Birthday Cake

I've been stalling on this one because this recipe is just so dang long to write out! But we're leaving town in less than a week and I can't put this off til we get back. That would be wrong.

I BAKED recently. It's not something that happens all that often around here because I'm busy making baby food and cleaning up Lake Luciana, ie the dining area floor, after every meal. That takes time, people. But Sky's mom had a birthday not too long ago and she came up to LA to celebrate at our house and I thought the least I could do was make the lady a birthday cake! It was so satisfying to make a birthday cake. It totally justified the cake stand and dome I impulse-bought a month or so ago from Bountiful during their 50% off sale (which seems to still be going on and I do suggest a trip). It was delicious, pretty, and I have a tub of buttercream frosting in the freezer so my work is half done for next time.

When Sky told me his mom likes old-fashioned desserts, I decided on coconut cake. It's one of those things I've never made, always want to order, and rarely, if ever, eat. I have a copy of the New Best Recipe book by Cook's Illustrated and it's one of my go-tos for classic recipes. The recipes are really good, and there are explanations of how they arrived at them which is educational if you want to read. Also equipment and technique tips. I recommend. This one has coconut flavor in the cake, in the frosting, and then coconut is pressed all over it. YUM.

I'll say before I start that this cake is supposed to be 4 layers. Now, I am no professional baker, but I've done my share and I followed the recipe EXACTLY and have good pans and a great oven. My rounds didn't rise enough to make 4 layers remotely do-able. So mine was 2 layers, and totally delicious. I made the cake the night before and frosted the morning of the bday. Both the cake and the frosting use a lot of egg whites so this is a perfect excuse to make ice cream with the leftover yolks. I will also give the disclaimer that the cream of coconut used in both the cake and the frosting is anything but organic. I think there might be some, um, artificial things in it, and the cake is full of gluten and sugar. And it is f-ing delicious and a crowd pleaser. Not for my baby, however. Yet.

said cake stand and dome housing subject of post

Coconut Layer Cake

 from New Best Recipe

for the cake:

2 1/4 c cake flour, sifted, and extra for dusting pans

1 large egg plus 5 egg whites

3/4 c cream of coconut *

1/4 c water

1 t coconut extract

1 t vanilla extract

1 c sugar

1 T baking powder

3/4 t salt

12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into 12 pieces

2 c packed shredded sweetened coconut

for the buttercream:

4 large egg whites

1 c sugar

pinch salt

1 lb (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool, each piece cut into 6 pieces

1/4 c cream of coconut

1 t coconut extract

1 t vanilla extract

To bake cake:

1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position; preheat to 325. Grease and dust with flour 2 9-in cake pans.

2. Beat whole egg and egg whites to combine in large liquid measuring cup . Add cream of coconut, water, coconut and vanilla extracts; beat with fork til combined.

3. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of mixer and beat on lowest speed to combine--30 sec or so. With mixer still running at lowest speed, add butter, 1 piece at a time, til mixture like coarse meal and there are no large butter pieces: 2-2 1/2 minutes

4. With mixer still running, add 1 cup egg mixture to flour and butter mixture. Increase speed to med-high and beat til light and fluffy--45 sec or so. Add remaining liquid in steady slow-ish speed. Stop mixer, scrape batter down sides of bowl, then beat at med-high speed to combine (batter will be thick).

5. Divide batter between pans and level with rubber spatula. Bake til cakes are deep golden brown, have pulled away from sides of pans, and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30-40 minutes. (Rotate pans from front to back after 20 minutes). Do not turn off oven.

6. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then loosen from sides with paring knife, invert onto racks and reinvert so tops face up. Cool to room temp.

7. To toast coconut: while cakes are cooling, spread shredded coconut on rimmed baking sheet, toast in oven til shreds are a mix of golden brown and white, 15-20 min, stirring a couple of times.

For the frosting:

1. Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in mixing bowl; set bowl over a saucepan containing 1 1/2 in of barely simmering water. Whisk constantly til mixture is opaque and warm to the touch and registers 120 degrees on instant read thermometer (which I do not own and was fine without), about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Beat whites at high speed in mixer til barely warm (80-ish degrees if you have thermometer), glossy and sticky, about 7 minutes, Reduce speed to med-high and beat in butter, 1 piece at a time. Beat in cream of coconut and coconut and vanilla extracts. Stop mixer, scrape down sides of bowl, then beat again at med-high speed til well combined, about 1 minute.

