Nativity scenes and Christmas cards make the birthing place of Jesus like something out of a “Tennessee Made-for-Television Christmas Special” with Garth Brooks sitting on a bale of hay strumming some of our Holiday favorites in a clean barn with domesticated animals and seats for the children to drink their hot chocolate. Clearly this was not the case for Joseph and Mary. The conditions were crude. We can assume animals were present, but the text never confirms it. Animals probably were at some time housed there since Jesus was placed in a manger, which is a feeding trough for animals. The whole place smelled not only from animal droppings, but also from poverty, scandal, insignificance, helplessness, humiliation and embarrassment.

Randy Smith

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Eggs, Vegetables		Choc-cake	15	Servings

INGREDIENTS

3		Eggs
1	c	Vegetable oil
1/2	c	Apple juice
2	ts	Vanilla
3	c	All-purpose flour; unsifted
1 3/4	c	Sugar
1/2	c	Cocoa
1	ts	Baking soda
3/4	ts	Salt
1/2	ts	Cinnamon; ground
3	c	Apples; diced, peeled, tart chopped
		Confectioners sugar or whipp d topping

INSTRUCTIONS

Grease well and flour 13 x 9 x 2" pan; set aside. Beat eggs slightly in
large mixing bowl; add oil, apple juice and vanilla. Combine flour, sugar,
cocoa, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into batter until smooth. Add
apples and nuts; stir until thoroughly blended. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake tester inserted in
center comes out clean. Cool in pan or on wire rack. Serve sprinkled with
confectioners' sugar or with dollops of whipped topping.
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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