Issue #13, what happens when you pack 13 kids in an RV

Let's Get Lost, June 8, 2024

Hello friends! Before we jump in, I want to tell you that this issue is packed with new recipes:

Brown butter cake with maple miso brown butter frosting, homemade pappardelle noodles with bolognese sauce, the best summer gazpacho, amaretto soaked cardamom pound cake, and a beautiful hummus platter that’s perfect for entertaining. Plus, low-ish alcohol margaritas, sesame rice bowls from this month’s featured cookbook, and orange poppyseed cake for this month’s Bake Club challenge.

Mmmmm-mmmmm. Let’s dig in.

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The week in photos

1. We spent all of May in Colorado and celebrated our youngest daughter’s 23rd birthday with a delicious dinner at Aurum Food & Wine. If you’re ever in Breckenridge, we all highly recommend it! Her friend Scott called ahead and arranged to have a bottle of wine sent over to our table which was just all kinds of classy. ❤️ That’s who we took this photo for, and if he hadn’t done that there’s a good chance I would have forgotten to take any photos at all. So, thank you Scott for the wine and the photo!

2. This big guy was chowing down on the weeds growing in front of an apartment complex in Breckenridge. The girls noticed him as we drove past on the way to Annie’s birthday dinner and I made Steve turn around so I could take a photo!

3. My little brother bought a motorcycle! It’s his first bike and after taking a motorcycle training class and getting his motorcycle license, we took him out on a long ride through the Colorado mountains on Memorial Day. He’s a good rider and it was such a great day.

4. We had 12 of our nieces and nephews plus one of our daughters over for a sleepover (more about that later) and took advantage of a warm, sunny morning to take them out on Soda Lakes for kayaking and paddle boarding.

5. My friend Charlene had us over for pizza cooked in her new Ooni pizza oven. She’s been working to perfect her fermented crust for months and holy smokes it was delicious. Also, I love her face in this photo. Pizza making is serious business.

6. Ravioli making! We had friends over for dinner and I took the opportunity to experiment with a new ricotta ravioli recipe. Although none of us had any trouble eating it, the recipe didn’t turn out as I’d hoped. But I learned some things and the upside is that there is more ricotta ravioli in our future. 👏

7. A little behind-the-scenes action of taking photos of the hummus platter you’ll find in this issue.

8. After a busy month in Colorado, we traveled to Montana where we’ve been enjoying miles of quiet solitude. Our campground is free and nearly empty. It doesn’t have any hookups (no electricity, water, or sewer) but our solar is supplying us with power, our Starlink connection is supplying us with internet, and we’ve learned how to make our 100 gallons of fresh water last us nearly 2 weeks. One of the things I love about this life is being able to stay in remote places for long stretches because we are so self-contained.

9. I just found this photo freaking hilarious and a little too relatable. 😂

While in Colorado, we had 12 of our nieces and nephews plus our oldest daughter over for a sleepover. This is the 3rd (or 4th?) year that we’ve done this and for 24 hours our little home on wheels is transformed into a madhouse. I love it.

This year we were in Bear Creek Lake Campground in Morrison, Colorado and our space was large enough to pitch a tent. 5 of the older kids slept in the tent and we piled everyone else inside on air mattresses, the couch, and the floor. No one got much sleep, but sleep is not really the point of a sleepover, is it?

Since we are gone for so much of the year, I love getting to catch up with the people they are becoming. They are delightful.

They all get along extremely well and are so low maintenance - It doesn’t really matter where they are, they’ll find something to do and a cousin or two to do it with. Even the youngest, who is 3, was instantly at home and walking around like he owned the place. Which he kinda did.

Also, our daughter Kate and our oldest niece Brooke (the one taking the photo above) are very naturally in charge (whatever they say goes and all the kids listen) which meant Steve and I are free to basically say yes to everything they want. I love saying yes and hate saying no to people I love. So this works out 100% in my favor.

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New recipes on the blogs!

Brown Butter Cake with Miso Maple Brown Butter Frosting

If ever a cake could be called sophisticated, this brown butter cake is it. The texture is both light and rich, so soft it's almost creamy, and has a toasty, complex, almost smokey flavor laced with caramel.

Covered in maple miso brown butter frosting and a smattering of roasted almonds, this is the kind of chic cake that's perfect for dinner parties but that you'll find yourself making even when there's no one around to eat it but you.

Get the recipe —> Brown Butter Cake

Homemade Pappardelle Noodles with Bolognese Sauce

Like all fresh pasta, homemade pappardelle noodles are incomparably better than the packaged flour and water kind you'll find in most supermarkets. This recipe starts with dough that's rich in egg yolks for deep yellow noodles that are high in protein and other essential nutrients.

