resolutions

August 23, 2016 by Stesha Brandon in baked goods, cake, sweets

it was my birthday recently. I love my birthday. I love to celebrate and eat delicious things and generally be joyful. but I find as I get older, that each birthday is also when I really reflect on my life. It's a good time for it, I've found. I look back over the past year and check-in: am I feeling good? am I happy with my life? what will the coming year bring?

almond pound cake

August 16, 2016 by Stesha Brandon in sweets, baked goods

This recipe came to me from my friend Andra. I worked for her catering company back in the 1990s, baking pastries for the front-of-house coffee shop, pulling espresso at said shop, and pitching in on the catering prep. I used to joke with Andra that I would like her to make this as my wedding cake; when I got married this summer, we chose pies instead of wedding cake, but served this pound cake to our guests at breakfast the morning after.

almond cakes

August 15, 2016 by Stesha Brandon in baked goods, sweets

these almond cakes are, hands down, the cookie that is most requested by my friends and family. They are based on Marion Cunningham's Almond Butter Cake, which she bakes as an 8" cake. I love to make these bite sized, as it improves the ratio of the crisp exterior to chewy interior.

blueberry crostata

August 13, 2016 by Stesha Brandon in sweets, baked goods

this crostata is based on a sour cherry crostata from the Gourmet cookbook. I've adapted it with a variety of fruits, including rhubarb and strawberries. The blueberry remains my favorite, when sour cherries are hard to find.

brown sugar shortbread

August 01, 2016 by Stesha Brandon in baked goods, sweets, cookies

these shortbread are my friend Abby's favorite. Based on the sour cherry shortbread from Macrina, a wonderful bakery here in Seattle, these cookies have a delicious savoriness to them.

chickpea and tuna salad

July 31, 2016 by Stesha Brandon in savory, lunch

this salad is modeled on one that I ate at The Corson Building, a lovely Seattle restaurant. They served a bean and tuna salad as part of their breakfast buffet. although I'm definitely more of a baked-goods-for-breakfast kind of gal, I appreciated the change enough to use it as an inspiration. this salad is delicious any time of year, but I especially love to make it in the dark days of February, when the rain is sheeting down, and summer seems like a dream. The tuna and chickpeas give the salad a lovely heft, and the lemony dressing add brightness.

ingredients

salad
1/2 bunch Lacinato kale (or if you prefer, use 1 1/2 cups washed spinach)
12 ounce can of garbanzo beans, rinsed
6 ounce can of tuna (the best you can find, preferably packed in oil)
1 medium shallot, very thinly sliced
salt
pepper

dressing
2 tablespoons lemon juice
zest of the lemon
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt
pepper

method

remove the ribs from the kale. Chiffonade and rinse the leaves, set aside to dry completely. (if you use spinach, just make sure the leaves are clean and dry.)
rinse the garbanzo beans and let them drip dry in the strainer.
slice the shallot very thinly.
in a medium bowl, toss the kale and garbanzo beans with the shallot. season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
in a small bowl whisk the lemon juice and zest, salt, pepper and oil together. Add the parsley.
drain the tuna and use a fork to break it into big flakes. Add these to the kale.
toss the salad with the dressing and chill for 20 minutes.

This serves about 4 for lunch