Wonderful peach streusel coffee cake

Although I don’t mind ambitious baking, I tend to lean towards the simpler kinds of sweets. Fewer steps means less mess and if it all goes to pot than I don’t feel so badly. I have made (from scratch) muffins and brownies for years, but this past Christmas was the first time I ever baked anything more labor intensive. Not being a huge lover of sweets, this pattern has suited me just fine, but Terry shares none of my ambivalence towards sugar and has been dropping hints about fruit based desserts recently - probably because the farmers market is literally bursting with peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, cherries and strawberries . So I am starting simple, with an easy coffee cake made with fresh peaches that smelled so damn good while it was baking last night that we both had a taste before it was completely cooled. This morning at room temperature it was just as good. The score so far....Terry: 4 slices minus one forkful, Me: 2 slices, with half the cake left to go.

Puttanesca and proof that I am Italian

Or from an Italian family anyway. This was the first time I made a puttanesca sauce and although I have eaten it from jars or in restaurants before, there is nothing like home made. This was amazing and although a bit costly (good anchovies, capers and kalamata olives all add up) I thought it was totally worth it. The proof of my heritage comes not from the superb execution of this dish (which is of course, questionable) but from the complete lust for each mouthful that I experienced while I ate it. I could have kept going. YUM!

because you can never get too much curious gravy.