The beginning of the week started off with cabin time with family and friends. All the sisters went up with their kids and we ate food, made bracelets, walked to the river, and just hung out for the afternoon. Seeing the family is (almost) always a good time. Then the mr and I ventured our way to our secret camping spot, went for a little hike, then ate our dinner in a park where I watched the mr open a can of beans for me by rubbing it against a rock. It was like magic, especially because I was starving and was smashing the end of the can like a rabid beast against, well everything. I forgot to bring the can opener for my can of beans which could have been the end of me. Luck for me the mr is so good and I never will need a can opener again. Anyway we ended up not camping out for the night. Our main reason for camping was to see the meteor shower, but the sky was all clouded so we couldn’t see squat. Plus the mr was tired and feeling sore, I was little tired, so we just headed back home. When we got home we sat under the slightly less cloudy sky in the backyard for a bit until the mr sprayed bug spray that turned into bug bomb and that not only kept all the bugs away, kept me away too. He had to take shower to ge the stink off and still he smelled. The smell lingered for days.. And to think it was just essential oils. Then we slept in our bed which was way more comfortable then usual because we were really suppose to be sleeping on the ground.
The rest of the week went as usual. Had little bursts of rain, although never quite enough to help the heat, only enough to up the humidity. Qui came over for dinner where he drank out a a mug with his face all over it and tried to talk the mr into getting his own scooter. I told the mr if he wants one, well then he should go for it. But I don’t think its happening any time soon. Barb and So came over for lunch and spent time harvesting all the goodies out of the garden. So picked a watermelon that turned out to be not quite ripe (so sad) and Barb picked all the kale that she could stand picking. Other then that, there was farm share, lots of running around, a chocolate zucchini cake, and the realization that I have Summer Seasonal Affective Disorder. (yes, it is a thing) A well rounded, semi productive, way to hot, week.
And then there was yesterday. It was amazing. Sure I was at work inside most of the day glazing hundreds of pots that little kids made, but when I got out, the sky was covered in big grey clouds with a slight rainy drizzle. The temperature was like 68 degrees, and there was a cool breeze. I might have even gotten a slight chill. It was everything that I have needed all Summer long. Seriously, to much warmth and sunshine is not good for me. I need cool rainy(dare I say snowy) days to help keep that balance, so yesterday really hit the spot. I was even able to wear a long sleeve shirt for like the first time in months. And when I went to bed, I was able to sleep under the blanket. So nice. So nice.
And we made it to today. The mr and I were talking last night about going comping today so we might do that. Or we might not and just veg out for the day here at home, maybe stop in to see the littles that are home from sleep away camp. I am leaning towards camping. We skipped out last week and if the nights are going to be anything like last tonight, ( nice and cool), a fire will be ever so lovely and welcome. And I am sure the mr would love to do some fishing and I of course can be happy reading and drinking coffee just about anywhere.
Stuff I read on the Internet this week.
– Amazing music, amazing person. She will be missed. Aretha Franklin: In Memoriam Playlist.
–The exhilarating history of roller coaster photography. And to have your picture taken at a “Oh Shit Point”… Makes for some good pictures.
-This is a place I would love to stay (or build An A-Frame Cabin Celebrates the Zero-Emission Lifestyle in Finland
–We Discovered Helium 150 Years Ago. Are We Running Out? I never thought about helium as being anything that we could run out of. Huh.
-Seriously, what the fuck dudes. Traces of Weed Killer Found in Cheerios and Quaker Oats Oatmeal-
–Genius Hidden Messages People Didn’t Expect To Find On Everyday Products. Sometimes it about the little extra attention to detail, and a little humor that keeps people coming back for more.
–12 Signs You Suffer From Summer Depression. See, its for real. and I have it.. number 2 and 6.
-Because in VT, we will pee on on your tomatoes. Haha. ‘Pee-Cycling:’ Vermont Researchers Look at Value in Human Urine
-What’s the Difference Between White and Yellow and Popcorn 101: Butterflies, Snowflakes & Mushrooms (oh my!)
-The colors and patterns really caught my eyes. New Synchronized Photographs of Swimmers by Mária Švarbová
Pictures from the week.
I think that my favorite thing abut summer is probably the food. Yeah, no, definitely all the food. If it weren’t for all the delicious amazing things that grow during these summer months, I would probably hate summer. Well, I mean, not hate it because summer is nice when it it nice, but lately it has not been so nice and so I am trying to make myself feel better by finding all the good things that I like about summer. Summer trees, summer flowers, the smell of fresh cut grass, river rocks, summer sandals, summer… well that’s what I got right now. But summer produce, that is the best and what keeps me happy when I am extremely over heated and over sunned and just want a blast of cold air accompanied by some dark clouds, a sweater and the smell of decomposing leaves. Obviously I am being a little crank butt, and I actually do usually like me some summertime, I am just over this summer. To hot, to humid, to dry. I am ready to move on.
But back to the good parts of summer that I am not over. The food. The corn is flowing steadily (I am getting on average 10 pieces of corn a week from the farm. That is a lot of corn for 2 people, one of which says he doesn’t like corn), the kale is growing in super abundance in the garden, and it’s is for sure blueberry season. When we have those three things and we toss in a avocado, as little onion, and lots of lime juice , BAM, another super fantastic summertime eating time, reason that summer can be a ok. Makes all the heat a little worth it.
I am telling you, this is my new favorite food combination. Blueberries are magical (I think so anyway) and really add the perfect little sweetness, tartness, and texture to this salad. Crisping up the kale and corn elevates the deliciousness, and avocado always is welcome is any salad situation. This is one of those salads that you will make for yourself and then immediately want to make for someone you like because it is so good you want to share. OR you just want to make it for yourself again because you could share or you could just eat more of it yourself. It’s ok either way, you do you.
The stuff. A cob of fresh corn. some fresh blueberries, a bunch of dinosaur kale, a lime, an avocado, a piece of a sweet onion, sea salt, pepper, and a little oil.
First off preheat the oven then cut the corn off the cob.
Then deal with the kale. Each leaf needs just the slightest bit of oil. The easiest way to do this is to dump a little oil into your hands and grab each piece of kale and rub your oily hands all over the kale.
After the kale is oiled, chop it into chunks. First place the corn on a baking sheet then add the kale on top. Placet it into the oven to get all crispy… The kale will might get crispy before the corn, which is fine because you can remove the kale then pop the corn back into the oven for a few more minutes to keep cooking if you want. Or you might just want to call it cooked, it’s your call.
I popped the corn back into the oven to get a little more color. I like a real crispy corn.
Cut up some onion and avocado into chunks.