To assemble cake: If your cakes got tall enough, split each cake into 2 layers (the book has an illustrated guide as to how to do this well). Otherwise, frost top of one layer, place next layer on top and frost whole cake with a thin layer. Put in fridge to set for 10 minutes, then add as much frosting as you want, spreading and leveling with butter knife (or frosting spatula which, again, I do not have). Sprinkle top of cake with toasted coconut, then press coconut into sides of cake with your hands, letting excess fall onto parchment paper or something. Decorate, light, mount, whatevs and cut and serve when you're ready! You will have lots of frosting left over if you only do 2 layers.

*Cream of coconut is found in the liquor section of the grocery store and it is highly processed artificial stuff. But it makes this cake awesome. If anyone wants to come over for pina coladas, I have a bunch left in the fridge.

It's Upon Us

It's just that time of year. That wonderful crazy sometimes overwhelming time of year. An acting teacher I had in college said something once which I never forgot. He said, "You do the things that are important to you." Meaning there's really no such thing as I Don't Have Time or I Just Couldn't; there's only I Chose To Make Time for Something Else. So I won't say I haven't had time to blog, I'll just say I have not been making time for the computer. I have been making time for Luciana (who has her first tooth poking through! And she's celebrating by waking up every hour from 1-5am), for a little holiday shopping and cooking, for "Dexter" once a week, though never on Sunday nights and I haven't watched the season finale yet so don't tell me what happens, and for, gulp, getting ready to go back to work for a couple of months. I'm doing a play in January/February for which I'm really excited; I'll tell you all about it as well as my process in deciding I could do it, which was, I think, the hardest decision I've just about ever made.

But for now I want to wish you a truly beautiful holiday full of all the stuff a good holiday should be full of. A year ago we weren't even telling anyone other than family and closest friends about Luciana, who was a mysterious embryo--what a year it's been!

I also want to give you a super-easy and very delicious salad which you can bring to any and all holiday potlucks or family dinners. It's so delicious, in fact, and I have so much faith in you being able to tell that when you read it that there is no picture. I am obsessed with fennel, by the way, and this has only intensified my current addiction.

Fennel Salad

in theory 4 servings, but more like 2 in our house

lightly adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

2 fennel bulbs

2T lemon juice

grated zest of 1/4 lemon

1 t white wine or champagne vinegar

salt and pepper

3 T EVO

1 t chopped fennel tops

any or all of these optional add-ins:

parmesan cheese curls

1 1/2 T chopped green olives

2T chopped Italian parsely

celery and/or radishes

Trim tops and root ends from fennel bulbs; save a few feathery leaves for garnish; pull off and get rid of any discolored or dried outer leaves.

Make dressing by stirring together lemon juice, zest, vinegar, salt and pepper then whisk in the olive oil. Taste and adjust as necessary.

Use a mandoline or a very very very sharp knife to shave or thinly slice fennel crosswise. Toss with dressing, adjust seasoning, and garnish with the fennel tops.

Add any or all of those add-ins up there. I'm a big fan of the parmesan/parsley combo myself.

Pear Bread

My first solid food was a Harry and David pear. It was Christmas, I was 5 months old, and apparently I just went for it. It was another month before my mom officially started me on rice cereal, et al, but it seems I've had a thing for pears since the get go. They always say Holidays to me, since growing up my great-aunt Jennie would send us a box of Harry and Davids. It was a special occasion just to eat one---my dad would watch them like a chicken watches her eggs for the moment they were perfectly ripe. When one was ready, we'd unwrap it from its gold foil or white tissue and there would be a moment of silence when we ate it. I can't eat a pear now without a flash of Thanksgiving and Christmas as a little girl flashing into my head. One could have worse associations.

This week I somehow found myself with several pears almost past the point of ripeness. Don't know how it happened--I guess I overbought. I needed a recipe that wasn't fussy, as I'd be making it on an afternoon it was just Luciana and me. I headed over to Punchfork, typed in Pears, and found this recipe from Smitten Kitchen (whose pumpkin pudding that's up right now is heading to the top of my recipe queue). What I liked about it: I had all the ingredients on hand. It's easy. It gets better after a few days. Very important when one needs a reason not to eat a whole loaf on day 1. She wrote that day 1 was actually not the bread's best day. It was day 2, day 3, day 4 where it really shone. And I have to say she's right. I made it Sunday, it's now Wednesday, and today it's the best it's been. The top is moister, the crumb more dense, the flavors more integrated. If it makes it til tomorrow I can't wait to see what it does. I should also tell you that I made this with Luciana strapped into her carrier, facing out, and she loved it. Her first cake!

