Rule of spice

An ultra spicy fresh-ginger cake with subtle notes of honey and a suggestion of maple was just the right note for the perfection of yesterday. The sun shone with a diamond brilliance. Patsy and I enjoyed our stroll through the neighborhood - she sniffing at tree roots and around street corners, me just letting the sun warm my bones. H worked out all day in the garden; after the 5 Peaks 8.8km race on Saturday he needed to stay home and recharge.

This recipe is all over the Internet, you'll find it billed as Dave's fresh ginger cake in many North California restaurants. On epicurious.com, my main cooking resource now that my books have yet to arrive from Hong Kong, it is billed as David Leibovitz's ginger cake. I modified the recipes to suit what I had in the fridge and cupboard. The resulting cake (and two medium-sized muffins made with the extra batter) was dense but not heavy and moist without being soggy. I thought it would turn out golden but instead it was a deep mocca colour. It was phenomenal straight out of the oven; I demolished one muffin within seconds without waiting for it to cool.

Fresh ginger cake
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup mild honey
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup grapeseed oil
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 6 tbsps fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature

Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with butter and dust with flour.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, cinnamon and pepper.

In a large bowl whisk together honey, maple syrup, sugar and oil.

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan, stir in baking soda. Add to honey mixture, stir briefly and add fresh ginger.

Gradually add flour mixture to the ginger-honey mixture. Add eggs and mix until everything is thoroughly combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour until done.

Remove from the oven and cool for at least half an hour before removing from the pan.

Gingery afternoon

I'm preparing to bake David Leibovitz's Fresh Ginger Cake while listening to a dizzying rollercoaster of sound from H's iTunes collection and while the man of the house (he prefers 'stud', heh heh) digs a ditch in the garden to fix a faulty drainage system.

Moments ago it was Creedence Clearwater and Jethro Tull. Right now, Jewel is holding forth.

Boots, books and robins

H and I are now the proud hosts of not one, not two, but four baby robins! All young uns are safely ensconced in the nest that their mama built in one of the sheds in the backyard. I've not dared to photograph them for fear of spooking mother and babies with my camera's demonically bright flash. That, and accidentally nudging the nest and causing it to topple down six feet to the ground. I may take a peek later this week. I hope the babies all make it. I read somewhere only half of nests ever survive. Cats, raccoons and larger birds such as crows and hawks like to eat young robins. (Awww, here's a nice story with pictures of a robin's nest up to the moment the young birds grew old enough to leave the nest).

Speaking of black birds...There seems to be a sizeable raven population in this area. I saw one or two pecking at half-eaten sandwiches at the bus stop near the mall downtown. They were very bold - flying very close to people and eating their spoils with abandon. No fear at all, very fat and healthy looking, these urban birds.

Today I took Patsy for a walk down the salmon creek. Saw lots of dandelions but no salmon. After lunch H dropped me off at the local mall where I bought two books, a cute pair of rainboots (after all, je réside actuellement en so-rainy Colombie Britannique), and was briefly tempted to enter the Purdy's store. Resisted *heroically.* Took bus C46 home but got off too soon and wandered around for a bit before being rescued by a nice old couple who gave me a lift home. Turns out I was no more than five blocks away from our place. Pffttt!