Crowd Pleasing Cake

There are many tastes I remember from childhood, but most of them are tastes I don't taste anymore. My mom's stuffed cabbage, her fried sole with a fresh squeeze of lemon, meatloaf eaten with lots of ketchup, barbecued chicken. All things she made regularly and made well. All things that are no longer a part of this vegetarian's diet. (Or hers for that matter. She went veg a few years after I did.)

Like me, my mom likes cooking and baking equally well and she made lots of yummy treats over the 18 years I spent in her house. This cake was a staple and probably the thing she made most frequently. As a child, I had problems with it. And truthfully, as an adult I struggle with it a bit too. You see, I like nuts. I like them alone and I like them in savory things, but I don't like them all that much in sweets. Never in ice cream, and I prefer them to be absent in cookies, brownies, cakes, what have you. I make an incredible nut tart around the holidays and the only reason I know it's incredible is because people have told me so. I have never tried it.


I make this cake because other people don't seem to share in my uncertain feelings about nuts. People LOVE this cake. Everyone from the very young to the very old feels passionately that it is the best coffeecake. Who am I to argue? For me, it does have some very redeeming qualities. There are the chocolate chips of course and lots of struesel topping. The cake part has a full cup of sour cream in it so it is very moist. It can be made a day in advance and it also can be frozen for up to a month. Most of all, it is truly a crowd pleaser and it's great to have a few of those in your cooking or baking arsenal.

What are your crowd pleasers?


Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
Serves 10-12

Cake:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Struesel:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, chilled, and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2-1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a tube pan (also called an angel food cake pan). In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter at medium speed until lightened in color and well-combined. Add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream, beat until mixed well. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until just combined. Mix in chocolate chips and nuts by hand. Scrape batter into pan.

For the struesel: In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa. Using a pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips, then sprinkle on top of the batter.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Place on rack for 10 minutes. Carefully turn cake out on to rack upside down, then using another rack placed on the bottom of the cake, re-invert to right side up. Allow to cool completely.

Thank You Jeanne Lemlin

I often get asked for cookbook recommendations. Usually it's for someone who is new to cooking or new to vegetarianism or both. I never hesitate. Quick Vegetarian Pleasures is the one to buy. If you are just going veg, it is a wonderful book because nothing is aggressively vegetarian - that is to say, nothing too weird. Everything will sound good to you. If you are new to cooking (vegetarian or not), it is a wonderful book because everything is easy, everything comes out exactly as promised, and - true to the title - everything is relatively quick.

I credit the author, Jeanne Lemlin, with putting me on the path of being a good cook. Quick Vegetarian Pleasures was the first book I bought after college and once I knew that if I wanted to eat well, I was going to have to make the food myself. I knew what I liked (almost everything), but didn't know how to make it. I picked up this book because every recipe looked like something I wanted to eat. I slowly but surely worked my way through the book and every single thing I made turned out. It gave me a lot of confidence and made me want to branch out and try more and more ambitious dishes.

Fast forward 16 years (yikes) and I am a personal chef. I have around 80 cookbooks. They are spread throughout my kitchen on shelves and in cabinets. I have my "heavy rotation" shelf and the three Lemlin cookbooks I own are permanent residents. I still use her books on an almost weekly basis. This week alone, without meaning to, all the main courses (and some of the side dishes) I made are from her books. I don't worry when I make something new that it won't turn out or the proportions will be off. Her servings are generous - just like I like them - and her recipes are foolproof.

This pie is one I have made over and over and just love everytime I make it. It is kind of like a quiche, but over the years I have tweaked the recipe so that my version is more like a bunch of vegetables held together by a few eggs. You could certainly increase the eggs to 4 and reduce the veggies to make it more quiche-like. One of the things I like best about this is that there is a minimal crust which requires nothing more than buttering your pie plate and sprinkling it with breadcrumbs. This is a real time-saver and very non-intimidating for those who are scared of making crusts.

Broccoli and Red Pepper Pie
Adapted from Main Course Vegetarian Pleasures
Serves 3

Olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sea salt
1 small red pepper, cored and diced
1 large bunch of broccoli, cut into small florets
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 of a 14 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. butter, softened
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. bread crumbs
3 eggs
1/2 whole milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
Freshly ground pepper
1 cup grated cheese (DN: The recipe calls for Muenster but I usually use what I have on hand.)

