Plum Cake

I was reading some one's blog the other day and saw this Marion Burros plum torte (cake).  I'll be darned if I can remember whos' blog I was reading.  If it's yours, slip me a note and I'll credit it.  I made Marion's cake years and years ago and had all but forgotten about this recipe.  Thankfully I was reminded, since I have buckets of wild plums that we picked last weekend sitting around, needing to be made into something.  So..... I made a couple of cakes (remember; lots of plums).  It's fast, easy, and you probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry.  No plums (I'm so sorry)?  Substitute any stone fruit.

I serve this cake a'la'mode; top it with a really good vanilla bean ice cream.  The plums are tart, the cake is so slightly sweet, and the sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on the top warms the cake up.  It's the perfect fall dessert; homey and comforting, served warm or cold.  

 I made two and froze them. I might have to make a few more if the plums hold out.

Marian Burros Original Plum Torte

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup unbleached flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

24 halves pitted purple plums

Sugar and cinnamon for topping.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream sugar and butter in a bowl. Add flour, baking powder, salt and eggs, and beat well.

3. Spoon the batter into a spring form of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, or to taste.

4. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired (but first, double-wrap the tortes in foil, place in a plastic bag, and seal). Or cool to lukewarm, and serve.

5. To serve a torte that has been frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.

Yield: 8 servings.

The Sun Sets on Summer

Summer's gone, Fall's here...And so is the produce!!!

I have zucchini EVERYWHERE.  I have given it away to friends (and anyone else who'll take some off my hands).  It's on the floors, tables, in bags for children to take home, in bread, sautee'd, steamed, "caked", and in the freezer.

We have pumpkins, squash, pears, apples, peaches, and plums.  Time to get busy.  I've addressed the basil and made 7 batches of pesto this week.  The zucchini has been shredded, frozen, and/or made into bread.  Apple butter has been made.  Tomato soup is on the agenda for this afternoon.  That leaves little time for the rest.  I think I'll be juicing the wild plums for some jelly making later.  The pears and apples will be made into more butter and some dehydrated  fruit.  "Something in this photo is not like the others".  Who left the basket of tennis balls on the porch?  

 I'm tired already.   But I do love Fall and I'm glad it's here.  I am posting the tomato soup recipe that I'm making as I write. 

 It's just that good.  Try it.

Cream of Tomato Soup

12 ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut up

1 cup of chicken stock or water

1cup of chopped celery

½ cup of onion, diced

¼ cup of minced fresh Italian parsley

3 Tab. of cornstarch

3 Tab. of butter, melted

2 Tab. of brown sugar

2 tsp. of salt

2 cups of light cream

1 egg yolk, beaten

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Simmer tomatoes, water, celery, onion, and parsley for 30 minutes. Puree and strain.

Mix together butter and cornstarch. Stir into soup and let simmer over medium heat until thickened slightly.

Add brown sugar, salt and pepper. (Freeze, if desired, at this point.)

When you are ready to serve, stir the cream and egg into the hot soup.

Makes about 2 quarts.

A Gift to Ourselves

We bought ourselves an anniversary present (how else do you get exactly what you want?) so we did some re-arranging last weekend to make some room for our new continuous-arm Windsor settee.

The hall after



The hall before


This nook at the end of the second floor hall used to hold a hand made/chip-carved antique desk made from an Arbuckle coffee box.  The desk fit the space, but we never ever used it.  But just maybe the nook would be a good spot to curl up with a quilt and read a book.  But, you ask (pretend that you did), "Is the setee comfortable enough to curl up in?"  The answer is, "Why yes, yes it is!"  These Windsor chairs are extremely comfortable.  Every part is turned, carved, and steamed by hand using traditional techniques by our friend and artist Jock Jones (who also happens to be our neighbor).


Before

After: New Headboard over the bed that still needs to be dressed.

We rearranged a bit more in one second floor bedroom and had room to bring the Comb Back Windsor chair up.  By moving this rooster screen made my our friend Lothar (we live in a town full of artists), we got a "two-for-one"; a new headboard and room for a another reading spot.






New Reading Corner

 We also have a third chair of Jock's, a Nantucket Windsor, in the Granary.  Can you tell we love them?  If you'd like a closer look at this amazing artist and his chairs, go to his website,  Jock'swindsors.com.

Zucchini Pancakes

Our neighbors Lothar and Anita grow the most beautiful garden. Every summer Lothar tells me about his wife Anita's zucchini pancakes.  I don't know what Anita puts in hers but I decided to try making my own version.  I had some pepper jack and Parmesan cheeses in the fridge, some Panko bread crumbs, and 1/2 of a cut onion.

I grated my zucchini on my hand grater for this small amount so why not just grate the onion along with it.  Saves time and mess.  Be sure to squeeze most of the liquid from the grated veggies or your cakes will fall apart when it cooks.  I just grab it in my IMPECCABLY clean hands and squeeze the life out of it.

