“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”
― Rabindranath Tagore
Curtis looked out the window Friday night and said “now those are my kind of fireworks!” What a beautiful sky – and absolutely silent.
Farm News: Heat and humidity. That has been the story for this week. But it is July, and to be expected. These are the days when my horses greet me at the water hose for a sprinkle down with cool water. The days where I wear out faster, and move slower. The days when I wish the sun to set earlier – so the dark will cool the steamy soil.
We are changing seasons. We are half-way through the summer CSA. Some spring stuff left – some summer stuff starting.
What’s in the bucket: cool cucumbers with dill! savoy or green cabbage, beet root, summer squash, potatoes, a few cherry tomatoes and/or green beans and/or peppers (mostly hot peppers starting to come in)
A few suggestions if things are starting to pile up in your fridge. I always send out a kraut recipe this time of year – and I have a good one if anyone wants to have it.
However, lately I have come to appreciate fermenting by adding a culture. You don’t have to crush and smash your cabbage, and if you want to add other veggies such as fennel, carrots, onions – they retain their flavor instead of just tasting like kraut. I get cutting edge cultures. They have instructions about how much salt and water to add. You can order on amazon. And you can ferment just about any vegetable with them.
ALSO- a CSA member shared a recipe for a beet cake. She confessed to not loving beets – but said she made this cake 2 weeks in a row.
I made the cake for a friend’s birthday cake – and it was fabulous! And I am not a very good cake baker. SO….. Beets store well if you aren’t ready. I also made some of the beet puree to freeze – so perhaps I could make the cake anytime (it’s that good:) Plus, it’s gluten free as well as dairy free.
Recipe Below – from bonappetit. For Heartbeet chocolate cake.
Earthy-sweet beet purée gives this gluten-free chocolate cake a red velvet hue but also lends so much buttery moistness that you’d never guess the cake is dairy-free as well.
INGREDIENTS
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4 medium beets, scrubbed
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2 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil, plus more for pan
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½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for pan
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1½ cups almond flour
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½ tsp. baking soda
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½ tsp. ground cinnamon
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2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
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1 tsp. apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
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1 tsp. vanilla extract
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4 large eggs
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1¼ cups (packed) light brown sugar
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1 tsp. kosher salt
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4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
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1 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil
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¼ tsp. vanilla extract
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Pinch of kosher salt
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Gold luster dust (for serving; optional)
RECIPE PREPARATION
Cake
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Cook beets in a medium pot of boiling unsalted water until tender, 30–40 minutes, depending on size. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle. Cut off stem end, then peel and cut beets into large pieces. Transfer to a blender and add 2 Tbsp. water. Blend, adding water 1 Tbsp. at a time as needed, until a smooth purée forms—it should be the consistency of applesauce. Measure out 1 cup purée (reserve remaining purée for another use, such as blending into a smoothie).
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Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom of an 8″ round cake pan with parchment. Grease with oil, then dust with cocoa powder, tapping out excess.
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Whisk almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and remaining ½ cup cocoa powder in a medium bowl; set aside.
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Heat chocolate and remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a medium heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring often, until melted. Remove bowl from heat. Stir in vinegar, vanilla, and reserved 1 cup beet purée until smooth.
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Beat eggs, brown sugar, and salt in the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed (or use an electric mixer and large bowl) until more than tripled in volume and mixture holds a ribbon for several seconds when beater is lifted above batter, 5–7 minutes. Thoroughly beating the eggs is key to creating an aerated, light crumb and is a critical step when using gluten-free ingredients.
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Pour chocolate-beet mixture into egg mixture and beat on medium-low speed until combined. Turn mixer off and gently tip in reserved dry ingredients. Beat on lowest speed, scraping down bowl as needed, until combined.
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Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and the top springs back when gently pressed, 45–50 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edges of pan, then invert cake onto a wire rack and let cool.
Glaze
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Heat chocolate, oil, vanilla, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring often, until chocolate is melted. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened and cool enough to touch, 10–15 minutes.
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Place rack with cake on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour glaze over center of cake to cover top, tilting baking sheet slightly to encourage a few drips to run over sides of cake. Sprinkle with luster dust (if using). Let sit at room temperature until glaze is set, 2–3 hours.
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Do Ahead: Cake (without luster dust) can be glazed 2 days ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.
Happy Eating….Happy Baking….Thanks for buying local food from Circle S Farm.
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