Bluebird

Family Game Night

Oona wore a bright blue wig to our monthly game of 'Luck of the Draw.' Who won? I don't remember.

Our Pizzeria

Topped with fresh mozzarella, salami and pepperoni and a sprinkling of basil leaves, it proved to be a good pie in the end.

I combined two recipes, using the sauce from this and the crust from the following link. the crust remains a work in progress.

http://food52.com/recipes/4502_una_pizza_rustica_e_autentica_for_sophia_loren

 

http://food52.com/recipes/2611_broccoli_rabe_potato_and_rosemary_pizza

 

This was the caesar dressing, a definite keeper...

 

http://food52.com/recipes/4508_my_classic_caesar

Topsy Turvy

Fantastic pizza made tonight, but I sadly muffed one upon delivery to one incredibly hot oven. So we pretended it was a calzone.

 

Punting with Hot Dog Buns

Made an awesome homemade dressing, Caesar style, just like my picky eater likes it. Sadly we had no croutons or suitable bread to make such from--a necessary part of Caesar salad. Finding a leftover hot dog roll, I chunked it into cubes and dribbled it with olive oil. After popping into a hot oven, I got credible enough croutons, however white bready, for our ensalada.

Brownie penance

Life's been super busy as the school year winds down. Between field trips, freelancing and my UCLA class, things tend to fall through the cracks. Like my massage appointment on Tuesday morning. I got so wrapped up in finishing my homework, I totally spaced it. I've never done that before. Miss Megan rocks as a masseuse and I felt bad the rest of the day. The only thing I could think to do was make some frosted brownies as penance. I know at least one kidlet like them, as she licked the bowl quite clean. Hopefully Megan will feel the same.

http://www.refinery29.com/ricky-lauren-cookbook?page=4

My favorite rhubarb

A Wisco girl, some things I grew up with seem so alien to California. Like lilacs, pussy willows, maple syrup and rhubarb. I grew up noshing on long lengths of the ruby stalks each early summer. Out back behind the pool, after raiding all the sweet peas in the garden we'd strip the stalks of their poisonous leaves and dip them into the red-stained sticky sugar bowl.

Needing a seasonal touchstone from my past, I reveled in finding rhubarb here in the market and cooked a passle up with a pound of frozen strawberries we'd picked last summer.

A scraping of tangerine peel, a dash of rose and voila...the most delectable adult baby food ever.

 Imagine such fantastic tartly sweetness magnified times ten rendered into an  utterly beguiling compote. 

Add vanilla ice cream and you've found my sweet dessert spot.

Salmon for a Solar Eclipse

India Jane shucked our ears of corn all by her 7-year old self. I especially love her thoughtful note.  

Next up, we seared some fresh filets of local slamon caught off the near horizon. 

Delish beyond compare, it was from start to finish. Thanks to Food52 for the fab recipe.

http://food52.com/recipes/13407_le_bernardins_crispyskinned_fish

 

Mama Mia's Steak House

Grilled the whole shebang tonight, ribeye and the salad, start to yummy finish.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/magazine/grill-em-all.html?hpw

 

My little writer

Who doesn't love a good story?

The Haunting of the Rhubarb

My brother gave me rhubarb from his Sacramento garden two weeks ago. Loved it dipped in sugar as a kid, big fat ruby stalks, so I was excited and then promptly forgot about it in the fruit drawer.
Fast forward to my absolute most busy ever day: mother's day brunch, project deadline, homework - all the eve before Oona's three day camping trip at the Presidio. So why did I suddenly feel the need to grab the rhubarb from the crisper and bake a cake?

 Maybe I was procrastinating. Or maybe I just needed some calming distance from the coming onslaught. Whatever may be read between the lines, the cake was damn delish.

Rhubarb Cake

Posted on May 8, 2012

Rhubarb isn’t as great of a tradition in central, coastal California as it is in the rest of the country, but that isn’t to say that it isn’t welcome and enjoyed! The students we feed just can’t say enough lovely things about our favorite spring cake:

Rhubarb Cake

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups flour
• 2 tsp nutmeg grated or ground
• 5 cups large diced rhubarb
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 cake pan.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar and beat in the eggs, salt and vanilla. Stir in the flour and nutmeg. 
3. In a separate bowl mix together the diced rhubarb, buttermilk and baking soda.
4. Stir the rhubarb mixture into the batter and pour into the prepared pan.
5. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar (1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 Tbsp cinnamon) and bake about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.