Buckwheat has made a grand appearance in our kitchen this week–and thank goodness it has. Chilly mornings before setting out for a vigorous hike or bike ride, I crave something dense, warm, and nourishing like buckwheat pancakes. I love them! Toss some fresh, almost mushy and insanely sweet berries on top with a splash of maple syrup, it doesn’t get much better than that. Or does it? I ran across a recipe for a Fleur de Sel Buckwheat cake and didn’t know what to think. Cake? Buckwheat cake? The author, David Lebovitz, is entirely reputable and any recipes I’ve made of his have been fantastic. Having lots of buckwheat flour in the house, I decided it was a must try. The warmer days have had me looking for foods a little more on the salty side and less sweet.
Let’s talk a little bit about buckwheat first. It’s actually not a grain, but a fruit seed akin to rhubarb! This makes it a great option for people who are gluten sensitive or intolerant. It has a deep, nutty flavor, earthy in taste and texture. Buckwheat is fantastic for your cardiovascular system. It helps lower cholesterol, maintain blood flow, keep platelets from clotting excessively, and provides the body with flavonoids, or phytonutrients that protect against disease by extending the action of vitamin C and acting as antioxidants. Nutrients in Buckwheat may also contribute to blood sugar control by lowering blood gulcose and insulin levels–one of the main reasons I love eating these pancakes in the morning! It is also a great source of magnesium–a very important mineral in our bodies. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, and keeps bones strong. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugar levels, promotes normal blood pressure, and is known to be involved in energy metabolism and protein synthesis. Cool!
I knew that buckwheat was “good” for me, but I didn’t realize just how good it actually was. It’s interesting how your body asks for what it needs! And in this case, I’ve been needing more minerals and phytonutrients. So neat! I’m going to share with you my never fail Buckwheat Pancake recipe. It is so easy to whip up in the morning and make a batch of these, you will not be disspointed. In fact, you may find yourself craving them as well! I don’t think I’ll ever go back to regular pancakes when I could eat these and be satisfied on so many levels! Adding a hint of vanilla and cinnamon really round out the nuttiness of the buckwheat–they are fragrant and flavorful and will keep you satiated until lunch!
Buckwheat Pancakes, recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
1 cup all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon maple syrup (yes, in the batter too)
2 eggs
2 cups milk or water
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
Preheat griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat while you make the batter. Mix together the dry ingredients. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the eggs, milk or water, vanilla extract, and oil or melted butter. Stir together until completely well mixed. If the batter seems too thick, add a little more milk or water. If your griddle or skillet is non-stick, you can cook your pancakes right on there, but otherwise, use a little butter first so they don’t stick to other surfaces. Adjust the heat as necessary; usually the first batch will require a higher heat than the later batches. The idea is to brown the bottom in 2-4 minutes without burning it. Flip the pancakes when they are cooked on the bottom and cook until lightly browned. Serve warm with maple syrup, fresh berries, peaches, or Greek yogurt! Enjoy!
And now for the cake! I am seriously impressed with the flavor and texture of this unassuming looking cake. It’s brown, it’s small, there’s nothing fancy about it really–except it’s taste! I could get lost in the subtle hints of flavors as I chew a slice of this. It is like walking down a garden path and wandering through a variety of different scents and scenes–but it’s all happening in your mouth. Something about how the dark rum mingles with the spicy hints of cinnamon all carried through by the earthy aroma of the buckwheat. There is also quite a bit of butter involved, which folds all the flavors into one another, connecting them and creating new sensations. Then there’s the fleur de sel. Yes. This is the icing on top, because just when you think you have it all figured out, you are pleasantly surprised by a tiny salty aftertaste. And then you’ve got to try it all over again, just to be sure! It can turn into a vicious cycle, leading to eating many more slices of this cake than intended. But that’s what friends and family are for! I made some fresh whipped cream flavored with maple syrup (have you tried this? it’s delicious!) for the side, but would also pair well with any fruit compote, or simply naked.
Fleur de Sel Buckwheat Cake via 101 cookbooks via David Lebovitz
For the cake:
7/8 cup (140g) buckwheat flour
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon plus 1/3 teaspoon fleur de sel
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 pound (240g) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup (200g) sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark rum
For the glaze:
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon milk
Butter a 9 or 10-inch (25-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom or a 9-inch/23 cm springform cake pan). Preheat the oven to 350F degrees (180C).
In a small bowl, whisk together the buckwheat and all-purpose flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the cinnamon.
In the bowl of a standing mixer or by hand, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until smooth.
In a separate bowl, beat the 4 egg yolks and whole egg with the vanilla and rum with a fork, then gradually dribble the egg mixture into the batter while beating. If using an electric mixer, beat on high speed so the butter gets really airy.
Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top as flat as possible with an offset metal or plastic spatula.
Make a glaze by stirring the single yolk and milk together with a fork, then brush it generously all over the top. (You may not use it all, but use most of it.) Take a fork and rake it across the top in three parallel lines, evenly space; then repeat starting from a slightly different angle to make a criss-cross pattern.
Crumble the remaining 1/3 teaspoon salt over the gateau with your fingers and bake for 45 minutes (hs note: you might want to place a rimmed baking sheet on the rack below your tart in case it leaks at all – also, don’t over-bake or it will be on the dry side – start checking after 35 minutes or so). Let cool completely before unmolding.
Reprinted from The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz via 101 Cookbooks. Broadway (May 5, 2009)
Cheers!
We love oatmeal in our house. Every morning we waffle (no pun intended) between oatmeal, smoothies, eggs, or toast. And oatmeal always makes the day seem to go better! So when I ran across a recipe for baked oatmeal I thought, “hey, those are two of my favorite things!” so of course, I had to try it.
I didn’t immediately set out to make this oatmeal. Rather, it simmered for a good long while in the ideas-chamber in the back of my head. I wanted to pull out all the stops one morning to surprise Andrew and myself with something new and delicious, but still not too far off of one of our favorite choices. We’ve been trying to eat a bit better around here–when you look in our fridge, you will see lots of vegetables, whole things, lots of tupperware from left overs we’ve cooked. However, this has proven to be quite challenging. We both get into working grooves, so when lunch or dinner time rolls around, we are both so hungry that we don’t even want to think about cooking–but we do it anyway.
(let your steel cut oats soak over night with a dollop of yogurt. The acid from the yogurt helps soften the grains)
Once we get into making our meal, the tension tends to ease from the initial shock of “I’M HUNGRY! WHERE’S THE FOOOOOD!?!?” It makes me think of a particular Saturday night live skit with Chris Farley as a Gap Girl, ha. We’re not quite that bad, but we DO get hungry quickly. This is something I’ve been trying to problem solve–I love to cook, I LOVE to eat, and I really love feeding people, namely Andrew –so how can I make things just a little easier in this realm? Especially when we both tend to crave foods from opposite ends of the spectrum? I’ll get back to you on that one and let you know what we come up with. I think it’ll take a few brainstorming sessions together.
Meanwhile, enjoy this hearty, warm, dense, and spicy (cinnamon-y) baked oatmeal. The entire house smelled like Grandma had just finished baking Christmas cookies, the cinnamon wafting through the air made me delirious with anticipation. As for toppings, the sky is the limit. I really enjoy a dollop of real maple syrup, a grated apple, and minced flax seeds, maybe a scoop of coconut yogurt. Andrew likes his with brown sugar only, but today he did splash a little milk on top too. I’ve been grounding pumpkin seeds up into a powder and mixing it into his breakfasts which he wasn’t too excited about at first. The benefits of pumpkin seeds for men, and women (but flax is better for women) are immense–they lower the risk of prostate cancer, they protect mens bones, they are anti-inflammatory, they’re a rich source of minerals, protein and monounsaturated fat, and they lower bad cholesterol levels. He’s a good sport!
Cheers!
Baked Oatmeal via Nourished Kitchen
*feel free to experiment with different dried fruits, frozen fruits, and nuts! The first time, I made this just plain without any fruits or nuts and it was still fantastic.
1 pound steel cut oats
1 cup walnuts, or other nuts
2 tablespoons yogurt, kefir, whey or buttermilk (see sources), for soaking
dash unrefined sea salt
6 pastured eggs
2 cups whole, fresh milk (see sources)
up to ¼ cup maples syrup (optional)
½ cup raisins or dried cranberries
½ cup dried unsulfured apricots, diced
2 tablespoons cinnamon
¼ cup coconut oil, plus extra for greasing baking dish
Pour the steel cut oats and nuts into a ceramic container or mixing bowl.
Add enough filtered water to completely submerge your oats and nuts. Add a dash of salt and a two tablespoons of fresh yogurt, whey, kefir or buttermilk.
Allow the oats and nuts to soak, covered, overnight in a warm place in your kitchen – about eight to twelve hours.
After the mixture of oats and nuts has soaked overnight, dump them into a colander to drain and place the mixture back into the ceramic container or mixing bowl.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 13 x 9-inch rectangular baking pan with coconut oil or another wholesome fat of your choosing.
Meanwhile beat together eggs, milk, maple syrup (if you’re using it), until well-combined and frothy.
