23 October 2018

In Which We Adapt An Iconic Recipe

The cake of memory is the NYT plum torte. Summer is not complete without it. And yet, made as perennially printed by the Times, it is not especially low-carb friendly, clocking in (according to VeryWell's calculator) at 43 grams per serving.

In an effort to tamp down the carb count and lower the glycemic index, I replaced some of the sugar with coconut sugar, and all of the white flour with half spelt, half almond meal. And because I had some sad, mealy, end of season peaches, I used them instead of plums. The result? Lovely. Full flavored, nicely textured, and 2/3 of the carbs as the original. Whole grains, for the win. Sure, it's still not "low carb", but sometimes one really needs a little sweet, especially while watching the Great British Baking Show after dinner.


Peach Cake

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup spelt
1/2 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt (optional)
2 eggs
1 1/2 peaches, sliced
Cinnamon sugar

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a mixer, cream the sugars and butter. Add the flours, baking powder, salt and eggs; beat well.
  • Spoon and spread the batter into a greased 8" pan - either a springform, or a regular pan with a disk of parchment in the bottom. Arranged the sliced peaches in a neat fan around the batter, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
  • Bake 55-60 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, remove from pan and let cool on a rack until it's time to slide onto a serving plate. Serve plain, or with whipped cream if you're fancy.


12 October 2018

Because I am a completist...

And because Phryne Fisher is just the escapist ticket these days.


No, I didn't read them in order. (I'm not that compulsive.) It doesn't really matter, but there is some character development from book to book.

The TV show is great too.

08 October 2018

36 hours

The shadow
flying over there
is the plane
I am on.
We converge
with a shudder
and the rumble of
wheels on the ground.
Together again.




The girl and I just went to North Carolina for 36 hours, just like the New York Times travel section columns! We were there for a family wedding - but carved out enough time to go shopping, eat barbecue, have breakfast with old blogging friends, and tour the Governor's Mansion.

And today, I have spent the day moving papers from here to there, tying a little baby quilt, making weird seedy hardtack, and in the pile of papers, I found this little ridiculous poem that I'd jotted down once upon a time - on a trip to Detroit, in point of fact.

Flying is weird, and requires magical thinking, but I'd never have gone to North Carolina for 36 hours otherwise.