Last-Minute Cake

Dinner prep was easy tonight (grilled chicken, rice, and salad), so I thought I'd throw something special together for dessert. Here is my adaptation of a recipe I found in this month's Oprah magazine. It's nice, because the cake is made from staples, and I usually have some fruit around to top it. I'm sure it would be good with plums or peaches, any kind of berry--even pineapple would be tasty.

Last-Minute Cake

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
1 stick butter
10 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 egg
2 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
handful of blackberries
juice of half a lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add 6 tablespoons of the sugar and stir. Take the saucepan off of the heat and set it aside for a few minutes to cool. Meanwhile, butter a springform cake pan. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. Slice the apples about 1/4-inch thick and toss with the lemon juice.

Add the egg to the butter/sugar mixture and stir well to combine. Add the dry ingredients and stir together. Turn the cake batter out into the greased pan. Top with the apples and blackberries, arranging prettily. Sprinkle remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar on top of the fruit. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake is done. Serve warm with ice cream for maximum deliciousness.

Nick Tries Sardines

Nick Tries Sardines
Originally uploaded by mickeynick.

We shopped at August Grocery again Friday after school, and Nick found this tin of sardines while I was in the back buying halibut. He wanted to try them, so they came home with us. Turns out Marshall likes them, too. Nick took particular delight in eating the bones. I just really dig the box.

Fun with Mini Marshmallows

Ribs!

It's the first warm Sunday this spring, so it's time to pretend it's summer and throw some ribs on the barbeque. I would have preferred starting these with a good spice rub and slow roasting them in the oven before taking them to the grill for a smoky finish. But, I figure we have all summer to experiment with spices and methods. And yes, those are Christmas lights still up on my balcony railing.

Lentils for Lent

Here's another recipe from Everyday Food; curried lentils with tomato sauce. Served over a hot bed of basmati rice, with a warm piece of naan on the side. Inexpensive, easy, and delicious. I used a new curry powder I got from the Spice House--it was wonderfully piquant.

Homemade Potstickers

Here's an easy weeknight recipe for homemade potstickers. I served these tonight with whole-wheat pasta with snow peas, carrots, red bell peppers and peanut sauce, a riff on a recipe from this month's Everyday Food.

Pretty Good Potstickers

1 package gyoza wrappers
1 lb ground pork
5 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons Whole Foods soy ginger sauce
chicken stock

Mix the pork, green onions, and soy ginger sauce until well combined. Lay two gyoza wrappers on top of one another. Dip your finger in water and "paint" the edges of the wrapper. Fill the wrapper with a scant tablespoon full of the filling, and fold it into a triangle. Lay the potstickers on a parchment lined sheet pan. Refrigerate until ready to cook. Heat a large, nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Fill the pan with potstickers, making sure not to overlap. Let them fry for a couple of minutes until lightly browned on one side. Turn. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of chicken stock. Bring to a boil and cook until most of the stock evaporates and potstickers are brown and crunchy on one side. Serve.