If a pear needs to be eaten in any form other than it's raw natural one, this isn't a bad place for it to go. 2 more things working in its favor: kids love it--at least my friends Kate and Kenny's 17-month-old son did, and you can make it gluten-free. I'm not, as I've said, strictly GF, but I go that direction when I can. I went there with this, and I will again. K, enough chatter. Here's what to do

Pear Bread, or Luciana Tries Baking and Likes It

from Smitten Kitchen

3 c all-purpose flour or gluten free flour mix (I use Bob's Red Mill)

1 t baking soda

1/4 t baking powder

1 t salt

1 T ground cinnamon (it's very cinnamony--yum)

1 c chopped walnuts (optional--I didn't use them)

3/4 c butter, very soft, or 3/4 c vegetable oil

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 c sugar

2-4 ripe pears

2 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour 2 9x5 loaf pans or a 10-in tube pan.

Combine flour, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon in large bowl; mix well with a fork. If using nuts, scoop out 1/4 c flour mixture and combine it in a small bowl with the nuts, coating nuts with flour.

Peel and core pears, and grate them. (if you, like me, end up with a few big bits of pear as you grate, use them too--they make for yummy extra pear-y bites). Should make about 2c grated.

*avoid grating the pears in advance so they don't turn brown!

In medium bowl, combine butter or oil, eggs, sugar, grated pear, nuts if using, and vanilla; stir to mix everything well. (I actually melted the butter a little so it would mix better. You could use an electric mixer too). Scrape the pear mixture into the flour mixture and stir just til flour disappears and batter is evenly moistened.

(Pause while I have a bite of pear bread right now)

Quickly scrape the batter into prepared pan(s) and bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes or til bread is "handsomely browned" (love that), firm on top, and a wooden skewer comes out clean. (Good time to put baby down for a nap and clean up the kitchen)

Cool bread in pan on wire rack or folded kitchen towel for 10 minutes. Then turn out onto plate or wire rack to cool completely, top side up. Serve as is, sprinkled with confectioners sugar, or drizzle with a glaze made from whisking 3T buttermilk, dash of vanilla and 2 c confectioners sugar together (I bet that's good).

Happy start to the Holidays!

I Can Still Make Lunch

Sorry to be in absentia this week. I thought I'd been spared the new parent blinding fatigue I always hear about. Luciana goes to bed around 6:30 or 7; I go to bed around 9:30, and even though I wake up with her a few times a night, by the time I get out of bed around 6:30 I usually have accumulated 7 or so hours of sleep. Sometimes a little more if I go to bed at 8:45 (has happened) or she sleeps til 7 (has also happened). I've, for the most, part, felt rather, shall I say it, rested. But this week I got slammed. I heard the tiredness was cumulative, but I thought that meant that each day I'd feel a little more tired. For me it was Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine (so I thought I was fine) then BOOM--hit by a truck. I have barely been able to complete a sentence, much less apply myself to something I hope will be semi-interesting to anyone reading this.

Pause for photo-op. Here's my little bird at 6 1/2 weeks, and if I didn't sleep at all for the next fill-in-the-blank- many months she would be worth it.

bloomers a gift from Auntie Kristina from this delicious kids' clothing company

However, I thought I'd share 2 things which I learned this week:

1)you can make a really nice lunch for another mom in less than 20 minutes. I'll show you how.

2) Worrying is just my way of trying to control things. I don't always understand what is going on with my baby, so the illusion is that if I find things to worry about somehow I'll get the situation under control. It's an incredibly draining way to pass the time. I hope that you pass up each and every opportunity to worry that comes your way, baby-related or not.

My friend Julie had baby Otis 12 days after Miss Luciana came into the world. All four of us are Leos, so there are many playdates of the wild kind in the future. I hadn't met Otis and hadn't seen Julie since the babes were born, and they came over for a visit yesterday. If another new mama comes to me, the least I can do is feed her. Here's how to make a lovely lunch on no sleep with very few dirty dishes:

1. Thaw some dried cherry muffins from the freezer you'd made the week before. To make dried cherry muffins, use any blueberry muffin recipe and sub dried cherries. Serve with plum jam (or any jam) and butter. (I am not able to make any more jam this summer that I know of. It's too time-sensitive/I need to be at the stove watching and stirring. My child doesn't nap reliably during the day and yeah right I'm making it at 8 at night. A personal tragedy which I will try to recover from.)

