Blackberry Upside-Down Cake:


12 oz fresh blackberries, cleaned and dried
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 7 inch square cake pan with parchment paper (2 layers) and butter parchment paper. Then, line bottom of pan with blackberries, and sprinkle 2 tbsp sugar on top.

Next, to make the batter, first mix flour and baking soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the butter with the remaining sugar, until the mixture takes on a fluffy texture. Add egg and vanilla, and mix until texture is even, then add flour mixture and buttermilk bit by bit, keeping a smooth texture. Spoon the batter over the berries, and bake in oven for about 35 minutes until a fork poked in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven, cool for a few minutes, then place a large plate over the pan and invert, popping the cake out of the pan. Gently peel off parchment paper:


Serve with a scoop of ice cream!

I made this on a whim since I've seen a lot of blackberries in the grocery store lately. It's good cake, not too sweet, and the blackberries give it a sharp tangy taste. Like most cakes, it is not the most healthy thing in the world, however. Unfortunately now I have a giant cake and nobody to eat it for me.

I tried a recipe for spaghetti with meatballs:


Sauce:

12 oz can tomato paste
28 oz can pureed tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 stalk celery, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/2 tbsp basil
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp thyme
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
5 cups water

Meatballs:

1 lbs ground pork
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper


To make the meatballs, make sure the bread crumbs are moist, adding a little water if necessary. Mix all the pork, bread crumbs, egg, parsley, Parmesan, and garlic together in bowl, and season with salt & pepper. Form into meatballs about the size of golf balls.


For the sauce, heat olive oil over medium heat, and add garlic. Saute garlic for a minute, then add onion and celery and cook further until tender. Add the tomato paste, puree, water, herbs, pepper flakes and bring to a boil. When the sauce is gently boiling, add meatballs and cook without stirring for about 10 minutes, so that meatballs do not fall apart. Turn down to simmer, season with salt and pepper, and cook covered for at least 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Add extra water if sauce becomes too thick. Serve over pasta with some grated Parmesan cheese.



6/10: The sauce is very good, with all the herbs in it. It probably would have turned out better if I used fresh basil (1/4 cup chopped) and not the dried stuff. For the meatballs, it is recommended that you use half ground beef and half ground veal, but I used pork instead, which was not that great. Also, before you start to saute the vegetables, you could brown some pieces of meat (such as pork spareribs) and leave it to stew in the sauce.

I saw this dish in an animated movie of the same name that was released not long ago. Most recipes (including the one in the movie) call for roasting the vegetables in an oven, but I'm not willing to turn on my oven in this Texas summer, so I used a recipe that uses a skillet instead.

Ratatouille:

1 medium onion, sliced thin
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 eggplant, cut into bite sized pieces (about 3 cups)
1 zucchini, sliced into thin pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
3/4 lbs tomatoes, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups, I used 1 plum tomato and 10 cherry tomatoes)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped or shredded
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp ground coriander
salt & pepper



Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium low heat, and gently saute onions and garlic until onions are soft. Increase heat to medium, and add the eggplant along with rest of the olive oil. Cook covered about 5 minutes until eggplant looks soft, then add the bell pepper, zucchini, oregano, thyme, coriander, and fennel. Cook covered an additional 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding a little red wine if things look dry. Add tomatoes and parsley, and cook uncovered an additional 5 minutes until all the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Season with salt & pepper, then add basil leaves and mix thoroughly. Make sure you add the basil leaves at the very end, as heat can kill their flavor. Serve with a little additional chopped parsley sprinkled on top.



8/10: I plan to be making this dish often from now on, it's the best vegetarian dish I've ever made. Fresh basil leaves are a must! I had it over some basmati rice, along with some fresh baked French bread and some Parmesan cheese. I recommend having the dish with some red wine, and watching the movie with a pretty date.