Applesauce Sticky Cake with Dates

This cake is not what I was envisioning, but it's delicious. Due to a lovely apple picking adventure last weekend, P and I had eaten through an apple pie and a tub of applesauce, but still had apples to consume.

Well. P was in California. So really, I had eaten all of that and still had apples to consume. After some recipe plotting, I designed an applesauce date cake based on Martha's, here, which turned into a delicious sticky cake reminiscent of a proper steamed British pudding.

Well. I've never eaten a proper steamed British pudding. But I imagine that's what this is like. Regardless, it's delicious. The amount below makes enough for one 9 inch cake and 6 cupcakes.

1.5 cups almond flour
1.5 cups gluten free all purpose flour
2 tsp. xantham gum
2 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups chunky applesauce (I recommend homemade, and super chunky)
1/4 honey

Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Cardamom

1/2 cup or more chopped medjool dates

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, honey and applesauce. Sift in combination of dry ingredients. Add copious amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom. Throw in some ground cloves if you want! Fold in 1/2 cup or more of chopped medjool dates.

Bake in buttered 9 inch cake pan and buttered muffin tins. (I left the "muffins" unfrosted and have been eating them for breakfast. :). I baked at 350 for 50 minutes, but took the muffins out earlier.

Any frosting will do. For simplicity's sake, I used a basic powdered sugar + milk + cardamom frosting. It's not very pretty, so if you're going for presentation, I'd use a spiced buttercream.

Honey Rosemary Pork Chops

A few nights ago, faced with a pork chop that I wanted to cook not with my normal barbecue sauce (I really am trying to branch out. I swear.), I decided to throw it in a frying pan with whatever I pleased and see how it went. In went the pork chop, some lemon-infused olive oil and a little water to keep the oil from spattering too badly. Then went rosemary, my lemon-garlic spice mix, and thyme. I flipped it and cooked it on medium high until no longer pink, but when I pulled it out knew it would be wanting for a little more flavor. In a moment of randomness, I pulled out a bottle of honey, drizzled some on, and bam! Unexpected deliciousness. The honey, the move I was most afraid of making, turned out to be what made the meal. Served with corn on the cob and brown rice.

Guest Post: Pasta with Arugula & Goat Cheese

And now, a mouthwatering interlude from everyone's favorite Nebraskan (and that's saying a lot, because Nebraskans are mad awesome, as a general proposition), polkadotdotdot:

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I adapted this from an epicurious recipe for homemade ravioli w/ arugula & goat cheese in the middle. Fat chance, epicurious.

You'll notice that there aren't many measurements. I think we're all big girls here.

Pasta w/ Arugula & Goat Cheese:

Ingredients:
fat
flavor
vegetable
cheese
starch
water

Turn on the tunes. As you proceed with the recipe, make sure to insert a few sweet dance moves and sing along with a chorus or two. This is not part of the recipe. It just makes you happier.

Start your water boiling for pasta. Salt &/or oil your water if that's what you do. I didn't.
When the water's boiling, insert pasta (I prefer fettuccine but pretty much any kind'll work) and cook it. Set your timer if you're that sort of person. I am.

Meanwhile:

• Tear your arugula to bits! Best to do this first or you'll end up w/ burnt butter, and then SJP would say SHAME!
• Melt 1T-ish butter (or fat of choice) in big frying pan on medium.
• After bubbling subsides, add a couple cloves of garlic, lightly mashed but not in tiny bits, + S&P. Saute until garlic is golden, then remove (we're just flavoring the butter here, people, not scaring away the potential smoochers lined up at the door).
• Add arugula bits! Saute until limp but not dead.
• Remove the pan from heat and put the arugula in the bowl you plan to eat out of.
• Add a couple T of goat cheese and shred some parmesan on there too.
• Squeeze in a lemon wedge. Please do not airily dismiss the lemon like you just don't care. It is critical. Plus it will keep away the dread scurvy.

When the pasta's done, strain it and dump it on top of arugula/cheese mixture. Mix w/ fork.

Insert into mouth, chew, swallow, digest, excrete.

the end.

Cake Balls

Yesterday was my roomie's 20th birthday, and we appropriately threw her a surprise party that included milkshakes served in various coffee mugs, a "Birthday Jedi" badge and a fantastic cake that she cut with a toy light saber. The cake was created by a talented friend, and featured a Yoda head with the words "20 years, you have." In the process of creating her masterpiece, she had leftover cake bits and frosting with which she suggested I throw together some cake balls. This is a recipe I had heard of from multiple people and had been wanting to do for awhile. It's super easy and delicious! Here's how it works:

Take some cake and crumble it into frosting. Find a good consistency. Roll the mixture into bite-sized balls. (This part gets messy. It's fun.) If you want them chocolate-covered, put into the freezer for a bit, and take them out later to dip them in melted chocolate and freeze them again. If you want them sprinkles-covered, roll them in a bowl of sprinkles and then put them in the freezer.

Last night's were fun-fetti with strawberry frosting and sprinkles. I'm eager to try this with red velvet cake, vanilla bean cream cheese frosting and chocolate. Yum!

Snack

Sliced Fuji apple, honey mustard, and robusto cheese on toasted ciabatta.

Makes me want to get Hobbesian (no, not THAT kind of Hobbesian!) and say "snack" over and over: