Beautiful Words

Hello strangers! Yes, I know, it's been a pitifully long time since I've last posted. Since our last chat, I've been to Boston and back for my sissy's college graduation, attended a baseball game, turned in three papers, graded 65 midterms, read 8 books and 9 articles (I think, I've sort of lost track) and attended class. Not to mention, been really really sick, found a bit of time to sleep, and snuggled with Winston. I have 3.5 weeks left of the quarter and as much as I love my program, I'm ready for summer. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot to accomplish over summer, but a little breathing space is much needed. And perhaps most importantly, I need to cook.

My relationship with food is suffering. I'm rectifying the baking situation this weekend when I plan to make two cakes (one for my birthday and one for my brother's), but regular food and I have come across some tough times. The truth is, I need a life pause button and I know I'm not the only one. I want to want to cook. Really I do. I miss loving it. But, I don't really have time to try new things right now and I hate making my go-to, boring, barely scraping by meals over and over again. So I've been relying on cereal. and yogurt. and whatever leftovers my mom gives me when I see her. Mostly because I also don't have time to go grocery shopping. In the process I've sort of grown to resent eating. I don't have time to make proper meals, so trying to scrounge up something is not a fun process. It's more of a burden or annoyance. It's a rather sad state of affairs. It's not like I would be making super fancy, five course meals if I all of a sudden got a bunch of extra time. But have you been to a farmer's market lately? I'm dying to buy some produce and make something super fresh, delicious and simple. Frankly, I don't really want to, but I know as soon as I get back into it, I'll rediscover my love affair with food. I'm hoping to make a great flavor-filled dinner tomorrow which I can share, and of course I'll be back with my cake discussion next week. Then, once my summer comes, prepare yourself. Posts are going to be flying like hot cakes.

In the meantime, I've been thinking a lot about food and meaning today. This entire post hovers dangerously near that existential line that I try never to cross, but bear with me. I read an article by Anthony Bourdain in this month's Bon Apetit. It's amazing. In his shows he obviously enjoys being iconoclastic, but he writing is truly lovely. His words are beautiful. I love that he is comfortable in the fanciest of restaurants or at a taco shack on some long-forgotten street in the ghetto. As I was reading his tribute to his father, there was one phrase that really stuck out to me; "a man of simple needs". This phrase resonated mostly because it's how I've always described one-half of my brother. His job is incredibly intellectual, yet in his off-time, he is a man of simple needs. Good food, good company, sports, alcohol, and sex. And he is one of the happiest, most-full-of-life people I know. In that way he is sort of similar to Bourdain. Granted, Bourdain is much more broody, sullen at times and occasionally cranky. But reading this article, I definitely saw the "embrace all of life" side of him. It was clear to me that he lights up around his daughter and generally seems pretty happy.

At this point, I'm sure some of you are wondering why in heaven's name I'm talking about this topic. I don't blame you, but here's my reason. I think sometimes I get bogged down in my head. Scratch that. I know I get bogged down in my head. To be fair, it's sort of my job as a graduate student to spend a lot of time there. But that really shouldn't define me, or rather, I need to limit how much my brain limits me. Instead of getting all wrapped up in stress and intellectual concerns, there needs to be time for me to enjoy food like I want to. This is why I say my relationship with food is suffering. I get so concerned about calories, and trying to be thrifty, but healthy and eating the right thing at the right moment. Not to mention, I don't spend more than five minutes on food on any given day (not normally, just this quarter).

I love food. It means a lot to me. My favorite moments almost always involve eating. It makes me happy. In some ways, I am very similar to my brother and Bourdain. I love Sour Patch Watermelson and the new kind of Cheez-It cracker (the Parmesan and Cheddar duo, trust me it's amazing). But I also love fancy restaurants, snobby cheese and decadent meals. The experience is really important too. I want more of this type of thing in my life, I miss it. I need to get back on track. Not on track like a diet, but back to my food happy place. I will get there, I know it. As soon as I finish the next few books...

