Since here in Boston we’re kicking off the week with another snowstorm, I thought now might be a good time to share this warming, filling, buckwheat porridge – just the sort of thing you need on Monday morning before trekking out into the snow. Buckwheat is becoming a bit of a health darling, and I can totally see why. Of the gluten-free grains/seeds available, it’s one of my favorites – it cooks up soft, nutty, and slightly sweet, almost like a tiny pasta. I actually ate buckwheat for the first time in Russia, where it’s commonly served as a side dish with lunch or dinner. Never having seen or eaten it in the States, it took me quite a while to figure out what it was called in English. I enjoyed it so much that I brought home a few bags with me – not realizing it’s easily purchased here, as well.

Cooked with a bit of milk and cinnamon, buckwheat turns into a lovely breakfast porridge, softer than other grains and less sticky than oatmeal. When I first made this porridge, I had asked Trevor to pick up “some berries,” and he brought home four boxes of gorgeous blackberries, raspberries, and currants – hard enough to find in the summertime, the tiny, jewel-like currants were like a small miracle in the middle of winter. Feeling a bit Nordic because of the snow and the currants and the buckwheat, and because, let’s face it, Nordic is trendy these days, I topped the porridge with the berries, a dollop of Skyr, and a drizzle of honey for the loveliest winter breakfast.

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Buckwheat Porridge

Serves 1.

• 1/2 c. buckwheat groats
• 1/2 c. water
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 TBS maple syrup
• 1 c. mixed berries
• spoonful Skyr or Greek yogurt, for topping (optional)
• honey, for topping (optional)

1. Add the buckwheat and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then add the milk. Cook at a low simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed and the buckwheat is tender, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in the cinnamon and maple syrup. Pour into a bowl and top with the berries, Skyr, and a drizzle of honey. Serve immediately.

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I’ve been absolutely luxuriating in summer for the past week. Long afternoons spent sunning on the raft, hikes up and over hard rock and pine needle floors, piping hot fried fish sandwiches eaten overlooking the ocean, runs timed to coincide with brilliantly colored sunsets, early morning boat rides with thermoses of coffee to watch the harbor seals and pretend to fish, massive ice cream sundaes taking the place of lunch, reading a book on the season’s inaugural sail, and giant burgers topped with blue cheese and spicy onions and grilled to perfection. One of my new year’s resolutions was to engage more, live more, do more – or perhaps, to put it in the reverse, to spend less time doing nothing, or nothing-like things like worrying and regretting and waiting. And as nebulous as that sounds, I feel like I’ve been achieving that, especially during perfect weeks like this last one.

Celebrating the 4th as a cap to this week feels just right – I’m refreshed and energized and ready to celebrate this beautiful country and the gloriousness of summer. As I travel more and more, I’ve actually come to value being an American citizen more highly – sort of the opposite of what I expected, but this year I’m feeling especially grateful to live here in the good old US of A. Our celebration here in Maine will be small, but Trevor’s doing ribs, we’ll have some potato salad and grilled veggies, and I made a batch of sangria slushies with lots of fresh berries. Sangria slushies are an idea I’ve been sitting on for a long time, since I happened upon a company selling pre-made sangria slushie mix at an art fair in Denver a few years back. I thought it was a great idea, and have been meaning to try it at home ever since, but somehow never got around to it. I’m getting around to it now, though. The slushies are sweet and winey and ice cold, and topped with boozey fresh berries – they make an already delicious summer drink just a little more fun.

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Berry Sangria Slushies

Serves 4. Loosely based on Betty Crocker.

