Whole Grain Banana Carrot Muffins

I love Saturday mornings. My eyes open early without an alarm and my socked feet carry me out to the kitchen to put on a pot of water, grind the coffee, and take in the morning sunlight that streams through the kitchen windows. Before me stretches a free day full of promise, and I wonder, “What will I get to cook today?”

On a cold February morning such as this, I was inspired by a ripe banana and the desire for something to warm us inside and out. A hearty, barely sweet something with a tender crumb and an oat-y bite, packed with banana and carrot that make it taste at once healthy and indulgent.

It’s somehow not like banana bread or carrot cake but a thing all its own.  Lovely alongside a freshly brewed cup of coffee – served warm, maybe with a bit of butter.

 

Whole Grain Banana Carrot Muffins

printable recipe

Yield 12 muffins.

2 cups peeled and grated carrots
1 large ripe banana (heaping 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup grapeseed or other mild oil
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Notes: Melted coconut oil also works great in this recipe. It imparts a faintly detectable coconut flavor. The muffins are quite forgiving and work well with alternative flours. (They’re great with finely ground oats in place of the flour.)
A cup or so of walnuts (broken or roughly chopped) is also a great addition!

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with muffin papers.

Combine carrots, banana, sugars, oil, and egg in the bowl of a food processor. Process to combine. (Or beat with a mixer, but I already had the food processor out for grating the carrots.)

In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients. Add dry ingredients to the carrot mixture and process or beat until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs.

Serve warm – alone or with butter.

Whole Wheat Nutella Brownies

I'm a day late on World Nutella Day and about 7 months late on a blog post, but that's okay because I won Valentine's Day, and it's still a week away!  How did I do this? Simple. I made a heart-shaped Nutella brownie.  It was perfectly dense, Nutella-y, and fudgy, and Brian threatened to eat the entire thing in one sitting.

[For the record, I didn’t get around to making these brownies on Nutella Day because we were too full of Nutella and homemade chocolate hazelnut spread (a la David Lebovitz).]

Whole Wheat Nutella Brownies
printable recipe

1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil (or a combo of the two), melted*
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup Nutella, or other chocolate-hazelnut spread, softened slightly
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

*I used 3 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon coconut oil. The hint of coconut in the final product was a nice way to lighten the otherwise very rich flavor just a bit.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan (or a heart-shaped pan, if you have it :)) by greasing with butter or coconut oil and coating with flour.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar.  Add the egg and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Stir in the Nutella.

In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.  Then combine with the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

Spread evenly in prepared baking pan.

Bake for 18-25 minutes, depending on how gooey you like the center.

Cool for about 10 minutes and serve warm, either alone or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

 

Happy (Belated) World Nutella Day and Happy (Early) Valentine's Day!

Even though the official holiday was yesterday, you can still celebrate by enjoying Nutella on its own or in any of the many recipes you’ll find here:

World Nutella Day
Ms Adventures in Italy
Bleeding Espresso

Garlic Scape Carbonara

We're fans of pasta alla carbonara.  Whole wheat  pasta combined with lots of garlic and pepper,  local eggs from healthy chickens, and just enough uncured center-cut bacon make the seemingly indulgent classic a relatively healthy meal as well. (You can even add fresh greens, if you'd like.)

This late spring/early summer version features spicy, tender garlic scapes (the stalks of the garlic plant cut off in spring so the plant can focus all its energy on the garlic bulb) instead of mature garlic cloves.  (Garlic scapes also make a lovely pesto!)

Garlic Scape Carbonara 
printable recipe

Serves 4

12 garlic scapes, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
2 ounces bacon, chopped fine
1.5 oz parmesan, freshly grated
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8oz whole wheat spaghetti
salt

Set a medium pot of water to boil.

Beat eggs lightly and stir in parmesan and pepper, reserving some cheese for topping the finished dish.  Set aside egg mixture.

Heat a 12-inch skillet and cook bacon over medium heat for about 2 minutes, just until the fat begins to render.  Add the garlic scapes.  (Center-cut bacon has less fat, so I added about a teaspoon of grapeseed oil to keep the pan from being too dry.)

Continue cooking garlic scapes and bacon about 10-12 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until the garlic scapes begin to shrivel and brown.  If at any point the pan becomes to dry and food begins to stick, add a splash of water to deglaze.