And time to compile. Kale, onions, corn, avocado, blueberries, and lime juice. And don’t or get a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper.
Toss it all around and be delighted.
Just look at that salad. Who wouldn’t want to eat that?
Heres to summer salads….The reason I can barely stand the heat!
-C
makes one salad
10 or so large Lacinato (Dinosaur) Kale leaves
1 fresh cob of corn
1/2 of an avocado
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 of a sweet onion (about 1/4 cup diced)
1 lime
teaspoon olive oil
sea salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350
Cut the corn off the con and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Take a little oil and rub into hands then grab the kale leaves ans rub oil all over them. Once oiled, rough chop into medium sized pieces (don’t chop small, it will shrink a lot in the oven). Place chopped kale on top of corn and stick into hot oven. Bake until the kale is crispy, about 12-15 minutes.. What closely after 10 minutes to prevent burning.
Remove the kale from the baking sheet and place in a large bowl. The corn will be cooked, but if you want to make it a little crispier , just toss it back into the oven for a few minutes. Once corn is to your liking, remove from pan and toss into two with the kale.
Small dice up some onion and dice up half of the avocado. Toss into the bowl with the kale and corn. And the blueberries, add those in. Sprinkle the whole shebang with a little sea salt and pepper and squeeze the juice of at least half of a lime all over (use the whole lie if you want) Give it all one last toss and that is it.
Eat your new favorite salad. Think about making it for all your favorite friends and family and how impressed they will be because this is one of those impressive salads. T
Every year the same thing happens. Cherry season hits, I indulge and buy a few pounds of those cherries with great intentions of making something great, something to share, but then I always end up eating them all myself. What can I say, I love me some cherries.
But this year I realized my mistake. If I really did want to make something with cherries other then eating them all, I needed to buy a shit ton of cherries so I would have enough for my belly and some to share. So I bought like 6 pounds at once so I would have to bake something before they went bad. (Honestly I could have eaten them all but I was able to control myself.)
I was going to make a straight up cherry pie, put then that would take me making pie dough, which I really like to do in most cases, but was just not feeling it this week. Plus that would have require a hell of a lot more cherry pitting which again, wouldn’t have been that bad, but I was just hot really feeling it. But upside down cake, that I was feeling. I always like the visual aspect of an upside- down cake so cake it was, cake it be. Upside side down cake with a little lemony lemoness and lots of gooey cherry goodness. Simple and stunning and better then cherry pie because it is baked upside-down and you can’t bake a pie upside-down.
I did good. (Here I pat myself on the back, give myself a high five, and finish off with a double thumbs up)
The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in the bowl. A bowl of fresh cherries. White sugar, canola oil, soy milk, a lemon, a little apple cider vinegar, some vanilla extract, melted earth balance, and a bit of brown sugar.
This is the most labor intensive part, pitting cherries. What I do is cut the cherries in half and then with my thumb, dislodge the pit. Pile the un-pitted halves to the side and once done pitting, double check you got all the pits out. No one will like you, including yourself, if they bit down and crack a tooth on a cherry pit.
Cherries are pitted so now take the melted earth balance and brown sugar and mix together in the bottom of your greased cake pan. I lined my with parchment which I think was a good idea so you might want to do that too. Mix the mixture around to evenly coat the bottom then place the cherries in, singled layered and not overlapping, but get as many in as you can. (You can do them all facing hte same way like me or not, I don’t know if it would really make much of a difference.)
Time for cake batter. Mix the sugar and zest of the lemon into the bowl of flour, baking soda and powder, and salt.
In goes oil. milk, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. Give it all a good whisk
Stop when it is all mixed and incorporated. Don’t want to over mix or the cake with get tough.
Batter gets poured right onto cherries in pan and the whole sha-bang gets popped into the oven for about 50 minutes to turn into golden brown, upside-down cherry greatness.
Now for the best part, you must wait at least a few minutes, if not ten, to pop the cake right side up? Or os it now upside down? And be careful cause it’s hot. Tip . Before inverting cake, run a knife around the edge of the pan to make sure cake is loose. Once cake is upside down on cooling rack (use a cooling rack, not a plate so the bottom dset getting soggy), give the pan a good tap tap with a wooden spoon until the cake pops out. If a cherry or two got stuck, its ok, just stick it back to the cake.. no one will know.
And loooooook at that. Upside down cakes are always like magic.
As you can see, it didn’t stand a chance. A piece cut within minutes because how can you not.
I finally did it, I shared my cherry stash, and I feel good about it because all the people looooved the cake so it was worth it. And I still have cherries left for me!!
Now go upside-down a cake.
-C
makes a 10 inch upside-down cake.
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup neutral flavored oil (I used canola)
2 tablespoons earth balance or vegan butter substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup soy milk
1 lemon
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 cups sliced in half and pitted cherries
3 tablespoon brown sugar
Preheat oven to 350.
Start by rinsing and pitting cherries. Remove all stems, cut cherries in half, and remove pits. I use my thumb and just kind of pop them out, but do it anyway you feel like. If using a fancy de-pitter, you are going to want to cut the cherries in half. After you have removed all pits, DOUBLE CHECK that there are no pits.. Pits will crack a tooth for reals.
Grease and line a 10 inch cake pan with parchment. Dump the melted earth balance and brown sugar in bottom and mix together. Spread mixture all around then grab sliced cherries and place them, single layered, into mixture. Get as many as you can in there without overlapping.
In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and soda, the salt, the white sugar, and the zest of the lemon. Once fully combined add in the soy milk, apple cider vinegar, the oil, and the vanilla. Mix that all up until just combined. Pour batter all over the cherries in the pan. Level out batter and pop into the oven (middle rack) for 45-55 minutes, or until the cake is a nice deep golden brown and a tester stuck in the middle comes out clean.
Once the cake is bake, let it sit on counter for about 10 minutes. Once slightly cooled, grab knife and run it along the edge of the cake. Take a cooling rack and place on top of cake then flip upside down. Tap around he pan with a spoon then gently lift pan away.
Tada. You should have yourself something fantastic and great. And no worries if a cherry or two got stuck to pan, just pop it back on to the cake.
And now all you need to do is eat the cake. So do that.
I finally looked at all the pictures from the family get together last weekend. Got a few good shots, but man oh boy do I need to get a new camera. It’s on my list of shit to do this coming week. (Blah, I hate buying stuff)
So here they are, the pics of the fam in Belivdere Vt. The cabin in the mountains with no internet or cell signal, no TV, no news, no other people. Just hanging out with all the goobs, swimming and hiking, finding salamanders and fossil, and spent some good time with the old man before he headed back to PA. And so what if a little almost got swept down the river or if our tents were washed away in a flash flood. Nothing we can’t handle. It was quite and beautiful and a hell of a lot cooler then back in the city. It’s a little magical kingdom. No better place to be.