Until then,

xoxox

Dreaming of Kitchens

This last week has been a rough one. As you may have noticed, I only managed to get up one blog post and even if I had found time to write, I had absolutely nothing to write about. When I started this blog I made a few rules for myself. If it ever felt like a burden, I wasn't going to keep doing it. Also, as much as I love you all, it is fairly low on my priority list. School, bf, family, and my sanity have to come first. So last week, I simply didn't get to it. I tell myself I shouldn't feel guilty, after all, this little project isn't my job, I make absolutely no money off of it, and it all started as a hobby. But despite that highly rational discussion in my head, I still feel a bit guilty. I feel as though I have given my readers reason to expect a few posts a week, if only because usually, that's what I do. I want you all to know I want to be cooking. I'm dying to do some home crafts. But at this moment it's not in the cards. Bf will attest. There are simply not enough minutes in the day. In the meantime, I've been dreaming about making this cake.

It's an orange layer cake with buttercream frosting. I don't know what it is about this cake, but it's haunting me. In a pleasant, I can't stop dreaming about making it sort of way. I'll give you a moment to oogle at it with me......

Ok and I'm back. It will have to wait for a little while, perhaps I'll make it for my birthday (which is in two weeks by the way). Until then, in the absence of real substance, I thought I'd show you what else I've been dreaming about....gorgeous kitchens in which I will bake my gorgeous cakes. There is only one problem. I can't seem to figure out what kind of kitchen I'd like. I can see myself going for something light and bright like so....

This probably better articulates my light and bright fantasy.

Or something warm and mountain-y like this...

Most days I lean towards something like this gorgeous space, except with different floors.

But then there are days I want to embrace open space, inner green girl (these days are rare, I admit).

Then, finally, there are days that girly and eclectic seems pretty awesome.

I am quite certain I could make a lovely cake in any of these spaces. But how to choose (in my head of course, because these kinds of rooms are a looooong way off). Which would you choose? Which space is your favorite? I want to know!

Orange You Glad I Made These Muffins?

You know, as in, knock knock? Who is there? Orange. Orange who? Or-ange you glad I made these orange glazed muffins. Har har. I know, I'm hilarious.

These muffins are simply delicious. They are sweet because of the glaze, but nice and fresh because of the orange flavor. However, the orange isn't bitter or sour. They are perfect for summer and pretty darn easy to make. Nothing fancy to say because they muffins aren't super fancy, but they sure are good. As an aside, they also stay super fresh and moist after several days in an airtight container, so that's always a plus.

Orange Glazed Muffins
from here

For the muffins:
1 cup milk
½ cup orange juice
½ cup light sour cream
2 large eggs
2 sticks (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1½ tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Zest of 1 orange

For the glaze:
¼ cup orange juice
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tsp. orange zest

First, mix together the milk, orange juice, sour cream, eggs, and melted butter.

 In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

Add the wet ingredients until the dry and stir together.

 Then add the orange zest and stir again to make sure there aren't any clumps.

Divide the batter evenly between about 16 paper cups and bake at 350 for about 18-20 minutes. Let the muffins cool for about five minutes in the tin, then remove to a cooling rack.

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, orange zest, and orange juice.

 Place the muffins on a baking sheet and then spoon the glaze over the muffins. I let the first layer of glaze drive for a few minutes and then spooned a little more glaze over the top of each muffin. The glaze will go everywhere. It's ok. You only need a little on each muffin and it will harden nicely.

The glaze gets a nice opaque look to it when it dries. It looks the shiny-ness and you can really see the bits of orange zest. So make sure you use a super fine grater! Then enjoy!

Happy May!

I know this post is a day late and it was May yesterday, but grad school is kicking my butt. Don't get me wrong, I plan to win the war, but I'm losing the current battle. Every surface of my apartment needs to be dusted, cleaned, organized or vacuumed. My fridge is empty except for the things that need to be emptied because they are trash. I had eggs for dinner last night and have been clocking 14-16 hours days every day for the last several days. Winston will bring me his mouse for fetch, I'll throw it and then realize an hour later that I forgot he brought it back....as well as another mouse, a rubber band and a q-tip and is sitting there patiently waiting for me to throw something. Anywho, I wish I could say that I have some great posts coming tomorrow, but since the fridge is bare, we all know that would be a lie. I'm hoping in a few days I'll get my act together. I'll definitely try and have some posts this week, I'm just not sure they are going to be winning any awards. Don't say I didn't warn you.

On a less whiny note, here is my May calendar print. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. May is my birthday month and I love my birthday. Aren't April showers supposed to bring May flowers? WHERE ARE MY FLOWERS PEOPLE?!?!?! Instead I get a bird, which isn't even a cute little Egret, but instead is some long-beaked heron. I'm sure his female heron friend appreciates his long beak, but I don't. Terrible joke I know, I'm so sleep deprived my jokes don't even make me laugh. Clearly time to stop typing. See you soon.

