It's Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Arrr! but I've got blubber clogging me brain pan. I almost forgot this most sacred and important day. And that would mean no rum! Arrr!

Pirate lingo can be tricky, so to help everyone out the Pirate Guys have made this helpful video. Arrrr!

Yo-ho-ho me hearties!

Recipe Review: Caramelized Plum and Rosemary Polenta Pound Cake

I like to cook, and because I like to cook I have a folder stuffed with recipes that I found interesting and keep meaning to try. So I'm adding an occasional feature to this blog, Recipe Reviews, which will happen whenever I feel like trying something out. (about every 2-3 weeks)

This recipe: Caramelized Plum and Rosemary Polenta Pound Cake, comes from the Wall Street Journal. I like plums, I love rosemary and cornmeal makes a nicely textured cake. So I bought some plums and this is the result.

Isn't it pretty? The carmelized fruit contrasts beautifully with the nicely browned cake. Icing would be a complete waste of time.

The problem is that it's looks better than it tastes. There is a lot of fresh rosemary in this cake, and the herbal aroma of the rosemary combines with the sweetness of the plums and gives off the unmistakable odor of cough drops. Not something you want in a cake. So I will not be making this again, at least not without changing the recipe a lot.

 

On the positive side, the recipe made a lot of carmelized plums, far too many plums to fit in the cake. But leftover plums make a wonderful yogurt topping.  Plain yogurt and carmelized plums - yummy!

 

 

Caramelized Plum and Rosemary Polenta Pound Cake

 

• ½ pound unsalted butter, plus more for buttering loaf pan
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cognac (or any brandy)
• Prepared plums (recipe below)

Note: All ingredients should be at room temperature.

 

1. Butter a 5½x10-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter paper. Set pan aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Sift together flour, baking powder, cornmeal and salt.

4. Cream together butter, rosemary, lemon zest and sugar until very light and fluffy.

5. Add eggs to butter mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

6. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with cognac, just until well-combined. Spoon 2/3 of batter into pan. Evenly distribute one-quarter of prepared plums over batter. Add rest of the batter. Spread remaining fruit over the top and, using a spoon or fork, push pieces down a little.

7. Bake for 60 minutes or until done, testing with a toothpick after 50 minutes. Cake should be nicely brown, pulling away from the edges of the pan and not too dry. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto your hand or a rack and quickly re-invert it onto another rack.

8. Serve warm or at room temperature. (The cake is also delicious sliced and toasted.)

 

Prepared Plums

• 6 large plums, pitted and cut into 6-8 wedges each
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons cognac (or rum or any brandy)

In a medium saucepan, cook plums with sugar, salt, lemon zest and rosemary over medium heat until fruit is very soft but not falling apart, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cognac.



30 Day Challenge - Additional Motivation

I wasn't completely honest about the 30 Day exercise challenge. I said it was about health and trying new things, but it is also about the charity 5k I signed up to do in November.  I haven't done one in a long time, and I really don't want to be the last person crossing the finish line. 

I know that the purpose is to raise awarness and money for Leukemia research ( a very good cause - and if you want to help, there's a donation widget on the right - thank you) but it's humiliating to be the slowest person out there. Besides if I'm advocating for health, I should try to be healthy, right?

And progress is being made. I am getting a little faster. My legs don't hurt as much now as they did in the beginning. Don't get me wrong: I'm not going to start tracking my shoe mileage and worrying about lactic acid build-up in my legs anytime soon. (I know some serious runners - they keep telling me this stuff.) But I want to finish a 5k without completely embarrassing myself. A modest enough goal, don't you think?

Current Events

All I can think of right now is the protests going on in the Muslim world.  I'm wondering how much of it is really about Islam. Can people really get this upset about a badly-made film, produced on the other side of the world, that almost nobody has seen? The protesters have publicized the film far more than the makers managed to do.  Or is it really an excuse to yell at Americans?

If it really is about blasphemy, wouldn't it only really matter if the people making the film were Muslim? But since the people making this film are infidels who by definition are going to hell anyway, what does it matter? Doesn't Allah have the muscle to stand up to a few idiots and a bad movie?

It's like being upset that somewhere, someone is not thinking the way you do. And that's a given, even among the faithful, since everyone hears a message in their own way. The only way to be certain there are no dissenting opinions is be the only person on the planet. And that would be pointless.

If it's an excuse to yell at Americans, it's an unfortunate choice, because attacking embassies and killing ambasadors over a movie makes them look unbalanced. I'm not saying there aren't reasons to protest American involvment, there are, but this is a lame one.

Anyway, sitting here typing isn't going to solve anything. Back to our regularly scheduled happy fluff next week.

80's flashback

I have nothing to say today, so I'm just going to leave you with a joke.

If you don't get this, you are too young.  For the original click here.  Happy Wednesday!

Playing with my camera: The Orange Show

If you live in Houston, you've heard of The Orange Show, one man's incredibly quirky, theme park tribute to his favorite fruit.

It's been about a decade since I last visited. It's basically the same. Brightly painted, full of odd remnents and self-taught welding.

He obviously never met a tile remment he didn't like, or a tractor seat.

It's oddly romantic, filled with hearts and even a wishing well. (No. I won't tell you what I wished for. It won't come true if I tell you.)

But the real news is that on the land next door, they are building Smither Park, which looks like it's going to be The Orange Show to the 3rd power. It is going to take a while to finish (mosaic is not a rapid process), but I had a blast looking around.

 

This is going to be unbelievably beautiful when they finish.



Love the cat at the angel's feet, and that the wings are covered with keys!



I'm not sure what this little creature is, but I love the way they used pool balls for eyes.

I was speaking with one of the volunteers/artists and they do accept donations, so if you want to help build the park, go to their website: http://orangeshow.org/about-smither-park/

An anniversary

Today is the 47th anniversary of that most iconic of television shows: Star Trek.

I love Star Trek. I am not the kind of person to make costumes and hang out at conventions (although I would love to have my own tribble) but I just love the show, in almost every version (DS9 - meh). I love the optimism, the humor, the technology, the thrill of the unknown, it's just so freakin' cool. Stephen Fry has said  that "most of human history and art can be expressed through Star Trek plots." (link here) and I quite agree.

Even better, there's going to be a new movie in 2013! and Benedict Cumerbatch is playing the bad guy! The Star Trek movies are notoriously uneven, but even at their worst they are not as ponderous as Lucas's re-working of Star Wars. (way to kill a good franchise, George)

Google seems to share my sentiments, making their doodle for today an homage to Star Trek. 

 Fun Fact: Brent Spiner (Data) is from Houston, Texas.

Live long and prosper y'all!