My Favorite Dessert for the Fourth of July

LOCATION: BELLE ISLE • JULY 3rd, 2020
Outfit Details: ZARA Dress, Celine Sunglasses, Miansai Cuff Bracelet

Fourth of July calls for grilling burgers with friends, corn-on-the-cob, and fresh watermelon slices...but most importantly blueberries, raspberries, and cream cheese frosting! I have been baking this flag cake for the last five years and it’s always a huge hit at our celebrations. Not only is this dessert a visual stunner, it tastes even better than it looks!! I guarantee your family and friends will be in love with it!

I highly recommend these William-Sonoma quarter-sheet pans; we have a set of the Goldtouch bakeware and I really love the quality and the durability of this line.

Flag Cake - Quarter Sheet Pan

Adapted from Ina Garten, serves 10-12
Ingredients:
For the Cake:
9 Tbsp butter at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
½ cup sour cream
¾ tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups flour
⅙ cup (8 tsp) cornstarch
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda

Icing:
16 tsp (2 sticks) of butter
12 oz (¾ lb) cream cheese
2 cups (½ lb) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
¾ tsp vanilla extract

To Assemble: 
1 half-pint blueberries
1½ half-pint raspberries

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 13 x 9 x 1-inch sheet pan (see note).

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 3 minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy. (If the butter is too cool to be light and fluffy, add a teaspoon or two of warm water,) On medium-low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir the batter with a rubber spatula and pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until very smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix on low speed. Stir with a rubber spatula to be sure the icing is well mixed.

Spread three quarters of the icing on the cake. Using a toothpick, outline a flag on the cake. Fill in the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like the red stripes. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternately add 2 rows of raspberries and 2 rows of icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

Note: If you don’t want to serve your cake from the pan, line the pan with parchment paper and turn it out into a board before you ice and decorate it.

Cherry Picking & Baking

LOCATION: BRENTWOOD, CALIFORNIA • JUNE 26th, 2020

Outfit Details: Polka Dot Blouse, Artizia Pants, Lack of Color Hat, Castaner Espadrilles, Vivi et Margot Tote

A few weeks ago, we made a trip out to a u-pick cherry farm in Brentwood thanks to a friend’s recommendation. Breatwood is located in the East Bay and is known primarily for cherries, corn and peaches. I was extra excited since cherries are hands-down my favorite fruit and I had never been cherry picking before!

The weather was supposed to be on the colder side, but as we approached the farm, we could feel that things were going to get pretty warm. I bought these white Artizia pants last fall and I’ve been surprised how much I wear them all year long! I’ve been really into the wide-legged pants style lately, it’s so comfortable and flattering at the same time. These pants are a great alternative to shorts in the Bay Area since it gets cool at night, even in the summer.

This cherry picking farm was amazing! I loved that G&S Farms took Coronavirus and social distancing precautions very seriously. Visits were time-stamped and by appointment only in order to control the crowds. There was a $20 reservation fee that was later credited to your fruit purchase and everyone was required to wear a mask. I’m so glad G&S Farms provided ladders since a lot of the other farms make you bring your own. Turns out there are a lot more types of cherries than just bing & rainers, we brought home a selection of Coral Champagne, Sweetheart, Lapin, & Rainers. I can’t really tell you the difference between them except that we had so much fun, we ended up picking 11 pounds of cherries!

Cherry Galette Recipe

“Galettes are the very best way to bring pie into your everyday life” according to Smitten Kitchen and oh boy was she right! A galette is a french pastry similar to a tart or a pie, but due to it’s free-form nature - it’s way easier to make than pie! I have been making Smitten Kitchen pie crusts or pastries for years and her galette recipe did not disappoint! I recommend either making two smaller galettes instead of one giant one or if you are gifting the galettes - I doubled the recipe and made 5 total galettes to give to friends!

Let me know in the comments if you have a favorite cherry recipe!

XO,
Tiffany

Force for Positivity & Ways to Help: Black Lives Matter

LOCATION: PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA • June 19th, 2020

In light of everything that has happened in the last two week, in our country and around the world, I put my content on hold in order to spend more time listening, reading, and engaging in conversation with friends and family about the racial injustices that are taking place. I’ve been dedicating one post a month to sharing causes that are worth donating time or resources to and also share things that I’ve been encouraged by. Due to current events, I’ve moved this post forward and dedicated it to the Black Lives Matter movement.

There are so many great organizations and I am highlighting the ones we have personally supported or are planning to support in the coming months. I encourage you to seek out local organizations or ones that aren’t garnering as much media attention. Minneapolis Freedom Fund raised $20 million in days thanks to high profile celebrities like Janelle Monae and Steve Carell, but there are many more organizations in everyone’s backyard that also need support.

CAUSES THAT ARE MAKING AN IMPACT

So Oakland started a GoFundMe page to help rebuild and clean up black-owned businesses that have been looted, vandalized, and affected by the recent riots in Oakland, CA. 

Based in Minnesota, Black Visions Collective is a black liberation and advocacy group that also intersects with Trans and LGBTQ+ rights. They have been pushing to defund the Minneapolis Police Department in recent years and this week the Minneapolis City Council announced their intent to do so.

Started by civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative challenges convictions and advocates for criminal-justice reform and racial justice based in Montgomery, Alabama. Stevenson wrote a memoir Just Mercy, which is now a feature film (see below).