2. Cut some pita bread into triangles and serve with the hummus and olives in your fridge. Maybe some of Desi's preserved lemons if you have a friend make them for you.

3. Place sheep or goats milk cheese (since we all know cow dairy is tough on a lot of babies, mine being one of them) on a plate and serve with truffle honey. Yes, TRUFFLE HONEY.

4. Make these 2 salads:

For the beet one:

Roast beets in the am while you play with baby. Find a moment to skin them before they get too cool. Remember not to touch anything precious while hands are covered in beet.

Quarter beets and toss with whatever vinegar you like--I used sherry--some olive oil and salt. I went crazy and used black salt. That counts for crazy in my life these days. Slice an avocado and gently toss in.

For the corn one---stolen shamelessly from my friend and personal chef Mandy:

Shuck as many ears of corn as you think the 2 of you will eat into a bowl. Add some chopped or cherry tomatoes (I grew these!--the one garden-friendly thing I did this summer), some lime juice (for 2 ears of corn I used one lime) and a small handful of chopped cilantro. You could do avo in this too, but I figured since it was in the beets I'd skip it.

Put all on table and eat while the two babies sleep, one in his new friend's swing, the other in her Moby on Mama.

Raised Corn Pancakes, or how to Lull Your Baby to Sleep

Of course everything now has to come back to the baby in some way, shape, or form.

I did, in fact, cook this weekend! It seems like the family thing to do to make delicious brunch food. I'm not, after all, racing off the farmers market (too crowded for the babe at this age) or to spin class (two more weeks and I may get the green light!) and the mister has a fractured foot so there was no family walk to be had around the hood. I'd made these corn pancakes ages ago, and now that I've rediscovered them, we might be having them every Sunday for a while. They are insanely good, and easily tweak-able to the baby diet (ie no cow dairy among other things). You make part of the batter the night before, but it's easy. I dare say if I was in a position to have 3 cocktails (one day!) I could still swing it. The hubs LOVED them, and he's rather discerning when it comes to brunch. Has to be pretty spectacular for him to opt for something other than an everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato. And he wanted these for an afternoon snack too. Next time I'm going to try them with the gluten-free flour mix from Bob's Red Mill, just because I know my bod likes it better when I eat less wheat.

The babe was fussy in the heat yesterday and would.not.nap. Not good news when you're so tiny. But she was happy hanging out with me, so I made the entire batch of cakes with her over my left shoulder, and by the time I was finished she was sacked out. A double success.

Raised Corn Cakes

adapted from the Wooden Spoon Cookbook

For the night before:

1 c cornmeal

2 c milk--I used goat milk and it's fab

1/4 c warm water

1 packet active dry yeast

1 T honey

1 1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour

Heat milk just to boiling and add to the cornmeal in a large mixing bowl.

Let cool until warm. Meanwhile, to activate yeast, sprinkle yeast over water and stir in honey.

When milk mixture has cooled to warm, stir in yeast and flour.

Beat well, cover, and let stand for 6-8 hours or overnight.

When you're ready to cook:

1 t salt

1 T honey

2 eggs

1/4 t baking soda dissolved in 2T warm water

2 T melted butter (or soy margerine)

The recipe says to stir them into the rested batter in the above order. I kinda skipped that instruction--not intentionally just didn't see it somehow---and added them all at once and no one was the worse for it.

Cover batter and let stand 15 minutes. Bake on a griddle heated over heat that's somewhere between medium and medium-high. Use 1/4 c batter per cake, and turn only once. Makes about 15, and they freeze great.

And I'm not not going to post pics of my daughter. Especially because she is ONE MONTH OLD TODAY. And she's already helping me fold laundry.

Happy birthday, my angel love of my life.