-C
Whatever you do, do not turn on your oven this weekend! But I guess if you have air conditioning and don’t mind cranking it… well then go for it. And can I come stay with you?
But for the rest of us doing this weekend without the old A.C., we need to feed ourselves, feed ourselves without any fire because 100 degrees is no joke and any added heat from anything will likey tip us over the edge. I am already so close to that edge and it’s a long way down..(Just ask the mr, he could tell you a thing or two about heat and me.. not good)
Enter hummus and veggies.
You can’t really go wrong with a good hummus and veggies meal situation and sometimes it’s all that can be right. I for one could eat bowls and bowls of hummus, and sometime do, so this is not a stretch for me. Especially this hummus. I knew I would like it, but man, was (was because I ate it all) it freaking delicious. The sunflower seeds really did it for me, gave it a little something extra, like a freshness that is still creamy and earthy, but is not quite, I don’t know, dark as tahini? It’s kind of hard to explain without having you taste it (so make it and you tell me) Don’t get me wrong, I love tahini, but sometimes you just got to mix it up. (Plus sunflowers seeds are dirt cheap. Tahini is not nearly as cheap so bonus there too.) Maybe its because the sunflower seeds bring the sunshine to your mouth. A sun filled mouth of pureed seeds and beans. Yup, that’s what it is.
So here ya go, a no heat meal (or snack or spread). We got this.
The stuff. Cooked chickpeas (no need to cook your own, canned is a okay), sunflower seeds, a lemon, a few cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, a little water, and some herby green like parsley or cilantro.
Hummus is pretty basic, it’s just stuff blended up, but because we are starting with raw sunflower seeds, we need to really bend the shit out of them until they turn into a paste, so do that, which is going to a take about 8-10 minutes. Then once its pasty, add in the garlic and the juice of the lemon and blend until its all smooth.
Could almost stop here at this point. Sunflower seed goodness all emulsified. Taste it, it is so good.
Now add in the chickpeas and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Blended until smooth with a little drizzle of water to give just the right consistency. And that’s it.
Pile a bowl full enough that you can call it dinner them top with a good amount of fresh herbs. Serve with chopped up fresh veggies or whatever you like and we are good to go.
Creamy, dreamy sunflower hummus, no heat required!
Stay not melted!
-C
Makes about 2 3/4 cups
2 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or one can) drained
3/4 cup raw (can use toasted)unshelled sunflower seeds
l juicy lemon
2-3 cloves garlic
1-2 tablespoons ice water
salt and pepper
handful fresh herbs like parsley,cilantro and or dill (optional)
Place the sunflower seeds in food processor and turn on until seeds turn into a paste, which will take about 8-10 minutes. After every few minutes, scrap the sides down to make sure it all gets blended. Once the seeds reach paste consistency, add in the juice of the lemon and the garlic. Blend until smooth. Last off, add in the chickpeas and a pinch or salt and pepper and blend until smooth, adding in a tablespoon or two of water to get the hummus to the consistency of your liking. Once blended taste and check for seasoning (add more salt and or pepper if needed)
When the hummus is done, scrape into bowl(s), and top with lots of fresh herbs and a sprinkle more of sunflower seeds. Now eat it. Eat with veggies, with bread, with pretzels, or with a spoon (or finger). Do what you need to do.
Any left over, if there is any, can be store in the fridge for 2-3 days.
How wonderful has the weather been for you? Around here, it couldn’t have been any better. Warm, not to hot, lots of sun with some good rainy spell, even a really cool thunder storm. Everything is growing and blooming and it is just so fantastic. A good spring week. We deserved it for sure.
The week was full of all sorts of things. We finally got out taxes done after having to file an extension (well, there are still few more things were need to do, but the accountant has the pile of papers so I don’t have to look a them anymore), Now I can finally stop thinking about them and focus on anything but, because taxes suck, like literally sucked the life out of me.(lets never speak of taxes again..until next year) There were stairs rebuilt, shelves moved around, mirrors hung, so so much yard work, my first bike ride, sunburns (the mr, not me) and best yet, we found and installed a new (to us) bathroom faucet. Hooray!! It’s pretty cool, one we have never seen and looks really good with the green sink. We found it at the salvage yard attached to a sink that we did not need so we removed it, brought it home, dragged our heavy ass sink out to the backyard, and the mr installed it. Then we brought the sink back to the bathroom and stuck it back in place. Now we can stop brushing our teeth and washing our hands in the bathtub. Things are going good.
I feel like I have been rolling in the green all week (green as in plants and stuff). The mr bought me the coolest plant called the escargot begniioa (see picture below) and that’s the plant that made me realized that I am now obsessed and need to start the worlds greatest begonia collection. I also got a few more house plants because I just can’t stop/won’t stop. (Our house is basically made up of chairs, books, and plants. Not a bad house if I do say so my self.) So now the inside could be mistaken for the outside. Outside we planted a bunch of raspberry bushes our neighbor gave us which I am so super excited about and I have a ton more seeds in the garden, Or I hope I do. I kept getting seed/plant robbed by the birds and squriells. All the greens that I had started inside and planted in the soil were eaten and a good chunk of the seeds I directly planted were also dug up. Little fuckers, but I think the chicken wire I placed over everything really helped. And it is still kind of early so I just planted and started more seeds because thats what we do. I basically spent all all my time this week thinking about plants and I am ok with that.
And it’s Sunday. Today I am going to spend more time then I would like digging splinters out of my hands because for some reason I just don’t think about putting on gloves when doing any yard work. I know of one really big one in my thumb from a tree root that won’t come out, but all the twigs and sticks I picked up gave me quite a few little pesky ones. Other then that, as long as it is not super rainy, I ‘ll probably spend a good chunk of the day outside again, doing more yard stuff, probably without gloves on, because why would I do that? And I will try to throw in a bike ride too. If I am lucky, once I get tired, it will start raining this afternoon so I can not have to water and I can spend the rest of the day reading on the back porch with all my new plant friends.
Internet I looked at that you can look at too.
-I am a plant lady in all the ways. My new obsession. Begonias. BEAUTIFUL BEGONIAS: TYPES & CARE.
-Yes, yes they do. Drake’s Lyrics Make The Best Cake Quotes Ever
–This house is pretty cool, but the pineapple light fixture. Amazing.
-I think I might be a sensitive person. Everything to Know About the Highly Sensitive Person
–Now You Can Drink—Yes, Drink—Hummus. Yeah, I don’t know. I think I would really like a chick pea tahini shake. But is it really hummus? Hum.