Meanwhile, generously salt the boiling water and cook pasta until al dente. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and drain the pasta.  Immediately add cooked pasta to the pan with the garlic scapes and bacon.  Toss over medium heat with a splash of cooking water.  Reduce heat to the lowest setting and add egg/cheese mixture, tossing over low heat, just long enough for the sauce to thicken and adhere to pasta.  If you notice the eggs beginning to cook, immediately remove pan from heat an continue tossing.


Serve immediately topped with remaining parmesan cheese.

Classic Basil Pesto and Pasta alla Genovese

It’s great to be back in the kitchen!  After spending the last few months buying a house, moving, attending night/weekend work events, and rehearsing and performing a show, we had one of our first free evenings at home.  It was wonderful. I put together a patio table, tended my tomatoes and herbs, and made dinner! I even had the time to make notes as I cooked and hauled out the camera to take pictures of said dinner.  It was CSA delivery day, so many of these ingredients made it onto the table the same day they left the farm.

Basil pesto is very dear to my heart (and palate for that matter).  It was one of the first recipes I mastered and one of my first forays outside the world of spaghetti and tomato sauce.

My "greener" pasta alla genovese is so called because this particular recipe has a much larger ratio of green beans and potatoes to pasta than the original.  For a more traditional version, halve the amount of potatoes and green beans and double the pasta (1 pound of each ingredient).

Classic Basil Pesto

printable recipe
Yields about 1 ¼ cups.

2 oz fresh basil leaves, washed
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 small-medium cloves of garlic
1/3 cup (1¾ oz) pine nuts
1 oz parmigiano reggiano, freshly grated (about 1 cup, if using a fine Microplane)
salt to taste (if needed)

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a food processor. Process about 5 seconds.  Scrape down sides and repeat.  Add cheese and process until ingredients are combined and reaches desired consistency.  Taste for salt and add olive oil if pesto is too dry.

Use immediately or store as follows:
refrigerator: in an air tight container with a layer of olive oil over the top (up to 2 weeks)
freezer: freeze in an ice cube tray; transfer to a freezer-safe sealed container (up to 3 months)

"Greener" Pasta alla Genovese

printable recipe
Serves 6 as a main course.

For a more traditional version, use 1 pound each of potatoes, beans, and pasta.

2 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into ½-inch pieces
2 pounds fresh green beans, washed, ends snipped and cut in half
8oz farfalle pasta (or other short shape)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup basil pesto
freshly grated parmesan, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt.  Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. With a mesh or slotted spoon, remove the potatoes to a large bowl.

Return the water to a boil.  In a second large bowl, prepare an ice bath for the beans. Add the beans and cook for 3-5 minutes, until crisp-tender.  Remove beans with a mesh or slotted spoon and immediately submerge in ice bath to halt cooking. After a few minutes in the ice bath, drain the beans and add them to the potatoes.

Add more water if needed to cook the pasta. Return water to a boil, and add the remaining tablespoon salt.  Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water and drain pasta.

In a large bowl, combine the pesto and a splash of cooking water.  Stir, adding more water as needed to great a smooth sauce. Add warm pasta, potatoes and beans. Toss to combine. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Whole Wheat Crackers with Poppy Seed and Thyme

Around here, we love snacking on crackers.  For all the things I insist on making from scratch, it wasn’t until recently that I even realized I could make crackers at home. 

I came across a cracker recipe in one of my cookbooks, Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads, and decided to give it a whirl.  I was surprised at how easy and relatively quick it was to make crackers at home.

As always, one of the things I love about cooking from scratch is that I get to control the ingredients. A lot of crackers are too sweet or too salty, and many contain ingredients that we'd rather not eat.  These contain healthy oils, local honey, and organic whole wheat flour. As is generally the case with homemade food, they’re much less expensive to make than to buy in the store.

These crackers were inspired by the recipe in Whole Grain Breads. In my opinion, they’re just about right: crispy; not too sweet, not too salty; plenty of flavor on their own but still go well with cheeses and dips.

Whole Wheat Crackers with Poppy Seed and Thyme
printable recipe

Makes 14 servings (about 14oz of baked crackers).

2 cups whole wheat flower
¾ cups water
¾ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil
1 ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir until ingredients come together and begin to form a cohesive mass.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 3 minutes until smooth.

Cover with plastic wrap or a damp, lint-free towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

On a clean work surface, drizzle a few drops of oil and spread in a thin layer.

