Made | Grapefruit yogurt cake

I have this tendency to grocery shop for the healthiest version of me. I buy the big bag of carrots even though Mike doesn't eat them, I buy three bunches of broccoli for two people, all the salad greens, and four different kinds of fruit. Among that fruit selection is usually one lone grapefruit, stuffed to the back of the fridge, remembered only when he's past his prime and wrinkled beyond recognition. That is the fate of the grapefruit I buy.

It's not for lack of liking grapefruit. It's pink and it tastes pink (in the best way), but it is so hard to eat. I eat breakfast on the go or at work a lot, and a grapefruit does not travel gracefully. Unless, of course, you zest it, juice it, and bake it in a bread cake, like Deb did all those many years ago. She has since updated the recipe (and photos) for her cookbook, but I fell in love with this simple and grapefruit-y recipe.

First, I zested my grapefruit and piled that together, then I juiced the grapefruit using a regular old citrus juicer.

Then toss the dry ingredients (flour+salt+baking powder) into a purple bowl (or color of your choice).

The sugar, eggs, oil/applesauce, vanilla, and yogurt get whisked together in their own green bowl. Then the dry ingredients meet the wet ingredients and there's no turning back. 

You let it relax and cool off for a bit, then you put it on a rack and give it a grapefruit+sugar bath. 

But one bath is never sufficient, so you finish it off with a powdered sugar+grapefruit juice bath and all is well in the world. 

The cake is a bit tart, which is offset by the sweetness of the glaze. Reducing the amount of grapefruit juice+sugar mixture that you pour over the first time will help with that, but if you're not a fan of tart, what are you doing buying a grapefruit anyway?

Grapefruit Yogurt Cake

What you'll need
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (13 grams) sugar
3 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon grated grapefruit zest (I just zested one grapefruit)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I did 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup apple sauce, but you could probably replace it all with apple sauce and not tell the difference)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (one large grapefruit makes more than this)

For the glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan, or if you double the recipe, grease a bundt pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, grapefruit zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil (or apple sauce) into the batter, until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

While your cake bakes, cook the 1/3 cup grapefruit juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan or the sink. I just suspended the cooling rack over the sink and poured the grapefruit juice and sugar mixture over the top while the cake was still warm.

Combine the confectioners’ sugar and grapefruit juice to make the glaze and pour over the cooled cake.

Made | Portobello steaks with dandelion greens and roasted radishes

I grew up in Georgia, land of biscuits 'n' gravy, chicken 'n' waffles, mac 'n' cheese. Pretty much anything you can stick an over-abbreviated and in the middle of, we make it (after slathering it in butter). My grandpa has his own garden, which by Boston standards would be considered a full-fledged farm. As far as I can remember, he's grown corn, watermelon, green beans, butter beans, cabbage, tomatoes (oh, the tomatoes), even sweet potatoes. So it's not that I didn't grow up eating my vegetables, it's just that they were usually alongside a steak or a meatloaf and topped with a buttery cheese sauce. 

I am not complaining, but I am trying to strip down my understanding of how to prepare a vegetable. For a while now, Mike and I have been making portobello burgers as a staple in our weekly meals. They're cheap, less harmful to the environment than ground beef, and just generally less gross to handle. He marinates them in soy sauce and ginger (and really whatever sauces or dressings we have available) then grills them on the George Foreman. A couple weeks ago, after deciding to start replacing all of the bread we usually eat with other, more nutritious fillers, we tried these as just steaks. And what a welcome change! Without the bread and toppings, the flavors of the mushroom and the marinade shine through. I can't recommend this enough. 

We're also trying to cut back on how many white potatoes we eat, which has pushed me to try new things and new ways of cooking old things. Take radishes. I've been adding them to salad for a while now, but the other night I chopped them up, seasoned them like they were potatoes (seasoned salt, pepper, garlic salt), tossed them in olive oil, and roasted them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until they were golden brown. Roasting them softens the radish-y crunch, but brings out all of the flavors hidden in there. 

Next up we wanted to try out some new greens. We're always sauteeing kale or bok choy, but we thought we'd give dandelion greens a try. It's one of those ingredients you see on the menus of upper scale restaurants, but it costs about $1.99 for a bunch at the grocery store. 

