I’m A New Small Business Owner. Ho, Ho Ho…

December 15, 2013 - Posted in Bakery, Baking, Bread, Charity Baking, Christmas, Dairy-Free, Flour Bakery + Cafe, Gluten-Free, Goat Cottage Farm, LauraRaposa, The Foodsmith, The Foodsmith

It’s been awhile since my last post. But, you see, I’ve helped to start a business.

Our new venture is called Goat Cottage Farm. It’s a gluten-free, dairy-free bakery in Westport. That’s right, gluten-free and me. I apprenticed at Flour for crying out loud.

My partner in this adventure into the land of sorghum flour and xanthan gum is Colleen Brady Kearney, a mad baker, originally from Hingham, who has developed recipes over the years for her family who are all allergic to gluten. I’ve tasted way too many of them and they are deelish.

The texture is different, but it has to be. There’s no wheat gluten to hold it all together. As for dairy-free, if you’ve ever eaten kosher sweets made with non-dairy whipped topping, it’s a similar taste and mouth feel.

Colleen and I met through our work with the Westport Historical Society. So we’re not only bakers, we’re both historic preservation groupies. However, she lives in a house from the late 1800s that sits on a 95-acre farm off Main Road. There’s a goat named Mabel, a Welsh pony named Angel, a pig and lots of chickens. I just covet the place.

Mabel

In less than a month, we’ve gotten her new kitchen certified by the town, developed a menu (see previous post), had a spiffy logo designed and bought a quarter-page ad in the local paper. Our business cards finally came yesterday but the stickers for the boxes and cellophane bags won’t be in until Tuesday.

We have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Gmail accounts and we will meet on Monday with the boys at Slocum Design who will build www.goatcottagefarm.com.

We’ve shopped for equipment, visited my family — and picked up a few things — at J.A.R. Bakers’ Supply. Then there was a shout-out on WCVB’s “Chronicle” after they re-ran an episode from the summer in which I was featured. Bless you, Anthony Everett!

Decorating a gingerbread barn is serious business! (Photo by Matthew West)

And last week we decorated a gingerbread “barn” at a benefit for the Home for Little Wanderers. The logo-ed aprons we wore that day were rush-shipped from California. Pant, pant…

Yes, we have customers! There is a folder of orders that will be picked up at the farm beginning on Saturday. So this week, while Colleen is perfecting her sticky buns and pumpkin roulade, I will, among other new business chores, deck the halls of our pick-up site: the original Goat Cottage, circa 1710. Outside decorating will be tricky because of Mabel. She rather enjoys snacking on holly.

So it’s been a bit crazy around here at Chez Foodsmith. Who begins a business at Christmas???? Just cray-zee people.

A friend reminded me the other day that when I was at the Herald, churning out six columns a week, my head would spin around like Linda Blair in the “Exorcist” in the days leading up to Dec. 25. So-much-to-do-so-much-to-do-I-gotta-get-outta-here-I-gotta-get-outta-here…

Why break with tradition?

Thankfully, the snow kept my husband and I close to home yesterday, so our house finally looks very fa la la, and our cards have been posted. But I have not wrapped up my Christmas shopping, sent packages out of state or begun the (gluten) candy-making.

I’m totally overwhelmed and exhausted, but extremely happy.

I’ll dish more details when business allows — or when my head spins back into place. Until then, Merry Christmas!

The back of my business card!

A Half-Baked Pronouncement: Bertucci’s Has ‘Perfected’ the Dinner Roll

November 26, 2013 - Posted in Baking, Bread, Food Traditions, Holiday Traditions, LauraRaposa, Pizza, Puritan & Company, Thanksgiving, The Foodsmith, Uncategorized, Will Gilson

Ah, no.

This comes to us today from Adam Davis, a writer for Buzzfeed, who posted a column, “21 Foods New England Does Better Than Anywhere Else.” While I cannot argue with any of the regional specialities listed — especially the Fluffernutter, fried clams and frozen lemonade — the example given for No. 10 “Bread Roll” is laughable (besides it’s redundant).