Roll out dough with a rolling pin until about 1/16 inch thick.  If the dough shrinks back, allow it to rest for 5 minutes, then roll again. 
Cut the dough into strips using a pizza cutter. Carefully lift each strip of dough and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place strips about 1/4-inch apart. When the pan is full, cut the strips cross-ways to create squares.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the crackers begin to turn golden.  (Cooking time will vary depending on dough thickness and they can go from just underdone to burned quite quickly, so check early and often.)

Place pan on a cooling rack.  Crackers will crisp as they cool.

Enjoy plain, with cheese, hummus, or however you like!

Kale Love

The first time I tried kale, I was pretty sure it wasn't for me. I had seen a post claiming that baked kale chips were perfect for people who don't like kale.  Since I didn’t know whether or not I liked kale, I thought the recipe would be a good introduction and a good use of the kale we had gotten in one of our weekly produce boxes.  We were more than a little disappointed.  Maybe I overcooked them (it's tough to tell when a dark green leaf starts to turn brown), but the chips tasted like burnt popcorn.

It was a couple months before we tried kale again, but when we did, we went for the other extreme: raw kale salad.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I (and the rest of my family) like it, and I started making a point of looking for kale whenever I was at the farmers market. 

Two years later, kale has become a staple around our house. It's one of my favorite greens and one we've practically survived on this winter (our first back in Arkansas without the luxury of the year-round Dupont Circle Farmers Market).  Even when local produce was scarce at our co-op and the pickings slim at the small winter market, there was always kale.  (And now that it's spring, we’re still seeing plenty of it.)

I've made this dish at least once a week over the winter. It's quick, and the ingredients are fairly easy to keep on hand.  If I don't know what to make for dinner or don't feel like spending the evening in the kitchen, I make this.  We’re still surprised at how good it is every time we sit down to a bowl of pasta with kale and carrots.

It's also a forgiving recipe. Have another vegetable on hand? Add it to the pan! Love lots of garlic in everything? Throw that in too! Veggies starting to stick to the pan but the pasta's not done? Deglaze with some white wine and keep them going until you’re ready to add the kale.

Pasta with Kale and Carrots
printable recipe

Serves 4.

8 oz. dried short pasta (whole wheat or regular; we love farfalle)
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (or other sautéing oil)

2 medium carrots
½ red onion (optional)
2 small or 1 large bunch kale (we've been using a locally grown black kale)

2 ounces freshly grated parmesan

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper


Bring a 4-quart pot of water to boil.

Wash kale, remove tough ends of stems, and roughly chop.

When water is boiling, salt generously and add pasta.
Heat about a tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a 12-inch skillet.  Peel carrots and slice about ⅛ inch thick.  Chop onion if using.  Add onions and carrots and cook until softened and just beginning to brown, stirring occasionally.  Add kale when the pasta is almost done and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
When pasta is al dente, reserve ½ cup cooking liquid and drain pasta.

Add pasta, half the cheese, and about half of the reserved pasta cooking liquid to the pan of vegetables.  Toss over medium heat about 2 minutes.  If it looks dry, add a bit more cooking water or extra virgin olive oil.

Serve immediately topped with remaining parmesan cheese.

Variation: This dish is also great with roasted tomatoes—not enough to make a sauce, but just enough to color the dish and add some extra brightness and flavor. Add them to the pan a couple minutes before adding the kale.  (Of course, I recommend using tomatoes preserved from last summer, but I’m sure a jarred store-bought variety would also be good.)

Greens alla Carbonara (a compromise)

It’s an almost nightly discussion—what to have for dinner. My meat-loving husband wants something…well, meaty and hearty, and I want something leafy and green.  Since I do most of the cooking and we don’t buy a lot of meat, I usually win on the dinner front. However, I almost never object to a bit of bacon or sausage for some extra flavor (and we almost always have a bit tucked away in the freezer). 

The following dish was born out of my desire for something a little healthier and Brian’s love for traditional spaghetti alla carbonara. 

For this version, I went heavy on the eggs and light on the bacon, with a big helping of sautéed greens.  Brian agreed that it wasn’t any less satisfying than the Roman classic. 

Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Leafy Greens 
printable recipe
Serves 2.

4 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
2 eggs
1 ounce freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1 large bunch tendergreen mustard* or other cooking green
2 teaspoons olive or grapeseed oil
1 ounce bacon, finely chopped
5 small garlic cloves, whole with skins removed
freshly ground black pepper
salt

Set a large pot of water to boil.  Beat the eggs in a bowl.  Set aside.

