Christmas Roadtrip

I wanted to share a few photos of a trip that Dave and I took to Breckenridge, CO over Christmas.  We drove the whole way, which to some sounds crazy.  For us, our most candid and fulfilling conversations happen during those seemingly endless miles.  

Idaho rest stop

Another Idaho rest stop

Breckenridge, CO

Breckenridge sunset

Dave on a hike

The cutest nephew an auntie could ask for.

Skinner Brothers

Family

Icy Belgrade, MT

A VERY Happy Birthday Cake

The inspiration for this cake started with an impulse buy: two large bags of blood oranges.  I hadn't yet worked with these, but saw them and thought I should try something new.  I scoured the interwebs for some inspiration and settled on something that I already knew how to do: jam.  I took eight blood oranges and removed the segments.  I placed the segments and juices in a saucepan with 3/4 cup white sugar, about 1/2 cup of water, one tablespoon of lavender and half of a packet of powdered pectin.  This was a TOTAL experiment.  I allowed this to simmer on medium-low for about 40 minutes, until the mixture thickened considerably.  The resulting product filled my house with the most intoxicating aroma.

I stored the jam in a mason jar in the fridge.  I wanted to do something extra fun with it and of course, I immediately thought of cake filling.

The jam ended up being way too thick for a cake filling, so I scraped it into a saucepan with some water and heated it to simmering and then took it off.  It turned out being the perfect consistency.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the many food porn sites out there, let me introduce you to one of my favorites: www.tastespotting.com.  I did a search for lemon cake and was handed this beauty:  Raymond Blanc's Lemon Cake (as adapted by Emma of Poires au Chocolat) 

Instead of cooking in a loaf pan, I used a 6x4' round pan.

The final product:

I trimmed off the top to make the cake level, and then cut the the remaining round in half, creating two layers.  Next, I prepared a citrus simple syrup by adding lemon and blood orange zest to equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat.  I let it reach boiling and then removed it from the stove.  I generously brushed this on each layer, allowing it to soak in, adding flavor and moisture to my cake.

Next, I created a barrier for the filling with lavender buttercream (I had some leftover and frozen from a previous cake).

The filling: blood orange lavender jam

The nice thing about cakes is their forgiving nature.  As you can see, I did not cut this very straight.  When its all said and done, this doesn't matter.  Once the frosting is on, no one is the wiser.

While I waited for the filling to set up a bit in the fridge, I adorned the cake trimmings with jam and frosting, and indulged myself.  YUM!

Tom looked on with jealousy from his paper bag fort.

I finished this creation off with a bit of lemon and blood orange zest, interspersed with a bit of lavender.

Happy Birthday to a beautiful and talented friend.  I'm so glad to know you, Korina!

Falafel For 100

 I attend a church that believes intentional community nourishes the soul.  What better way to accomplish this than by simultaneously nourishing our bodies?  Every Sunday we eat a meal together.  The meal is made by various volunteers who slave over the planning, shopping, and cooking for about one hundred people.  I am one of those volunteers and I LOVE it.  Most recently, I decided that making falafel would be easy, as I could make it a day ahead of time and heat it up just before serving.  I severely underestimated the laboring that I would need to do, especially since I do not own a food processor.  Thank goodness for friends that do, and for mothers who stay over until midnight to help make the dough. 

  350 falafel balls later...

And don't think I forgot the tzatziki sauce.

These are gluten free and vegan (sans the sauce) and even our meat lovers liked them.  And now I have a gallon bag of leftovers in my freezer for a rainy day.