Pour the mixture of eggs, milk and maple syrup over the soaked oats and nuts, stirring well to combine into a porridge-like mixture.
Gently fold dried fruit, cinnamon and coconut oil into the porridge-like mixture.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan and smooth it out with a rubber spatula to ensure even baking and a good appearance.
Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for forty to forty-five minutes or until the oatmeal achieves a pleasing golden-brown color on top, a knife inserted into its center comes out clean and free from liquid and the fragrance of baked oats, dried fruit and cinnamon perfumes your kitchen.
If you can bear the wait, allow the baked oatmeal to cool for five to ten minutes before cutting into squares and serving.
YIELD: 12 to 16 servings
TIME: 10 minutes (preparation), 8 to 12 hours (soaking), 40 to 45 minutes (baking)
A few months ago, some friends gave us two huge jars of canned apricots. “My mother cans them every year,” he said. “They have a HUGE tree in their yard and literally nothing goes to waste.” “And,” his wife chimes in, “she sends us a crate of them every year, we are up to our ears in backlogged apricots!” Amazing! I thought. It sounds like a dream I sometimes have (seriously)–going into my pantry or kitchen or shelving area and finding row upon row of colorful, tantalizing, and amazing canned goodness! Apricots, pears, plums, peaches, cherries, succotash, tomatoes, pickled cucumbers, carrots, bok choy, jicama, cabbage, and I am sure I’m forgetting a few, are all there lining the shelves in their glossy (glassy) glory. These two huge mason jars of apricots have been sitting in our dining room for some time now. That’s good, because they have been in plain sight and prompting me to subconsciously stew over what to make with them. Deep down, I’ve known for some time now that little puff pastry danishes with the apricots would be in order–so when I re-discovered the recipe in the Baking with Julia (Child, that is) cookbook, I immediately got busy and started in on them.
The puff pastry took two days to make. It sounds intimidating, but it’s really a matter of patience more than anything (which, is challenging in and of itself!). First, you make a very basic dough–water, flour, salt. Then, you roll it into a circle with “flaps” coming off of the four sides. You do this by first rolling out a circle, then putting your rolling pin in the center to start, you roll out first towards the top to make a flap that protrudes out. Make sure you do this for each side. Why? Because when you fold in the pound of butter shaped as a square–yes, you heard right, one pound–you wrap it in the dough like a present.
Roll the dough out with the butter inside into a rectangle, about 18-24 inches. If it starts to squish through the dough, wrap it in plastic and set it in the fridge for a half hour to firm back up. Then try again. Once the dough has been rolled once, fold the rectangle length-wise, with the folds on your left (like a book) roll it out and do it again (that is a total of three times so far). Roll it out one more time if it’s cold enough, then fold on top of itself, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for an hour or over night. Make four thumb marks on the side of the dough so you remember how many times you’ve rolled it. The next day (or hour) roll it out two more times. The butter should be nicely incorporated–it might coagulate a little bit on the ends which happens, but otherwise, it should be a part of the dough by now, not seeing chunks anywhere.
I’ll give you the rest of the recipe below, but making the puff pastry itself is pretty involved and deserves it’s own explanation! Sometimes a girl (well, me anyway) just needs to get into her kitchen and make something challenging. Instead of putting on my boxing gloves, I put on my oven mits–needless to say, I don’t actually use oven mits, but you get the idea. If you are new to baking, you may want to research puff pastry a little more. My explanation was quick and step by step images really help. But don’t let intimidation or the little voice in your head saying “ya right! puff pastry?!” stop you! Keep on keepin’ on, my friends, and if it doesn’t turn out the first time, it more than likely will your second or third try. This is a great recipe though and I highly recommend Julia Child’s cookbook, Baking with Julia, for this very purpose. She is a master explain-er! (but of course!). I love how detailed her books are–she’s not only good with explaining with words, but there are nice step by step photos too. If you try puff pastry, or ever have tried it, I’d love to know about your experience!
Puff Pastry
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups cake flour — I used all regular flour and it worked out alright
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/4 cups ice water
4 sticks (1 pound) very cold unsalted butter, shaped into a square
*see above for instructions
The Apricots
*if you don’t have any canned apricots laying around, here’s a way to make some quickly yourself
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
8 apricots, halved and pitted
A few hours (or as long as 2 days) ahead poach the apricots: bring the water and sugar to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the apricots and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until they offer just a little resistance when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Take the pan off the heat and let the apricots cool in the syrup. Drain an pat the apricots dry before using. If keeping the apricots for longer than a few hours, cover and refrigerate them.