Turn That Frown Upside Down

I do my very best to come up with creative post titles when I have the energy. But I think I've pretty much exhausted all of my cake references. I've done "Let Them Eat Cake" and "I'll Have My Cake and Eat It Too", and since it is Monday morning and generally no one likes Monday mornings, I'm stretching it to include frowns and references to the "upside down" in the cake title. But I'm pretty much out.

Anyway, my parents celebrated their 25th anniversary last week and I made this cake to bring to the dinner. Generally, my parents fall into the fruit dessert category. They are much less likely to order something insanely rich and chocolate. So as I was perusing through the Mother's Day cake ideas on Bon Appetit's website, I found this recipe and thought it would be perfect for the occasion. It was incredibly delicious. Sweet, but not overpowering. The cake was dense and had substance, but wasn't too heavy and wasn't at all dry. I think it would be a perfect cake for hot summer nights. Both of my nieces also enjoyed it, so it's a kid-friendly dessert too. Finally, the difficulty-factor was pretty low. I actually whipped it up Friday morning before class, cooked it while I showered and got ready, and then let it cool while I was gone. Definitely give it a try!

Blackberry Buttermilk Upside Down Cake
recipe from here

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan and parchment
2 1/3 cups cake flour (sifted, then measured) plus more for pan
2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) fresh blackberries note: I got two containers, closer to 12 ounces and I loved it
1/4 cup plus 1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
Powdered sugar (for dusting)

I'm looking back over the recipe now and it occurred to me that I used regular flour, not cake flour. My cake turned out great, but I only cooked it for an hour (instead of the hour and twenty five minutes the recipe called for) and as I mentioned, it almost had a pound cake-type consistency. I'm wondering if the lighter, more refined cake flour would have changed that? I'm not sure and I'm also not sure I would want it changed. It was pretty delicious as it was.

First, I greased the pan. I used a 9" spring form pan with a removable bottom. Then I put down a pre-cut 9" parchment paper and greased the top of the parchment as well.

Then I floured the entire inside of the pan.

 Then I laid out all of the blackberries.

And I sprinkled 1/4 cup sugar over the top of the berries.

Into a medium sized bowl, I sifted together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

In a large bowl, I creamed together the rest of the sugar and the softened butter.

Then I added the eggs and mixed them together. I also added the vanilla and the orange zest and mixed together.

Next, I added 1/3 of the flour mix and mixed and then 1/2 of the buttermilk. Then I added another 1/3 of the flour, mixed, the rest of the buttermilk, mixed and the last bit of flour and mixed. Basically I just added the ingredients slowly so that they had time to absorb and mix without getting clumpy.

I poured the batter over the berries and smoothed the top.

I baked the cake for 1 hour and 5 minutes at 350 degrees. The recipe suggested an 1 hour for 10" pan and 1 hour and 25 minutes for a 9" pan. But that seemed a bit odd to me, so I checked it after an hour and added five more minutes and then it was done. I inserted a toothpick in the center and it was clean. But you could also test it by gently pressing with a finger and it should bounce back.

I let the cake cool for 15 minutes and then removed the outside of the pan.

Then I flipped the cake over onto the wire rack and gently peeled off the parchment.

More of the bottom of my cake came off than in the original picture, but I think that was because I used more blackberries. Next time I'll let the parchment stay on a bit longer and see if it helps.

 I sprinkled powdered sugar over the top, but because the cake was still warm, the sugar immediately melted in certain places.

So when the cake was cooled, I added some more.

When it came time to eat, I sliced it up and we all gobbled it down. I love the pretty purple layer on top. Hope you enjoy!

Cheap and Easy Weeknight Dinner Series: Rosemary Chicken with Artichokes and White Beans

I have very little to say about this recipe. It was delicious and quick. It made a ton and is super healthy. But perhaps I just don't have a lot of words right now. It's a very rare occurrence so I think I won't fight the urge for brevity. I made very few changes to the original recipe, just added a small onion and a few cloves of garlic. Oh and I used quinoa instead of rice. But honestly, I think you could eat the chicken and sauce mixture by itself. Definitely give this dish a try, don't let me quietness fool you, it's a keeper.

