I wanna dream a little bit more...
And now... wake up...
And take a lovely cup of coffee!
Have a lovely weekend.
(all images from weheartit)
Friday, July 2, 2010
Red, White and Blueberry
Don't worry, I'm not going to post something ridiculous with red, white and blue icing. I'll spare you that, but I hope you have wonderful plans for this fourth of July weekend and that you are firing up your grill. I'm actually working on the fourth, but it involves a photo shoot with fabulous food and we will be heading up to Lake Rabun for it, so really, can I complain? Heck no, I'm looking forward to it!
But back to the blueberry part of this post. Big, beautiful local ones have been showing up at the farmer's markets here lately, and I can't resist. Blueberries and ripe, juicy heirloom tomatoes epitomize the best of summer's bounty to me. Corn, too but we haven't enjoyed much of it since we try to stay (kind of) carb-less during the week. Oh, the curse of the fat gene!
One of my favorite pairings is blueberries with fragrant, sweet mango. With a touch of lime. Andy (the son in NYC who loves to cook) was making dinner recently and asked me if I had any suggestions for a light, non-dairy dessert. I mentioned the blueberry/mango combination and that's what he made. Apparently it was a hit. I hope he impressed the hell of out her!
There really isn't a recipe for this, but here's the basic:
BLUEBERRY-MANGO "PARFAIT"
1 pint fresh blueberries, washed and stemmed
1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (or more or less, depending upon sweetness of fruit)
Zest of one lime
Combine blueberries, mango and sugar in a bowl. Stir well and let sit at room temperature for about an hour. Spoon into parfait or martini glasses, sprinkle with lime zest and serve.
Serves 4
Obviously, you can make this in whatever combination or quantity you choose. It keeps for about two days in the refrigerator. Know how you open the refrigerator door somethimes and stand there while you try to figure out what you want to snack on? This is a really good option and it keeps you away from the stuff (like the caramel sauce in there) that's not-so-good-for-you.
Of course, the not-so-good-for-you stuff is what I REALLY want to eat. That's why I made my favorite cake last week. I make it once a year, when blueberries are at their peak. I was good; I made it, then gave it away, but not until Henry and I shared a hefty slice before it departed.
Here it is. I adapted it from Bon Apetit. The original recipe called for a white chocolate frosting, but I'm not a big fan of white chocolate, so I substituted cream cheese frosting instead. Much better, I think! If you need a recipe for it, here's the one I use:
http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2009/10/humingbird-cake.html
LEMON-BLUEBERRY CAKE
3 1/3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Zest from one large lemon
4 extra-large eggs, room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, tossed with 2 tablespoons flour
Cream Cheese Frosting (see link above)
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment. Butter again and dust lightly with flour.
Sift flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. Using electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue beating, scraping down sides often until mixture is light and creamy, about 8 minutes. Beat in lemon juice and zest then add eggs one at a time. Scrape bowl down after each addition.
Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Do not overbeat. Remove bowl from mixer and finish combining by hand, using a large spatula or wooden spoon. Gently fold in berries.
Divide batter between prepared pans. Rap each pan one time sharply on countertop to remove air bubbles. Bake until cake tester comes out clean, between 30 and 40 minutes, depending upon your oven. Cool on racks for at least one hour or longer.
Frost layers with cream cheese frosting. Garnish with lemon slices and fresh blueberries, if desired. If you really want to go overboard, slice each layer horizontally so that you have four layers, then fill and frost as usual.
Serves 10-12
Note: I baked my layers for 40 minutes, and they were a little too dry for my taste. You should start checking for doneness at 30 minutes. Also, this cake is much, much better a day or two after you make it so that all the flavors start to meld. If you make it tomorrow, it will be perfectly "cured" for your Fourth of July celebration on Sunday!
But back to the blueberry part of this post. Big, beautiful local ones have been showing up at the farmer's markets here lately, and I can't resist. Blueberries and ripe, juicy heirloom tomatoes epitomize the best of summer's bounty to me. Corn, too but we haven't enjoyed much of it since we try to stay (kind of) carb-less during the week. Oh, the curse of the fat gene!