To prepare the greens, remove the tough ends of the stalks (if any) and roughly chop the greens.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high in a 12-inch skillet.  When the oil is hot, quickly sauté the greens with a couple pinches of salt.  (This should be fairly quick, almost like stir-fry.)  When the greens are wilted, remove from pan and set aside.  Lower heat to medium.

Add the bacon.  When the fat begins to render, add the garlic cloves.  Sauté, stirring occasionally until bacon is cooked and garlic is browned.  Remove from heat. Remove garlic and press through a garlic press or chop.  Add back to pan.

In well-salted, boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente. Before draining, scoop out about ½ cup cooking water.  Drain pasta.

Return the pan to medium heat.  Add pasta to and about ¼ cup cooking liquid to bacon.  Toss over heat for 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add half of parmesan and beaten eggs and quickly toss to coat pasta.  If needed for desired consistency, add a bit more cooking water.  Add lots of ground black pepper, most of the remaining parmesan, and the greens.  Toss to combine. 

Serve immediately topped with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

*I came across this locally grown green at our co-op, where it was simply labeled “tender greens.” A staff member assured me that it was a good cooking variety. Some searching revealed that this green is in the mustard family and is often called “tendergreen mustard greens” or “tendergreen mustard spinach.” The bunch I bought was quite long and slender and fairly pale green in color.  For a green related to mustard, it was surprisingly (and pleasantly) not spicy. 

Roasted Turnips and Sweet Potatoes

It's been two months since my last post.  I could tell you about how busy it's been and about the queue of recipes I've been meaning to post (which I will get to eventually), but for the sake of actually getting something posted, I'll just offer the following:

It's a recipe.  I made it last night.  It's simple and winter-y and satisfying, and the sweet potatoes are just the right compliment to the spicier turnips. The ingredients (except the salt and olive oil) came from the last delivery of our winter CSA.

Roasted Turnips and Sweet Potatoes

printable recipe

Serves 2-3.

8-10 small turnips (or 4-5 medium)
2 small sweet potatoes
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons olive oil
5-6 leaves sage, finely chopped (about 2 teaspoons)
6 small cloves garlic, whole in skin

Preheat oven to 400F.

Halve the vegetables lengthwise and slice into 1/4-inch-thick pieces.  In a 9x13 baking pan, toss all ingredients except the garlic.  Add the garlic (whole and still in the skin).

Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes, stirring halfway through, until vegetables are tender and edges are browned.

Remove dish from oven.  Remove garlic from skins and roughly chop.  Gently fold chopped garlic with the rest of the vegetables.  Serve immediately.

Cannellini Crostini

This was another of the dishes served at my sister’s baby shower.  Once again, I made a large batch for the party, but am posting a scaled-down version here.

I've been really into using dried beans lately.  Their simplicity, versatility, heartiness, and economy are unparalleled. And they can be turned into and endless variety of dips and spreads that are an inexpensive addition to any party menu.  The rosemary makes this version particularly nice during the winter.

The method for soaking and cooking dried beans can be found in a previous post on using dried garbanzo beans for hummus (also linked below).

Cannellini Crostini



Makes about 3 dozen crostini.

2 cups cannellini beans, soaked and cooked (from 6.5 ounces dry beans)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small sprig rosemary (½ minced, ½ whole on stem)

1-2 cloves garlic

salt, to taste

sundried tomatoes, sliced into thin strips

1 baguette or other rustic bread, sliced about ¼-inch thick (I used Peter Reinhart’s whole wheat pain all’ancienne.) 

Optional: Rub bread slices with the cut side of a clove of garlic, brush lightly with olive oil, and toast in a 350° oven until golden brown – 10-15 minutes.

Heat oil over medium heat in a small pan.  Then add whole garlic clove and rosemary (minced and whole).  Simmer garlic and rosemary in oil for about 5 minutes.

Remove any large pieces of rosemary and set aside. Press (or mince) the cooked garlic clove.

In a medium bowl, combine oil, garlic, and beans.  Beat with electric mixer until they begin to form a cohesive mass.  (Don’t puree, leaving some whole beans adds nice texture to the spread.) 

Season with salt, to taste.

Spread a small amount (2-3 teaspoons) on toasted baguette slices and top with a sliver of sundried tomato.

Variation: Serve as a dip/spread in a bowl with crackers, pita, or bread on the side.

Mini Quiche with Chard and Red Onion

I made these for my sister’s baby shower, and they were a huge hit!  I made a large batch for a total of about 150 mini quiches.  The recipe below is scaled down for a smaller audience.

