Some of Seattle's finest

There is so much to talk about! This week at school was particularly packed--right on cue for this point in the semester. I've been moving almost non-stop since Monday morning, and tomorrow is going to kick off the same trend. Amazing that classes started a month ago and that we only have three weeks until fall break. When did all of that happen?

So when she called me two Sundays ago, about to hop in the car and make the three-hour drive south to Stumptown, and asked if I wanted a few cupcakes (?to share with some friends??yeah, right?), I quickly and delightedly squealed at the offer. When Mallory finally knocked on my front door, having made a requisite wrong turn somewhere that no trip to Portland would be complete without, I had almost forgotten about the cupcakes. That is, until I offered to help her unload her things from her car. There, sitting in the front seat, were two full boxes with ?a few? cupcakes inside. I?m sure a bystander could attest to the fact that my eyes nearly spun in their sockets to reveal cupcakes instead of dollar signs. This, dear friends, was pure elation.


Thus my kitchen instantaneously became home to forty darling cupcakes, all iced by the graceful hand of my best friend. The usual suspects were well represented (chocolate/vanilla, vanilla/chocolate, vanilla/vanilla), as well as a handful of carrot cake, chocolate hazelnut, and lemon cupcakes. By the time I even got to taste one the next evening, my housemates had made a significant dent between the two boxes (with my permission, of course) and I could feel the sugar rush pulsing wildly throughout my whole house. I invited Sara and David over to share in the bounty that Monday evening, and I elected to indulge in a lemon cupcake. I thought it would make the perfect capstone to my impromptu dinner of bread and fruit from my CSA and cheese from (gasp!) the grocery store*. The cake was dense and moist?decadent, really?even if the icing was a touch too sweet. But I?m not one to look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth, and I still basked in the glorious explosion of citrus that unfailingly brightened up a long, cloudy Portland day.

Other highlights of Mallory?s visit include an unexpected and pleasantly refreshing glass of local carrot-orange juice from Vita Cafe, convincing Mallory to delve into the delectably primal and seductive world of the fried egg, and a trip to Stumptown coffee for a late-morning Americano?accompanied by a crossword puzzle, of course. After a frenzied weekend of cheesemaking and tart baking, I made sure that Mallory didn?t leave without first eating as much of the prune plum tart she could manage. And speaking of that tart, I think a recipe is in due order.