{"id":2325,"date":"2014-04-16T11:43:37","date_gmt":"2014-04-16T17:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cooking.pfeist.net\/?p=2325"},"modified":"2025-04-06T14:34:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-06T20:34:12","slug":"250-cookbooks-a-homemade-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cooking.pfeist.net\/?p=2325","title":{"rendered":"250 Cookbooks: A Homemade Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cookbook #62:<\/strong> A Homemade Life. <\/em>Molly Wizenberg, Simon & Schuster, NY, 2009.
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>A Homemade Life<\/em> emerged from Molly’s blog, Orangette<\/a> (now called “I’ve Got a Feeling”). I discovered Orangette from necessity. I had this container of the cutest little artichokes that I had bought on a whim from Whole Foods. I had no idea how to cook them. So like many modern-day cooks (this was 2008), I googled “baby artichokes” and came to Molly’s blog.<\/p>\n

I love the way she writes. Always a story begins a chapter or a blog entry. Eventually she gets to the recipe, but by then the how-to-cook-it is almost an afterthought. Don’t let that statement fool you, since I’ve never been disappointed with any of her recipes. Long ago I made her Braised Baby Artichokes with Garlic, Thyme, and Parmesan and they were wonderful, and I have made them many times since (see this entry from my other blog<\/a>). Sometimes I make them with a slight variation, but that’s what her recipes are all about: you can make it exactly like the recipe, or not. “Whichever way you like.” (Page 205 of A Homemade Life<\/em>.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

I purchased A Homemade Life<\/em> because I just couldn’t get enough of Molly’s writing. This book resides in my “reading” room, not on my cookbook shelf. Her writing reminds me of some of the articles I have enjoyed in Bon Appetit<\/a> and sure enough, she is one of their contributors.<\/p>\n

One more thing: her photos in the blog are wonderful. Molly used solely a film camera until just this last year, and she has such an fine eye for photography. (Photos, food, writing \u2013 hmm, sounds like my interests. But I’m more scientific and techie than creative. I just dabble in a bit of all of my interests.)<\/p>\n

I was following Orangette daily until about a year ago, when Google Reader was discontinued. I took a break from RSS feeds for awhile. But then, The Old Reader<\/a> came to my attention, and I came back to Orangette and my other favorite feeds. I was hooked again. Reading her latest entries, I just had to pull A Homemade Life from<\/em> the shelf and read it again. And try a recipe. I chose: “French-Style Yogurt Cake with Lemon”.<\/p>\n

Out of respect to Molly Wizenberg’s copyright: I am not copying or scanning this recipe into my blog. Here is her entry for French-Style Yogurt Cake.<\/a> The recipe in the book is pretty much like that blog entry. Except she also suggests “replacing the vegetable oil with a fruity, round-flavored olive oil; it brings a subtly richer flavor and wonderful fragrance.”<\/p>\n

I made this cake using meyer lemons, one of her variations. I also substituted 1\/2 cup of ground almonds for 1\/2 cup of the flour, and I used a mixture of canola and extra virgin olive oil for the 1\/2 cup of oil. Here is my cake:<\/p>\n

\"French-Style<\/a>I was hesitant to serve this for Saturday night dessert. I usually serve a fruit crisp or a cobbler, or ice cream and strawberries, or something chocolate. A plain lemon cake? Am I going to get boos?<\/p>\n

We finish dinner and our wine. Time for dessert. I cut a small wedge for each of us. “Here you go.”<\/p>\n

My first bite. I let out a huge sigh. Heavenly. Subtle. Absolutely wonderful.<\/p>\n

I cautiously look over to my husband. Yay! He is also reveling in the taste! Yes, this cake is that good. Fancy-bakery quality good.<\/p>\n

Molly’s book and blog remind me: Cooking is an experience, an exploration. I will add in “an experiment” (ever the chemist). What a wonderful difference in attitude from the authors my last entry, The Busy Lady Cookbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’ll end with a quote from Molly: “That\u2019s the beauty of a repertoire: that in drawing from a whole world of recipes, you wind up making your own.”<\/p>\n

p.s.<\/p>\n

My lemon cake fell a bit in the center. That’s because I live at 5300 feet and had made no adjustments to the recipe. (This post prompts me to add a reference to high altitude baking recipe adjustments<\/a>.) I made this again a few weeks later and made the following very successful adjustments to get a slightly domed cake:<\/p>\n