Sunday, May 2, 2010

Got Buttermilk?


My dad was the self-proclaimed "Waffle King."

Oh wait, is that the name of a fast food restaurant somewhere?

Maybe so (I hope not), but he took great pride in making waffles for me when I was a kid and again for his grandsons when he came to visit us in Atlanta.  Even though his recipe involved Bisquik (yuck), he made it his own by beating up the eggs with a hand-held mixer and adding vanilla to the batter.  He was also adamant about heating the maple syrup.  And you had to slather the waffles with butter before pouring over the warm syrup.  I guess I'm his child on that one.  Butter is my favorite food group.

So you have some of that buttermilk left over, even after making the scones, right?  No worries.  Now you can make waffles that will blow their socks off. 


The addition of brown sugar and vanilla to this recipe gives your waffles an amazing depth of flavor.  As in that lingering taste in the back of your mouth.  If you make these, please don't ruin it with crappy maple flavored syrup.  Use the real thing.  I happen to like Grade B because I think it's "earthier" and less refined than Grade A, but follow your own taste. 


BUTTERMILK BROWN SUGAR WAFFLES  (adapted from the New York Times)

2 eggs
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
2 stick butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick cooking spray

Whisk eggs, buttermilk, butter and vanilla in a large bowl.  In another bowl, stir dry ingredients together then add to egg mixture and whisk until smooth.

Heat a waffle iron and spray with cooking spray (even nonstick waffle irons require this step).  Ladle batter into the iron (for my waffle iron, this meant about 3/4 cup), close and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Yield:  about 8 waffles

And about that garden?  Yikes, we planted it today.  We are such neophytes and we probably screwed it up BIG TIME, but here we go!  Okra, tomatoes, crookneck squash and zucchini.  We'll see what happens.


Of course, if any of this stuff takes root, then you are in for too many zucchini and crookneck squash recipes.  Hummmm I seem to remember that zucchini and mint are good partners....

Girl, you really got me...


We've been waiting for a 60s night for so long! And yesterday, we had it! Well, it was only Laia and me, but we had a lovely time by the end of the night...



Laia came to my home and we had a delicious dinner I prepared by myself and she really liked it. After lots of drink, we were a little bit drunk, but we could take these pictures of us...

 Dress - Kate Moss for Topshop
Socks - Topshop
Shoes - Bimba & Lola
 Dress - Madcap
Tights - Topshop
Shoes - Wonders

We went to Barbara Ann, a pub near my home where they use old vinyls for the music, what a great sound. In our way to the pub, we found Victor and Nico, two friends who are recording a documental about vinyls.


At 3:00 am we took the tube and went to Karma pub, another place in the center of Barcelona, where we met Esther and Kim, who was celebrating his birthday. I didn't take any pictures at that place because it was full of people, but just imagine, we went home at 6:30 am, so yes, we had a gorgeous night!


And you? Did you enjoy the weekend? Did you do something special?

By the way, we're getting crazy and maybe we're visiting Sweden this summer... maybe... who knows?

PS: I forgot!! Vicen gave me this gorgeous award!


Thank you so much, dear!! What a great honor for me!! You can see the entry here.

Ice Cream Summer Eating List

It's that time of year again in Chicago. The music is starting, summer is coming down the aisle and spring has never been such a delightful bridesmaid to her entrance. In fact, spring is currently putting to shame anyone who speaks pityingly of always the bridesmaid. The abundance of blossoms, the sunny days, even the showers that caught me in the last few steps to my car, have been a sweet transition to summer days, and I've abandoned the heavy coat, the boots, the winter stews and the root vegetables.

And I've started thinking about ice cream again.

That's not to say I ever stopped thinking about ice cream. The ice cream maker works in any season. A smooth, creamy pumpkin ice cream or a dark, rich chocolate ice cream have their place in the winter months. But summer is the season for ice cream, and so you have to ask yourself, what will be your flavor this year?

Pick a flavor. Make it the flavor you're going to pursue this year, at street festivals and ice cream shops, and finally in your own kitchen. Taste it everywhere, for all it's nuances and differences and make yourself an expert on it. Take a strawberry ice cream. Do you like it pink like Pepto Bismol, or mostly vanilla with streaks of strawberry? Do you like chunks of fruit or a smooth puree? Do you like it swirled with pieces of cake, to mimic strawberry shortcake, or cubes of cheesecake? This is your ice cream summer eating list.

Personally, I'm going with salted caramel ice cream. I tried making a version of this last year, with little success. But now I've got a Cooking Light recipe that will serve as the basis for any future tastings.

It's sweet and it's salty and tastes exactly like a melting caramel candy on your tongue. I limited myself to the sea salt in the recipe and didn't add any more on top. It was perfectly balanced for my taste. It's not the most common flavor, but I'll be on the lookout for it to fulfill my summer eating obligations.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream (Cooking Light)
(Yields 10 servings)

Ingredients:

  • 3 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon flake salt (optional)

Place milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge of pan (do not boil). Place egg yolks in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Gradually add half of hot milk to yolks, stirring constantly. Return yolk mixture to pan.

Combine sugar, cream, and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar melts. Cook 3 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat; stir in sea salt. Gradually add caramel mixture to yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Return pan to low heat; cook until a thermometer registers 160°. Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl until completely cooled, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to freezer container and freeze for at least one hour. Scoop about 1/2 cup ice cream into each of 10 dishes; sprinkle evenly with flake salt if desired.

Tulip Fields and the North Sea

Paula made us a lovely breakfast this morning of delicious breads, cheese and meat, and sunny side up eggs, then helped us out with directions to Kuekenhof Gardens.



We walked to the main station (after missing our bus :P) and found the right bus to Lisse. A few of the people on the ride over actually worked at Keukenhof, so we talked all the way there and walking to the Gardens with them.


Daan and Nedal - they both worked at cafes, so we got a free lunch!

I can't even begin to describe how gorgeous the gardens were. Locals said they had a hard winter, so flowers weren't as full as usually, but it was still fabulous.






Anna in the pond.


Fields and fields of flowers all over the Dutch country side.

Each year the Keukenhof has a different theme. This year it is - From Russia, with Love.












Just wheelbarrows of flowers!


The various artwork and statues scattered about the park were a combination of fun, weird and beautiful.






Such a cute elephant!


Dancing bears...


I really wanted a pair of these (only in my size) but I wasn't about to carry them around in my backpack!



After leaving the gardens, we went back to our B&B. Paula let us borrow her bikes and even guided us to the trail head that would take us to Zandvoort, a cute little town on the North Sea.


Almost to the beach...






Windy and cold! Loved it!


Kite surfers all over. They were so fun to watch! Some of them would get 20 feet of air then land and keep on surfing. They came in so close to the shore and dashed back out again. No paddling for them! Too cool!


Back in Haarlem. I love the cities at night!
I sat outside the hotel with the bikes and did one of my favorite things - watched people, while Anna updated Mom and Facebook. We then had coffee with one of the guys we met and bicycled home.



~Sarah