Here is another version of "Kacie's Coffee Cake." Although I don't make it the same way Kacie makes it, and I rarely even make it the same way twice, the original recipe came from Kacie, so to me it will always be "Kacie's Coffee Cake!" Plus, Kacie's a lot of fun and a great cook, so it's nice to have a recipe that makes me think of her. =)
Peach Melba Coffee Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 cup fresh or frozen peaches, roughly chopped
Heat oven to 350. Beat all ingredients (except fruit!) in large mixer bowl on low speed 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Spread half the batter in greased oblong pan, 9x13, or square pan, 9x9. Sprinkle with peaches. Top with remaining batter, then raspberries. Bake 35 - 45 minutes (depending on pan size), until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. If desired, top with glaze made from 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp lemon zest, and 1 to 2 tbsp lemon juice.
Now, it's hard to go wrong with something containing raspberries, so this turned out pretty well. Unfortunately, though, the peaches got a bit lost in the mix. I think they pretty much baked down to nothing, so their flavor really can't be detected. A bit disappointing. I may kick it up with some glaze tomorrow.
On a bit of a side note, remember how I mentioned the other day that I've made my site "Googleable?" And how it's not quite a perfect way to find things? Well, it's even farther from perfect than I originally thought! The other day I spent a good half hour searching for something I was sure I had blogged about last summer. I didn't find it, gave up, and decided that I must have thought really hard about it, but never actually blogged. Well, I just found that post while searching for yet another reference (which I still haven't found!) (never mind... just found it... after far too long of a search!). I really need to figure out how to do archives or categories or something on my site. I can't tell you how often I search for previous posts and never find them. Any suggestions?
... to knit than to cook when more than half your time is spent away from home:
1 skein Plymouth Yarn's "Italian Collection -- Elegante," plus 1 skein Plymouth Yarn's "Italian Collection -- Spazzini," plus one Tuesday evening left to my own devices equals:
One scarf so funky and so furry, it needs a name!
Also: One unknown amount of Plymouth Yarn's "Eros," plus one unknown amount of Adriafil's "Floppy Trends," plus one Easter Sunday all alone with nothing to do equals:
One tres skinny, tres elegante blue and silver scarf.
Now, I have been a beginning knitter for about three years, so please bear with me and my lack of knitspeak knowledge... both scarves were done on #11 needles, starting with 8 stitches cast on (casted on?). They're all knit stitch, all the time (though I do actually know how to purl, too!). The green one is about 2-1/2" wide and 5' long. Had I realized how thick and fluffy it was going to turn out, I probably would have only cast(ed?)on 6 stitches. It would have been slightly skinnier and slightly longer. But I love it anyway! The yarn for it was a going away gift from my wonderful friend and knitting buddy Susan, who works at my former place of employment.
The blue scarf has quite a history. It's the second knitting project I ever took up, reincarnated. I started it a couple years ago as a much wider scarf, and hated the way it was coming out, so I put it away and ignored it for ages. But once I finished my green scarf on Tuesday, and so loved how it turned out, I couldn't stop knitting! Last night I unraveled what I had started with the blue, and made what you see above today. It's about 2" wide and 7-1/2' long. Quelle fashion statement! =) I can't tell you just how much yarn it took, because I bought a couple skeins of each and made a scarf for my cousin first. Once I finished today's scarf, I still had a lot of yarn left, so I started yet another scarf for Bronwyn. I'll introduce her later, when her scarf is done.
Would you believe I actually intend to cook something tomorrow? Well, actually, I plan to bake something. But more on that later. Happy Easter, everyone!
When I stay up later than I should, my mind tends to work in strange ways. Sometimes I get philosophical, sometimes I get analytical, and sometimes I get downright goofy. Tonight, I kind of had all three processes going. Kevin came home around midnight with some (eek! store-bought!) bread that shall remain nameless. One of the ingredients is "raisin juice concentrate." How exactly does one extract juice from dried fruit?!?
I've added a second Weather Pixie to my site, to represent Boston.
Since you never know (and half the time I don't even know!) which city I'm in, it seemed only fitting. The Bangor Pixie is the one (of the available choices) who at least slightly resembles me -- in fact, one of her coats is just like one of mine! The Boston Pixie is the "Dollz: Tiny" option, since I feel so small and insignificant in the Big City. If only I were as skinny as she is!
I have also made my site "searchable" with Google. It's mostly for my benefit, but you might find you want the option at some time or another. Either Blogdrive doesn't have the option to create categories and/or archives, or I just haven't figured out how to do so, so I thought this would be the next best thing. I can't tell you how often I try to reference a past post, but can't find the post! I'm hoping this will help. I've already found it's not quite perfect. Anyway, if you scroll waaaaayyyyy down to the bottom of the page, you'll find the search option.
And just in case you've been wondering why I haven't been posting much about cooking lately, it's mostly because of all the time I've been spending in Boston. I'm usually here/there for three or four days a week. I haven't talked about it much for fear of jinxing myself, but Kevin and I have spent almost every free minute this month looking for an apartment. I cannot even begin to tell you what a long, frustrating process it is. Everyone says "there are TONS of apartments in Boston -- you won't have any trouble finding something!" They obviously haven't ever looked for an apartment in greater Boston. We really want to be in Cambridge. It's where Kev has been since last June. Why can't I just move in with him, you ask? He's in a place with two roommates. I'm too old for roommates. And we can't just kick them all out and stay here by ourselves because it's an outrageously expensive apartment. Maybe we're just too picky... but we want two bedrooms (one bedroom plus an office/study), a nice kitchen (of course!), cat-friendliness, and affordability in a clean, safe, neighborhood. It would also be quite helpful to be within a 10-minute walk to a "T" stop. Apparently that's all just too much to ask. Oh, and being within walking distance of a Whole Foods and/or Trader Joe's would be pretty sweet. =)
Well, that's where I've been, and where I am. Thanks for bearing with me through my low-blog-output phase, and through this vaguely therapeutic writing session. And wish us luck in the apartment hunt!
Extra added bonus: I am, in case you can't tell, in Cambridge now. We're supposed to get a delightful little spring snowstorm tonight, with accumulations of six to ten inches. And I didn't bring my winter shoes with me since it was so springy when I left Maine! Argh.
