The weather is playing games with me. As I write, the sun is shining into my office and the thermometer shows 41 degrees. What a change from Tuesday and Wednesday when winter was growling as it dumped a foot of snow, and whipping it around with cold winds. What will tomorrow bring? Where are you, spring?

I’m sure I’ve mentioned how much I dislike the month of March. Gray days, dirty snow, slushy streets and sidewalks, unpredictable weather — that’s March. And for all those reasons, March is when I make a special effort to focus on any little bit of spring I can find. When I can’t find any, I make my own. And then, March is not quite so bad.

I developed Sunshine Cake for this week’s food column. It makes use of tart apples and sweet, nutty parsnips. After so many months of looking at them in the produce department at grocery stores, these two ingredients hold little excitement for me these days. But, grate them and stir them up in cake batter generously laden with sunshine-yellow lemon zest and the fresh bright juice of lemons, and suddenly the humdrum apple and parsnip illuminate spring.

For my food column, I baked the Sunshine Cake in a 9-x13-inch cake pan. I used a square cookie cutter to form perfect little squares of moist cake and then piped the cream cheese frosting over each one. Topped with a fresh red raspberry, each bite of Sunshine Cake is a splendid reminder that spring is on its way. See column photo and read about that cake by clicking here.

Sunshine Cake can also be baked in two 8-inch round pans. When the cakes are cool, they can be sliced into layers. I like to spread a thick layer of Lemon Cream between the layers of cake and push fresh berries into the light fluffiness.

Lemon Cream Filling is actually an easy homemade lemon curd folded together with whipped cream. I love making pretty parfaits for a spring brunch, layering the Lemon Cream with toasted coconut and fresh fruit. I also use the Lemon Cream to fill tiny, buttery rich tartlet shells. Perfect for a Mother’s Day tea or a bridal shower. Oh, I’m so anxious for spring to get here.

I must confess that I am not a huge cake lover. When I have a choice, I’d much rather eat creamy homemade ice cream or melt-in-the-mouth cookies. But with this cake, my story changes. It’s moist with just the right amount of lemon. The frosting, oh, so creamy and just a tiny bit of sweetness. And the Lemon Cream filling with fresh berries puts this cake right over the top.

And it pushes my attitude right into springtime. It makes March a little bit more tolerable. Sunshine Cake makes me happy.

Sunshine Layer Cake with Lemon Cream and Fresh Berry Filling

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 cups coarsely grated peeled parsnips (start with about 8 ounces)
• 2 cups coarsely grated unpeeled Granny Smith apples (start with about 8 ounces)

Lemon Cream Filling:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs

Frosting:

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/3 cup superfine sugar
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream

• 3 (6-ounce) packages fresh berries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-inch round metal cake pans. Set aside.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together into a bowl. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix. Beat in the oil. Add the sifted flour mixture gradually, using a ¼ cup measure to scoop it into the mixing bowl. Beat the batter until it is just smooth. Stir in grated parsnips and apples. Pour half the batter into each of the prepared pans, spreading evenly.
Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden pick poked into center of cake comes out clean. After 20 minutes, the top of the cake may appear to be getting dark. Lay a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the pans for the remainder of the baking time.
Allow the cake to cool 10 minutes in the pan. Turn out onto cooling racks. Cool completely.

To make the Lemon Cream Filling, cut butter into pieces and place in a heavy saucepot. Add lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar. Place pot over moderate heat. Stir until butter melts and mixture just begins to simmer. Remove from heat. In a bowl, whisk eggs together until light and frothy. Gradually add hot liquid, whisking constantly. When mixture is well blended, pour back into saucepot. Whisk constantly over moderate heat until the mixture thickens and just begins to bubble. Pour lemon curd through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool slightly. Place waxed paper directly on top of the curd. Chill for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

To make the frosting, place cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until the mixture is smooth. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar, beating continuously. Add the sour cream and beat the frosting until it is creamy and light.

To assemble cake, use a serrated knife to slice each cake in half horizontally.

Whip 2 cups of heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold the whipped cream into the lemon curd.

