on the patio today – Summer and Fall juxtaposed
Today’s post is about straddling the line between what is left of Summer and the early inklings of Autumn. I thought the title, “Summer Side of Life” was a good image of where I’m trying to stay right now – all the while knowing that Autumn is pulling us in, for sure. I am resisting acknowledging how early it is getting dark now. I thought it was bad on Cape Cod, where the sunsets are so much earlier than here in NJ – that little spit of land is remarkably farther east than we are – something we really don’t realize often……. Anyway, let’s hope for some really great late Summer weather over the next few weeks!
Today’s trivia is – “Summer Side of LIfe” is actually a song by Gordon Lightfoot, circa 1971 (lyrics are relatively depressing) . This song, which is actually hauntingly beautiful, as many of his songs are, just popped into my head today as I was writing. My goal? – I am going to stay, for awhile, on the Summer Side of Life. And, on the other side of “the straddle”, here is my favorite line of dialogue for the transitioning part of what we are doing today:
“Don’t You Just Love New York in the Fall? Makes you want to buy school supplies.” Joe Fox to Kathleen Kelly in “You’ve Got Mail”. That’s enough trivia for today.
It started as I drove through Westchester County on Sunday. As I transitioned on 287 into White Plains and scanned the panorama I saw it – the first vestiges of the trees changing color. UGH, really, I said to myself? That doesn’t make sense! It’s too early…………..
While I wasn’t prepared for it on Sunday, and while I am going to stay on that Summer Side of Life for as long as possible, today is truly a turning point which we can all identify with. More than anything else, today symbolizes the first day of school, in our hearts and minds, our subconscious and deep inside to our very core. All the memories and anticipation of childhood, stepping onto the bus, in the front door of school, new pencils and notebooks at the ready are somewhere in our psyches today. It is the first day of school! Wow, can we ever begin the day after Labor Day without having these feelings? This is classic. More than any other seasonal transition that we have, I think this is the most significant and dramatic. One day we’re still on Summer vacation and then, smack, wow, we’re in “Fall” – especially during all of those school years. Somehow the changes from Fall to Winter are more subtle – we get an early dusting of snow and then it returns to Fall. Spring seems to drag its ever-loving feet, seems to kick and scream into existence and then suddenly bursts forth with one or two warm days and things pop out. Spring into Summer dawdles. But not the reality of Autumn.
I think it really begins around the second week of August when we first sense that the sunsets are creeping in earlier and earlier. Summer isn’t officially over for about three more weeks from now but we change gears and things feel different instantly, don’t they? We start thinking about apples and falling leaves and football games and sweater-weather…….. Truthfully, everything does FEEL different, doesn’t it?
On the recipe front, there are people who have already done the switch-over. I find it really interesting that people in areas of the country where it definitely doesn’t feel like autumn are baking things with apples, caramel, nuts, pumpkin, etc. etc. The Farmer’s Markets are still definitely in Summer mode though. The harvest of Summer foods is still in high gear here with tomatoes and corn in full force. On the west coast, the harvest of Summer foods will continue on for weeks to come. When we visited the Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market during the last week of September a couple of years ago, it was full of peaches and strawberries. They are the luckiest people, aren’t they?
Today, for instance, I had a craving for an apple-crumb coffee cake. If you feel compelled to stay on the Summer Side of Life and still have some good peaches as I do, then by all means make this a peach crumb coffee cake. Peach season, thankfully, is still in full gear. Otherwise, park this away for the first day that you are ready for apple season to kick in. Just substitute 2 golden delicious apples or your favorite baking apple.
the apple crumb version – photo courtesy kitchenconfit.com
THE PEACH CRUMB COFFEE CAKE – adapted from kitchenconfit.com
2 ripe peaches, peeled and chopped into 1/4″ dice
for the crumble:
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
For the cake:
1/3 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract (honestly, I’d do 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp almond)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tblsp softened unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
Preheat oven to 325F. Butter an 8″ square baking pan. Peel and chop the peaches and set aside.
- To make crumbs, in a large bowl, whisk together sugars, spices, salt and butter until smooth. Stir in the flour with a spatula. It will look like a solid dough.
- To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a spoonful of sour cream mixture and mix on medium speed until flour is moistened. Increase speed and beat for 30 seconds. Add remaining sour cream mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition, and scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula. Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the batter and set aside.
- Scrape remaining batter into prepared pan. Spoon peaches over batter. Dollop the remaining batter over apples. It does not have to be even.
- Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbles, about 1/2″ to 3/4″ in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are about that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45-55 minutes. cool completely before serving.
Note: you can substitute cardamom in this recipe for the nutmeg if you’d like something a little different hint, which I’d do – but I am on such a freshly-grated nutmeg kick right now!
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make this today – you won’t be sorry!
And, for all of you with little ones starting school today – hold on tight to these most wonderful memories – these days will be over before you know it! I am celebrating today for Christin who is at her orientation at Columbia for grad school and for Ryan who began his senior year of college last week. Does this still qualify me as a mom who can bake cookies to celebrate the first day of school?
Here’s a great recipe I shared on facebook last week for those of you who are so inclined and have a little while to bake up something for those precious little ones before they get off the bus. I only wish I had someone here today to bake for!!!!! 🙁
http://www.thecafesucrefarine.com/2013/04/i-want-to-marry-you-cookies-middle-of.html
photo courtesy café sucré farine