Blueberry Cake

Fireworks, grilled food, friends, an extra day off work, perfect. I love the 4th of July.

Here's a twist on an old favorite of mine:

My Grandma used to make an "apple pie" which is a lot more like apple cake back in the old country (Ukraine). The recipe is incredibly simple and the outcome is so delicious, you better make two batches in the beginning.

To explain the original, think if an Upside Down Pineapple Cake and a cousin of the sponge cake got together. The batter's leavening comes mostly from the eggs. The liquid consistency is made by the sugar combining with the whipped eggs. This combination makes the cake very light, airy, and in a way spongy. A little bit of baking soda keeps everything together. The apples are cut into thin pieces and spread over the bottom of the pan, with the batter going on top. As the cake bakes, the apples stay at the bottom. As a result you have a moist fruit bottom to the cake.

Here is where the blueberries come in. I had a quart of them left over after they were on sale. I had left the berries in the fridge over a weekend and some had become over ripe. I felt bad about wasting them, so I thought I would make blueberry muffins. Then I thought again, flour, baking soda, powder, eggs, butter, and on and on. I didn't feel like getting into the whole muffin ordeal. I tried to think of the easiest batter that would compliment the berries, and that's when I thought of my favorite childhood dessert.

The recipe for my version stays the same except for the blueberries. And here it is:

One small disclaimer, I don't recommend using frozen berries. They retain too much water and that would make the bottom of the cake too soggy.

6 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 1/4 cup of flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
half a quart of blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Mix the eggs on medium speed, adding the sugar in 3 parts.
2. Mix until eggs and sugar develop a light froth on top (about 4 minutes)
3. Add the vanilla to the egg mixture.
4. Add flour in 4 parts while mixing lightly (2 minutes)
5. Add the baking soda to the mixture, as well as the salt.
6. Add blueberries to batter.
7. Butter a pan (your choice as to size, baking time depends on depth of batter) I used an Anchor glass (11 cup size) casserole dish. Its about 8" x 4". This made the cake about 2 inches deep.
8. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let this cool before serving, if you can, because the smell is incredible. A dollop of whip cream and some fresh berries would make this a perfect dessert for a 4th of July picnic or party.

I made a cinnamon icing that I drizzled on the cake before serving with coffee, and that was a hit too.

Making this with apples:

Make sure to get a starchy apple, a mix between Golden Delicious and Granny Smith would be better for this batter.

Put about a half an inch layer of the batter on the bottom of the pan before spreading the apples in an even layer, then cover with the rest of the batter. The rest of the directions are the same. A great way to top off this recipe is with a generous drizzle of caramel.


Pleasant eating!

Homemade Starbucks

Grande Soy Latte with Sugarfree Hazelnut, iced or hot?

I have to admit, I'm one of those people with the "longer to say than make" drink orders at Starbucks. There's something about the perfect cup of coffee, and the crew in green always makes it right for me.

I decided to try making these delicious iced drinks at home. This is what happened:

Say you don't have the money to treat yourself to the perfect cup of joe daily, and you don't have an espresso machine, or all the fancy syrups. No problem, neither do I.

This is what you need:

• Milk (your choice, I prefer Soy for the richness it adds and I'm lactose intolerant)
• Instant Coffee mix (my ALL time favorite, and what I use to make daily morning coffee is Nescafe Taster's Choice Original, but it comes in flavors)
• Chocolate Syrup (optional for Mochas)
• Caramel Syrup (optional as well)
• Ice
• Martini shaker
• shot glass

1. Boil water, however much you need for your serving (If just for you, about a cup)

2. Prep a shot glass with two teaspoons of the instant coffee

3. Prep a martini shaker with a layer of ice and milk

4. For one grande serving, use 1 1/4 cup of milk

5. Add a generous drizzle of chocolate or caramel to the milk

6. Just as the water boils, fill up the shot glass and let the coffee dissolve

7. Pour the shot glass into the iced milk, add one more shot

8. Shake, shake, shake

9. Pour into your favorite serving glass

10. You can add whip cream on top, or simply an extra drizzle of syrup and enjoy!

You can customize this to any of your likings. Flavor syrups are available at all grocery stores, as well different chocolate syrups (white, dark, Irish creme).

This could also be a perfect way to end a dinner party in the summer, add vodka and you have a twist on the White Russian, add Bailey's and you have a perfect Irish Coffee.

Pleasant drinking!

$7.99

Saffron is the world's most expensive spice and I bought it yesterday. I was given Mario Batali's "Molto Italiano" cookbook as a gift and decided to try it out. I made Pollo allo Zafferano. Chicken thighs with saffron, green olives, and mint. I know now why it cost $7.99, its red threads are made of heaven. The flavor was unbelievable. The saffron stood out as the main role of this dish with the saltiness of the olives as a supporter and the mint a mild compliment. Saffron has a very rich royal flavor, very little goes a long way. I had dishes with saffron before, but never one that I made and controlled the flavor. The recipe can be found in the book, check it out, its definitely worth it. I paired the dish with linguine, and added black pepper garlic to the chicken. The side dish was a tomato and cucumber salad in a lemon yogurt* dressing.

Lemon yogurt dressing

- plain yogurt

-sour cream

-lemon juice

- salt and pepper

The chicken was incredibly juicy and flavorful, the saffron was magic.

I am going to try this dish with a white fish next time, paired with a polenta.