Place one layer on cake plate, cut side up. Slather with Lemon Cream Filling and sprinkle with berries. Place another layer of cake on top of berries. Continue layering, ending with cake, cut side down, on top. Frost the entire cake with Frosting. Store in the refrigerator. This cake is best served at room temperature, so remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

• Superfine sugar dissolves quickly, making it the perfect choice for this frosting. It is sometimes packaged as caster sugar. Find it in the natural food section or near the granulated sugar in most supermarkets. You can make your own by putting regular granulated sugar in the blender and giving it a whirl to break the granules into a finer texture.
• Wash and dry the lemon well before zesting. Remember to grate only the colored part of the skin, leaving the bitter white pith behind.

The weather is playing games with me. As I write, the sun is shining into my office and the thermometer shows 41 degrees. What a change from Tuesday and Wednesday when winter was shouting out by dumping a foot of snow, and whipping it around with cold winds. What will tomorrow bring?

I’m sure I’ve mentioned how much I dislike the month of March. Gray days, dirty snow, slushy streets and sidewalks, unpredictable weather — that’s March. And for all those reasons, March is when I make a special effort to focus on any little bit of spring I can find. When I can’t find any, I make my own. And then, March is not quite so bad.

I developed Sunshine Cake for this week’s food column. It makes use of tart apples and sweet, nutty parsnips. After so many months of looking at them in the produce department at grocery stores, these two ingredients hold little excitement for me these days. But, grate them and stir them up in cake batter generously laden with sunshine-yellow lemon zest and the fresh bright juice of lemons, and suddenly the humdrum apple and parsnip illuminate spring.

For my food column, I baked the Sunshine Cake in a 9-x13-inch cake pan. I used a square cookie cutter to form perfect little squares of moist cake and then piped the cream cheese frosting over each one. Topped with a fresh red raspberry, each bite of Sunshine Cake is a splendid reminder that spring is on its way.

Sunshine Cake can also be baked in two 8-inch round pans. I like to spread a thick layer of Lemon Cream between the layers of cake and push fresh raspberries into the light fluffiness. I must confess that I am not a huge cake lover. When I have a choice, I’m much rather take creamy homemade ice cream or melt-in-the-mouth cookies. But this cake, my story changes. It’s moist with just the right amount of lemon. The frosting, oh, so creamy and just a tiny bit of sweetness. And the Lemon Cream filling with fresh raspberries puts this cake right over the top.

And it puts me right into springtime. It makes March good.

Sunshine Cake with Lemon Cream and Raspberry Filling

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 cups coarsely grated peeled parsnips (start with about 8 ounces)
• 2 cups coarsely grated unpeeled Granny Smith apples (start with about 8 ounces)

Frosting:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/3 cup superfine sugar
½ cup sour cream

Fresh berries for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-inch round metal cake pans. Set aside.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together into a bowl. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix. Beat in the oil. Add the sifted flour mixture gradually, using a ¼ cup measure to scoop it into the mixing bowl. Beat the batter until it is just smooth. Stir in grated parsnips and apples. Pour half the batter into each of the prepared pans, spreading evenly.
Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden pick poked into center of cake comes out clean. After 20 minutes, the top of the cake may appear to be getting dark. Lay a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the pans for the remainder of the baking time.
Allow the cake to cool 10 minutes in the pan. Turn out onto cooling racks. Cool completely.

To make the Lemon Cream Filling,
To make the frosting, place cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until the mixture is smooth. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar, beating continuously. Add the sour cream and beat the frosting until it is creamy and light. Frost the cake. If you won’t be serving the cake for several hours, store covered, in the refrigerator, until just before serving time. Garnish each serving with fresh berries, if desired.
 

Nothing is better than a bowl of hot, hardy soup when the weather outside is frightful. The wind is blowing and the snow is swirling, but my tummy is happy and I’m warm and cozy.

It seemed the pot of stuffed cabbage would never end. (See previous post.) When I finally scooped the last three bundles of cabbage leaves encasing ground meat and rice out of the pot, they were not for me. I was packaging them to deliver to a cabbage-loving friend.