“The art of the pre-dinner roll when you’re out to eat has been perfected by Bertucci’s,” Buzzed the writer. “They are just. so. amazing.”

Bertucci’s dinner rolls. (Photo by Yelp)

Bertucci’s dinner rolls — or “sinkers,” as my hubby calls them — appear to be pizza dough shaped into balls and baked. A sinker cannot compare to, say, a Parker House roll that, if baked properly, can be downright ethereal for serious bread eaters. Truthfully, I nearly wept when I took my first bite of a Parker House roll at Puritan & Company. They are just. so. amazing.

There are thousands of bakeries and restaurants all over New England that churn out delicious house-made dinner rolls. They set the bar high. You want to talk pizza dough? Sure, Bertucci’s is good. I’m a fan. But rolls? That’s just crazy talk.

This Thanksgiving, I will make snowflake rolls, a favorite of my girls Melanie, 5, and Paige, 4, as well as their late great-grandmother. Mel will devour at least three of Auntie’s flour-dusted little rolls, so the recipe, as per usual, will be doubled.

Snowflake Rolls, Thanksgiving 2012

My rolls, snowflake or otherwise, always won high praise from Nana, who died last spring at 101 years old. So I will take special care this holiday when I bake them in her honor. (I’m also preparing her family’s Portuguese turkey stuffing. Talk about pressure.)

My grandmother, who owned a bakery in East Providence, R.I. and later began our family’s bakery supply business, adored “good bread” and never ate a meal without it. And I loved her for it.

“Bread and butter,” Nan would say with a wave of the hand. “That’s all you need.”

However, I don’t think she ever weighed in on pizza dough…

The recipe I use for “60-Minute Snowflake Rolls” is in the Holiday 2008 edition of “The Baking Sheet” published by King Arthur Flour. I do not have permission to reprint it here, and I cannot find it online. However, there are a few recipes that are just as good on the company’s website such as this one for “Big Batch Quick Dinner Rolls.” If you do find the elusive Snowflake Roll recipe from ’08, retard the rolls overnight in the refrigerator to enhance the flavor.

Serving Up Patience While Baking With Kids? Yes, ME.

November 25, 2013 - Posted in Apples, Bakery, Baking, Charity, Charity Baking, Community Servings, Little Foodies, Pie in the Sky, Restaurants, Thanksgiving, The Foodsmith, Uncategorized

The bakers at work. (Photo by Peggy Rose)

Anytime I’m invited to wear my chef’s pants, flour-dusted clogs, kerchief and an apron, I’m happy, happy, happy!

So yesterday I was thrilled to be back in the kitchen at West on Centre in West Roxbury where I – with some help from the Rose kids – assembled and baked off 25 apple pies for Community Servings’ annual Pie in the Sky fundraiser.

West on Centre, owned by Eleanor and Joe Greene, is only one of the hundreds of restaurants and bakeries in the area that donate traditional Thanksgiving pies – apple, pumpkin and pecan – to the social services agency. Community Servings takes orders and sells them for $25 each.

Unfortunately, I didn’t prepare the pie dough or the filling. So for a baking control freak like moi, that was a bitter pill. Chef Dan and his crew in the downstairs kitchen had everything ready when I arrived. So it was just fill, top, crimp, decorate and bake.

Chef Tucker (Photo by Peggy Rose)

Eleanor was in charge of the scale, and quickly made up a third batch of filling when we ran out. Jeremiah, Alana and Tucker Rose were enlisted to make boxes, peel apples and help decorate with fancy leaf cutters Eleanor found at Williams-Sonoma.

Our production line buzzed along. Jeremiah and his little brother took frequent breaks, but the girls plowed on! As we do…

Alana, 11, was so enthralled with the process she made her own pie. And, I was told by her aunt, Peggy, that she was proud to share it – topped with scoops of Brigham’s vanilla — at her family’s early Thanksgiving dinner Sunday night. (Earlier, my freckled-faced apprentice confessed to me she’s only a fan of Boston Cream Pie, so it was unlikely she would taste her handiwork.)