Peaches and the Great Indoors

It was so incredible to read your comments on my birth story. Thank you so much for all the love and support. To all of you who hopped over from Lovely Morning over the last couple of weeks, it's a treat to have you! Stop by anytime. And to the mamas who shared your experiences and feelings about the whole thing--it really brought home what I'd heard and now know to be true---once a mama, you feel so tied to all other mamas. You made me cry too:)

This weekend Sky and I dove deeper into the rhythms--or lack thereof---of new parents. Whereas prior to having Luciana, we'd be plotting how many outdoor and/or urban adventures we'd have in 48 hours, on Saturday we stayed in our PJs til noon and watched summer out the windows. Luciana, I believe, will love the outdoors; for now she likes small doses of it when she's awake, though we do take long walks with her in the Moby wrap, in which she loves to sleep. That morning, though, we'd all been up at 5:30, so rather than tackling the Venice streets, we rested with her, inhaling her newborn-head scent while we caught up on episodes of Web Therapy (completely hilarious) and The Big C, which managed to make me cry (surprise). I am always bittersweet as the summer light starts to look more like fall, but this time rather than racing to the beach as often as I can, I'm appreciating being warm in tank tops and bare feet as I hang inside, front and back doors open, watching my little one watch the outdoors from our big front window.

I did go a little crazy with peaches in the kitchen, however, peeling and slicing up a bunch of them and freezing them so I can make peach ice cream in December. Then I made my second batch of Bourbon-Poached Peaches from Martha. The first time I made them they were delicious, but I wanted even more flavor of bourbon. Maybe it's because I'm not drinking it yet. All the booze cooks off in this, of course, so breastfeeding mamas, go to town.

This time I reduced the sugar-water portion of the recipe by about a fourth, and poured the bourbon a little more liberally. I think I like this second batch even better. So, as always, tweak to your liking.

My dad visited last week, and he texted me yesterday to wish me and Sky a sweet weekend. And that's what it was. I can't say we're settling into a routine; at this age Luciana doesn't have one, but yes, we're learning to read her better and she's staying awake a bit longer and can entertain herself by looking out if we put her down for a few minutes. She loves the changing table, which at first she would wail on. And of course we made sure to practice, since we're perfecting it, the family nap.

Hope you all had a beautiful one.

Plums and Olive

My landlady recently had a juicy harvest of plums. When she texted me to ask if I had any good plum recipes, I sent her this one and let her know that if she had too many and wanted me to make jam I'd give her some of the bounty when it was finished. She took me up on it (we live around the corner from each other) and I made what I hope isn't my only batch of jam this summer. With the hummingbird due in 11 days, it might be. Or who knows--I might think there's nothing better to do at naptime than turn fruit into preserved spreadable summer.

This one is a standby hit: a little tart, a little sweet, of course depending on the plums you use. This recipe calls for vanilla bean, which I use in moderation because I actually don't like too much vanilla flavor in my jam. I added some white cardamom pods because I had them, and they added a little sass. I'd use them again for sure, and if you don't like cardamom leave them out. You could try a cinnamon stick or just use the vanilla. For stronger cardamom flavor, open the pods and crush the seeds before adding, for a milder one throw the whole pod in there and remove when you remove the vanilla bean.

Plum Jam with Vanilla and Cardamom

adapted from Martha Stewart

makes 4-5 8-oz jars

3 lbs red or black plums, halved, pitted, chopped

3 c sugar

6 2 1/2 in pieces lemon zest, plus 2 T fresh lemon juice

big pinch salt

1 vanilla bean, scraped, seeds reserved (you'll be adding both to jam)

5 white cardamom pods, either whole or seeds removed and crushed (see note above)

Bring all ingredients to boil in large pot, mashing with potato masher or wooden spoon. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is texture of thick honey (this usually takes me about 20 minutes); let it be chunky: it's yummy that way. Skim foam off periodically and discard. Remove vanilla bean, cardamom pods, and lemon zest. Either pour into clean containers and refrigerate, or can according to your jam jars' directions.

What's the Olive part of this post? My kitty. Yes. MY kitty. I posted about her not too long ago. I've named her Olive, and the saga of our mutual adoption will be posted in detail tomorrow.

4th of July Weekend

I made and wrote a bunch of Thank You notes

all you need is colorful inexpensive cards from Paper Source, along with a Thank You stamp and an ink pad.

the state of my desk on Sunday morning. I kinda like the chaos for once. There's that ink pad.

Sky and I went away for one night--something on my list of Things I'd Love to do Before Baby arrives. We stayed on points at the St Regis Monarch Beach, which feels a bit like Vegas, but the beach is sublime. That's really what I wanted: to be on a beautiful beach away from all my lists. Huge Vegas hotel or no, it was heaven.

photo from here

We also picked up baby's rocker from Sky's mom. Pics of nursery coming soon.....

