Sleepless night for both of us, though for different reasons. I'm thinking forward thoughts, he's preoccupied with a machining project. And so he sleeps through the chicken wake up time. I go out and open the coop.
Sunrise!
Retreat to sleep. And now we try for another start to the day. More coordinated. We clean the farmhouse. A real scrub down. It always makes me happy to see it refreshed!
A mini breakfast on the porch. Not a big meal. We have brunch plans! Just a small nibble now.
And now the celebration of my girl's birthday begins for me: we meet her and her husband downtown and we have a terrific meal together. Nothing feels more urban and out of the ordinary for me than a brunch out. It's a good way to fall into a festive frame of mind.
But after, Ed and I return to our old Sunday habits. I work in the yard (it's so dry! two hours spent on watering the new flower bed!). Ed naps. Presumably making him more alert for more machining work tonight.
Ah, but then we regroup and come together again. Because my birthday girl and her husband are at the farmhouse for supper too. The pleasure of two meals in one day with them!
I set it it out on the porch...
A simple meal. Nothing extraordinary. Pasta with a homemade sauce. But it has "birthday" written all over it.
Which means gifts. Clothes for a bigger belly. And cookbooks!
And the rhubarb strawberry cake for dessert. Which a commenter asked about and let me tell you -- it has been immensely popular here, at the farmhouse, so I am happy to pass on the recipe. (You'll notice that the positioning of the fruit is entirely different here than in my past two cakes.) Such a grand Sunday! For you as well, I hope.
Rhubarb Strawberry Pudding Cake (Gourmet, 2007)
1/4 c water
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/3 c plus 1/2 c sugar
2 c chopped fresh rhubarb stalks (I used a little more)
1 c. chopped fresh strawberries (again, a tiny bit more)
1 c flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 c whole milk
1 stick unslated butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 400.
Butter an 8 inch square glass or ceramic baking dish (I used regular cake pan)
Stir water, cornstarch and 1/3 c sugar in saucepan, then stir in rhubarb. Bring to simmer stirring constantly, then simmer, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in strawberries.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 1/2 c sugar in a bowl.
Whisk together egg, milk, butter and vanilla in large bowl, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.
Reserve about 1/2 c fruit mixture, then add remainder to baking dish and pour batter over it (in my case -- I needed to distribute it evenly, as batter certainly wasn't a "pourable" consistency), spreading evenly. Drizzle reserved 1/2 c of fruit over batter. Bake until wooden pick comes out clean, 25 - 30 minutes (I baked it for 32 mins). Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes before serving.
Sunrise!
Retreat to sleep. And now we try for another start to the day. More coordinated. We clean the farmhouse. A real scrub down. It always makes me happy to see it refreshed!
A mini breakfast on the porch. Not a big meal. We have brunch plans! Just a small nibble now.
And now the celebration of my girl's birthday begins for me: we meet her and her husband downtown and we have a terrific meal together. Nothing feels more urban and out of the ordinary for me than a brunch out. It's a good way to fall into a festive frame of mind.
But after, Ed and I return to our old Sunday habits. I work in the yard (it's so dry! two hours spent on watering the new flower bed!). Ed naps. Presumably making him more alert for more machining work tonight.
Ah, but then we regroup and come together again. Because my birthday girl and her husband are at the farmhouse for supper too. The pleasure of two meals in one day with them!
I set it it out on the porch...
A simple meal. Nothing extraordinary. Pasta with a homemade sauce. But it has "birthday" written all over it.
Which means gifts. Clothes for a bigger belly. And cookbooks!
And the rhubarb strawberry cake for dessert. Which a commenter asked about and let me tell you -- it has been immensely popular here, at the farmhouse, so I am happy to pass on the recipe. (You'll notice that the positioning of the fruit is entirely different here than in my past two cakes.) Such a grand Sunday! For you as well, I hope.
Rhubarb Strawberry Pudding Cake (Gourmet, 2007)
1/4 c water
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/3 c plus 1/2 c sugar
2 c chopped fresh rhubarb stalks (I used a little more)
1 c. chopped fresh strawberries (again, a tiny bit more)
1 c flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 c whole milk
1 stick unslated butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 400.
Butter an 8 inch square glass or ceramic baking dish (I used regular cake pan)
Stir water, cornstarch and 1/3 c sugar in saucepan, then stir in rhubarb. Bring to simmer stirring constantly, then simmer, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in strawberries.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 1/2 c sugar in a bowl.
Whisk together egg, milk, butter and vanilla in large bowl, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.
Reserve about 1/2 c fruit mixture, then add remainder to baking dish and pour batter over it (in my case -- I needed to distribute it evenly, as batter certainly wasn't a "pourable" consistency), spreading evenly. Drizzle reserved 1/2 c of fruit over batter. Bake until wooden pick comes out clean, 25 - 30 minutes (I baked it for 32 mins). Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes before serving.
A wonderful celebration in two parts.
ReplyDeleteAh, daughters.... :)
Deletexo
Wonderful! I feel I've shared in your happiness this day.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to making this cake next weekend.
We also had a good family weekend: my brother and his wife came down from Cleveland on Saturday for brunch and then to a biker-sponsored charity event where our son's band was playing. Good old Allman Brothers blues, Stevie Ray Vaughn...he is so good. Musicians don't get rich nowadays - he took this gig for free, for charity.
Today my musician boy came over and fixed my car, then spent a good while processing tomatoes from his garden and ours, and finally a cook-out and a birthday toy and treat for his dog. Yep, our first Grandpup, and we fit every stereotype. I put pictures of Rocky on Facebook. :)
You look great in the birthday photo! So happy. I feel such tenderness for your daughter.
You're on FB?? Do you post on a regular basis?
DeleteDaughter's still treading lightly, but so far, no real signs of distress! With each day we get closer to breathing a sigh of relief.
I really wish we still had rhubarb growing in our garden somewhere... we had a big clump of it when we bought the house and I used it then, but at some point, the gardener (aka husband) pulled it all up as if it were a WEED and it's gone now. What is it with men and weeds or rather men and plants they THINK are weeds?
ReplyDeleteLooks yum, thanks for the recipe.
Frequently asked question, by Ed: "is this a weed?"
DeleteFrequently given explanation for not weeding the garden, by Ed: "I don't know what's a weed and what should stay!"