Only on your birthday.

In a perfect world I could serve a cake with one slice missing. I could make a cake in the daylight hours, cut a slice out and spend 20 minutes taking pictures, changing settings, creating the scene around the plate. In this way I could photograph properly; in the right light, at my leisure, before people arrive instead of quickly rushing to snap pictures and then scurrying off with a slice for a rushed mini photo shoot while everyone else eats and mingles. If I could just take one slice out I wouldn't have to worry that my pictures won't come out in the dim evening light. If I could just take one slice out, I could even put it back untouched. I could be clever about it and spread the frosting just so.* Then no one would notice right away. They may, however, find it strange when they don't see me snapping away at the shutter and would quickly discover what had transpired. Of course since it's a perfect world, it would be okay.  

However, since we don't live in a perfect world, and I can't actually take a slice out of a cake made for someone else, I reserve this right for my own birthday cake. 

It's my birthday, it's my cake, I made it, I do what I want. 

I took a piece out this afternoon, photographed it and ate it, right there as I was lying on the floor with the camera. Then without even thinking twice I cut another one and ate that too. 

If I had predicted what part of this cake I would like best I easily would have guessed the frosting; but when I tasted it, it was not the frosting, but the actual cake that demanded another taste. Sure the frosting complemented it nicely but it was the cake that I wanted to keep eating bite by delectable bite.

I'm not sure why I made a carrot cake. It's certainly not my favorite cake but something pulled me to it. When I thought of what I would make for today, I didn't even blink twice. This was it, I was certain - I wanted this cake. My mouth must have already known the warm autumn flavor that awaits, my nose already taking in the rich cinnamon emanating from my oven and lingering on as it bakes. I think it was the frosting that caught my attention, after all what sounds better than fresh ricotta lightly sweetened with maple syrup?? In the end though, the frosting was a bit disappointing, forgettable, the maple flavor almost too faint to detect. On the other hand the cake, well the cake was perfect. Moist and richly flavored with cinnamon, the prefect texture thanks to finely ground carrots instead of coarsely grated. I did as Shannalee suggested and baked it the day before to let the flavors come together, don't skip this step and you too will posses a deep seated need to cut a slice (or two) before you serve it to anyone else. Just remember, only on your birthday.

*This is sort of like the cut-a-piece-of-cake-from-middle-and-fill-it-with-frosting trick 

Spelt Carrot Cake

Adapted from Ripe the Organic Grocer via Food Loves Writing

I used a 10-inch spring form pan because I didn't want to buy a 9-inch round - either works fine.

Replace the white whole wheat flour with white spelt flour to make this gluten free. Next time I might even just try 100% whole grain spelt flour.

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 cup whole grain spelt flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups raw turbinado sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 large eggs

3/4 cup olive oil

1 pound carrots processed finely in a food processor

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix eggs lightly. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add egg and oil, and mix through. Add grated carrot, then mix till combined. Bake in a greased nine-inch-round cake pan lined with greased parchment paper, for around 35 to 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from tin.

Ricotta Maple Frosting

To address my disappointment in the frosting - next time I'm going to try smoothing out the ricotta in a food processor and straining it in cheesecloth (the way I would for cannoli filling). Then beating it with vanilla and maple syrup and gradually adding just a bit of powered sugar to thicken it as needed. If its not too thin without the powered sugar then I'll leave that out and add 1 extra tablespoon of maple syrup instead. For now I have left the recipe as is.

2 cups fresh ricotta

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix ingredients together with a spoon

Frost cake.

The act of cooking.

Although I eat my fair share of pizza and can't resist a good Chinese dumpling, I'm adamant about avoiding takeout when I move. It's never really been intentional but I realized that I pretty much never order food or go out to eat in the days that I spend unpacking. I don't think it really has much to do with the food but rather the act of cooking itself. It brings some semblance of normalcy to otherwise upside down days. It's a reminder that not everything has changed; I can still cook. I can still put an egg in a pan and in a few minutes it'll turn out sunny-side up. I can still beat butter with sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour and make a homey cake (with plums stuck in the top). 