Alana is so proud! (Photo by Peggy Rose)

It’s was a good feeling to spend a Sunday helping out Community Servings which does wonderful, important work in the community. But I also took home something I didn’t know about myself: somewhere along the line I picked up the patience to teach kids.

That was a jarring discovery for childless me since I have zero-tolerance with other adults in the kitchen — or out.

The well-behaved Roses probably thought I was a crazy lady considering how many times I told them to wash their hands. I’m a chronic hand-washer in the kitchen. Sort of like a culinary Lady MacBeth.

Wash-your-hands, wash-your-hands, wash-your-HANDS!

Some of the leaves were missing a stem, others were too thin to show up on a pie after a milk wash, Alana had on a pair of new UGGs (whatever was her aunt thinking?) and Tucker was thwarted when he told us he wanted a “FOOD FIGHT!!!!!!” Ah, no.

At least they enjoyed themselves. Oddly enough, I did, too. What’s happening to me?

Food Snobs May Ruffle Feathers at Wright’s Farm

November 18, 2013 - Posted in Chicken, Food Traditions, LauraRaposa, poultry, Restaurant Review, Restaurants, The Foodsmith, Uncategorized, Wright's Farm

Our waiter couldn’t believe it was my family’s first time at Wright’s Farm.

“You’re kidding me,” said Dan as he scanned our table of 11 this afternoon. “You’ve never been here?”

Nope. Guess it was about time!

Your meal. All for $11.75

Wright’s Farm, located in the village of Harrisville, is a Rhode Island institution that has served up family-style chicken dinners to the masses since 1972. Think the late, lamented Hilltop Steakhouse – only with chicken. (Note: There’s a PA system a la the Hilltop for rounding up diners, but no ‘Numbah 17 for Sioux City.’)

I won’t bore you with how we found ourselves in Little Rhody’s northern hinterlands at lunchtime on a Sunday, but it seemed a shame not to experience this culinary cattle – or chicken — call. No exaggeration. I’m told Wright’s can feed 5,000 people a day on the weekends.

The menu is prix fixe: $11.75 per person for all-you-can-eat baked chicken, salad, pasta shells with marinara, French fries, house-made rolls, coffee and ice cream. If you want to substitute steak, it’s $20. And that’s it. You a vegan? Enjoy the salad.

Drinks are cheap and the service is fast but not rushed. And if you’re looking for privacy, chances are a family from Woonsocket is celebrating Meme’s 80^th birthday at the other end of your table and she’s had a little too much White Zin.

The undoubtedly not free-range chicken, with its rather salty skin, was moist, tasty and plentiful. The salad ain’t field greens – it’s food service-style iceberg, carrots, red cabbage out of the bag with three cherry tomatoes. But the dressing, made with malt vinegar, makes you forget the greens. FYI, bottles are available in the gift shop for $4.49.

“Ya know, iceberg has no nutritional value,” said my brother, Mr. Atlas, who ate very little greenery. That was fine. More for the rest of us.

The rolls – we’re big bread people – were a little on the small side but good. And the cheesy portion of marinara over the shells was rather sweet. That’s not surprising since the base is pizza sauce and crushed tomatoes.

Sources said the French fries, fried in beef fat and partially hydrogenated beef fat, were delicious. Quelle surprise. Trans fats? Hell yeah!

Fries at Wright’s Farm

The ice cream pie for dessert, made nearby by the Ice Cream Machine, is served in single slice plastic containers. As you might have guessed, they aren’t big on presentation at Wright’s Farm.

The dessert offerings were an Oreo pie and wedges of coffee ice cream pie. I opted for the hockey puck-sized vanilla treat with a chocolate “chicken” in the middle. How, I ask you, could I pass up ice cream kitch for $1?

Cluck

Speaking of price, after a round of coffee we got the bill: $203 without tip for 11 people. Jaws dropped.

So if you want to feed a big crowd without breaking the bank, Wright’s Farm is the place. If you like your restaurants to have ambiance, haute cuisine, white tablecloths and a bar without Keno, please, go somewhere else.

