Oof. We had a whirlwind of tying up a few loose ends for our cookbook (out this coming spring, so crazy!) and I sort of abandoned this space. While this is a place I want to share good food illustrated by Hugh's gorgeous photos, it is also a place I come to write. In an inevitably vain way, I suppose a blogger mostly has his or her own life story to draw from, and my reality as of late has been about rearranging our work, marriage, schedule, chores, social life, alone time etcetera with Curran in the picture. Most definitely for the better (not to be confused with easier), the day to day looks different now and my story is currently about figuring out who I am now in all of these things. It sounds dramatic and woeful, but honestly, as any big change goes, it just takes a little time to create a new normal. Both my thoughts and iphone pictures used to be all food all the time and now I have a mini person who hijacked all that. Our little baby bug is tall and thin as babies go, so says the pediatrician. He has a big gummy smile, is a little stingy with giggles despite his mom and dad being completely hilarious, rolls and always wants to be grabbing something to put in his mouth. At night, he lays his head between my chin and chest and rhythmically coos as I sing songs from church and/or Beyonce and rock him to sleep... I'm not sure there is any sweeter feeling in the universe. It is all so wonderful and yet so very hard. Many parts of being a new mom are really tough. I didn't anticipate the high highs met with low lows but I can see balance on the horizon. I worry by nature, so 'choosing optimism' is my mantra for this fall. Everything will be OK. It is always OK.

Don't roll your eyes. Another pumpkin loaf! Just what you needed right? I have a good handful of things bookmarked in Amy Chaplin's gorgeous new book, At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen but I was in need of a fresh start, to ring in a new season, and a hearty, fall loaf seemed just the thing. This loaf is dense, barely sweet, is just the thing fresh out of the toaster with a swipe of good butter or coconut butter. It doesn't taste like dessert - it tastes like a breakfast loaf and that is the side of the loaf-preferences-fence I sit on. Hugh sits on the other side of said fence but nothing a little cinnamon sugar can't fix. Amy's cookbook is so comprehensive, beautifully designed and jammed full of recipes for the vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free and generally health nutty folks. There are a grip of fabulous cookbooks coming out this fall and next spring and I'm so anxious to try things and share them here.

PUMPKIN BREAD WITH TOASTED WALNUT CINNAMON SWIRL // One 9-inch loaf

Recipe adapted from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen by Amy Chaplin

The recipe is great as is, and as mentioned above, it is not super sweet as most breakfast loaves can be. I added a bit more spice and a little turbinado sugar on top for crunch. Amy suggests roasting a squash yourself and using the puree for the bread but canned pumpkin will work as well.

// cinnamon swirl //
1 cup toasted walnuts
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
2 Tbsp. muscavado, brown or maple sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
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2 cups whole spelt flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 cups pumpkin or squash puree
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. almond or soy milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350' and lightly oil a loaf pan, lining it with parchment for a cleaner removal.

Steam your squash for 10-12 minutes if making a puree by hand.

To make the swirl, mix the walnuts, maple, sugar and cinnamon together and set aside.

Into a large mixing bowl, sift the spelt flour, baking powder and salt. Add the nutmeg and cinnamon. Whisk together the squash puree, olive oil, almond milk, vanilla, egg and maple syrup. Fold the flour mixture into the squash mixture until just combined. Spread half the batter over the bottom of the loaf pan. Layer cinnamon walnut mixture evenly over batter and top with the remaining batter. To create a swirl, run a knife in a zig zag through the batter. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes before removing the loaf.

The slice is served best warmed with a generous spread of coconut butter or real butter.

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Dessert, Summer

NECTARINE TART WITH RYE-CORNMEAL CRUST

Sara Forte · September 2, 2014

I'm dog earring interesting recipes in food magazines like a crazy lady. I have a catering job coming up and a particular mini-person has kept me from cooking all that much. Simple things, I have managed to get basic dinners together, but I haven't tried many new items unfortunately. Curran doesn't really like napping, I'm tired, so I eat a lot of brown rice and defrosted wild salmon patties and don't mind because I know this is a season. Ok, actually I cry a lot about it because I want him to get rest so he's happy and his brain grows, but Hugh reminds me it's part of figuring out this parenting thing and we'll turn a corner at some point. You'll miss naps one day, tiny sleep-resister. Anyway, dessert. I've been peeking around to try some new things and I thought these individual tarts in Food+Wine looked great. I haven't had the greatest luck with tart dough, regardless of the printed recipe, so I gave these a run through before putting them on the menu and I approve. I haven't baked much with rye flour but it is perfect here, a tad more flavor than all purpose, and I'm intrigued to try it in other things. The crust is excellent - quite buttery (likely why it's excellent) which makes this perfect for a special occasion.

