Recipe from Miranda, made and photographed by Emily

This recipe is originally from a Martha Stewart magazine but I made it without the jam center - just like the one we used to get as kids from the local bakery.  It's pretty much equal parts cake and crumb topping - and it's even better enjoyed on the 2nd day!  

What you'll need:

(for the crumb topping)
3 1/2 Cups cake flour
2/3 Cups sugar
2/3 Cups packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 Tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 Sticks butter, melted
1/2 Tsp of salt if butter is unsalted (I did 1/4 Tsp even though it was salted butter)

(for the cake)
1 1/2 Sticks butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 Cups cake flour
1/2 Tsp baking soda
1/2 Tsp salt if butter is unsalted (again I did 1/4 tsp anyway)

1 Cup sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks
1 Tsp vanilla
2/3 C buttermilk (you can make your own buttermilk substitute if you do not have any)

Confectioner's sugar for dusting
1 Cup of jam, optional for inbetween cake and crumb layers (this is how Martha makes it)

How to make it:Grease a 9x13 baking pan and preheat the oven to 325.  Make the crumb topping: mix together flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt.  Pour warm melted butter over mixture and mix until medium to large
clumps form.  Set aside.
Now to make the cake: whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Beat butter and
sugar in mixer until fluffy and pale, about 2 min. Beat in eggs and
yolks, then vanilla. 
Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, until well combined.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.  
If you are using the jam, spread it on top of the cake batter.  Then top the cake batter/jam with the crumb topping.
Bake until golden brown on top and toothpick comes our clean, about 1 hour.  Be sure not to overcook, or else the edges will dry out.  Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes before dusting with confectioner's sugar (you can do this with a sifter or a mesh strainer).

Notes: You can freeze slices of this too and it's so good that way (pop in the microwave on defrost), and then you can enjoy it whenever you want. 
 

By Miranda

It is supposed to be 90 degrees tomorrow, so I think it is best to spend the day at the lake.  I made some hummus tonight to bring as part of our picnic lunch.  I combined a few recipes to get this one... and I think it turned out pretty good.  Even my 2 year old eats this!!  (although she does willingly eat broccoli and grilled onions too).  See what you think.

Makes about 3 cups.

What you'll need:
2 15oz cans garbanzo beans/chick peas, drained and rinsed
3-4 Tbls olive oil, plus more for roasting garlic
1/2 Cup water
Juice of half a lemon (more if you want)
Salt & Pepper to taste (I did about a tsp of each, but I like a lot of pepper!)
1 whole bulb/head of garlic
3 Tbls tahini
Here's how I made it:
Roast the garlic - cut the whole bulb of garlic in half so that when cut open you see the middle of each clove.  Place face up on a roasting sheet and drizzle with some olive oil. Roast in oven at 425 for about 20 minutes, or until nicely browned.
Remove the cloves from their skins; they should slide out pretty easily.  Place all of ingredients in food processor and process until smoothe.
Enjoy with your favorite raw veggies or pita chips!

Notes:  You could also do roasted red pepper hummus by adding roasted red peppers and decreasing amount of water. You can roast peppers in the oven under the broiler, turning every couple of minutes until each side of pepper is blackened. When all sides are blackened, place pepper in paper bag until cool enough to handle then peel off the blackened skin and remove the seeds and stem.  Add this ingredient to the rest in the food processor, adding the water a little at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
 

By Emily

My friend was over for a play date and we got to talking about food, of course. She said she was going home to do her "once a season" eggplant parm extravaganza, where she makes 3 batches and freezes it all separately: the breaded/fried eggplant, the mozz, and a few bags of sauce.  When she wants "fresh" eggplant parm, she throws it all together and cooks it. What a good idea!  That is, if you have a few hours to do all that work without a 17 month old tugging at your legs.  I only had about an hour and a half before my son woke up, so I had time for just one batch... Earlier, I went to Fiore's in Hoboken for the homemade mozz (bought SO much, the rest is in the freezer) and a farmers market for my sauce (cheater, I know!) and eggplants, and backyard for my basil - I'm very proud of my thriving urban herb garden!!!
Serves 4

You'll need:
2 medium sized eggplants
4 eggs beaten up in a bowl, may need more
2 cups flour in another bowl with S & P to season the flour
2 cups breadcrumbs in a third bowl, again you may need more depending on how much eggplant you have
1/2 c. olive oil for frying eggplant
2 quarts of spaghetti sauce or marinara of your choice, works best with a thinner sauce b/c it thickens upon cooking with the eggplant, and may want more for serving
1 lb. fresh mozzarella, sliced thick
1/2 c. grated parmesan (maybe more for serving)
approx. 8 basil leaves julienned
salt & pepper

To Make: 
Slice eggplants very thin, about 1/8" thick or even thinner.Heavily salt the sliced eggplant and let sit for about 20-30 minutes to remove the bitterness that sometimes comes with the seeds of a big eggplant, until you see the eggplant "sweating".  Rinse and pat dry. 
Cover each dry eggplant slice in flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs.
On Medium heat, fry up each slice of eggplant until golden brown on each side.  Let "dry" on paper towels. 
Meanwhile slice up fresh mozzarella.
Arrange all the cooked/dryed eggplant in a baking dish.  Cover all eggplant in baking dish with marinara/tomato sauce until covered, then top with fresh mozzarella slices. 
Finally, garnish the finished dish with salt & pepper, basil & parmesan.   
Wrap & fridge until ready to cook.  You can make this a day in advance or freeze it.  

When ready to cook: 375' for 45 min. until top is slightly browned and bubbly.  If top doesn't brown a little, put under broiler under a close eye for maybe 5 minutes.  Make sure it doesn't burn!
 

Recipe by Rachel, photos by Emily

This year I started my first backyard garden and I have had so much fun concocting fresh and tasty salad dressings out of the many things that are slowly popping up.  The other day I finally decided to eat the one lonely and extremely long cucumber - I mean seriously, how huge is that cucumber!  I have been watching grow for a while now, so I knew if I was going to eat it I had to make it worth my wait!
I made the salad in a small portion for lunch, but you could make it a little more hearty but adding grilled chicken, or even marinated/smoked salmon.  I think it's really important to make the dressing with FRESH herbs, so you get the smooth and creamy texture and so its FULL of flavor. 

In the picture the ingredients are doubled, but below are the measurements for 1 meal-sized salad.

Salad Ingredients:
1/2 Cup corn - fresh and grilled is best but in a pinch canned is a good substitute
2 Cups fresh spinach leaves, or another type of lettuce
1/2 Cup cucumber, diced
2 Tbls red onion or shallots, diced
1/2 of an avocado, chopped
1/2 Cup cut grape tomatoes
S & P to taste

Dressing:

1/4 Cup fresh cilantro
Fresh basil (about 5 large leaves)
2 Tbls feta cheese
1 Tbls rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
3 Tbls canola or veggie oil
Juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 Tsp. honey
S & P to taste

Directions:
In a food processor or blender, combine all the dressing ingredients. Blend or process until creamy and let sit to settle. In another bowl, toss together the salad ingredients. Add dressing and toss to coat. 

Enjoy!