Apple Cake and Simple Fare

Apples = Good

Cake = Good

Apple + Cake = Greatness

So, I'm doing this post for a very special friend of mine named Wendi. She requested the recipe for my apple cake, and with her being a brand new mommy, how could I not share? But then I thought, what was it I wanted when I was a new mommy? Simple, hearty fare.

My son was born 2 days before Thanksgiving last year, so when we went home on Thanksgiving, there was a ton of food that my mom had lovingly slaved over. So for about a week, we were good on leftovers, but then my mom (known as "Mimi" to the little monkey) went back home and we were on our own.

Now, I don't know if you, dear reader, have ever had a baby, but it's hard those first few weeks. Hell, it's hard those first few months! I think I maybe got an average of 3 hours of sleep a night for the first month, and little monkey didn't start sleeping through the night until he was 7 or 8 months old.

So, for the new mommy, I've decided to include a few really great, simple recipes.

To start, my Irish Apple Cake

For the cake:

1 lb. apples of your choice (I usually up the apple amount because you really can't have enough apples, and I use either Gala or Pink Lady.)

1 and 1/4 c. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

a pinch of salt

1/2 c. butter, plus extra for greasing your pan

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 tbs. milk

For the streusel topping:

Generous 3/4 c. flour

6 tbs. butter (diced)

1/2 c. sugar

To make:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9 inch round pan. I used my white Corningware, and it worked perfectly. Make the streusel topping by cutting the butter into the sugar and flour until crumbly. (I added some nutmeg and cinnamon at this stage, because they're yummy and nutmeg helps your brain function. True story.)

Peel, core, and thinly slice your apples and set aside.

Mix all the other cake ingredients together. Spoon the batter into your pan and smooth the surface (or don't, because no one's going to see it under all those apples!) Gently and lovingly and with the utmost affection and car begin to layer your apples over the cake batter. Use them ALL. It may look like a lot of apples, but trust me, it's SO FREAKING GOOD.

Now, over that gorgeous layer of mouth-watering fruit, sprinkle your streusel topping as evenly as you can. Now, stare appreciatively at your cake-to-be and whisper sweet nothings too it. (No really, do. The more love you cook with, the better it tastes.)

Bake for an hour, then remove from oven and let cool in the pan. If you wish, you can dust the cake with powdered sugar, but I find this step unnecessary.

And that's it! All done! Unless...

If you'd like to gild the lily as they say, please do so by dolloping a big ol' scoop of vanilla ice cream. Or caramel ice cream. Or whatever bloody ice cream you favor the most. Now take a big ol' spoonful of that bright, warm, delicious cake and shove it unapologetically into your mouth.

Now, since we've taken care of the cake, on to the mommy food.

For some delicious, easy soda breads, I always turn to my favorite Irish cook book. I'm a fan of the brown soda bread, because I feel it has a nuttier, fuller flavor than white soda bread. Here is a recipe for brown soda bread.

For some simple crock pot meals and soups, simply scroll down to some previous posts like this one on a Greek chicken and rice dish, or this one on two great soups.

I'm a huge fan of Cook's magazine as well, and as a new mommy, you deserve something to read for those marathon nursing sessions. Luckily, I have a magic fairy godmother (my best friend Evie's mama--my second mother--Ms. Peggy) who gave us a subscription to Cook's Illustrated for our wedding. It's a great gift for the foodie we all know, and for a year of magazines for about $20.00, it's a great investment.

I have a good friend who's Iranian, and her mother makes the most amazing dish that I am slightly obsessed with. And for a little effort, you get a lot of great leftovers. It's called Zereshk Polo. In Farsi, Polo means rice, and the dish is a chicken and rice dish for those that like sweet and savory together. It's fairly easy to find recipes online, but I like this one by Chef Kshar because the video shows you each step.