Eggs with spicy zucchini and peppers

serves 1

olive oil

1 egg

1 egg white (you can freeze the yolk for a later date)

1 baby zucchini, sliced into coins

half a red bell pepper, chopped

thinly sliced parmesan cheese

hot paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Crack one and and one egg white in a bowl. Make sure not to break the yolk, set aside.

heat olive oil in a small frying pan over medium high heat.

When oil is hot add zucchini and red pepper.

Add hot paprika salt and pepper to taste (I like to do this early on because it will cook into the edge of the zucchini and make a bit of a crust if you use enough).

saute the zucchini and pepper in olive oil until zucchini is golden, about 7 minutes.

push zucchini and peppers to one side of the pan and pour a tiny bit of oil on the empty side. Let it heat up then slide the egg and egg white into the pan. The white should spread to encompass the vegetables but the yolk will stay neatly nestled next to it. Add salt and pepper to the egg and cover with a lid. Cook until egg white is set and yolk is desired consistency (I like mine more runny). About one minute before yolk is done, lift lid and place slices of parmesan on top of eggs and vegetables. replace the lid and heat until melted.

Remove from the pan and enjoy!

Brussel Sprouts with Romano Cheese and Lentils

This is the only thing I've cooked in at least a week and I'm not sure it really counts as cooking. Just a little steaming, boiling and grating and lunch (or dinner) is ready. You see, I have a new job. Have I told you about my new job? WHAT!? I haven't? Oh my. 
I'm also moving. I haven't told you about that yet either? Oh wow. We have some catching up to do.

[New boots for a new job and a new Autumn]

Sunday was my first day working for the New Amsterdam Market in South Street Seaport (downtown Manhattan). I'm an intern so I set up the market in the morning (bright and early which explains the 6am sunrise pictures) and hang out for a few hours during the market helping out vendors and milling around. If you are in the area you should definitely come down and check it out. Right now it's market season until december 19th which means we are there every Sunday (except November 28th), rain, snow, sun whatever. We're there. I'm doing some other work for them during the week as well but the job is not what's taking up all my time - at least not yet. It's the moving. Mostly because I don't know where I'm moving to. However the search may be coming to a close this week (so let's all cross our fingers that it goes smoothly). In which case I'll have some actual packing and moving to do and hope to be settled as soon as possible. After all, fall is my favorite season (in case you haven't figured that out) and I want to make apple sauce, brisket, apple crisp, butternut squash soup, chicken soup, braised mushrooms, apple pie, pumpkin pie and lots of things with prune plums - in no specific order (although prune plum season is coming to an end). 

[Jack's Coffee Shop, South Street Seaport]

Right now I've been dragging home all these wonderful fruits, vegetables, breads, meats and of course apple cider from the Market and eating them as close to their natural form as possible. Like these brussel sprouts for instance; steamed and tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and Romano. The little baby ones are my favorite. 

Brussel Sprouts with Romano Cheese and Lentils

Serves 1

1/4 cup green lentils (dry measure) - I like sprouted but regular work fine

175g brussel sprouts (about 1 1/2 cups), with the base trimmed off

1 tsp olive oil

Juice from half of a lemon

Salt and pepper

Freshly grated romano cheese

Cook the lentils according to the directions. Toss with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Steam the trimmed brussel sprouts until cooked through but still firm. Length of time will vary depending on size, mine took about 7 minutes.

Toss with oil, salt and pepper. Pour on top of lentils.

Sprinkle with freshly grated Romano and serve with a cold glass of apple cider.

Walnut Pesto

There were giant bunches of basil staring me down at the farm stand. They said:
"My only desire in my short basil-y life is to be pesto."
And so I acquiesced.
Basil can be very persuasive. 

Walnut Pesto

Makes about 6oz

A couple roasted garlic cloves, more or less to taste

1 ounce fresh basil leaves

1 ounce walnuts

3 tablespoons grated romano or parmesan cheese

1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

juice from half of a lemon

a few pinches of salt

First roast the garlic. (click here to learn how)

Next, combine garlic, basil and walnuts in a food processor and process for 30 seconds or until chopped fairly evenly. While the food processor is still running drizzle in olive oil, then the cheese and lemon juice. Add salt to taste but remember the cheese is salty already.

Toss pesto with warm pasta, or spread on crusty baguette (my favorite way to eat it). Also makes a great spread for sandwiches, a base for bruschetta, or pizza; and it's delicious mixed with ricotta, in calzones and stuffed shells.