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onions and red pepper plus a good pinch of salt, and saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for another 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the broccoli, crushed red pepper flakes, and chickpeas. Pour on 2 tbsp. of water, cover the pan, and cook for about 7 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender yet still bright green. Remove the cover and cook away any remaining liquid. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. To make the "crust", butter a 9-inch pie plate with the butter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs on the bottom of the pie plate. Rotate to cover the bottom and sides of the plate with the crumbs.

4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Beat in the milk, Parmesan cheese, oregano, a good pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Stir in the vegetable mixture. Spoon half the mixture into the pie plate. Sprinkle on the 1 cup of cheese. Spoon on the remaining mixture, then sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of bread crumbs over the top.

5. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

(Vegetable mixture can be made one day ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Pie can be made 4 hours ahead and served at room temperature.)

Some Talk About Weight

I am not a big breakfast eater. I know what they say - how it's the most important meal of the deal and all that. I just can't bring myself to eat much. Part of it is that I am totally not a morning person and I think it takes my stomach a full hour to start working after I get my "Mommy!" wake up call. Part of it is so many years of being weight conscious and watching calories.

Most women I know have hit That Day. The day where they can no longer eat whatever they want. The day when having a decent figure takes work instead of coming naturally. It varies for everyone, but I had the extreme bad luck to hit That Day when I was sixteen. Up until then, I was never a skinny minnie, but I just didn't pay all that much attention and just ate until I was full. My mom was (and is) a good cook and made healthy meals and I always enjoyed eating. My mom has always had serious issues with her weight (she is very thin) and food, but - good for her - she managed to keep her thoughts to herself when it came to me.

And then, at the ripe old age of sixteen, I ate my way through France and it all changed. Michael Phelps can eat his 12,000 calories a day and still be ripped and thin - my 12,000 calories a day (if it wasn't that, it was pretty close) just made me chunky. I lost the 15 pounds I gained but always had to watch it after that. Some combination of pain au chocolat and hormones ruined my eat-anything-I-want days forever.

I didn't gain the Freshman Fifteen when I went to college for two reasons. I didn't drink beer (yet) and I lived on the 4th floor of my dorm. This meant walking up and down four flights of stairs many many times a day and I really think it is that which saved me. My weight remained about the same as high school until I hit my late 20's and went through a separation and finally a divorce. I dropped 15 pounds in 3 months - a lot on a 5'3" frame - and managed to keep it off until I got pregnant with my first son many years later. I will be honest and tell you I kept it off through deprivation. I never snacked. I never tasted the wonderful desserts I would bake. I would never finish food that was on my plate - even if it had been a small portion to start with.

I could not embrace my inner foodie. I could not enjoy the food I put so much care into making. It was not a way to live for someone who loves food. Getting pregnant freed me somewhat from this cycle. We were living in London at the time and, because of the tremendous amount of walking I did just to keep our lives going, I was the thinnest I had ever been. I vowed that as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I would eat french fries and that is exactly what I did. I ate a lot of french fries, a lot of dessert, a lot of everything during those nine months. I allowed myself to have eggs for breakfast. I started cleaning my plate. If a cookie sounded good in the afternoon, I had one. For the first time since I was sixteen, I had juice everyday. It was my only pregnancy craving and I drank gallons of orange juice or Paul Newman's Limeade. It was wonderful!

As I started to get bigger, I started to lose my appetite. I also kept active during the whole pregnancy and I never let myself go completely crazy. 18 years of dieting can do that to a person. For these reasons, I didn't gain all that much. I stayed within the 25-35 pound guideline. But it was very hard for me, after having been so thin pre-pregnancy, to adjust to my new body and new appetite. Women who have nursed a baby know what I am talking about. I never thought I could consume so much food - except when I was in France.

About a year after I had him, I threw in the towel and decided I was never going to be that weight again. I had a new and somewhat more healthy approach to the food I ate - namely to enjoy it. I took small portions of the desserts I made. If I was hungry, I had a snack. I tried to balance it all with exercise which, admittedly, was difficult with a young guy hanging around all the time. I just tried my best to make peace with myself and balance my love of food with my love of fitting into my pants.

I am still trying to find this balance as my business grows and I am finally (20 months later!) at peace with my body post-second baby.

Because I would rather eat a larger lunch and dinner, breakfast is usually some yogurt and possibly a piece of fruit these days. But I will have to change the rules for this granola. I have been making it for years and everyone who tastes it loves it. One of my clients said, "This isn't a cereal, it's a candy bar!" Not because it is so sweet (it isn't) but because it is so decadent tasting. Every so often I find another granola recipe that sounds interesting and I make it, only to regret not having made this one. Perhaps the best part is the incredible smell of butter, cinnamon, and honey that will linger in your kitchen. I made this for my clients as an apology for my disaster last week. I think they will forgive me.