Now, to some, the thought of roasted marrow bones might be exotic fare, but I love them, as does the hubby. And they're actually really good for you! The marrow has tons of great fats to help baby with brain development, and can actually lower cholesterol. Roasted marrow bones are actually the chosen last meal of my favorite celebrity chef and potty mouth, Anthony Bourdain (or as he's known by little monkey, "Uncle Tony") Here is a good recipe for them.

I'd love to post even more delicious food, but sadly, my little guy has just awoken from his nap and it's time to go back to being mommy again. I hope these recipes and links help all you find some great new foods to try, or some inspiration to create your own recipes. And to Wendi, enjoy this time with your little cowgirl, because they'll be the best days of your life.

As always, until next time, enjoy your loved ones and your life with a Spoonful of Sugar.

It's All Greek to Me

Hello all! I thought I'd share one of my favorite weeknight dinners with you all. My husband was kind of dubious about this the first time I described it to him. In fact, it took me 2 weeks to convince him it would be a good, affordable dinner since all we would need to get from the grocery store would be chicken and lemons. (We tend to be unable to keep meat in the house for too long, since we're both such voracious carnivores.)

Finally, he conceded and off to the store I went. Now, we used boneless breasts because our favorite grocery store which is literally across the street from our house has recently changed into a much lesser entity. What was amazing and fantastic before is now mediocre...if that.

We used to be able to find many cuts of lamb and veal, now there is none. Where we used to find delicious, fatty chicken thighs, there are now only chicken tenders and breast. (And about that...what body part exactly is the damn tender? Like, seriously, we needed to make up a chicken part to serve to our children? Really...REALLY? Parents, let's get off our asses and broaden our children's food horizons.)

Anyway, the recipe is basically a Mediterranean style chicken "casserole" with rice. It's very delicious and flavorful, and you get a lot for what you spend. Especially if you're anything like my husband and you think that buying a HUGE bag of rice from a buy-in-bulk store is a good idea. (We don't have to buy rice ever again. EVER.)

You can also use pasta for this, but i like the flavor that the rice can lend to the dish, especially if you use Jasmine rice. (And just think, if you make too much rice, you can always make rice pudding!)

To make this dish you will need:

Boneless, skinless chicken (we like the thighs, but please use any cut you prefer)

Olive oil

Kalamata olives

Capers

2 cloves garlic

Half an onion

2 lemons

1/2 cup white wine (We tend to make recipes that call for white wine after my mother has made a visit. She loves the stuff, but no one else drinks it, so we use it for cooking. Last visit we made viener schnitzel with the leftover Pinot Grigio!)

Your favorite Mediterranean spices

Rice

So, in a skillet, lightly brown your chicken and then place the pieces in a glass or metal casserole pan. (We used a brownie pan...)

Heat your oven to about 350 or 400 Fahrenheit.

Into your casserole dish, add some capers and olives. If you wish, you may sweat the onions and garlic together in your skillet and then add it to the dish, but it's not necessary. Over the delicious heap of olives, capers, garlic, and onion, squeeze one of the lemons. I also slice the lemons and add a few on top. (It's kind of a to-taste thing. If you like lemon, use 2, if you aren't especially fond of it, just use one.)

Drizzle a bit of olive oil and white wine over top, then sprinkle with your herbs. (I tend to be a bit heavy handed when it comes to oregano. It's one of my favorites.) I also poured a bit of the juice from the olive jar over top, but that's purely up to you.

Place your delicious chicken dish into the oven for about 15-20 minutes, long enough for you to make your rice. Now, I'm going to assume if you're reading this, you know how to make rice. I won't bore you with those steps, because if you don't know how to make rice, you probably shouldn't attempt any great feat in the kitchen... Stick to peanut butter and jelly...

When the timer goes off, you're ready to serve. Place the chicken and some of the juices over the top of your rice, and enjoy!

That's it for now lovelies! Until next time, enjoy your loved ones, and your life, with a Spoonful of Sugar!