Persimmon Cobbler

Today is a baby bowl celebration! If you guys haven't heard already, the lovely Cynthia from Two Red Bowls has brought bowl #3 into this world. Her new little family is just too beautiful for words so we wanted to send lots of love their way by sharing some tasty bowl-themed recipes with you all. Huge thanks to Steph and Alana for organizing this virtual baby celebration. You can head over to their blogs to see a full list of all the recipes.

One of the things I love most about Cynthia's awe-inspiring blog is she's not afraid to use more obscure ingredients or make recipes that might be unfamiliar to most of us. I first learned about mentaiko through her fabulous recipe, and she taught me there's something called korean army base stew that's this crazy and delicious concoction of spam, ramen, cheese, kimchi and other ingredients you wouldn't think should go together. For today's recipe I wanted to honor Cynthia's blog by sharing a cobbler with persimmons, a fruit you wouldn't normally think to use as the filling for a baked good.

I kept flip flopping over making this recipe because part of me was afraid it would turn out terribly as I had never baked with persimmons before, but the other part of me said to be bold like Cynthia. Turns out, persimmons hold up surprisingly well and have a texture similar to peaches when baked. Any doubts I had were swiftly squashed after the first bite of subtly sweet filling paired with warm and pillowy biscuits. And now that we're quickly approaching a cold season void of fresh berries or stone fruits, persimmons make for the perfect depths-of-winter cobbler. Enjoy guys, and congratulations Cynthia, B2, and B3!

Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream Sandwiches

There are a lot of endearing things about my kitchen. It has tinned ceilings original to the house from the early 1900s, it gets beautiful light, it's very large by New York City standards. But there are a lot of things I hate about it. It's old with largely unreliable appliances, its counters are covered with a horrible off-white laminate littered with coffee stains, it has a freezer that doesn't freeze when I'm trying to make ice cream sandwiches. But it's my kitchen, and I'll always love it even if I don't like it.

Black Sesame Cake with Citrus Curd, the 2 Year Celebration

Last Friday we turned 2! Our sophomore year was a good one. It was the year I finally found my voice as a blogger and the year I met so many wonderful people in this sphere of the internet. I wouldn't change a thing. But if I had one desire for the upcoming year, it would be to post more regularly. I love interacting with all of you and hope we can do it more often.

This blog has shown me a range of emotions I didn't think was possible. Back in high school, I threw some shade at a guy for reasons which elude me now. He responded with, "Summer, if someone had a warm soda, I would tell them to chip some ice off of your heart because you are just that cold." I deserved it. I respected him a little more after that because it was true, I have always been reserved, quiet, an observer, and a bit cold if we're to be completely honest.

I never anticipated the sheer joy of moments such as publishing a post I'm incredibly proud of, being nominated for an award, partaking in workshops with like minded people (talking shop for hours!), and running into new blog friends by happenstance on the train. Conversely, I was also entirely ill equipped to deal with the uncontrollable outbursts of rage when recipes fail after 5, 6, 7 tries, the woeful despair of having a great recipe but not being able to translate that into photos, the pointless frustration toward the sun in winter.

All those ups and downs are what got O&O here today. Of course we also wouldn't be here without the support of all you wonderful people. So to celebrate such a momentous occasion, we need a cake that is equally memorable.

Chinese Paper Wrapped Sponge Cake

Going to the Chinese grocery store with my mom used to be a weekly excursion. After she had gotten all of her produce, meats, noodles, sauces and such, we would usually make a stop at the bakery right before heading to checkout. We would marvel at the enormous variety of beautiful baked goods but ultimately, every time we would end up with the same few pastries. My favorite was always the paper wrapped sponge cake. When we got home with our haul, I would quickly rip off the plastic film, peel off the paper, and shove the soft, fluffy, springy, and just ever so slightly sweet cake in my mouth so fast that most of the time I skipped right over that pesky step of eating called chewing. Satisfaction attained. Repeat next weekend.

Today's post is the brainchild of my friend Donny, who wants to make Chinese pastries the next big thing. Move over western baked goods, the east is coming. This post could not be more appropriate because 1. Today is the Lunar New Year (happy new year everyone!), and 2. I'm actually typing these words from China, where I'll be for the next three weeks. Both Donny and this long awaited trip have inspired me to get back to my roots. So for the next month, I'll be writing about my travels and also presenting you guys some recipes honoring the upbringing I had in a Chinese family, starting with these sponge cakes.