Cinnamon, Cloves, Allspice, Nutmeg, and save the big walnut pieces to decorate the top / New Jersey / Jan. 2010
Yesterday was the day of baking the War Cake to feel more peaceful inside.
(Grandmom's War Cake recipe calls for no eggs since they were in short supply during WWII. It is densely packed with raisins and spices. Three hours after I had taken the cake out of the oven it was still warm.)
Several years ago my doctor told me that my iron was low. I should buy some iron pills and take one every day. I bought the pills and the bottle sat unopened on the top of the refrigerator where I could see it. I never opened the bottle. Each time I went to the doctor he would mention the low iron and ask about the pills. I would artfully dodge his questions (I'm not sure exactly why I wouldn't take them except that I hate taking any kind of pill). About 18 months ago I joined an organic food co-op. Every two weeks I get 15 pounds of fresh produce. This bonanza sitting on the counter greatly increased my intake of fruits and vegetables. Even when I couldn't get to the supermarket I was usually able to cobble a meal together out of the produce (an added incentive was that I felt guilty if it spoiled before I could use it). On my last visit to the doctor he asked about my taking the iron pills. I hemmed and hawed as usual, “Well, I don't take them regularly.” He tried to pin me down: in an average month how many would I take? “Well, in some months none at all” (how's that for an artful dodge?). [Disclaimer: I don't want to lie to my doctor, but I also don't want to admit to being irresponsible; was I being irresponsible by not taking the pills?] A week later I got a phone message from the doctor that my saturated iron was 29% which is good (my stored iron was still a little low, 23%). What??? Had the produce done the trick? When he first mentioned the low iron I asked about eating more red meat, would that help? No, he said, you'd have to eat an awful lot of meat. I hadn't asked if eating more fruit and vegetables would help. Had I been rescued by that beautiful curly-leaved kale?
Some sort of random electrical impulses have been flying around me. Clocks that automatically reset themselves. Light bulbs that turn on and off at will. Off then on. On then off. The car clock keeps resetting itself to 12:00. Then the oven clock resets to 12:00. Inside I feel sad and cold. A short-circuit somewhere inside me. Like I need a jolt. A jump. And then this morning a dead car battery. My cheerful rescuer cleaned the terminals and jumped the battery all while singing Bells Will be Ringing. Now the car has a new battery and somehow my heart feels a little better, too, not fully charged, but not resetting to 12:00 either.
I'd forgotten what fun it is to use a rolling pin and to work with dough. That distinctive sound of the wood and the ball bearings in the handles. Thump, clickidty, clickidty. Thump, clickidty, clickidty. A memory from childhood. It had been so long since I'd used my rolling pin that I had to root repeatedly through the cabinet until I uncovered it buried way in the back. Flour the board, flour the pin, squish the dough down and roll it out. Cut the shapes. Re-use the scraps. It went by too fast. I'm already planning what to make next. Ginger cookies, I think. Aunt Bee's recipe says to roll them very thin...
The Family Recipe Book's Famous Steamed Crabs / Maryland / August 2009
Is there anything better on a hot August afternoon than a bushel of spicy steamed crabs?
What gives the shells their bright red/orange color?
Blue crabs have pigments, including Alpha-crustacyanin and Astaxanthin, in their shells. The pigments interact to form a blue-green color. When cooked, the Alpha-crustacyanin breaks down, leaving only the Astaxanthin, which gives the shells their "hot" color. (Blue Crab FAQs)
They also make "sticky buns" / Ocean City, NJ / June 2009
Happy hour in the courtyard / Ocean City, NJ / July 2009
Bread as an edible plate: pizza on the boardwalk at the Olympic Flame Restaurant / Wildwood, NJ / June 2008
You are also the “in croûte” around my potatoes; Another recipe for hard times: Pommes de terre Boulangères in croûte
(“Baker's Wife” Potatoes in a Pastry Crust) — looks fancy but is filled
with potatoes and onions; this was fun to make as it uses puff pastry
and smelled fragrant and exotic while baking / June 2009
... thinking of the elections being held in Iran today and hoping that the Iranian women can gain more freedoms ...
The Hard Luck Pound Cake / New Jersey / June 2009
Last week I went to see the doctor. On the way I heard the radio talking about how if Woody Guthrie were around he wouldn't be writing songs about “the economy” but rather how “times are hard” or these are “hard times.” My doctor asked about business and I said, oh, a bit slow — it's the economy I guess (in my head I thought “hard times”). He said that with the exception of one man (who sold some sort of internet-connection widget), all his patients talked about business being off, losing their jobs, losing their health insurance, etc. Driving home I got it in my head that I needed to make a pound cake (partially attributed, I am sure, to the weakness that comes after getting my blood drawn). I found a recipe for a swirled pound cake —the dark and light mixed together, kind of like life — and made a few “hard times” adjustments. The recipe called for 1 cup of butter; I substituted canola oil for half of the butter (butter is expensive and has more health-problem fat). The recipe called for 2 cups of white sugar; I substituted dark brown sugar for half of the sugar (dark brown sugar seems like the poorer relation to white sugar). The recipe called for 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract; all I had was a drop (I protest buying vanilla extract because it costs so much and I can never taste it in what I bake). The recipe called for a cup of milk and I had none; I substituted a cup of Paulo's Half-and-Half (it was in the refrigerator and is a little hidden richness to add comfort). The cake was wonderful — hard luck doesn't feel so bad with a good piece of cake. (Full recipe after the jump.)
