Yes, it’s that time of year – the leaves are turning (too early, if you ask me), the mornings are starting to get that delightful little nip in the air, and the entire world is obsessed with pumpkin. Myself included. This was my first pumpkin foray of the year, for a brunch at a friend’s house. They are incredibly simple, due to the cheat factor with refrigerated crescent dough (but you don’t have to tell anyone that), and they have all the warm, gooey appeal of a regular cinnamon roll, but with an extra pumpkin punch. Assemble in five minutes, bake in 15-20, and you’re good to go.
You can bring these to brunch, to work, or just pop them like candy in the privacy of your own kitchen. I highly encourage popping them like candy – it’s so easy to just whip up another batch when you do.
For the past couple of years, I’ve done this thing at work where I try to make special cupcakes for everyone on my team’s birthday. They pick a flavor off of my menu and get a half-dozen to take home, and the rest of the batch is for everyone to enjoy. This was really easy when I was on a six-person team, slightly more difficult when we kept adding on new people and eventually got into the double digits – and on top of that, they ALL have summer birthdays. Seriously. I think there’s maybe one November, but June, July, and August are teeming with coworker birthdays.
This shouldn’t really matter since I switched projects in April and am again on a much smaller team, but none of the people on my new team like sweets. Besides, after three-plus years on the old team, I kinda still liked them, so I try to keep up.
Try is the operative word. I’m currently between two and three months behind. Whoops.
These, for example, were for a June birthday. And this coworker does not order from my menu. I’m not even sure she looks at it. She gives me a list of flavors that she likes and my job is to make magic happen. If I were a bad friend, I’d pick two flavors that don’t remotely go together. But I’m not a bad friend, and she is an excellent friend who deserves magic cupcakes (maybe even more than once a year), so she gets Bailey’s and chocolate instead of peanut butter and orange. And she also gets the added bonus of feeling like she’s having a drink at work – Lord knows we all need that sometimes.
These are now on the menu for good – they’re such a fun departure from a standard cupcake. Dense, rich, and creamy, one at a time is all you’ll need, but you’ll definitely be back for more. And you’ll be sending silent thank yous to my coworker Elizabeth for inspiring a new addition to the repertoire for the second year in a row.
A couple of things are reminding me of being a kindergartener right now. The first day of school, for one. For lots of people, it was last week or the week before. For me, the only reason I really noticed is because the blissfully light summer traffic has once again descended into gridlock. Welcome back, everyone! I’m really enjoying sharing the roads with you again! Second, I have an unshakable cold, which makes me act like a small child. Whining, complaining, going completely limp when someone tries to make me get up and do something…hey, I’m reminding me of being a kindergartener!
Yes, yes, I know that caprese by definition includes tomatoes, and that I’ve committed unforgivable sins against Italia by slopping some random substitute onto mozzarella, fresh basil, and balsamic, and then making it into a sandwich. But will you forgive me if I tell you how amazing it is and then tell you how to make it?
I knew you would. Thanks. You’re the best.
Stone fruits like nectarines and peaches are amazing with creamy mozzarella and peppery basil. I’m sure it would be great as a salad, but I’ve been eating a lot of salads lately so I’m coming from a place of “why would I eat something out of a bowl when I can slap it between two big fat slices of sourdough and heat it up?”
Okay, I’m not sure if that’s a real place. But this sandwich makes me not care. Grab a nectarine or two and enjoy one yourself!
Nectarines stand in for tomatoes in this sandwich variation on the caprese.
Ingredients
2 slices sourdough (or other sandwich) bread
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 nectarine, thinly sliced
2 oz part-skim mozzarella, sliced
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tbsp butter
Instructions
Melt butter in a medium frying pan over medium-low heat.
Brush the balsamic on the inside of both slices of bread.
Place 1 oz of the mozzarella on top of the balsamic side of one of the bread slices. Layer the nectarine slices on top of the cheese and top with the basil. Place the rest of the mozzarella on the basil and top with the other slice of bread, balsamic side in.
Transfer the sandwich to the frying pan and use another heavier frying pan (or grill press) to weigh down the sandwich. Cook for about two minutes.
Flip the sandwich over and cook for another 1½-2 minutes, until bread is golden brown and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
I read a really great rumination last week along the lines of “if you’re constantly posting in your blog about you have no time to update your blog, just delete your f***ing blog.” It made me laugh aloud because I had been just about ready to post something about how I’m soooo busy and have had zero time to post. Which isn’t actually true – I’ve had time to post, just no time to cook, and I’ve come very close to accepting with grudging resignation that I may not be able to update more than once a week.
One thing helped me fight off that resignation – tomorrow I’ll turn 32. I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions because I’ve never really seen the point of targeting major goals just because it’s a new calendar year. But your birthday is your new year – it’s a brand new year of life, with a new number (that probably makes you feel old the first time you say it aloud), maybe a new opportunity to get a better picture on your driver’s license, and certainly, as always, infinite chances to remember what’s important to you. So my goal this year is to make the time to do what I love, at any cost. Whether it’s writing the blog, riding my bike, traveling, doing yoga, spending time with my friends, family, and significant other, those things will be priority one. Because work is important, but no one’s last words have ever been “I wish I’d worked more.”
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