Another glorious September on the Outer Banks. Last year’s week was a little busier, with Richard’s mother and her two little dogs, and Ralph’s sister and brother-in-law visiting for a few days.
This time it was just us. I slept late every morning ‘til almost 8 a.m. With a teeth brush and a comb sliced through my hair, I’d go upstairs, say good morning to Ralph and Richard and give a pat to Ethel, take a can of V-8 and walk onto the deck. What to do, what to do? No newspapers to read, Later, I’d curl up on the couch to read my e-mails, see if anybody’d called, pull out half a dog cookie (Ethel liked to hide them between couch cushions) and read for a while. Eventually, we’d all consider the beach (and I the pool) and maybe have lunch. Ralph showed me how to count carbs instead of calories and I wound up losing almost 4 pounds on vacation!
While on the beach or pool, I would figure out dinner from the fresh and frozen food I’d taken with us. Pasta twice with two different sauces (Bolognese and a fresh tomato marinara with pepperoni), meat loaf, a roasting chicken that we ate two different ways and grilled chicken that Ralph turned into salad for a couple of meals. I had taken along vegetables I’d either frozen or had bought at Trader Joe’s in Connecticut. We ate salads every day. And I’d bought lavash: few carbs, lots of vitamins and nutrients. We ate like royalty. I went into town once with Richard so we could pick out a cake for Ralph’s birthday. Ralph never went into town at all.
There will be another September Outer Banks vacation next year and I am again invited. On our last morning, I took a few pictures as the dawn broke over the ocean’s horizon. September can’t come soon enough.
Next week my North Carolina housemates will come to dinner with three new friends of mine. I will make pad Thai (good for Ralph’s carb counting, fine for Richard who doesn’t eat seafood and nut-, seed- and corn-free for one of my friends). And we will finish with this apple cake, given to me by my friend Deb Tyler.
Cinnamon-Apple Cake
Adapted from Cooking Light magazine, January, 2000
1 and three-quarters cup sugar, divided
6 ounces regular or low-fat cheese cream, softened
one-half cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 and one-half cups all-purpose
1 and one-half teaspoons baking powder
one-quarter teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups chopped peeled apples (Barbie uses more and so do I)*
cooking spray
Yield: 12 servings
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray an 8-inch springform pan (or 9-inch springform or square pan; with 9-inch pan, reduce baking time 10 minutes)
Beat 1 ½ (one and one-half) sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla at medium speed of a mixer until well blended (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition; set aside.
Place flour, baking powder and salt into a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and beat at low speed until blended. Remove bowl from mixer. Combine ¼ (one-quarter) cups sugar and cinnamon. Add 2 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar with apples in a bowl, then add to batter. Pour batter into pan. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for one and one-quarter hours or until cake pulls away from sides of pan. Cool cake completely on a wire rack.
*The recipe calls for Rome apples. I use whatever I have, but remember that much of the liquid is from apples, so don’t use all Delicious apples or other apples that are a bit dry.