I washed them well, threw in some of the greens from our radishes, and sauteed them with already-browned onions and garlic. 

Mike took care of the important part.

Let me tell you: this meal was no less satisfying than the steak and potato meals of yore. If you're not too keen on replacing everything you hold dear with vegetables, start small. Replace the potatoes with roasted radishes or mashed cauliflower (recipe coming soon!). Summer is the best time to start experimenting with new veggies, as you can find all kinds of things at farmer's markets. 

Went | West Hurley for Memorial Day

For Memorial Day this year, we rode down to West Hurley in Jenna's new car for a few days away in an adorable farmhouse. It was rainy and cool on Saturday when we arrived, so we made a delicious lunch and explored the house and the market nearby. The house was right down the road from Overlook Mountain and Woodstock, both of which we took full advantage of on Sunday and Monday.

 

On Sunday morning we made a big breakfast and headed up to Overlook Mountain for a quick hike. I say "quick hike," but as a sporadic hiker (at best), it was a challenge for me. I was thankful when we got to the remains of what was the Overlook Mountain House, built in 1871. The story behind this place is pretty incredible: it was destroyed by fire, renovated, destroyed by fire again, then renovations began again, but were never finished because of the owner's death. When his son went off to war, all of the top of the line building materials were stripped out and the remains stand as a reminder to not rebuild in a place plagued by fire. Seriously.

Once we got to the top, we were expected then climb this six story fire tower, left over from the days when the fastest way to get news of a fire was by having a volunteer stand above everything looking down. Now it serves as a chance for hikers to get an even better view of the summit. I made it up about two flights before my knees buckled and the intense winds made me turn right back around. 

The overlook was incredible despite being one of the lowest elevations in the Catskills. I'm content working my way up from the bottom. 

After the hike, we explored the nearby monastery then walked around Woodstock. We ate a late lunch at the Garden Cafe, and it was amazing. It's all vegetarian, and the black bean sweet potato burger and the brown rice and kale bowl were just what we needed after our trek up the mountain.

We all took long naps then woke up around 9 for matzoh ball soup and board games. We didn't want to leave on Monday, but we took the long way home, stopping in Woodstock again and then in Rhinebeck before heading home. The weather was so beautiful, we were all giddy with the windows down, and I was able, for once, to stave off the realization that vacation is nearing its end. 

Self-timer and manual focus are not friends. 

I woke up from a nap to Jenna and Ron getting out of the car to take pictures of one last overlook. 

I miss that farmhouse.

Books of 2013 | Mid-April through May

 

In this span of a month and a half, I've managed to read two books by the same author without entirely meaning to. I picked up The News from Spain by Joan Wickersham before heading home to Georgia for a wedding at the end of April. I read the first story while I put off packing the night before my flight, and read the rest on the plane. Wickersham weaves the simple phrase "the news from Spain" into these heartbreaking love stories set all throughout history and all over the world. What strikes me most about this collection is that she explores more than just romantic love—though that is a major theme as well—but the kind of love that blooms from the nipped bud of romantic love. There is deep friendship that seals itself in the hearts of two broken women, between a man and a woman who reach beyond their roles as boss and servant to relate as the bearers of spurned and ignored love. They give each other what they cannot find in their significant others, finally releasing the affection building up just under their skin, accepting one another with grace and forgiveness. These were the stories that completed this book for me; these are the details of life that make every day full with possibility.

I finished the book and jumped from one collection to the next, not finishing anything. I read as much as I could of Sam Lipsyte's The Fun Parts and Jamie Quatro's I Want to Show You More, but neither of them were doing it for me. I'll return to them some other time. Then at the beginning of May, after making a promise to myself not to buy anything unnecessary for the month, I found The Suicide Index on the remainders shelf at Harvard Bookstore. It was only six dollars, and I clutched it like the continuation of my life depended on that purchase, but I requested it from the library instead, trying to create a new kind of muscle memory when it comes to spending money. A week later, it was ready for me at the library, and I dove in head first.

