Comfort Foods and Indulgences

I’ve never had luck trying to grow basil. It just never works for me. This year, one of the guys at the farmers market suggested I plant basil in 12-inch pots. I did. Today, two pots sitting in last summer’s square-foot garden hold basil that look like very lush, healthy shrubs. I just can’t believe it.

I pluck fragrant leaves from my basil plants everyday, layering them into sandwiches, tearing them to arrange over the top of homemade pizza, chopping them up to make fresh herb-flecked cream cheese spread and even steeping them in hot liquid to turn into jelly.

I recently discovered how well spicy-perfumed basil and sweet-tart ruby-red raspberries work together. Macerating raspberries with basil and a small amount of sugar produces a surprising treat for the taste buds. The longer the mixture is allowed to sit, the stronger the essence of basil will become. Basil-infused raspberry sauce is a unique topping for ice cream, waffles, French toast and is a delicious addition to a morning bowl of thick yogurt and homemade granola.

Yesterday, I stirred some Raspberry-Basil Sauce into a Chambord-spiked bowl of cheesecake batter. The resulting cake delivers an aromatic bouquet of fresh raspberries and basil with each forkful of creamy decadence. You won’t taste basil in the cake, but you will luxuriate in its refreshing sweet scent.

I made this cake a few weeks back to celebrate the Jewish New Year. Traditionally, apples (and honey) are served in abundance during the 10 day period between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Eating this combination stems from an age-old Jewish tradition of eating sweet foods to express our hope for a sweet new year.

I was a bit nervous to serve this cake as one never knows how it will turn out. I did take a little nibble from the bottom of the cake and it was tasty. The true test came when the kids took their first bite. My niece, Ruby, and my nephew, Luca were raving and saying things like, “this is the best cake I have ever eaten”.

They stole little slices, wrapped them in plastic wrap and vowed to eat them the next morning. According to their parents, the cake never made it to the next morning!

I am one of those people who enjoys a mid-afternoon sweet snack with coffee. The cravings for something sugary seem to hit about the three o'clock hour. I try so hard to be good but I've stopped fighting it. I figure the penalty is about 100 lunges or something like that. I'm over it. I swear I only take a few bites. I indulge in my sweet treat with French pressed black coffee I make at home. It all keeps me going until at least happy hour. 

I have always been nuts about nuts in my desserts. I love the texture and complexity they bring to the table. And walnuts are by far my absolute favorite. This cake combines the perfect level of sweetness with the pleasantly bitter flavor of the walnuts. And let's not mention the frosting, adding a whole other layer of yummy.

Perfect for entertaining or just to have around...even though it's dangerous and addicting. But you knew that just by looking at it.

There must be as many ways to make chili as there are shades of Sherwin-Williams paints. There’s no right or wrong way to make chili. It’s all about what pleases your taste buds. And, I’m always willing to give a new twist to a pot of chili.

Dennis Weimann, News Director/Anchor of Lakeland News at Lakeland Public Television sent me an email the other day and shared a chili recipe he had developed. He was planning to make a pot that day. Maybe he’s getting ready for the next United Way Chili Cook-off in Bemidji. I examined the list of ingredients. First, I noticed it had beans and meat. That’s important to me. I can eat a chili with beans and meat or with beans only. I don’t mean to make any of my Texas friends shudder, but I just can’t call it chili if there is only meat with no beans in the pot.

As my eyes moved further down the list of ingredients, I began to see a side of Dennis Weimann that amazed me. I had no idea he was a spice guy. A chili head. A lover of heat.