Bugs' Best Carrot Cake

Many years ago, I worked as a part-time cook in a small nonprofit restaurant called Franklin Coffee Shop that was created to serve and support the low income neighborhood in which it operated. The previous cook was legendary for his dishes, including a fantastic carrot cake that I adopted immediately upon taking over his kitchen.

Particularly as I've begun developing more recipes, I've made a number of adjustments to Terry Woodbury's original recipe and created my own version. I've turned it into cupcakes and 9 x 13 cakes many times, but it had been quite awhile since I tackled a two-layer cake, holding my breath as I waited for each layer to drop - fully intact - from its buttered and floured pan. Still a touch warm and adorned with cream cheese icing, it was gorgeous and delicious.

Here's the recipe:

Lisa's Carrot Cake

Cake:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 cups sugar
8 ounces crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups grated carrots (tip: start with approximately 2 1/2 cups cut carrots)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped fine

Combine all ingredients thoroughly except carrots and walnuts, and then add these ingredients, blending well. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan or two, eight-inch layer pans or use cupcake papers (makes 15-16 large cupcakes). Pour batter in pan and bake 40-45 minutes in a 350-degree oven (20-25 minutes for cupcakes). When cake reaches room temperature, top with:

Cream Cheese icing:

1/2 box powdered sugar
1/2 stick butter
1/2 package (4 ounces) cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon orange juice (or milk)
1/2 cup walnuts, optional

Allow butter and cream cheese to soften and then cream together with powdered sugar. Add orange juice to thin slightly and vanilla. Combine until thick and creamy. Spread on cooled cake. (tip: Leftover icing will keep in the refrigerator for another dessert, perhaps with cocoa or other flavoring added before you use it)

Dynamic Dance

Chants and drumming filled the air with haunting melodies as the New Dawn Native Dancers created a glorious spectacle of color, movement and enthusiasm. Though only three years old, Quentin Stout, of the Chickasaw and Otoe tribes, performed in the troupe of children, age 3 to 18, as if he'd danced since birth. His nine-year-old brother, Steven Stout, Jr., demonstrated grace and dignity with every step.

The group was only one of many that perform during the Indian Art Market held at Haskell Indian Nations University, in Lawrence, Kansas, each fall. The market brings together hundreds of American Indian/Alaska Native artists who sell exquisite sterling jewelry, one-of-a-kind drums, paintings, and kachinas for two days, on the college campus. Thousands of visitors also enjoy enormous Indian tacos, freshly squeezed lemonade and other treats.

But it is in the arena where Native American participants give visitors a glimpse of their lives through dance, storytelling, and silversmithing and pottery demonstrations. The modern world recedes within moments, as history repeats itself through dedicated performance.

Sour Dough in Frisco

It was late morning when the smell of freshly baked bread drew me to Boudin Bakery, within view of San Francisco Bay. A street musician created sonorous music as he tapped enthusiastically on a twin pair of over-sized bongos, and raucous gulls swooped across parking lots and buildings.

Inside the bakery, more than 150 years of history coalesced in dozens of fresh sourdough loaves, paying homage to a tradition that began when the Gold Rush '49ers merged traditional French baking techniques and 'sour' dough. In fact, today's loaves are still made with a portion of the original 'mother' dough, which has been divided and replenished with flour and water each day since the first batch was made.

With a crunchy crust and a chewy center, a 24-ounce loaf only cost about $4. If I hadn't been so full from breakfast I might have grabbed lunch in Bistro Boudin, the company's first full-service restaurant. And if I hadn't been so pressed for time I would have toured the company's on-site museum - full of city history and antique photos - or stopped by the demonstration bakery. But, sometimes, it's also nice to have things you can look forward to during your next visit.

Pasta Partner

My husband and I learned how to make pesto more than two decades ago, while visiting friends in Laguna Beach, California. They harvested handfuls of fresh basil from their tiny garden and turned it into the most wonderful pasta sauce we had ever tasted. And the flavor was so intense that we only needed one or two tablespoons of the brilliant green sauce per plate of pasta.