–Vermont Wetland Types. Became I wanted to know and you might too.
-Should I make one for the mr to push me around in? Haha, but this is pretty cool,, like for the littles. WOODEN RIDE-ON CAR DIY!
-I feel like I could really get down with the contra. Square, Contra and Henry Ford: The History And Lasting Appeal Of Country Dancing
–TALKING BREAD AND EVOLUTION WITH JEFFREY HAMELMAN Who doesn’t want to t talk about bread, especially a master baker from VT?
-This seems kind of crazy and a little gross. Old cake for hundreds of dollars. How about you throw me the money and I make you a fresh cake? Slice Of History: Pieces Of British Royal Wedding Cakes Up For Auction.
Pictures from the week.
I made this salad about a week ago right before the mr and I left town for the weekend. I had just gotten 2 very large canary watermelons from the farm, and had a million cucumbers and a trillion tomatoes from the garden. If a trillion tomatoes seems like a lot it is. But that is how many I had, and still do (this years garden just won’t quit) And with counters of all the fruit and veggies that I could possible want at one given time, we needed to eat some up before we left. But I really wanted watermelon and felt guilty about cutting into one when I would be fine left for a while and there were a million ripe and ready tomatoes to eat that would not last the weekend fresh. But guess what, went for it anyway and cut up a watermelon because damn it, I really wanted watermelon.
So a bazillion tomatoes (notice how the number keeps getting bigger, that’s because it’s truth) a million cucumbers, and now a watermelon that needs to be eaten. Salad it will be. (I had the littles over to eat the rest of the watermelon, they will always help a lady out)
A big ass fruity, citrus-y, crispy, tangy salad. A party of all these fresh fantastic flavors all up in your mouth. The first time I made this, I thought there was a chance the mr might not like it, but as it turns out he like it very very much, enough to eat the whole entire big ass bowl of it. (I got a few measly little bits) I have since made this salad two other times and know well enough to save myself a bowl of my own. The mr forgets to share.
The stuff. Watermelon (I used a canary but a red watermelon works too) onion, cucumber and tomatoes. A jalapeno for a little heat, fresh basil and mint, a lemon and salt and pepper.
First the watermelon. You probably don’t want to eat the rind so remove that and chop up the fruit into mouth sized pieces. IF you have a really seedy melon, just remove what you can see and save them for roasting later (yes roast the seeds.. they are fantastic)
Now the cucumber, onion and jalapeno get their turn to be chopped up. Cucumber into smallish pieces. Onion thin and small pieces and jalapeno into very tiny little pieces. After those go into bowl, it’s tomato time. Just cut up into into mouth sided pieces and into the bowl too.
Red, yellow, and green tomatoes. The colors are so PRETTY!
Mint and bail minces up nice .
Topped with all the fresh herbs, salt and pepper, and lemon juice.
A thing of beauty and tastes better then it looks. A salad worth making over and over and lots of it too.
Make sure to save yourself a bowl if sharing, you might not get any otherwise.
Have a great weekend
-C
serves between 2-4 people
1/4 of a canary watermelon (around 3 cups cubed)
1 cucumber
2-3 tomatoes of any variety
1/2 of an onion (red or sweet white)
handful of fresh basil and mint
1 small jalapeno
1 lemon
salt and pepper
Take watermelon and remove rind then cut the melon into mouth sized chunks. If you melon has seeds, remove what you can (save for later to roast) and place into a large bowl. Grab cucumbers and cut into mouth sized chunks. Thinly slice onion into long thin ribbons then into smaller pieces and then cut up jalapeno. To cut the jalapeno, remove stem, cut in half length wise, then scrap the seeds and ribs from the inside out. Dice the pepper into very small pieces and toss everything you just cut up into the bowl with the melon. Tomatoes now get cut into chunks and those go into the bowl too. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and the juice of the lemon. Cut or chop fresh basil and mint up and add on in. Mix it all up and that’s that.
This summer I have gotten like 5 lbs of blackberries, a humongo bowl of raspberries, so so so many pears, and lots of random veggies, all from my neighbors and their gardens We live in a very giving and generous neighborhood. And it helps that they can’t possible eat all that they grow and that I am always willing to take it off their hands (and put it into my mouth) In return we have given out rhubarb and jars of honey and overall charm and smiles. (the charm and smiles are on the mr to give out)
The other day on a walk, the mr and I saw this sign outside of a neighbors house. Plums, please take some! Well pull my arm, I guess I will have too, because the sign said please right? Anyway, these little plums, not sure what kind they are, but they are so good. Sweet and bite sized and pretty. I ate a few then decided that I needed to share my shared plums and went about making a cake to stick those said share plums into.
I made the cake, invited my mom and a couple of sibs over. Mom didn’t come but Barb and Paul did so they got the cake, Well they got half the cake, the mr ate the rest. I was told that this cake is one of the best. I bet it is when you used share plums because sharing is caring and sharing cake is all that good stuff.
The stuff. A bowl with flour, baking soda baking powder, and slat. Then you have brown sugar, coconut oil. vanilla extract, soy milk, and a little apple cider vinegar. And plums of course.
Once you have started preheating the oven, cut your plums in half and remove the pit.The best way to do this is to run the knife along the pit all the way around the plum and then twist to break in half. Pop the pit out with you finger.
Set plums aside while mixing cake
Warmed coconut oil, brown sugar, and vanilla all get mixed together into a smooth consistency then dumped into the bowl of dry stuff.
Soy milk and vinegar get added and mixed in.
Batter gets poured into a very well greased cake pan and the plums get placed, cut side down,right on top. A sprinkle of sugar to top it off is not a bad idea.
Into the oven it goes to turn to cake!
Pulled from the oven looking so nice. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before taking it out. Hot cake is hard to handle!
And as soon as you get it out of the pan you can start eating.
Enjoy the last bits of summer. Share if you can!
-C
Makes a 12 inch cake
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking sods
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup coconut oil (warmed so it’s liquid)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
12-14 small plums (the plums I used where golf ball sized so you might need less for larger plums)
1 tablespoon white sugar
Preheat oven to 350
Start by slicing the plums in half and removing the pits. Set them aside. Hint. for slicing, the best way to do this is to run the knife along the pit all the way around the plum and then twist the plum in half. Pop the pit out with you finger or spoon.
In a large bowl, whisk together the salt baking soda and powder, and salt . In a smaller bowl mix together the coconut oil, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Pour the wet into the dry and add in half the milk, mix together, then the rest of the milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix until all incorporated and smooth.
