I made a Cranberry Upside-Downer Cake for the New Year’s party I went to last night. It was yummy. Emphasis on past tense.

The recipe is from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from my Home to Yours. I came across the book at the library and have since realized that every baker on the internet has been using it for years. Where was I?

I once had a German roommate who baked a cake every Saturday. God, that was a great year. We would sit perched on Indian bedspread-covered chairs and couches and eat our way through her delicious kuchen.

I’m thinking 2010 should be the Year of the Cake. I love to bake but almost never make cakes — time to rectify this. In my old roommate’s honor I think I’ll try a Bundt next.

There is a “wintery mix” coming down outside and after shoveling the walks and bringing in wood for the stove we do not plan to venture out again today.

I turned the rubber plant into an ersatz tree and so far it is surviving the excited onslaught of the wee ones.

We have a fridge full of leftovers. For our vegetarian feast on Christmas Eve I made Nutmeat Paté in Brioche from the 1972 classic The Vegetarian Epicure.

(A cookbook worth checking out if only for entertainment value since many recipes list MSG as an ingredient and there are notations on what to serve after “sharing a pipe”.)

M, despite his Texas roots, was entirely satisfied. Although who can complain about any meal that ends with pie?

Today I picked some lettuce from one of the raised beds!

I couldn’t believe it when I saw the perky leaves, I had given up on them and yanked off their row cover last week.

Spring is feeling very far off so it was a treat to carry the handful of green indoors.

Beware what you wish for – I have so much jewelry to make that I feel like I’m in a tightly choreographed dance, moving from beads to chores to paperwork and back. I am not complaining; it’s the good kind of busy, plus there’s cat play and coffee breaks, and excursions to the village board meeting and pilates class (variety is the spice).

In the middle of this twirling we’re going to Scotland and England to visit my family. A welcome break from the daily busy. Or at least it will be welcome once it’s here. I can’t wait for the moment when there’s nothing more I can do to prepare. Too bad if I’ve forgotten something; they sell toothbrushes in the UK. For this glorious “it’s too late” moment I have purchased yarn, and I plan to knit as many of these as I can. Mindless pleasure perfect for airport/airplane/visiting with relatives.

Since posting has been slim, despite my camera being full, before I leave I give you a little catch up of the past weeks here:

I made jam for the first time.

And it was good.

The kittens learned the value of a perfectly-sized box,

the importance of packing toys as well as yourself,

and the usefulness of recycled materials in lieu of those pesky packing peanuts.

The blight took out my solo tomato and all my potato plants.

My harvest was a few pounds of Dark Red Norland spuds,

and five green tomatoes which were respectfully chopped up and cooked into a chutney. (I’m hooked on canning.)

There were wonderful moments of feline détente between the young and the old.

Even, miraculously, between Miss Hissy and Maxie. (Actually I’m not sure that she knew he was there.)

And just in the last few days the leaves from the maples along the drive have taken flight.

As we’re about to do.

There are red circles everywhere. In the tomato bowl,

the painting of apples by Chris Linder,

the plums I ended up cutting up and freezing for a winter tart,

and the peaches, unbelievably good peaches, sitting on the sill.

The weather is lovely today but we’ve been having overcast, drizzly days that are really depressing and require big guns to overcome. Big guns like scones. Hot scones with butter. Sometimes also strawberry jam.

My current scone recipe is torn out of an old issue of O magazine and comes from the Harlem Tea Room.

Raisin Scones
makes about 16

1 stick cold butter (8 Tbsp.) cut into pieces
+ extra for baking sheets
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups milk + extra for brushing scones
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 450F. Coat 2 baking sheets with butter (or I just use parchment paper instead.) Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking powder together in large bowl (or dump in and whisk as I do.) Add butter, using fingertips to combine until mixture takes on texture of fine meal. Stir in raisins. Add milk and stir until flour mixture is just moist and dough begins to stick together. Gather dough into a ball and knead lightly until fully integrated.

Place dough on floured work surface and roll with floured rolling pin (or squash & pat with hands as I do) to 3/4 inch thick. Dip a 2-inch cutter (I use a small drinking glass) into flour and cut out scones as close to one another as possible. Place on prepared sheets, with space in between; let stand 10 minutes.

Brush tops with milk and bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool.

“Remove to wire rack to cool.” Ha!! Gobble up pipping hot with lashings of butter.

I made the bread twice more. Once with whole wheat, pecans, and cranberries.

Then with sesame seeds scattered on top.

Both filled my chest with a swelling sense of pride in their beauty; for one whole minute before they were demolished by a ravenous horde.

(Can you have a horde of 2? I looked it up and apparently not – you need at least 5 small families, but considering the level of bread consumption I stand by my use of the word.)

Seems like everyone has made no knead bread before me. The original recipe was published in the New York Times a year ago, and then Cook’s Illustrated had to go one further, publishing an “improved” version in their latest magazine: lager and vinegar have been added to improve the flavor, and you knead the bread for 10 seconds. I tried it. Easy peasy. And look!

So very very good, and I made it!
Smugly off to make one with cranberries and pecans next…

I had to take a day of just staring at the wall after making all these in the space of a week. What was I thinking?! Can’t blame the sugar high before the fact.

I’m off to do some wrapping. With “help”.

Have a relaxed next few days!

The insane holiday baking frenzy that always grips me has arrived. First in line – biscotti to send as a gift.

Phase one baking: biscotti loaves. The recipe is from baker extraordinaire Wendy, these here with dried cherries and semi-sweet chocolate.

Phase two. Enough to feed the masses. Or one giant brother.

When I first landed in the US I was very disdainful of iced tea; tea should be hot, and milky, and served at 4pm.

But around the time that I discovered North American summers, I discovered the joys of drinking your tea cold.

Here’s how I make my “special” iced tea:
I take a quart jar and throw in 8 black tea bags, and 6 peppermint tea bags. I fill it about 3/4 full with boiling water and let it sit a while – usually until I wander back into the kitchen and remember that it’s time to scoop out the bags, which I do with a slotted spoon. Then I throw in as many ice cubes as will fit, swirl with the spoon, and I’m good to go.

Put a lot of ice in the glass, this guy’s strong.