Our young daughters had never tasted another pasta sauce at home. But as they progressed through elementary school, the number of invitations they received to have dinner at friends' houses grew - and their exposure to new foods increased. "Mom, they had red sauce on their spaghetti!" said one daughter after a dinner visit with a friend, as if she'd just met a being from another planet. From that point on, we occasionally served red spaghetti sauce at home, to help demystify this 'foreign' food.

But pesto remains a family favorite, especially when made hours earlier from freshly cut basil. We cover pizza crusts with it, serve boiled shrimp or grilled chicken with it, atop pasta, and pair it with polenta. If you'd like to make your own, here's our recipe:

Pesto
makes approximately two cups

2 cups basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons walnuts (may substitute pine nuts)

Combine thoroughly in food processor until garlic and walnuts are ground well. Refrigerate until ready to use. Lasts in refrigerator for 4-5 days. Or freeze in ice cube trays until ready to use and then thaw.

Gargoyle Guards

Birthplace of Amelia Earhart and known by some as the 'most haunted town in Kansas, ' Atchison, Kan. is also home to St. Benedict's Abbey, Mount St. Scholastica Convent and Benedictine College - a small, private university.

This rural town of less than 11,000 people has scores of Victorian homes lining its streets - many of which are still paved in antique brick. With exquisite attention to architectural detail, the massive homes are a feast for the eyes. My camera and I captured dozens of Victorian views on one particularly balmy and sun-drenched day last February, and these winged dragon-gargoyles stood out from all of the rest.

It seems that such gargoyles originally functioned as water spouts, to remove water from rooftops. But I prefer to think of them in their second function - as guardians of the buildings on which they sit, poised to keep bad spirits away from anyone who occupies the residence.

Denver's Glorious Gardens

When we visited the Denver area, last fall, we spent a morning at Denver Botanic Gardens, which is ranked among the nation's top botanical gardens. If you enjoy traveling to many different places in a short period of time, and love the outdoors, this place will satisfy both cravings. During a single visit you can explore individual gardens inspired by the breathtaking beauty of a Monet painting, high desert vegetation, and Japanese tranquility amidst Ponderosa pines.

If you have children with you, they will love the Children's Secret Path with its Musical Playscape, Soil Station and Story Time features. Gardeners also may enjoy the profusion of blossoms in the Rose Garden, enormous variety of culinary and medicinal plants in the Herb Garden, or artistic grace of the Romantic Garden.

And that's only the beginning. Special exhibits as diverse as hauntingly beautiful stone sculptures crafted by Shona artists from Zimbabwe, in the Chapungu Sculpture Exhibit, and wall-spanning portraits of individual insects created by Project InSECT, provide added excitement.

Hot Stuff in Albuquerque

Albuquerque's legendary El Pinto Restaurant, a culinary institution since 1962, does everything in a big way, from its 1,020-seat restaurant with multiple adobe-wrapped patios, to the 3,000 cases of salsa it produces daily. El Pinto also has distinguished itself as the only restaurant invited to serve food at the White House. In fact, their salsa has been the official food during several Cinco de Mayo celebrations held there.

"Salsa Twins' and El Pinto owners, Jim & John Thomas, have crafted their salsa and green chile sauce on-site, since 2001, winning 30+ awards as well as mentions on ESPN Sports Center, MSNBC, and the Food Network. The sauces and salsas have become so popular that they're available in more than 30 states.

For a great souvenir from your visit to El Pinto, try a jar of their salsa at home. It's even more special when you order a case of jars that have been personalized. Within seconds after spooning this hot salsa onto your favorite tortilla chips or nachos, the nose sweats and back-of-throat burn begin. Big tomato and pepper chunks and bits of cilantro echo flavors from the restaurant. Sip a margarita to tame the heat, and you're back amidst the cottonwoods and chile ristras.