Name: Damp Lemon and Almond Cake
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6 - 8 people
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter (softened); 3/4 cup sugar; 4 large eggs; 1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 1/3 cup ground almonds; 1/2 tsp almond extract; 2 lemons grated zest and juice; 8-inch springform pan (lined on the bottom with parchment or wax paper.)

Lemon trees bursting with fruit at Trueheart Vineyards in Sonoma, California. Lemons. Trueheartgal.

Damp Lemon and Almond Cake

It’s citrus season here in Northern California, and orange and lemon trees are heavy with fruit. We picked our Myer lemon trees (see them bowing down under the weight of all their fruit above) a few weeks ago. I am always looking for new recipes to use them in, and then I found Nigella Lawson’s Damp Lemon and Almond Cake from her How to Be a Domestic Goddess cookbook and I knew I found my nirvana of flavor combination. Almonds? Oh yes. As a kid, I used to walk miles to a candy store that carried marzipan. And I love the fresh, biting sweetness of lemon. Together they are so surprisingly nice. The cake is not too sweet, and very, very moist.

The recipe is so easy, I hope you’ll try it and let me know what you think.

A few links from the web you might enjoy:

Ridiculously obscure fun facts.

Top 10 movies of 2015 by a Slate reviewer I really admire.

Nurturing long-term loving relationships.

I’m still obsessing over the Oscar outfits, and here’s a look at the least boring among them.

A palliative care doctor’s thank you letter to David Bowie.

I never get tired of hearing Man of Constant Sorrow.

Great list of 15 Things I Learned in My Fifties.

A pilot’s-eye view of life in the sky.

Here in Sonoma, we have been getting loads of much needed rain, and flowers are blooming everywhere (including our camellias, below). They are predicting more rain on the way. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Damp Lemon and Almond Cake

An easy recipe with lemons and almonds and little else.

CourseDessert

Servings

6 - 8 people

Cook Time

50 - 70 minutes

Servings

6 - 8 people

Cook Time

50 - 70 minutes

Damp Lemon and Almond Cake

An easy recipe with lemons and almonds and little else.

CourseDessert

Servings

6 - 8 people

Cook Time

50 - 70 minutes

Servings

6 - 8 people

Cook Time

50 - 70 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cup ground almonds
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 lemons grated zest and juice
8-inch springform pan lined on the bottom with parchment or wax paper.

Servings: people

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together the butter sugar until almost white. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a quarter of the flour after each addition. When all the eggs and flour have been incorporated, gently stir in the ground almonds, then the almond extract, lemon zest and juice. Pour the mixture into cake pan and bake for about one hour. (Ovens vary so widely, the cake may be done after 50 minutes, or it may take as long as an hour and 10 minutes.) After about 30 minutes you may need to cover the cake with foil to prevent it the top from burning.
The cake is ready when the top is firm and a toothpick comes out cleanish. The cake will be damp, but not battery goop. Take the cake out and let it stand for 5 minutes or so in the pan. Turn the cake out on a wire rack and allow it to cool.
Then, wrap the cake in tin foil and leave it for a couple of days. Push some powdered sugar over the cake through a fine sieve when serving.

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A Simple Carrot Soup

My sweet husband flew back to Missouri to visit his mother for a week and returned with a miserable cold. He always enjoys a yummy bowl of homemade soup, but when he is even the slightest bit ill, he yearns for soup like it is a magical elixir.

Enter California-based Heidi Swanson. This one woman whirlwind of creativity is a cookbook author, photographer, website publisher, shop curator and bestselling writer. She won a James Beard Award for Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen. Near & Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel, her latest book, was published last September.

I have a glut of cookbooks, some of which I rarely open, others which have stained and dog-eared pages of favorite recipes I return to often. I subscribe to Swanson’s blog, 101 Cookbooks, and it has become one of those favorite spots I turn to when I am looking to cook something easy, wholesome and luscious.

So, when I was looking for an easy soup to make for my ailing husband, I found this one, using carrots, red curry paste and coconut milk. I am trying to cook vegetarian meals more and more often. Eating a vegetarian diet is healthier for both of us, it is healthier for the planet, and I disagree with the idea of killing animals. I still eat chicken every now and then, and I eat lots of fish, but I am working to limit those as well.

A Simple Carrot Soup

A very simple, easy, silky and delicious soup using very few ingredients.

CourseSoup
CuisineVegetarian

Servings	Prep Time
4 people	10 minutes

Cook Time

15 minutes

Servings	Prep Time
4 people	10 minutes

Cook Time

15 minutes

A Simple Carrot Soup

A very simple, easy, silky and delicious soup using very few ingredients.

CourseSoup
CuisineVegetarian

Servings	Prep Time
4 people	10 minutes

Cook Time

15 minutes

Servings	Prep Time
4 people	10 minutes

Cook Time

15 minutes

Ingredients

2 TB unsalted butter or extra-virgin coconut oil
1 onion chopped
1 TB red curry paste or to taste
2 pounds carrots peeled and chopped - 1/2 inch chunks
1 14-oz can full-fat coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste
1 1/2 cups water or to cover
1 lemon or lime

Servings: people

Instructions

In a large soup pan over medium-high heat, add the coconut oil (or butter) and onions. Stir until the onions are well-coated, and allow to sauté until translucent, a few minutes. Stir in the curry paste, and then the carrots. Allow to cook another minute or two, and then add the coconut milk, salt and water, adding more water to cover if needed. Allow to simmer until the carrots are tender, 10 - 15 minutes, and then puree using a hand blender until the soup is silky smooth.
The next part is important (with any soup) - make any needed adjustments. Add more water if the consistency needs to be thinned out a bit (I didn't need to do anything). After that, taste for salt, adding more if needed.
Add a great big squeeze of lemon or lime juice. Serve topped with whatever you have on hand. Heidi suggests adding something crunchy (almonds) and a lot of something green (micro greens and chopped cilantro). I only had cilantro on hand, and it was wonderful.

Recipe Notes

I can't wait to plant carrots in our garden this spring and make this soup for our grandkids after they pull up their sweet and tender harvest.

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My Pick for Best Actor

As with every category, picking my favorite to the win the Oscar for the Actor in a Leading Role is tough, but not impossible. Read on and then tell me why I got it all wrong! This year’s Actor in a Leading Role Nominees are:

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

The story of Hollywood Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo’s struggle to continue to save his career and support his family after being blacklisted in the late 1940’s.

Matt Damon, The Martian

Astronaut and engineer Matt Watney, played by the uber-charismatic Matt Damon, is left behind on Mars during a space mission, and must find a way to survive long enough to be rescued.

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Playing real-life hunter and trapper Hugh Glass, Leonardo DiCaprio barely speaks in this film that tells the story of his survival following a grisly bear mauling and being left for dead by the members of his expedition.

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Michael Fassbender brings an intense magnetic energy to the role of Steve Jobs in the film that uses the release of three new products to feature his personal failures and professional accomplishments.

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

The story of Dutch artist Einar Wegener who, in the 1920’s, undergoes one of the first sexual reassignment surgeries.

Who gets my vote? Bryan Cranston. I know, I know, Leo is going to win (for a physically grueling performance, but one in which he pretty much just grunts, groans, and screams), but I loved every moment of Cranston’s portrayal of the dazzlingly articulate, brave, patriotic, funny and heroic man.

Here are my takes on Best Supporting Actress, and Best Supporting Actor.

Tell me why I’m wrong. In the meantime, can you click on one of the buttons below to share this? Ok, now you can tell me why I’m wrong, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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