Carrot Cake

I don't know about you, but I am finding it really, really hard to believe that the holidays are upon us. Exactly one week from today, it will be December 1st! Once that date hits, advertisers will officially have the right to blast Christmas music and cover everything in sight with tinsel and twinkly lights. Perhaps one reason it's been hard for reality to set in this year is because November in California is so much different from November in Seattle. Stuart and I literally went to the beach today, while in Seattle we would have been donning a peacoat and wool socks.

That said, Thanksgiving and the month that follows is one of my favorite, most festive times of year no matter where I am. I can't wait for weeks spent catching up with family and pretending that carbs & sugar make up an essential food group (don't they??). I should probably be posting some sort of sweet potato or pumpkin pie recipe right about now, considering Turkey day is right around the corner, but I decided I'd rather post about...carrot cake.

Carrot Cake Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil

2¼ cups sugar

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

5 large carrots, finely chopped (about 3¼ cups)

½ cup chopped walnuts

1 cup crushed pineapple, well-drained (optional)

Cream cheese Frosting:

1 stick butter
2 packages of cream cheese (8 oz each)
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar (or more to taste)

1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)

Directions:

1. To prepare cake, preheat oven to 350. Line bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Leave sides of pan dry—no cooking spray needed.

2. Combine eggs and oil in a large mixing bowl. Beat 2 minutes with a mixer on medium speed. Add 1 cup sugar and continue mixing 2 minutes. Add remaining sugar and mix 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (flour through nutmeg). Add to the egg mixture, beating on low speed until blended, about 1 minute. Add carrots, walnuts and pineapple; mix until well combined.

4. Divide batter evenly among the two pans.

5. Bake for 75 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Run knife around edge of cakes and remove from pans. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight if you can hold out that long for your cake!

Frosting Directions:

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Add the lemon zest if using. Wait until cake is completely cool, then frost as desired.

Spiced with cinnamon and covered in cream cheese frosting, this is a cake I adore in every season. I think it could be perfect for a fall evening or even on the Thanksgiving dessert table. Why not?
 

Homemade Honey Roasted Peanut Butter

Happy weekend! This is indeed a happy weekend for me, and I will tell you why. Or perhaps you already know why, if you happened to read the title of this post: Homemade. Honey Roasted. Peanut Butter.

That's right folks, my days of having the peanut butter palate of a five-year-old and secretly only liking Jiffy creamy peanut butter are over. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Jiff (remember those adorable commercials?!), but from now on homemade is the way to go. This post is made possible by my recent acquisition of a Cuisinart food processor. Thanks to a generous birthday gift card to Sur La Table, a shiny 9 cup food processor now calls my kitchen counter home. In the past week, I have made the above mentioned peanut butter, salsa, and tuna salad; later this week I plan to make pesto, pizza dough, and hummus. I'll keep you posted on the results!

But for now, I think this purchase will definitely be worth it if I can supply myself in homemade peanut butter for the rest of my life. Three ingredients and a food processor-like gadget are all you need.

Ingredients:

3 cups roasted peanuts
1 tbsp. or more honey
2 teaspoons peanut or vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Add peanuts and honey to the work bowl of a food processor and turn on for 1 minute. Remove the lid and press the peanuts back down along the sides using a spatula. Replace the lid and turn food processor back on for an additional 1-2 minutes. Repeat with spatula if needed. The consistency of the peanuts will change, slowly forming a rough ball shape.

2. After about two minutes, slowly drizzle 1-2 teaspoons vegetable oil into the food processor while it is running. Process until smooth, about 1-2 more minutes.

3. Adjust flavor as desired by adding more honey, salt, or even a pinch of cinnamon or cocoa powder.

4. If you prefer chunky peanut butter, add another handful of peanuts in at the end and pulse a few times to roughly chop.

5. Place peanut butter in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 2 months.

Enjoy!

Simple Butternut Squash Soup

There is something so satisfying about a pot of homemade soup. Sure you can buy a box or can of soup at nearly every grocery store these days, but somehow the taste is just not the same. Not to mention that as with any packaged or pre-prepared foods, you really have no idea what "extra" ingredients or weird preservatives might have been added. If it's easy to do, why not just make your own?

While I am still a huge fan of this chicken gnocchi soup and this carrot soup, I recently added this simple butternut squash number to my repertoire. It is just so autumn-appropriate! There are basically only three ingredients: squash, onion, and vegetable stock. I like to save myself time and energy by buying the big pre-cut container of squash at Costco. I also like to spice it up by adding red pepper flakes before blending!

Ingredients:
2 lbs butternut squash, peeled and chopped (find at Trader's or Costco)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
Nutmeg (optional)
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Cut squash into 1-inch chunks, if you did not buy it pre-cut. 

2. In large pot, melt the butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. 

3. Add squash and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. 4. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree (you may need to do this in batches, and make sure you leave the top of the blender cap open so steam can escape). 

5. Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Serve.

 Mmm...tastes like fall!

Olea Olive Oil Farm

Happy weekend blog readers! This weekend is shaping up to be a great one. Not only do we have my father-in-law Simon in town visiting us, but we got to do three fun things I've never done before this weekend. Even though we are very familiar with the California central coast, we are still at the stage where we are able to discover new local things and have brand new experiences.

This first thing we got to do was see our first "Cycle Cross" competition, which Simon participated in today. It is basically a road-biking obstacle course that involves watching crazy (ahem...talented) bike riders going over sand dunes, through rough terrain, and over obstacles where you have to jump off and carry your bike. I had so much fun waving around a cow bell to cheer on Simon and the other riders.

In the afternoon, we went wine tasting at Turley Wine Cellars, which I'd never visited before and was awesome (drink the zinfandels). But the highlight of the day was our visit to a rustic olive oil ranch called Olea Farm. Not only was the olive oil super fresh and delicious, but we got to watch the oil being pressed firsthand in a fascinating moveable pressing truck that they had on site.

 

 

First, the olives (picked that week) are put through a machine that removes all of the leaves. Then they go onto a conveyer belt where they are washed. They then pass through what looks like a giant drill that mashes them all up and extracts the oil. Finally, any leftover water and sediment is removed and the remainder slowly drips into a giant drum of...you guessed it: fresh olive oil.

  

 Now, on to cook something new and exciting with my new bottle of olive oil!