Donut Army

I was recently gifted with a mini-Bundt pan. I had always wanted to try them, but had never gotten around to buying one. My first attempt with the mini-Bundt had two goals: 1) learn how the pan responds to use; and, 2) get rid of some of the excess food in the pantry -- including some of this grapefruit that has stacked up. Mission accomplished! Check out this recipe for a light-flavored citrusy cake that will leave people guessing as to its main ingredient. (They'll know it's not lemon, and not orange, but they probably won't guess grapefruit.) The other success from this experiment was successfully cooking for few. Using the mini-Bundt cakes, I was able to bake up desserts for 2 people that would last a few days. I poured the rest of the batter into cupcake liners, and popped the unbaked cupcakes into the freezer, where I can then grab them next time I need a small batch of cake happiness in the house. Grapefruit Bundt Cake adapted from Food Babbles dot com

I was introduced to freekeh several months ago, at a restaurant in New York. While I really enjoyed the smoky flavor of the grain and its substantial crunch, the most memorable part of the introduction to freekeh for me was how the server waxed poetically about the grain, but wound up getting every characteristic of the grain wrong in her description. Still, freekeh is delicious, very familiar (since it is similar to bulgur wheat), and tremendously fun to say out loud! Here is a recipe I highly recommend -- present it as a variant of tabbouleh and no one will be concerned about your describing the salad as if you were a Valley Girl trying to say "freaky salad." Freekeh Salad Adapted from Wise Monkeys Salad: 2 c freekeh 4-5 tomatoes, roughly cut 1-2 cucumbers, roughly cut 1 red onion, roughly cut 1 bunch parsley 1 bunch mint zaatar, to taste slivered almonds, dry roasted feta cheese Dressing: 1/4 c olive oil juice of 2 lemons salt and pepper Important