An August Sun.

Have you ever noticed how the sun feels different in different seasons or even during the same one. Sometimes it's a gradual change and sometimes it's a quick flip flop. You go to bed one night exhausted from the humidity and wake up the next morning to the forgiving dry heat of late summer. The air is less heavy, the sun is in a different place and, oh my, there is a breeze! Green tomatoes turn red, stone fruits are suddenly sweeter, and basil continues to grow in abundance. The sun is a little lower in the sky than it was at the same hour just a month before, but that's not all; somehow, some way, it's just a little different. You can't quite explain why, it's just different than it was a few days before.

Last saturday, that is precisely what happened. It was still just July 31st but I woke up to an August sun.
For me, August is the summer that I love. It's the month of fresh tomato salads and more local corn that you thought you could ever possibly eat. It's zucchini from one of the only two remaining farms in Nassau County. It's homemade pickles (recipe soon!), long bike rides and ice cream after rock climbing (soft serve please!). Best of all, it's the month of assembling foods instead of cooking them; because the best way to eat foods this fresh, is with minimal alteration.

I stumbled across Shannalees's post about peaches and basil and the recipe looked so good that it was the very next thing I ate. Coincidentally, I seem to want a cool blob of  ricotta cheese on everything that I eat these days and that's exactly what was dropped on top of her open-face sandwich.


Because I have to be difficult, I made a few of my own changes like, adding arugula, leaving off the butter and honey and swapping the sourdough for whole seeded rye (it's what I had at home). I also swapped the peach for a nectarine because, again, it's what I had at home.

Nectarines and Basil on Toast

Adapted from Food Loves Writing. 

Serves one.

One large slice whole rye bread (or whatever sliced bread you like)

Small handful baby arugula or baby spinach

One nectarine, sliced

A couple leaves of fresh basil (I picked it from my garden!)

A few blobs of ricotta (If you're near NYC I like Colabro brand the best)

Sea salt and black pepper

Toast bread. Top with arugula then sliced nectarine and basil. Drop small blobs of ricotta on top and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. 

Enjoy immediately!

Something new to me.

I'm not sure how I feel about raw asparagus. I love them cooked and always have; blanched, steamed, roasted, bar-b-qued until they're blackened and carmelized with balsamic vinegar. But raw? Raw was something new to me, something I hadn't thought of. But, as with anything else, food is susceptible to trends and when one person in blog world writes about an idea, it catches on. Other's will try it, add their own twist, link to it, and spread the word. Soon google reader is filled with variations on the original recipe and everyone's joining the party.

Shaved raw asparagus has become one of those trends - sure it may not be as big as the french macaron explosion of 2009 but then, few foods are. There may be a confounding variable at work here, after all asparagus season is short and they tend to dominate vegetable consumption during this time but, still, I've been seeing just as many raw recipes as I have roasted.

As I said earlier, I'm not sure how I feel out it but I've made this salad a handful of times in the past weeks so something much be drawing me to it - maybe it's the crunch. Try it yourself and see.

Shaved Asparagus and Arugula Salad

Serves 4 as a side or 2-3 as a main course.

1 bunch raw asparagus, woody ends snapped off

4 handfuls baby arugula

Shaved fresh Pecorino Romano cheese

Fresh ground sea salt and black pepper

White balsamic vinaigrette (recipe below)

Place a large handful of arugula in each of four bowls and set aside.

Cut the tips off the asparagus and set aside.

Using a vegetable peeler, shave the asparagus into long strips and divide them amongst the four bowls of arugula.

Top each bowl with the asparagus tips, salt, pepper and shavings of the Romano cheese.

Drizzle with white balsamic dressing and eat immediately.

White Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is really more a recipe of proportions than specific measurments. Typically the ratio of oil to vinegar or acid is 2:1 respectively but, because I like mine sharper, I do 1:1.

White balsamic vinegar

Good olive oil

All natural dijon mustard

In a small bowl whisk together 1 part vinegar and 1 part olive oil. Whisk in enough mustard to thicken the mixture and add a tang (about 1 teaspoon for every serving of dressing). Can be refrigerated about a week or so in an airtight container.