NECTARINE TART WITH RYE-CORNMEAL CRUST // Makes 4 smallish tarts

Crust recipe adapted from September 2014 Food + Wine

I used nectarines because the ones at our local farm are still incredible. If stonefruits are gone where you are, the original recipe suggests apples and I'm sure that would be great too. Note, I had creme fraiche on hand so made this creamy garnish but a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream would be just as nice and one less step.

// Dough //
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup rye flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 Tbsp. natural cane sugar
1 tsp. sea salt
14 Tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1/3 cup ice water

// Filling //
3 ripe nectarines
2 ripe plums
1/2 a vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
quick grate of fresh nutmeg
1/4 cup natural cane sugar, divided
2 Tbsp. unbleached all purpose flour
Turbinado Sugar, for sprinkling

// Maple Creme Fraiche //
1/3 cup creme fraiche
1 Tbsp. real maple syrup
1/8 tsp. almond extract

For the dough, in a food processor, pulse both flours with the cornmeal, sugar and salt. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with flecks of butter. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture and pulse until it just comes together (you should still see flecks of butter). Transfer to dough to a work surface, gather it together, quarter it and form four small disks. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and chill at least an hour. This can be done a few days in advance.

For the filling, slice the nectarines and plums thin. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cut fruit with the vanilla bean, lemon juice, a quick grate of nutmeg, 2 Tbsp. of the cane sugar and toss to combine.

Preheat the oven to 400' and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the 2 Tbsp. of flour and 2 remaining Tbsp. sugar in a ramekin. On a well floured work surface, roll out the dough balls 1/4' thick into roughly 6" circles. Spread a little bit of the flour/sugar mixture in the center of each dough circle, leaving a 1/2" border. Place a pile of fruit on top of the flour circle (be generous and pile high, it'll shrink down). Gently fold the edges of the dough up around the fruit, leaving the center open. Pinch the tears of the dough together to seal and transfer them to the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the dough with a little water and generously sprinkle the whole top with turbinado sugar. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the tops are golden brown and crisp. Let them sit for a minute and then transfer to cool completely on a baking rack.

While they cool, stir together the creme fraiche, maple and almond extract (a little goes a long way, you need just a couple drops). Serve each tart with a dollop of cream. These are best enjoyed the day they are made but they will keep covered for two days and could even be freshened up in a toaster oven when needed.

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Side, Salad, Entrée, Gluten Free, Summer

GREEN SALAD OF NECTARINES, CORN + PEANUTS

Sara Forte · August 21, 2014

Not in the head space to write much, but I wanted to share this salad we had at a backyard dinner with friends last week before another weekend passed. It was the perfect late summer salad - a place for those sweet nectarines that I cannot get enough of (also been throwing them in my morning steel cut oats with cardamom and salted pistachios. Recommended). It was one of the better salads I've thrown together, perhaps because I wasn't expecting it to be such a delicious and easy combination. I feel like a much better cook when I am not trying hard to be a good cook...that must make sense for those of you who write recipes and blogs about food. It's annoying really, and maybe the demon of people who do creative work for a living. Anyway, here is the recipe, give or take, and I'm wishing you all a full weekend ahead. Heidi's salad looks amazing, I want these wraps, Ashlae's cookies and will never pass up a berry crumble. Go eat outside!

GREEN SALAD OF NECTARINES, CORN + PEANUTS // Serves 4

The first time I made this, I used a mix of baby arugula, kale and romaine. You really can use any greens you like, but if you go with something sturdy like kale, cut it with another soft lettuce as well. For aesthetics and texture contrast, I'm a proponent of mixing lettuces and greens.

When a dressing is this simple, I (lazily, because I don't want to wash another bowl) drizzle everything on top and just toss it well to distribute. Do as I say, not as I do and whisk it all before it that sounds a little haphazard to you. I like to live on the edge and risk a mouthful of mustard in one bite.

2 tsp. coconut oil
1 ear of corn
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
4 cups chopped red leaf lettuce
4 cups mixed greens (I used a 'power green' pack)
handful of roughly chopped cilantro
1 ripe necartine, diced
1 shallot, finely minced (about 2 Tbsp.)
1/2 cup crumbled feta, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup roasted and salted peanuts, plus more for garnish
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. agave nectar
1 tsp. dijon mustard
sea salt and pepper

in a small pan, heat the coconut oil over medium high heat. Cut the corn kernels away from the cob and add them to the hot pan with a sprinkle or salt and the smoked paprika. Saute, only moving once or twice so the edges char, for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the corn cool completely.

In a large salad bowl, combine both greens, cilantro, the diced nectarine, shallot and half of the feta, peanuts and cooled corn. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, white balsamic, agave, mustard and a pinch of both salt and pepper. Dress the salad as desired and sprinkle the remaining feta, peanuts and corn on top. Serve immediately.

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