It isn’t that everything is simple; it’s just that sometimes things are much simpler than we anticipate. Allow me to point out the obvious and state: I have made a lot of poppyseed things lately. You’re welcome.
I picked a date on a calendar. I set up my phone to e-mail and text a reminder:
This is your Feel Better By Date.
I really don’t like when people assume fault for things they shouldn’t; there’s an overt sense of power there. Similarly, I think it’s unfortunate when we disempower ourselves by letting other things get the best of us.
I suppose the reminder helped me to work toward some place in-between.
A place in which I bombard you with poppy seeded sweets. In which I recognize all the fucking laughter I encounter all the damn time [thank you for that, friends]
side note: I ran errands last Monday, and I found at my final stop that all but the bottom two buttons of my shirt had been undone for who-knows-how-long. The fellow ringing up my groceries asked a friendly question and looked up. He saw: me, buttoning all of my shirt and answering as if everything was normal, lolol
…ololololol #gaslighting
I don’t know, it made me realize that I’ve gotten to this place where I’m not embarrassed. I’m tickled. Like, how? How did I get here.
A few pointers from lately: listen to this song. Fly to Canada for two days, if the opportunity arises. Do everything you worry might be awkward. Go for olive oil sea salt ice cream in the middle of the night by yourself. Chop up the season’s best ingredient-peaches-and plop ’em into buttermilk batter and sprinkle it with sugar. Bake.
And feast.
One Year: Berry Goat Cheese Shortcake Ice Cream Sandwiches
Two Years: Peach Caprese with Tarragon and Fig-Infused White Balsamic
Three Years: Turkey, Black Bean, and Sweet Potato Tacos
Four Years: Caramelized Fig, Manchego, and Prosciutto Sandwiches
Peach Poppyseed Buttermilk Cake
Adapted from The Vanilla Bean Cookbook
Makes 1 9-inch cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus 1 tsp for sprinkling
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (I used princess emulsion)
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups (roughly 2 medium) peaches, peeled and chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium until smooth. Add the sugar and beat on medium until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the egg and beat on medium until combined. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat on low until incorporated. Add half the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined. With the mixer running on low, add the buttermilk in a slow, steady stream, stopping to scrape the bowl. Add the rest of the flour and mix on low until just combined. Add the peaches and stir in gently until just mixed in. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with an offset spatula or knife and sprinkle the top with the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake 25 to 32 minutes, until the cake is golden and a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out with the tiniest bit of crumb. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and finish cooling completely on the rack.
