Cherry Upside-Down Cake

Every year the same thing happens. Cherry season hits, I indulge and buy a few pounds of those cherries with great intentions of making something great, something to share, but then I always end up eating them all myself. What can I say, I love me some cherries.

But this year I realized my mistake. If I really did want to make something  with cherries other then eating them all,  I needed to buy a shit ton of cherries so I would have enough for my belly and some to share.  So I bought like 6 pounds at once so I would have to bake something before they went bad.  (Honestly I could have eaten them all but I was able to control myself.) 

I was going to make a straight up cherry pie, put then that would take me making pie dough, which I really like to do in most cases, but was just not feeling it this week. Plus that would have require a hell of a lot more cherry pitting which again, wouldn't have been that bad, but I was just hot really feeling it. But upside down cake, that I was feeling.  I always like the visual aspect of an upside- down cake so cake it was, cake it be.  Upside side down cake with a little lemony lemoness and  lots of gooey cherry goodness. Simple and stunning and better then cherry pie because it is baked upside-down and you can't bake a pie upside-down. 

I did good. (Here I pat myself on the back, give myself a high five, and finish off with a double thumbs up) 

The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in the bowl. A bowl of fresh cherries. White sugar, canola oil, soy milk, a lemon, a little apple cider vinegar, some vanilla extract, melted earth balance, and a bit of brown sugar. 

This is the most labor intensive part, pitting cherries. What I do is cut the cherries in half and then with my thumb, dislodge the pit. Pile the un-pitted halves to the side and once done pitting, double check you got all the pits out. No one will like you, including yourself, if they bit down and crack a tooth on a cherry pit. 

Cherries are pitted so now take the melted earth balance and brown sugar and mix together in the bottom of your greased cake pan. I lined my with parchment which I think was a good idea so you might want to do that too. Mix the mixture around to evenly coat the bottom then place the cherries in, singled layered and not overlapping, but get as many in as you can. (You can do them all facing hte same way like me or not, I don't know if it would really make much of a difference.) 

Time for cake batter. Mix the sugar and zest of the lemon into the bowl of flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. 

In goes oil. milk, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. Give it all a good whisk 

Stop when it is all mixed and incorporated. Don't want to over mix or the cake with get tough. 

Batter gets poured right onto cherries in pan and the whole sha-bang gets popped into the oven for about 50 minutes to turn into golden brown, upside-down cherry greatness. 

Now for the best part, you must wait at least a few minutes, if not ten, to pop the cake right side up? Or os it now upside down? And be careful cause it's hot. Tip . Before inverting cake, run a knife around the edge of the pan to make sure cake is loose. Once cake is upside down on cooling rack (use a cooling rack, not a plate so the  bottom dset getting soggy), give the pan a good tap tap with a wooden spoon until the cake pops out.  If a cherry or two got stuck, its ok, just stick it back to the cake.. no one will know. 

And loooooook at that. Upside down cakes are always like magic. 

As you can see, it didn't stand a chance. A piece cut within minutes because how can you not.

I finally did it, I shared my cherry stash, and I feel good about it because all the people looooved the cake so it was worth it. And I still have cherries left for me!!

Now go upside-down a cake. 

-C

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Cherry Upside-Down Cake

makes a 10 inch upside-down cake. 

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup neutral flavored oil (I used canola) 
• 2 tablespoons earth balance or vegan butter substitute 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 lemon 
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups sliced in half and pitted cherries
• 3 tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. 

Start by rinsing and pitting cherries. Remove all stems, cut cherries in half, and remove pits. I use my thumb and just kind of pop them out, but do it anyway you feel like. If using a fancy de-pitter, you are going to want to cut the cherries in half.  After you have removed all pits, DOUBLE CHECK that there are no pits.. Pits will crack a tooth for reals.