Wright’s Farm, 84 Inman Rd., Harrisville, R.I., 02830. Open Thursday-Friday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday noon to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday noon to 8 p.m. Reservations accepted for parties of 10 or more (401) 769-2856. @WrightsFarmRI on Twitter.

Happy #Caturday To All!

November 16, 2013 - Posted in Cats, LauraRaposa, Random Facts, The Foodsmith, Uncategorized

Word from the Twitterverse and Facebook is that it’s #Caturday. So in honor of this special day for our felines (are there greeting cards involved?), I break from regularly scheduled foodie programming to present 8 Random Facts About Pippa and Emma.

1. They are rescue cats. Pippa’s shelter name was Liv (as in Liv Tyler) and Emma, who arrived a couple of weeks later, was Sweetie.

Pippa

2. Emma, who appears to be a Russian Blue, is a mouser. Pippa, the tiger cat, is the unindicted co-conspirator.

3. Pippa is lactose intolerant.

4. Emma thinks she’s a dog and can play fetch (sometimes at 2 a.m.). She also has a slew of little rubber balls that when bounced she can swat like a tiny NBA player or block like Tuukka Rask. Pippa’s favorite toy is a ratty pink bird that I’ve sewn a dozen times.

5. Their preferred place of choice is on our laps where they knead and snooze on an old blue fleece.

Emma the Mouser

6. No water glass is safe from Emma. Lap, lap, lap… In fact, I just tested positive for h pylori and I believe she’s to blame…

7. They hate whistling. Our plumber, who whistled happy tunes while he installed our gas burner, sent both of them under the bed for two days. Seriously.

Grumpy Cat

8. And finally, they are hardly aloof like Grumpy Cat and ennui-plagued Henri Le Chat Noir, two Internet All-Stars. In fact, our fab felines show us a lot of love and provide hours of companionship for this girl who works from home.

Have you hugged YOUR cat today???? Happy Caturday!

The Real Reason Why Zooey Deschanel Hates Thanksgiving Dinner

November 12, 2013 - Posted in Celebrities, Food Traditions, Holiday Traditions, poultry, turkey, Uncategorized, Vegetables

http://youtu.be/NXxiZHnw_MU

So there was “New Girl” goofball Zooey Deschanel slagging Thanksgiving dinner on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” the other night.

Zooey, who Kimmel said “radiates rainbows, unicorns and multi-colored Tootsie Rolls in everything she does,” isn’t a fan of turkey, stuffing or Grandma’s pumpkin pie because they are not aesthetically pleasing.

Oh, really? Do tell Zooey.

“Most of it is beige or gray, which I don’t find appetizing,” said the New Girl. “It’s a lot of beige…I have a problem with the color scheme.”

The FOX sitcom star, 33, doesn’t like roasted turkey because it’s beige, but she has no problem with chicken or duck. Stuffing is just beige “salty, wet, soggy bread.” Mashed potatoes are off-white, and pumpkin pie is an orange-beige, she wah-wah-wahed.

“I love Thanksgiving for the family togetherness,” spun Zooey, finally making some sense. “I don’t love the food, which is what most people love. I understand it’s controversssssssial.”

Now, could it be that ZoZo isn’t a fan of Thanksgiving dinner because, according to an interview with scribe Jada Yuan for New York maggie in 2011, she’s allergic to wheat, dairy and eggs?

Zooey on the cover of the Sept. 11, 2001 edition of New York magazine

“I am the worst person to ever eat with because I have all these stupid food allergies,” Deschanel dished to Yuan. “It wasn’t that many things, it was just all the things that are fun to eat — everything that I enjoy, like bread.”

Well, alrighty then. I think we have gotten to the bottom of this slam on America’s favorite food holiday – she can’t eat any of it!

Stuffing is bread with a couple of eggs tossed into the mix. Mashed potatoes contain milk and butter unless you live in a let’s-add-chicken-stock-and-Smart Balance kind of family. (I certainly don’t.) As for pumpkin pie, it is a nice dark orange hue if made properly, but it’s an allergy trifecta – eggs, flour and maybe cream.

