The traditional gift is fruit/flowers. Since I don't love flowers, fruit it is! I bought tons of plums at the Thursday Westwood farmers market and the we asked for fresh fruit for dessert at n/naka which consisted of blackberries, raspberries, plums and figs. We added on a small scoop of plum and shiso leaf sorbet. It was the perfect ending to the meal and we couldn't have been happier.

No photos this year—just wanted to enjoy the meal. But I did take comprehensive notes…

1. Hokkaido scallop, yuzu creme fraiche, caviar, turnip, peas, crispy rice, avocado puree (was smoky…bonito?)
2. (Seasonal course) Snapper, homemade miso, artichoke shrimp paste (spicy!), yuzu+mushroom, lotus root tempura, octopus+wasabi, plum with apricot jelly (hollowed; peel plum away from jelly; fave of evening), pickled watermelon radish, lemon and curry salt
3. big eye tuna (no longer serving bluefin), ponzu, amaranth, chives, avocado mousse, beet puree
4. Corn soup; corn dashi broth, baby corn, maitake (I love her broth/soup.)
5. Traditional sashimi: kanpachi (red/silver skin), lobster (ball-shaped), goldeneye snapper (pink skin), grouper (white, spiny skin), cuke, daikon, oyster
6. Japanese eggplant, 2 kinds of miso: dark vibrant green and tomatillo green, snow crab, sweet shrimp, pink peppercorns (toasted), chiles, orange mayo like sauce
7. (Fried course) wasabi/tomatillo sauce, fried monkfish, charred tomatoes (red + yellow), seaweed, arugula/basil
8. (Shizakanaa) Black abalone, truffle, mentaiko, spaghettini, kaiware
9. Steak, cauliflower, purple yam, shishito, asparagus puree, corn puree, fermented black garlic, beet chip
10. Yuzu sake, tomato, lobster, cucumber, yuzu ice cream
11. Shima Aji, tai (sea bream), squid, Santa Barbara sweet shrimp; fried tofu onion miso
12. Blue crab hand roll
13. Seared bonito, shiso leaf, chive, uni
14. Shiso leaf and plum sorbet; raspberry, blackberry, plum, fig

Look at our cute new juice glasses I bought at Mitsuwa! Look at the awesome juice from the oranges on our tree in the front yard!

Amazing half moon just over the horizon. I brought out my (trusty) Tamron 270mm lens on my trusty Nikon and got some ridiculous detail of the moon’s surface. (Oh, yeah, that fuzzy black line running through the moon’s image? That’s the power line in our backyard. See that part below where it recommends waiting until the moon is high in the sky…)

The only things I didn’t do that I will try next time:

(Advice from Popular Photography):

• Remove all filters, even the UV filter.
• Use 1/125 shutter speed; moon moves quickly.
• Use a shutter release and even mirror lock: Especially when using longer focal lengths. Just the vibration caused by clicking on the shutter button and the mirror flipping up can result in having a not so sharp image.
• Photograph the moonrise a day before full moon: It’s a lot easier to expose for both the moon and landscape etc, as there will be enough light around just before sunset to give you a nice balanced shot.
• Shoot when the moon is high in the sky: if you are after a shot of the moon with great sharp detail on it’s surface, you are best to wait until the moon is high in the sky. When the moon is low at moonrise and moonset, it is being distorted by atmospheric refraction, and even though you may be focused perfectly on the moon, the detail on the surface will look slightly blurry and out of focus.

We used our 2nd BBE promo code tonight. We sat at table 77 on the patio again. This time, we brought V. This time, I discovered there’s a rewards card so we can start getting discounted/free food. We tried the “Kind” Crispy Chocolate Bar – awesome. They changed the polenta – not so awesome.

The blueberry bushes are super happy on the west side of the house. After some pruning and fertilization, we’re getting a bumper crop. 

Bountiful Blue

Peach Sorbet

Homemade Strawberry Cake

Ingredients

For the Strawberry Puree:
3 cups strawberries pureed*

For the Cake:
2 1/2 cups cake flour 300 grams
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 320 grams
1/2 cup milk 2%
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon strawberry extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup reduced strawberry puree
5 large egg whites

For the Buttercream:
1 1/2 cups butter at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 1/4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup reduced strawberry puree

Instructions
*For the strawberry puree, clean and remove the stems on about 1 quart of strawberries. Cut them in half and place them in a food processor to blend them into a puree. You should end up with about 3 cups of strawberry puree.
Place the strawberry puree in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often to prevent burning, until the strawberries have reduced to 1 1/2 cups of puree. I’ve found this to take about 30-45 minutes.
Allow the reduced strawberry puree to cool completely. (I often make this a day in advance so it has plenty of time to cool.)

For the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, soda and salt into a medium size bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and sugar.
Add the milk, oil and extracts. Beat on medium speed for 2minutes.
Add the reduced strawberry puree and egg whites. Beat for an additional 2 minutes.
Add the flour mixture and stir until well combined, but be careful not to overmix. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
Grease and flour two 9″ round cake pans. Divide the batter between the cake pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the cake springs back when you touch the center of it. Allow the cakes to sit for 5 minutes, then remove them from the pans to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Buttercream:
In a stand mixer bowl, with the mixer on medium speed, whip the butter for 2-3 minutes until it is almost white in color. Add in the salt, powdered sugar, vanilla extract. Mix on low speed until blended. Add in the reduced strawberry puree, 1/4 a cup until the frosting is the consistency you’d like. Add a drop or two of red food coloring if you’d like the cake to be a little pinker. Beat on low speed again for 1-2 minutes.

Assemble the Cake:
Frost the top of one of the round cakes, then place the second cake on top of that.
Frost the entire outside of the cake with the strawberry frosting, making it as smooth as possible.
Decorate the top with cut or whole strawberries, if desired.
Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Notes
**We updated this recipe January 13, 2019 based on reviewers feedback. We’ve re-tested this recipe about 5 times and find that it rises better and is fluffier based off these instructions. We so appreciate your feedback!

You can make this recipe into a 9×13 cake. Simply bake at the same time and temperature, watching it closely until the center of the cake springs back when you touch it.
If you’d like less frosting, try:
2 sticks of butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup strawberry puree (added slowly until the frosting is at the correct consistency.)
Make as directed above.