Mini Quiche with Chard and Red Onion

Makes about 60 mini quiches.

Crust
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
2½ sticks unsalted butter (20 tablespoons), cut into ½-inch pieces
6-7 tablespoons ice water

Combine the salt and both flours in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine.

Add butter and pulse until all the butter is coated in flour and the largest pieces are the size of small peas.
Add the water, a few tablespoons at a time, and pulse until the mixture forms a cohesive mass.

Turn out onto a floured surface.  Gather and press the dough into a ball.  Add flour or water if the dough is too sticky or too dry.  Divide into 3 pieces.  Form each piece into a ball, flatten into a ½-inch thick disk, and refrigerate for at least one hour (and up to two days).

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Lightly grease 3 mini muffin tins (24 cups each, 1¾-inch diameter muffin cups), or you can reuse one muffin tin.

Remove chilled dough from refrigerator, one piece at a time.  On a well flour surface, between two pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap, or on a pastry mat, roll the dough until it is 1/16 inch thick. 

Using a small round cookie or biscuit cutter (2 to 2½ inches in diameter), cut circles from dough.  Gently press the circles of dough into mini muffin tins.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  The crust will not be completely cooked at this point, but should be set and barely beginning to brown on the edges.  

Allow to cool in the pan for 3-4 minutes.  Then carefully remove to cool on a wire rack.

Filling
1 small bunch of chard, washed and chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ large red onion, chopped
4 teaspoons butter
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup cream
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
pinch nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)
4 oz freshly grated aged goat cheese, or other flavorful cheese (I used Midnight Moon “Cypress Grove,” and it was perfect.)

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange par-baked shells on the parchment paper.

In a large pan over medium, heat 1½ teaspoons of oil. And chopped chard and cook, stirring, until wilted – about 3 minutes. Remove chard from pan and set aside. 

Add butter to the pan. When melted, add chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Cook onion over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes, until translucent, soft, and sweet. Removed from heat; add to chard and gently toss to combine. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, milk, and cream; salt, pepper, and nutmeg. 
Divide chard mixture between the par-baked pastry shells.  Top each with a sprinkle of cheese and about a tablespoon of egg.  Alternatively, you can stir the vegetables and cheese into the egg mixture and divide evenly among all pastry shells.

Bake for about 14 minutes, until mixture is just set.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

An Eco-Friendly Baby Shower

In just a few short weeks, I’m going to be an aunt!  I can’t wait!

Back in September, I helped plan and catered a baby shower for my sister.  The menu was designed to be eco- and pregnancy-friendly, with a focus on high-quality, seasonal, organic ingredients for mama, baby, and guests.

The invitations were printed on recycled paper produced with “100% green hydroelectric power” (great paper and great customer service). 

Beverages were served in mason jars that will be re-used for canning.

The Menu

• Mini quiche (recipe): whole wheat pastry crust, wilted rainbow chard, caramelized red onions, Cypress Grove “Midnight Moon” goat cheese.
• Cannellini bean crostini: from dried beans; with rosemary, garlic, extra virgin olive oil,  and sundried tomatoes.
• Spinach salad: dried cranberries, toasted pumpkin seeds, “Bellavitano Raspberry” cheese, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
• Carrot cake: with cream cheese frosting; made with organic ingredients; icing dyed with natural, vegetable-based food coloring.

Baby Cake

This cake was my last big baking project in my DC kitchen.  I was going to do a “wordless Wednesday” post, since we’ve been so ridiculously busy lately getting ready for the move and getting in some quality time with our friends (and the city) before we go.  But I couldn’t help myself…

I’ve been in this kitchen for just over three years, but I’ve learned so much in it.  My blog was born here, and there’ve been lots of other firsts along the way.

A little over a year ago, I made my first-ever three-tiered cake for a post-wedding party for a couple of my favorite people.  This past weekend, I made my last cake in DC for that same couple’s baby shower!

Getting the frosting color just right.
(I’m wearing a Caps t-shirt for the occasion.  How Washingtonian of me.)

I planned ahead and spread the baking and assembly out over two nights, but  I probably should have taken three.  The night before the shower was a late one (and appropriately so, since pretty much every other big baking project I’ve ever done has kept me up until the wee hours) – but it was totally worth it.