So the only dishes that Zooey can eat when the Deschanel clan gets together on Nov. 28 are the turkey and, maybe, the vegetables. At least she’s one up on her big sis, “Bones” TV doc Emily Deschanel, a long-time vegan.

Emily Deschanel in ‘Bones’ on FOX

Are we feeling a little sympathy for Mama Deschanel or whomever hosts Zooey’s Thanksgiving dinner?

Later on in the conversation, the actress conceded to Kimmel that she likes turkey that is “done very well.”

“(Only if you get) the greatest cook in your family to spend all their time on the turkey. And that never happens,” said the “New Girl” who added she does like turkey that is smoked or deep-fried.

Could it be because the cook is too busy dealing with everyone’s food issues???

Waste Not, Want Not: Repurpose Your Food!

November 10, 2013 - Posted in Cooking, Leftovers, poultry, Side Dishes, Soup, The Foodsmith, Vegetables

Depression era woman gathers potatoes in the root cellar

I’m a child of the 70s, but you would think I grew up during the Depression because I refuse to waste food. People often tell me to just “get rid of it” after I complain about the leftover pie or cake that tempts me during the day. But I can’t. I just refuse.

Eat week-old turkey soup for lunch? Yup, I do that. Those overripe bananas in the fruit bowl become banana bread or they are peeled, individually wrapped in plastic and stowed in a Ziploc bag in the freezer until I can get to them. Mushy apples = applesauce. Limp carrot? Thrown in the stockpot.

Bono in Soweto (Photo by u2_inspire.tripod.com)

Bono and other celebs are saving the starving kids in Africa, so guilt isn’t behind my frenzy of food frugality. It’s more that we’re paying big bucks for good, nutritious food at the supermarket. And — forgive me for sounding like your crotchety old neighbor — but, dammit, I’m going to get my money’s worth.

Besides, I recycle bags, cardboard, LOTS of newspaper, glass, cans, bottles, plastic, clothes and those pervasive white wire hangers from the dry cleaners. Why wouldn’t I recycle food?

Today, while perusing the fridge, I came across a small container of a puree of butternut squash and pears from Thursday night’s dinner. There was also another Gladware of Lundberg’s Black Japonica Rice stowed with leftover chicken I plan to use in chicken pot pie. (If you’re not getting three meals out of a roast chicken, the terrorists win.)

So how did I repurpose these leftovers? I made wild rice and squash cakes for tonight’s dinner.

Wild Rice and Squash Cakes

In a bowl, I tossed in the squash (1 c.) and rice (1-1/2 c.), 2 T. of mined shallots, an egg white to bind it together as well as ½ c. cornmeal, salt and pepper. I stirred up a nice stiff batter then used an ice cream scoop to drop them into a non-stick frying pan sizzling with canola oil.

I flattened them out once they were in the pan. And after a few minutes, I flipped them – one not so successfully. When they were done, I put them to drain on paper towels, and, when cool, they returned to the fridge to await dinner.

Tonight, I will re-warm the cakes and serve them with a small dollop of crème fraiche alongside beef tenderloin that was marinated in Dave’s Coffee Syrup, a couple of crushed chipotles in adobo sauce and smashed garlic. (More on that experiment later.)

So, how, dear readers, do you repurpose your food? Or is your garbage disposal working overtime? Let me know!

A Holiday Riot of Fondant, Royal Icing and Blue Jell-O

November 9, 2013 - Posted in Bakery, Baking, Chefs, Christmas, Contests, Holiday Traditions, LauraRaposa, Little Foodies, The Foodsmith, Uncategorized

My girl, Paige, and I judged a benefit holiday gingerbread competition yesterday at the Boston Christmas Festival at the Seaport World Trade Center. And I don’t know who was more wide-eyed when perusing the yuletide confections.

