Citrus Upside Down Cake

This was SUCH a fun experiment. I (Sarah) had an uneventful week, and was eager to work with the citrus from a sale at the grocery. Once the idea of a Citrus Upside Down Cake was in my brain, there was no stopping me–not even the lack of essential cake ingredients. All of the recipes I referenced called for butter and milk. Since I had neither, I made due with what I did have: olive oil, water and orange juice. I know that baking is supposed to be an exact science, but I constantly find myself modifying the word exact. As long as I arrive at something that resembles whatever batter or dough I am shooting for, my trials usually work out.  Of course, getting TOO carried away is dangerous. When deviating from a recipe, I try to be mindful of general ratios, and I always think about the flavors that I want to be creating. This time around, Trevor and I were pleased with the results. If you recreate this in your own kitchen, we encourage you to serve it with a dollop of yogurt, whipped cream or ice cream. The dairy balances the acidity of the the citrus brilliantly. We love balance.

Citrus Upside Down Cake
For Top:
1 grapefruit (peeled and seeded)
1 blood orange (unpeeled, washed and thinly sliced)
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. olive oil

For citrus top: using a deep round cake pan over medium/low heat (yes, on the stove eeek) dissolve the brown sugar in 1/2 cup olive oil. Once it has completely dissolved, remove from heat. Press the thinly sliced blood oranges into the  a pretty pattern in the sugar mixture/caramel. Drop bits of grapefruit between the slices. Set aside.

For Base:
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. orange juice or yogurt
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
3/4 c. white sugar
1 c. flour
1/2 c. almond flour
1/3 c. shredded coconut
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

For base: mix the olive oil, water, juice/yogurt with the eggs, vanilla and sugar. In a separate large bowl, mix the flour, almond flour, coconut, baking powder and salt. Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ones. If the batter appears to be too thick, add water/juice/yogurt/oil (whatever you have). Pour the batter over the prepared citrus topping. Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes (until a toothpick in the center comes out clean).

Serve with whipped cream, yogurt or ice cream!

Kale, Kale, Kale!!!!

My introduction to Tuscan (aka lacinato, dinosaur, black) kale came in the form of a Bon Appetit recipe for oven-baked kale chips. I had never thought much of the brighter curly leaf variety and it is not hard to wonder why: many establishments persist in using it as little else than a soggy green plate liner.

Soggy is precisely what Tuscan kale chips are not: crisp, salty, wafer-thin sheets of pleasantly vegetal goodness, what I have always imagined those so-called “veggie chip” extrusions aspire to be. Sarah and I routinely eat multiple sheet pans worth right out of the oven. If we have company, we sometimes manage to get a third of the crisps into a serving glass. Sometimes.

Making chips out of kale leaves involves little more than salt, oil, any spices you have laying around and a moderately hot oven. Do a search for “kale chips” if you like step by step instructions. It’s easy and worth adopting into your culinary repertoire.

In addition to chips, we enjoy throwing sliced kale into pretty much any concoction that comes to our minds: beans and rice, omelets, squash soup, even salads if the greens are young. As we roll into fall, I look forward to seeing how the hearty greens weather. We have around eight tall, healthy kale plants that have been reliably sprouting new leaves all summer long. We simply cannot keep up with the plants, and it is hard to imagine a time in my life when we held anything less than utmost compassion for the prolific, versatile veg. I imagine we will introduce our future kids to kale in chip form and go from there. After all, I have yet to meet a soul who can resist a tray hot out of the oven.

In conclusion, kale is fantastic, yes? In addition to its dramatic texture and its rich deep color, we LOVE its nutritional value (like most dark green veggies, kale is high in iron) and distinctive flavor. As our summer vegetables slow with the impending cold weather, our kale endures. All summer long, we’ve enjoyed this leafy green. Due to its longevity, we’ll be indulging in this veg for a few more weeks (months if finger-crossing works).