Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing

I am revisiting some of my old favorites.  If you would like to try something a little different than your usual mayonnaise on sandwiches then try this tangy sandwich spread on your sandwich and turn it into a gourmet sandwich. The creamy blue cheese dressing is a smooth dressing with crumbled blue cheese throughout. It is great on BLTs, Bacon Lettuce and Avocado sandwiches and makes a great blue cheese dressing for hamburgers. Serve it on a hamburger with lettuce and tomato and your guests will be asking for more or at least for your recipe. I personally like to serve it on toasted rye bread spread generously with the blue cheese dressing and then add lettuce, 2 slices of bacon and sliced avocado on top – I then drizzle the sauce over top. It is not only delicious but is a very attractive sandwich. If avocados are not in season, or are too expensive, than you can substitute them with sliced tomatoes.

¼ cup buttermilk
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped onion
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled – about ½ cup

Mix first 5 ingredients plus half of the blue cheese in a blender or food processor and blend on high until smooth. Then add the remaining half of the blue cheese to the mix and fold in. Spread on bread or toast.

I sometimes add cayenne powder or garlic pepper sauce for extra heat.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

3 cups grated carrot
1 ½ cups flour
2 t baking powder
½ - 1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 t ground cinnamon
4 eggs
2 t vanilla extract
1 c brown sugar packed
½ c sugar
1 ¼ oil
1 c walnuts finely chopped
½ c raisins


Cake Directions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare 11 X 8 rectangular baking pan by lining with non-stick parchment and grease.

Step 2: Grate carrots and set aside.

Step 3: Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl.

Step 4: Beat eggs with electric mixer. Add vanilla, all sugar, and oil and mix until well incorporated.

Step 5: Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until well mixed.
Add the carrots, walnuts and raisins and fold into the mixture.

Step 6: Pour the mixture into prepared pan and bake in pre-heated oven until cake springs back when touched lightly. About 40 – 45 minutes.

Step 7: Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Remove the cake from the pan and remove the parchment paper carefully.

Ingredients For frosting
8 oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter (allow to warm up from refrigerator)
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

In a mixing bowl gradually beat the cream cheese, butter, and sugar until creamy. Stir the vanilla and chopped walnuts in by hand. When the cake is cool top the cake with the icing. You can wait until after the cake is iced then add the walnuts.

How to Demonstrate Surface Tension using a Paper Clip

Demonstrating Surface Tension of Water -- Surface tension is a property of water in which the molecules of water on the surface of the liquid is attracted to each other. The surface tension of water allows objects of greater density to be supported on the surface of the water. The attraction of a molecule to itself is called cohesion and attraction between two different molecules is called adhesion. The paper clip floating on the surface of water is a great example which demonstrates to your children how surface tension of water works. Surface tension is what allows small insects to walk on the surface of water; or, what allows dust and leaves to float on the surface of water. Surface tension in conjunction with cohesion is what allows the surface portion of a liquid to form drops such as water drops.

What you will need:
Bowl, glass, or beaker
Paper towel
Medal paper clip
Soapy water
Dropper

How to Demonstrate Surface Tension
Fill a bowl, glass, or beaker with water. Float a small piece of paper towel on the surface of the water. Place the paper clip on top of the paper towel. Carefully push the sides of the paper towel down into the water until the paper towel is no longer touching the paper clip. Carefully remove the paper towel from the water. The paper clip should easily remain floating on the surface of the water unless it is disturbed or bumped.

To Demonstrate How Soap (Surfactant) Breaks the Surface Tension

Separately mix some soap with water.

Using a dropper add a couple drops of soapy water to the surface of the water with the paper clip floating on it – be careful to add it to the water away from the paper clip. The soapy water should break the surface tension of the water causing the paper clip to fall to the bottom of the container. If it doesn’t work immediately give it a few seconds or add a few more drops of soapy water.

This is a great time to ask your children or student’s why they think soapy water caused the paper clip to fall to the bottom.

This is a great bell-ringer for science class. Have the student’s try to explain why the paper clip is floating. This is also great way to help your young children become or stay interested in science.

Mercury is a great example of how surface tension allows the element to form a cohesive ball.

Water beading on a freshly waxed car forms a sphere because of the water’s surface tension.

The separation of oil and water is caused by several different properties of the liquids, to include the differences in the surface tension of the liquids called “interface tension”.