Here comes da judge…

My 4-year-old partner, decked for the task with her name badge and clipboard, loved all the free cookies and candy the 16 bakers offered to lure the judges. But she did ask the right questions: “How did they make that, Auntie?” and “How do they make it sparkle?”

Auntie was in awe of the artistry. Because when it comes to decorating, I’m a minimalist. That’s just a way of saying, I’m not good at it. So I can appreciate the little “stones” someone made for their old stone church gingerbread house, the cute Hansel and Gretel another baker made from fondant or the use of blue Jell-O for the “sea.”

The stone church, created by Sweet Things Bakery, won an honorable mention.

Every year I take part in a holiday gingerbread house decorating event for the Home for Little Wanderers (this year it’s Dec. 11). Although I enjoy wielding a pastry bag, my team always wins a certificate for “most enthusiastic” or “best use of gum drops” or some other also-ran prize.

Look, I know it’s all about the kids and what they create, but I must admit I get a little anxious when our Sno-Cap-shingled roof isn’t perfectly aligned or the girls have gone a little crazy with the edible glitter. But I let it go. I also keep my mouth full of gum drops or licorice so I can’t talk…

Here are another couple of creative confections that placed at the competition. They will be sold off to corporations to benefit Housing for Families.

This house, designed by Wang Theatre/Party Favors, won honorable mention.

This colorful neighborhood was designed by Wicked Goodies. It won ‘Best Decoration.’

This take on ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ scored ‘Kids’ Choice’ award

This tribute to ‘Boston Strong’ won Best of Show for Ginger Betty of Quincy.

It Started with a Shrub: My Dinner at Puritan & Company

November 4, 2013 - Posted in Apples, Bakery, Cake, Cambridge Restaurants, Chefs, Dessert, Farms, Food Traditions, LauraRaposa, Puritan & Company, Restaurant Review, Restaurants, Shrub, Steve "Nookie" Postal, The Foodsmith, Uncategorized, Will Gilson

As a history buff and food lover, chef Will Gilson’s Puritan & Company in Cambridge is my new happy place. First off, it’s located in a building that housed the Puritan Cake Company‘s bakery from the 1930s to the 1950s. So, it feeds into my need to honor the past. And Puritan’s eclectic menu pays homage to our New England culinary heritage.

See? Happy place.

Maybe it was also the Gilson family’s restored 1920s Glenwood stove used as a hostess stand that I homed in on when our party of four arrived. Or the warm house-made Parker House rolls. Or the peach-vinegar-rosemary shrub I was offered as a mocktail…

The old New England summer drink was delicious, but I don’t know what I liked more – the taste of the shrub or the enthusiasm radiating off the sommelier/cocktail dude who not only gave me a recipe, he brought over a duo of demitasse spoons that had dabs of the sauce he made with the leftover macerated fruit and chilis. Whoa.

The amuse bouche was a Macomber turnip soup with a sheep’s yogurt and fish roe. (Bonus points given to chef for using Westport turnip.) My husband and I both ordered the swordfish pastrami (with a quenelle of mustard ice cream!) for an appetizer, and we were still talking about it over coffee the next morning. That rarely happens.

For the main event, Steve got the Muscovy duck and I went with Gilson’s nod to his eatery’s Inman Square ‘hood: pan-roasted monkfish in a broth with kale and cubes of chorizo and potatoes. Considering chef’s ancestors came over on the Mayflower – he’s a 13th generation American – this 3rd generation squatter was impressed with his take on the typical Portuguese dish.

Chef Will Gilson

The desserts, however, fell short. My hubby’s brownie sundae served in a plastic Red Sox cap won points for presentation and led me to wonder how many trips to Fenway did Gilson make to collect enough caps. (My guess is Will’s buddy, Steve “Nookie” Postal, the former executive chef at the EMC Club and fellow Cambridge restaurateur, had a few dozen hanging around.)

I chose the composed plate of spiced apples. I realize it was a riff on traditional apple pie a la mode but I’d just rather eat apple pie a la mode. I’m old school that way, I guess.