The Pastry Cream
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 large egg yolks
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Put the milk, sugar, salt, egg yolks, and cornstartch in a 2-quart sauce pan. If your’re using a vanilla bean, split it in half lengthwise, scrape the soft, pulpy seeds into the pan, and toss in the pod. If you’re using vailla extract, keep it in reserve until the cream is cooked. Stir with a wire whisk to ble, bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and let the pastry cream bokl for 30-60 seconds, at which point it iwll have thickened and the whisk will leave tracks as you stir. Take the pan off the heat and scrape the pastry cream into a strainer set over a bowl. Push through the strainer, discard the vanilla bean. If you are using extract, stir it in now. Cover the bowl with plastic, pressing the plastic wrap up against the surface of the cream and top the layer of plastic with ice cubes. Leave the ice cubes there until the cream cools.
The Pastry
Puff pastry recipe
2 cups (approx.) sugar
1/2 cup apricot jam
2 teaspoons water
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Working on a lightly floured surface (cool marble is ideal, although my kitchen table worked fine too), roll the puff pastry to a thickness of between 1/8 and 1/4 inch. Flour the edges of a 4 inch cookie cutter round and cut 8 rounds from the dough. Stack the puff pastry scraps neatly, trying to keep the layers in place and refrigerate to use in another recipe (coming soon!). Clean the work surface and sprinkle it generously with sugar. While you work on one round, keep the others covered with plastic wrap. Rest a puff pastry round on the sugar and dust the top of the round lightly with flour to facilitate the rolling. Roll out the round until it elongates into an oval about 8 inches long. Don’t roll all the way to the ends–you want the ends to be a little thicker so that they’ll puff up higher around the apricots (also, if you roll over the ends you risk pasting the layers together). Brush the flour off the top and put the oval on the large unbuttered baking sheet, sugar side up. Repeat with the remaining pastries, leaving little room between each pastry on the sheet–these are going to puff up, not out.
Spoon a walnut-sized dollop of pastry cream onto the center of each oval and set 2 apricot halves side by side on the cream so that they resemble eggs sunny-side up. Bake the pastries for about 35 minutes, The pastries should be golden and beautifully puffed, and the sugar should have caramelized.
I love breakfast! I love eating traditional breakfast foods but I especially love the ritual of eating first thing in the morning. Call me superstitious, but I believe that the first thing I taste in the day will dictate how the day will go. For instance, something sweet will give me a little more pep initially and get me to my early morning yoga classes in a fine mood–no one wants a grumpy teacher! In fact, there is a difference between sweetness too. Give me something made with white or brown sugar, and I will indeed be grumpy in a few hours. But something made with real maple syrup or agave nectar never has that effect and I’m good to go! Something a little more savory, like eggs or a quiche get me focused. The proteins put my mind in a little more grounded state for some good mental work to come that day. Have you ever noticed anything like this with what you eat in the morning? Someone once said to me, “you have to gas your car up before it can run, right? You can’t take it anywhere if it has no gas in the tank–why would we expect our bodies to do the same?” It was kind of like a “oh…well, yeah…duh” moment for me, but the simplicity and truth of it has really stuck with me. Thinking about this must have something to do with the fact that I’m getting certified as a holistic health counselor 
. I’ve really been enjoying learning about the relationship between food and lifestyle and how it affects our health, happiness, and well being–it is really fascinating!
The other day, Andrew and I remembered we had a waffle maker (joy!). Our kitchen is a funny, small place where, like in many older homes, the cupboards go really high up. That’s where things that are not used very often get stored–and forgotten about. We’ve gotten into a really nice habit of making breakfast together–it is actually a great way to begin the day 
. Some days he takes the reins, other days I do, but we are both in there helping the other out. I started perusing some of my cookbooks for a good waffle recipe and found that they were all pretty similar–and from reputable, trusted sources. I decided to go with the one by Debora Madison out of her Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (a goldmine of great recipes). She gives a basic waffle recipe and then has variations for multi-grain, pecan, and rice waffles. I made a variation on the multi-grain as I didn’t have a variety of grains to add. I made a 75/25 whole wheat version that was incredibly filling and a nice vehicle for your favorite toppings. Because I used whole wheat flour and not whole wheat pastry flour (a little lighter than just the regular) they were dense, but not in a bad way. I think I’m going to keep tweaking the recipe though and trying different things until I am totally satisfied.
I added real maple syrup and dried goji berries on top, but you can add whipped butter, honey, pecans, jam, or whatever your heart desires–they’re your waffles! And I didn’t feel any mid-morning slump because of the lower amount of white flour and real maple–which is an important aspect to what I eat in the morning. If you have any good waffle suggestions, feel free to let me know! I’m on the lookout.