Pour batter into a well greased 12 inch round cake pan. (If you don’t have that a 9×9 square pan will work) Smooth out the top then grab your sliced plums and stick them, cut side down, on top. Give each plum a little push into the batter so it half submerged. Sprinkle the top with white sugar and pop into the oven
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a fork or toothpick stuck int he middle comes out clean.
Remove and let cool completely in cake pan, it’s easier to remove the cake when it is not hot.
And once it’s cool, remove cake gently and ta-da. Cake time
THE LOVELY CRAZY
May 20, 2019 by maximios • Blog
The beginning of the week started off with cabin time with family and friends. All the sisters went up with their kids and we ate food, made bracelets, walked to the river, and just hung out for the afternoon. Seeing the family is (almost) always a good time. Then the mr and I ventured our way to our secret camping spot, went for a little hike, then ate our dinner in a park where I watched the mr open a can of beans for me by rubbing it against a rock. It was like magic, especially because I was starving and was smashing the end of the can like a rabid beast against, well everything. I forgot to bring the can opener for my can of beans which could have been the end of me. Luck for me the mr is so good and I never will need a can opener again. Anyway we ended up not camping out for the night. Our main reason for camping was to see the meteor shower, but the sky was all clouded so we couldn’t see squat. Plus the mr was tired and feeling sore, I was little tired, so we just headed back home. When we got home we sat under the slightly less cloudy sky in the backyard for a bit until the mr sprayed bug spray that turned into bug bomb and that not only kept all the bugs away, kept me away too. He had to take shower to ge the stink off and still he smelled. The smell lingered for days.. And to think it was just essential oils. Then we slept in our bed which was way more comfortable then usual because we were really suppose to be sleeping on the ground.
The rest of the week went as usual. Had little bursts of rain, although never quite enough to help the heat, only enough to up the humidity. Qui came over for dinner where he drank out a a mug with his face all over it and tried to talk the mr into getting his own scooter. I told the mr if he wants one, well then he should go for it. But I don’t think its happening any time soon. Barb and So came over for lunch and spent time harvesting all the goodies out of the garden. So picked a watermelon that turned out to be not quite ripe (so sad) and Barb picked all the kale that she could stand picking. Other then that, there was farm share, lots of running around, a chocolate zucchini cake, and the realization that I have Summer Seasonal Affective Disorder. (yes, it is a thing) A well rounded, semi productive, way to hot, week.
And then there was yesterday. It was amazing. Sure I was at work inside most of the day glazing hundreds of pots that little kids made, but when I got out, the sky was covered in big grey clouds with a slight rainy drizzle. The temperature was like 68 degrees, and there was a cool breeze. I might have even gotten a slight chill. It was everything that I have needed all Summer long. Seriously, to much warmth and sunshine is not good for me. I need cool rainy(dare I say snowy) days to help keep that balance, so yesterday really hit the spot. I was even able to wear a long sleeve shirt for like the first time in months. And when I went to bed, I was able to sleep under the blanket. So nice. So nice.
And we made it to today. The mr and I were talking last night about going comping today so we might do that. Or we might not and just veg out for the day here at home, maybe stop in to see the littles that are home from sleep away camp. I am leaning towards camping. We skipped out last week and if the nights are going to be anything like last tonight, ( nice and cool), a fire will be ever so lovely and welcome. And I am sure the mr would love to do some fishing and I of course can be happy reading and drinking coffee just about anywhere.
Stuff I read on the Internet this week.
– Amazing music, amazing person. She will be missed. Aretha Franklin: In Memoriam Playlist.
–The exhilarating history of roller coaster photography. And to have your picture taken at a “Oh Shit Point”… Makes for some good pictures.
-This is a place I would love to stay (or build An A-Frame Cabin Celebrates the Zero-Emission Lifestyle in Finland
–We Discovered Helium 150 Years Ago. Are We Running Out? I never thought about helium as being anything that we could run out of. Huh.
-Seriously, what the fuck dudes. Traces of Weed Killer Found in Cheerios and Quaker Oats Oatmeal-
–Genius Hidden Messages People Didn’t Expect To Find On Everyday Products. Sometimes it about the little extra attention to detail, and a little humor that keeps people coming back for more.
–12 Signs You Suffer From Summer Depression. See, its for real. and I have it.. number 2 and 6.
-Because in VT, we will pee on on your tomatoes. Haha. ‘Pee-Cycling:’ Vermont Researchers Look at Value in Human Urine
-What’s the Difference Between White and Yellow and Popcorn 101: Butterflies, Snowflakes & Mushrooms (oh my!)
-The colors and patterns really caught my eyes. New Synchronized Photographs of Swimmers by Mária Švarbová
Pictures from the week.
I think that my favorite thing abut summer is probably the food. Yeah, no, definitely all the food. If it weren’t for all the delicious amazing things that grow during these summer months, I would probably hate summer. Well, I mean, not hate it because summer is nice when it it nice, but lately it has not been so nice and so I am trying to make myself feel better by finding all the good things that I like about summer. Summer trees, summer flowers, the smell of fresh cut grass, river rocks, summer sandals, summer… well that’s what I got right now. But summer produce, that is the best and what keeps me happy when I am extremely over heated and over sunned and just want a blast of cold air accompanied by some dark clouds, a sweater and the smell of decomposing leaves. Obviously I am being a little crank butt, and I actually do usually like me some summertime, I am just over this summer. To hot, to humid, to dry. I am ready to move on.
But back to the good parts of summer that I am not over. The food. The corn is flowing steadily (I am getting on average 10 pieces of corn a week from the farm. That is a lot of corn for 2 people, one of which says he doesn’t like corn), the kale is growing in super abundance in the garden, and it’s is for sure blueberry season. When we have those three things and we toss in a avocado, as little onion, and lots of lime juice , BAM, another super fantastic summertime eating time, reason that summer can be a ok. Makes all the heat a little worth it.
I am telling you, this is my new favorite food combination. Blueberries are magical (I think so anyway) and really add the perfect little sweetness, tartness, and texture to this salad. Crisping up the kale and corn elevates the deliciousness, and avocado always is welcome is any salad situation. This is one of those salads that you will make for yourself and then immediately want to make for someone you like because it is so good you want to share. OR you just want to make it for yourself again because you could share or you could just eat more of it yourself. It’s ok either way, you do you.
The stuff. A cob of fresh corn. some fresh blueberries, a bunch of dinosaur kale, a lime, an avocado, a piece of a sweet onion, sea salt, pepper, and a little oil.
First off preheat the oven then cut the corn off the cob.
