Oh my, so fine!

I'm back in the kitchen - my saddle, so to speak. :-)

Yeah! It felt so good to actually cook meals for my hubby two nights in a row.

And last night I made a cake - a glorious, decadent, easy celebration of summer. Wowo - was it delicious. Here's the recipe, courtesy of The New York Times Cook Book. This cookbook was a gift from one of the attorneys for whom I worked from 1994-1998, the last full time job I had. That was an incredibly difficult time in my life - my mom was dying of breast cancer, Tim was in grad school and very absorbed in that task, and (to put it in the mildest of terms) I had some troublesome relationships at my work place that made my life miserable.

When I quit that job, I was surprised and delighted to receive this wonderful gift from Mark. In the front he wrote, "Hope this book will help you to fill your newly found "free time" with joy. Good luck and best wishes." His recognition of my love of cooking, and his participation in my emancipation was such a lovely touch. I have appreciated his gift time and time again as I often reach for it on my cook book shelf.

Thank you, Mark. You have added to my life in a simple but meaningful way.

Peach Upside Down Cake
1/4 lb plus 3 Tbsp butter
2/3 c brown sugar
3 peaches, peeled and halved (and cut in half again if they are giant peaches)
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 egg
about 1 tsp vanilla extract (I seldom measure extracts)
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 generous pinch of salt
1/2 c milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Melt the 3 Tbsp butter in a 9" square baking dish and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Arrange the peach halves on top of the sugared butter.

Cream the remaining butter with the granulated sugar and beat in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, and add alternately with the milk.

Spoon the batter carefully over the peaches. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until tests done with a toothpick. Let cake stand 5 minutes or so before inverting onto a serving platter. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Yummy, easy, satisfying, not low fat so don't worry about it. Just enjoy! :-)