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Coconut & Matcha Mochi Cake


A Cake Unlike Any Other

 By

Makes about 12 large squares

1 stick butter,

softened 4 eggs

One 12-ounce can evaporated milk

One 13 1/2-ounce can coconut milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups glutinous rice flour, like Mochiko (available at Japanese markets)

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon matcha powder

1 big handful of shredded coconut, for sprinkling

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photo by Mark Weinberg

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on this day … 2/15 U.S. President Hayes signed a bill that allowed female attorneys to argue cases before SCOTUS


World1758 – Mustard was advertised for the first time in America.

1764 – The city of St. Louis was established.

1799 – Printed ballots were authorized for use in elections in the state of Pennsylvania.

1842 – Adhesive postage stamps were used for the first time by the City Dispatch Post (Office) in New York City.

1879 – U.S. President Hayes signed a bill that allowed female attorneys to argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

1898 – The USS Maine sank when it exploded in Havana Harbor for unknown reasons. More than 260 crew members were killed.

1900 – The British threaten to use natives in their war with the Boers.

1903 – Morris and Rose Michtom, Russian immigrants, introduced the first teddy bear in America.

1932 – George Burns and Gracie Allen debuted as regulars on “The Guy Lombardo Show” on CBS radio.

1933 – U.S. President-elect Franklin Roosevelt escaped an assination attempt in Miami. Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak was killed in the attack.

1942 – During World War II, Singapore surrendered to the Japanese.

1943 – “My True Story” was heard for the first time on ABC radio.

1946 – Edith Houghton, at age 33, was signed as a baseball scout by the Philadelphia Phillies becoming the first female scout in the major leagues.

1953 – The first American to win the women’s world figure skating championship was 17-year-old Tenley Albright.

1961 – A Boeing 707 crashed in Belgium killing 73 people.

1962 – CBS-TV bought the exclusive rights to college football games from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for a figure of $10,200,000.

1965 – Canada displayed its new red and white maple leaf flag. The flag was to replace the old Red Ensign standard.

1982 – During a storm, the Ocean Ranger, a drilling rig, sank off the coast of Newfoundland. 84 men were killed.

1985 – The Center for Disease Control reported that more than half of all nine-year-olds in the U.S. showed no sign of tooth decay.

1989 – After nine years of intervention, the Soviet Union announced that the remainder of its troops had left Afghanistan.

1991 – The leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland signed the Visegard agreement, in which they pledged to cooperate in transforming thier countties to free-market economies.

1995 – The FBI arrested Kevin Mitnick and charged him with cracking security in some of the nation’s most protected computers. He served five years in jail.

2002 – U.S. President George W. Bush approved Nevada’s Yucca Mountain as a site for long-term disposal of radioactive nuclear waste.

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Headlines from the Front lines — February 2017
Launching ABB’s Federal Watch
On January 21, ABB staff joined hundreds of thousands of protesters in Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, and Nashville, TN, to send a clear message of unity in defense of our core values. In Nashville, post-march, we lead a teach-in focused on the legal rights of Tennessee women and caregivers, particularly low-wage workers and other marginalized groups, and how those rights might be threatened or bolstered in the future. As part of our response to the new Administration, we have launched a Federal Watch blog series where we will respond to developments in Washington, D.C. that seek to roll back women’s rights, workers’ rights, and threaten our core values of fairness and economic security for all families. Check out our latest on the nomination of Senator Sessions to lead the Department of Justice. We are committed to defending federal laws and policies that have opened doors to opportunity for millions as we continue to push for more family-friendly reforms at the state and local level.
Paid Family and Medical Leave Efforts Push Ahead
Despite the dramatic shifts in Washington, D.C., we continue to push ahead to advance paid leave at the state and local level. In December, the District of Columbia passed a paid family and medical leave law, which will provide private sector workers there with wage replacement for up to eight weeks to bond with a new child, up to six weeks to care for a loved one with a serious health condition, and up to two weeks for the worker’s own serious health condition. In New York, where paid family leave will go into effect in January 2018, we are employing roundtable discussions among health professionals, workers advocates, and veterans groups, among others, to educate the public about the new law and gather feedback for effective implementation. Our first fact sheet for New Yorkers looking to take paid family leave is now available on our website in English and en Espanol. We anticipate a busy year as we work with allies in more than eight other states on paid leave legislation that will be introduced in 2017. Stay tuned!
Empowering Women in the South
On January 27th, we presented a successful community public education event, “Women in the Workplace: Know Your Rights!” This event, held in Nashville, TN, was coordinated with our partners at the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor. It included an introduction to the status of working women in the South as well as presentations by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division. Elizabeth Gedmark, Director of the Southern Office of A Better Balance, presented on pregnancy and caregiver discrimination. Speakers particularly focused on the rights of vulnerable populations, such as undocumented workers. The event drew a diverse and engaged crowd, and provided an opportunity to learn, to ask questions, and to network and make personal connections.
Voices from the Clinic
“I’ve been working at my job for two years. I told my employer I was pregnant and his response to me was that I have to resign my job if I’m going full term with my pregnancy and I was given 48 hours to let him know my decision. I cried cause I didn’t want to lose my job so I started to research the laws of pregnancy in the workplace and I found a pamphlet on the A Better Balance website that was really helpful. I called the number on the pamphlet, explained my situation and that was the best decision I ever made. I was represented by ABB, I get to keep my job, I got a workplace accommodation, and I kept my work hours. Help was there every step of the way — it’s like I was never in this alone. Now I feel confident and more comfortable than ever in my workplace.”
— Saana
A Better Balance

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