08.03.20 Cluck, Cluck, Goose

There is nothing good about the Covid pandemic - absolutely nothing - but fortunately I am still able to connect with people I care about and find new ways to do things that bring me joy and satisfaction.

I've shifted my creative energy from the jewelry bench to the kitchen counter...I am cooking almost every day, and baking - something I haven't done much of before - a lot.  As a result, I'm going through vast amounts of produce, and eggs!

Back in March, eggs were one of the things that turned out to be difficult to get curbside from the grocery store, and my friend Dorsey, who owns HausBar farm, had an abundant supply (because the farm to table restaurants she sold to pre-pandemic weren't buying as many anymore).

You might remember her, and her fabulous goose, Gustavo, from a previous post...Dorsey and I have been friends since college.  She and her mom wrote a book about her urban farm in Austin - narrated by Gustavo - which I highly recommend.  I went to the book launch party, and wore my speckled hen pendant, and then made a goose pendant for Dorsey...

but I digress...back to the eggs...I signed up for her "farm to neighbor" website - where I am able to get farm fresh eggs, veggies and flowers, with a bonus (socially distanced, masked) visit with my friend every week or so.

Having eggs is critical right now, because I'm doing so much baking.

I haven't hopped on the sourdough train, but I'm baking muffins to eat in the morning and pound cake (to have with fresh peaches, berries, whatever is in season) for dessert in the evening...so I'm going through eggs at the rate of about a dozen a week.

It doesn't seem fair to write this without sharing the recipe, so here it is - from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

Until next time.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

INGREDIENTS

½ cup butter
3 eggs
½ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Allow butter, eggs, and sour cream to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and lightly flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, beating on medium speed about 10 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low to medium speed for 1 minute after each addition and scraping side of bowl frequently. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center of cake comes out clean.

Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Remove from pan; cool completely on rack.