Whole Wheat Waffles, recipe adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk
1/4 cup canola or olive oil, or butter melted (I used olive oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour (I used 1 1/2 cups whole wheat and 1/2 cup all purpose–75/25:)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. In another bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Pour the we ingredients into the dry and combine them with a fork. The batter should be on the thin side or your waffles will be too cakey. Test a spoonful to be sure and add more milk if it’s too thick. Cook according to your waffle iron instructions. Top with your favorite toppings and serve warm.
Cheers!
I was talking with a friend of mine the other day who told me that at the new year he gets a compulsive urge to madly write in his journal about the past year, furiously scribbling pictures and words revisiting his yearly narrative. He followed it up by saying “weird, huh.” No way! I told him. That is an incredible way to look back, reflect where you’ve been and what you’ve learned, and find the exciting possibilities of where you’d like to go in the coming year.
I too get especially contemplative this time of year. It is a rare and wonderful opportunity for me to really look inward and get a clear picture of my personal road map. I follow my tracks remembering a moment where I laughed so hard I cried, or physically cringing remembering another moment. I’ve found that with the difficult situations I’ve been through, it helps me to learn from my mistakes as well as heal old wounds when I visualize a different outcome–the one that I would have liked to have happened.
This year, I’ve made a list of a few things I’d like to do and learn. First, I want to be more open–to possibilities, to myself, and to really listening to others, nature, and the heart (or gut); I want to better surround myself with those who are positive and supportive as well as cherish daily those who have been there for me through thick and thin; I want a fulfilling career–one that I am able give back to the community all that I have learned (and continue learning from!) which I am so grateful for ; and laugh more–to find the humor in more situations and to laugh at myself more. There is a time and a place to take things seriously, but it is truly an art to not take more than is necessary so seriously! I admire those who can turn what may be awkward, intense, or difficult situations into something else.
I was flipping through The Bread Bible to find one of my favorite bread recipes, when I came across one with the title of American Chocolate Bread. It was under a chapter that I hadn’t yet ventured into called, A Slice of Divinity: Celebration and Dessert Breads. Talk about reflection (see above;), I started wondering why I hadn’t been reading the recipes in that chapter. They are diverse, packed with history, about celebration (who doesn’t like a good party?), and unique. This particular chapter was like getting a concentrated world history lesson via bread. Yes, please! Historically, (according to the book), there is not any link to the new year, per say, and this recipe. However, in my mind the two will be inexorably linked forever. This may even become a new holiday ritual (I do love food rituals;). These not-too-sweet breads are perfect for breakfast or a midnight snack. They satisfy the senses on many levels: the slight crunch of the sparkling sugar on the crust, the warm smell of yeasted bread, the surprise gush of melted chocolate on your tongue and lips as you bite into the center, and the heft of the roll itself–let’s just say you are not eating air.
And speaking of rituals, Andrew ensured good luck for us both in the coming year by making a family favorite: black eyed peas. He made them without following a recipe but went along with his memory, intuition, and some already burgeoning good luck. They were fantastic. Happy new year!
American Chocolate Bread, via The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger
For the sponge:
2 tablespoons (2 packages) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Dough:
1 cup warm milk
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon salt
4-4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
8 oz semisweet chocolate (nice chocolate like Scharffen-Berger or Ghirardelli)
3 tablespoons vanilla sugar (or just regular sugar works too)
1. In a large bowl using a whisk or in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, place the yeast, sugar, water, and 1 1/2 cups flour. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Cover and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. This makes your sponge.
2. Stir down the sponge with a wooden spoon. Add 1 cup milk, 3 tablespoons butter, salt, and 1 cup flour. Beat hard until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, to form a soft dough.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes, adding 1 tablespoon of flour at a time as necessary until dough just loses its stickiness. It will be soft and springy.
4. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Turn once to coat top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
5. Grease eight 4 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch loaf pans. (If you don’t have these, that’s fine, I just twisted mine into little rolls and baked them on my bread stone). Cut the chocolate into 1 oz portions. Gently deflate the dough. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and divide into 8 equal portions. Pat each portion out into a 7 by 4 inch rectangle about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Place a piece of chocolate at short edge of each dough portion and roll the dough up jelly roll fashion. Pinch the edges to seal and completely enclose chocolate. Arrange either in the pans or if you are not using pans, just on the floured surface, and let rise until almost doubled, about 15 minutes.
6. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the loaves with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon sugar to sparkle the crust. Place the pans in the oven and bake 20-30 minutes, or until a delicate brown. Transfer the loaves to a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Serve warm.
A happy, healthy, and adventurous new year to you all!
