by Christina Waters | Feb 17, 2008 | Home |
Gramma Gouin’s WWI Applesauce Cake: This recipe for an exceptional tea cake comes from my Aunt Virlyne Gouin, a terrific cook and baker, who learned this recipe from her mother-in-law, Annie Gouin. It was a favorite war-time dessert as “eggs were hard to get,” says my aunt. And this cake is made entirely without eggs. Also my aunt tells me that other fruit purees, e.g. persimmon, pear, kiwi, can be substituted for the applesauce. And a splash of brandy, or sometimes vanilla, doesn’t hurt either!
To 2 cups sifted flour, add:
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1 T. cornstarch
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3 T chocolate or cocoa powder
Add: 1 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. raisins (or dried cranberries)
1 1/2 c. applesauce
1/2 c. melted butter
Pour into loaf pans or 9 x 12 baking pan – or muffin pan for cupcakes
Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour.
This tea cake freezes beautifully, and like many fruit and nut loaves, just gets better with age. It is wonderful with coffee, tea and grappa.
by Christina Waters | Feb 17, 2008 | Home |
Our very own downtown enoteca Vinocruz, was showcased in Friday’s Wall Street Journal. And for good reason. This little gem of a tasting depot – tucked behind the Octagon on Cooper Street – offers 185 wines from 64 area wineries, some famous and celebrated, others small and family-run. If you haven’t stopped by to stretch your oeno-palate and chat with Jeffrey and J-P, then get on over there. Say hi to Bodhi for me! Vinocruz is located in Abbott Square, off Cooper Street – 831/426 VINO – and is open for tasting of our finest local wines Mon-Th 11am-7pm (until 8pm on weekends); Sun noon to 6pm.
. . . And over at Manresa, with its gorgeous interior, killer tasting menu and two Michelin stars, chef-entrepreneur David Kinch has been nominated for a James Beard award, Best Chef: Pacific. Manresa’s chef de cuisine, James Syhabout, is nominated for Rising Star Chef of the Year. If you haven’t yet visited the outstanding Los Gatos restaurant that Kinch has grown into a world-renowned destination, you will want to treat yourself to the Citrus Modernista Dinner, (more…)
by Christina Waters | Feb 16, 2008 | Home |
Stay tuned – you might just find this delightful anniversary image on a tote bag very soon!
by Christina Waters | Feb 13, 2008 | Food, Home |
No kidding – Paul Cocking told me that he’s interested in moving on, changing the pace of his life — the exhausting hours involved in restaurant work! — and perhaps even changing careers entirely.
Gabriella Cafe is definitely for sale, so if you can put together a group interested in keeping the culinary genius of chef Sean Baker in our downtown, give Paul a call at 831/457-1677.
(Check out my profile of Gabriella’s pastry chef Jessica Yarr in last week’s Metro Santa Cruz.)
by Christina Waters | Feb 13, 2008 | Home, Wine |
John Locke – not the British Empiricist philosopher but the mischievous Santa Cruz wine wonk – is setting a brisk pace in Soif’s upper room with his Sunday evening wine classes. After taking Locke’s high-powered wine and cheese workshop last fall, I was more than ready to dive into the oenological demimonde.
Why not begin at the beginning, I figured, and signed myself up for all three of Locke’s Wine Basics workshops. Twice a month a dozen of us are put through our tasting paces by the maestro, who introduced us to the crisp flavors of northern France, Germany and Austria last time. We learned about soils, about mineral tones, about just how to-die-for a Sancerre can be (more…)
by Christina Waters | Feb 13, 2008 | Home |
Come on – even anorexic starlets have handlers and trainers who make sure they’re ready for their close-ups. Why can’t the powerful and brilliant Mrs. Clinton get herself some consultants on image, attitude and rhetoric?
Hillary – it’s time for your make-over. Here’s a place to start. First, lose that strident royal blue suit. Now! Even Margaret Thatcher in her most cojones-of-steel days couldn’t have pulled off that ugly, ugly color. Start wearing more of that luscious brown, sunny yellow and warm coral.
Okay. Next. Stop yelling. And stop speaking in slow, carefully-measured monotones. Loosen it up – tell the folks how you feel, what you care most deeply about – and don’t keep blaring “Universal Health Care.†Honey, UHC has all the sex appeal of a used coffee filter.
Of course we all want universal health care, but let’s fill that stuff in after you’ve won the election. Right now the folks want eye contact and the colorful details of your personal mission. (Like you’re doing here, in this terrific AP photo.)
Tell us stories. (more…)