There really isn't a recipe for this, but here's the basic:
BLUEBERRY-MANGO "PARFAIT"
1 pint fresh blueberries, washed and stemmed
1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (or more or less, depending upon sweetness of fruit)
Zest of one lime
Combine blueberries, mango and sugar in a bowl. Stir well and let sit at room temperature for about an hour. Spoon into parfait or martini glasses, sprinkle with lime zest and serve.
Serves 4
Obviously, you can make this in whatever combination or quantity you choose. It keeps for about two days in the refrigerator. Know how you open the refrigerator door somethimes and stand there while you try to figure out what you want to snack on? This is a really good option and it keeps you away from the stuff (like the caramel sauce in there) that's not-so-good-for-you.
Of course, the not-so-good-for-you stuff is what I REALLY want to eat. That's why I made my favorite cake last week. I make it once a year, when blueberries are at their peak. I was good; I made it, then gave it away, but not until Henry and I shared a hefty slice before it departed.
Here it is. I adapted it from Bon Apetit. The original recipe called for a white chocolate frosting, but I'm not a big fan of white chocolate, so I substituted cream cheese frosting instead. Much better, I think! If you need a recipe for it, here's the one I use:
http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2009/10/humingbird-cake.html
3 1/3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Zest from one large lemon
4 extra-large eggs, room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, tossed with 2 tablespoons flour
Cream Cheese Frosting (see link above)
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment. Butter again and dust lightly with flour.
Sift flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. Using electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue beating, scraping down sides often until mixture is light and creamy, about 8 minutes. Beat in lemon juice and zest then add eggs one at a time. Scrape bowl down after each addition.
Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Do not overbeat. Remove bowl from mixer and finish combining by hand, using a large spatula or wooden spoon. Gently fold in berries.
Divide batter between prepared pans. Rap each pan one time sharply on countertop to remove air bubbles. Bake until cake tester comes out clean, between 30 and 40 minutes, depending upon your oven. Cool on racks for at least one hour or longer.
Frost layers with cream cheese frosting. Garnish with lemon slices and fresh blueberries, if desired. If you really want to go overboard, slice each layer horizontally so that you have four layers, then fill and frost as usual.
Note: I baked my layers for 40 minutes, and they were a little too dry for my taste. You should start checking for doneness at 30 minutes. Also, this cake is much, much better a day or two after you make it so that all the flavors start to meld. If you make it tomorrow, it will be perfectly "cured" for your Fourth of July celebration on Sunday!
5th-17th July: Cooking at The Wild Garlic
It is amazing where slightly drunken conversations can lead. In this case the answer is Dorset. To Mat Follas’s Wild Garlic restaurant, to be more specific.
A request from the man himself to cover for a holidaying sous chef could not be passed over so I’ll be cooking there for two weeks from July 5th – a prospect that fills me with excitement given the amazing range of produce available. Knowing how much Mat values local and seasonal food, the menu will be a pleasure to cook.
What’s even more exciting is that I’ll be cooking with Terry again for the first time since what has become known as the ‘WI Debacle’. I think we’ve both improved a lot since then but it’s probably for the best that you don’t order the fishcakes.
The Wild Garlic is in Beaminster, Dorset. To book a table call 01308 861446.
A request from the man himself to cover for a holidaying sous chef could not be passed over so I’ll be cooking there for two weeks from July 5th – a prospect that fills me with excitement given the amazing range of produce available. Knowing how much Mat values local and seasonal food, the menu will be a pleasure to cook.
What’s even more exciting is that I’ll be cooking with Terry again for the first time since what has become known as the ‘WI Debacle’. I think we’ve both improved a lot since then but it’s probably for the best that you don’t order the fishcakes.
The Wild Garlic is in Beaminster, Dorset. To book a table call 01308 861446.
Holiday Weekend
Its been a while since my last post, so I thought I would share what's in store for the weekend. We never plan ahead for the 4th of July, it always just turns out that we find something fun to do. Last year we spent the day on our friends boat which LOTS of people do all holiday weekend. I think this year we will probably just spend our day at the beach, and watch fireworks from there with friends, I'm sure all along the beach line people will be lighting them up. What do you usually do?
Last weekend we went to a Wine & Cheese party which turned out to be pretty fun. The crowd was mainly from Nathans leadership program, and their significant others. I even got to wear my new dress!