Fruit and Spice Granola
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
Makes 10 cups

I would recommend sweetened flake coconut in this recipe rather than the unsweetened kind. It's texture and taste work better. I use whatever combination of dried fruit I have on hand at the time I am making it. This time it was apricots, cranberries, raisins, and dates.

4 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup pecans
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup honey
2 cups mixed dried fruits

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, stir oats, coconut, nuts, and spices. In a small pan, melt butter and honey over low heat, stirring occasionally. Pour butter mixture over oat mixture and toss to combine well.

Spread granola evenly in 2 shallow pans and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, stirring frequently and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully stir in fruit. Let cool, stirring occasionally.

(Will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for one month.)

You Say Frittata

I have these on-going lists rattling around in my head. Top 10 Kitchen Tools I Can't Live Without. Top 10 Kitchen Tasks I Hate. 10 Cookbooks I Would Take to a Desert Island. Top 5 Things I Am Afraid to Do (in the kitchen.) On that last list, I would have to rate turning out a frittata pretty high. A frittata is kind of a crust-less quiche and it is made mostly on the stovetop with just a few minutes under a broiler to finish it off. If you are not afraid to do it, you then run a spatula around the edges and slip it out onto a plate to be cut into perfect looking wedges for your guests to ooh and aah over.

Now here is a big problem: I don't have a non-stick pan. After reading things like this, I threw away my one non-stick frying pan. I'm sure it is possible to get a frittata out of a regular pan - Italians have been doing it for years, right? But taking the time to make something only to have it fall completely to pieces is not my idea of a good day. So here is my solution: just serve it directly from the pan. I just take a big spoon and scoop out a pretty little piece and no one knows (or cares) that it isn't supposed to be served that way.

(For another favorite frittata recipe, check here. For some thoughts on sun-dried tomatoes, check here.)

Frittata with Cheese, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Basil
Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine
Serves 4-6

The original recipe called for much more butter in the pan and much more feta cheese. I find the butter is not necessary (it sticks anyway) and too much feta overwhelms the other flavors, but add as much as you like.

10 large eggs
1/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cups crumbled feta cheese (about 3 oz.)
10 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. salt
Black pepper
2 tbsp. butter
1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, thinly sliced
3 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat broiler. Whisk eggs and cream in a large bowl to blend. Stir in feta cheese, tomatoes, onions, basil, salt and grind in some pepper. Melt butter in large oven proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add egg mixture; do not stir. Cook until eggs start to firm and sides and bottom begin to brown, lifting sides occasionally to let uncooked egg run underneath, about 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with olives and Parmesan cheese. Transfer skillet to broiler and cook until eggs start to puff and brown, about 2 minutes. Serve directly from pan either warm or room temperature.

The Weekend, Part Two: Family

I am one of the few people I know who actually grew up in Seattle. I can't legally call myself a "native" because I wasn't born here and the people who were born here, well, they would try to get me in trouble for calling myself a native. So I'm an almost-native. Aside from a few friends who went to high school with me, everyone else I know is from somewhere else. Seattle is a great place to live and somewhere around the late 80's or early 90's, people started to figure that out and move here. I went to college in Connecticut and for my first few years, I got asked the following questions on a regular basis:

• "Seattle, is that in Oregon?" (This would be pronounced "ore-gone" which, in case you are reading from the East Coast, is not how you say it - it's "ore-gun".)
• "Seattle, doesn't it snow there a lot?" (No, it doesn't.)
• "Seattle, doesn't it rain there a lot?" (Yes, it does.)
• "Seattle, do you go to LA a lot?" (This would be like asking someone from Maine if they go to Florida a lot.)
• "Seattle, isn't that right by Alaska?" (Well, there is this thing called Canada in the way.)

And so on and so on. However, by my senior year it became, "Seattle, I'm moving there!" And boy did people move here! The city totally changed in the four years I was away at college. Finally people started to appreciate all that our beautiful city had to offer and to understand why so many of us stayed. My parents and one of my brothers live about a half hour away and the other brother is moving back at the end of the month.

Randy's family is all on the East coast and no, they haven't asked me any of those ridiculous questions (except for the one about the rain.) His immediate family is spread out between Atlanta, Richmond, and Houston. The extended family is all in Baltimore (with a few strays in Texas.) I love this big family - they are the most welcoming and fun group of people you could hope for when marrying into a family. The Baltimore clan all live within a few miles of each other and they are always gathering to eat, drink, and have a "hootenanny". Many of them are musical so after a few beers, the guitars come out and everyone who wants one, gets a turn.

