Flori Cooks

My clearest memory of the 13 days is that we were going to live in the hallway of our house. We did not have a bomb shelter in the back yard but we had the next best thing – a whole canned chicken. My mother laid in a supply of food in the bottom shelf of the linen closet and we were going to stay there if the Russians bombed the San Fernando Valley, which surely they would given the number of aeronautical engineers that lived there. We would have a buffer of one room on all sides that would protect us (or so my mom thought). I really don’t remember my dad (who was in aerospace) weighing in at all. Over the next year or so all of the cans of fruit and peas (my mother was horrifyingly big on canned peas), tuna and potatoes were used up (that last much to my delight in German potato salad) until all that was left was a whole canned chicken.   I don’t recall seeing one before that event and I think it stayed by itself in the linen closet until my father sold the house 12 years later. I don’t want to spread internet porn so if you want to see what it looks like out of the can you can google it. Let’s just say it does NOT look like the label.

There was a curious sidebar in the news today along with all of the talk of the 50th anniversary and what a cool calm diplomat Kennedy was. The Cuban government is relaxing the requirements for Cuban citizens to travel. I wonder what this will do to the wet-foot / dry-foot law. Just buy a ticket to Miami and you get an automatic residence permit? Will this be another Mariel Boatlift? What I do know is that I would love to get back to the island myself…or at least to Portos for a medianoche and a potato ball.

I was able to attend a great panel discussion today sponsored by the California Endowment on the Farm Bill and the devastating effect that it could have in its current form if passed on the economy of Los Angeles, California and the entire country. I was able to chat with colleagues from over the past many years of work in the hunger relief world while we waited for the perennially late Mayor Villaraigosa. It was an excellent presentation but that’s not really what I want to write about.

The weather is (at least for a few days) fall-like. In fact, while I was in the spectacularly beautiful LA City Hall a storm was raging in Pasadena. I took the train in (remarkable in the city of automobiles), walked a half mile from the also beautiful Union Station and after the meeting walked a few blocks to Little Tokyo for some honest to god Tokyo style ramen. With tsukemono – assorted pickles – on the side.

They have a compact menu – ramen and some rice bowls. I come for the ramen so my only decisions are whether I want any sides or appetizers. You can order it with extra rich broth which I did once and it actually made me dizzy so I am unlikely to repeat that!

Another 3 blocks as the rain was finally hitting downtown back to the Little Tokyo / Arts District metro station and on toward home. By the time I made it back to Pasadena it was coming down full bore. As the train passed over the freeway I was so glad I was not in my car!

So, yes, I unapologetically LOVE this city!

At last! It seems so late though by SoCal standards it’s not. I’ve been dying to bake and can stand it no longer, even though it means I will have to turn on the A/C in the kitchen while the oven is on. So I looked around and decided that I not only want to bake I want to experiment. I’ve got a couple of pears and basic baking ingredients so I’m going for a good crumb cake and going to flip if on its head and see if that will make it come out nicely crisped. I love buttermilk batters so onto the internet to read a few and make adjustments. Starting from a buttermilk pound cake from Alton Brown here’s where I end up. This is NOTHING like a pound cake but it sure is good!

Upside down Pear Streusel Coffee Cake

Streusel topping

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4  cup oats or other rolled cereal
• 1/2 cup chopped or ground nuts
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

• 2 pears peeled and roughly chopped

For the batter

• 6 ounces unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened, plus 1 tablespoon for pan
• 8 ounces cake flour
• 8 ounces sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup whole buttermilk, room temperature (or 3 tablespoons buttermilk powder combined with 3 ounces of water)

Butter a 10” cake pan or skillet and line bottom with parchment paper. Mix Streusel ingredients and spread over bottom of pan. Scatter chopped pear over streusel.

Combine 6 ounces of butter and 8 ounces sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and cream for 6 minutes on medium speed, using the paddle attachment. Stop once to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. With the mixer running at lowest speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. Again stopping once to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and salt and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds.

With the mixer on the lowest speed add the flour, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour, making sure each portion is fully incorporated before adding the next. After the final addition, beat the batter for 30 seconds on medium speed until almost smooth.

Scrape the batter out of the bowl onto the top of the pears and streusel. Use wet hands to spread it to the edges of the pan.

Bake at 375º for 45 to 50 minutes until browned. Cake will spring back when pressed lightly and a toothpick will come out clean.