A good french toast in the morning is bliss. The experience of it not only puts me in a state of cheer, but becomes a vehicle for it for the rest of the day. Periodically, we make it here at home but it doesn’t happen too often. We either do not have all the necessary supplies or maybe it is a subconscious diversion–because sad french toast can leave the opposite mark on one’s day. I know I can get grumpy when sad french toast happens.
Last week we had a part of a ciabatta loaf left over so I decided to take a stab at it with some french toast. It was a good decision because I will have a hard time making it now with any other kind of bread! I melted a little coconut oil in the pan, whipped up some eggs, milk, and cinnamon, put the first slices of bread in the mixture to soak and wha-la! It was like magic–and so simple. I love it when magical things happen simply .
I wanted to share this now-favorite household recipe with you. There was complete silence while we were eating it, except for a half-pause from Andrew who looked at me and said, “did you write this one down?”. And it’s official, now I have!
Our Favorite French Toast
1 loaf day old ciabatta bread
3 eggs
1 1/2 – 2 cups milk
1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 teaspoons coconut oil
Slice the bread to 1/4-1/2 inch thick pieces. Whisk together the eggs, milk, and cinnamon. Put the first two slices in the bowl to soak. Heat the first teaspoon coconut oil in a non stick pan at medium high. When hot and shimmering, turn the heat down to medium, and place the first two pieces of bread on the pan and put your next two pieces of bread in the bowl with the egg/milk mixture to soak. Cook until lightly browned on the outside and when pressed down upon with your spatula, nothing oozes out. When finished, add another teaspoon of coconut oil and repeat, until all of your bread and egg/milk mixture is gone. You may want to add a little more cinnamon to the mix towards the end as the bread tends to soak it up after the first few rounds.
Cheers!
Food writing is an amazing cacophony of intertwining stories, memories, personal histories, tastes, descriptive scenes, politics, and opinions. The story becomes the essence, showcasing the flavor of the author. Sometimes, it seems, I can’t get enough and thankfully there is a ton out there I haven’t read. I love stories and histories that involve food because often times passion, excitement, and tremendous change are involved in the narrators life. Food allows us to work from an intuitive place, if we allow it to happen. Think of all those people you know who come home from their day jobs and then throw themselves into making a wonderful meal. Food gives us the space, and time, to exercise another part of the brain and soul that may have been shut off during the work day.
Food blogs today are everywhere–I’m sure you’ve noticed! And I am immensely grateful for all of you who take the time to read this one! Thank you! One thing that I try to do with my little space here is to be genuinely honest–not only with you, but with myself. Food in so many ways has become a catalyst for not only exploring and discovering myself and my passions, but also helping me describe the journey and how it feels. Eating is Art was started because, well, I believe that is true! It became a reminder for myself that my everyday actions were just as important as the big things I was trying to achieve and they have just as much impact on my life as do the bigger decisions. The blog has held me accountable to myself. It is satisfying to look back and have a record of projects I’ve done and how my approaches and thoughts have grown. It is also a place where I come to share a piece of myself, reflect, and bake. The blog has become a journey in which I hadn’t anticipated its affect. I look forward to writing, sharing, and to you.
I made a wonderfully boozy Persimmon bread yesterday with a recipe from the Godfather of Cooking and food writing himself, James Beard. It was quite fruit-cake-esk, but not in a bad way. It is actually really festive tasting, with almost a cup of whiskey or bourbon used in it! The raisins, and nuts if you use them, meld wonderfully with the liquor flavoring and a hint of nutmeg finishes it off. I liked making it and eating it just to imagine James Beard doing so and then fully enjoying a warm slice himself. Plus, if you have 17 pounds of persimmons sitting around, all getting ripe at different times (thank goodness), this is a good recipe to have around .
But before I dive into the recipe, here are some of my favorite (and random) excerpts from Life is Meals, by James and Kay Salter. A truly phenomenal read and interesting approach to food, writing, art, and life–each chapter corresponds to a different day of the year and had significance to the authors themselves or in the vast time line of history.
“Following a wedding in ancient Egypt, there was a kind of trial period for the marriage that took place not only in the sleeping quarters but also at the table. It was called ‘a year of eating,’ after which the bride and groom either parted or continued as a couple. Presumably, this took into account that a married couple would spend many more of their waking hours at the table than in bed, and this was where true compatibility lay.”
“Brillat-Savarin gave us the four indispensables for a dinner:
1. Food that was at least passable
2. Good wine
3. Agreeable company
4. Enough time
Among the elements that he felt were desirable, though not essential:
1. A maximum of twelve guests
2. The room cool (60-68 degrees F), amply lit, and the table linen fresh
3. The evening lasting until at least eleven, but not beyond midnight. “
“A poet’s hope: to be
Like some valley cheese,
Local, but prized everywhere.
