“Just thinkin’ about cake.”

We have been trying to start our year off right with a special emphasis on healthy food. Ben picked a salmon dish with tomatoes and avocados, and he even tolerated Saturday’s veggie-laden homemade ramen. During menu and grocery list deliberations, I saw him gazing wistfully in the direction of his favorite cookbook.

“What’s up, Buddy?” I asked.

“Nothin’. Just thinkin’ about cake.”

Well, who among is not thinking about cake? Even if you weren’t thinking about cake before reading this, I’ll bet you are now. While health and diet programs may advocate sticking to the bok choy and edamame every day for the rest of your very long, dreary life, we believe that an occasional spectacular piece of chocolate cake can be just what the doctor ordered.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup oil

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup hot espresso or strong coffee

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dash salt

1/4 cup milk

Using a stand mixer fitted with the wire whip, mix together ingredients in the order listed on low speed. Line two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray with baking spray. Pour batter equally between two pans, and bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes. Do not open oven door before 30 minutes or the cake may fall. The cake is done when little cracks start appearing on the surface. Cool 10 minutes, flip onto parchment paper, and lay on cooling rack.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Remove butter from the refrigerator 30 minutes before starting. Using a stand mixer fitted with the wire whip, add butter to bowl and beat until smooth. Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and milk. Beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. After cake is cooled, frost between layers and on top. Refrigerate cake immediately after spreading on frosting. May be topped with fresh berries for serving.

Seared Salmon with Avocado Sauce and Tomato-Cilantro Salsa

(Adapted from Milk Street Tuesday Nights, Christopher Kimball)

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, quartered

5 tablespoons lime juice, divided

2 scallions, roughly chopped

1 Anaheim chili, stemmed, seeded, and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 1/2 cups lightly packed, fresh cilantro, divided

1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and roughly chopped

3 6-ounce center-cut salmon fillets (1-1 1/2 inch thick), patted dry

1 tablespoon oil

2 tablespoons salted butter

1. Toss tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, half the cilantro, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
2. In a blender, combine scallions, chili, vinegar, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and 3/4 teaspoons salt. Add the rest of the cilantro, and the avocado, blending until smooth and creamy. Add  water, a tablespoon at a time to reach creamy consistency. Set aside.
3. Season both sides of salmon fillets with salt. In a large non-stick skillet, over medium-high, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the fillets, flesh side down, reduce to medium, and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Flip the fillets, add the butter and increase to medium-high. Once the butter stops foaming, spoon it over the fillets, adjusting the heat to prevent the butter from burning. Cook and baste the fish until the thickest parts reach 115º to 120º, or are nearly opaque when cut into, 2-3 minutes. Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice into the pan and baste the fillets once or twice more.
4. Serve salmon with avocado sauce and salsa.

Mashed potatoes, which can be a bit bland on their own, get a little jazzed up when accompanied by the avocado sauce, the salsa, and even some of the butter lime sauce left in the salmon pan. Plus, leftover mashed potatoes turn into dinner the next day when used as the basis of potato soup (See recipe index.)

Mashed Potatoes

5 large potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup milk, warmed

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

Black pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes until tender when pricked with a fork. Drain potatoes and place in mixing bowl fitted with flat beater attachment. Mix about 1 minute, or until smooth, at lowest speed. Add butter, half the milk, salt and pepper, and beat on medium-low about 30 seconds until milk is absorbed. Continue adding milk until potatoes reach desired consistency. Gradually turn to medium and beat about 1 minute, until fluffy. Scrape the bowl, and if lumps remain, mix again until they are gone. Exchange the flat beater for the wire whip. Turn to highest speed and whip 2-3 minutes.