Just in time for Carrot Cake and Poker Day… This may not be as good for us as the other recipes I’ve been posting lately, but it’s delicious. And it uses up a lot of carrots. The original recipe called for 3 cups, but we had 5 cups and added them all. If anything, I think the extra carrots made it even more moist and delicious.

mmm...

Carrot Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
5 cups shredded carrots

1. Preheat oven to 350° (325° if you use a glass pan, like we do)
2. Grease and flour a rectangular pan.
3. Beat sugar, oil, and eggs.
4. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla, and salt.
5. Stir in carrots.
6. Pour into pan. Bake 40 to 45 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth.
2. Beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth.

This is a good way to use carrots that you don’t know what to do with. We had too many a few weeks ago and just shredded and froze them. Baked into the cake you can’t even tell that they’re not fresh.

One year ago: Old Windows? Insulate Them with Honeycomb Shades.

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Cutting up the squash takes the longest, so I did that the day before to save time. Also, this takes longer than I’m usually willing to do on a week night, so I made it on Sunday and  froze most of it. (It makes a lot.)

One year ago: Indoor Cats

I was both sick and busy this week, so I didn’t get a chance to read much beyond the Globe. Luckily there was a bunch of interesting local stuff.

• Shell gives MIT $25m for gas, oil research – Boston Globe. The MIT Energy Initiative is supposed to be about finding alternatives to oil and natural gas, but this donation is specifically for finding scarce deposits and creating tougher offshore platforms.
• Cape Wind backers blew right by cost – Boston Globe. Newer technologies are always going to cost more, but they’ll never get cheaper if no one makes the initial investment.
• Rent-a-coops put ‘farm fresh’ in suburban yards – Boston Globe. I think renting is a great way for people to see if they’re ready for the full responsibility.
• There’s safety in numbers for cyclists – Grist. Numbers of accidents don’t increase as more bicycles hit the road. That’s reassuring.
• Ask Umbra on ridding your home of moths and repairing the sweaters they ate – Grist. My sweater holes are the fault of evil cats, but I’ve still got a bag of things that I want to learn how to darn.
• Taking a Bite out of Second Hand – Green Phone Booth. Bedbugs definitely make me think twice about secondhand furniture.

That’s it. As always, if you read anything interesting this week, send it along.

I’d never heard of delicata squash before getting some from my CSA last year, but it’s a new favorite. Delicata is easy to peel and seed, but because of its thin skin it doesn’t store as long as other winter squash. Fortunately, with this recipe I found on the Garden of Eating, it doesn’t last long anyway.

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Cider-Glazed Delicata Squash

2 medium delicata squash
3 tbps butter
1/4 cup fresh sage
1 tbsp fresh rosemary
1 1/2 cups cider
1 cup water
2 tsps sherry vinegar
1 tsp salt

1. Peel squash. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Chop into 1/2-inch slices.
2. Melt butter in skillet. Add sage and rosemary and cook, stirring, until brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add squash, cider, water, vinegar, and salt. Cook over medium heat at a boil until cider has boiled down and squash is tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

I actually use herbs that I got from my CSA this summer and dried. You’re supposed to substitute at a ratio of 1 tbsp fresh to 1 tsp dried, but I think I use more than that, and it tastes great. Really. I never thought I’d love squash this much. (Ask my mom.)

One year ago: The Problem with Handkerchiefs

Last week’s cold weather made me realize that winter is coming. So we took advantage of the warmer temperatures last weekend to weatherize the windows. While we’ve caulked around the edges of most of the frames, we haven’t done much to the windows themselves. Some of them were installed pretty loosely in their frames, making them ideal candidates for v-channel weatherstripping.

v-channel weatherstripping

V-channel is plastic weatherstripping that folds up (into a V) to block air, but still remains flexible enough to allow the window (or door) to move. Jason and I were a little confused at first as to where it was supposed to go. I think hardware stores assume a level of competence that we don’t have. (And this picture did not help—who has windows like those anymore?) But eventually we figured out that on our vinyl windows it was supposed to go not in the track with the counterweight, but on the outer track that the window slid past, opening outward toward the stop. After folding the weatherstripping, you slide it into the space beside the window, then peel off part of the backing to expose the adhesive, and stick it down. Then you open the window (or tip it in) to expose the rest of the weatherstripping, and stick that down. Afterwards, we could still see some light coming through the sides of our worst windows (it is just white plastic) but felt no draft.

We also used regular foam weatherstripping at the tops and bottoms of the windows to ensure a tight seal. By the 12th window, we felt like experts at this. I hope it helps make it feel a little less drafty in here this winter. Next up: door sweeps and spray foam! (Oh my!)

One year ago: Preparing Food Ahead of Time