Most importantly, the flavor and texture of homemade pappardelle is out of this world delicious.

Because of their size, pappardelle noodles are a good match for thick, rich sauces with chunky textures - like meaty bolognese sauce. Meaty, rich, and slow simmered bolognese sauce is one of the world's all-time greatest comfort foods. My recipe is a bit untraditional in that it includes bacon and red wine. But try it and you just might find a new favorite.

Get the recipe —> Homemade Pappardelle Noodles

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The bake club is a monthly baking challenge with a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card. To participate simply bake the challenge recipe and leave a comment on the recipe telling me what you thought of it.

Important: When you comment on the recipe, use the same email address that you use to subscribe to this newsletter. This is how I’ll contact you if you win.

The June challenge recipe is Orange Poppy Seed Cake!

This is the kind of cake that stretches the boundaries of just how moist a cake can be. The cake itself includes actual fruit - a couple of whole oranges are mixed right into the batter along with the poppy seeds.

I know some of you made this cake last month right after I published the recipe. If you’re one of them, head over to the recipe, leave a comment and bada bing bada boom, you’re entered. Or, just make it again. I won’t stop you.

To participate in the Bake Club Challenge: bake this month's challenge recipe and then leave a comment on the recipe telling me what you thought of it! By commenting on the recipe, you'll be automatically entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card. Bake the challenge recipe and leave your comment before July 1st, 2024.

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Chilled gazpacho with fresh dill

My whole life I’ve turned up my nose at the idea of gazpacho. Something about it sounded like the kind of thing I wouldn’t like.

Such foolishness because after making it for the first time a couple months ago and discovering its light, refreshing, flavor packed ways, I’m hooked and will be making this all summer long.

Gazpacho only takes a few minutes to make and keeps well in the refrigerator for several days. I’ve been making as much as my Vitamix will hold, pouring it into a covered container, and dishing it out whenever the craving strikes.

The soup itself is fresh and flavorful, but the magic is in the toppings. We like to eat this with handfuls of diced cucumber and red bell pepper, toasted pumpkin seeds, crumbled feta or shredded parmesan, and croutons, plus some additional fresh dill and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

This recipe will make about 5 1/2 cups of gazpacho.

Ingredients

• 6 large tomatoes (about 1.5 pounds) - If you don’t have access to ripe, flavorful tomatoes, use cherry tomatoes which tend to be tasty year round.

• 1 large cucumber, roughly chopped (I like to use an English cucumber because the peel and seeds are so soft)

• 1 red bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, roughly chopped

• 2-3 cloves of garlic

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or lemon juice (more to taste)

• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or a diced jalapeño (optional)

• About 1/4 cup fresh dill

• about 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil and/or parsley

• Salt and pepper to taste

Toppings

• Croutons and/ or toasted pumpkin seeds

• More fresh herbs

• A finely chopped bell pepper

• A finely chopped cucumber

• A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

• A sprinkle of parmesan cheese or crumbled feta cheese

1. Roughly chop the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, and garlic, and add to a high speed blender. Blend until completely pureed.

3. Add the olive oil, vinegar, crushed red pepper, fresh herbs, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper, and mix again until smooth. Check the consistency and flavor, add a bit more oil, vinegar, herbs, or salt if you like.

4. Gazpacho best served chilled so place it in the fridge for a few hours (this also helps the flavors to develop) if you have time. 

5. Scoop into bowls and serve with the toppings.

Amaretto soaked cardamom pound cake

If you come to my house for dinner, you are most likely going to be served some version of a recipe that is in progress. This means that sometimes the meal will be fabulous. It also means that sometimes it will be a bust. I feel that if you have been invited to dinner, we are good enough friends that you will understand the risk. 😁

A couple of weeks ago we had some friends over for dinner that we hadn’t seen in many years. It was absolutely delightful getting reacquainted. I served ricotta ravioli and this cake.

The ricotta ravioli recipe needs some work. But this cake was everything I hoped it would be.

The cake itself is a true pound cake, which means there are roughly equal amounts (by weight) of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Also, there are no chemical leaveners (baking powder and baking soda) in this recipe. Rather, the cake relies entirely on air that gets trapped in the batter during the mixing process and eggs to rise.

Traditional pound cakes are dense and rich, with a very tight crumb. That’s exactly what you’ll get with this cake, BUT this cake soaked in amaretto syrup after baking. The result is a beautifully light and moist cake that is packed with the flavors of almond, cardamom, and just a hint of orange.

