Happy birthdays

I think I can remember the turtle cake, the worm and alligator ones too. Or maybe photographs have imprinted themselves onto my mind over the years; pictures made vivid memories by virtue of looking at them repeatedly and hearing their tandem tales. 

It begs the question of what memory is, really. Lived experiences that you clearly remember? Those you've been told about for so long they feel real? Tidbits that surface from the deepest recesses of your brain in dreams or at odd times in odd places? 

Perhaps it doesn't matter, perhaps memory is the sum total of all that.

The birthday cakes I remember were lovingly hand-crafted and bedecked with all manner of licorice whip and shaped gummy—candy serving as eyes, scales, noses and tails to make the two-dimensional concoctions come to life.

Even though the photos have yellowed and faded since first developed, I can still see the love shimmering in them. Thank you McCall's Magazine for the designs and Nanny for clipping and sending them to Mom. Thank you Mom for recreating them for me. 

my 1st birthday; how did mom make that avo-green icing??

In old albums, a faint story line unfurls. Mom cut her hair at some point after she had me. Just before which party was Elia born? Did I like the cakes? How many did each feed? Who came to the parties? What did we do? There are balloons in some shots. Everyone is smiling. 

Those details are blurry images on my mind's horizon, but when I think of birthdays, I feel happy. I was loved. Emphatically so.

That is why I continue to anticipate my birthday and those of my loved ones with such fizzy gusto. It is certainly why I recreated the alligator cake for Jack’s first birthday –even though he wouldn’t eat a bite- and why I have delighted in crafting magical cakes and parties for every birthday the boys have had since.

my 2nd birthday

jack's 1st birthday

Even the pets are fêted. Until Percy got older and needed to watch his weight, we celebrated his birthdays with Frosty Paws, because what is more delightful than watching a quivering pug go to town on a tiny cup of dog ice cream, his snout pushing the container across the floor while his paws and tongue try desperately to keep up. 

Birthdays are, at their most essential, a time to bask in love and appreciation. YOU came into the world at a moment in time, and forever after, everything is a bit changed. At least, that’s how I want to feel on my birthday and how I want my children to grow up experiencing theirs. Jack and Oliver are so wanted, loved, and valued and I like the idea of dedicating one whole day each year to commemorating their place in our world. They are loved. Emphatically so.

Mine might seem an awfully idealistic conception of birthdays, and yet I hold on to that pure sense of what one day a year can be. A celebration of self spun from sugar, love, and others' appreciation of you.

This is a Finish the Sentence Friday post, in response to the prompt, "When I think of birthdays..." Hosts this week are: Kristi of Finding Ninee, Mimi of Mimi Time, and Stacey of This Momma's Ramblings. 

Tomato skin salt

I went nose-to-tail with the tomatoes yesterday, y'all. Instead of composting the skins that I peeled away before canning the pulp, I made tomato skin salt! 

It's a beautiful, unique, outrageously "foodie" way to use what would otherwise be tossed. I mean, let's be honest. Tomato skin salt is not going to change anyone's life, but I dare say I find my little Weck jars to be awfully pretty filled with this salt, and it made a lovely sprinkle atop our salad last night.

Other uses, according to the recipe author, include rimming Bloody Mary glasses and jazzing up corn on the cob. It'd also be a great addition to guacamole. 

tomato skins and kosher salt: after baking in a low oven for nearly three hours

It's quite simple to make. Weigh the amount of peeled skins, measure out that same weight of coarse salt, lay the skins out on a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet, sprinkle the salt evenly over the top and bake in a 200° Fahrenheit oven until the skins are totally dry and the salt is caked. Let cool and blitz in a spice grinder. 

tomato skin salt in always-lovely Weck jars

A summery feast

There was a tinge of coolness in the air on Monday. I wore jeans comfortably, I didn't sweat or feel as I were baking. Although I much prefer warm weather to cold, I admit to finding Monday's fall-like clime lovely and invigorating. It was, plain and simple, perfect- the very reason people love fall so much.

And yet, as the seasons change, so too does the produce they offer. I'm not over my crush on tomatoes, delicate summer squash, juicy fruit and the bright beauty of it all, and so, for the next few weeks, plan to eat and put up as much of it all as I can. 

My dear friend of the annual tomato haul brought a second load to me on Monday. Yesterday, I used the last of the original forty pounds to make tomato-saffron sauce which I froze, and today will embark on canning a big batch from the new tonnage. In the meantime, it's tomatoes every which way including a lunch of cold tomato soup (ingredients + blender + 3 minutes) and a dinner of Yotam's socca, aka chickpea crepes with caramelized onions, gently roasted tomatoes and dollops of crème fraîche. 

pretty in pink cold tomato soup

chickpea flour crepe

socca

You cannot go wrong with either of these recipes though the latter takes a great deal more time than the former. Both are posted in Recipes and are tremendous ways to enjoy summer tomatoes beyond the common but always tasty caprese and tomato sandwich. 

I also finished up the last of the peaches yesterday by making a lightly spiced peach butter. Fruit butters, which contain no actual butter AND are a terrific way to use up seriously ripe fruit, are nothing more than heavily reduced fruit + sugar. The cooking process is similar to making jam but slower and over more moderate heat. Sugar draws liquid from the fruit, that poaches the fruit pulp that remains, and then the whole mess cooks down into a thick, spreadable "butter." I love fruit butters, and this peach one by Kevin West, spiced with allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and a generous pour of Bourbon, is no exception. 

spiced peach butter

Last night, to go alongside the socca, I made a marinated zucchini dish from Food52. I first had this marvelous preparation at 2 Amy's, one of my favorite DC restaurants, a Neapolitan pizza place that serves much more than pie. A few weeks back, Food52 published a version of it in their Genius Recipe column, and my mouth has been watering since. 

Zucchini can be so bland, but what that means is that you also have ample opportunity to zing it up. Zucchini-feta fritters are one terrific way to do that, as is this red wine vinegar-garlic coated method. This is good hot, room temperature or cold and can be made in advance. Three cheers! Food52's recipe calls for basil but I used mint. Both are traditional, so use what you have or prefer.

marinated zucchini

Another great way to use zucchini is to mandoline (slice paper thin) it and serve it ceviche-style -drenched in olive oil, salt, vinegar and such- or atop pizza where it kind of melts into the cheese and crust and is luscious.

shaved zucchini with mozzarella and shaved asparagus pizza

Back to it with the toms, y'all.