Grease and line a 10 inch cake pan with parchment. Dump the melted earth balance and brown sugar in bottom and mix together. Spread mixture all around then grab sliced cherries and place them, single layered, into mixture. Get as many as you can in there without overlapping.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and soda, the salt, the white sugar, and the zest of the lemon. Once fully combined add in the soy milk, apple cider vinegar, the oil, and the vanilla. Mix that all up until just combined. Pour batter all over the cherries in the pan. Level out batter and pop into the oven (middle rack) for 45-55 minutes, or until the cake is a nice deep golden brown and a tester stuck in the middle comes out clean.

Once the cake is bake, let it sit on counter for about 10 minutes.  Once slightly cooled, grab knife and run it along the edge of the cake. Take a cooling rack and place on top of cake then flip upside down. Tap around he pan with a spoon then gently lift pan away. 

Tada. You should have yourself something fantastic and great. And no worries if a cherry or two got stuck to pan, just pop it back on to the cake.

And now all you need to do is eat the cake. So do that. 

Sunday Happy

I do not ever want to have to deal with that heat for that long ever again. It almost fried my brains out.  I mean, the freaking toothpaste and soap got boiling hot. It was unreal. And the poor mr, having to deal with over heated me. All rational thoughts get lost in my heat rage. Things were said, loudly, and not so nicely, but the mr, he never let it get to him. I vocally vomited and he just turns the fan on me and smiles. I can be such an asshole, but the mr, he knows how to tame (or at least mostly ignore) the beast. We have some great kind of love. 

Heat wave week was not so productive to say the least. Or at least not for me. The mr was out there in the world almost everyday, working outside like an idiot, building outdoor showers and shit. I, on the other hand, decided I could care less about pretty much anything and spent a good amount of time sprawled out on the kitchen floor, barely clothed ,in front of the basement door with a fan blowing sweet cool air from the basement all over my dying body. When I was not on the floor, I was vacuuming behind and the back of the fridge (because we had to pull the fridge out and blow a fan on the coils to prevent it from overheating), watering my plants and garden to keep them alive, and talking to dip shits on the phone, trying to figure out billing questions and testing every ounce of patience that I have. Those phone calls were rough. I was so close to giving up on life and running to the Alaskan wilds.

When we were together, we tried to stay somewhat sane and cool. No hot food all week which means that mr ate cold noodles and sandwiches and I ate grated zucchini covered in mustard. One day we took an afternoon trip to Mills river to eat a picnic with our feet in the water. We went and got coffee in air conditioned shops, and enjoyed the wilds of the car air conditioner.  I hung at the library or the studio and spent some quality time in the walk in color at Costco. 

Fourth of July came and we had the littles over for some sprinkler relief. Qui and Adriana came over too and played with the littles, took out the tandem bike (sometime solo) and did a double scooter down the middle of the street. Now the littles are aware of more dangerous activities they can partake in with those damn things. Thanks for that Qui. The mr worked more on the tree house (there are stairs now!) and we decided that we could care less about fireworks and went to bed early. 

Thursday night came and brought the sweetest relief. Thunderstorms and a break in the heart and humidity. I was able to cook some lentil, do a load of laundry (All laundry production was halted due to the fact that I was not willing to turn the dryer on and have it ruin my cool basement flows) and step outside with our wanting to immediately stop drop and roll because I felt like I was on fire. Then Friday was then a  a trip to the airport to drop off some goobers on their way to an amazing advernture and a day of catch up of things that needed to get done that were not done all week but it wasn't so bad because the weather was fine fine fine. Nothing like a break in the heat wave to turn a frown upside down. HA

Yesterday after I got out of working at the studio, the mr and I packed a picnic dinner and headed for the mountains. On the way we stopped at a thrift store and I found a old welches jelly jar with a dinosaur on it and brought it home to make me happy. Once we hit the mountain, we kicked it by a river, had our picnic, then watched as 20ish hot air ballons bobbled around the sky as the sun set.. We did a little chasing as well and got pretty darn close to some of them. Hot air ballons are so cool. I wonder if I Would ever have the guts to go up in one....Maybe someday

Today I am just going to enjoy whatever because it is not 100 degrees out. A nice bike ride into town to the gym, then I need to mow the lawn and weed the garden a bit, but then maybe I'll just read or throw some pots or paint a fish. Maybe I will even make some bread. ( I haven't made bread in days.. I bought bread for the mr this week so I didn't have to turn the oven on. It felt so wrong)  I am excited, just to chill and do whatever. It's going to be a good day.

