Every day I have to cook... it could be mundane, but I love food, so every meal is, or at least should be, an experience. I like to share the experience in pictures, but perhaps I'll be able to share more than pictures as I explore the realm of cooking and recipes each day.
I met silence when I asked this question and turned... Roberta's chair was empty... Dad wasn't on the couch... and then I heard the click of the front door as it closed. I had to laugh. They both got right up and went out the door to collect lemons so I could make a cake. And what a nice cake it was! I was so eager to taste it, I almost forgot to take a picture before I started cutting it! It was a simple recipe to follow. I used the one posted on the food network from the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. It had a nice full flavor, but not overwhelming at all. It was light, yet the texture was like a pound cake. We ate it hot out of the oven, covered in whipped cream. We have a big tree of Meyers Lemons, so I can see many of these cakes in our future!
Here is how I made the cake... First I preheated the oven to 350 degrees farenheit. I took a stick of butter and let it come to room temperature. I also broke two eggs into a cup and let them come to room temperature as well. I measured out 1 1/4 cup sugar and put it in a mixing bowl. I added the butter to the sugar, and on a medium speed, I beat the two together until they were light and creamy. I added the two eggs to the mixture, one at a time, mixing each addition well. Then I added 1/3 cup of lemon zest to the mixture and blended it in. In another bowl I mixed together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/4 baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. In a 3rd bowl, I mixed together a little over 1/3 cup lemon juice and an equal amount of buttermilk with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Then I began to put the batter together in the mixing bowl with the mixer on a medium speed. Adding alternately, by thirds, first the liquid mixture, then the dry mixture and mixing well in between, ending with the dry mixture. Pour the batter in a well buttered loaf pan (I like to use glass). Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45 minutes to an hour. The cake will look firm and will have a golden color to the edges and sides, and a toothpick will come out clean when it is done.
I have not only not taken any pictures, I have not been very creative when it comes to cooking these last few weeks. I made some great meals while I was in Florida, but since I've been home, mostly I've just been... well.. status quo. Today I went to the grocery store and browsed around contemplating what kind of vegetables I needed for the week ahead. Of course I got my favorite staples... young green beans, lettuce for salads, vine ripened tomatoes, onions, baby red and orange peppers, asparagus... and what is this? endive.... ? So I'm standing in the middle of the aisle just staring at this ridiculously expensive little package of endive and thinking .."I think I've seen some really cool bites on cooking shows"... My brain is racing! I'm remembering the shrimp leftover from last night and wondering how endive really tastes. Then I remembered seeing a little decorative display by the leaf lettuce and sure enough it was some endive that was not packaged. I grabbed one! I mean, how much could that cost, right?( exactly 0.15 lb @ $4.49/lb= $0.67) At home, I separated the tight little leaves breaking off 6 of them and washing them. I wrapped them in a paper towel and putting them back into the fridge to chill and crisp up. I got out some shrimp, and since there is just Dad and me, I used only 4 shrimp. I cut them up into small pieces and put them in a bowl. I cut up 2 spring onions, slicing them thinly and added them to the bowl. Adding enough mayonaise to bind it all together like a shrimp salad, I stirred the ingredients well and then squeezed a little lemon juice into the mixture and stirred it some more. It tasted very nice. I cut a small tomato in half and then cut the halves into thin slices. After the endive was chilled, I took them out and scooped a tablespoon of shrimp salad into each leaf. On top of that endive leaf I put a slice of tomato. The crispness of the endive and the creaminess of the shrimp salad with the succulant bits of shrimp and crispy green onions mingled into the mixture was ... can I say... sublime. I'm sad to say that I did not take pictures. But I will tell you, Dad immediately started shaking his head to the affirmative and ate every bite right up. Then, without prompting (!) Dad said, and I quote, "Pretty good."
