Brunch

Rose Geranium Cake

May 12, 2019 By Allison

The Kentucky Derby has come and gone, and today is Mother’s Day. What plans do you have for your garden this year? The harvest of my beloved yet modest patio garden makes its way to bright, summer dishes and iced tea garnishes. The last few years I have made a spot for a gracious, yet spindly rose geranium. Scented geraniums are simultaneously old-fashioned and trendy. My favorite greenhouse sells not only rose geraniums, but chocolate mint geraniums, lime geraniums, and cinnamon geraniums. How to choose?

I usually settle for my standard rose geranium. When I am on my patio, I unfailingly rub a leaf between my thumb and forefinger, releasing a sweet and subtle rose scent. I love my rose geranium for this kinetic and olfactory interaction, and I also love to make rose geranium cake. This generous cake is dense and moist. Thin ribbons of geranium leaves lend texture and a gentle floral flavor, deepened by rose water. I serve this cake with Ceylon teas, which are not too assertive and allow the cake to shine.

Rose Geranium Cake

Created by aconnolly24 on May 12, 2019

This refreshingly old-fashioned recipe comes from Shelley and Bruce Richardson’s A Tea for All Seasons. I have made small modifications. I have found that different brands of rose water vary in strength, so tread lightly, especially when making your glaze. The 1/4 tsp rose water I use in the glaze is conservative. Add more if...

Serves: 12
Category: Breads and Muffins, Sweets

Ingredients

Cake

5 rose geranium leaves, chopped in chiffonade
1/4 tsp. mace
2 tbsp. rose water
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c sour cream
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. fine-grained salt
3 c all-purpose flour
6 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 c sugar
1 c butter, room temperature plus extra for greasing pan

Glaze

1 c confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp. rose water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350
Grease tube pan with butter.
Mix dry ingredients with a whisk in medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
Using electric beaters or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add beaten eggs and mix until incorporated.
Add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to batter, alternating with sour cream, until all dry ingredients and sour cream are incorporated.
Add vanilla and rose water. Mix well.
Fold in rose geranium leaves.
Bake for 60-70 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Do not over bake. Cool in pan for 30 minutes, then remove.
To ice cooled cake, combine confectioners' sugar and rose water and spread over top of cake.

Color Crush

December 6, 2018 By Allison

I love a beautiful cheese board. I love savory and toothsome charcuterie. This holiday season, though, I’m making a departure from my savory standbys. This year, I want bright, crisp vegetables to take the place of the denser, fattier meats and cheeses that I usually serve.

As much as possible, I’m keeping fresh, chopped vegetables on hand—endives, bell peppers, celery, and cucumbers. And I’m experimenting with creamy and delectable vegetable dips that get their heft from tahini, nuts, or dairy. I am not depriving my guests or myself! My colorful combos make for a sturdy snack or a pleasing appetizer. They can also stand in for salad at dinnertime.

So what’s my strategy? I pull out the food processor and whip up a few dips. Since I keep my food processor in a storage closet, I make good use of it and prepare a few dips at once that will keep for several days in the refrigerator. I aim for different colors and textures in my vegetable and dip boards. Endives are a favorite dipper, due to their shape and their mild bitterness. Sliced bell peppers are always in the rotation. Everyone reaches for the whole wheat pita triangles. I favor under-appreciated celery.

I’ve found so many recipes for vegetable-based dips—all perfect in their own way—that I have yet to develop my own recipes. Below, you will find the links to three of my favorites, all of which will keep in the refrigerator for at least 4 days. Just make sure to give them a good stir and to freshen them with a little salt, pepper, or olive oil, if needed.

Roasted Butternut Squash Dip, Bon Appétit

Greek Goddess Dip, New York Times

Muhammara, New York Times (there are so many recipes for this Syrian spread on the internet!)

Mrs. Kiersey’s Brown Bread

March 8, 2018 By Allison

I am several generations removed from Ireland, so I access my “Irishness” in oblique ways. Little bits come down through language—a sweet prayer to my guardian angel taught to me by my grandmother or my mother’s admonishment to stop screaming like a banshee. A few objects evoke Ireland for me—the delicate Belleek dish at my bedside, adorned in roses, shamrocks, and Irish heather. An understated Waterford bud vase that I pull out in the spring.

I believe that food also has the potential to connect me to my almost unreachable, virtually unknowable heritage. But how? My family’s “Irish” recipes have been liberally adapted to suit American tastes. In flipping through Irish cookbooks, I am delighted by the names of traditional dishes: Dublin Coddle, Barmbrack, Wicklow Pancake.

