moving week. not COOKING week.

excited to soon be all done moving and start settling in. my favorite thing is this one random green door.

plum kuchen

This plum cake is something my mom makes towards the end of summer or early in the fall, when plums are in full bloom. Before she made it, my Grandma Marce made it for us on her summer visits. This recipe is sweeter and more cake like than I remember their's ever being. If that's what you're into, it's perfect.

Consider this version more of a dessert item, like a cakey-cobbler, than a grab-n-go breakfast item. I had some leftover blueberries that I threw into the mix as well, but plums are all you need. Oh yes, and kuchen is the German word for cake. Much better than kaka, which is what they call it in Sweden.

PLUM KUCHEN
From Gourmet

2 1/4 teaspoons or 1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (105–110°F)

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided

1 cup sugar, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup plain yogurt at room temperature

1 large egg, warmed in shell in warm water five minutes

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and softened, divided

3/4 pound firm-ripe plums (about 4 small), halved and pitted

Stir together yeast and warm water in mixer bowl and let stand until foamy, about five minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

Add two cups flour, 2/3 cup sugar, salt, yogurt, egg, zest, and vanilla to yeast mixture and mix at medium-low speed 1 minute. Beat in one stick of the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Beat at medium speed until dough is smooth and shiny, about five minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.) Scrape down side of bowl and sprinkle dough with remaining two tablespoons flour. Cover bowl loosely with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Spread remaining two tablespoons butter in bottom of an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Cut each plum half into five or six slices and arrange in one layer in pan.

Stir dough until flour is incorporated, then spread evenly over plums. Loosely cover with buttered plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until almost doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Bake until kuchen is golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan five minutes, then invert and unmold onto a rack to cool completely.

Serve with additional yogurt, lightly sweetened, or sweetened crème fraîche.

the big soup

a tasty soup for chilly fall days. this soup is very forgiving, making it easy to improvise and include whatever beans, grains or veggies you wish to use or have on hand.

MINESTRONE

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

3-4 celery stalks, diced

1/2 cup chopped prosciutto or ham (optional)

6 cloves garlic, diced

2 cups potatoes, chopped into cubes

salt and pepper

6 cups chicken stalk

2 cans diced tomatoes, including juices

2 cups zucchini, chopped into cubes

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup kidney beans

1/2 cup cannellini beans

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Parmesan rind

1/2 cup pasta, such as ditalini or barley (optional)*

Heat the olive oil on medium heat and saute onions, carrots and celery until tender. Add in the prosciutto (or ham) and garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant and thoroughly cooked. Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add the stock, tomatoes and Parmesan rind. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook about 30 minutes. Add the zucchini and different beans, along with the parsley. Add in the pasta and cover, cooking at a simmer until ready to serve. Serve with parsley and grated parmesan.

*Note pasta will continue to expand even during refrigeration. If you intend to eat over multiple days, add cooked pasta at serving time and store pasta separately for future servings.

living off the land, a labor of love

Labor day weekend marks the best weekend of the year to live off the bounty of the land. this is because all laborers take a break, and no one is around to cook your meals and wait on you hand and foot. to commemorate this day we caught a few crabs, Dan caught a salmon and then we ate what we caught.


the prize-winning salmon

if you extend your arm so that the fish is closer to the camera, it makes the fish look bigger. that's why this fish looks so huge.

crabs from the crab pots

crabs cooking in a pot on the BBQ

LEMON DILL SALMON

Sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. worcesterschire

juice of half a lemon

2 tsp. dried dill

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Mix all of these ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

for the fish:

olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1-2 lbs. salmon fillets

salt and pepper

juice of half a lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. After you've prepared the sauce, drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a glass baking dish, and cover with sliced onions. Place salmon fillets on the bed of onions, salt and pepper fish, and then cover fish with the juice of half a lemon. Spread the salmon with a light layer of the sauce mix, and then sprinkle with additional dill for garnish. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until fish is opaque. Serve fish alongside the baked onions.

this pie sweats...so you don't have to

this was my first endeavor with a making a lemon meringue pie, and i made it for corey moran's birthday dessert. it was pure deliciousness. gotta love the lemon. i really really love the lemon. i think this is my new favorite. and now that i know that this isn't such a high maintenance pie after all, and that i can turn egg whites into stiff peaks while i'm watching tv (thanks to the kitchenaid), we are in trouble. i want to make it everyday.

LEMON MERINGUE PIE
(Courtesy of Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything)

1 flaky pie crust (out of the freezer section or homemade)
1 cup granulated sugar
salt
boiling water
4 eggs, separated
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons grated or minced lemon zest
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup confectioners sugar

In saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, and flour. Gradually add hot water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Stir small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks to temper, then return to hot mixture. Bring back to boiling and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add butter and lemon zest. Slowly add lemon juice, mixing well. Pour into pastry shell. Spread meringue over filling to the edges. Bake at 350 F for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool before cutting, best served cool.

don't grow up too fast

A sweet card and sentiment from Alison Shanik of King Popcorn. She makes each embroidered card by hand.

babycakes

Sweet little mini vanilla cakes with whipped cream cheese frosting. Perfect for any celebration. Even if the celebration is just you...at home...eatin cake by yourself...on a Thursday. Celebrate it, people.

Mixing the cake batter.

Mixed to its full fluffiness.

the final cakes.

GOLDEN LAYER CAKE

(courtesy of How to Cook Everything)

1 and 1/4 sticks butter, softened

2 cups cake or all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 eggs or 8 yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR 1 tablespoon grated or minced orange zest

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (if you are shy about almond extract, leave it out. tasty both ways.)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

For cupcakes, preheat oven to 350. Place your cupcake papers in the muffin tin.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth, then gradually add the sugar. Beat until light, 3 or 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs or the yolks (I used eggs) one at a time, then the vanilla or orange zest, and the almond extract.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the egg mixture a bit at a time, stirring in milk as needed. Stir until just smooth.

Fill the cupcake papers, each with about 2 large spoonfuls of batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a rack. Frost and serve without the paper.

FLUFFY WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon food coloring (optional)

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Add food coloring, if desired. Whip in a stand mixer at high speed, about 4 minutes until airy and fluffy.