catching up: music, a half-recipe and educational stuffs

Goose and Fox album cover; plum torte photo by NYTimes.com

1. You look like gold to me
I think this is the first time I don't feel guilty about skipping a whole ten days of posting. I don't feel guilty because the past week and a half was spent catching up on life and sleep respectively, so I wouldn't have traded a second of it. The discovery of true friendship is, in my opinion, simultaneously one of the most painful and deeply rewarding side effects of growing up. I'm grateful to be on that journey and to experience the kind of friendship that, even for a moment, lifts blindfolds and helps me to understand what matters.

This song by the band Goose & Fox has been stuck in my head all day, and expresses my current sentiments pretty well:

I'm rich as can be,

Wealthy like a king
I'm going on

2. NY Times' Original Plum Torte
I was going to (my mom used to say, with good reason, that this was my favorite phrase) make up for lost time by sharing a recipe with you. I even made a trial run, I was so sincere in my intentions. As my luck would have it though, the trial one was perfect and the real one wasn't, and now I just don't have any acceptable pictures to show you. I do, however, still think it's worth it to direct you to the recipe because it's a much beloved one. And in the slim chance you don't know of it yet, you should.

The recipe for this plum torte (pictured above) was originally published in the New York Times in 1982 and every year after that until 1989. When the editors decided to retire the recipe, its anticipated absence was so vehemently protested against that the Times gave in and vowed to publish it every year. It has now become a sort of symbol of "summer giving way to fall." Good for us, because I can think of few better ways to embrace the changing of seasons. This cake is everything, the perfect example of humble ingredients transformed by the magic of a little chemistry. It's easy to make, hard to mess up, perfectly balanced, restrained yet striking. A full hour in the oven intensifies the flavor and color of the plums, turning them into a jammy, perfectly tart foil to each buttery bite of cake. It's also quite possibly the most memorizable cake recipe out there, and works just as well in other seasons with berries or apples. An electric hand or stand mixer and a springform pan would serve you well here, but certainly aren't necessary.

(In case you didn't catch the earlier hyperlinks, the recipe can be found here.)

3. Culinary school for free - kinda
Before I had culinary school or a kitchen job to learn from, I had The Kitchn (sister site of Apartment Therapy). The Kitchn taught me to season a cast-iron pan, edit my kitchen cookware and make magical banana ice cream. It's usually a reliable resource for technique, recipes and general kitchen tips for the home cook, and right now they're holding a virtual "cooking school" - 20 lessons in 20 days, covering basics like knife skills, stocks, herbs and meat.

I'll be honest, some of their videos make me nervous, like this one of a chicken being quartered with a dull Santoku knife (just...why?). I don't like to cut onions through the root end because it's dirty, and I'm not a huge fan of gimmicky garlic-peeling tricks (smashing is so much easier!). BUT (and this is a big but) the information is mostly helpful, readily available and unintimidating, so I think a lot of people can still benefit from them. They're also free, which is a lot cheaper than culinary school is, people. You can easily access the videos here or sign up via email to get the lessons in your inbox.