Back to Baking.

Hello blogsters! It's been WAY too long since my lil' fingers have danced on the keyboard and written you a foodie love letter. For that, please accept my sincerest apologies. I didn't stop eating or cooking, but I did take some time to shift gears and re-focus on some health stuff. I haven't baked in a really long time and sincerely have missed it.  I missed the sweet sounds of my stand-up mixer beating butter and sugar together in a harmonious song. I missed the whisking of dry ingredients and I missed the sound of my jazzy turquoise timer going off, "it's ready, it's really ready"!

During this time de-blogging status, I bookmarked several recipes to try and when I read Luisa Weiss' post about donut cake, I just knew it would be the first thing I would bake. I rarely bake the same thing twice in one week, but this donut cake recipe is without a shadow of a doubt, worth baking more than once a week. Your friends, family and co-workers will forever be grateful, I promise. It's such a simple recipe (eggs, butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, salt, buttermilk, cornmeal, baking powder and nutmeg) and it delivers grand results.  Yes, your kitchen will smell like a donut factory, but who is going to complain about that? I wish I could've bottled up that smell into a fragrant candle. 

P.S. - If you don't have a springform pan in your cupboards (mine sadly passed away when I made the cake for a second time), a 9" round cake pan will do just fine.

The Green Kitchen

http://www.alicewatersgreenkitchen.com/

Last night, I came upon, a fabulous internet series, created by Alice Waters, called The Green Kitchen. I wanted to share the link with you all as I think the mission and purpose of this short series is something worth sharing, especially, for learning basic culinary skills! Many well known chefs are featured in these less than 10 minute episodes, sharing how to make a simple viniagrette to making salsas, and the basics of roasting a chicken. I encourage everyone to watch a few episodes, you will definitely learn something new, if, not brush up on a few everday skills! And pass the link on to your friends and family.