Our friend, Margaret, ordered milk chocolate pot de crème (served in a coffee cup) and her hubby, Rob, chose a lemon curd dessert. When asked by his wife about his curd, he said, “Well, it’s tart.” Ouch.

When the bill arrived, tucked into a card printed with a recipe for Indian pudding on the back, it was accompanied by a plate with four cubes of vanilla cake. And here’s where I totally fell in love with the place.

Apparently, the vanilla cake recipe was from the Puritan Cake Company. Our server told us the recipe was discovered in an old newspaper clipping by one of Gilson’s relatives.

The Puritan Cake Company back in the day

I thought it was a sweet way — pun intended — to honor the old tenant of 1166 Cambridge St. Moreover, it was damn tasty! Next time, maybe I’ll order the Puritan Cake for dessert…

Puritan & Company, 1166 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA (617) 615-6195. www.puritancambridge.com/@PuritanCo on Twitter.

Farming for a Good Dessert? Bake an Apple Cake!

October 26, 2013 - Posted in Apples, Baking, Cake, Dessert, Farms, Fruit Desserts, LauraRaposa, The Foodsmith, Uncategorized

High concept desserts may make people oooh, aaah and Instagram, but it’s the old school goodies that get gobbled up with glee.

Case in point: Mrs. Lamb’s Apple Cake.

I dug into my faded, hand-written recipe book the other day when I needed a fourth offering for our refreshments table at the Westport Historical Society’s annual meeting. I had a cookie recipe, a rich brownie recipe as well as instructions for pumpkin whoopie pies that I planned to miniaturize. But being that this event was being held at the town Grange –and included a talk about local farming history — I needed cake.

Ready for the oven!

Farmers on TV and in the movies seem to like cake, right? So I went for Louise Lamb’s apple cake with raisins that I knew was a crowd pleaser and – bonus points! – didn’t need to be eaten with a fork.

It couldn’t be easier to make, and it makes your kitchen smell fantastic – just like the cinnamon-y scent of Mrs. Lamb’s small kitchen in her cottage on Sylvia’s Lane in Westport. In the summer, the kitchen usually smelled of fried scup or tautog that her grandson, Sam, would catch as well as the best baked beans ever made. But come September, before we closed up our cottages for the winter, there was this delicious apple cake.

Louise Lamb was Nana’s friend and the mother of my father and uncle’s boyhood running buddies in East Providence. Her granddaughter, Patty, was one of my childhood besties. Hmm. I wonder if she ever makes this cake…

I made a couple of updates to the recipe such as cutting back on the sugar, adding nutmeg and soaking the raisins before adding them to the batter.

As I suspected, the Westport Historical Society gang gobbled up the cake, most of brownies, cookies and mini pumpkin whoopies. But the recipe requested most was for the apple cake.

Funny story: When I tried to pawn off some left-over sweets on the town’s oldest farmer, John Bettencourt, 90, who runs Misty Rock Farm, he said, “Oh, I have so much at home. Women are always bringing me cakes.”

See? Farmers do like cake!

Fresh out of the oven!

MRS. LAMB’S APPLE CAKE

1 c. raisins

¼ c. warm water or apple cider

1 c. sugar

½ c. canola oil

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. salt

2 t. baking powder

2 t. cinnamon

½ t. nutmeg

4 c. chopped apples (I use Granny Smith or Cortlands)

1 c. walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Apply butter or spray a 9-x-13 pan with Pam or some other spray shortening.

In a small bowl, soak raisins in the warm water or cider then set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream sugar and canola oil. Add eggs one at a time then the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Scrape bowl down as needed, but do not over mix.

Fold in apples, then raisins as well as the remaining soaking liquid. Lastly, add the chopped walnuts.

Add the cake batter to the prepared pan, spreading it evenly. (I also tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to help it along.) Bake for 45 minutes.

Test for doneness with a skewer in the middle of the cake. If there’s still some batter stuck to the skewer, bake for 5-8 minutes more. Cool in pan placed on a rack. When thoroughly cool, cut squares of the cake from the pan.

Serves 16.

The last piece of apple cake.