Getting back on the horse…with crumb cake!

Thought I was gone forever? For awhile I did too. Anybody still listening? I understand if you’ve moved on to sweeter pastures, but I took some needed time to reflect on whether or not I was doing the best thing I could be doing right now with this blog. To be honest, I’m not sure. There are a ton of things that interest me, but unfortunately I haven’t exactly been feeling like the world is my oyster so-to-speak. I realize I’m not the only one who is experiencing difficulty in these economically agonizing times, but I have been dealing with this economically agonizing situation going on six years now. At the same time, I realize things could be worse. However, when you are obsessed about where your next dollar is going to come from, if any, you really start to reevaluate how you spend you time. After six months of thinking, well, I realize I still don’t have any answers (feel free to chuckle).  

What I have realized is that I still hate store bought baked goods, and I still love sweets even though I gained all the weight I lost prior to moving here back (though I lost seven pounds of it again in the last 6 months! Hey, it’s better than nothing. AND it’s great when I get to eat my sweets, and not exercise for an hour and a half like I used to when I originally lost that weight before moving – oh, and sorry for the RIDICULOUSLY long babble-on!). And I still have this blog. I hope I still have my readers, but if I’ve lost some of you I hope to bring you back, and I hope to attract more. I have some ideas to keep you reading, but if there’s anything you’d like to see me write/do (except pat my head and my belly at the same time…it’s just not possible) please let me know. I want to encourage you to keep coming back.

I intend on getting to the comments on the last post before my hiatus for no other reason than they were are such heartfelt responses to a heartfelt post and I feel the need to respond in kind, and then there were those comments that were actually questions that I need to answer. As to the rest of the unresponded comments, I want to let you know that I appreciate them all so much. I struggle with depression, and they really do brighten my day. Unfortunately I sometimes have the darnedest time getting to things, and I’m afraid I’ll never catch up on all those I missed responding to, and I apologize for that. I’m really sorry for not being a good blogger for these past months. Thankfully I feel like I’m on more of an even keel and I’m ready to get back into the swing of things.

Without further ado, I bring you the New York crumb cake. This was FAB! And were I not the insane perfectionist-wannabe I am it probably would’ve only taken a little over an hour from prep to out of the oven.

As I am still the “insame perfectionist-wannabe” it took half the day, most of which was spent breaking apart the crumb topping into exquisite pea-sized crumbs. One of these days I’ll learn not to take it all so seriously, but as it stands I like to do things right…at least once at any rate.

I ardently wish that I could include the recipe here but I am forced to refrain from such a public display of neighborly knowledge in fear of the dreaded CI police. Honestly, I don’t even want to mention the publication’s full name for no other reason than to prevent increasing their PageRank. Needless to say the editor has a propensity for writing prissy op-ed pieces in the New York Times on the evils of us plebes sharing our little scribbles with the world since we don’t have any “real experience, the hard-won blood-on-the-floor kind.” Perhaps I don’t have “blood-on-the-floor” kind, but I do have zest, butter, and batter…among other things.

I’m no expert, and I certainly don’t purport myself to be one. That said, the journey of the inexperienced on the road to experienced I think is a valuable one. I guess the question might be, are all roads to experience worthy? I’d answer yes. If you all end at the same destination, then why is someone who trained at home versus at a culinary institute any less worthy to the family they are serving the fruits of their labor (and experience) to. My Grandmother never took a cooking class in her life. From what I’m told her Mother didn’t know how to cook for all the cabbage in Poland. Somehow, some way, she taught herself. Through the prism of her own inexperience she was able to fail and learn what not to do, which I think can be nearly as important as what to do. She was the best cook I ever knew, and I’m thankful for the road to experience that she took.

I’m sure she had the help of neighbors and friends. There’s a rich tradition among cooks of all nations (and levels of experience) of sharing. Food and sharing just seem to go together. I think most people would agree with that philosophy. This obsession that one publication has with the reprinting of recipes smacks of greed and narcissism. It’s unfortnate that it can’t evolve with the times and enjoy the rewards of sharing. One thing I’ve learned in blogging is word-of-mouth…you ain’t kidding. Mention something in passing on here, and you’ll never guess where it may end up. Dissemination of information is a good thing. That’s part of the reason we got out of the Dark Ages. It’s unfortunate because I actually love the publication in essence. The information provided is fantastic, albeit a tad dry. I have to say that it’s one of the most informative and educational out there. The attitude of the editor needs to change before I become a public advocate for it.

That said, this is one of the best crumb cakes I’ve ever tasted. And, if you desire the recipe, use my contact form (Contact tab at the tippy-top of the page) to contact me. You never know what I might just blurt out in an informal email conversation over coffee. Just like Grandma used to do