rhubarb + strawberry coffee cake

during a recent trip to the catskils, i discovered a new farmers market. it was full of amazing fruits, veg, cheese and baked goods... including one of the BEST coffee cakes i have ever had. full stop. it was baked in a basic tin, with an unassuming label in plain type: 'strawberry rhubarb'... but boy oh boy, when i bit into that moist coffee cake it had the perfect balance of sugar, cinnamon, fruit and crunch. i wanted to buy more to bring home, but there were none left the next day. so i decided when i got home i would attempt my own.

adapted from martha 'lady jesus' stewart

for the crumble topping:

4 tblspns unsalted melted butter- plus more for dish
3/4 cup cake flour- plus more for dish
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tspn salt
1/4 tspn cinnamon

for the cake:

1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tspn baking powder
1/4 tspn salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tspn vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups of strawberries and rhubarb that have been diced

*oven to 350° F.
*butter a 9-inch round baking dish, dust with flour, tap out excess.
*stir together butter, flour, sugars, salt, and cinnamon. set topping aside.

*mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

*in another bowl cream butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. beat in eggs and vanilla.
*working in alternating batches, add flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. stir until just combined.
*fold in fruit. pour into dish. sprinkle with crumb topping.

bake about 1 hour. sprinkle with powdered sugar.





give half to your boyfriend and bring half into work. endless praise. enjoy with whipped cream or if you're feeling really glutenous- cinnamon ice cream.

to the organic farm we go!

oh! autumn! the leaves are changing, i can wear sweaters, drink hot tea, and enjoy one last weekend in lake huntington before we close up the bungalow for the summer.

i had a lovely weekend in the catskills this weekend. my friends and i stayed in lake huntington summer community, which is a few minutes from bethel woods, site of the famous woodstock music festival (1969).

the farm we went to is called river brook farm, and it's one of my favorite places to go when i am in LHSC. not only is the produce AMAZING, there are goats and sheep to play with. the property is beautiful, and as well as amazing produce (veggies, fruit, meats, milk, eggs) they also sell locally made goodies such as beach lake bread (pies and challah breads that are made with love). my friends and i made out well at the farm: great veggies for salad, farm fresh goats cheese, potatoes, farm fresh bacon, and a blueberry pie from BLB.

we ate ourselves into a coma, watched he-man (who btw, is totally dating skeletor!), took some nature hikes, and drank lots of tea... goodbye catskills! see you next summer <3>

spice is nice

so... after much searching and stressing, i finally found a spice rack to hang in my kitchen. i got it at a tag sale in the catskills- upstate new york (YEAH tag sales!). i got it for 50 cents - there are still deals to be had in this recession after all. i thought about giving it a makeover, but i kinda love the worn paint and stickers on the side. i have to say, i have found some amazing things upstate at tag sales, but this is my favorite thing right about now. having my spices all lined up instead of all over my kitchen makes me happy. i recently purchased some black sesame seeds and i am excited to make something with them. if i could only keep 1 spice from this rack it would have to be the old bay spice... i don't think any spice rack is complete without that perfect blend of old bay... maybe it's the 3 years i spent in baltimore, i don't know, but that stuff is like crack.