Things are Hopping

Things are hopping our little burg. The NJCAA tournament is held in Hutchinson each year and teams come to Kansas from all over the place to vie for the title. It’s just as exciting for those in the National JUNIOR College Athletic Association tournament as it is for those in the NCAA.

Speaking of that, I don’t really keep up on basketball since I left college, but I did catch the last few moments when my beloved Kentucky Wildcats won their game Sunday afternooon. I’d love to see them win the tournament, and will be rooting for them, even though I’ve lived in Kansas longer than Kentucky. But UK is my alma mater and that’s where my loyalty lies. If, heaven forbid, they are out of it, then I’ll root for Kansas – whichever team it is.

At work we’re very busy, preparing for a big event in April, and also because this week we have many visitors. Some are folks who are here for the tournament and others who are out of school because it is Wichita’s spring break. It’s very fun to have the whole place full of people.

Thursday morning is our monthly “Coffee at the Cosmo” and we have a guest speaker this month – James Oberg who’s the NBC News Space Consultant and formerly worked with NASA. We have a different topic each month, and serve coffee and pastries to those who come – all free. I think it’s such a cool thing. I always enjoy them.

I decided this month I was going to bake a coffee cake to share. We’ll still have donuts and the usual goodies but I wanted to add some extras. I tried a new recipe and tested it out. I definitely recommend it.

Coffee Cake

3/4 white sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus enough milk to make 1 cup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping
1/2 cup flour
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup butter

Cream sugar and butter. Add dry ingredients alternately with egg and milk mixture. Mix well. Pour into greased 9 by 13 pan. The batter will not be thick in the pan, but will rise as it bakes.

Mix topping by cutting butter into dry ingredients. Spread on top of cake mixture and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes..