On Being Well (and Eating Well)

It's no secret I'm turning 30 next year, and I think I've also made it clear that while I'm doing my best to embrace my age, I can't help feeling introspective.  What tangible--and intangible--things do I have to show for these past 30 years?  So many good things.  So, so, so many good things.  Family.  Love.  A stable household.  A job I enjoy.  Hobbies (like this blog) that I happily pursue.  And many more good things than I could list out on one page.

Lately, though, I've also been thinking about the future.  Am I in a good position to get where I want to be?  How do I get there?  Tim and I even have a date a few days after Christmas to sit down and talk through our joint goals.  (Kind of romantic, isn't it?)  I know I'm not the only one that looks at their life and sees room for improvement.  People decide to be the change that they desire and then execute that change.  Maybe they decide to lose weight--and do it.  Perhaps they decide to find the reason for their health problems--and they find it.  It could even be that they are unhappy in a job--and they seek out a job that fulfills them.

When I see those examples, I recognize that they are all getting well--physically well, emotionally well, financially well, maybe even spiritually well.  I'm on a journey to wellness, too.  So when my allergy doctor, who I am seeing about my food intolerances, told me this week that in addition to the seven foods that he has already directed me to avoid he would also like me to avoid a few others--including chocolate--I said, "sure."

Just like that.  I walked out to my car after the appointment, called Tim, cried a little about how many foods I simply can't eat right now; he soothed me by reminding me that this is all to help me feel well, and I resolved to carry out my doctor's orders.

Before you think that I'm dragging you into a pity party, I'd like to say that I am still finding food to indulge in; it just takes a little more work.  Except in the case of this Gluten Free, Vegan Apple Cake.  This didn't take much work at all.

I'm generally not one to suggest box mixes, mostly because I take pleasure in cooking from scratch.  But after awful experiences making gluten free, vegan cornbread and gluten free, vegan pie, I needed a baking win.  This box mix, my friends, is a serious win.

To find out exactly how to make this cake, you have to buy the mix!  Part of 123 Gluten Free's very smart marketing is to put the recipe for the eggless version of this cake inside the box!   Would you even believe me if I told you that there is a whole can of chickpeas in this cake?  (There is.)  Do not be dismayed--there is no lingering flavor of chickpeas in the finished product.

It's a sugary, chewy cake that manages to be light at the same time.  I gave it my own spin by swapping out the suggested golden raisins for a 1/2 cup of each diced apple and pecan pieces.  Also the box recommends either a dusting of powdered sugar or an icing so I whipped up some vegan buttercream.  I must say that this cake was excellent the night I baked it, but it was particularly great the next few days.  I am already planning on making this for Christmas Day with my family, but you don't have to wait until then--you can go out and buy the box mix tonight.

A quick note:  Part of the process that I'm working through with my allergist is to get to a point where I feel good every day.  When we get there, I expect that he will allow me to reintroduce certain foods into my diet, one at a time, to see if they cause me to feel sick.  Then we will know which specific foods are the problem.  It's entirely possible that in six months from now, I may be enjoying chocolate--or any of the other foods on my do-not-eat list-- again.  But for now, I'm just following the good doctor's orders.  

Victory Lap: An Ode to the Final Year of My 20s

I won't lie to you and say the past nine years were always amazing.  Sure, there were lots of memorable moments, but I'm not perfect.  There were days when I would stop to wonder how I got to that place--you know, the place where you feel like if you plan a vacation it will rain the whole time or if you saved up a little money the car would inevitably break down.  It was tough.  Calling them my "roaring twenties" would be an accurate description.

Truth be told, I think most of my friends would say the same thing.  Our twenties were a time when we rose to adulthood, without the comfort of our parents home and bank account to protect us.  We made mistakes.  Sometimes it was lonely.  We indulged in too much wine.  Most of us hated our first "real" jobs.  We missed having a safety net.  We mourned the end of childhood.

But we did laugh.  A lot.  My friend K.C. always said that if someone wasn't funny, she couldn't be bothered to get to know them.  Laughter pulled us through while we invested ourselves in building a life.  Many of my friends went on to graduate, law or medical school.  Some married and started families.  Others defiantly sought adventures around the world.  It's not easy to find the right path to follow.  Our twenties gave us a chance to weave in and out and see how the direction felt.  If it didn't end where we expected, we still had time to go a different route.  And we still have time, but it's starting to feel different.  We are older, maybe not as daring.  We have a lot to lose.  So we push on and try to find our way, laughing as often as we need.  I'm lucky that I have found a man who laughs with me.  And he makes me laugh when I most need to.

I had a birthday yesterday.  I'm 29 years old.  Not thirty--I will not let you age me a year. But not because I'm afraid of 30 or apprehensive about aging; I'm going to spend the next year to savoring my twenties.  The latter half of them have been very good to me:  I fell in love, I gained a daughter, I created a home for our family, I'm the happiest I've ever been.  I want to honor my twenties with a victory lap.   I'm going to spend the last year of my twenties celebrating the fact that I'm thriving--I'm still here, still loving, still laughing, still bettering myself.

Tim and Melissa baked me a cake.  I picked it out--dark chocolate cake with chocolate frosting--and they did all of the work.   I don't think the simple name it was given appropriately describes this cake--it was rich and moist and intensely flavorful.  It only seems appropriate to call it Victory Lap Cake, because it represents to me the things I love most about where my 20s have led me:  to family, to love, to happiness.  And they aren't over yet. 

Double Chocolate Layer Cake aka Victory Lap Cake
recipe slightly adapted from Gourmet via epicurious
serves 12 to 14 (or more)

Tim decided put his own twist to the cake by adding orange zest.  While not overpowering, I do think it gave the cake a little zing that chocolate cakes can lack.  I would recommend it, but you could omit it if you don't have an orange handy.

Ingredients for the cake
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups fresh brewed coffee, hot
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, well-shaken
3/4 tsp vanilla
zest of one medium orange (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Grease two 10 in x 2 in round cake pans.  Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and then grease the paper.

Finely chop 3 oz of chocolate and combine in a bowl with hot coffee.  Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.  Allow to cool slightly. 

Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.  In another large bowl with an electric mixer, beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer and slightly longer with a hand mixer).  Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well.  Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.  If using, stir in orange zest with a spoon or spatula.  Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool layers completely in pans on racks.  Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto rack, carefully removing the wax paper.  If not completely cool on the bottom, allow to sit until completely cool.  Can be made 1 day ahead and kept at room temperature wrapped well in plastic wrap.

Ingredients for the frosting
1 pound semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

Finely chop chocolate.  In a medium saucepan, bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved.  Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted.  Cut butter into pieces and add to saucepan, whisking until smooth. 

Transfer to a medium bowl and cool, stirring occassionally, until spreadable.  You may need to chill frosting to achieve a spreadable consistency.

Spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides.  Serve cake at room temperature.  Cake can be kept for up to 3 days covered and chilled. 

Until Then, I Have Rhubarb

The rain has been coming every few days.  Not just a little rain but strong downpours that soak the cold ground and create little puddles throughout our yard.  We have started our spring routine of wiping our dogs' feet, one paw at a time, before we let them back inside.  Our little patch of chives have grown without any assistance from me, growing five or six inches tall before I even noticed they had returned.

Spring is really here.

Tim got a phone call a few days ago about about the Mason Community Garden.  The organizers are gearing up for this summer and were confirming that last year's participants would like to be a part of it again.  On behalf of both of us, Tim definitely agreed.  Thankfully, Mason has been planning ahead for a successful summer harvest.  The city has been mulching leaves onto the garden plot and the soil will be tested before the garden is open for planting this spring.  Just the thought of shopping for seedlings and mapping out our plot gets me excited.  I'm practically tapping my toes impatiently for May to get here.

Until then, I have rhubarb.  I've missed its long, ruby stalks and the way its tart flesh makes me purse my lips.  This spring I'm taking full advantage of this vegetable starting with a Country Rhubarb Cake. 

I can't recall eating rhubarb before last spring although I'm sure it was hiding in a pie or tart at some point in my past.  I have a faint memory of my grandmother telling me she doesn't like rhubarb, but I can't exactly put my finger on when that memory took place.  Remembering details is not really a strength of mine, but I think I'd remember rhubarb.  

Last spring I read Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and food started fitting into categories according to seasons.  Rhubarb and asparagas in the spring; tomatoes in July; winter squash in early fall.  I suppose I knew that vegetables don't grow in Ohio all year round, but supermarkets really alter the way I saw food.  If I want--I can get.

I did my best last year to appreciate seasonal foods, but this year is going to be even better.  I hope you think of this cake when you pass by a bunch of unassuming stalks of rhubarb at the market.  It will make you want spring to stick around a little longer.

Before I give you the recipe, there's a little housekeeping to address.  I want to acknowledge that I'm trying something new with my photos.  Instead of editing for sharpness or other filtering, I shot these pics on my iPhone and edited them using the instagr.am app.  I recently decided to take David Lebovitz's advice (a great read for food bloggers) and try to better define my blog.  I don't want this to be a "recipe" blog.  While that format is works for many bloggers, I am a writer instead of a cook.  This is my place to write--about food. 

So, like the pics  Hate them?  Feel free to let me know.  I'm still feeling it out.

Country Rhubarb Cake
recipe adapted from Gourmet, March 2004
serves 5-6

The recipe suggests making this in a glass pie plate but I don't have one.  I used an oven-safe ceramic dish that my mother-in-law gifted us two years ago and I don't think a pie plate is necessary.  The bottom layer of the crust and top layer did come together as it baked so that it is much more like a cake than a pie.  My suggestion is a 9 or 10 inch ceramic round or oval dish if you don't have a glass pie plate.

Next time I make this recipe I will add salt to the crust so I am adjusting the recipe accordingly.  I felt that was the only thing missing from the cake.

3 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 cups cake flour, sifted
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup 2% milk
2 large eggs (1 separated)

With the oven rack in the middle, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Butter a glass pie plate or a 9 inch round ceramic dish with 3 to 4 inch sides and chill.

In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb and brown sugar.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, combine cake flour, baking powder,1/2 cup sugar, and salt and whisk together.  Using your fingertips, blend in the butter until the flour mixture resembles a coarse meal (lumps the size of small peas).  In another small bowl, whisk together milk, one whole egg, and one egg yolk.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add milk mixture.  Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine until a sticky dough is formed.  The dough will be slightly lumpy and resemble a biscuit batter. 

With your fingers well coated with non-stick spray or flour, scoop half of the dough into the bottom of the dish and spread around with your fingertips.  Make sure the dough is pressed halfway up the side of the dish.  Then add the rhubarb mixture.  Drop large spoonfuls of the remaining dough around the top.  Some of the rhubarb mixture may be exposed before baking.

Add a few drops of tap water to the remaining egg white and stir.  Brush the egg white over the spoonfuls of dough and then sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp sugar over the dough. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the dough is golden brown and cooked through.  Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before serving.  If you are making in advance, rewarm individual servings or the entire dish before serving.

Vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream are an excellent accompaniment to this cake. 

How Rosemary Channeled My Inner Domestic Goddess

Yesterday morning I called my local bookstore to make sure they had the book I wanted in stock.  A very nice sounding young man only took a minute checking the shelves and came back to the phone to inform me that yes, "We have three copies of 'A Homemade Life' in hardcover.  I'll hold a copy for you at the counter."

Best.  News.  Ever.

You see, we have a road-trip coming up soon and I do not want to be stranded in the passenger seat of my own vehicle without something interesting to read.  In fact, after I read a post written by another Molly Wizenberg super-fan, I decided I absolutely had to go pick up the book for this particular trip.  I know that Tim will be committed to driving for long periods of time with few breaks and I am going to need to be completely absorbed in something to make the time pass.  Everywhere I look people have raved about how this book made them laugh, cry, and want to cook, so even though I'm late to picking up this book I know I will have it finished by the time we are home (or maybe by the time we get there). 

While we were at the bookstore, I decided I absolutely needed a new cookbook (can you ever have too many?).  Tim didn't know this, but I had already decided which one I wanted before we even left the house.  There was only one copy of How to Be a Domestic Goddess and it left the store in my bag.  

Nigella Lawson has always been one of my favorite food writers and cookbook authors, mostly because of her va-va-voom style and sly charm that makes me think she just might wink at me when she finishes a sentence.  I sat down last night and began reading this cookbook just as if I were reading a novel.  As Tim fell asleep, I was still sitting up in bed with the reading lamp on absorbing tips and tricks about baking.  Her foreword is absolutely spot on when she says that being a "domestic goddess" is more a state of mind rather than any action you perform.  Doesn't it make you feel good to bake a cake?  Don't you feel proud when you make scones from scratch?  I'll answer for you--yes and yes. 

The only difficulty with the book is what I'd consider a language barrier.  I have spent a good chunk of time today translating her British slang, metric measurements, and Celsius temperatures.  Did you know that dessert is referred to as pudding over the great Atlantic pond?  That took me a while to catch on to that--for a while I assumed she was talking about a mushy cake!  Complicating matters further, I am fairly new to baking (Tim is the baker in this family) and I don't own a scale.  More time was spent googling different opinions on how grams translate to volume for dry ingredients.  I think I got it figured out, but I imagine that any recipe would be even better if I were to do it completely as it was written.

A recipe for a Rosemary Loaf Cake really stood out to me.  For one, I recently saw another favorite blogger of mine make an Olive Oil Cake that contained rosemary and also because the rosemary plant in my backyard is finally starting to take off. 

Rosemary may seem like an odd choice in a dessert, let alone a cake, and Nigella addresses that.  She said to just trust that the flavors of sugar, vanilla, and rosemary would be a complimentary.  Two teaspoons of rosemary in this recipe may seem like a very small amount but it definitely created wonderful aromatics in the house while this was baking.

Assuming my translation from mass to volume was correct, I thought that the crumb of this cake was perfect.  It was slightly crumbly, sort of like a corn cake, but very soft and moist in the middle. 

The flavor was distinctly sweet, with a perfectly sugary top crust.  The hint of rosemary was in the forefront of its taste and, wouldn't-you-know-it-Nigella-was-right, complimentary to the vanilla as if they were the epitome of sugar and spice. 

Nigella suggests serving this with cold stewed apples or other fruit, but that didn't strike my fancy tonight.  I had one slice before dinner and a second one after just to be sure it was as good as I had remembered it being 30 minutes ago.  I think if you wanted to serve it with something, I'd go with a nutty ice cream or a basil gelato (the latter being something my friend Meg has already commissioned for her birthday this fall).   

Rosemary Loaf Cake
adapted from How to Be a Domestic Goddess
serves 8-10

Ingredients
18 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar plus 2 tbsp
3 large or 4 medium eggs
1 2/3 cup self-raising flour*
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp rosemary, chopped small
4 tbsp whole milk

*If you do not have self-raising flour, you can do what I did and sift together 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tsp 3/4 tsp salt, and 2 1/4 tsp baking powder.  Thanks to Bob at Cooking Stuff for the timely post. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Sift together the 2 flours in a medium bowl.  In the mixer bowl, cream the butter until it's really soft and then add 3/4 cup sugar, creaming both together until pale, smoothe and light.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, alternating egg and then 1/3 the flour, then egg, and so forth.  Mix each until just incorporated and be careful not to overmix.  Then mix in the vanilla.  Fold in the rosemary.  Stir in the milk to thin the batter.  Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan.  Sprinkle the top with the additional 2 tbsp sugar.

Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Leave to cool in the loaf pan on a wire rack until it's completely cooled.  Slice and serve or wrap well in tin foil until serving. 

The Perfect Mix of Ingredients

April showers are intended to bring May flowers, but there is no catchy saying to give the novice gardener a clue about what to do when there are May showers.  Due to this rain, our modest contribution to the community garden has not gone into the ground.  In fact, I'm fairly certain that our plot hasn't been properly tilled, but I'm not sure exactly what that means.  The organizers of the garden assured us that they would get to it as soon as there was enough sun to dry out the muddy dirt, and with sunshine in the forecast for the next two days, I'm hopeful that we will be able to plant our vegetables by Thursday evening.

What do we do while we wait?  We bake.  Well, Tim bakes.  I just...stir the batter?  Or just take pictures.  Whatever is most helpful and doesn't ruin anything!

One of our (and when I say "our," I mean Tim's) most recent projects was perfecting the bundt cake.  I suppose the idea of a Vanilla Sparkling Wine Pound Cake came from me, but he is never one to object to copious amounts of sugar (just ask his mother--he gets it from her)!  And I also can't help it that my grandmother gives loads of women's magazines to my mother each month, and then I steal borrow them from my parent's house.  It gives me something to read on the drives back and forth!

Flipping through this variety of magazines centered on home, family, and food, I wondered if I had just woken up one day and these "grown-up" magazines suddenly were relevant to me.

But then again, the topics in these magazines really do interest me, and in many ways always have.  I suppose this change didn't just happen to me overnight. Many friends in college referred to me as the "mom" because I was always cooking family dinners and organizing group events.  It's a natural progression to do the same within my family--planning weekly menus, instituting family game nights (where I still dominate everyone in dominoes), and investing time into making our house a home.

Mastering the perfect bundt cake is really just an extension of what we are trying to accomplish in our home, our marriage, and our family.  The perfect mix of ingredients that we are able to savor together.

Vanilla Sparkling Wine Pound Cake
Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients for the Cake
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sparkling wine (I used Pink Champagne)
3 tbsp sour cream
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup canola oil
5 cold eggs
2 tbsp vanilla extract

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt cake pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Sift mixture and set aside.  In a separate bowl, stir together sour cream and sparkling wine and set aside.

2.  Using an electric mixer, mix together sugar, melted butter, and oil until well combined.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.  Beat in vanilla extract and continue to beat on medium-high for 3 to 5 minutes until the batter is thicker and lighter in color.  Stop mixing and add 1/3 the flour mixture.  Beat on low until just combined, and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Add half of the wine mixture, beat until just combined.  Repeat with 1/3 of the flour mixture, the remaining wine mixture, and the final 1/3 of the flour mixture.  Be careful not to over mix!  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan with a rubber spatula.

3.  Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, and then turn the cake out on the rack and cool completely.


Ingredients for the Sparkling Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp sparkling wine + additional wine if needed

In a small bowl combine the powdered sugar with 1 tbsp sparkling wine.  Add additional wine, 1 tbsp at a time, until you reach drizzling consistency.  Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

This was really heavenly.  I hope you give it a try!