One of my best friends had her second baby!

and named him Kiran, which I love.

4th of July we spent the afternoon at Brock and Kristina's.

Kristina made peach creamsicles, over which Dash and Sky had many a bonding moment

I wore a beach coverup as a dress, since at 37 weeks (as in full term! yay baby!!!) that feels pretty freaking good on a hot day

and made my great-aunt Jennie's apricot upside down cake. She's been gone for a while; I got the recipe from my aunt Chris, and wow, did it make me miss Jennie. Like all good Italians, her desserts are easy on the sugar---not a sweet bomb, this one. More of a delicate torte, and you can make it with pineapple, coconut, apricots, or, as I did, half plum, half apricot. The beaten whites make a really light batter, and the "top" gets nice and caramelized. The plums turned out far more tart, so if you want a sweeter fruit, I'd go all apricot. I used a 10" cast iron skillet (Chris' choice); you can use a 9-in square baking pan as well.

Jennie's Apricot Upside-Down Cake

4 T butter

1/2 c brown sugar

about 16 apricot halves, or 1/2 plum, 1/2 apricot, or pineapple or coconut to cover bottom of pan

5 egg yolks

5 egg whites beaten stiff (do this first so you don't have to clean the beaters)

1/2 c sugar

1 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350

Melt butter and brown sugar in bottom of pan. Place fruit skin side down

Beat yolks until thick

Add sugar slowly

Add lemon juice and whites on low speed. When partially mixed, gently add flour mixed with other dry ingredients

Add vanilla and pour over fruit

Bake 45-60 minutes til light golden brown

Cool 10 minutes and invert on serving plate

Hope you had a beautiful sparkly weekend!

Frozen Grapefruit in a Bowl

I am a person who is usually cold, likes a duvet in August, and under normal circumstances can drink 5 cups of hot tea on a daily basis.

Pregnancy has changed all that. Now I'm the girl who sleeps with no covers and asks for a fan. I drink maybe one cup of tea a day and that's just because it's called Third Trimester Tea or Mother-to-Be tea. All I want is cold things. If I'm drinking them, I prefer them with bubbles---such a shame champagne isn't on the pregnancy diet and I've been way more into sipping Sky's beers than ever in my life--and if I'm eating them, the colder, icier, more refreshing the better. Not necessarily creamy----it's not ice cream I'm craving. More watery, light, slightly sweet--like how eating ice cubes made from Lake Michigan water way back when would taste.

On a most basic level I can satisfy the craving with an entire half of a watermelon or a bowl of frozen grapes. I'm starting to stock up on popsicles since I think I'll want those for labor, and let's face it, I want them now. But after an insanely delicious dinner at The Tasting Kitchen a few weeks ago, I've had grapefruit sorbet on the brain. Our meal there finished with that, and though I can't say mine is quite as amazing as theirs, it's really good. And I don't have to leave my couch to eat it. I spend a lot of time there (the couch not the Tasting Kitchen) these days. I got the proportions for this from David Lebowitz. He uses campari, which would be awesome, I just didn't happen to have any. Given that campari has a stronger taste than champagne, doubled the amount of booze, which is still teensy given the amount of sorbet you're making. You could omit the alcohol entirely and use more juice--of grapefruit or something else like orange. Also, I used the Oro Blanco grapefruits because they were sweetest at the market, but pink ones would make a beautifully-colored sorbet. I love this recipe because it isn't too sweet. It's like eating a grapefruit frozen and mashed with a little kick from something bubbly and pink. I might make a gallon next time.

Grapefruit Sorbet

adapted from David Lebowitz

makes about 1 1 /2 pints

Juice of 4 grapefruits (2 cups)

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c rose champagne

1. Warm 3/4 c grapefruit juice with the sugar, stirring just til sugar dissolves.

2. Remove from heat, add rest of juice and champagne.

3. Chill well (I always do overnight) and freeze according to ice cream maker's instructions.

No, mine is not in perfectly shaped sorbet balls, and yes, one day it will be.

Now there's not much to do but wait.

I had my second shower this weekend, this one co-ed and hosted by the lovely and amazing Kristina and her husband/Sky's brother Brock. (Some women who take my yoga class threw me a beautiful one earlier this month.) I do love a coed shower. I knew it would be gorgeous and delicious because it's Kristina. She just does things that way.

