Analog Life

I'm an analog girl in a digital world. ~~Erykah Badu

(Miss Sophie just did an "analog edition" over at Les Anti-Modernes, and one of my favorite online shops to browse is Japan's Analogue Life, so thought it was time to indulge in my own version.)

Sorely needed for long, rainy Northwest winters. Just the thing for taking a greyhound on a late afternoon walk. Ilse Jacobsen rain boots, handcrafted of natural rubber in Denmark. Fleece-lined and very cozy. (Scored these for 70% off at Isaay.com.)

A couple of nice thick beeswax pillar candles for when you get home from that walk in the rain. You can drink tea and have some homemade chocolate cake by late afternoon candlelight, too.

Porcelain teapot from artist Naoto Okada, at Analogue Life.

A very easy, plain chocolate cake recipe. This one involves cocoa powder and buttermilk, and is from Laurie Colwin's More Home Cooking. My copy of this book is a first edition hardcover, pages yellowed and stained from 20 years of handling in the kitchen.

Karen Edward's Version of Cocoa Buttermilk Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F and butter and flour a 9 by 2-inch round cake pan.

2. Mix together 1 3/4 c. flour, 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

3. To these ingredients add 1 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix.

4. Turn the batter into the pan, bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean, and let it cool for 5 minutes before turning it out of the pan.

Colwin writes:

It is hard to encapsulate the virtues of this cake. It is fast, easy, and scrumptious. It has a velvety, powdery feel-- the result of all that cocoa. It is not so horribly bad for you, because you use buttermilk, which is relatively low in fat, and cocoa powder is defatted anyway. Furthermore, it keeps like dream and tastes even better after a few days.... If you want to be lavish, you can dress this cake up by serving it with ice cream or créme fraîche. This mitigates its purist, minimalist virtues, but that is the way of chocolate cakes.

Happy New Year!

Looking forward to a cozy night in with my kids. I am making Mark Bittman's Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables, to serve with a big salad, loaf of crusty multigrain bread, and a bottle of Malbec.  For dessert, Pear Gingerbread with whipped cream. Later, we'll make popcorn, light a big fire in the fireplace and watch some Marx Brothers and Errol Flynn movies. Good times!

The Pear Gingerbread is a recipe based on one of Laurie Colwin's. I love her writing and it's time to re-read her novels and short stories (my favorite is The Lone Pilgrim). Several of the recipes from her book More Home Cooking are staples in my kitchen (the Buttermilk Cocoa Cake is a standout).