I roasted lemons! Cut organic ones into wedges, sprinkled them with sugar and blasted them until they turned soft and fleshy and oozed tart, caramelized juice. Then popped them into a jar, poured hot simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, brought to a simmer) overtop and tucked in a vanilla bean (a rosemary sprig might have been a good idea too) for good measure.
So I just had to pop in and tell you about it, even though it’s far too dark to take a decent picture and Mike is patiently waiting for me to start a movie (One Week), because nothing excites me on Saturday night like applying heat to a citrus fruit in a way I hadn’t considered before. And I thought you might get a special little thrill out of it too.
My activity relates directly to an article I’m working on on preserved lemons, which I admit I never fully understood. I wish I could tell you how to make the chicken tagine we’ve eaten for two nights straight, plus lunch (it really is better the next day) but I have to hold out. But it occurred to me as I played with the salty, brined lemons that have their limits, that lemons could as easily be preserved as something sweet; or at least not so salty as to be prohibitive in the kitchen. Not so sweet as to be marmalade-ish, I have plans to thinly slice these into a pound cake tomorrow, and perhaps whirl them into something or other. I’ll keep you posted.
January 23 2010 | leftovers | 27 Comments »
What I made for dinner was chicken tagine with chick peas and preserved lemon, with chopped cilantro stems tossed into the rice when I opened the lid to fluff it, then cover again to let it steam a bit before it was called into service. I didn’t eat with the boys, though; I’m heading out to the “Bum Ball” – the Bill Brooks 12th Annual Prostate Cancer Benefit at the Hotel Arts tonight – a date with K.
The theme: gloves – meaning we are asked to don our fanciest (or most latex) gloves – which of course I have none of, unless you count the rubber gloves under the sink I never use – so it was off to Winners this afternoon for a pair. (And they’re on sale! They had some funky long ones to choose from. I got black cable knit cotton ones with the fingers cut off – not exactly glitz but very me, and functional when hors d’oeuvres are involved – then painted my nails brilliant pink. I’m trying not to wreck them as I type.)
Funny story: the dollar store is next to Winners, and so I popped in to buy chew toys for Lou. By the till there was a bin of socks, and so since we go through approximately three times as many little boy socks now, who conversely grow out of them three times as quickly, I bought a couple 3-packs. (You do the math- it’s a good deal, right? Except that I don’t want to think about exactly why they can sell socks for 33 cents a pair.) On the way home, stopped at a light with the open Dollar Giant bag on the seat beside me, I started popping off the packaging. And then, as one might do, mindlessly started tucking together the socks in twos, having just liberated them from their cardboard band. I wish I could have captured the expression of the lady in the SUV beside me, looking down into the window of my Subaru Outback, where I was folding laundry at a red light. Now that’s multitasking.
But right – the cupcakes. It was my Mom and sister’s birthdays last night, and we made them using a spice cake recipe that at some point became traditional for their day. My mom loves penuche icing, which I learned upon growing up no one has a clue about – it’s a brown sugar frosting, made with both brown sugar and icing sugar. I added cream cheese as well this time – a big blob of it, and half as much butter, with a handful of brown sugar, a squirt of Roger’s Golden syrup and as much icing sugar as I needed to make a spreadable frosting.
Or, one that could be easily scooped into a ziploc baggie and squeezed out through a snipped-off corner to make squiggly swirls instead of the traditional star-tipped twirl. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Mom & Anne’s Birthday Spice Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg and/or allspice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter or non-hydrogenated margarine, softened
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 8” or 9” round cake pans or one 9? x 13? pan with nonstick spray.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. In a larger bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer for about half a minute, until it’s pale and creamy. Pour in the sugar and continue to beat for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl whenever it needs it.
Stir the vanilla into the milk. Add about one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir it in by hand or with the electric mixer on low speed, just until it’s combined. Add about half the milk in the same manner, then another third of the flour, the rest of the milk, and the rest of the flour, mixing just until the batter is blended.
Divide the batter between the prepared tins, filling them about 3/4 full, and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cupcakes are golden and tops are springy to the touch. Makes 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes.
Yes, I have something for you this Free Stuff Friday – not much, but in keeping with the cupcakes theme. It’s a 2010 cupcake calendar. (And who, truly, doesn’t love them?) If I don’t give this away soon we’ll blow through 1/12th of the year and it won’t be of as much use. It’s very cute – consider it the Do-It-Yourself-Cupcake-of-the-Month-Club.
Leave a comment to enter; if you want to tell us what was for dinner, that’s great. If there’s something else on your mind, let’s have it.
January 23 2010 | cake | 55 Comments »
