Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Happy New Year!

Jewish New Year, that is, and boy is this a wonderful cake to celebrate the occasion. Joel mentioned that his boss, Mike, was hunting down stores in the area that sold Honey Cake for Jewish New Year, and had only found a couple. I was intrigued. Clearly, I needed to hunt down a recipe.I found a very promising version on Epicurious.com from Marcy Goldman's book; A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking. The recipe got a 97% approval rating on the site, and that's impressive, so I made it this week. It's a lightly spiced (cinnamon, allspice, cloves, vanilla) zucchini bread-type cake, but better—orange juice, coffee (or brewed black tea), oil, honey and whiskey (optional) all add to the moistness of the cake too. It was delicious, and Mike agreed. Apparently, the Honey Cake that he's had in the past had a courser crumb, and was not as sweet. But, he prefers this recipe, so here it is. Definitely a keeper!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Plum Cardamom Kuchen

I love the Smitten Kitchen blog — fabulous recipes, inspiring stuff, really. And, as Deb always has the best recipes, and I'm always looking for a plum recipe this time of year to accomodate the bounty of our tree... I made her Plum Kuchen tonight (and roasted some zucchini and did my fave chard recipe too... harvest time in our garden!)
Uh-MAZE-ing!! Amazing depth of flavor, perfect tart-sweetness of plums, light but hearty... really. I didn't have lemons to zest, so I ground up some cardamom to throw in. Fab. Try it.

A Side of... Rainbows



Rainbow chard has been my fave veggie this summer, and I created a really easy recipe that is delicious and a power-house of nutrition!

Rainbow Chard Saute

1/2-1 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 large bunches of Rainbow Chard, ribs removed
1 can S&W Pinquinto beans (pre-seasoned with cumin, garlic, etc.)
4-6 oz. of crumbled goat cheese

Chop the chard into small pieces (maybe 1/2-inch square), then toss in preheated olive oil - in a saute pan. Wilt it down fairly well, then dump in the can of beans. Toss and cook a couple minutes more, then remove from heat. Sprinkle goat cheese of top and toss once. Serve immediately.

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