• 2 c. mixed fresh berries
• 1/2 c. fresh orange juice
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 bottle (750ml) of red wine
• 1 c. water
• 1/2 c. brandy

1. Add the berries, orange juice, sugar, and wine to a large pitcher. Stir for a minute to dissolve the sugar, cover, and let sit at room temperature for 3-4 hours to allow the flavors to meld.
2. Strain the wine into a large glass baking pan, reserving the berries. Add the water to the wine, stir briefly, cover with plastic wrap, and place carefully in the freezer. Freeze until solid, at least 12 hours.
3. Add the brandy to the reserved berries. Cover and let soak in the fridge until ready to serve.
4. Just before serving, remove the frozen sangria from the freezer. Use a fork to scrape the top of the sangria and flake it into slush. Spoon into wine glasses, top with the brandy-marinated berries, and serve immediately. Return any extra sangria to the freezer.

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Although my 25th birthday was two and a half weeks ago, I’ve only just finished celebrating it, as per usual. This weekend we hosted a joint celebration at our house – the culmination of my birthday festivities and the kick-off of Trevor’s (one week from today!). It was a casual thing – grilled pizzas made-to-order and eaten on the porch, hot arancini dipped in tomato sauce to tide us over between pizzas, pitchers of mojitos, blackberry sangria, and a wealth of good beer. We managed to rally a crew to go out dancing afterwards, and it was a really fun night. I already like being 25; no quarter-century crises for me so far (I think I had mine when I was 21, anyway).

Everything was delicious, but the culinary highlight of the evening was undoubtedly this gorgeous cake that Trevor made – three layers of homemade angel food cake, spread with strawberry jam, an airy whipped cream cheese frosting, and mounds of fresh berries (best when swiped through the frosting on the top of the cake). It was stunning to look at and dreamy to eat, sweet and light and perfect. And it only took 20 egg whites to make. Now I just have to come up with something that tops it for next week.

Past Birthday Posts:
2013: Triple Lemon-Cake with Lemon-Mascarpone-Cream Cheese Frosting
2013: Sparkling Strawberry Sangria
2012: Mom’s Birthday Waffles with Strawberry Sauce

Angel-Food Layer Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe based on The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts. Serves 12.

For the angel food cake:

• 290 grams cake flour
• 200 grams confectioners’ sugar
• 400 grams granulated sugar
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 800 grams large egg whites (roughly a score of eggs [editorial note: that means 20])
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 8 oz box cream cheese
• 2 ½ cups of heavy cream
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. sugar

For the assembly:

• ¾ cup jam of choice (I used strawberry)
• 1 pint strawberries
• ½ pint blackberries
• ½ pint raspberries

Instructions for cake:

1. Sift together cake flour and confectioners’ sugar. In a separate smaller bowl, mix together salt and cream of tartar.
2. Preheat oven to 325°F.
3. Separate egg whites (really make sure you don’t get any yolk in there), and add salt to them in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Whip using a stand mixer (or an immersion blender with a whisk attachment.) Beat on low until foaming, gradually raising the speed of the beaters while adding the granulated sugar in batches. Beat until stiff, foamy peaks are achieved.
4. Add vanilla and gently fold in. Fold in the flour and sugar mixture in in several additions, being careful not to mix too vigorously, as the batter will deflate.
5. Pour batter into two 9-inch springform cake pans and two 6-inch springform cake pans and bake for about 35 minutes, or until the top is light golden brown and firm to the touch. Do not grease the pans – the pans need to be ungreased so that the cake can climb up the sides and get that nice airy texture.
6. Invert the cake pans on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edge when the cakes are cool and carefully unmold. Run a knife between the bottom plate and the cake before attempting to remove the bottom plate.

Instructions for frosting:

1. Mix cream of tartar, sugar and vanilla into cream cheese. Gradually add heavy cream and whip until it is the consistency of dense whipped cream. Chill until

To assemble:

1. Place the first large cake on a plate, and spread jam on the top of the cake. Spread frosting on top of the jam. Put each additional layer on with jam and frosting on top, leaving the last layer jamless.
2. Frost the rest of the cake, and artfully arrange berries on top. And add a flower. Put additional berries on slices. Can’t have too many berries.

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