Then deal with the kale. Each leaf needs just the slightest bit of oil. The easiest way to do this is to dump a little oil into your hands and grab each piece of kale and rub your oily hands all over the kale.
After the kale is oiled, chop it into chunks. First place the corn on a baking sheet then add the kale on top. Placet it into the oven to get all crispy… The kale will might get crispy before the corn, which is fine because you can remove the kale then pop the corn back into the oven for a few more minutes to keep cooking if you want. Or you might just want to call it cooked, it’s your call.
I popped the corn back into the oven to get a little more color. I like a real crispy corn.
Cut up some onion and avocado into chunks.
And time to compile. Kale, onions, corn, avocado, blueberries, and lime juice. And don’t or get a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper.
Toss it all around and be delighted.
Just look at that salad. Who wouldn’t want to eat that?
Heres to summer salads….The reason I can barely stand the heat!
-C
makes one salad
Preheat oven to 350
Cut the corn off the con and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Take a little oil and rub into hands then grab the kale leaves ans rub oil all over them. Once oiled, rough chop into medium sized pieces (don’t chop small, it will shrink a lot in the oven). Place chopped kale on top of corn and stick into hot oven. Bake until the kale is crispy, about 12-15 minutes.. What closely after 10 minutes to prevent burning.
Remove the kale from the baking sheet and place in a large bowl. The corn will be cooked, but if you want to make it a little crispier , just toss it back into the oven for a few minutes. Once corn is to your liking, remove from pan and toss into two with the kale.
Small dice up some onion and dice up half of the avocado. Toss into the bowl with the kale and corn. And the blueberries, add those in. Sprinkle the whole shebang with a little sea salt and pepper and squeeze the juice of at least half of a lime all over (use the whole lie if you want) Give it all one last toss and that is it.
Eat your new favorite salad. Think about making it for all your favorite friends and family and how impressed they will be because this is one of those impressive salads. T
Every year the same thing happens. Cherry season hits, I indulge and buy a few pounds of those cherries with great intentions of making something great, something to share, but then I always end up eating them all myself. What can I say, I love me some cherries.
But this year I realized my mistake. If I really did want to make something with cherries other then eating them all, I needed to buy a shit ton of cherries so I would have enough for my belly and some to share. So I bought like 6 pounds at once so I would have to bake something before they went bad. (Honestly I could have eaten them all but I was able to control myself.)
I was going to make a straight up cherry pie, put then that would take me making pie dough, which I really like to do in most cases, but was just not feeling it this week. Plus that would have require a hell of a lot more cherry pitting which again, wouldn’t have been that bad, but I was just hot really feeling it. But upside down cake, that I was feeling. I always like the visual aspect of an upside- down cake so cake it was, cake it be. Upside side down cake with a little lemony lemoness and lots of gooey cherry goodness. Simple and stunning and better then cherry pie because it is baked upside-down and you can’t bake a pie upside-down.
I did good. (Here I pat myself on the back, give myself a high five, and finish off with a double thumbs up)
The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in the bowl. A bowl of fresh cherries. White sugar, canola oil, soy milk, a lemon, a little apple cider vinegar, some vanilla extract, melted earth balance, and a bit of brown sugar.
This is the most labor intensive part, pitting cherries. What I do is cut the cherries in half and then with my thumb, dislodge the pit. Pile the un-pitted halves to the side and once done pitting, double check you got all the pits out. No one will like you, including yourself, if they bit down and crack a tooth on a cherry pit.
Cherries are pitted so now take the melted earth balance and brown sugar and mix together in the bottom of your greased cake pan. I lined my with parchment which I think was a good idea so you might want to do that too. Mix the mixture around to evenly coat the bottom then place the cherries in, singled layered and not overlapping, but get as many in as you can. (You can do them all facing hte same way like me or not, I don’t know if it would really make much of a difference.)
Time for cake batter. Mix the sugar and zest of the lemon into the bowl of flour, baking soda and powder, and salt.
In goes oil. milk, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. Give it all a good whisk
Stop when it is all mixed and incorporated. Don’t want to over mix or the cake with get tough.
Batter gets poured right onto cherries in pan and the whole sha-bang gets popped into the oven for about 50 minutes to turn into golden brown, upside-down cherry greatness.
Now for the best part, you must wait at least a few minutes, if not ten, to pop the cake right side up? Or os it now upside down? And be careful cause it’s hot. Tip . Before inverting cake, run a knife around the edge of the pan to make sure cake is loose. Once cake is upside down on cooling rack (use a cooling rack, not a plate so the bottom dset getting soggy), give the pan a good tap tap with a wooden spoon until the cake pops out. If a cherry or two got stuck, its ok, just stick it back to the cake.. no one will know.
And loooooook at that. Upside down cakes are always like magic.
As you can see, it didn’t stand a chance. A piece cut within minutes because how can you not.
I finally did it, I shared my cherry stash, and I feel good about it because all the people looooved the cake so it was worth it. And I still have cherries left for me!!
Now go upside-down a cake.
-C
makes a 10 inch upside-down cake.
Preheat oven to 350.
Start by rinsing and pitting cherries. Remove all stems, cut cherries in half, and remove pits. I use my thumb and just kind of pop them out, but do it anyway you feel like. If using a fancy de-pitter, you are going to want to cut the cherries in half. After you have removed all pits, DOUBLE CHECK that there are no pits.. Pits will crack a tooth for reals.
Grease and line a 10 inch cake pan with parchment. Dump the melted earth balance and brown sugar in bottom and mix together. Spread mixture all around then grab sliced cherries and place them, single layered, into mixture. Get as many as you can in there without overlapping.
In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and soda, the salt, the white sugar, and the zest of the lemon. Once fully combined add in the soy milk, apple cider vinegar, the oil, and the vanilla. Mix that all up until just combined. Pour batter all over the cherries in the pan. Level out batter and pop into the oven (middle rack) for 45-55 minutes, or until the cake is a nice deep golden brown and a tester stuck in the middle comes out clean.
Once the cake is bake, let it sit on counter for about 10 minutes. Once slightly cooled, grab knife and run it along the edge of the cake. Take a cooling rack and place on top of cake then flip upside down. Tap around he pan with a spoon then gently lift pan away.
Tada. You should have yourself something fantastic and great. And no worries if a cherry or two got stuck to pan, just pop it back on to the cake.
And now all you need to do is eat the cake. So do that.