But even after saying good-bye to the last of the stuffed cabbage, I did not empty the pot. There was still an enormous amount of sauerkraut nesting in the bottom of the pot. I decided to scrape the leftover cooked potatoes into the pot. I covered the pot and took it out to the very cold garage.  I thought I could turn it into some soup. That was yesterday.

Today, with a blizzard moving through, the thought of soup was very comforting. I brought the pot of sauerkraut in from the garage, which was even a colder food storage room today. I grabbed a bottle of beer on the way in, too.

With the pot over medium heat, I poured in the bottle of beer and allowed the mixture to simmer a while. I poured in some homemade pork stock that I made in November. I’d been storing it in the freezer, wondering what I would do with it. I used 3 cups. If I didn’t have the pork stock, I would have just used some chicken or vegetable broth out of my pantry.

A 14-ounce package of smoked turkey sausage was in the meat drawer in my refrigerator. It seems I can always create a quick meal when I have some sort of smoked sausage on hand. So, I sliced it up and added it to the pot.

After chopping a couple small potatoes, I pushed the little chunks into the pot and put the cover back on. And then, it simmered. And simmered. Until the potatoes were soft and creamy.

Sauerkraut Soup was a warming meal. But guess what? After dinner, there was still a hefty amount of soup left in the pot. It really is the pot that keeps on giving.

I guess I’ll scoop the soup into a large container and deliver it to my cabbage-loving friend.

I alway thought there would be a time when I could get a stuffed-cabbage preparation tutorial from my grandma. She made the best rolled up cabbage leaves stuffed with ground meat and rice, layered in a huge pot with her homemade saurkraut.  I waited too long to make the plans. One evening she fell, wound up in the hospital and died just a few days later.

Many years after her death, I sat and took notes as I watched my Aunt Lil make her own version of stuffed cabbage. Hers didn’t taste exactly the same as those my grandma created, but their flavor came in a close second.

First, chopped onions are sauteed until tender. My grandma used bacon drippings or lard as the fat, and Aunt Lil did the same. You can also use a mixture of olive oil and butter.

Uncooked ground beef and ground pork are mixed with rice that has been boiled until almost, but not quite, done. This give assurance the rice will be nice and tender by the time the meat has cooked through. It also saves much of the cooking juices from being absorbed by the rice.

The meat mixtue is rolled up into parboiled cabbage leaves. Then, the cabbage bundles are layered in a big pot with saurkraut and tomatoes. Aunt Lil insisted that I use Franks kraut for this recipe. And that’s what I do. Why would I change a good thing?

It’s a little putsy parboiling the cabbage and then stuffing and rolling each cabbage leave. But, once you have all the bundles lined up, it takes little time to layer the ingredients into a large pot.

Make a big pot of Aunt Lil’s Stuffed Cabbage on the weekend, when you can be around to allow the pot to simmer for a couple of hour on the stove. Eat some of them for a meal that weekend. The rest can be refrigerated for another meal later in the week, or they can be packaged for the freezer.

Aunt Lil’s Stuffed Cabbage is a great meal on these last cold days of March before spring arrives. If you’re not a corned beef fan, these stuffed rolls of cabbage are a perfect substitute for St. Patrick’s Day.

Aunt Lil’s Stuffed Cabbage

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 3/4 cup uncooked white long-grain rice, boiled until almost tender, drained
• 1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 head of cabbage
• 2 (2-pound) jars Frank’s kraut
• 2 (28-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
• Caraway seeds
• Brown sugar

Put butter and oil into a large saute pan. Add chopped onion and saute until chopped pieces just begin to turn golden brown. Transfer chopped onions to a bowl and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. With a sharp paring knife, cut the core out of the cabbage. Carefully lower the head of cabbage into the boiling water. With tongs, gently pull off each cabbage leaf as it begins to wilt and pull away from the whole head. Lay the cabbage leaves on a towel-lined baking sheet. When all of the larger leaves have been removed, pull the remaining cabbage from the water and set in a bowl to drain. When it is cool enough to handle, chop the core and set aside.

Use a sharp paring knife to cut the any thick core from the bottom edge of each leaf so that the leaves can easily be rolled up. Set cabbage leaves aside while preparing the filling.