For the cake:

• 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (213 grams) white granulated sugar

• 4 large eggs (200 grams), at room temperature

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, OR 1/2 teaspoon table salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom 

• 1 tablespoon orange zest

• 1 2/3 cups (200 grams) all-purpose flour

For the amaretto syrup and glaze:

• 2/3 cup water

• 2/3 cup (133 grams) granulated white sugar

• 1/3 cup amaretto liquor

• 1/2 teaspoon (or more) almond extract 

• 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) powdered sugar

• Pinch of salt 

For decoration: Orange zest and crushed almonds

1. Prepare a 12-cup bundt pan by coating the inside of the pan with a thin layer of vegetable shortening or butter then shaking some flour around in the pan so the entire inside is coated. Heat your oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat on high for 3 -5 minutes, until the mixture is very light in color and appears aerated and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well on medium speed between each addition. Don’t skimp on the mixing time - it’s important to beat the batter for at least a minute or two after adding each egg.

3. Add the the vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, cardamom, and orange zest and mix on medium speed until blended into the batter.

4. Add the flour to the batter and mix on low speed just until blended.

5. Spread the batter into the pan and tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 50 - 60 min. When the cake is done it will be pulling away from the sides of the pan slightly and if you insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and remove it, there will be no raw batter on the toothpick.

About ten minutes before the cake is done baking, make the syrup:

1. Add the water and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the sugar syrup simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the amaretto liquor.

2. Pour 1/4 cup of the amaretto syrup into a bowl and set it aside (you’ll use it to make the glaze). Pour the remaining syrup (you should have about 1 cup) into a measuring cup with a spout.

3. Remove the cake from the oven and use a toothpick or fork to poke holes all over the bottom of the cake. Pour the syrup in the measuring cup onto the cake while it’s still in the pan. It will seem like too much syrup, but don’t worry - the cake will soak it up. 

4. Let the cake rest inside the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a serving plate and allow it to cool completely.

5. Use a whisk to blend the reserved 1/4 cup of syrup with the almond extract, powdered sugar, and a pinch or two of salt. When the cake is cool, pour this glaze over the cake. Sprinkle with orange zest and crushed almonds. 

This cake will keep well at room temperature, covered, for up to 5 days.

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Hummus platter

The night before heading from Colorado to Montana, we went over to my friend Charlene’s house (who is also Steve’s aunt) for pizza (she is a MASTER).

As a before-pizza snack, she had prepared the most beautiful and delicious hummus platter topped with veggies, olives, and crumbled feta. She said she made it because every single time she’s been to our home she’s noticed all of these flavors in our refrigerator.

And you know what? She’s 100% correct. So correct that I made the platter you see here earlier this week even though we are out in the middle of nowhere. It required no trips to the grocery store because I had all of these ingredients in my kitchen already.

We’ve eaten this for lunch twice this week, but it’s a brilliant appetizer for when you’re entertaining. Charlene spread the hummus out onto a large platter that was perfect for feeding a group (there were 8 of us), and included bowls of tortilla chips and focaccia for dipping. You could also serve it with warm buttered naan, pita chips, crudités, cheddar and almond crackers, or even homemade flour tortillas.

The basic idea is this:

1. Spread a thin-ish layer of hummus over the surface of a plate, bowl, or serving platter. (My recipe for hummus is below, but use any kind of hummus you like.)

2. Sprinkle diced cucumber and red pepper over the top of the hummus (or any kind of chopped veggies), followed by chopped olives and crumbled feta cheese. The only veggie that doesn’t work well here is tomatoes because they make the whole thing watery. (And yes, I know tomatoes are technically a fruit.)

3. Drizzle everything with some good quality extra virgin olive oil then sprinkle on whatever else you want. As you can see here, I added some toasted pumpkin seeds and a sprinkle of sumac. To toast pumpkin seeds, add them to a skillet with some olive oil and cook over medium heat until about half of them are golden brown. Remove from the heat and toss with salt. You can do the same thing with pine nuts if you prefer.

How to make hummus

• 2 cans (30 ounces) chickpeas or 3 cups cooked chickpeas (soak dried chickpeas in water overnight, rinse, then cook in simmering water with some salt and a pinch of baking soda until tender)

• 1/2 cup lemon juice

• 3 - 6 cloves garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 2 - 4 teaspoons paprika and/or Aleppo pepper

• 1/2 - 3/4 cup tahini paste, to taste

• 1/3 cup ice water

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Add the lemon juice, garlic cloves, salt, spices, and 1/2 cup of the tahini to a food processor and process on high until the mixture is thick and creamy. With the machine running, drizzle in the water; blend until smooth, pale, and creamy. Add the chickpeas and the extra virgin olive oil and process until completely smooth - this will take 1 to 2 minutes.