I should say that this book is not for the light-hearted. It is a messy, self-conscious, in-depth look at the suicide of her father. It is a memoir, not fiction. After reading the first section of the book, which is organized like an index, I hoped that it was a work of fiction, but alas, it's not. It is heartbreaking at times, and beautifully written and honest at all times. I hesitate to recommend this to anyone who has known the loss of suicide, but I also know the healing that can come from hearing another voice telling a story not very different from your own. Wickersham explores all of the emotions that surface after her father commits suicide: there is anger, delayed and stunned sadness, the guttural need to protect the memory of someone you love. The book is not told in a linear manner because, as Wickersham herself asks, how could it be? After her father's death, everything he ever said or did comes into question, gains new significance in the harsh light. While she does not attempt to make sense of it all through the book, she comes out on the other end recognizing that no longer trying to do so is a healing in its own right.

Like no one's watching (or taking a picture).

I'm still sorting through the photos from Memorial Day weekend, but I saw this one and couldn't help but smile. The house we rented in the Catskills had a pretty good stereo in the living room, and we had music playing pretty much the whole time. I'm so grateful for things like Airbnb, which helps us young folk on a budget vacation like adults, and friends who take the time to organize a long weekend away. I'll be sharing more on our upstate New York adventures, but for now, put on a good song and make like weekend Mel up there. Happy Monday!

Made | Dark chocolate pudding pops with hazelnut

Mike and I often have a conversation about how picking favorites of anything is so childish and pointless. Why pick a favorite movie when there will always be more movies coming out? How can you even know? we ask each other. And each time we have this self-congratulating conversation about absolutely nothing, usually while flipping through Netflix with no end in sight, there's a little voice in the back of my head calling me a liar. Because I do have a favorite food. And it's ice cream.

This past weekend my friend Ron asked me what my favorite ice cream was, and I froze. I can't answer that, I apologized. Every ice cream has a different occasion. Vanilla is perfect for fresh-out-of-the-oven desserts. Chocolate is good when I'm feeling indecisive. I choose banana when I'm feeling healthy.

Then there are the crazy flavors: red velvet cake, bourbon pecan caramel swirl, Late Night Snack from Ben & Jerry's. There are not-quite-ice-creams like salted caramel gelato, blueberry and graham cracker frozen Greek yogurt, and Pinkberry's peanut butter whatever-it-is. There's frozen bananas blended with coconut milk when I want to relate to my Paleo friends and those chocolate ice cream sandwiches from Trader Joe's when I'm on the go.
This is all to say that popsicles, while not technically "ice cream," have their own time and place. And with weather reports threatening upwards of 90 degrees this week (there you are, not-Winter!), this is that time and place.

This is sort of a non-recipe; you layer pudding (store-bought, instant, or made from scratch), whipped cream (store-bought or made from scratch), and hazelnuts (or whatever nut you prefer!) into popsicle molds. The hardest part is waiting for them to set.




What you'll need
Chocolate pudding (I used Hershey's Special Dark because I impulse-bought it a month ago and why not?)
Whipped cream (I made this from scratch by combining ~1/2 cup whipping cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp sugar in a mason jar and going to town [that means shaking it really fast, not actually traveling to town])
Chopped hazelnuts

1. Make the pudding according to the package instructions (or make fresh pudding and share the recipe in the comments!). Let set in the fridge while you make your whipped cream.
2. If you're using store bought whipped cream, then chop your nuts now. Otherwise, combine whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar in a mason jar and shake it until it resembles whipped cream and before it becomes butter.
3. Chop your hazelnuts.
4. First layer the pudding, then the whipped cream, and top it all off with your chopped nuts. Leave a little room for the filling to expand while freezing.
5. Let freeze for at least 4 hours or until you just can't stand it anymore.
6. Optional: Eat any remaining chocolate pudding with any remaining whipped cream and top with whole hazelnuts while you wait.

Update: I had every intention of taking pictures while Mike and I ate these delicious and genius pudding pops, but they didn't actually want to come out of the molds. Either way, these were delicious eaten off of spoons dipped straight into the molds. Next time I'll just layer these into paper cups and peel them off when we're ready to eat.

Around here | Evening walk after rain.

Now that the weather has begun its transition into summer, Mike and I have been going on evening walks after dinner. After almost a full week of rain, the skies cleared in time for us to stretch our legs. I always love seeing photos of Meg's New York, so I think of this as my own version of that, my Cambridge.