The photo is crappy, it was taken with photo booth (my web cam for you non-mac users). But you get the idea. Alloy.com was having a sale, and I couldn't resist. I spend most of my summers in dresses or skirts, because it's so hot here. I haven't worn jeans since April! haha.
Here is another cute photo of my Bella, whenever I'm in my art room she's always tagging along behind me, usually laying on the floor or looking out the window for lizards.
Most people post pictures of their kids and brag about how they have the "cutest baby in the whole world" and of course believe it to be true. Well, I'm posting pics of my dog baby, and she is the cutest dog in the whole world. It bothers me that Pit Bulls have such a negative label, and especially when someone asks me what she is and I tell them she's a pit mix, and people proceed to tell me how violent, and mean they are. Bella is such a gentle sweet girl. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. All she wants out of the world is to be cuddled, and to play with her neighborhood doggies. Oh and chase lizards. She would never hurt anyone. I'm so lucky we found each other, she's my best friend.
On another note, I bought my tickets to fly up north to Michigan today. My best guy friend Ed is getting married, so we are going to be there for him. I am leaving a week earlier than Nathan so I can spend some time at home with my Mom too. I am very excited to be home with her and make a mess of her craft room. She is also letting me take some of her beads, which I am SUPER excited about, because she has a great collection, and I can't buy them as often as I'd like, due to how much they cost! I'm also looking forward to just chilling on the porch, and picking fresh veggies from her new garden. There's no place like home, or should I say there's no place like being with my mom.
I will leave you with this....my new flowers for the week. Purple Spider Mums!!!! Mums are my favorite, i was ecstatic when I found this bundle. Have a Great 4th Bloggers!
Last weekend we went to a Wine & Cheese party which turned out to be pretty fun. The crowd was mainly from Nathans leadership program, and their significant others. I even got to wear my new dress!
Here is another cute photo of my Bella, whenever I'm in my art room she's always tagging along behind me, usually laying on the floor or looking out the window for lizards.
Most people post pictures of their kids and brag about how they have the "cutest baby in the whole world" and of course believe it to be true. Well, I'm posting pics of my dog baby, and she is the cutest dog in the whole world. It bothers me that Pit Bulls have such a negative label, and especially when someone asks me what she is and I tell them she's a pit mix, and people proceed to tell me how violent, and mean they are. Bella is such a gentle sweet girl. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. All she wants out of the world is to be cuddled, and to play with her neighborhood doggies. Oh and chase lizards. She would never hurt anyone. I'm so lucky we found each other, she's my best friend.
On another note, I bought my tickets to fly up north to Michigan today. My best guy friend Ed is getting married, so we are going to be there for him. I am leaving a week earlier than Nathan so I can spend some time at home with my Mom too. I am very excited to be home with her and make a mess of her craft room. She is also letting me take some of her beads, which I am SUPER excited about, because she has a great collection, and I can't buy them as often as I'd like, due to how much they cost! I'm also looking forward to just chilling on the porch, and picking fresh veggies from her new garden. There's no place like home, or should I say there's no place like being with my mom.
I will leave you with this....my new flowers for the week. Purple Spider Mums!!!! Mums are my favorite, i was ecstatic when I found this bundle. Have a Great 4th Bloggers!
Doner Kebabs
If there is a food more maligned than the doner kebab then it remains unknown to my palate.
Long the butt of jokes and the final resort of a hungry lush as he or she stumbles back home from the pub via a neon takeaway, the poor kebab as we know it in England is far removed from its original form.
Sweaty mystery meat sculpted into the famous ‘elephant’s foot’ rotates slowly in front of orange hued heater bulbs behind the counters of less salubrious dining establishments throughout the country. Unimaginably long lengths of it are hacked off and crammed into epic flatbreads or warm pitas before being topped with a token salad of four cucumber rings, some harsh raw onion and a few wedges of watery tomato.
The whole lot is finished with a Russian roulette chilli sauce that ranges from the pathetic to nuclear hot and then eaten with gusto, delight and a side order of late onset guilt.
And it tastes great.
Admittedly the average doner diner is three or even four sheets to the wind by the time they get their laughing gear around this culinary oddity that somehow manages to pack a day’s worth of calories into a single polystyrene box. They are chowed down late at night to sate the deep hunger brought on by overindulgence of the grape and grain’s fine nectar.
