white apples . a blog

Black Bottoms and A Certain Shade of Blue

This tasty combination of cream cheese and chocolate is a Black-Bottom Cupcake.  The recipe is from smitten kitchen, a lovely and irresistible food blog that I stalk on a regular basis.  I whipped these guys up this weekend while Charlie was in the process of clearing out the soon-to-be nursery.  And then I ate them.  In embarrassing quantities.  What they lack in usual cupcake cuteness, they make up for in simplicity, flavor, and the fact that I happened to have all the ingredients in my kitchen already.  They are dark chocolaty without being overly sweet.  And I love the chocolate chip cream cheese filling and the lack of complex frosting maneuvers.  I used Valrhona cocoa powder and chocolate.  I take no responsibility if you happen to use something starting with "H" and ending with "ershey's". 

And since cupcakes are for celebrating, we had something to celebrate this weekend... Charlie accepted a position as an assistant professor at Duke University.  Congrats to my boy with all his scientific awesomeness and professorly skillz!!!  And, yay!  We're moving to North Carolina next Summer!  We are excited to be moving back to the South after spending what will be two and half years in this foreign country called California.  I miss country ham, magnolia trees, thunderstorms, grits, manners, humidity, fried chicken, use of the word y'all, sandwiches (no, I don't want a taco... I want a sandwich).  I miss being closer to family and friends and Krispy Kreme.

And in an appropriate bit of synchronicity, Andrew Knowlton from Bon Appetit (don't pretend like you haven't seen him as a judge on Iron Chef America) just named Durham-Chapel Hill "America's Foodiest Small Town."  Ahhh.  Perfect.

25 weeks and a cat

Here is the Cathy-belly at 25 weeks (and look... shorter hair!).  This puts the kid at around 13 1/2 inches and about a pound and a half.  At my usual weigh-in, the doctor pointed out a noticeable "growth spurt" in the past four weeks.  This may be due to the normal growth and development of our little baby girl.  This may also be due to wanton consumption of chocolate chip cookies.  Who's to say for sure?

We are slowly picking out the various baby necessities, accessories, and accoutrement that exist to lure away cash from first-time parents.  I am finding that the Baby-Industrial-Complex is even more gluttonous than the Wedding-Consumerist-System.  And more sneaky too, with their subtle use of guilt and paranoia.  For example, do I buy the "Wipe Warmer" and shield my innocent little girl from the discomforts of that cold, cruel baby wipe?  Or do I deprive her of such luxury and teach her from Day 1 that one of the terrible realities of life is that sometimes, perhaps when you least expect, your ass gets cold?  Needless to say, we're having fun with this.

Here is the Cali Cat.  She is sitting very still, hoping I won't notice her presence and try to pet her in any way...

Life itself is the proper binge. -Julia Child

"Eating for two."  This, my friends, is a fallacy.  A deception.  A sham.  Or at the very least, highly misleading.  As it turns out, when one of the "two" is only about the size of a large rutabaga, "eating for two" means about 300 extra calories a day.  Gone are the visions of gastronomical freedom and bliss.  300 calories?  That's a Snickers Bar!  And yet, with only these measly 300 calories to play around with, a pregnant woman is supposed to eat 7 servings of fruits and vegetables, 6-9 servings of whole grains, 4 servings of lowfat dairy, and 60 mg of protein.  Plus the largest multivitamin you've ever seen in your life.  There's barely room for that Snickers bar (although that doesn't mean I don't find room...).

So, to put a dent in the fruit, dairy, and protein requirements, I usually drink a protein smoothie in the  morning.  This morning it happens to be in a large coffee mug not because I desperately miss my large coffee in the morning (which I do... desperately...) but because horrible things are going on with our garbage disposal and kitchen sink that you don't even want to know about.  Suffice it to say that there are no clean glasses in the house right now. 

The smoothie consists of one cup of original organic soy milk, one cup of organic kefir (it's like a liquidy yogurt), a scoop of Whole Foods vanilla soy protein powder, a tablespoon of psyllium husk powder, and half a bag of Whole Foods organic frozen berry of choice.  The psyllium is for fiber.  If you're going to increase your protein intake, trust me... you want to increase your fiber (slowly!).  This is not sweet at all.  If I wanted it sweeter I could use vanilla soy milk and half a banana, but I like to save my sweet calories for things like Baskin Robbins chocolate chip ice cream (which, I figure, is also dairy and protein). 

In no way, shape, or form am I recommending that you try this smoothie.  You don't want this.  What you want to do is drive your nearest Starbucks.  Order up a Venti Mocha Frappucino.  Perhaps with an added shot of espresso or two.  And enjoy.  And think of me. 

it's ridiculous to leave all the conversation to the pudding

Cranberry Maple Pudding Cake is, without a doubt, my favorite Sunday morning breakfast.  The stone-ground cornmeal "cake" is hearty and not-too-sweet and the saucy maple-y bottom has just the right amount of cranberry tang.  Eat it warm.  Eat it with a big dollop of Greek yogurt or just on its own.  It's healthy (well, cranberries... right?), it's tasty, it's quick and easy to make.  It leaves the rest of the afternoon free for contemplating dessert.

Here's the recipe (originally from an issue of Bon Appetit):

2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (I usually add more)
1 cup pure maple syrup (grade B or grade A dark amber) - use the grade B for maximum mapleyness
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 tsp finely grated orange peel
Pinch plus 1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 lg egg
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
Crème Fraîche, softly whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream (or Greek yogurt for breakfast!)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Combine first 4 ingredients and pinch of salt in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Whisk egg and sugar in another medium bowl. Whisk milk, melted butter, and vanilla into egg mixture. Add flour mixture to egg mixture; whisk to blend. Pour warm cranberry mixture into 8x8x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Pour batter over.

Bake cake until golden and cranberry mixture bubbles at edges, about 28 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.

If I had a spare $310...

... I would buy this.

If I had a spare thousands of dollars...

... I would buy this.

Poor Charlie

14 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Poor (Failure) Take the test!

If only I kept myself dainty, perfumed, and feminine.  And didn't love PJ's so much.  At least I keep snacks in the refrigerator (except they better still be there when I get back).

23 Weeks or Gratuitous Vignetting

Here is the 23 week profile.  She's starting to poke around much more insistently these days, usually when I'm in the middle of some important meeting or when I'm trying to fall asleep.  Charlie can feel her acrobatics in evening and thinks she's going to be "feisty."

We spent the weekend picking out baby furniture (though not actually buying anything) and thinking about clearing out the room-that-will-soon-be-a-nursery (though not actually moving anything).  Baby steps.

Here's The Georgia Cat, checking in on things:

Guardian of the Belly

Here is The Georgia Cat, fulfilling her duties as designated belly warmer and protector.

*yawn*  Belly-draping is hard work...

...but well worth the effort.  Such a trooper.