There's the chalkboard to sign up to bring us dinner since I hear I won't be up for cooking at first.....

As you know, we haven't found out the baby's gender. Guests picked a pink or blue tissue flower to wear on their lapels based on how they're voting. Most women picked girl; most men voted boy, but there were some who crossed the gender line. Any of you have a sense? (The jar that looks like OJ was very strong orange margaritas by the way. I didn't have one--duh--but I hear they were killer in every sense of the world. The white crock had watermelon aqua fresca. Ahhhhhh.)

To go with the backyard fiesta theme, she picked up tres leches cupcakes from a nearby bakery and another one of my besties made Mexican chocolate mousse (yes, I scarfed both).

So many of our friends have kids now and it's a totally different kind of party having them all around. A really fun kind of party. Especially when there are chickens to chase, balls to throw around, and trucks to climb over thanks to Dashiell (who's really into belly buttons right now-see below).

And then they all need naps.....

Notice Sky is wearing blue and I am wearing pink....

We were given adorable things, functional things, beautiful things, hilarious things

Have you read this? You need to. Today.

There were a couple other babies-en-route present (Julie and I are due 5 days apart and we live kinda close together! FUN. No, we didn't plan it. Weird that people ask that.)

Our mamas were there--this is the 5th grandchild for Sky's mom and the first for mine.

And there's the hummingbird, the star of the party. We're 36 weeks and 1 day, or about 27 days from showtime.

First June Weekend

I can't take credit for these photos---that goes to Kristina when she, Brock and Dashiell stayed here while their house had some painting done on the inside. But I will take credit for landing at Trader Joe's where it is indeed peony time, and landing there at the perfect moment to snatch some of the most luscious ones I've ever seen in their big plastic pails. Going again this morning. They opened end opened and opened til the pink ones were almost white and the red ones looked like they were shedding big feathers.

Speaking of Dashiell, here's my sweet nephew (with his gorgeous and talented mama). Even with a scratch on his nose he's perfect. We had some good baby-in-the-house-practice during his visit, including a rare 4-am wakeup and lots of quinoa pancakes. This was taken after Kristina and I walked here:

Gjelina Take Away. It's a little scary that Sky and I can walk there, as that might mean I eat several egg breakfast sandwiches a week, which could slow the loss of baby weight once I get to that point. I haven't tried lunch yet, but it's only a matter of days. Can I have a kitchen like that? With an open wood-burning oven, shelves of pickled and canned things, and loaves of crusty bread awaiting my creations? One day. The culinary adventures continued at Tasting Kitchen Sat. night (they have a radicchio salad which I must copy--better than the one I posted last week) and that culminated in my first night out at a bar in a while. Nevermind that I fainted and fell off a barstool. That's what padded pregnant rears are for: to cushion such a fall. I was mainly concerned upon waking up that bar patrons would think the clear liquid in my glass was vodka not water.

First baby shower! (Next weekend is one for my friend Ami, pictured here, due 3 weeks before me with her 2nd little bairn.)

Some of my yoga students hosted it for me in this backyard. Yup, that's a backyard and not a state park.

Some of baby's loot from said shower, including an original rubber ducky, a kimono-style onsie, and baby's first piece of Marc Jacobs. I was ovewhelmed on the drive home-- in the good way---by how lucky baby and I are.

You can kind of see a piece of the turquoise we painted the accent wall in her/his room too. All sitting atop this dresser which we did in fact assemble in about 3 1/2 hours, not including a 24-hour break we took when we came to instruction 18 of 32: little happy diagram man telling us to hammer FIFTY-FOUR nails. We stared at it for a minute and then ran out of the room.

These are all handmade by friends who were there. My friend Jessica silk-screened those blue birds on a simple Gerber onesie--brilliant. Heather made us that bib which is backed in soft felt, and my friend Lee made the Happy Bunny onesie--she has an etsy shop and when I find her card I'll post it. I was cooing and rubbing soft fabrics to my cheek like a goon.

This one slayed me: the softest organic sleep sack with a little turtle at the top. A gift from my mom. Baby will lie in sleep sack on this Ikea sheepskin rug. All I need to complete the picture is....baby! Who's due in 6 weeks and 6 days.

Hope you had a beautiful weekend.

