Deadly Vanilla Sunshine

I’ve been suffering from a case of writer’s block as well as a lack of ideas for recipes lately. Usually I have something in mind that I want to make or a dish that needs typing up but the last week, nada. That gets to me after awhile. Cooking is how I keep things affordable and part of how I stay sane. Anyway, between readjusting to life in the States and applying for different jobs all over I just haven’t had time to cook much besides veggie burgers or pasta.

Earlier today I got a craving for butterscotch but I just don’t trust that stuff in jars. After some googling, where I ran across multiple recipes with slightly different ratios of the same ingredients, I saw how easy it would be to make my own. Combined with a lemon cake I figured it was worth a shot. I’m glad I did, this cake is wonderfully decadent without being over the top. It’s best warm but would be gooey rather than moist if served cold.

For the sauce you will need:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Start by heating the sugar, cream and butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Stir frequently until the butter melts then add the salt. Continue to heat until the sauce bubbles up, about five minutes. Make sure to stir often so it doesn’t burn. After a few minutes remove from the heat and set aside.

For the cake:

1 1/3 cup flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix. Once most of the lumps are gone pour into a well greased “12 round baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center is clean when removed. The edges will be bubbly and browned, that’s what you’re aiming for. I like the put the butterscotch sauce on top of the cake right after it comes out of the oven but if you want it as more of a frosting, chill the butterscotch and spread it over the cake only when both are completely cooled. Either way, it will be delicious.

I know I don’t have many readers, although I’d like to figure out a way to change that in the future….aaaand I’ve been saying that for three years now. I guess school, work and the occasional getting-lost-in-Eurasia thing can get in the way of that.

I’m currently in Finland teaching English to Russian kids, how’s that for multiculturalism? It actually sounds a lot cooler than it is. Russian children are born without a mechanism to produce fear in many cases so sometimes it feels like I’m trying to put a harness on 30 mongooses in a five hour period. Hectic.

The food here is bland, to be polite. Granted, I haven’t had as much of a chance as I’d like to try different places since I’m in the middle of nowhere at the moment and boiled potatoes are the main staple in 90% of my meals. Not eating pork sucks at times like this. But I’m not giving up completely on the Finns and their culinary culture because they make good cheese, and anyone who makes good cheese is a friend of mine. Plus this could be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been in my life.

Life is what slows us down, speeds us up and can be molded into whatever shape is most pleasing. Kind of like that cheap modeling clay you buy at Michael’s when you have to keep a bunch of fifth graders occupied as you sneak off to make photocopies, take a swig of coffee and/or vodka or all of the above. I think a lot of people mold their lives into something comfortable that stays the same shape for years and years…I’m not that kind of person. I never have been, hope to God I never will be. I moved around a lot as a kid and being the child of two outdoorsy aging hippies, I’ve always had a knack for adventure. As a teenager this didn’t exactly translate (hurr durr) into the most productive or healthy activities but now that I’m a grown up on paper, the world has opened many more doors that I never dreamed existed. 

I’m one lucky bitch. I have a family that supports my productive insanity and friends who love me more for it. It wasn’t always that way. I got bullied as a kid for being “weird” both by adults and by my peers. My parents had no idea what to do with me for about ten years there, frustration has a way of expressing itself in the most destructive forms possible when you’re a teenager. But I’m rambling, this is supposed to be a cooking blog and I was supposed to be updating about Finland. I say I won’t fill this thing with narcisstic bullshit or pointless bombast like I see in 99% of blogs I come across but for now, this is me and this is where I’m at. I’m going to start posting photos very soon now that I have a camera that doesn’t make everything look like it came out of an Alabama public school cafeteria. Maybe I’ll turn the crazy dial up a notch and post some pictures of my cats and my travels, who knows. I love to write and I love to cook and now love to teach. 

2011 will be the year I learn to cook a duck, write about it and teach someone else. Maybe it will be the year I find a boyfriend I can put up with long enough to write cutesy stories about stuff he says whilst posting a recipe for meatballs (feel free to put a hit out on me if I actually do that). Happy New Year!