Interent reading from the week. 

-I have been waking up with charley horses for the past few weeks.. It's terrible and makes me want to cut a leg off. CHARLEY HORSES MAKE YOUR LEGS WANT TO DIE. HERE'S HOW TO STOP THEM.

-Why No One Answers Their Phone Anymore. Because I don't want to talk to you is why. Ha

-To have a giant empty room to play in... That would be too good. Eclectic Dream Barn House in the Louisiana Countryside

-Watch: An NYC Baker Creates One Very Realistic Polar Bear Cake. I found the mashed cake patties really grossed me out, but that's just me. Cute cake tho. 

-Care less, enjoy life more. Mastering the Art of Caring Less

-Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. Heard this guy talk on VPR earlier this week. Seems like a cool dude and should be a good read. I got it on reserve at the library for me right now.

-Agreed that I never cared about the hearth claims.. I just really love their liquid aminos. The Mysterious Hippie Food Brand That's Never Let Me Down

-I don't know dudes, I am all about a cool floating devices but a coffin? Not sure about that. A Millennial Pink Coffin Float Exists, So Now You Can Ponder Your Mortality In Style

-Many Common Sunscreens May Harm Coral. Here's What To Use Instead. Read your labels!

-Outdoors equal bugs. No other way to get around it, but try we will .How to Make Any Outdoor Meal a Bug-Free Zone with 8 Natural Tips

Pictures from the week 

Cucumber-Cantaloupe-Avocado-Mint Salad

Cucumber melon is a classic food pairing. It also reminds me of when I was a young tween, stealing my older sisters cucumber melon face mask that you smeared all over your face, let dry, then peeled off like a layer of skin. I remember thinking that that stuff was the shit and if my sisters where using it, then I really should start using it too before I got an old lady face. Plus it was cool to peel off and made me feel grown up because I was taking care of my skin. So steal it I would until I eventually started buying it myself. Then one day I realized, I could get the same results with a bottle of Elmers glue and also I didn't really want to spend my money on face mask when I could be buying other unmentionable things.  And that was the end of that. 

I wonder if they still sell that shit.... I wouldn't buy it though cause you know it is probably really is just sweet smelling glue. Plus it's to late for me. I am already old. Ha. 

Anyway. Back to the cucumber, cantaloupe, avocado, mint salad. What can I say that the name doesn't? That is is f-ing fantastic and refreshing and easy to through together and required ZERO heat to make. Also that on the hottest of hot and nasty days, this here combination , what with the refreshing mint and crisp clean flavors of the cucumber and melon, really can make a shitty day feel a little less shitty, maybe even  a little brighter. I don't know about you, but this past super hot heat wave week was hard for food, like I didn't really want to eat anything. This salad was fresh and clean enough to eat all day, everyday. It was so good, even the mr liked it and he says he hates fruit in any salad situation. (I have called bullshit in this so many times. He actually does like it, he just wants to give me a hard time.) 

Fresh crisp, all sorts of refreshing. A true blue summer salad. Get on it. 

The stuff. Some cantaloupe, a cucumber or two, an avocado, a lemon, mint, cracked pepper, and even though it's not in the picture, sea salt.

Remove seeds and rind from cantaloupe then chop into small mouth sized pieces ans toss it into a bowl.

Cut the cucumber up into simutlar sized pieces as cantaloupe and toss into bowl.

. I ended up only using  one and a half of the cucumbers so the cucumber/ cantaloupe ratio was the same. Plus I wanted to eat the half of cucumber tight then and there.. so I did. 

Scoop the avocado meat onto the cutting board. Sprinkle it with sea salt and a little squueze of lemon juice and roughly chop. You don't want it mashed, but a little mashy avocado is good. Perfect cubes are ok too. You do you.

Mince some mint leaves. You know where they go.

