A Birthday Cake For Mom: Orange, Almond, and Olive Oil Cake

If I learned to cook by watching my grandmother, I learned to squeeze every ounce of joy from life by watching my mother.  She truly enjoys life more than anyone I know.  This week she celebrated her birthday, and to watch her in action, you would never guess her age.  She goes to the gym almost every day, travels extensively with friends and family, attends plays, movies, concerts, and is in the stands at all the home games of the UCONN men's and women's basketball teams.  She volunteers her time for several worthy causes, she helps those in her community, and in my house, we couldn't live without her.  She runs my girls to many of their activities, attends their soccer or basketball games, picks them up after school from time to time, runs errands for us, stays home with the girls when they are sick.  She is like a third parent in so many ways.  She has taken her lead from her own mother, my grandmother, in terms of being intimately involved in the day to day aspects of our lives.  She lives with a vibrancy and joy that I admire greatly, and she passes it on to everyone around her.

My mother's life has not been easy; she was very sick as a child, in and out of convalescent homes until she was about 9 years old.  She survived a sickness that one of her friends did not.  She married my father, gave birth to my sister and to me, and after just 16 years of marriage, lost my father to a sudden heart attack.  She was faced with the task of raising two daughters on her own.  Like everything else she does in life, she faced her new role with grace and joy.  She did not feel sorry for herself, nor did she ever allow us to feel sorry for ourselves.  The message was clear:  life would go on, and we would be happy. My father would have wanted nothing less. Even as a kid, I marveled at her strength, and as I got older and became a wife and a mother of two girls myself, I was more and more in awe of this amazing woman.

One of the best decisions she made was to return to college, earning her Bachelor's degree while working and raising us.  She had lots of help; she knew the benefits of surrounding us with our extended family.  My grandmother and grandfather, who lived just upstairs from us, and my Nana, were always there to support us, as were our aunts, uncles and cousins who lived so close by (several on the same street!). When Mom finished school, she worked hard to put my sister and me through college, and she always managed to find time for fun.  She continued to travel, and spend time with her friends and family.  She was active in our church, starting a food pantry for families in need, volunteering her time and energy wherever she saw a need.  She continues to be willing to try just about anything, which is one of the secrets to staying youthful.

I have not often written about my mother, and the reason is this:  it is hard to find words to fully express the depth of love, respect, and gratitude I feel for this woman.  She is my mentor, my sounding board, and my friend, and I cannot find words adequate to express all she means to me, to Michael, and to my girls.

Though my mother claims not to be a good cook, the truth is that she just doesn't enjoy it.  She loves having people over, and is the very best at organizing and presenting a heck of a dinner party.  For her birthday this week, Michael and I had a dinner party in her honor.  We had several of her dear friends, and my Aunt Judy and Uncle Bobby.  Auntie Judy, my father's younger sister, has the same birthday as my mother, so it turned out to be quite a party. While my house is not nearly as immaculate and organized as my mother's, the food and especially the company were quite fabulous. I wanted to bake a cake as unique as my mom, and I stumbled across this recipe I had cut out some time ago from a newspaper.  I made a few changes, added some whipped cream, and it was delicious.  A great ending to a wonderful celebration!

Orange, Almond, and Olive Oil Cake
1/4 cup sliced almonds

6 ounces blanched almonds

1 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

Zest of 1 large orange

Juice of 1 large orange (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup fruity extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan, and spread the sliced almonds in the bottom.  Finely grind the blanched almonds in the food processor until they look like bread crumbs.  Beat the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer until frothy.  Add the sugar slowly, and beat the mixture until it is lemon colored. Add the ground almonds, baking powder, and salt.  Mix quickly, and then add the flour in slowly.  Add the orange juice, the orange zest, and the olive oil, and mix just until combined.  Pour batter into the prepared baking pan.  Bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes.  Serve with whipped cream.

The Taste of Fall: Sage Oil

My husband is a genius!  My favorite fall flavor is sage, and although we dug the plant out of our garden, there are only so many sage leaves, and eventually, I will run out. So Michael has started making small batches of sage oil, and I have begun drizzling it on pretty much anything I eat.  I made beautiful soft scrambled eggs with the sage oil today, and I sauteed some mushrooms in the oil for an omelet for Emily this afternoon for lunch.  I roast vegetables with the sage oil drizzled over them, and put it on meats and salads.  It is utterly delicious, and truly simple, which is why I say my husband is a genius.  I mean, he married me, didn't he?

Sage Oil:

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

handful of fresh sage leaves, washed and dried

Place oil and sage leaves in a small, heavy bottomed pan.  Put the pan on a burner, and bring it to a very low simmer.  Continue to simmer for an hour or two until the oil is infused with the flavor of the sage. Let the oil cool, then strain through a fine mesh strainer, discarding the sage leaves. The FDA recommends storing homemade flavored oils in an airtight container in the refrigerator and using up in at least ten days, so only make as much as you can use in that time. 

Making Summer Last: Panzanella

Today is officially my last day of summer vacation.  School starts for most kids next week, so for us teachers, the mad rush to the first day of school begins this week.  While I love teaching, the transition each year is a tough one.  To go from the long, relaxing summer days where the biggest decision is what to have for dinner, to getting up at 5:15 AM and hitting the ground running is a tough one.  Teachers look forward to summer each year, not necessarily for the reasons you would think.  While we love the free time, what we really need is the long strand days where we do not have to plan what we are doing the next day or the next class. For ten months each year, the first thought I have when I wake up is "what am I doing in the classroom today?"  The summer provides the break from that.

Don't get me wrong.  By the end of the summer, I am ready to go back.  It is time to use my brain again, and of course, time to earn a paycheck again!  But I still feel that sadness at the end of each summer.  Time is passing too quickly, the kids are growing up much too rapidly.  As the saying goes, 'the days are long, but the years are short.'  So I do what I can to extend that summer feeling.  In addition to making a point of getting outside to enjoy the beautiful weather that September brings to Connecticut, I also continue to cook like it is summer. 

The vegetables in the garden and at the farmer's markets are hitting their peak right now, and nothing is more delicious than late summer tomatoes. We have been working toward real panzanella all summer, and waiting for the garden to yeild those sweet, juicy, red tomatoes.  They are here in spades, almost too many to eat.  Almost.

Summer Panzanella:

4-5 excellent summer tomatoes

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced

1/2 medium red onion

2 tbsp. capers (optional

big bunch basil

salt and pepper to taste

1 small loaf Italian bread (I used a small ciabatta loaf), cubed

Extra Virgin olive oil

3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Toast the bread cubes by drizzling with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, a sprinkling of salt, and placing in a 300 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until crunchy.  Cut up the tomatoes into bite sized chunks, and place in a large bowl.  Add cucumbers, onions, capers, if using, and basil.  Once the bread is toasted and cooled, add to the tomato mixture.

Mix 4 tablespoons of olive oil with 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and whisk together.  Drizzle over the bread and tomato mixture, tossing to coat.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and mix again.  Add more dressing if necessary.  Serve immediately, and savor the taste of summer.