For the cake, I went with a 12-inch base tier of Cooks Illustrated’s “Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake” and a 9-inch top tier of Cooks Illustrated’s Sour Cream Fudge Layer Cake, which didn’t rise anywhere near as much as I thought it should and was more like a brownie or flourless torte than a layer cake.  I ended up needing to make a second batch (which also didn’t rise much) to get the height I wanted for the top tier – but the flavor was amazing.  The frosting was a basic vanilla buttercream.

Post-cake chaos…
I don’t know what I’m going to do without this island.

Are you really taking my picture at 3 o’clock in the morning?

The top. Inspired by this design.

 

Detail.

Shower time!

I’m certainly going to miss my kitchen and excuses to make huge cakes for my DC friends. 

Only 14 days until our big move…

Celebration and Anticipation

As August draws to a close, we have so many reasons to celebrate:  birthdays, anniversaries, coming out of two natural disasters (within 5 days) unscathed, and anticipating the beginning of a brand new chapter of our lives!

August has always been one of my favorite months.  Yes, it’s hot.  Yes, its arrival means that summer freedom is coming to a close and school will soon be back in session.  But it’s also the month of my birthday!  (And my mom’s; I love that we share the same day.)  For over a decade, it was also the month of an annual extended family beach trip.  And for the last three years, it’s been the month of Brian’s and my wedding anniversary.  So it’s a great month.

This year August was even more eventful than usual.  I spent almost every weekend working on a film (rather than my usual sleeping in and going to the farmers market and cooking and blogging).  I was also in the midst of a will-we-or-won’t-we-be-moving-across-the-country-next-month quandary, which was causing me more than a little anxiety.

Happily, everything seems to be turning out even better than we’d hoped.

A couple of days before my birthday, I was offered a wonderful and unique opportunity for a new job at an organization whose work I admire and that is actually in the same field as my graduate degree. (Imagine that.) I accepted the position on the morning of my birthday, which happened to also be the same day as my first earthquake ever. Maybe it means that this coming year is going to be particularly …. vibrant? Moving? Earth-shaking? Or maybe it doesn’t mean anything.

The new job means a new city and a cross-country move. Actually, we’re moving back home. We’ll be within driving distance of our families, close to lots of friends, and finally in a position to get a house with a yard, where I’ll finally get to grow some vegetables of my own(!).  

I've learned a lot in my 5 years in DC. We’ve enjoyed our city life, but we’re at a point where being close to our families is a priority, where the comforts and ease of small-town living are more alluring, and the inconveniences of the city are starting to outweigh the advantages. A five- to ten-minute commute is also pretty appealing.

Guess what?  I blew them all out in one breath.

Our destination town is Fayetteville, where Brian and I first met and where we both attended the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is a charming place nestled in the beautiful Ozark Mountains.  It’s a top college town and boasts a lively arts scene, a brand-new American art museum (nearby), and a 60-stall farmers market.  It’s a place where college football passions run high and cost of living runs low.  It’s also the home of some of my favorite people in the world.  

Oh, but it does get hot there.  And there’s no Trader Joe’s within a 199-mile radius. (The closest one is exactly 200 miles away.  I checked.)  Whole Foods is 180 miles away.  I’m already anxious about where we’ll find our favorite cheeses.  (Yes, I mean you, Santa Teresa.) Is it possible to buy cheese online?   On the upside, there is a great locally owned natural foods store (a co-op, in fact) that I’m excited to explore.

September 28 will officially be our last day in the District.

John F. Kennedy said that “Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm.” 

He knew what he was talking about, and there are a number of things we won’t miss about the city, including the WMATA with its myriad problems and those of the DC/MD/VA drivers who refuse to use their blinkers or turn their lights on in the rain.

On the other hand, there are plenty of things we will miss about DC. I’ll miss my kitchen and its humongous island (but hopefully I’ll find a new one with equally excellent counter space). We’ll miss having the year-round Dupont farmers market and our neighborhood14th and U farmers market, Ethiopian food, and great grocery stores.  We’ll miss the U Street Corridor; wine happy hour and bocce at Vinoteca; fried oysters and gypsy jazz at 1905.  I’ll miss the shopping (but not the inconvenience of getting there).  We'll miss impromptu weekend trips to New York City that don't require a plane ticket. We’ll miss the view from our rooftop deck and seeing the Washington Capitals play live.   We’ll miss the parish we’ve grown to love and the beautiful Masses at the Basilica.  Most of all, we’ll miss our DC and New York friends. But we'll have great excuses to come back and visit.

So, here’s to August 2011, and all that the next year has to offer!