I've Moved!

As of March 10, 2011, Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved to www.laurieconstantino.com. Please update your readers, bookmarks, and front pages to reflect my new site address.

What does this mean for readers? If you subscribe to this blog via e-mail or an RSS reader, you should receive all future posts (please let me know if you do not). If you have this site bookmarked, you need to update the bookmark to:

http://www.laurieconstantino.com

Thank you to all you my friends and readers who have cooked with me over the last few years. Please visit www.laurieconstantino.com to see the new site and read my latest recipes for Pasta Flora (Greek Jam Tart) made with Fresh Fig Jam.

The recipes and stories at the heart of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska will continue unchanged. In addition, the new blog has many exciting new features, including:

• An easy-to-read format that allows readers to quickly access recent stories
• Printer friendly recipes
• A recipe index, accessible by main ingredient, meal course, cuisine, special diet, food type, or recipe title
• An easy to use form for contacting me to ask questions, give advice for how I can improve the site, or for any other reason
• Resources for food lovers, including links to Alaska specialty markets, Alaska food blogs, Mediterranean food blogs, and a massive Greek cookbook bibliography
• A calendar of food events in Alaska and a way to contact me to submit events to include on the calendar
• Information of wild edibles, including resource information on wild edible Alaska plants
• Blog of the Week, a feature to highlight and introduce interesting food and cooking blogs
• A running daily feed of Alaska food news, located on my home page
• A running daily feed of Anchorage restaurant specials, located on my home page

All posts from the original Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska will eventually be transferred to www.laurieconstantino.com; I expect that process to be completed in the next two months.

Recipes: Bev's Apple Cake & Plum Torte (Κεικ με Μήλα & Κεικ με Δαμάσκηνα)

We stepped off the plane in Anchorage a month ago. The sun was shining brightly; the air crisp and cold. Our clothing, suitable for 75°F weather we left behind in Greece, left us shivering in Alaska.

We were one of the last to pass customs; our suitcases, fully packed with delicious Greek ingredients (including 30 pounds of cheeses), attracted intense governmental scrutiny. We helplessly stood by while a neophyte customs agent mauled delicate cheeses, sticking his thumb through their centers. Puzzled, he gave the cheese to a more senior agent for scrutiny, who immediately approved its entry. At long last, all our food passed muster, albeit a little worse for wear.

Because of the customs hold up, we missed the normal 30-people-fighting-for-10-taxis that happens after every international flight lands in Anchorage. Tired and relieved, we stepped into a waiting taxi and headed home.

Anchorage was awash with color: the sky, brilliant blue; the trees, gloriously gold. The mountains surrounding the city were deep green and snowless. Since we’ve been back, supermarket produce sections have been overflowing with fall fruits.

With all the fall fruit that’s landed in my kitchen, I’ve been doing a lot of baking. So far, my favorite treats are a pair of simple to mix, one-bowl cakes that are packed with fruit and wonderful flavor.

Bev’s Apple Cake is moist, has lots of apples, and isn't overly sweet. When fresh from the oven, the top crust crackles, nicely contrasting with the moist crumb and juicy fruit.

Plum Torte is one of the New York Times most requested recipes of all times. First created by Lois Levine and popularized by Marion Burros in her New York Times column, Plum Torte is moist, buttery, and absolutely delicious. Like Bev’s Apple Cake, it takes minutes to put together, but seems as if it took a lot of effort.

Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to

http://www.laurieconstantino.com/quick-and-easy-cake-recipes-with-fruit/


Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!