You might have seen #8CANTWAIT on social media this week which is Campaign Zero’s initiative for calling cities to implement police reform policies that will end police violence. You can go onto their website and see if any of the eight policies are in place in your city.

As the oldest and largest civil liberties organization, the ACLU has been defending individual rights and liberties since 1920. They turned 100 years old back and January and Helen Keller was a founding member!

UPLIFTING NEWS

Watch Former President Barack Obama’s “Dear Class of 2020” message to students. I especially loved the part where he says “even if it all seems broken, have faith in our democracy” and called us all to action - to participate and vote!

Just Mercy (2019 Film) - Warner Bros. has made the film available to stream and free this month to help educate viewers on systemic racism. This film stars Michael B. Jordan as civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson and is based on a true story. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but it’s on my queue for the next few weeks.

Michael Che gave me a much needed laugh this week while also presenting the importance of Black Lives Matter in a humorous way. I’m planning on watching the full comedy special Michael Che Matters on Netflix this weekend.

To amplify melanated voices using their platforms, some of my favorite bloggers have shared their favorite fashion, art, and home brands owned by black women here, here, and here. 

Everyone has a voice and the ability to create change. I hope you go out and continue to have conversations with your friends, your family, your colleagues in the days, weeks, months, years to come. “Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins. And it’s up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.” ~ Barack Obama

XO,
Tiffany

Continuing the Force for Positivity & More Ways to Help

LOCATION: PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA • May 15th, 2020

Last month I was excited to share a highlight of things that caught my eye. You can read the April Edition here. I am following up with another post of things that inspired me, made me laugh, and brought me joy. Feel free to add your to the comments!

CAUSES THAT ARE MAKING AN IMPACT

SF New Deal is helping San Francisco restaurants keep their doors open by connecting them to local residents in need of meals. The non-profit purchases daily meals from restaurants at volume and in advance and then distributes the food to street clinics, public housing sites, churches, and homes including Tenderloin Housing Clinic, SF African American Faith-Based Coalition and Chinatown Community Development Center, and more. This week alone, volunteers delivered over 19,105 meals to 60 sites around San Francisco. 

I love that my favorite clothing brand, Reformation, has been making masks since the pandemic began. Reformation was the first place we were able to buy masks from and they use the same sustainable fabric they make their clothing from for their masks. They have already made over 250K masks and for their first donations, they worked with LA homeless shelters to distribute masks to high-risk populations and also donated masks to UCLA Health’s medical staff. You can buy a pack of 5 for yourself or donate to those in need.

Parata Systems has launched the Pharmacy Employee Relief Fund to support employees of retail, long-term care, hospital pharmacies impacted by COVID-19. With an initial commitment of $100,000, their aim is to provide assistance to pharmacists, technicians, and pharmacy employees who are facing financial hardship due to illness, quarantine, or closures as a result of COVID-19. Comprehensive Pharmacy Services (CPS) has also made a $100,000 donation to the fund. 

Concern Worldwide is responding to COVID-19 emergency across 23 of the most vulnerable countries by distributing PPE, setting up handwashing stations, delivering prevention messages and ensuring children don’t fall into malnutrition while their education initiatives have been suspended during extended lockdown. You can support their COVID response and read more about their activities from their countries of operations here.

Feed the Fight is an organization I highlighted last month for working to save local restaurants who have been affected by shelter-in-place orders while supporting healthcare workers at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill, NC. They have recently announced that they have become an official chapter of Frontline Foods, so I wanted to update you guys too. I grew up eating at these restaurants and received much of pharmacy training at UNC, so this organization is quite dear to my heart!

FOR A GOOD LAUGH & SOME JOY

The original cast of ‘Legally Blonde The Musical’ reunited for a Public Health PSA to sanitize! This musical was a college favorite of mine. My roommates and I even went to NYC during spring break to catch it on Broadway. Excuse me while I go put the album on, D is about to find out that I still know ALL THE WORDS!

Krystal Bick’s isolation self-portraits are so beautiful and inspiring! She puts so much energy and heart into each portrait and I also love seeing her share behind-the-camera looks on her instagram. If I had to pick favorites, it would be here, here, and here. She is one of the people who has inspired me the most to channel my creative energy during the quarantine. Proof that you don’t have to leave your apartment to be creative! #isolationcreation 

Dr. Craig Smith, the chair of the department of surgery at Columbia University, has been writing daily correspondence to his colleagues detailing how the health system is handling pandemic response and challenges faced. In one update, he features lines from the T.S. Elliot poem “The Waste Land,” and in another he urges his staff to enroll in a study tracking COVID-19 antibodies in healthcare workers. These letters have become a source of inspiration and poetry as well as information, leading to The Wall Street Journal declaring that Smith was “the pandemic’s most powerful writer.”

Star Wars Day was last week and if you are also a fan of Calvin & Hobbes, then you’ll love Brian Kesinger’s Lil’ Kylo art series! He works for Disney and is one of my favorite artists on Instagram. I love seeing the art people commission from him including this Star Wars/Harry Potter mashup.

Banana pudding fans rejoice! Magnolia Bakery in New York City has released their recipe! I have been making banana pudding for our dear friends’ pig pickin’ for years and I can’t wait to do a side by side comparison!