That title, right?! I have read, on more than one occasion, how, as we age, our worlds often shrink. We lose relations and companions to distance, death, and changing personalities (check, check, check). We like going out less (check). We’re more secure and possibly more stuck (or rooted?) in our ways (check, check).
So, in other words, a little explanation for why it is always food. My world has shrunk a bit. For the most part, I am okay with it. People do die, and time alters our wisdom and friendships. I do not wish to be friendless, but I also do not wish to be a doormat or punching bag or friend of very last resort. I prefer the sturdiness of an oak, reaching out in small ways and receding in others. Or, maybe, a river, ebbing and flowing and slowly altering course.
That said, I must eat for sustenance, and unlike my nephew of a tummy far more finicky than mine, I can eat more than meat alone. So, I remain a baker and cook and enjoy taking a photo of what I make. Above, I had leftover sweet potatoes and whipped them into gloriously crusty biscuits before tarting them up with homemade peach, marmalade, and strawberry jam.
I believe I have mentioned how our library has fewer and fewer actual books on the shelf, so I made the decision to get a tablet in order to expand my reading possibilities. It is a mixed blessing, mostly good, as so much is available literally on demand, and a little bit sad, because, gosh, do I miss the smell of physical books. I am one of those people, surprise!
In the actual on demand part, I scroll categories and press the borrow button with great ease. This cake represents a glorious case-in-point. During a happy cookbook scroll, I found, Cake Magic, by Caroline Wright, had a hankering for coconut, found this recipe, and I was off to the races! It was truly delicious, especially the perfectly toasted coconut on the exterior. Well, at least on the first slice, as it took up moisture from the frosting after that.
The book has a unique way about it, making a few different base cakes, then generously dousing them with flavorful syrups after cooling. I also like how I can easily scale down the recipes to make cute six inchers that aren’t total gut busters, yet ample enough to share a bit with the neighbors. I liked it so much, I bought a physical copy!
German potato sausage and mushroom soup, with toasty swirled rye.
For one of our joint birthday gifts, you may remember, we bought a portable outdoor pizza oven. We gave it quite a few tries but decided it was too finicky and passed it along about a year ago. We thought that was the end of pizza ovens, besides our regular one, and honestly, kind of lamented it. Our house gets exceedingly warm when heating the oven for pizza, so it was mostly relegated to rainy days and the cool season. A real shame!
Then, drumroll, while perusing one of my wonderful Libby Library app food magazines on loan, I spied the Current electric pizza oven, perfectly suited to indoor or outdoor use. It heats up, unlike ours, to a whopping 700 degrees in 20 minutes or less! It can even go hotter. Zoiks!
So, here we go on our maiden voyage. It was a warm day, and our kitchen remained at a normal temperature. We didn’t have to wait an hour to pop a pizza in. It didn’t lose heat after the first pizza. It was perfectly cooked. Goldilocks, we have lift-off!
When we lived in Pittsburgh, I stumbled upon Vivian Howard’s A Chef’s Life, her ode to family and the food of North Carolina. After moving here, and while our house was a shit show of construction woes and wins, I found it again on our local PBS station. Though I had yet to visit anywhere near Kinston (the closest we ever got was Raleigh in 2019), the show somehow felt like home. I liked Vivian’s honest, earnest approach to just about everything and would watch her from our makeshift bedroom/living room, uttering deep sighs of relief.
When the show ended, I was very sad about it and followed her on her other endeavors. I stumbled upon her, yet again, back on PBS, with Kitchen Curious. I don’t know how many episodes there are, but I binge watched seven in one happy sitting on our normal sofa in our normal living room (see above). In one of the episodes, she discusses reducing food waste and kitchen scrap upcycling with a delightful couple of sisters.
Inspired, she creates a beautiful pink syrup from apple peels, rosemary, sugar and water. Having all the ingredients in my very own kitchen, I made some, too. With it, I made apple soda, I also made two cocktails, using the soda and cream sherry in one and brandy in another. They both were a hit. Thank you, Vivian!!
In that vein, when a hankering for oatmeal raisin cookies strikes, and you only have a bag of depressingly desiccated raisins, do not despair! Mix equal parts maple syrup and bourbon (or brandy or rum or water), with the desired amount of raisins (one cup raisins to two tablespoons of each liquid here), heat over medium until syrupy, plump, and glossy, and you are good to go. Oh, and If you like the very round shape, I learned this from Cloudy Kitchen, take your largest round cookie or biscuit cutter, and scoot the fresh from the oven cookies into shape!
Finally, you made it to the end! It is Christmas baking season, and here are a few of what I made this year, from the top: Dutch Letter Bars, for which I will share an almond pulp recipe, peanut butter and toasted walnut fudge, and another find from my library magazines, crunchy fruity toffee bars (they use cornflakes and saltines!). Delicious…
