Summer Swallowed Us Whole: Where did July go?

Those of you who know me personally know that I'm ambitious, but I procrastinate.  I recently wondered what my life would be like if I wasn't a procrastinator.  I put off imagining what I'd be like, and I made Black Raspberry and Peach Cobbler instead.

Picked the black raspberries myself and the peaches are from a farm in RI.

Gooey, peachy, messy joy

I also went on vacation.  Here's the thing, I will turn 26 in late March.  I haven't yet had a full time job-I currently have five part time ones.  I'll need to get a full time job once I'm 26, but until then, I've decided to 1) finish my thesis and 2) have as much fun as humanly possible and that involves vacations when I can manage them, music always, baking every chance I get and yoga after yoga after yoga.  It also involves run-on sentences.

Magic in the Morning

Grandma's 80th birthday celebration meant matching tee shirts!

See how nicely they matched?

I made some really ambitious new year's resolutions in January.  One of them was to try a new recipe each week, and I have come really close! How many have I written about? Hmm..it's gotta be close to zero, I think.  I also decided to make an effort to see more live music...now that's one I can check off my list.  The Lumineers, The Milk Carton Kids, Old Crow Medicine Show, Feist, The Brotherhood of Thieves, Newsies on Broadway-all amazing performances.  St. Vincent and David Byrne September 23rd, Minus the Bear September 27th, Third Eye Blind/Kevin Devine September 29th, Ben Folds Five! October 13th all add up to a really efron amazing musical year.

13 musicians on stage at once: the milk carton kids, the lumineers and old crow medicine show

I also intended to read a book a week.  I went on a Janet Evanovich binge right around the beginning of December that brought me through to March.  Dangerous addiction.  It meant 18 books, though, so I'm not doing too poorly-plus all the other books I read!  John Green's The Fault in Our Stars is my favorite so far but I read some great historical fiction, Winnie-the-Pooh (again) and what feels like one thousand scholarly articles about Francelia Butler, fairy tales and science fiction.

Unreal brunch.  I need to make this, right?

Everything is Illuminated at the beach

Felt patriotic on a ferry

Summer's not ending in my book

What happens next?  I think I'll make some gluten free rolls, pack for my next yoga teacher training, and think it over...

Earl Grey Tea Cake

A few folks asked for the recipe I used for the Earl Grey Tea cake I posted a picture of this past weekend, (on FB) so here it is! You should know that it's from Jennifer Katzinger's delightful cookbook, Flying Apron's Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book, which came out in 2009. I highly recommend it if you're planning to do any further gluten free/ vegan baking. (Babycakes, too!) My notes are italicized. I only made half a batch and it was plenty but the recipe below is as it appears in the book.

Earl Grey Tea Cake. Gluten free/vegan. Yum!

Earl Grey Tea Cake
two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaves, or one 10-inch square cake


I used a larger loaf pan than it called for and found that I should have split it into two (remember, I did half the recipe, so one should be enough!)


4 cups brown rice flour
2 cups garbanzo bean flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt (or kosher!)
1 1/3 cups canola oil
3 cups brewed Earl Grey tea (I used decaf and I let it cool a bit before I mixed the batter)
3 cups maple syrup (I used agave nectar and it's delicious)
3/4 cup currants (I didn't have currants or raisins so I skipped this entirely and I don't think it's lacking!)


1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Combine the brown rice flour, garbanzo bean flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate large bowl, combine the canola oil, tea, vanilla, and maple syrup. Slowly whisk the flour mixture into the canola oil mixture until thoroughly combined. Mix in the currants.

3. Line the bottoms of two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans or one 10-inch square cake pan with parchment paper. Pour in the batter and bake until the cake springs back when you press the center with your finger, 45 minutes to 1 hour. After the cake has cooled, run a knife along the inside of the pan to aid in turning the cake out for serving.

That's it! I dusted mine with a bit of powdered sugar. It's also really scrumptious with strawberry jam. It tastes JUST like the Earl Grey Tea Cake I had at the Stellar Cafe in Mammoth Lakes, CA, so while you eat it, I suggest pretending you're on vacation! (That's my new mission - recreate vacation treats to perpetuate that vacation feeling!)

Oh! Remember that if you're using a glass loaf pan, turn the oven down 25 degrees.
Enjoy!