In this episode of the Feed Your Fire Podcast, our hoarding tendencies reveal a sweet unexpected treat as synchronicity connects us to a storyline that needs a refresh. Come with us as we explore the treasures that the current brought in, go through a process of restoration, and prepare a delicious lemon basil blackberry pound cake.
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Feed Your Fire Podcast Episode Transcript:
Hello, and welcome to Feed Your Fire. I'm your host, Kim Baker. In today's episode, we're going to talk about how sometimes we leave things behind only for them to unexpectedly reemerge.
I am not talking about a zombie boyfriend phenomenon. It's more like when life takes you full circle, and with that rotation, things fall into place. And we're going to do that while we prepare something that's both complex and comforting, a treat that's sweet, sour, and savory.
In Richmond, the James River runs right through the city, and the bridges that cross the river are my favorite places to be. And sometimes when you're walking there, you see all kinds of things that got turned up with the current. Entangled in the driftwood is a scooter or a shopping cart. And in each one of those peculiar items is someone's story.
Maybe it's yours.
And the story that was lost or forgotten when it sank in the bottom of that water re-emerges because of the strength of that current. And now it's out in the light of day, being seen through new eyes. There is no archaeological mission here. The artifact comes right to you.
Is this coming together happenstance or was it somehow called to you?
My son started driving just a couple weeks ago. He's actually driving my father's old car. And my son discovered this compartment in the trunk. I had never noticed it in ten years. In it was this book on life after loss, and this old seat cushion that my father had taken to the cemetery nearly every day after my brother passed away. It was like right there in that driftwood was his pain. And it brought with it this rush of compassion, an emotion towards him that I needed to reconnect with.
A couple days later, as I was looking for an old file on a jump drive, I found a folder with about 30 emails from my mother. They were mostly from 2007 when my mother had first learned to use email. I had saved these relics, and I know not why, but what a treasure I found.
A few of them were written to me a couple years before my son was born. That was a very tumultuous time for me. And seeing those fragments of history, juxtaposition to where we are today, made the purpose of that journey so clear.
And the treasures kept coming. There were all of these group emails to me, and my sisters, and my brother. It was like all four of us were together again. A story line that I thought was long gone.
And these emails were such a reminder of who my mother was. Not that I've ever forgotten, but her essence was so at the surface.
I shared them with my sisters, and we all wept in the best possible way. We were confronted with stories we needed to see again.
All of these things that had been lost, forgotten, buried, blended the old narrative with the new. And these stories all came together in the most spectacular way. They reconnected us with the truth. One that could withstand weathering and the passage of time. And one that could only be seen with the lens and perspective that we have today.
Maybe there's a storyline you need to reconnect with, or a greater truth waiting to be discovered.
These stories are the real treasures that enrich our lives, not the long lost tales of One-Eyed Willy. And sometimes, if you're lucky, when you're walking downstream they'll find their way to you.
Today we're going to prepare a treat that's both refreshing and comforting. A blend of different notes that's completely delicious. I thought we would take advantage of the end of summer season and prepare together a lemon, basil, blackberry pound cake. It's got layers of flavor, and you won't be disappointed.
In a small bowl, I want you to take a cup of sugar and add the zest of four lemons and some basil. And I want you to sort of massage that with your hands. Once those flavors have a chance to meld, we're going to go ahead and take out those basil leaves.
Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and add a cup of softened butter to a mixing bowl. Beat that with the paddle attachment, and then add in your sugar and let it cream.
Add in the juice from those four lemons that you zested, very slowly. We don't want the butter to break. And by incorporating it just a little bit at a time, it'll stay smooth. Add in about a teaspoon and a half of vanilla, and two eggs one at a time. Then add in about a quarter cup of sour cream.
While that's all mixing up, in a separate bowl, I want you to put two cups of flour, a teaspoon and a half of baking soda, and about an eighth a teaspoon of salt. Then slowly add that flour mixture to your wet ingredients, and let it get just incorporated.
Now I want you to take a clam shell of blackberries. I want you to rinse them off, and slice them into halves or thirds. Pat them dry really well with paper towels. And then coat them in flour. Then take those flour coated blackberries, and fold them into your batter. Think of folding as a gentle paddle down and up to maintain the integrity of those berries.
Put the batter in a greased and floured loaf pan. Pop that into the oven and bake it for just about an hour.
While that's baking, we're going to make some fresh lemon whipped cream. Take about a half a cup of heavy cream and put it in a clean stainless steel bowl. Add in a tablespoon or two of confectionary sugar. And then beat the hell out of it with a whisk.
I used to work at a restaurant and we were not allowed to use a mixer. We had to do it by hand. So I've always stuck with that tradition. But you can do as you see fit. Once it's frothy and airy, whip in a little bit of vanilla and some lemon zest.
I think the homemade whipped cream is worth the effort, but I won't tell anyone if you use Cool Whip.
Now we're going to take some fresh blackberries. Add in about a tablespoon of sugar, a little bit of lemon juice, and some finely sliced basil. Stir it up and let it macerate in the refrigerator while you wait for your cake to finish.
The hardest part of this recipe is that when that cake comes out of the oven, we have to let it cool before we can eat it. And that's because we're making a lemon glaze and we don't want it to melt. So, my dear friends, this is an exercise in patience.
Once your cake is cool, grab a small bowl and put about a quarter cup of confectionary sugar in it. Add a splash of lemon juice, maybe like a teaspoon, along with a teaspoon of that whip cream you just made. Combine that up and then drizzle it over the pound cake. Serve it with the whip cream and the macerated blackberries. And just take a minute to soak in all of those flavors.
What I love about this recipe for today's episode is its complexity. And while there's a tinge of tartness, it's overwhelmingly sweet.
I think that's an important reality as we talk about the surfacing of old stories.
That upheaval brings with it all kinds of unknowns. There are things in life that we might not want to rehash. And often what gets stirred up is unsightly. But no matter what you find among those remnants, there's an opportunity for renewal.
Reconnecting with my mother and father's memory doesn't change my current reality. But it did restore a bit of history, and it felt like a message in a bottle that stumbles onto the beach. It helped me stitch together pieces from the past and the present, revealing things I hadn't seen before or had forgotten.
As I reflect on it, I can see that it was a process of restoration. When something's restored, it isn't just returned back to a previous state. It's also brought to a state of health.
The currents in the river are strongest after a heavy rain. As the water level rises, it gets muddy and less clear. And when that movement disrupts whatever was settled at the bottom, it forever changes the flow of that current. And so not only do we have the opportunity to find those long lost treasures, we also have the opportunity to change what flows our way.
Until our next episode, I say so long.
Feed Your Fire, where food nourishes growth.