Blog Birthday #6 and a Challenging Year

Just a few weeks ago, Larry and I were sitting at a café high in the Alps, enjoying spectacular views. He raised his coffee and toasted “Happy Fall”, which reminded me of my sixth anniversary as a food blogger.

I don’t feel too deserving of a celebration this year, as my blog has taken a back seat for almost a year to going through double thumb surgeries. After each surgery came months of splints, casts, medical appointments, OT and rehab. My functioning in the kitchen and garden were severely limited, especially when each hand was casted for six weeks. Let’s skip the part when each respective six-inch pin was removed…It’s been a long haul and I’m glad to feel some gains towards full recovery.

A slow recovery is nothing compared to the pain I had experienced summer before last, which finally drove me to seek out a hand surgeon. I was lucky and our internist referred me to a terrific doctor. Pain is a great motivator and I had each surgery as soon as I could handle it.

And here it is Fall once again, just about my favorite time to hang out in the kitchen. My thoughts turn to roasting a chicken with lots of garlic and Meyer lemons, braising a roast in rich red wine – and to apples, my favorite fall fruit. I’m especially partial to Honey Crisps and Fujis, but I found a bag of organic Galas that smelled like autumn. Inspired, I drove home to whip up an apple cake.

It’s pretty easy to make a decent apple cake and this recipe was no exception. I grabbed the recipe I’d clipped from last month’s  Sunset magazine, a recipe you can find here.

As with most Sunset recipes, this cake turned out as promised and pretty enough to snap with my iPhone before I sifted powdered sugar on top.

My only caveat is that they recommend a baking time of 60-75 minutes and mine was easily done in 55 minutes. My oven can run a little hot, but check yours around 55 minutes, just to avoid over-baking the cake.

Happy Fall – and see you again soon.