Cocoa-Zucchini Cake w Brown Sugar Glaze

I am late night baking. My house smells amazing, and only partly due to a brand new candle I picked out at Pier 1 today. I also picked up a new cake stand (see above). We have been go - go - go for weeks and tonight is the first non-work day where I've found myself at home with an open evening. I've been planning on baking this cake for a few days now. We were gifted a beautiful garden zucchini and I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it. I grew up with my mom baking chocolate zucchini bread and I have always LOVED it. Although this isn't the same recipe my mom bakes from it still reminds me of home.

Speaking of home, I have some exciting news. Scott and I made an offer on a house. Right now we are at the wait-and-see part of the process but I am hopeful and spending a lot of time thinking about creating a home with my favorite guy. This is a big step and one that we've been talking about for most of the summer. If all goes well we'll find ourselves in a new space before winter sets in. Buying a house locks us into a location for a few years but it grants us so much freedom with how we live our lives. I won't have to worry anymore about using a jewelry hammer past 10pm! And I'll be able to dance around with my loved ones without worrying about pounding on someone else's ceiling. And I'll have my very own garden in my very own yard! These are dreams, people. Dreams made real.

Food Matters Project: Raspberry-Tequila & Peach-Coconut Sorbet

 

 

I'm having a difficult time putting into words just what the Food Matters Project means to me: participating (mostly) weekly with a group of amazing food bloggers, seeing the wide variety of dishes all beginning with the same source recipe, branching out and away from my normal selection of favorite dishes and creating new favorites. All of these things combine to equal something greater than the parts. Each food matters member has a goal to, at minimum, participate in a movement. It's mostly a simple movement. Make good food! Share your enthusiasm for good food with others! But if you think about it, in today's society of Go Go Go and On Line On Line On Line, we are all managing to take one day each week to slow down and make something special and good that we then share with the people we love.

I've been thinking a lot lately about living simply. This can lead to surprisingly grandiose thoughts like: Maybe I'll buy a farm! or Live off grid! or Hike the Pacific Crest Trail! or Travel the USA with my Vintage Teardrop Trailer! I know the reality of it is that - at least for most people - life equals a 9 to 5 job, a mortgage, and a schedule largely dictated by forces outside of ourselves. I can't help but desire something that involves hard work but a carved out freedom instead. Right now, I'm content to take small and constant steps toward the future, and today that means homemade sorbet.

Sorbet strikes me as the kind of recipe where you improve your skills with each making. This might be because I've never made it before but still chose to experiment with the ingredients instead of following a recipe exactly. Neither of my recipes turned out exactly the way I expected but I still like them. I anticipate that I will continue to try out new and interesting combinations until I find some favorites. I'm especially interested in combining fruits with fresh herbs. I also wouldn't mind trying out some fizzy options (aka. sparkling drinks with a spoonful or two of sorbet). I guess we'll just see what happens!

Cherry and Chocolate Ganache with Graham Cracker Crust

photos by scott haydon

My nephew was at our house for a visit last weekend. One of my favorite things to do with my nephew is "make it your way" meals. Most recently, we prepared some noodles and set out assorted ingredients (sauces, cheeses, leeks, tomatoes, shallots, spices) and each made our own mini baked noodle casserole. Delicious! 

After running some errands, and eating a very tasty Pho lunch, we decided that we should make something with the best priced bing cherries I've seen all year. After talking about it we soon determined that a fresh (mostly non bake) cherry dessert sounded like a great idea. This led to some google searching and, with a couple of tweaks, the recipe you see here was born.

We took our tart with us to Monday Night Dinner and I'm happy to tell you that we did NOT have any leftovers. This tart was so good! The cherries mild tartness offset the intense dark chocolate-y sweetness of the ganache layer and the graham cracker crust crunch was perfect. This is a great (and easy) summer recipe. Truly, delightful.