Lately, my co-workers, the locusts have been dropping not-so-subtle-hints at me stating that they would not turn down any of my recent cooking experiments, successes or even failures (as long as they were still edible) should I like to unburden our household of extra or unwanted food. Their cries of "you don't love us anymore" and "boy do we wish we had some home baked goodness" have been haunting me at night. I do so want to accommodate them, really I do, but right now I have too many things going on at home and as usual never enough time. (Sheesh, that’s becoming my theme song isn’t it?) My pleas for patience and understanding have fallen on deaf ears. These days, with an extremely active toddler who by the way has learned to put on her own shoes and point to the door demanding "out," I find that there is no time for what I call “hobby cooking” anymore. I look for recipes I can prepare quickly and that will allow me to put fresh and wholesome meals on the table in hopes that the wee child will eat. She hardly eats anything anymore having become suddenly picky except for meat, cheesy poofs and "ize keam"
Luckily for my co-workers we have had some really hot weather recently, so the girl and I have not been venturing out as much as we normally do. Summers here in NYC have always been rough; ninety-plus degree weather with one thousand percent humidity brings new meaning to the phrase “melting pot”
Anyway, I had some time to bake a little something for the guys at work and I found this recipe on the Epicurious Website. It's actually a recipe that appears in "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison and one that I had wanted to try for some time. I especially wanted to try some of the suggested variations but I decided to keep things simple this time and followed the recipe as is, except for the topping. I used a coarse sugar (turbinado) and that was a mistake. It never really melted and made the texture of the topping crunchy-gritty in an unpleasant way, so next time I'll just use regular sugar or maybe even superfine. The "cake" was tasty although the first few bites left me disappointed because it was crunchy in a weird way (my fault) and I was also expecting the texture to be more like cake but it wasn't. Is it cake or is it bread? I don't know! It does have yeast in it which makes me think it might be bread but then, it is sweet like a cake too. The "crumb" is much closer in texture to that of bread, and to me this is definitely bread. No matter really, it was pretty darn edible, it was so edible in fact that I never did bring it in for the locusts, Ellie and I ate almost half of it before we realized we should stop...oops!
I have just finished reading the 6th Harry Potter book. The book got off to a very slow start and wasn't the tightest of stories but I thought that in the end the payoff for sticking with the book was good. Over the years I've read many criticisms of Rowling's work, some of it sometimes too harsh in my opinion. I think the books are good for what they are, fun, easy reads. I appreciate the escapism they provide and I look forward to reading them again with Ellie one day. I won't give away the plot or discuss the book any further in case you haven’t read it, I'll just end by saying that all in all I enjoyed reading it am looking forward to the 7th book.
Horatio Street, New York City- 2005
I may have mentioned once or twice before that I have an intense fascination for what I think is a strange phenomenon, lost shoes. I can't for the life of me understand how people can become separated from their shoes and not realize it and yet throughout the course of my life and in my travels I have come across more than my fair share of lost shoes. Sometimes I see a single shoe looking lonely and sad and sometimes I come across a pair, a pair may be less lonely because it’s with its mate but still, it’s a sad thing to see. I’ve decided to do a photo essay on these lost shoes. Pictured above is the first photo in a series I might call “Found! Lost Shoe(s)”
ETA: I just thought of the perfect name for my photo essay, "Lost Soles" HA!
Covered with a cracked sugar crust, this cake is fragrant with butter — yet it uses far less than most cakes. And although it's made with yeast, the rising time is brief. I love this cake at any time of day, with raspberries, with fruit compotes of all kinds, and in place of shortcake with strawberries and cream.
The Cake:
The Topping:
Stir the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar into 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Combine the flour, remaining sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the yeast, milk, and eggs and beat until smooth. Add the butter and beat vigorously until the batter is silky. Scrape down the sides, then cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes
Lightly butter a 9-inch tart pan or cake pan. Stir down the dough, turn it onto a lightly floured counter and gently shape it into a disk. Set it in the pan and flatten it with your hands. Rub the softened butter all over the top, then cover with the sugar, using all of it. Let rise for 30 minutes. during the last 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Bake the cake in the center of the oven until well risen and the sugar has begun to melt and brown, about 25 minutes. The surface should be covered with cracks. When done, let it cool briefly, then unmold and serve, still a little warm, with fruit and softly whipped cream.
Variations: Add 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest to the batter along with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon crushed anise seeds. A half cup of finely ground almonds and a drop of almond extract are also good additions.
Serves 10 to 12.
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone Broadway Books October 1997 Deborah Madison
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