I finally looked at all the pictures from the family get together last weekend. Got a few good shots, but man oh boy do I need to get a new camera. It’s on my list of shit to do this coming week. (Blah, I hate buying stuff)
So here they are, the pics of the fam in Belivdere Vt. The cabin in the mountains with no internet or cell signal, no TV, no news, no other people. Just hanging out with all the goobs, swimming and hiking, finding salamanders and fossil, and spent some good time with the old man before he headed back to PA. And so what if a little almost got swept down the river or if our tents were washed away in a flash flood. Nothing we can’t handle. It was quite and beautiful and a hell of a lot cooler then back in the city. It’s a little magical kingdom. No better place to be.
-C
Whatever you do, do not turn on your oven this weekend! But I guess if you have air conditioning and don’t mind cranking it… well then go for it. And can I come stay with you?
But for the rest of us doing this weekend without the old A.C., we need to feed ourselves, feed ourselves without any fire because 100 degrees is no joke and any added heat from anything will likey tip us over the edge. I am already so close to that edge and it’s a long way down..(Just ask the mr, he could tell you a thing or two about heat and me.. not good)
Enter hummus and veggies.
You can’t really go wrong with a good hummus and veggies meal situation and sometimes it’s all that can be right. I for one could eat bowls and bowls of hummus, and sometime do, so this is not a stretch for me. Especially this hummus. I knew I would like it, but man, was (was because I ate it all) it freaking delicious. The sunflower seeds really did it for me, gave it a little something extra, like a freshness that is still creamy and earthy, but is not quite, I don’t know, dark as tahini? It’s kind of hard to explain without having you taste it (so make it and you tell me) Don’t get me wrong, I love tahini, but sometimes you just got to mix it up. (Plus sunflowers seeds are dirt cheap. Tahini is not nearly as cheap so bonus there too.) Maybe its because the sunflower seeds bring the sunshine to your mouth. A sun filled mouth of pureed seeds and beans. Yup, that’s what it is.
So here ya go, a no heat meal (or snack or spread). We got this.
The stuff. Cooked chickpeas (no need to cook your own, canned is a okay), sunflower seeds, a lemon, a few cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, a little water, and some herby green like parsley or cilantro.
Hummus is pretty basic, it’s just stuff blended up, but because we are starting with raw sunflower seeds, we need to really bend the shit out of them until they turn into a paste, so do that, which is going to a take about 8-10 minutes. Then once its pasty, add in the garlic and the juice of the lemon and blend until its all smooth.
Could almost stop here at this point. Sunflower seed goodness all emulsified. Taste it, it is so good.
Now add in the chickpeas and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Blended until smooth with a little drizzle of water to give just the right consistency. And that’s it.
Pile a bowl full enough that you can call it dinner them top with a good amount of fresh herbs. Serve with chopped up fresh veggies or whatever you like and we are good to go.
Creamy, dreamy sunflower hummus, no heat required!
Stay not melted!
-C
Makes about 2 3/4 cups
Place the sunflower seeds in food processor and turn on until seeds turn into a paste, which will take about 8-10 minutes. After every few minutes, scrap the sides down to make sure it all gets blended. Once the seeds reach paste consistency, add in the juice of the lemon and the garlic. Blend until smooth. Last off, add in the chickpeas and a pinch or salt and pepper and blend until smooth, adding in a tablespoon or two of water to get the hummus to the consistency of your liking. Once blended taste and check for seasoning (add more salt and or pepper if needed)
When the hummus is done, scrape into bowl(s), and top with lots of fresh herbs and a sprinkle more of sunflower seeds. Now eat it. Eat with veggies, with bread, with pretzels, or with a spoon (or finger). Do what you need to do.
Any left over, if there is any, can be store in the fridge for 2-3 days.
How wonderful has the weather been for you? Around here, it couldn’t have been any better. Warm, not to hot, lots of sun with some good rainy spell, even a really cool thunder storm. Everything is growing and blooming and it is just so fantastic. A good spring week. We deserved it for sure.
The week was full of all sorts of things. We finally got out taxes done after having to file an extension (well, there are still few more things were need to do, but the accountant has the pile of papers so I don’t have to look a them anymore), Now I can finally stop thinking about them and focus on anything but, because taxes suck, like literally sucked the life out of me.(lets never speak of taxes again..until next year) There were stairs rebuilt, shelves moved around, mirrors hung, so so much yard work, my first bike ride, sunburns (the mr, not me) and best yet, we found and installed a new (to us) bathroom faucet. Hooray!! It’s pretty cool, one we have never seen and looks really good with the green sink. We found it at the salvage yard attached to a sink that we did not need so we removed it, brought it home, dragged our heavy ass sink out to the backyard, and the mr installed it. Then we brought the sink back to the bathroom and stuck it back in place. Now we can stop brushing our teeth and washing our hands in the bathtub. Things are going good.
I feel like I have been rolling in the green all week (green as in plants and stuff). The mr bought me the coolest plant called the escargot begniioa (see picture below) and that’s the plant that made me realized that I am now obsessed and need to start the worlds greatest begonia collection. I also got a few more house plants because I just can’t stop/won’t stop. (Our house is basically made up of chairs, books, and plants. Not a bad house if I do say so my self.) So now the inside could be mistaken for the outside. Outside we planted a bunch of raspberry bushes our neighbor gave us which I am so super excited about and I have a ton more seeds in the garden, Or I hope I do. I kept getting seed/plant robbed by the birds and squriells. All the greens that I had started inside and planted in the soil were eaten and a good chunk of the seeds I directly planted were also dug up. Little fuckers, but I think the chicken wire I placed over everything really helped. And it is still kind of early so I just planted and started more seeds because thats what we do. I basically spent all all my time this week thinking about plants and I am ok with that.
And it’s Sunday. Today I am going to spend more time then I would like digging splinters out of my hands because for some reason I just don’t think about putting on gloves when doing any yard work. I know of one really big one in my thumb from a tree root that won’t come out, but all the twigs and sticks I picked up gave me quite a few little pesky ones. Other then that, as long as it is not super rainy, I ‘ll probably spend a good chunk of the day outside again, doing more yard stuff, probably without gloves on, because why would I do that? And I will try to throw in a bike ride too. If I am lucky, once I get tired, it will start raining this afternoon so I can not have to water and I can spend the rest of the day reading on the back porch with all my new plant friends.
Internet I looked at that you can look at too.
-I am a plant lady in all the ways. My new obsession. Begonias. BEAUTIFUL BEGONIAS: TYPES & CARE.
-Yes, yes they do. Drake’s Lyrics Make The Best Cake Quotes Ever
–This house is pretty cool, but the pineapple light fixture. Amazing.
-I think I might be a sensitive person. Everything to Know About the Highly Sensitive Person
–Now You Can Drink—Yes, Drink—Hummus. Yeah, I don’t know. I think I would really like a chick pea tahini shake. But is it really hummus? Hum.