It's all there. Cantaloupe, cucumbers, avocado, mint. Salt and pepper and all the lemon juice. Now just stir it up and you are good to go. 

A simple summer dish. No heat, not sweat, just fresh and clean goodness.

Stay cool friends.

-C

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Cucumber-Cantaloupe-Avocado-Mint Salad

Serve 2-3 

• 1/4- 1/2 of a fresh cantaloupe 
• 1-2 thinned skinned  cucumbers (like 2 Persian or 1 English) 
• 1ripe avocado
• 1 lemon
• 15 -ish mint leaves
• sea salt and cracked pepper 

Note. This salad is so simple and easy and really, you can adjust the quantities of any of the ingredients to your liking. You could also try subing basil or dill  for mint leaves and you could use any other type of melon for the cantaloupe. 

Remove seeds and rind from melon and cut into small mouth sized pieces and place into a big bowl. Cut cucumber(s) into small mouth sized pieces (same size as cantaloupe) and toss into bowl. Scope the meat of the avocado onto cutting board, add a sprinkle of sea salt and  a little squeeze of lemon juice and with your knife, roughlycut/ slighty mash it into a chunky pile. Scope the avocado into the bowl.  Mince the mint leaves and add those to the salad. Lastly, squeeze the juice of the lemon all into that bowl too. Grab a spoon and mix it all together. Sprinkle with pepper, a pinch more sea salt (to taste) and thats that.

Eat. Left over s last a day or two in fridge but you should just probably just eat it all right away. 

Belvidere

I finally looked at all the pictures from the family get together last weekend. Got a few good shots, but man oh boy do I need to get a new camera. It's on my list of shit to do this coming week. (Blah, I hate buying stuff)

So here they are, the pics of the fam in Belivdere Vt. The cabin in the mountains with no  internet or cell signal, no TV, no news, no other people. Just hanging out with all the goobs, swimming and hiking, finding salamanders and fossil, and spent some good time with the old man before he headed back to PA. And so what if a little almost got swept down the river or if our tents were washed away in a flash flood. Nothing we can't handle. It was quite and beautiful and a hell of a lot cooler then back in the city. It's a little magical kingdom. No better place to be. 

-C

-C

Sunday Happy

My brain is pretty much a puddle so excuse the mess I am about to make with my words.

The week started off with  Barb. We took her out for her graduation breakfast present. And not going to lie, I was shocked. We ate at this place the mr and I used to go to, at least once a week, when I was in high school (the place I would skip class and go eat). It's been a while sense we have been there and  the prices have doubled, if not tripled. Whoa dude, 14 bucks for some eggs, that shit was crazy. But besides shocking prices, we had a good time. And then the rest of the week was some work, the mr in the tree house and  him bringing me homa me a lilac purple cast iron sink he found at the dump because he knows me so well. The sink is beautiful and will go into our not yet to own, farmhouse. 

I ended up missed farm share pick up because, um I actually, I don't remember why. But there was a reason and that I can't think of. And really, I don't care to try to remember if there was much of anything else worth mentioning from the week.. Oh wait, I think we saw Megan and Sophia and had dinner with Jeff. And that's why I missed farm share. And we also had dinner with Shannon and got to check out he garden. She would be mad if I failed to mention her and her garden and how great they both are looking these days. Ha. 

Then there was Friday. The mr and I spent an entire afternoon driving to pick up more lumber for a job and a little extra for the tree house.. It was a very VERY hot. very long drive (4 hours back and forth). The mr was in truck, me  in the car which has great air conintioning, but because the mr had none in the truck, I decided I was going to suffer too. Might not have the best idea because when we got home I was so miserable. I might have said some very mean things, but it wasn't my fault. This is what happens, I am like a gremlin, except it's not water or food that turns me into beast, it is humid hotness. Watch the fuck out!

