Things & Stuff
I just wanted to share a few photos from the Tipsy Texan Derby Day party this past Saturday. It’s always so much fun to dress up and drink mint juleps and watch the Dizzy Derby. 🙂
You can see the rest of the photos here.
Thanks so much for inviting us, David and Joe!♥
So it’s done! On Tuesday, I submitted the manuscript for my second book. Quite crazy, if you ask me. To celebrate, I baked a cake. 🙂
Specifically, this Juicy Sour Lemon Cake from Photisserie. I translated it and used my scale to bake it up. It’s lemony and moist and beautiful and wonderful. I highly recommend it.
So now I am done with the book, and somehow I’m still too busy. How does that happen? I had hoped that when the book was done, I could lounge about and do lots of nothing for a few weeks. But I’ve lined up a few gigs that are keeping me busy (which is good), and they’re a lot of fun.
Still, I would like to make time for some sewing, and writing (the non-paid kind), and hanging out at coffee shops reading Oishinbo, and swimming, and snow cones, and laying on a blanket in the grass, and baking bread and writing letters and spending time with awesome people. I think my brain is still on autopilot – still stressing and worrying and thinking about a deadline that no longer exists – so I need to calm it down and think of beaches and old musty books and treasures and Splash Mountain. Doesn’t that sound lovely?
**Edited to add:**
Here’s the kind-of recipe that I translated from Kathreinerle’s blog. She’s planning to translate all of her recipes soon, and I can’t wait! I’m not sure if the wording is correct below, but it worked out okay for me. 🙂
Juicy Sour Lemon Cake
2 lemons
3 eggs
250 grams sugar, divided
100 grams creme fraiche
200 grams flour
5 grams baking powder
75 grams melted butter
50 grams water
Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour an 8-inch springform pan.
Zest the lemons. Squeeze the juice from both lemons and set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat the eggs and 200 grams of the sugar on high until thick and creamy. Add the creme fraiche, lemon zest, flour and baking powder and beat until mixed through. Add the melted butter and beat until mixed. Pour batter into the springform pan and bake in the center of the oven for 35 – 45 minutes (the recipes calls for 50 – 60 minutes, but mine was done much faster), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool slightly in the pan.
Heat the remaining 50 grams of sugar with the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
Poke a few holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick. Drizzle the cake with the lemon syrup (do this slowly; you may not use the entire amount of syrup).
For the candied lemon glaze:
3 whole lemons, sliced into 1/4-inch rings
300mL water
200 grams sugar
Bring the water to boil in a large pot. Add the lemon slices and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove the lemon slices with a slotted spoon and lay on a dishcloth to dry a bit.
Add the sugar to the simmering water and stir until dissolved. Reduce heat to a low simmer, and return the lemon slices to the pot. Simmer until the liquid is reduced and syrupy. Use tongs to remove each lemon slice and let dry on parchment paper. Use the slices to decorate the cake, and drizzle the syrup over all.
♥
Highlights:
I hope you all had a great weekend, too!♥
Because my words are all used up today. 🙂
I hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend!♥
These days I feel a little like Dory, having to remind myself to just keep swimming. Each day I drag myself out of bed, head to job #1, work on job #2, write the book, and collapse into bed. BUT! By Tuesday of next week, the book will be DONE and in the hands of the publisher. Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday I was making a list of restaurants I wanted to include, and suddenly, they are all photographed and written up and ready to go (almost).
I am looking forward to lazier days, when I have time and a calm mind, when I can sit at a cafe and write in my journal, when I can read a book or watch a movie or take a nap without feeling guilty for not working on the book. Yes I will still have my other gigs, but the book is this heavy weight that sits on top of all my other duties and activities, and I am so ready to be free of it!
Until then, a few randoms:
Tonight we saw Maria Bamford perform for the Moontower Festival courtesy of our friends Nat and Erin. She cracks me up – but surprisingly, her opening act, Moshe Kasher made me laugh even harder. I’m looking forward to watching more of his standup soon.
I have discovered that for some reason, if I order an iced tall soy mocha from Starbucks, I just can’t finish it. I end up tossing half of it. However, if I order a hot tall soy mocha, I drink it all. This doesn’t make sense to me, but I think it means I should only order hot mochas from now on.
I often have dreams with really elaborate houses. I’m considering making architectural drawings or small-scale models of them (never mind that I can’t draw, sculpt, or really remember the details). There are spaces that stretch from patio to bedroom, winding staircases that lead to game rooms, bedrooms with old vanities and flowered bedspreads, and closets full of the clothes I wore in high school. Very weird.
On Monday, we had dinner and drinks at Contigo with Aimee. She took some lovely photos.
I hope you’re all having a great week! I’ll be back from the dark side soon.♥