–W.H. Auden”
“Throughout [Winston Churchill's] long life, he ate well and drank heartily and once described a meal as follows: ‘Well, dinner would have been splendid if the wine had been as cold as the soup, the beef as rare as the service, the brandy as old as the fish, and the maid as willing as the Duchess.”
“Alice Waters once observed that in her experience, you can tell whether a chef is a man or a woman by looking at your plate: a man builds a tower, a woman makes a nest.”
Persimmon Bread, via David Lebovits via James Beard
Adapted from Beard on Bread by James Beard.
3½ cups sifted flour
1½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 to 2½ cups sugar
1 cup melted unsalted butter and cooled to room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
2/3 cup Cognac, bourbon or whiskey
2 cups persimmon puree (from about 4 squishy-soft Hachiya persimmons)
2 cups walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped
2 cups raisins, or diced dried fruits (such as apricots, cranberries, or dates)
1. Butter 2 loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper or dust with flour and tap out any excess.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Sift the first 5 dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. Make a well in the center then stir in the butter, eggs, liquor, persimmon puree then the nuts and raisins.
5. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Storage: Will keep for about a week, if well-wrapped, at room temperature. The Persimmon Breads take well to being frozen, too.
This week has been busy to say the least, but in quite a wonderful way. My best friend, Kiija (kah-eye-ya) and her husband Brent have been visiting and we’ve had quite the food tour of Portland! I ate here for the first time last night, it was pretty amazing.
Kiija and I have a mutual love for all things food, especially baked foods. We started young, getting into the kitchen together and trying to “create” new recipes . When Kiija and Brent come into town, they do what they love best–cook! I literally woke up from a nap one day to find my house filled with the delicious smells of cinnamon and sugar, only to find that they had made baked doughnuts while I was asleep! Now that is what I call friendship . “We’re on vacation!” they said when I told them how awesome this was albeit unexpected, “we love cooking for an audience!” So, I let them go at it and since we’ve had several amazing meals because of it!
This coming week I’ll be focusing on those persimmons I have laying about the house ripening . Someone mentioned persimmon butter which I think I’ll have to try. And most definitely that persimmon pudding. But until then, enjoy this recipe for a wonderful, light, yeasted doughnut. They are amazing and such a treat. Especially when you wake up to them:).
Baked Doughnuts, via Kiija and Brent via 101 cookbooks
*Don’t over bake these, if anything, under bake them a bit – they will
continue baking outside the oven for a few minutes. You want an interior
that is moist and tender – not dry. Also, be sure to cut big enough holes in
the center of your doughnuts – too small and they will bake entirely shut.
Remember they rise, and they rise even more when they are baking. These
really need to be made-to-order, but you can make and shape the dough the
night before if you want to serve them for brunch. Instructions: after
shaping, place doughnuts on baking sheet, cover and place in the
refrigerator overnight. Pull them out an hour before baking, and let rise in
a warm place before baking.*
1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees (divided)
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour (alternately, white whole wheat might work -
haven’t tried it yet)
A pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Place 1/3 cup of the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the
yeast and set aside for five minutes or so. Be sure your milk isn’t too hot
or it will kill the yeast. Stir the butter and sugar into the remaining cup
of warm milk and add it to the yeast mixture. With a fork, stir in the eggs,
flour, nutmeg, and salt – just until the flour is incorporated. With the
dough hook attachment of your mixer beat the dough for a few minutes at
medium speed. This is where you are going to need to make adjustments – if
your dough is overly sticky, add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Too dry?
Add more milk a bit at a time. You want the dough to pull away from the
sides of the mixing bowl and eventually become supple and smooth. Turn it
out onto a floured counter-top, knead a few times (the dough should be
barely sticky), and shape into a ball.
Transfer the dough to a buttered (or oiled) bowl, cover, put in a warm place
(I turn on the oven at this point and set the bowl on top), and let rise for
an hour or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.
Punch down the dough and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on your floured
countertop. Most people (like myself) don’t have a doughnut cutter, instead
I use a 2-3 inch cookie cutter to stamp out circles. Transfer the circles to
a parchment-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using
a smaller cutter. If you cut the inner holes out any earlier, they become
distorted when you attempt to move them. Cover with a clean cloth and let
rise for another 45 minutes.
Bake in a 375 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes
- start checking around 8. While the doughnuts are baking, place the butter
in a medium bowl. Place the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for just a minute or two.
Dip each one in the melted butter and a quick toss in the sugar bowl. Eat
immediately if not sooner.
