Trip to Indy-Family, Fun an Food

   For me, a trip to Indy is like a trip to another world.  A world of city life, theater, movies and someone else’s food.  It is a different lifestyle,  young people off to class, boyfriends and crazy work schedules.  I loved it.

   My outings to Indy in the winter  seem to bring on ice.  Ice so bad one must drive the pick-up to get to the mailbox.  But not bad enough to close schools.  Off this senior went; driving the best car in the garage to get to class.  I took an anxiety pill, but it was just a normal day for her parents.
   Since the subdivision was icy, thankfully B drove us downtown to the Murat Theater for the performance of Shen Yun.

   Years ago Bob White of the Oxford Press reviewed theater productions, I wish he  could have seen and written about this one.  It was very special.  The music, the costumes, the dance and the technology combined to provide a look into Chinese culture and history.
   Five Shen Yun companies travel the world simultaneously performing and telling their stories.  From the Shen Yun program book I quote the following.
         A Lost Treasure
   Nowhere else can you see the authentic Chinese culture that Shen Yun presents.  Sadly, this culture has been almost completely destroyed in China under communist rule.
   China’s ancient civilization was, in fact, deeply spiritual.  Traditional Chinese culture is based on the idea of harmony among Heaven, Earth and humankind.  But the Chinese Communist Party’s doctrine teaches just the opposite; officially atheist, it sees this culture as a threat to its power.  For decades it has tried to destroy this ancient heritage.  It nearly succeeded.
   Yet in 2006 a group of artists in New York formed Shen Yun and have brought this culture back from the brink of extinction.  Even today, Shen Yun is not allowed to perform in China-but the company is now sharing this heritage with millions; people fly from China especially to see Shen Yun.
    They will be performing in Cincinnati in May.
   Indy was not all Chinese dance.  Young people like food.  E and I made the familiar Texas Sheet Cake.  Our take on it was with different pans.  A round cake to sit on the glass cake stand.  This old stand-by is so easy and can be adjusted if you exchange the ¼ cup cocoa for ¼ peanut butter. The chocolate icing would be great on the peanut butter cake or peanut butter icing might be good on the chocolate cake.  We went with the standard chocolate on chocolate. 

                                                                   Texas Sheet Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 stick butter
½ cup Crisco
¼ cup cocoa
1 cup water
½ cup buttermilk
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 lightly beaten eggs
   Combine flour and sugar and set aside.  In heavy pan bring butter, Crisco, water and cocoa to a boil.  Remove from heat, add flour mixture.  Combine remaining ingredients except nuts and add to flour mixture.  Stir well. Pour into a greased rimmed cookie sheet.  Bake 20 minutes at 350. Prepare icing while cake is baking.
1 stick butter
   
6 Tbsp. milk
¼ cup cocoa
1 pound P. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Chopped nuts if desired
  Remove cake from oven, wait only 5 minutes then pour icing on cake. Add
Nuts on top.  Everyone loves this and it is easy.
 
  There is more to Indy than theater and food; there is the Indianapolis Public Library.   The original structure was built on ground donated by James Whitcomb Riley.  The latest addition combined with the original, covers a city block, opened in 2007 at a cost of $150 million.  It showcases a 6 story atrium of curved glass and steel. 
   Let us appreciate our libraries.  Sidney Sheldon, author and poet had this to say: Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination.  They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and contribute to improve our quality of life. Works by Indiana authors, James Whitcomb Riley, Kurt Vonnegut, May Wright Sewall, the Wooten Family and Booth Tarkington are on exhibit.