Use white bread crumbs instead of Panko; substitute chives for the onions.  Change up the cheese and add your choice of fresh herbs or garlic.  I left them out this time because of the pepper jack cheese.  I also had an open jar of my homemade tomato sauce open in the fridge to sauce these with but you could top this with lots of other things.  Use what you have.  That's what this recipe is all about.  AND WAS IT EVER GOOD!!!  I wouldn't lie to you about that.  I ate three (I know!, but they were little).

Zucchini Cakes

2 cups of grated zucchini, squeezed dry

2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup of grated yellow onion, squeezed dry

½ cup of Panko bread crumbs

½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup of grated Pepper Jack cheese

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper

1 ½ tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of butter

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs (optional)

1/4 cup of fresh tomato sauce for dipping the cakes into

Heat the oil and butter in a non-stick skillet until it shimmers. Set the pan over medium heat.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Stir just until blended.  Form into patties and carefully drop them into the skillet. Shake once to dislodge them from sticking. Let them cook for several minutes on each side until the cakes are golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.

Serve hot with fresh tomato sauce, applesauce, ranch dressing, sour cream, pico de gallo or some pesto.

Gold Rush Bread (Not the Same Old Zucchini Bread)

Do you grow zucchini in your garden?  If  you answered yes, then you surely have gone out one morning and found a baseball bat-sized zucchini.   What to do with it?  Scrape out the spongy center, grate it up, and make this bread.

This is not the same old same old zucchini bread.  It's pure gold.  I grow Gold Rush variety zucchini in my garden, so I thought, "Why not add some pineapple too kick the yellow color up a notch?" Of course you could use green zucchini.

Gold Rush Bread

2 cups finely grated gold or green zucchini

3 large eggs

½ cup of melted butter

½ cup of vegetable oil

10 ounces of crushed pineapple, drained but not dry

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

3 cups of all-purpose flour

2 cups of granulated sugar

2 teaspoons of baking soda

½ teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

¾ teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg

1 ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 cup of nuts, chopped (optional)

Butter two 8-4 inch loaf pans generously and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Combine the zucchini, eggs, butter, oil, pineapple and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir well. In a separate bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk well to blend together without lumps.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until well combined. Fold in the nuts if using. Do not over mix.

Scoop the batter into the pans and bake for 50-60 minutes until the bread is golden brown and a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out dry. Cool for 10 minutes and remove from the pans to a wire rack. Let cool completely before cutting.

Yield: 2 loaves

Do It Yourself (if you don't, who will?)

I have been doing some DIY projects lately.  Today I rewired the lamp and changed the harp size because it was 12 inches high.  All the shades I tried dwarfed the lamp.  After changing the harp, I finally found a shade in the right proportions for this funky little re-do at Lowes.  Now I just need to recover the shade.  I didn't realize how easy it is to rewire a lamp.  The one on my nightstand has been shorting out for a while and I fixed it.  Who knew???  I feel empowered.

A few weekends ago I painted my grandparents 1930's bed which I inherited.  It was dark wood veneer but the finish was in terrible shape so I sanded, primed, and painted it this bird's egg blue color.  I like it and I can't wait to get it "dressed".  The beaded footboard is so interesting ... too bad it's tucked under the eaves.

I'm off to make a shade pattern. 

Back to School Supplies at Bell'Occhio

I bought myself some back-school-supplies.  Technically, I don't qualify for back-to-school since I'm not a teacher or a student, but we took The Daughters back-to-school shopping in San Francisco (it's a yearly tradition in August) so I bought myself some supplies.

If you haven't been to Bell'Occhio you should.  It's in an old store front and is a little bit French/American/British/ European ECLECTIC.  The merchandise rotates so if you see something you really like you should buy it because it might not be there next time you visit.  Just in case you're not in San Francisco (although I highly recommend going) you can visit them here. 

The store owner wrapped my towel purchase smartly in brown paper.  Don't you just love Bell'Occhio's logo on the sticker?  I rolled up the red twine and saved it; just in case I run out of the black twine on the cone ;)

Weekend in Review

Remember this?  I put it on the floor to measure it because it was getting so big and I would really hate to make it too big.  That would just be bad; if it didn't fit.  Ha!!!  Right.

Turns out it isn't even close to being big enough for the space.  I'm quite sure that the room is growing.  I can hardly lift it but I have A LONG LONG WAY to go. (Please excuse the sheet hanging on the bed below the comforter.  I store my antique quilts on this bed covered with a large cotton sheet and it seems as if the sheet was showing).

We took a little side trip to Topaz, a Japanese internment camp a few hours away.  It's long gone but there was a great little museum in a nearby town.  It just made me sad.  I know WWII was a scary time for Americans but to say it was a horrible injustice to imprison Japanese-American citizens is somehow inadequate. 

Our town had a Plen Air Arts Festival, contest and studio tour, and I bought this beautiful local honey at my friend Vickie's farmers market. 

I made some cupcakes to eat at the monthly extended-family dinner and two of The Daughters came home. It was a good weekend. 

I hope yours was good too.

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 box of chocolate cake mix (Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker)

1 small box (4 oz.) of chocolate instant pudding mix

¾ cup of canola oil

¾ cup of milk

4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl mix the wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix for 2 minutes until blended. Scoop into cupcake papers and bake for 14-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle.

Let cool and frost with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

*For high altitudes: add 1 more egg and ¼ cup of all-purpose flour to the dry mix.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces of softened cream cheese

4 ounces of softened butter

2 cups of powdered (confectioner’s) sugar

½ cup of cocoa powder

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients until light and fluffy. 

Linked to Friday Potluck.

Tomato Zucchini Salad with Vinaigrette

This is a delicious and versatile salad.  It's dressed with a simple vinaigrette.  I made it with items I had in my pantry and garden.  You can adapt it to whatever you have growing in abundance; change up the herbs,or  substitute the squash.  Go crazy.  You don't like basil?  Leave it out.  Do you have another herb growing that you love.  Substitute that instead.

I'm taking this to a barbecue.  Hope there's some left when I go through the line.  This will be a standby in my house, as long as the produce keeps growing.

Tomato Zucchini Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing

Mixture of heirloom tomatoes (about 6 cups)

4 small zucchini, yellow and green

1 ¼ cup of good extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup of white wine or champagne vinegar

½ cup any combination of chives, scallions, or shallots, chopped

¼ cup of minced Italian parsley

3 Tablespoons of herbs, your choice, chopped (I used marjoram, basil, oregano and lemon balm)

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

3 teaspoons of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper

Pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)

Wash and dry the tomatoes and zucchini. Seed the tomatoes and chop into bite-size pieces. Slice the zucchini into thin ribbons (I used a mandoline). Put tomatoes and zucchini ribbons in a large bowl that will allow you to toss the salad. Set aside.

Make the vinaigrette dressing:

Put the vinegar, onions (whatever kind you use), herbs, garlic, salt and peppers into the bowl of a food processor or blender. Mix well by pulsing. Add the olive oil through the feed tube slowly and blend just until emulsified.

Pour the marinade over the salad and gently toss to cover.

Let the salad marinate at room temperature for 2 hours.

Taste for seasoning and adjust with more salt and pepper if necessary.

Arrange in a bowl and garnish with whole herbs and a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.

Linked to These Chicks Cooked.

Brier Patch to Preserves

Do you have a U-Pick farm near you?  We found this one and Mr. McBride was friendly, generous, and so kind.  We'll definitely go back.  We left with two buckets of blackberries and a bouquet of zinnias.  I enjoyed them the whole weekend in the kitchen.

There is a long row of zinnias and sunflowers as you leave the patch and a sign that says, "Pick a bouquet as you leave."  They even had scissors at the end of the row.  How great is that?  The McBride's Brier Patch is nestled just under the mountain and there are rows and rows of raspberries and blackberries to pick from.

Because blackberries have large seeds, I juiced the them and made jelly.  Our two buckets (about 12 lbs. of berries) yielded 24 half pints of jelly.  I used the this recipe from a box of pectin and water-bath canned the jars.  To 12 of the jars I added minced jalapeno pepper.  The pepper jelly is so good in sauces for meat dishes, or served with cheese and crackers.

I had a lone cup of blackberry juice left, so I added some frozen raspberries from our backyard patch and some fresh blueberries from the fridge. I strained most of the raspberry seeds but left a few.  I was out of pectin after making 4 batches of jelly so I just added lemon juice, and sugar and cooked the jam down until set.  The flavor was bright and tart and that batch made 3 pints and plus a half jar for the fridge.  I tried it on bread (didn't even need butter) as it cooled.  MMMMMmmmmmm!!!

Tomorrow I tackle the garden zucchini and tomatoes.  Today I'm tired.

*By the way, can you tell the difference between black raspberries and blackberries?  The stem stays in the blackberry when you pick it but with all raspberries, black or red, the stem stays on the cane.  Can you believe how big Mr. McBride's blackberries are?

A Nice Surprise

This came in the mail today.  It was a nice surprise.

About a year ago a very nice man stopped by our house.  He had a book in progress about country homes from all across America, though only a few are from the Western US.  He and his wife came back and took some really nice pictures of our house and our outbuildings.

It's a lovely book and if you are interested you might want to take a look here....  All of the photos I have uploaded are of our home with the exception of the snow scene below.  I love this house.  It's just "up the road" to the North of us and the snow is so beautiful in this photo.  Doesn't the light in the windows look so welcoming?  It's like the house is saying, "Please come in and warm yourself by my fire".

We are pleased and flattered to be included in Tim's book.  These homes are absolutely beautiful, and to me this book is pure eye candy.  But then you are talking to a woman who never gets tired of looking at country properties.  I am still actively mourning the loss of Country Home magazine.  Anyone else sad that it's gone?

There are always "works in progress" at the Homestead.  We still have many unfinished decorating projects and particularly  some bare walls to fill with treasures, but it's fun to look back on these photos and see how much we have done in the last little while.  The bed wall  in our Granary Guest house below has changed so much in the last year.  Unfortunately, I'm still hand quilting the grain sack quilt.

I'm off to work on some weekend projects.  Hopefully I'll have something to show you next week.  Have a nice weekend!