Food, Photography and Bons Mots
Happy Fourth of July to those of you reading this in the United States. What could be more quintessentially American than a banana cake with salted caramel glaze? OK. I know that a hot dog with everything is pretty standard Fourth of July fare. But…
Nineteen hundred and twenty two NY Times readers can’t be wrong. That is how many NYT cooks have rated this Guinness cake an average of five stars (out of five stars), some giving the cake rave written reviews sprinkled with praises like “Divine!” and “Insanely…
It’s a beauty! I shared this cake with my friend Gene. He was “baching it” while his wife, Sarah, was having surgery. Cooking is not his thing. Gardening is. The other day he confided in me that he portioned the cake out so that he…
We are enjoying the first glorious days of spring here in Southern California. Plants are budding and the sweet little birds are singing their sweet little songs. I have a Black Phoebe in my backyard who is entertaining me and Juliet with swoops and other…
May you have rye bread to do you good, Wheaten bread to sweeten your blood, Barley bread to do you no harm And oatmeal bread to strengthen your arm. …and a wee bit of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Wishing you a happy St.…
You’ll want to treat yourself to this one! It’s decadently delicious. While applesauce cake has been around in America since colonial times, it became especially popular during WWI. In fact, it was considered downright patriotic to eat applesauce cake during the war. By foregoing the…
OK. It’s no polar vortex, but it is cold, dark and rainy here in SoCal—window-rattling thunder, too. My nerves are noticeably jangled. Sweet Juliet, with plaintive break-your-heart “Mom: Make it stop” eyes, is hiding among the folds of her favorite blanket. No question. We’re quite…
These sweet little cakes are perfect. They are single-portion size. They pair beautifully with homemade vanilla ice cream (See ice cream recipe here.) They are beautiful. And then, there is the combination of quality chocolate (Barry Callebaut chocolate) and ripe bananas–a sure-fire winner on…
Santa’s in the house (or, at least, in the neighborhood). It’s time to get your gingerbread on. This recipe is a riff on traditional gingerbread. It has generous dollops of fresh cranberry sauce stirred through the batter. What you get is a taste of traditional…
It’s Blue Cayenne’s Birthday! This improbable journey started on a blustery October day three years ago. I desperately wanted to be a better writer, a better cook, and a better photographer, but I needed a nudge–a structured project to bring all those elements together…
