lemony ricotta cake. with blueberries and plums.

we got home from vacation on saturday.
getting home from vacation is sort of the worst.
especially when you have no food in the house.
and your children decide to share your last $2 yogurt.
(YES! sometimes i buy $2 yogurt, okay!)

josh offered to go to the grocery store because, he told me, i looked too tired to do it. which i was. he took maya with him and i got to sit on the floor and play chutes and ladders with rapha, which i did not win.

josh is a deeply kind human being.

they left at 5 something. and they didn't get back until almost 7.
i don't know what happened.

he asked for a list. i gave him a list. on this list i wrote:
peaches (or nectarines. whatever is ripe.)

before he left i thought about reviewing what i meant by ripe, since josh once came home with an avocado that seemed like a scientific anomaly in its epic hardness, then claimed he doesn't really know what a ripe avocado feels like. but the thing is, my husband constantly awes me with not only his kindness and patience, but with the depths and creativity of his mind, too. he's always thinking. whether it's about philosophy or religion or belief or the law or shoes or parenting or game of thrones, his mind does not stop twisting and turning in the most fascinating, beautiful ways.

and maybe that's how and why he came home with one bag full of rock hard peaches and another bag full of rock hard plums. oh, and the biggest container of ricotta i've ever seen. because, he explained, he likes to garnish his french toast with it. (we make french toast once a week, on saturday mornings, with leftover challah.)

sometimes it's hard for Thinkers to go grocery shopping.

and i know that right now it probably seems like i'm making fun of josh, but i don't mean to. because sometimes having too much of something, or not the right version of something is a wonderful challenge. and it seemed to me the only thing to do with all of this food we wouldn't possibly be able to eat before we move on monday is bake it. which is what i did.

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups ricotta (i used whole milk)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup chopped plums

to make:

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 inch round cake pan with parchment paper, then spray with non-stick cooking spray.

2. combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a big old bowl.

3. combine the eggs, ricotta, vanilla, lemon juice and zest, and butter in another bowl.

4. dump the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir slowly until combined.

5. add in the fruit (i'm sure any kind of fruit would be good here) and stir gently until it's all mixed in. 

6. spread in pan and, if you're feeling fancy like i was, gently place some thinly sliced fruit on top.

7. bake for about 50 minutes or until the cake is a nice golden color.

a wonderful summer cake. enjoy!