In My Kitchen ~ May 2013

Tags

2013, cocktail, flowers, kitchen, lavender, lemon, marshmallows, May, sea salt

May brings flowers to my yard….

May brings fantastic gifts from wonderful friends to my kitchen….

Such as spearmint marshmallows (you can buy them here)…

 

Alaskan Pure Sitka Spruce Tip Sea Salt (you can buy it here)…

May brings lemon lavender cocktails to my sunny porch….

 

May brings my birthday (27!) and another list of things to do to celebrate the next year of life…

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out figjamandlimecordial for more In My Kitchen posts.

 

Advertisement

Spring is Nature’s Way of Saying, “Let’s party!”

Tags

flowers, garden, Kentucky, spring

There is a party in my garden… 

And you are invited!

Some days I spend more time in the garden than I do in the kitchen. 

Any day in the garden is a good day. Good Morning!

(If you look close, you can see the baby asparagus spears peaking up!)

Pear Upside-Down Cake

Tags

cake, dessert, flowers, molasses, pastry, pear, sorghum, spring, sweets

It was in the 60s the last couple of days and I just had to get out. I went for a run and discovered the most amazing thing… Blooming crocuses and daffodils. The gorgeous flowers were such a bright spot. No matter how crummy my day is, flowers will always bring it back to a happy place. I am a little scared for them though. I just know a cold snap will come and they will die. If only real spring was closer.

Million Park is a great place to run, especially with this little field.

Mr. Honeybee is out to play…

Speaking of beautiful things, today’s recipe is a cake Rufus posted late last year and I have been longing for it ever since. Since pears are on sale this week at the grocery, I decided to make this cake (with a few minor variations). Boy was I glad I did. It was a snap to make and the presentation is lovely…

Pear Upside-Down Cake

• 2 sticks of butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 eggs, plus one egg yolk
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced thin
• 1/4 cup sorghum
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• pinch of cinnamon sugar

In a small bowl, toss pears with 1/4 cup sorghum, 1 tbsp lemon juice and cinnamon sugar. Set aside. Preheat oven to 325. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat butter on medium high until light and creamy about a minute. Add in salt and brown sugar. Beat on medium high to incorporate. Beat in eggs one at a time, ending with the yolk and then the lemon juice. (Another minute or so.) Reduce the mixer speed and beat in flour and spices until incorporated. Line the bottom of a springform pan with parchment. Butter the sides of the pan and the parchment. Using a slotted spoon to drain off most of the excess juice, arrange pears on the bottom of the pan overlapping slightly in a circular pattern. Drop batter on top and smooth with a rubber spatula. It will be thick. Cook for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.