Blueberry Cake for Nana

Shortly after Nana's sister died, my dearest grandmother sent me a recipe for blueberry cake. This cake, when baked by Ruth, was something simply heavenly in her mind. But when she tried to make it, it was never "quite right." She wanted me to try.

And what better time than for her birthday-on-the-hill?

The directions, though, were terrible, and I had to throw out all of the batter after mixing the whipped egg whites in far too early and creating a disastrous mix.

And even though I blow at making cakes, always turning them into decrepit, crumbling structures, this was quite good with a bit of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and brandied cherries!

Gift from Nana

I was, at first, afraid that telling Nana about my small-plate collection would result in many unwanted and unappreciated gifts.

But this one, I love!

Chicken Eggs

Some adorable baking cups given to me by Ma'am for my birthday. I also got two silicone egg-poachers, which will be interesting to try out.

Given my penchant for cup-like dinner treats, these shall probably get a lot of use, despite their utter ridiculousness!

:D

Dani's Birthday Cake

So much chocolate.

Needed after a morning of think-think-thinking with the Professor!

Mother's Birthday

Valentine's Day means Moth's birthday. If it were required of me to express truly how much love and adoration we feel for this glorious woman, I would say it were an impossible task; I know the rest of my family would be quick to agree.

And so it was that Fath, Bee and Beak got together the night before our celebration to concoct this ice cream cakepie. I imagine their time in the kitchen was a joyous one, stumbling about in a fit of inebriated giggles. It was as simple as:

prepared oreo crust

orange sherbet ice cream

mocha chip ice cream

and stuck in the freezer for the night, as the household snuggled deep in their blanketed beds.

Dollops of whipped cream were added just before serving -- the only contribution I made . From the tales, I was surprised at how well it turned out. But ice cream is hard to mess up I suppose. It was tasty; it was easy-peasy.

Bee's Surprise

My dear, dear sister Bee. She turned 21 this weekend, and due to the planning of her lovely roommate Kandy, all four sisters (and many friends) were gathered together for one night of joyous dancing, drinking and revelry. The theme was green; my cake-making hands were eager. The results, though at first hopelessly ugly, turned into at least a somewhat enticing mess.

Bee is the type of girl you always want to surprise, and this is the second such party we've thrown for her over the years. In one bowl, I mixed:

1 c. sugar

Almost 1 c. flour

3/8 c. cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c. boiling water

And baked it for about 1/2 hour.

Bean contributed a frosting heart to the quickly accumulating counter mess.

In an attempt to rectify all of my past cake-making experiences, I greasedand floured the pan....but half of the thing remained in there when I tried for the release. The precarious confection, held together by frosting (confectioner's sugar + milk + an extremely strong dose of food coloring), looked as if someone that crawled out of a nuclear swamp. Luckily the ever-ready supply of house chocolate allowed for a topping of powdered sugar, dark chocolate bits, and a Stracciatella truffle.

And its slightly strange taste was made up for by a weekend of sisterly reunion, and faces forever emanating joy!

Nana's Birthday

Dearest Nana gets so touched every year when we all gather with our foods and our cards and our gifts and hugs to celebrate her birthday. We lug everything up the huge hill, light a fire, grill grill grill and play ball games until Nana feels the touch of the first bug. Then it's time to go home for presents and dessert; all eyes on Nana until she's done or else. But it's always a time that I love so...

This is the typical fare (home-grown burgers and store bought cheesecake):

Truffles for Nana

Nana's first love in life is dark chocolate, so I decided to try out these truffles for her birthday party. They were puuuurdy simple! I beat:

3/8 c. cream cheese

1 c. confectioner's sugar

to get this mix:

and then beat in:

1 c. melted Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips

1/2 tsp vanilla

and then refrigerated it for an hour. Took it out and rolled it into one-inch balls, and rolled it in

confectioner's sugar

rainbow sprinkles

walnuts

They came out a lot more intact than I envisioned...

Late Dinner

Class ended at 10 PM again; I'm sure whoever scheduled that winner is chuckling quietly with their hot cocoa right now...

But the point is, I had to have dinner. Bean has been strangely motivated lately in the bread-making department, so I used up our old spinach and an egg (and a fresh basil leaf and salt and pepper and butter) and made a scrambled egg mess. On top of the bread went Provolone cheese and spinach.

And it was damn good.

As soon as this was over I spent too many minutes making this card for my Nana; I'm going home for her birthday festivities this weekend, and for some hardcore fiddle playing with the gurls in Amherst.

Sean's Birthday :D

It was Sean's birthday yesterday -- he's a man everyone seems to adore (although, for good reason). His sister Mary came over to make him a confetti cake from a box, with rainbow frosting and a Jiggly Puff drawn in pink icing on the top. It was a sugary and surprising dessert, and delicious, although I'd pick chocolate cake any day (which may explain my not-quite-whole slice).

Buuuuuuuuuurgers

The day after brush-burning there was a Farmer's Market at the Williamsville Chapel (Hubbardston), so I went to say goodbye to Mother and Father. They were there selling beef and volunteering all over the place, since it was put on by the Hubbardston Historical Society and they are involved in everything, somehow. While I was there I bought some goat cheese from Westfield Farm, and Mother gave me a pound of ground beef from our precious cows. On the way out, Fath bought me a birthday quart of pistachio almond ice cream, much of which I had to eat on the drive back to New York because it was melting all over.

So! This was my birthday dinner! We mixed in some soy sauce and oregano with the ground beef, and fried it up; spread goat cheese and spinach on fresh sourdough bread, and.......

Valentine Scones

I love British food. These scones were for my dearest Mother's birthday, which happens to be on Valentine's Day. That's the only reason she could stand something sweeter-than-toast for breakfast.

This particular scone was blackberry-lemon; the following recipe was split in three and flavored with:

1. Blackberries and lemon juice

2. Maple syrup and chopped walnuts

3. Chocolate chips, cocoa powder and vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp baking soda

4 cups flour

1 cup white sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter

1 egg

1 cup (total) of add-ins above

First, blend the sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl. Then, mix flour / sugar / baking powder / cream o' tartar and salt in a larger one. Cut the butter into the dry mixture until it's crumbly and pie-crust like. Then stir in the sour cream mixture and beaten egg until it's all moistened.

At this point, I split the dough into three smaller bowls, and added the extras in no precise quantities. They were extremely dry and not sticking together at all, so like with pie crust, I added more water. It appeared to have been a problem of not-enough mixing, though, because in the end I had to knead in extra flour to make up for the added liquid.

I formed each round into a disk about an inch tall, cut them into 6 triangles each, brushed with egg white, sprinkled with sugar, and baked on an ungreased sheet at 400 degrees for probably around 18 minutes. My large-appetite family seemed to like them alright, and we offered leftovers to guests that appeared throughout the day, but there were still enough for me to take one of each back to school with me. FUEL FOR STUDYING? If I did any, that is...