the bottom of the cake pan with waxed paper cut to fit. This is a step I added to the original recipe.

I often use a heart-shaped pan to make it unique.

I tore off a piece of waxed paper and then used a pen to trace around the cake pan. Then I used scissors to cut it out.

I put the heart-shaped waxed paper on the bottom of the cake pan before pouring the batter in. I had sprayed the pan with cooking spray before putting the waxed paper in.


This is how it looked in the pan after baking. It is supposed to cool 10 minutes before attempting to remove it.
Even with the waxed paper and going around the outside of the cake pan with a knife, I had a little trouble getting the cake to release. I ended up sticking a small spatula underneath the corner of the cake. That finally did the trick.

But I probably should have dusted the pan with cocoa powder as well (I prefer that over flour if I'm making a chocolate cake.)

After you get the cake out of the pan, simply peel the waxed paper off the bottom.

I put the torte over a waxed paper-covered cookie sheet to catch the drips from the glaze.

After it cooled, I used a decorator tube to make the design. I should have tried harder at the sides so that it would look neater.

But, then again, no one complained about the sides that were less than perfect after they got a taste of the torte.

Enjoy with a cup of coffee and a friend!