Apple Spice Cake

From the kitchen of... I have been in super "I want to bake something" mode lately, as I'm sure Adam can attest to. Maybe it is because I recently got a sweet stand mixer. Maybe because my students have been on winter break the past week, and therefore life is moving a little slower, thus giving my inner baker the chance to emerge. Whatever the reason, it brings me joy.

After rummaging around through several cookbooks (more joy), I decided upon this apple spice cake. It seemed like a good wintry dessert that wasn't going to get the kitchen too terribly messy. Plus, the bulk of the cake is deliciously spiced apples, so it falls in the relatively healthy dessert category (my favorite)!

Spiced Apple Cake
adapted from Williams-Sonoma's desserts: new healthy kitchen

3 green apples, cored and thinly sliced
1 C granulated sugar
1/2 C butter, melted
1 egg
1 1/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C golden raisins (which I didn't have)
2 T granulated sugar mixed with
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Whisk sugar and butter together, then add egg and continue. Stir in 2/3 of apples. Sift together flour, spices, and salt. Add to wet ingredients along with raisins, stirring until just blended. Pour into pan and smooth top. Arrange remaining apples in a pattern on

top, pressing gently down. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake until golden and springy to touch, about 50 minutes. Let cake stand 10 minutes, then turn out and let cool completely.

Excellent with a dusting of powdered sugar, warmed with a scoop of fro-yo, or all by itself!

Valentine's Menus and the Last of Our Snow Days

Confession: Neither myself or Adam are really into Valentine's Day. We are absolutely in love with each other, and some might say attached at the hip, but neither of us are really "lovey dovey," if you will (though I was greeted with some gorgeous white roses :) ).

However, we do have our multiple little ways to serve each other and express our love, and one of my favorites is by cooking. We both love to cook and experience delicious food, so we generally share this joy on a daily basis, but on Monday I attempted to give it a little Valentine's flair.

il menu del giorno...

arugula salad with char-grilled calamari

barley risotto w/roasted squash and leeks

seared sea scallops

coconut vanilla cupcakes

...to be enjoyed with a glass of white wine and cold milk, of course...

It was all quite tasty, but I have to share the especially yummy and easy (no stirring for 20 minutes!) barley risotto, adapted from my new favorite cookbook, Best-Ever Book of Organic Cooking...

Barley Risotto (serves 2)

overflowing 1/2 C pearl barley

1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into chunks

2 tsp fresh thyme

2 leeks, sliced thin on the diagonal

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 rounded cup sliced mushrooms

1 carrot, grated

1/4 - 1/2 C veggie stock

Parmesan cheese (1/3 C, give or take - I go light, then top Adam's with more)

Preheat oven to 400. Toast barley in small pot over med-high heat, then add enough water to cover by about and inch. Bring to boil, then simmer, part-covered, for 35 minutes, or until tender. Drain. While this cooks, put squash on cookie sheet, toss with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic salt, and half the thyme. Roast, flipping once, until starting to brown, about 20 minutes.

Heat a little more olive oil in a large saute pan over almost-med-high heat. Saute leeks until softened. Add mushrooms and thyme and saute until lightly browned. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Stir in carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 C stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the flavor off, then add the drained barley. Cook for 5 minutes, adding more stock if needed.

Grate on some parm, maybe some toasted pumpkin seeds or walnuts, and enjoy!

I had to include a couple more snow pictures (Jaida staring, longingly, at the ducks and geese that she swam through the freezing water to try to get, and Jaida climbing on her dad as he makes a snow angle in the snow that was as tall as she is) since our snow is on it's way out. I think I might be the only person in CT that is sad about this...