Yet I gravitate toward something more basic: Irish Brown Bread. My family doesn’t bake brown bread, so I have no family recipes to reference. A few years ago, I fell into an internet hole of brown bread recipes. Overwhelmed and confused, I abandoned my brown bread quest. But then I thought to pester my Irish friend and colleague. He is a real Irishman with a real Irish mum, and I suspected that she would have a tried and true brown bread recipe. My persistence paid off. When I finally got my hands on the recipe, I knew I had found “my” brown bread.

Over the last few months, I have been playing with this Irish recipe in my Kentucky kitchen. Mrs. Kiersey’s recipe for brown bread is quick and straightforward. Coarsely ground whole wheat flour is key, as it gives the desired texture and density to the loaf. Buttermilk gives it a nice bite. Baking soda does a lot of heavy lifting, so make sure yours is fresh! The resulting loaf is crusty and hearty. Serve it with salted butter or hard cheese. Enjoy at breakfast or for an afternoon snack with a bold, black tea.

Baking Irish Brown Bread has created a subtle, yet moving pathway between my foremothers and me. Were they Irish? Yes! Did they bake brown bread? They may have. I acknowledge that my new penchant for Irish Brown Bread is a tenuous connection to women whose names and stories I do not know. Nonetheless, the gesture of bread making allows me to imagine the invisible women of my distant, yet meaningful history.

…

Savory Valentine Biscuits

February 11, 2018 By Allison

Heart-shaped cookies abound! In the spirit of the season, I developed a savory cut out cracker recipe for a Valentine aperitif. Since I forego frosting and sprinkles, this treat is relatively low maintenance.

My heart biscuits contain a few ingredients, two of which stand out: Parmesan cheese and Piment d’Espelette. Piment d’Espelette is a sweet, flavorful red pepper grown in a Basque village called Espelette. I bought mine in France, but it’s available dried and ground in specialty markets and online. I use it anywhere I’d use black pepper—in vinaigrettes, on roasted vegetables, and sprinkled on soup. It’s a little deeper and sweeter than black pepper. And it’s so pretty. The subtle, red pepper flakes make my rustic crackers worthy of Valentine’s Day.

If you don’t have Piment d’Espelette in your spice drawer, I suggest using ground pink peppercorns. They lend a deep pink-purple hue to the crackers and taste just as delicious.

What should you sip with your heart biscuits? Something bubbly: Champagne, Prosecco, a white beer, or sparkling water with a twist of lime. Happy Valentine’s Day!

…

Snowy Day Breakfast Salad

January 27, 2018 By Allison

Here at the hermitage, in deep snow, everything is ordinary and silent.
—Thomas Merton, 1963

Last week, snow slowed me down. After many busy weeks, I welcomed a few quiet, snowy mornings. I moved slowly and intentionally. Minutes and hours seemed to expand. These mornings were ordinary and uneventful. I gave more time to waking up and more time to breakfast.

My “breakfast salad” is so simple that it doesn’t require a recipe. But it does have a few components and is not for busy work mornings.

Here’s how to pull it together:

“Jammy” Eggs

Bring saucepan of water to a gentle boil. As water is coming up to temperature, prepare an ice water bath in a large bowl. Place on counter, next to burner. Once water boils, use a large spoon to ease eggs into the bowl, one by one. Boil gently, for 6.5 minutes. (7 minutes if you want a more solid yolk.) Use spoon to move eggs from saucepan to ice water bath, to stop cooking. When they’re cool enough to handle, remove peels under running water. Set peeled eggs aside.

Bread

Prepare toast and set aside. I made pita toast last week. Use whatever bread you have on hand. No need for butter.

Salad

Chop English cucumber, tomatoes, and radishes in to bite-sized pieces. Place in a small bowl. Toss with a little extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. If you don’t mind onion in the morning, add a little red or green onion. Set aside.

Yogurt Base

For each serving, scoop 3-4 generous tablespoons of whole milk or Greek yogurt into another small bowl. Squeeze juice of ½ lemon into yogurt, more if you’re preparing multiple servings. Add a pinch of salt and stir. Spread onto breakfast plate(s). Set aside.

Assembly

Gently place salad on yogurt. Slice eggs(s) the long way and nestle into the yogurt. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil, squeeze a little lemon juice, and sprinkle with salt and pepper (Piment d’Espelette, if you have it.) Serve with toast.

Revel in your slow morning.