If I may say so myself, tonight was a smashing success. A whole day into my challenge and I'm still thrilled that I took it on! On the menu this evening was kalamata olive sourdough bread from the market, homemade eggplant caponata, and greens with heirloom tomatoes, feta, and red onions that I pickled in fresh-squeezed lime juice till they turned a beautiful shade of purple.

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You hoo — anyone out there? It's been a rough couple months for NDP, between six weeks of crazy work schedules and a long vacation to Alaska (yes, I'm back and I've got beautiful pictures to share!). But I promise, I haven't forgotten about you. No, no, no. Never. In fact, I've decided not only to resume regular posting, but to do so with a bit of a bang. Read on.

(But first, peek at my pics from Alaska….)

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I don't know if trashy is your cup of tea, but when I was a kid I absolutely loved Entenmann's ultimate crumb cake. The ratio of crumbs to cake on that thing was approximately 8:1, the little bit of cake base wholly overwhelmed by a thick coat of streusel. Still, I hardly ate the cake. Frankly, I just liked those crumbs.

While Entenmann's isn't exactly my thing anymore, I still have an uber-softspot for crumb cake. Something about that combination of brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, and (of course) butter makes almost any cake better. I've outgrown my habit of picking crumbs off the cake (ahem, almost), but to compensate, I've taken to putting in twice the amount of streusel called for in the recipe. In case you're not so inclined, I've recorded the original recipe here.

Well, almost the original recipe; I happened to have some of the last of summer's sweet cherries, which I pitted for this cake. If you have sour cherries lying around, they'd be even better.
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What else can I say? It seems almost silly to even call this a recipe. Simplicity aside, it's a fantastic way to get rid of the zucchini that's taking over your garden. (I actually have no experience with this — having no garden in my small DC apartment — but I hear the rumors.)

It's also the perfect antidote to a hot summer day: cook it at night — it takes like 30 minutes, tops — and store in the fridge for when you're too darn lazy to cook but want to taste summer.
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Yes, yes, summer's almost over (eek! I won't say it again, I promise) — but there's still plenty of time for you country folk to fire up your grill while we city folk peer jealously out our windows and inhale the aromas. Meanwhile, if you're an urbanite lucky enough to get invited over to said grill-equipped home, here's a great slaw to bring along with. I guarantee it'll win you some fans — maybe even get you invited back. (You'll notice that I actually just brought it for lunch one day. I promise it tastes good both outdoors and in A/C.)

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