In a large bowl, thoroughly combine ground meats with rice that has been cooked until almost tender. Add paprika and salt and mix in.

Put generous amount of filling on each prepared cabbage leave. Roll the cabbage leave around the filling, starting at the core edge. Tuck the edges to the inside as you roll the cabbage.

Put a thick layer of saurkraut on the bottom of a large pot. Sprinkle with a little brown sugar and some caraway seeds. Sprinkle the chopped cabbage over the saurkraut. Dump a can of stewed tomatoes over all the layers in the pot, squeezing the tomatoes with your fingers to break them up a little bit. Arrange a layer of cabbage rolls over the tomato layer. Follow the same order of ingredients for continuing layers: saurkraut, brown sugar, caraway seeds, another can of stewed tomatoes,remaining cabbage rolls.

Cover pot and bring the layered ingredients to a boil over medium heat. Lower heat and continue to simmer for about 2 hours, or until cabbage rolls are cooked through. You will be surprised at how much liquid appears during the cooking process.

In my family, we enjoy the cooked stuffed cabbage rolls with mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes.

A couple of weeks ago I gathered with friends for a Greek meal. Our hostess invited each of us to bring any part of the meal as long as it was Greek. We each arrived at her home, toting a contribution to our Greek meal. Our feast that evening included everything from appetizers to dessert. There seemed to be a few common threads woven throughout the dining experience — feta cheese, pine nuts, kalamata olives. Lemons made quite an appearance in the form of juice and zest.

If you’ve read my food column this week, you know I’m hooked on roasted broccoli. Roasting this healthful, green vegetable was not one of my creative ideas. All the credit goes to Ina Garten (my hero). She has a recipe in her newest cookbook, Back to Basics, for Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli.

I’ve discovered roasted broccoli can step out of its sitting-on-the-plate-as-a-side comfort zone. It can become part of the main attraction. I’ve cooked it into a frittata. Now, I’m tossing it up with some pasta and a couple of ingredients that make me think Greek.

Cooked capellini provides the thin strands of pasta that catch the broccoli, garlic and pine nuts as if they were flies in a spider web. Sliced garlic roasts along with the broccoli, becoming golden and crisp. I kept picking the crunchy slivers off of the pan and putting them right into my mouth. Oh, they are so delicious. Next time, I will roast more garlic to allow for my pre-meal nibbles.

Crumbled feta gives just the right tang to the pasta that glistens with olive oil and butter. A little white wine offers just a hint of fruitiness. I love to smash the olives and toss them into the pasta. My favorite meal partner, though, has not developed an appreciation for olives. You will see in the photo that I use whole olives for garnish so they can easily be removed.

I added 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. They add quite a bit of heat. You may want to start with a little less. You can always have some on the table for guests to add more if they want.

It’s a meal that doesn’t take much effort and you can have it on the table in 30 minutes.

Technically, it’s not a Greek dish. But, it’s a little bit Greek to me.

It’s A Little Bit Greek To Me Pasta

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds broccoli, trimmed and cut into florets
• 4 chubby cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 of a medium onion, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 8 ounces capellini or angel hair pasta
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup smashed or coarsely chopped kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking pan with sides with aluminum foil.

In a large bowl, toss broccoli florets with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper, making sure that each floret is coated with the olive oil. Spread the mixture in a single layer on prepared baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for about 12 minutes, until the broccoli florets are crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned. Remove from oven and set aside, leaving broccoli on the baking sheet.

Fill a large pasta pot with water. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

While water is heating, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large saute pan. Add onion and saute until tender. Stir in red pepper flakes and white wine. Continue to cook until wine has almost completely evaporated. Add 4 tablespoons olive oil to pan and remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Add roasted broccoli and garlic and stir until thoroughly heated.

Boil pasta in salted water according to package directions, usually 3 to 4 minutes until al dente. Drain pasta.

Add drained pasta, feta and Parmesan to saute pan. Toss well to coat pasta with olive oil/butter sauce. Transfer to pasta bowl. Sprinkle with olives and pine nuts. Serve immediately. Serves 4.