There (Should Be) A Chill In The Air

Regardless of what's going on back home along I-95, it's unseasonably warm here in London: temperatures are hovering in the mid-teens.  I've given in to wearing tights and boots, but my winter coat is still on its hook in the kitchen, and when I ran out for the paper this morning I found even my cardigan to be superfluous.  However, I looked out the window last night at 6pm into a pitch-black garden; BST ended in the wee hours this morning and the clocks went back an hour.  Autumn is certainly rolling on.

Because of that, I'm indulging in my deepest hibernation instincts.  You won't be surprised, dear readers, to know that many of my cold weather rituals involve food and drink, perhaps because there's something inherently comforting about nesting in the kitchen, something soothing about pouring a steaming pot of tea, something nurturing about slicing into the golden-brown of a cake.

via

What's that, you say?  Cake?  Yes, certainly - cake!  My new favorite easy cake is this Apple Yogurt Cake with Cinnamon Sugar from TheKitchn.  It's a two-bowl recipe requiring nothing fancy, and it makes your kitchen smell exactly like your grandmother's kitchen might have smelled when you were a child, if it were imagined by one of those people whose job it is to create scented candles.  You can find the recipe at the link above; I used a round springform pan and had to leave it in the oven for an extra 15 minutes but other than that found the cake to be exactly as promised.  I'm terrible at taking pictures of food, but I suffer for you all and therefore present to you my breakfast:

Nom, my dear readers.  Note the translucent chunks of cooked apple and the marbled vein of cinnamon sugar - oh, nom.

As a bonus, I've discovered a new drink that is perfect for this time of year.  Lots of my friends count the changing of the seasons by the appearance of relevant Starbucks beverages; I, too, get giddy when I spot the first red Christmas cup in a gloved hand.  But this - this is ideal.  This is a London Fog.

Now, take your London Fog and your slice of apple/yogurt/cinnamon cake and curl up in an armchair with a good book.  I'm revisiting some of my childhood favorites, and have got dog-eared copy of A Wrinkle in Time next to me.  Doesn't that sound perfect for a gray Sunday?