Taste and add more of anything you like. Store hummus in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

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Rio margaritas at home and a recipe for low-ish alcohol margs!

If you live in Colorado, there’s a good chance you’ve been to The Rio Grand Mexican Restaurant. (If you live in Colorado and you’ve never been, I don’t know what you’re doing with your life.)

It’s one of our favorite restaurants largely because of their margaritas. Much of the time, restaurant margaritas tased like sugary limeaid with some tequila in it. I feel the same way about most margarita mixes. They are just too sweet.

The margs at the Rio are tart and strong, and not too sweet, just the way we like them. And now you can buy their margarita mix. The catch is that you have to actually go to the restaurant to buy it. Which is great news if you live in Colorado and terrible news if you don’t.

So here’s the deal:

If you live in Colorado, go buy yourself some margarita mix. Ask the bartender, hostess, or your server. They’ll pour it into a bottle right then and there and you’ll be on your way. (I can actually only vouch for this at the Boulder location, but I’d assume they do it at all of their locations.) They also sell margaritas to-go, which includes the alcohol. We like to buy the mix only so we can control how much alcohol is in our margs.

If you don’t live in Colorado, the label on the bottle says that it contains basically 3 ingredients: Water, granulated beet sugar, and gimlet flavoring. It’s extremely tart, so the amount of beet sugar is low. Since a gimlet is basically lime, gin, and sugar, I’d say you could make your own by simply mixing lime juice, water, and a very small amount of simple syrup. Or, do what I’ve done for years and use Rose’s lime juice in place of lime juice and simple syrup.

Found this somewhere while scrolling through something and it made me actually lol.

Low-ish alcohol margaritas

We love a good margarita around here but have officially reached the age where too much tequila is NEVER worth it, so here’s how we make them:

• 2 ounces of a mix of pure agave tequila and Ritual Zero Proof Tequila Alternative. How much you add of each is up to you. Ritual tequila isn’t bad but lacks the bite of the real stuff. What we’ve learned is that a splash of real tequila in with the zero proof stuff is enough to compensate.

• 2 ounces of a mix of cointreau or triple sec and fresh squeezed orange juice. Again, you need some orange liquor in there but can cut down on the alcohol by cutting it with some OJ. For a stronger orange flavor use a tablespoon or so of frozen orange juice concentrate.

• 2 ounces Rio Margarita Mix, OR Rose’s lime juice, OR fresh lime juice and a dash of simple syrup.

Pour it over crushed ice into a glass with a salted rim. So good.

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This month’s featured cookbook is Simply Julia by Julia Turshen.

Julia Turshen is one of my favorite cookbook authors and this is my favorite of her books so far (her latest book, What Goes With What, comes out in the fall).

I know many of you are also subscribed to her Substack newsletter, Keep Calm and Cook On, and if you’re not, check it out because it’s fabulous.

This is one of the books I reach for most often because the recipes are simple, accessible, delicious, and filled with things I keep in my kitchen. If I don’t know what to make, there’s a good chance that the pages of Simply Julia will contain a recipe that calls for ingredients I already have on hand.

Choosing recipes to feature from this book is a challenge because I love so many of them! But we’ll start with a recipe I’ve made for us many times: Sesame Rice Bowls with Tofu, Quickles, and Peanut Sauce.

I’ve made this in various forms but here’s what we’ve got going on here:

1. Rice cooked with toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil

2. Quickles: veggies soaked for a few minutes in rice vinegar and water with a bit of sugar and salt

3. Extra firm tofu, with excess water pressed out of it, crumbled into a frying pan with some oil and cooked until crispy

4. Peanut sauce made from peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, salt, and water

So simple and satisfying.

By the way, when I made these rice bowls earlier this week we had some crispy tofu and rice left over. A couple days later I used them both in this coconut chickpea curry and it was delish.

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Reading recommendation

I have been reading the latest book by Tana French, The Hunter, and just like all her other books, I’m captivated. Tana is from Dublin and all her books take place in Ireland. I especially love listening to the audio version of her books because they are read by Irish readers and the accent is divine. I’m reading The Hunter in print form and I can almost hear the Irish cadence in the dialogue.

If you’ve not read any of Tana French’s books, start with In The Woods which is the first in a 6 book series. Of that series, The Likeness, book #2, is my favorite with Faithful Place, book #3, a close second.

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