The very first time I met this clan was when Randy and I were dating. I play the guitar and sing which gave me an almost immediate stamp of approval. But I was nervous. Imagine meeting your boyfriend's large family, trying to keep everyone's names straight, trying desperately to make a good impression, trying not to drink too much wine, oh! and then someone hands you a guitar and expects you to sing. Well, I did it and they were all lovely about it. At every Hootenanny since, Randy's Uncle Mike gently coerces me into singing one of the 10 songs I remember from my college coffee house days, and I always make myself a mental promise that I will take playing up again when I get home. Sigh.

Uncle Mike and his lovely new wife Kathy were in town for a brief moment this weekend on their way to a cruise to Alaska (see? It's far enough away that you have to cruise there.) I would have loved to spend the day with them but we had our supper club waiting for us on Bainbridge Island. I thought of just getting some bagels for us to eat and then thought better of it. I decided to make one of my favorite easy and delicious dishes - a Leek Frittata. For some reason, I also thought it was time to make Cinnamon Rolls. This was actually my first attempt at cinnamon rolls and, because I was short on time, I made the quick kind - no yeast. The frosting was good but the rest was just kind of, eh. I wouldn't make them again. The leek frittata on the other hand, is something I have made countless times. I've literally made it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and everyone always likes it. It is a great thing to serve for company because it can be made ahead of time, it's quick, and it looks pretty. And it tastes great too!

And just because we didn't have enough going on this weekend, my family came over for dinner on Sunday night. My brother Alex is married to a great woman named Amy and they have two adorable kids. Each of their kids are one year older than each of ours - so they are so cute together and play really nicely. Even though they live close, we don't see enough of them, so we decided to really make an effort to get together every other week.

I decided to grill salmon for dinner - or have Randy grill salmon. Amy, my mom, and I are all vegetarians, but the men are all carnivores. Randy is fond of saying that he never really ate much meat until he married me - his vegetarian wife. Whenever we would go out for dinner as a family, he would order fish and my dad and brothers would order steak or lamb or pork. Eventually, he wondered why he wasn't doing that too and now he fully embraces his inner carnivore.

Grilling salmon made it a little easier on me since all I had to do was make side dishes. I made a Farro Salad that I really like with broccoli rabe and grapes.


I also made a new one for me - Pea Salad with Radishes and Feta Cheese.
This one was a real keeper because it starred one of very favorite things - English peas. They are still in abundance at the markets and sweeter than ever. I must have eaten half the bag on the way home. And look at those radishes! Purple! I also used pea shoots in this salad which is what the leafy things are. These are part of the vine that English peas grow on and they taste just like peas but with a totally different texture. You can also find those all over the farmer's markets. Two recipes today since I promised Kathy the Frittata one!

Leek Frittata
Adapted from Main Course Vegetarian Pleasures
Serves 4

If you are new to this site or new to leeks, I give some info about them here.

3 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried
6 eggs
1/4 cup low fat milk
2 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with non-stick spray.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and saute, stirring often, until tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Beat the eggs in large bowl. Beat in the milk, cheese and then a pinch each of salt and pepper, then stir in the leeks. Pour the mixture into the pie plate.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or just until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overcook.

Pea Salad with Radishes and Feta Cheese
Food and Wine Magazine
4-6 Servings

I am mostly printing the recipe in it's original form although I made a couple of changes. In the dressing I used ground cumin instead of toasting and grinding cumin seeds. I also used mint instead of dill and I loved how subtle the flavor was. I love dill as much as the next person, and it is great with peas, but so is mint so feel free to use either. The recipe says you can use frozen peas but really, for this one, I wouldn't bother making it with frozen. After cooking my peas, I put them in an ice bath (which is just a bowl of water with a bunch of ice cubes.) They kept their brilliant green color and didn't get all wrinkley so I would recommend taking that step.

2 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. honey
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp. chopped dill
4 cups fresh shelled peas (from about 4 pounds English peas)
1 bunch radishes, trimmed, halved, thinly sliced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 4 oz.)
3 cups pea tendrils, coarsely chopped (optional)

Heat small skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and toast until aromatic and slightly darker, about 2 minutes. Cool, grind finely in a spice mill or coffee grinder. Whisk lime juice, honey, and cumin in small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil, stir in dill. Season dressing with salt and pepper. (Can be made one day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)

Cook peas in pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water, then drain well. Transfer to large bowl. Add radishes, feta, and dressing; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. If using pea tendrils, sprinkle over top.