I can recall many morning after conversations that have included the phrase ‘I must have been quite pissed – I even had a kebab’ and fondly remember one incident when the distinctive doner niff followed us round for an entire Sunday after a heavy Saturday night. Even a shower and a change of clothes wasn’t enough to quell the odour. It was only when my friend reached into his coat pocket for his wallet and pulled out a length of brown meat that the mystery was solved.
In short kebabs tend to be eaten in haste and regretted at leisure when noxious burps scented with onion exacerbate the hangover. They are the guiltiest of guilty pleasures and a gastronomic punchline for a joke that ceases to be funny at about 6 o’clock the following morning when the belly cramps and the head aches.
But this shouldn’t be the case. In its true form, the doner is a thing of beauty: marinated lamb meat, slow cooked into tender softness – warm with spices and rich with natural fat. Blistered flatbreads with that wonderful gentle bitterness. Heat from chillies tempered with cool salad. Hummus. Yoghurt. These are all good things. Great, wonderful tasty things. And more importantly all things you can achieve at home.
Doner Kebabs
OK – this isn’t a true doner. For that you’d need epic amounts of meat of dubious origin, a large vertical spit, six hours of turning and a hungry mob to consume it all. So we cooked a simplified version which was superior in every way.
Once a lamb shoulder had been boned out and butterflied it was covered with a spice mix containing cumin, coriander, chillies, oregano, garlic, lemon zest and olive oil before being tied up and roasted in the oven over a layer of roughly chopped onions.
Three hours at a low heat was long enough to render the meat tender and almost liquefy the onions.
Whilst it was resting we cooked up a batch of flatbreads, made some hummus and a chopped salad of cucumber, tomato, red onion and plenty of parsley.
The lamb meat was shredded with two forks and mixed in with the cooked onions and the fat and juices that had pooled in the bottom of the roasting tray. Heaped into fresh warm flatbreads and then finished off with all the necessary accoutrements it was a meal fit for the gods themselves. Or at least Bacchus.
Photography by Charlotte
Long the butt of jokes and the final resort of a hungry lush as he or she stumbles back home from the pub via a neon takeaway, the poor kebab as we know it in England is far removed from its original form.
Sweaty mystery meat sculpted into the famous ‘elephant’s foot’ rotates slowly in front of orange hued heater bulbs behind the counters of less salubrious dining establishments throughout the country. Unimaginably long lengths of it are hacked off and crammed into epic flatbreads or warm pitas before being topped with a token salad of four cucumber rings, some harsh raw onion and a few wedges of watery tomato.
The whole lot is finished with a Russian roulette chilli sauce that ranges from the pathetic to nuclear hot and then eaten with gusto, delight and a side order of late onset guilt.
And it tastes great.
Admittedly the average doner diner is three or even four sheets to the wind by the time they get their laughing gear around this culinary oddity that somehow manages to pack a day’s worth of calories into a single polystyrene box. They are chowed down late at night to sate the deep hunger brought on by overindulgence of the grape and grain’s fine nectar.
I can recall many morning after conversations that have included the phrase ‘I must have been quite pissed – I even had a kebab’ and fondly remember one incident when the distinctive doner niff followed us round for an entire Sunday after a heavy Saturday night. Even a shower and a change of clothes wasn’t enough to quell the odour. It was only when my friend reached into his coat pocket for his wallet and pulled out a length of brown meat that the mystery was solved.
In short kebabs tend to be eaten in haste and regretted at leisure when noxious burps scented with onion exacerbate the hangover. They are the guiltiest of guilty pleasures and a gastronomic punchline for a joke that ceases to be funny at about 6 o’clock the following morning when the belly cramps and the head aches.
But this shouldn’t be the case. In its true form, the doner is a thing of beauty: marinated lamb meat, slow cooked into tender softness – warm with spices and rich with natural fat. Blistered flatbreads with that wonderful gentle bitterness. Heat from chillies tempered with cool salad. Hummus. Yoghurt. These are all good things. Great, wonderful tasty things. And more importantly all things you can achieve at home.
Doner Kebabs
OK – this isn’t a true doner. For that you’d need epic amounts of meat of dubious origin, a large vertical spit, six hours of turning and a hungry mob to consume it all. So we cooked a simplified version which was superior in every way.
