the gingerbread cake

We have had enormous amounts of snow lately.  I spent Friday shoveling snow from early morning to the afternoon, and I tell you, I am weary of snow.  It seems to me we have had storms every other day, and especially on weekends, sorry to say.  But one morning, I woke up and went straight into the kitchen, fully aware it was a gingerbread day.

Gingerbread.  

Ginger, cloves,  and cinnamon.  The spicy scent made me smile, and it was only when the cake was cooling that I realized I was making this cake for my son, now in California.  It was a favorite of his, and I was missing him .  When the cake had cooled, I pulled out the waxed paper and red and white twine, and packaged it up, and sent it off.  

Besides the sheer joy of cooking and baking, I'm reminded how the recipes are full of memories and history.  This is the recipe for my daughter's first birthday cake.  This is the first cookbook I bought with my paycheck.  This is the cookbook that fascinated me, heady with herbs and spices I had so little knowledge of.  And this particular cake reminds me of my children, sticking their fingers into the batter, crowding my tiny kitchen, inhaling this delicious spice-scented and very old fashioned cake.  Thanks always to Craig Claiborne,  editor of the New York Times food section and many, many cookbooks, who opened my eyes (and nose), to the world of cloves and cinnamon, thyme and curry, fresh basil and tarragon, before Julia swooped into our world, and long before I knew my way around the kitchen.

Gingerbread Cake

Grease an 8x8 pan, or an 8 or 9x2 inch round cake pan
Preheat oven to 350F.

1 T. vinegar ( I used my hot chili vinegar, but any kind is fine)
3/4 c. milk
2 cups King Arthur flour, sifted
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
pinch of salt
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/3 cup canola or other light oil
1/2 c. sugar
1 large egg
3/4 c. molasses

Add the vinegar to the milk and set aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices into a large bowl.

In mixer bowl, add the canola oil and sugar, then the egg, and finally, the molasses.

Add the dry ingredients to the oil, egg, molasses mixture along with the by now curdled milk.  Stir only until mixed, do not overbeat.  

Scrape batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cake springs back when gently pressed in the center.  

Remove cake to cooling rack until cool, then run a dull knife around the pan and unmold cake to cool further on cooling rack. 

Serve alone or with sweetened whipped cream, vanilla bean ice cream, or a dusting of confectioners sugar or sliced strawberries.  This cake travels well, as long as you wrap it in plastic wrap or waxed paper after cooling completely.

chive blossom vinegar

Spring brings many seasonal joys:  asparagus, sorrel, violets, and the glory of the chive plants.  Their blossoms can be used (make sure they haven't been sprayed or visited by a dog) in salads, in omelets , in a little bouquet, and to make this gorgeous magenta vinegar.

In past years, I've packed a jar with the blossoms and covered with white vinegar, placed in the sun for a few days, then strained into bottles.  But all we have had is rain, rain, rain, so I used my neighbor's inspired method and whizzed the mixture in a blender.  Voila !  Intense color and flavor with no waiting for those sunny days.

Because herb vinegars should never come in contact with metal, I use a funnel stuck in the top of the bottle I'm using for the vinegar, and a coffee filter placed inside the funnel.  The vinegar comes out clear and colorful.  For this particular vinegar, store in the fridge instead of a dark cupboard.  The oniony flavor stays intense, and so does the color.  The chive blossom vinegar I made last year is just about gone, but it's still as bright and pungent as it was a year ago, thanks to keeping it chilled.

Another thing to remember:  pack the jar about half full of chive flowers , then pour in the vinegar, then puree and strain.  If you don't have a goodly amount of flowers, the vinegar won't be as colorful.

I found the prettiestt post on making chive flower vinegar from Lottie + Doof - you can see it here:

http://www.lottieanddoof.com/2012/05/chive-blossom-vinegar/

Hope your day is beautiful!

making herb vinegars

What a lovely morning! I even had time to take the back way from the supermarket trip, stopping at my favorite river and marshland, which reminds me so much of the salt marshes on the Cape. The trip was precipitated by an overgrown oregano plant, which I haven't yet dared to plant in the garden because of cold nights. As I fingered the oregano, I decided it was time to make another batch of my son's Red Hot Chili Pepper vinegar. It's actually not super hot, but it does have a nice bite to it. I found the peppers I'd dried last fall, and picked out a few nice red ones. Then, realizing I was out of white and cider vinegar, made a quick trip to the market. I'd washed out a nice big glass bottle for steeping the vinegar, so I was set to go.

Here are the basics:

Always use glass containers for vinegars - and if they have metal tops, fold a piece of plastic wrap between the cap and the vinegar when you close it tightly. They will rust if they come in contact with the vinegar.

I use half white vinegar, half apple cider vinegar. It's light and doesn't overpower the herb flavors.

Steep vinegar with herbs in sunlight for a week, then strain through a coffee filter or cheesecloth into a very, very clean bottle. Discard the first set of herbs, and, using a chopstick, arrange the herbs as you wish in the bottle before putting the vinegar in. If you use dried spices,like the chili pepper, they will plump up as they soak up the warm-from-the-sun vinegar. I reuse the same chili peppers on the final bottling, but discard the oregano.

To make the chili vinegar:

Fill clean bottle with snips of fresh oregano - both small and long.

Place a few black peppercorns in the bottle, then drop two chili peppers in.

Slowly fill with vinegar and cork tightly.

Let sit in sun for a week.

Strain the vinegar, using a coffee filter, into a pitcher.

Take a clean bottle and fill with snips of oregano, peppercorns, and the now plumped chili peppers from the first steeping.

Fill with the strained herb vinegar.

Cork tightly and dip into some melted paraffin so it doesn't leak.

Keep in a dark cupboard for best results.

Some other wonderful herb vinegars I've made are:

Chive blossom vinegar - a gorgeous magenta color! You must fill the jar with the blossoms to get that color, and keep in a dark cupboard so it doesn't fade. Purple basil also makes a magenta vinegar.

Borage and Lovage - a nice light cucumber taste for summer salads.

Straight Dill, Rosemary, or Basil vinegars.

Give it a try! It's lots of fun and great for hostess or Christmas presents - or a farmer's market stand.