A Salad That's Almost a Sandwich

Have you noticed I declare blogging schedules and then am incapable of following them? My 3x a week posting plan has gone.....I don't know where. To the land of prenatal yoga which I seem to be doing on those mornings I envisioned myself here. Ah well.

To catch you up on

Mamaland: reading A LOT on vaccines. Still not sure where I stand on this. I suspect, like most of my decisions, I'll be taking the middle road, like using some cloth and some disposable diapers--doing some but not all vaccines. Especially when some of them were only put on the market in the last 10 years so I, Sky, all our friends never had them and we're fine. Definitely want a pediatrician that's open to spacing them out and skipping certain ones if we choose to. Have met some good ones.

Actingland: have done 2 of my 4 days on I am I. Remember my friend I posted about who was raising money for her movie? It's in mid-production, going to be brilliant, and yours truly shows up in a few scenes. Baby's first job!

Homeland: chaise outside arrived. We spent a good few hours over the long weekend picking Flor tiles. Sneak peek: we're copying this for our bedroom. Planted tomato starters and they've already tripled in size. YAY! I failed to get the kitty into the cat carrier. Must restrategize once it trusts me again to pet it.

these have nothing to do with anything except they're the prettiest wine labels ever

Familyland: Brock, Kristina and Dashiell are staying with us for a few days while the inside of their house gets painted. We joke that we'll buy a big piece of land with 2 houses and have our own mini-commune. Last night I got home close to 8 and wanted to make dinner for everyone. Enter new delicious salad sent to me by a good foodie friend. Radicchio doesn't always strike me as a summer lettuce, but there's been a gorgeous supply at the market lately, plus this recipe uses zucchini pickles, of which I am a huge fan and are really best in the summer. Both Kristina and I are fans of the Zuni Cafe recipe, and she posted it a while back so I'm just going to link you there. Sky, after one bite, proclaimed This is really interesting. Which coming from a Meltzer could be a good or bad thing--they're not known for their adventurous palates, though Sky has broken form of late and gotten into some new exotic things. Like egg on pizza.

But I think the salad is really good. I've adapted it slightly because in my opinion the recipe didn't add nearly enough pickles and parmesan, and I had different herbs on hand. It's important to soak the radicchio to cut the bitterness, so save some time for that. I shortened the soaking time a lot since I didn't want us to eat at 10, and it was good, but more soak=better salad. Make the pickles and marinade the day before, and you'll have a fat jar of pickles left in your fridge for use on other salads and sandwiches.

Radicchio Salad with Zucchini Pickles, Green Olives and Parmesan

adapted from an adaptation of Jason Neroni of Osteria La Buca restaurant

1 recipe Zucchini Pickles

1 c red wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves, peeled

few sprigs of fresh thyme

1/2 medium red onion

2 small heads radicchio, quartered and coarsely chopped

small handful chopped mint leaves

small handful chopped Italian parsley leaves

EVO

1 1/2 c grated fresh parmesan

1 cup Castelvetrano olives, pitted

1. Make marinade the night before: combine vinegar, onion, garlic and thyme. Refrigerate overnight.

2. Soak radicchio in bowl of ice water for an hour. Drain, dry and reserve. Strain marinade and set aside.

3. Toss radicchio with mint, parsley, a big handful of pickles, 1/4 c marinade and a good glug of olive oil, parmesan and olives. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Long Weekend!

from the ever-beautiful

We may or may not head out of town. You? Hoping the weather stays warm so I can do a long hike with the man. I'll follow the blogging trend of leaving you weekend tidbits, and wish you rest, play, and only good memories this Memorial.

You can imagine how silly I felt when I went to link this song that I'm obsessed with and discovered it's 2 years old. I'm not always on the cutting edge. Obviously. Currently obsessed with this one; have hit the repeat no fewer than 6 times in a car ride. Definitely on the birth play list. And the band is one I've always liked but never really gotten to know. That's changing now.

Made this again this week. It's just as delectable as it was last year. (Recipe at the end of what seems to be a really long post:) )

The firepit we want for outdoors. Why do we ALWAYS gravitate to the most expensive stuff? Wanting does not mean we're getting, btw. But wouldn't it be fun? It doubles as a table, and maybe one day I'd use it for butter again. Nah.

We'll be making progress in the hummingbird's room and assembling the dresser. It's currently in 15 pieces on the floor.

I'm a new pinterest fan