Saturday started off good. Went to the gym, loaded a glaze kiln at the studio, cleaned the house, backed up the camping stuff, then off we went to the family cabin in Belvedere.  Things were good, spent a good amount of time with the old man, the sisters and all the little, ate some food, set up the tent, had a a fire. As for the temperature, the weren't so bad. We were good and we were ready for their first night of camping. The mr, me , Miley, and Judah, all in one tent. Erin and Coco in another. We were killing it, thick foam to lay on, a fan, headlamps and books. Tired and ready for bed, we all piled in, and then the lighting started. At first it was a just the normal heat lighting, a little bit here and there, but then it started to thunder, and sprinkle.... And after about an hour of slightly scared littles, they finally fell asleep. Me, not so much because of the lightning. It was lighting up the sky every few minutes, plus the sprinkles turned a steady rain. SO I lay awake, feeling the drip drip drip, hoping that it was just a small passing storm. It wasn't. The sky was lighting up like a strobe, I have never in my life seen such a lighting storm, and it was constant.  The thunder shook the sky, Miley woke and and freaked, the wind picked up, and the rain. Oh the rain. Flash flood in the field, tent filling with water. We had to wake up Judah because he of course was sleeping through it all, and prepare ourselves. The mr was going to go rescue Erin and Coco  and get them to her car and I was going to get the kids to our  car and drive and all drive  back to the cabin  So we got prepared, kids screw shitless, reminding them to run, but watch out for the tent lines, and get to the car as fast as they could. We were ready, I had my phone light, the car key in hand, unzipped and were instantly drenched . The littles ran, careful of the tent lines, but me, I tripped, fell face first, dropped my phone and keys in the now lake. Yup, I was the one to trip. But I recovered, lucky to see the key, grab my drenched phone, and we all made it to the car. The mr, he got the baby and Erin to her car. Long story short, our car got kind of stuck in the field, Erin had to drive her car to ours so we could toss the kids in and they drove over to the cabin. The mr and I, we walked it, wet to the soul, just hoping the lighting would not strike us dead.  We made it alive, 2 am in the morning, wet and awake. Not a bad first time camping for the littles. 

I did not sleep. The littles and Erin ended up sleeping in the middle of the kitchen floor, the mr on the couch, and I just sat there, watching the most magical, freaky storm I have ever seen. Then once everyone started to wake up, I pounded a few cups of coffee and had a decent morning. Breakfast, a fun trip the the river, hung out with the old man, had some lunch. Left the cabin a little while ago and now I am home, barely functional and so fucking hot. I am only keeping my brain from melting out of my ears by sitting in the doorway of the basement with the fan on me and drinking my 8th cup of coffee for the day. All in all, a pretty good weekend. The stuff of great memories. Now I need to go catch the cat and force him to drink some water so he doesn't die and then go check on the mr. Even though it is 100 degrees, he is working in the tree house so I get the fan by the basement all to myself. 

Some internet to look at while melting away. 

-Coldest Place on Earth Found—Here's How. Take me there!

- How to Save A Dish That's Too Spicy (or Sweet, or Salty, or Rich) Good to know when if you need to know

-Pot Glossary: Cannabis Terms For Vermonters because you know. 

-These pictures are calling my name..Frozen Bubble Formations and Shards of Snow Captured in Alaska’s Swamps and Ponds by Ryota Kajita

-Have you eaten meat lately and then gotten sick? Don't worry, I got you, pretty much all the recipes on the site are vegan.  Red Meat Allergies Caused By Tick Bites Are On The Rise

-How To Find The Summer Constellations Summer stars are the best

-We need to stop with the fucking plastic already. China Has Refused To Recycle The West's Plastics. What Now?

-What Are the Best Canisters for Keeping Coffee Extra Fresh? I keep my beans in a glass, rubber sealed canister with little ducks with blue ribbons around their necks on it... It makes me happy 

-Excessive Daydreaming Might Be a Form of Mental Illness. Uh oh. 

-First off, these two are so cute, and secondly, I only new half of these words. I feel old. Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons Teach You Millennial Slang

Pictures from the week. I have a ton of pictures from the cabin, but I don't feel like looking at all of them right now so I'll probably just post some in a day or two.  Also, I think I want to start a photo series of barb eating. I mean, right?