Welcome-Home Cake and Saving Seeds

Ryan's work took him to New York for four days. Leading up to his departure we were scrambling to amass enough GF/DF bars, snacks and mini-meals for him to pack to last him through long work days where the only sustenance provided would be sugary baked goods and glasses of milk. Since we would both be leaving shortly after he returned, we also were in the mindset to clear out the fridge. Oops. I hadn’t realized until after Ryan left that I had lost my chef and was facing an empty pantry. As luck would have it, I also came down with a nasty sinus infection that left me moping around the apartment with even less energy and gumption to feed myself. I subsisted on simple white rice, plain lettuce and Echinacea tea. Surprisingly, I was having trouble getting over the cold. So I broke down and went to the store. I brought home some Vitamin Water, Saltines and vegetable broth. Not surprisingly, I recovered shortly thereafter.

While Ryan was gone, his brand new KitchenAid mixer arrived courtesy of his mother and I hatched a plan to bake him a welcome-home cake. Immediately, I thought of the gorgeous birthday cake I had seen Shauna James Ahern of Gluten-Free Girl receive. With a few modifications, I knew I could make this both gluten-free and dairy-free. So on a cold drizzly Seattle Saturday the non-chef, the kitchen klutz decided to try his paws at baking. After the Sounders soccer match of course. Although, after 90 minutes out in the drizzle, the baking would have to be postponed after a short couch nap.

Thank goodness for Whole Foods. And while I’m at it, I want to give a shout out to the Broadway Market QFC on Capitol Hill. The selection of organic, local, gluten-free and dairy-free products offered at these “conventional” markets is stellar. We are all too spoiled, as we were reminded several times this summer as we ventured into Eastern Washington to the hot dry climes to float down the Yakima River in summer jubilation. The culinary landscape was much bleaker than the beautiful dry hills guarding the swift clear blue river snaking its way through the land.

Cake baking. I accumulated all the needed ingredients for the endeavor at my aforementioned Meccas and enlisted the help of a foodie friend to make sure I didn’t screw anything up. Reveling in the beauty of the mixer we whipped up a cake, lemon cream filling and raspberry frosting all from scratch. Totally ambitious in my book. Not only that, but it turned out fantastic and the tired boy returned home to a beautiful cake and a clean apartment. The cake is but a few hours old and half of it is gone.

Now that I have a bit of confidence in which to cloak myself, I may just make this baking thing a regular habit. I realized baking is an ideal activity to accompany long days spent studying and writing. GF/DF baking utilizes many starches and flours I had previously never known. (it also is a nice nod back to the hours spent in chemistry lab in college.) I came across the video below a few days before baking this cake and it came back to mind while I was mixing the variety of grains and starches together. Just another call to biodiversity. Why don’t we get it, yet? These projects could also, be money-makers.