*Makes 1 1/2 – 2 dozen medium doughnuts.*
Tea. I love it. I drink it every morning with a few pieces of toast liberally spread with coconut oil, agave nectar, and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
I drink tea throughout my day. Actually, I have a total schedule for it: black tea first thing–no more than two mugs, green tea after 11am until about 3pm, herbal tea until I go to bed. And I literally drink it morning through night–my house is cold and it is a good way to stay warm and hydrated .
I also love to drink it with a friend, which is what I did today. It was good to catch up. She made this lovely Cardamon Fig Bread, it was delicious. She even served her homemade preserved plums with it! They were stewed in vanilla beans and a cinnamon stick before canning–completely amazing.
How do you like tea–with friends, alone, as a boost, only green, a comfort? I’d love to know!
Fig Cardamon Bread, by Chelsea
1/3 cup melted butter (or olive oil she said works too)
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 heaping tablespoon honey
1 heaping tablespoon maple syrup
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heaped with figs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9×5x3 bread pan, set aside. Mix all the dry ingredients together, plus figs. Beat all the wet ingredients well. Combine the two and mix until combined. Pour into prepared dish and bake for 50 minutes. Serve warm.
Eat well!
Blueberries. They are here! And they are good. Both are facts (the good part being a personal fact:). But blueberries also have been said to improve memory and strengthen the immune system. Facts as well? I’d like to think so!
Berries are in abundance here in the Pacific Northwest. They are everywhere, on the sides of highways, in backyards, in parks, on farms, even ditches and alleys. They grow all over! But noticing the abundance of berries here has actually made me realize the abundance of so many other things in life. Sometimes it is hard to keep perspective on what one “has” and what one doesn’t “have”. I find myself caught up sometimes comparing myself, or feeling less than because I don’t “have” something, when in fact, I have so so much. Times are tough right now when I look at the numbers (jobs, for example, are one thing that are not in abundance), however, ideas are. Not only are ideas in abundance, but people, who are there to help me put them into action, which is amazing. The outpouring of friendship, love, and help have been overwhelming, all of which are in total abundance! Whenever I feel myself going down a worry-path (worrying can be so addictive for me! and so I have little tricks to break that cycle before it spirals too far down) I try to lift my head up and look around to see what it is I do have, and focus/utilize those. And, it really works.
It has been an interesting path of trying to stay true to myself and find what really works for me. Some of the conventional ways we are used to living, and I grew up with, work and some do not any longer. However, it has been the journey of finding out what does work for me that has been so incredible. This is not to say that there are times when I get scared or go through tough situations and I feel like there no end in sight. But the end–or the start of a new beginning, however you’d like to look at it– inevitably always comes and a lesson is learned. And if I don’t learn what I needed to learn that time around, it always finds a way to appear again in some other fashion!
So I’ve been on a ’simple’ kick lately with the recipes I’ve been trying, which by the way, I still think is the best way to go! However, sometimes I tend to make things a little harder than necessary on myself just to see if I can do it/make it (figuratively speaking of course . So, I turned to Cooks Illustrated for a great blueberry muffin recipe. Call it cheating (because Cooks Illustrated recipes always tend to be excellent) or call it smart (I wasn’t going to go through all this trouble and not have it taste fantastic!), these muffins are excellent. You start by simmering a cup of blueberries with a teaspoon of sugar to make a jam. After you’ve made the batter (which is amazing in it’s own right, these are made with buttermilk which give them a cloud-like texture but with density…) you spoon about a teaspoon of the jam on top and swirl with a toothpick or chop stick into the muffin so it gets some distribution. You could even go decadent and make a crumble top for these, which I will do for the next round–this time around, I wanted to see the beauty of the blueberry color swirled on top, so simple and delicious. Good thing Andrew and I picked a ton of blueberries the other day, these have just become a household favorite for us both–I predict many more batches coming our way .
Bon Appetit!
Blueberry Muffins, adopted from Cooks Illustrated via The Bitten Word
Lemon-Sugar Topping
1/3 cup (21/3 ounces) sugar
1½ teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon
Muffins
2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh blueberries, picked over
1 1/8 cups (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups (12½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (see note)
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Note: If buttermilk is unavailable, take a little under a cup of milk and add a tablespoon of vinegar to it. Stir and let stand for a few minutes and then use as buttermilk!
1. FOR THE TOPPING: Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.
2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not over mix.)
4. Following photos above, use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.
5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.
Streusel Topping
Follow recipe for Blueberry Muffins, omitting Lemon-Sugar Topping. Prepare streusel by combining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, pinch table salt, and ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons (3½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour in small bowl. Drizzle with 5 tablespoons warm, melted unsalted butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout. Proceed with recipe as directed, sprinkling streusel topping over muffins before baking.
