The Gentle Barn
We celebrated Jason's birthday with a visit to the farm & our favorite apple cake.
Anddddd the WGA strike is over! After five months of uncertainty, malaise, and cobbling together a picket outfit that I would describe as Fisherwoman Chic™, I finally feel the hope of forward momentum. I also feel the whirl of things that need to get done Back to School style. Today, I saw an eye doctor for the first time in three years and left with a pair of tortoiseshell cat-eye glasses that say, “I may not be making any money right now, but I intend to… eventually.”
With that in mind, I’m changing the title of this Substack to What I Did & What I Ate. The mission is still the same—trying to leave the house to do fun things—but because what I always really want to be doing is staying home and cooking, I’ll share a recipe.
Here’s what we did: Jason’s birthday. Since the pandemic, we’ve celebrated a few farm-animal-focused birthdays. In June 2020, Jason took me out to spend a perfect hour hanging out with piglets. In September 2021, I hired Party Goats LA to surprise Jason, and two goats named Gizmo and Doc became our Christmas card.
I like these kinds of birthdays. They’re weird enough to make you feel like you’ve done something special. They’re therapeutic enough to help you deal with whatever weird feelings your birthday brought up. And it’s nice to not be out at some bar at night, wondering who will or won’t make it, because… a goat has made it. You already won.
This year, we went to The Gentle Barn. It’s a six-acre animal rescue in Santa Clarita (with locations in Tennessee and Missouri) that provides a gorgeous, caring home to rescue cows, horses, pigs, turkeys, chickens, donkeys, sheep, goats, llamas, an emu, and a peacock. I made a reservation for a private tour, and on Thursday morning, we showed up with our friends Caissie, Ashley, and Geoff.
Our tour was led by Rebecca. She had such a passion for her work at Gentle Barn, and she knew the personalities and preferences of every animal, down to which llama liked her neck scratched and which llama was only interested in taking selfies.
We started with the cows. They were beautiful and absolutely massive. Rebecca taught us how to safely stand beside them–just behind the shoulder out of head booping distance–and how to place our weight on the cows’ middles to hug them. I knew I’d knocked it out of the birthday park when I saw Jason hug his first cow.
From there, we visited the Upper Barn, where animals live together like one big family.
There’s one rule for the upper barn: you must stay 6 feet away from Romeo. Romeo is the lone male turkey who takes his job as Turkey Cop very seriously. He is big and bold and beautiful. He sneaks up on people getting too close to his flock, and he makes little angry TSK sounds if he doesn’t like what you’re doing (Examples: petting another turkey, holding a chicken, scratching a pig’s belly). He’s also kind of famous. I posted a pic from the place, and my friend Naomi messaged me: “Were you chaperoned by the male turkey with an attitude?” YES. We were.
Romeo is also a brand new father. Yes, we got to see a three-day-old baby turkey (turkette?). No, I’d never seen one before. Yes, I have been forever changed.
The Gentle Barn is open to the public on Sundays, with tickets available for $25, or select days for private tours and animal therapy. I truly can’t think of a better way to spend a birthday, which is annoying, because I have no clue how to top it for next year. At least I’ve got 12 months to think about it.
As for what we ate… For at least a decade, I’ve made this apple cake for Jason’s birthday with cream cheese frosting. It’s perfect for fall. Sweet but not overly so. It’s the kind of cake you’re excited to eat for breakfast. Or maybe that’s every cake.
Jason’s Apple Birthday Cake
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pans
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon salt
2 cups packed light-brown sugar
2 eggs
4 apples, peeled, two coarsely grated and two diced
for topping: sliced pecans
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch-round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper. Butter and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugar, and eggs until well combined; fold in grated and diced apples. Add flour mixture; mix just until combined. Divide batter among prepared pans; smooth tops.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 20 minutes, then invert onto wire racks; peel off parchment. Invert cakes again, and let cool completely on racks.
Ice with cream cheese frosting below. To decorate, top with sliced pecans.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of salt
Directions
Whip together cream cheese and butter.
Gradually add sugar to the mixer until mixed.
Mix in vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.
For thicker frosting, add more sugar. For thinner, add milk.
I’d like to make that cake! Happy Birthday, Jason!
I will make this apple cake unless I, too, have to return to work. Mine won’t be as pretty.