Two Weeks

Here's to my health, y'all.

Two weeks ago, hands shaking- heart racing- glass shattered-  sirens wailing- lights flashing, an EMT ran his hand down my back and told me my neck might be broken.

In the rain and the cover of night, something had gone horribly wrong: my car hydroplaned out of control. A truck driver in a semi saw me too late and as he passed by my spinning Forrester, he had no choice but to go right over me. When I opened my eyes, I was completely bewildered by the fact I was still alive.

Covered in an infinite amount of broken glass, I crawled into the backseat to check on little Pixel- thankfully she was still strapped into her seatbelt and patiently waiting for me. Before I could open the door I heard the voice of Patti, a complete stranger, my sweet guardian angel in a ballet pink sweatshirt. She handed me her phone through the window and what else was there to do? I called my Mom. Patti, comforting and helpful, stayed with me from the time I got out of my car until I rode away in an ambulance.

It was about the time the ambulance arrived that I started hearing horror stories of crash victims who were seemingly fine and then later became instantaneously paralyzed due to spinal injury. Everyone I encountered that night told me a horror story, as if to remind me that Death had come for me and unexpectedly decided to leave empty-handed. My heart rate was off the charts for hours.

After being admitted to the hospital, hearing a plethora of horror stories and having x-rays taken, I was half expecting to hear that my neck was broken. Instead, the doctor walked through the door with a smile on her face and began raving about my blood pressure- something I've never heard before!

Well, several weeks ago I wrote and photographed an article for The Chalkboard about the health benefits of beet kvass (one of which is lowered blood pressure) and have been drinking it regularly ever since. I can't even begin to explain to you how good it felt to hear some good news in the shadow of misfortune. I think I'll drink beet kvass every day, forever and ever.

You can read more about beet kvass and how to make it here (as of 05/20/13).

Two Years

It's extraordinary how much the span of two short years can change a person. I find myself questioning how it's even possible.

I started this blog two years ago: two boyfriends, two houses, two cars, two jobs...ago. Back then I didn't own a kitchen scale, a stand mixer or a Silpat and the only cookbook in my kitchen was a 1984 copy of The Joy of Cooking, which is missing half of the index. But I started a food blog anyway and my very first entry was about chocolate chip cookies. I used almond flour, grapeseed oil and agave nectar instead of flour, butter and sugar. I called turbinado sugar "turbine sugar." Please never make them. Make these super moist, toasted oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies instead.

Who are you now compared to who you were two years, five years, ten years ago?

These cookies are a hybrid of the New York Times chocolate chip cookies and Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookies and Alton Brown's the chewy.

Hannah Messinger's chocolate chip cookies

Makes 22 large cookies

5 ounces old-fashioned oats

6.5 ounces bread flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup (two sticks) salted butter

10 ounces sugar, half brown, half white

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs at room temp

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
flaky salt

1. Melt 2 Tablespoons over butter over medium heat in a skillet. Toast oats, stirring occasionally, until they smell like popcorn. Pulse them in a food processor until they are as fine as possible. Whisk with other dry ingredients.

2. Cream butter and sugars together. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla. At a very low speed, mix in dry ingredients. Give about 1/4 of the chocolate chips a good chop- don't be tempted to do this step in the food processor because the heat from the motor will melt the chocolate. Fold in chocolate.

3. Cover tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, or up to 72 hours. 

4. Preheat your oven to 350. Roll dough into 2 ounce balls and bake six at a time. The length that you bake your cookies will determine the texture. About 14 minutes will give you a good, chewy cookie. 18 minutes will give you a more old-fashioned, crispy cookie.

5. As soon as you pull your pan out of the oven, top the hot cookies with a sprinkle of salt. Let them rest for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Super Southern: Strawberry Cake

Summer in Tennessee smells like strawberries. Starting at the end of April and going through mid June, they grow in an absolutely rampant fashion- cultivated in fields, gardened in yards and wild on the side of the road. Some afternoons, when the sun warms the world up to 80 degrees or so, the nectarous scent permeates my mind to the point that all I can think about is: strawberry jam, strawberry ice cream, strawberry compote, strawberry chutney, strawberry pie, and on and on and on. 

More times than not, my mind lands on strawberry cake.

Here in the South, traditional strawberry cake is made with lots of sugar, strawberry Jello mix and frozen strawberries in syrup. The crumb is tender and intensely sweet. Each bite is molten with the juice from the berries. In my house, it's a dessert that signifies the start of Summer. And isn't that the best feeling, knowing that Summer is finally here?

My version of this Southern classic is notably less sweet and uses fresh strawberries instead of frozen. The one ingredient that you just can't skip is the strawberry gelatin, which gives the cake its unique texture and turns the batter the dreamiest shade of pink. 

Southern Strawberry Cake

1 cup (two sticks) salted butter
1 cup (about 7 ounces) raw cane sugar
4 large eggs at room temp
2 pounds strawberries, divided
3 cups (13.5 ounces) low protein flour*
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 ounces (one small package) strawberry gelatin
3/4 cup 2% buttermilk
1 pint (cold) whipping cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 with a rack in the middle. Butter and flour two 8" cake pans. 

2. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs one at a time.

3. Pulse one pound strawberries in food processor until chunky, but not pureed. Add to bowl.

4. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and gelatin. Fold half of it into wet ingredients, followed by buttermilk and the other half. If your batter looks broken, that's okay- it's just the strawberries.

5. Let batter rest 15 minutes. Pour evenly into pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Meanwhile, beat cream until semi-stiff peaks form and slice remaining strawberries.

6. Allow cake to cool for 15 minutes before flipping onto a rack. This is a very delicate cake, so be gentle. When layers are completely cool, decorate with whipped cream and sliced strawberries. Serve immediately after frosting. If you're planning on transporting this cake, bring layers and whipped cream and assemble on site.

* Such as cake flour or White Lilly all-purpose flour.