The Kitchen Philosophy

These moist little cakes are so delicious, and the essence of summer.  Just add a shady back porch and a cold ice tea. 12 cakes ½ cup granulated sugar Zest of one orange ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature ½ cup brown sugar, divided 2 eggs ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of salt 1 cup flour ¾ teaspoon baking soda ¼ cup buttermilk (if you do not have buttermilk, use 1 tablespoon plain yogurt and the remainder in regular milk) 6 plums, cut in half (Powdered sugar for servi

Ahh, a week at the beach… the to-do list is short:  Tennis, lounging in the sand, swimming and pondering what to eat and what to drink.  With the summer produce at its peak, every drink starts at the local farm stand and finishes with a splash of St. Germain.  This sweet French liqueur, it is made from elderberry flowers which has lovely elements of peach, grapefruit, orange and pear so it is a natural choice for any fruit based drink. Pineapple, Peach and Ruby Red Grapefruit