KaraCooks

The Kitchen Disasters section on the blog has been sitting empty for a while, mostly because I’ve been suppressing the evidence. Not anymore.

Back in 2010, I had a carrot cake I trusted (Sharon’s; it has never once failed me). Then I let a baking challenge talk me into a fancier version, and I walked away from the sure thing to chase it. It baked flat and dense and rubbery. And instead of admitting defeat, I frosted it and photographed it like I was interviewing for a job at a food magazine.

The photos look incredible. The cake was a rubber impression of a cake. Here’s the whole story, and the lesson I actually took from it: karacooks.com/carrot-cake-fail

The Carrot Cake I Knew Was Wrong (And Photographed Anyway) - KARACOOKS I had a carrot cake that never failed me, then chased a fancier one. It baked flat, dense, and rubbery. I frosted it and shot it like a magazine anyway.

Friday Roundup #38

Sunflowers on the counter, half the office bolting ahead of a Friday storm, the collards still sitting on my desk, and a gluten-free honey cake in the oven....

Friday Roundup #38 - KARACOOKS Sunflowers on the counter, half the office bolting ahead of a Friday storm, the collards still sitting on my desk, and a gluten-free honey cake in the oven.

Put Down the Camera

The 9/11 Memorial Museum has a room where they ask you to put the camera down. Seven trips to Ground Zero, and the photograph I did not know I still had....

The 9/11 Memorial Museum, Twenty-Five Years On | KaraCooks The 9/11 Memorial Museum has a room where they ask you to put the camera down. Seven trips to Ground Zero, and the photograph I did not know I still had.

How to Roast and Freeze Hatch Chile (25 Pounds at a Time)

Twenty-five pounds of fresh Hatch, one afternoon on the Kamado, and a year of green chile in the freezer. Plus the queso you have earned by the end of it....

How to Roast Hatch Chile and Freeze It | KaraCooks How to roast Hatch chile on a kamado and freeze a year of it: char, steam, peel, label, freeze flat. Plus the green chile queso you have earned by then.

Friday Roundup #37

An invasive grass has taken the back of the property, the collards are still not in the ground, and minor-league September is winding down at Gwinnett Field....

Friday Roundup #37: The Stiltgrass Took Over | KaraCooks An invasive grass has taken the back of the property, the collards are still not in the ground, and minor-league September is winding down at Gwinnett Field.

Somebody Picked These Chiles

Hatch chile farmworkers pick by hand through a sixteen-hour day for under $6,000 a year. A Labor Day essay about what my twenty-five pound box actually costs....

Hatch Chile Farmworkers: What My Box Cost | KaraCooks Hatch chile farmworkers pick by hand through a sixteen-hour day for under $6,000 a year. A Labor Day essay about what my twenty-five pound box actually costs.

The Hinge I Was Afraid Of (and the Grill Table That Actually Beat Me)

Kamado Joe spring hinge swap, start to finish: two hours, two tools, and you never touch the springs. The surprise was the new base not fitting the grill table....

Kamado Joe Spring Hinge: Don't Touch the Springs | KaraCooks Kamado Joe spring hinge swap, start to finish: two hours, two tools, and you never touch the springs. The surprise was the new base not fitting the grill table.

Carol’s Pineapple Carrot Cake

A sixty-year-old recipe that bakes at 360°F, sifted through a tin Androck nobody is allowed to wash. Carol's cake, heavy with carrot, pineapple and pecan, and better on day two....

Carol's Pineapple Carrot Cake - KARACOOKS A sixty-year-old recipe that bakes at 360°F, sifted through a tin Androck nobody is allowed to wash. Carol's cake, heavy with carrot, pineapple and pecan, and better on day two.

The Barred Owl Didn’t Show Up to Be Photographed

A barred owl sat twenty yards off our deck for ten minutes and I had the wrong camera. Phone shots, a call I couldn't place, and why this isn't a yard, it's habitat....

The Barred Owl Didn't Show Up to Be Photographed - KARACOOKS A barred owl sat twenty yards off our deck for ten minutes and I had the wrong camera. Phone shots, a call I couldn't place, and why this isn't a yard, it's habitat.

Friday Roundup #36

Remy takes National Dog Day personally, the collard seeds arrive, Hatch chiles are inbound, and I fall down a Scottish hoof-trimming YouTube hole....

Friday Roundup #33 This week’s Friday Roundup: a curious creek-walk doe, our first tattoo consults, a great dinner at Noosh, brussels sprouts sprouting, and a Duma Key reread.