Once a lamb shoulder had been boned out and butterflied it was covered with a spice mix containing cumin, coriander, chillies, oregano, garlic, lemon zest and olive oil before being tied up and roasted in the oven over a layer of roughly chopped onions.
Three hours at a low heat was long enough to render the meat tender and almost liquefy the onions.
Whilst it was resting we cooked up a batch of flatbreads, made some hummus and a chopped salad of cucumber, tomato, red onion and plenty of parsley.
The lamb meat was shredded with two forks and mixed in with the cooked onions and the fat and juices that had pooled in the bottom of the roasting tray. Heaped into fresh warm flatbreads and then finished off with all the necessary accoutrements it was a meal fit for the gods themselves. Or at least Bacchus.
Photography by Charlotte
APPLE HONEY DIP
Ingredients:
Yogurt ....... 1 & 1/2 cups - 2 cups
Apple ....... 1 (grated)
Honey ...... 1-2 tbsp.
Salt......... to taste
White pepper ...1/4 tsp.
Crushed mint leaves ... 1 tsp. ( 6-8 leaves)
Carrot, cucumber, tomato (Any veg. of your choice)
Method:
1. Blend the yogurt with grated apple, salt, honey, white pepper and crushed mint.
2. Chill in the refrigerator until you serve.
3. Serve with any vegetables of your choice or cracker biscuits.
Crab and vegetables eggs (Fuyunghai)
Ingredients & spices :
1 small can of crab meat
a handful of frozen carrot
1/2 yellow onion diced
green onion
garlic
6 eggs (chicken egg is fine too)
5 oz shrimp, peeled and chopped
Sauce:
4 tbs tomato sauce
1/2 cup of water
1/2 tbs minced garlic
1 tsp of tapioca starch
1/4 yellow onion sliced
frozen vegetables carrot and pea
2 tbs sugar
How to prepare :
Eggs. Stir fry garlic, onion, carrot than add crab meat, salt, pepper, diced prawn, green onion. mix it well, than add tapioca starch.
Place it in the bowl and mix it with eggs.
Deep fry the egg to golden brown.
Sauce. Stir fry garlic, than add onion and frozen vegetable. add tomato sauce, water mix with tapioca starch, sugar.
Crab and vegetables eggs (Fuyunghai)
Ingredients & spices :
1 small can of crab meat
a handful of frozen carrot
1/2 yellow onion diced
green onion
garlic
6 eggs (chicken egg is fine too)
5 oz shrimp, peeled and chopped
Sauce:
4 tbs tomato sauce
1/2 cup of water
1/2 tbs minced garlic
1 tsp of tapioca starch
1/4 yellow onion sliced
frozen vegetables carrot and pea
2 tbs sugar
How to prepare :
Eggs. Stir fry garlic, onion, carrot than add crab meat, salt, pepper, diced prawn, green onion. mix it well, than add tapioca starch.
Place it in the bowl and mix it with eggs.
Deep fry the egg to golden brown.
Sauce. Stir fry garlic, than add onion and frozen vegetable. add tomato sauce, water mix with tapioca starch, sugar.
STIR FRIED CAULIFLOWER STALKS
The event "Best out of Waste" organised by Nithu Bala (Nithu's Kichen) has taken me back to my childhood days, when my grandma would make sabjis out of anything and everything. It is really amazing that just with the garlic-ginger flavour (no spices added) this v.eg. can taste so good. It has high fibre content and is full of nutrition. Sending this to the event
Ingredients:
Stalks of one cauliflower.
Garlic ...... 1 pod
Ginger ...... julienned (1 tbsp)
Green chillies .... 3-4 Slit into two
Coriander leaves ... to garnish.
Turmeric powder ...1/2 tsp.
Salt
Oil
Method:
1. Wash the leaves well. Cut the leafy part and set it aside.
2. Cut out one inch pieces from the stalk and peel the outer layer.
3. Heat water in a pan and add salt and turmeric. Boil the stalks for 2 minutes and add the leaves. Switch off the gas.(The stalks have to be crunchy. Do not over cook them)
4. Heat about 2 tbsps. of oil in a pan and add the ginger garlic. Stir fry until pink in colour.
5. Drain the stalks and add them. Add the green chillies and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.(No masalas are required for this stir fry) Garnish with coriander leaves.
This makes an excellent side dish with anything.
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