Rosemary Chicken with Artichokes and White Beans
recipe adapted from here

- 2-3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
- 1 onion
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 Tblsp olive oil
- 1 14 oz can, diced tomatoes
- 1 14 oz can, white beans drained
- 1 14 oz can, artichoke hearts (quartered if you can find them, if not just drain & roughly chop up whole ones into quarters)
- 1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives
-3/4-1 cup dry quinoa

 I started by putting the quinoa in a pot with 1.5-2 cups of water. I brought the water to a boil, then reduced the heat to simmer. Let the quinoa simmer for about 15 minutes or until the water is just about absorbed. Turn off the heat and leave the top on so the last remnants of the water disappear. Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil and cook the onion until just about tender. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

In a small small, mix together the rosemary, slat and pepper. Sprinkle on top of your chicken. I like to slice my chicken breasts into tenders to make the cooking process easier, but it's up to you.

Place the chicken in the center of the pan, spiced side down, and cook for about 4 minutes until that side of the chicken is browned. Flip the chicken over.

Add the beans, artichoke hearts and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.

To prepare, put some of the quinoa in a large bowl.

Add the olives and cook for another five minutes on low heat, or until the chicken is cooked through the sauce is slightly thickened.

Put a few of the chicken tenders and some of the sauce on top of the quinoa and enjoy!

Picking Favorites

This past weekend bf was visiting and I made Russian tea cakes. I wanted him to have some to take home and brought some to class the following day. Lately bf has been OBSESSED with Russian tea cakes. No exaggeration. He has even gone so far as to say that they are his favorite dessert. The first time he said that my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He continues to insist they are the best, which I strongly contest, but the whole conversation got me thinking about favorites.

How does one rank food? Especially dessert? It's one thing for someone to ask what your favorite dinner is, because usually that answer includes sides and bread, etc. But to me, desserts are way trickier. As you know, I like to cook. I love to bake. And I love love love to eat dessert. So when someone asks me what my favorite dessert is, the answer inevitably turns into something like this: "well, my favorite cupcakes is x, my favorite cookie is y, my favorite cake is z". Very helpful I know. But I can't help it. Dessert selections are so particular to my mood and the occasion. So in line with all of this blabbering, I decided to make a list that include my favorites in every dessert category. That way, I don't have to choose just one!

Cookies
For me this category is super tricky. I have four favorites. One is chocolate. You have to have a chocolate option in the cookie category. Am I right or am I right? So here are my favorites.

Chocolate chip cookies. Traditional. Necessary. Terrible picture, but you get the idea.

Molasses cookies. These can go very bad if you don't have a good recipe. This recipe is amazing.

Sugar cookies. Not only are they amazing, but they are so versatile.

As you can see, they show up for pretty much any holiday.

Iced gingerbread cookies. I love how amazingly flavor-filled this recipe is, but the cookies remain soft. It's really the best.











Cupcakes
I love cupcakes. I've always loved cake, but I think having a little personal cake is so much fun. Plus they are easy, great to transport and allow for so many fun decorating ideas. Narrowing down this category was tricky, but I managed to select two.

Red velvet cupcakes. I made these for Valentine's Day, but you could decorate them however you want. This recipe is amazing because it appeals to both chocolate lovers and not.

Pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. This recipe was one of my favorite finds of the last year. The cake is so moist and the frosting is phenomenal. It's especially delicious around the holidays.







Cake
Cakes can be tricky. The layers can be intimidating and there is nothing worse than going through all of that effort and ending up with dry cake. That is the very very worst.

I have a favorite sour cream chocolate cake, but I don't have a post of it yet. It's been a family favorite forever, but the frosting has always presented a problem. Basically, the recipe called for you to melt chocolate, add it to powdered sugar, and then mix in sour cream. But it always ended up very clumpy. It tasted amazing, but looked less than perfect. I'm pretty sure I figured out how to fix it and for the next birthday I'm making it. Of course I will share. You will thank me and never make a different chocolate cake.

But not everyone is obsessed with chocolate. My parents in particular love non-chocolate desserts. My dad is all about lemon and my mom loves berries. So this lemonade cake is my dad's favorite. Frankly, everyone loves it. Even lemon-hating-bf. It's pretty flawless. The cake is so unbelievably light and moist and it's from Cooking Light Magazine so it's not the most unhealthy cake.


So what is your favorite dessert? How do you choose what you want? Is there anything I missed on my list that I shouldn't have overlooked? Let me know!