How's fall treating you so far? I'm admittedly a bit behind on starting my fall garden, but stay tuned—I’ll be sharing my October Gardening Guide with you next week! First up, some housekeeping—here are some scattered updates from the last month or so:
I attended a dinner at Osteria Mozza hosted by La Brea Bakery and Nancy Silverton. She demoed her famous bread pudding, and I must say, she is quite the character. Let's just say that her remark, "If you have a messy kitchen, I don't trust your food," was just one of many Nancy-isms of the night. I enjoyed a four-course meal with different La Brea Bakery baked goods featured in each dish.
I signed up for a half marathon... The Charity Half Marathon is a race within the Los Angeles Marathon where everyone participating is running for a charity. I am raising money for Children's Hospital Los Angeles, a cause near and dear to me. Chances are, you know someone who has personally been served by the incredible work done at CHLA. I will be personally matching dollar for dollar up to $1,000 for every donation I raise for CHLA. You can donate here.
I hosted my 29th birthday party and vlogged it—you can watch it on TikTok or Instagram. The recipe for my basil feta pistachio dip is here; the lemon blueberry basil cake can be found at the end of this newsletter. I remixed the dip (I call it a dip because it's a little too far removed from a pesto in my opinion, but you can call it a pesto if you wish) for last night's arugula and shrimp salad. The dip really does it all.
I filmed my first commercial last week and got to shoot it in my garden. I've never acted before, so once the commercial airs, I'll be sure to share it with you all. It was surreal—I had a hair and makeup artist and a wardrobe fitting.
My sister's video about our restaurant went viral on TikTok. From the comments, it came to my attention that most people didn't know that I opened a restaurant. Our family (my in-laws) winery, Pali Wine Co., expanded into the restaurant space earlier this year. I managed the design and construction of the restaurant (with a bit of my previous real estate and remodeling career experience), and helped with the menu creation. The restaurant upholds a strictly hyperlocal menu whereby almost all the ingredients are sourced directly from local San Diego farmers, fishermen, and ranchers. I'm really proud that we're able to pull this off—not only are we supporting the rich bounty of San Diego, it just tastes better. I invite you to check it out next time you're in San Diego. Oh, I suppose I forgot to mention it's called Cellar Hand Hillcrest, and you can follow us on Instagram here and make a reservation here. We just opened up for brunch service on Sundays. With the farmers market right out the front door, you can make it your new Sunday routine, and you might see our chef personally hauling in the produce that ends up on our menu.
I wasn't sure whether I was going to share this publicly, but I made the decision on September 1st to take a break from drinking for the rest of the year. I've shared on socials before that I've been on a health journey for over a year now. While I don't think I need to justify the alcohol break, I thought I'd share in case anyone else is in the same boat and wants to chat about it. My DMs are always open.
I'm headed to Kentucky this weekend for my best friend's wedding and will be making a trip to Tennessee afterward. If you have any must-see stops in Cincinnati, Lexington, or on the way to Tennessee, let me know!
I just finished reading the first book of 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, and it did not disappoint—it was bizarre yet delicate all the same. I'm taking a quick detour to read Intermezzo by Sally Rooney before finishing up the series. So far, so good. You can always follow me on Goodreads.
I treated myself to a few new items at Madewell for my birthday. I've received several compliments already on these darted barrel-leg jeans and wide-leg trousers—not to mention they're so comfortable. I also picked up this striped collared sweater that makes me feel very coastal grandmother, a green super soft henley, and a simple soft brown long sleeve.
Lemon Blueberry Basil Cake
One of my friends works at The Fruitist and generously gifted me a bounty of blueberries—one of my absolute favorite fruits. I could eat them by the pintful! I decided to make blueberries the focal point of my birthday cake. The cake itself was lemon and blueberry; I brushed basil syrup on each layer and then frosted it with a classic buttercream infused with lemon and blueberry jam. For fun, I decorated it with fresh blueberries and basil.
Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 cup whole milk
1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
1 tbsp flour (to toss with blueberries)
For the basil syrup:
½ cup fresh basil leaves
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
For the frosting:
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup blueberry jam
Fresh blueberries and basil leaves (for garnish)
Instructions:
Make the cake:
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and lemon juice.
Gradually add the flour mixture and milk in alternating additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.
Toss the blueberries with 1 tbsp of flour to prevent sinking, and gently fold them into the batter.
Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely on a wire rack.
Make the basil syrup:
In a small saucepan, combine basil leaves, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Remove from heat and let it steep for 10 minutes. Strain the basil leaves out and allow the syrup to cool.
Prepare the frosting:
In a large bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
Mix in the lemon juice and zest until well combined. For a blueberry swirl effect, gently fold in the blueberry jam at the end.
Assemble the cake:
Brush the basil syrup generously on both cake layers.
Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread a layer of frosting over the top.
Add the second cake layer on top and frost the entire cake with the remaining frosting.
Decorate with fresh blueberries and basil leaves.
This cake looks so sexy, I might just have to become a baker for the day!