–Vermont Wetland Types. Became I wanted to know and you might too.
-Should I make one for the mr to push me around in? Haha, but this is pretty cool,, like for the littles. WOODEN RIDE-ON CAR DIY!
-I feel like I could really get down with the contra. Square, Contra and Henry Ford: The History And Lasting Appeal Of Country Dancing
–TALKING BREAD AND EVOLUTION WITH JEFFREY HAMELMAN Who doesn’t want to t talk about bread, especially a master baker from VT?
-This seems kind of crazy and a little gross. Old cake for hundreds of dollars. How about you throw me the money and I make you a fresh cake? Slice Of History: Pieces Of British Royal Wedding Cakes Up For Auction.
Pictures from the week.
I made this salad about a week ago right before the mr and I left town for the weekend. I had just gotten 2 very large canary watermelons from the farm, and had a million cucumbers and a trillion tomatoes from the garden. If a trillion tomatoes seems like a lot it is. But that is how many I had, and still do (this years garden just won’t quit) And with counters of all the fruit and veggies that I could possible want at one given time, we needed to eat some up before we left. But I really wanted watermelon and felt guilty about cutting into one when I would be fine left for a while and there were a million ripe and ready tomatoes to eat that would not last the weekend fresh. But guess what, went for it anyway and cut up a watermelon because damn it, I really wanted watermelon.
So a bazillion tomatoes (notice how the number keeps getting bigger, that’s because it’s truth) a million cucumbers, and now a watermelon that needs to be eaten. Salad it will be. (I had the littles over to eat the rest of the watermelon, they will always help a lady out)
A big ass fruity, citrus-y, crispy, tangy salad. A party of all these fresh fantastic flavors all up in your mouth. The first time I made this, I thought there was a chance the mr might not like it, but as it turns out he like it very very much, enough to eat the whole entire big ass bowl of it. (I got a few measly little bits) I have since made this salad two other times and know well enough to save myself a bowl of my own. The mr forgets to share.
The stuff. Watermelon (I used a canary but a red watermelon works too) onion, cucumber and tomatoes. A jalapeno for a little heat, fresh basil and mint, a lemon and salt and pepper.
First the watermelon. You probably don’t want to eat the rind so remove that and chop up the fruit into mouth sized pieces. IF you have a really seedy melon, just remove what you can see and save them for roasting later (yes roast the seeds.. they are fantastic)
Now the cucumber, onion and jalapeno get their turn to be chopped up. Cucumber into smallish pieces. Onion thin and small pieces and jalapeno into very tiny little pieces. After those go into bowl, it’s tomato time. Just cut up into into mouth sided pieces and into the bowl too.
Red, yellow, and green tomatoes. The colors are so PRETTY!
Mint and bail minces up nice .
Topped with all the fresh herbs, salt and pepper, and lemon juice.
A thing of beauty and tastes better then it looks. A salad worth making over and over and lots of it too.
Make sure to save yourself a bowl if sharing, you might not get any otherwise.
Have a great weekend
-C
serves between 2-4 people
Take watermelon and remove rind then cut the melon into mouth sized chunks. If you melon has seeds, remove what you can (save for later to roast) and place into a large bowl. Grab cucumbers and cut into mouth sized chunks. Thinly slice onion into long thin ribbons then into smaller pieces and then cut up jalapeno. To cut the jalapeno, remove stem, cut in half length wise, then scrap the seeds and ribs from the inside out. Dice the pepper into very small pieces and toss everything you just cut up into the bowl with the melon. Tomatoes now get cut into chunks and those go into the bowl too. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and the juice of the lemon. Cut or chop fresh basil and mint up and add on in. Mix it all up and that’s that.
This summer I have gotten like 5 lbs of blackberries, a humongo bowl of raspberries, so so so many pears, and lots of random veggies, all from my neighbors and their gardens We live in a very giving and generous neighborhood. And it helps that they can’t possible eat all that they grow and that I am always willing to take it off their hands (and put it into my mouth) In return we have given out rhubarb and jars of honey and overall charm and smiles. (the charm and smiles are on the mr to give out)
The other day on a walk, the mr and I saw this sign outside of a neighbors house. Plums, please take some! Well pull my arm, I guess I will have too, because the sign said please right? Anyway, these little plums, not sure what kind they are, but they are so good. Sweet and bite sized and pretty. I ate a few then decided that I needed to share my shared plums and went about making a cake to stick those said share plums into.
I made the cake, invited my mom and a couple of sibs over. Mom didn’t come but Barb and Paul did so they got the cake, Well they got half the cake, the mr ate the rest. I was told that this cake is one of the best. I bet it is when you used share plums because sharing is caring and sharing cake is all that good stuff.
The stuff. A bowl with flour, baking soda baking powder, and slat. Then you have brown sugar, coconut oil. vanilla extract, soy milk, and a little apple cider vinegar. And plums of course.
Once you have started preheating the oven, cut your plums in half and remove the pit.The best way to do this is to run the knife along the pit all the way around the plum and then twist to break in half. Pop the pit out with you finger.
Set plums aside while mixing cake
Warmed coconut oil, brown sugar, and vanilla all get mixed together into a smooth consistency then dumped into the bowl of dry stuff.
Soy milk and vinegar get added and mixed in.
Batter gets poured into a very well greased cake pan and the plums get placed, cut side down,right on top. A sprinkle of sugar to top it off is not a bad idea.
Into the oven it goes to turn to cake!
Pulled from the oven looking so nice. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before taking it out. Hot cake is hard to handle!
And as soon as you get it out of the pan you can start eating.
Enjoy the last bits of summer. Share if you can!
-C
Makes a 12 inch cake
Ingredients
Preheat oven to 350
Start by slicing the plums in half and removing the pits. Set them aside. Hint. for slicing, the best way to do this is to run the knife along the pit all the way around the plum and then twist the plum in half. Pop the pit out with you finger or spoon.
In a large bowl, whisk together the salt baking soda and powder, and salt . In a smaller bowl mix together the coconut oil, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Pour the wet into the dry and add in half the milk, mix together, then the rest of the milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix until all incorporated and smooth.
Pour batter into a well greased 12 inch round cake pan. (If you don’t have that a 9×9 square pan will work) Smooth out the top then grab your sliced plums and stick them, cut side down, on top. Give each plum a little push into the batter so it half submerged. Sprinkle the top with white sugar and pop into the oven
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a fork or toothpick stuck int he middle comes out clean.
Remove and let cool completely in cake pan, it’s easier to remove the cake when it is not hot.
And once it’s cool, remove cake gently and ta-da. Cake time