fahrenheit four fifty lemon

Kale Chips!

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:14:00 -0400

Kale Chips!

a variety of thanks

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:02:56 -0500

a breakfast hash to begin: onions, sweet potatoe, butternut squash, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, garlic and sage.

sans rival: meringue base 1/4.

italian buttercream finish

sisters

trio grapefruit curd.

povitika

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:30:19 -0400

rolled

baked

oops

roasted corn truffles and sea salt caramels - a long time in the making

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 18:48:27 -0400

After weeks of emailing, discussing recipes and truffle combos, we finally got together to temper. I came up from Portland to Seattle for a weekend full of chocolate making and preserving with Neeta and my sister, Melissa.

This month’s daring bakers challenge was to create two candies at home, one of which had to be made with tempered chocolate. Melissa took the lead and got us fancy smancy Valrhona dark and white chocolate and dark cocoa powder!

Splurging on Valrhona instead of a marble slab, we used the seeding method to temper the chocolate. Here’s a bit about tempering from Neeta: Tempering is a process where you melt chocolate, take it to a few different temperatures, all with the intent of manipulating the molecular structure - in order to end with chocolate that has a nice snap, sheen, won’t hold a fingerprint and most importantly, locks in the cocoa butter to prevent that white smudgy stuff you sometimes see lingering on your candy bar. Tempering chocolate makes it super easy to work with because at the certain temperature/structure where it is ready to temper, it will cool and contract by a small percentage, making it super easy to pop out of a mold. I can write more about the process of tempering later…for now…here’s what we got to make!

Sea salt caramels! above we’re filling mini muffin tins - that were filled with tempereed chocolate - with a simple gooey caramel + a dose of sea salt

I think we actually did reach a temper point but the sides of the muffin tin were not coated so well and thus we ended up with a lot of shattered caramel cups. delicious and messy.

TAKE 2: Melissa’s brainchild: roasted sweet corn white chocolate truffles dusted with cocoa powder and a heavy dose of chipotle pepper

An afternoon bbq, inspired us to add roasted corn. In addition to classic white chocolate/heavy cream ganache, we also made a dairy free version: sweet roasted corn steeped in coconut milk.

To flavor the ganache, we steeped the roasted corn in heavy cream, and then mixed it with melted white chocolate

The final product was dusted with cocoa powder/chipotle pepper mix.

voila!

melissa also hosted a fantastic summer bbq! she even had watermelon ice cubes ready to put into a summer drink of gin/lime/simple syrup. Cheers.

lamb fraisier

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:00:00 -0400

i woke up from my post call nap, happy to find julie and her sister (my new city neighbor) melissa, armed with a chiffon cake in the shape of a lamb/boot/roller skate, freshly ground almond paste, edible flowers and a bumper crop of strawberries and raspberries.

so then we started to build a fraisier…

we were inventive…

and then we filled it with cream…

and julie came all the way from portland and brought edible flowers with her…

and that is what a fraisier can sometimes look like…

but we ended up with a fantastic new friend.

thanks for making it happen M & J. you guys are my dear daring bakers.

spatula and a stethoscope.

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 22:30:00 -0400

a great birthday welcome to seattle.

gummiesandbirds: weekly series: becoming yourself / friday over...

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 22:12:56 -0400

gummiesandbirds:

weekly series: becoming yourself / friday

over the years
i’ve realized that there’s a monster
living inside me
that comes out
in the form of nail art, bird noises, and post-it drawings.
turns out
this monster loves it when i wear hats.
and it especially loves it
when i dance.

phyllo dough at home. baklava central.

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 02:12:00 -0400

cinnamon + orange peel + honey + sugar + water

paper thin phyllo. not as hard as it looks!

right before the syrup storm

pastry.

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:25:52 -0400

the haute pastry shops look lıke boutıques sellıng gold. here ıs a samplıng of some pastry art:

a base of genoıse cake wıth a mound of berry compote fılled wıth lemon creme and covered wıth a ganache lıke shell and merıngue leaflets.

puff pastry base wıth apples and currants and pıstachıos.

sadaharu aokı matcha tea versıon of the classıc french opera cake.

hands down the most ınventıve pastry ı trıed! black sesame creme eclaır. the colors, textures, flavors were all dead on.

from sadaharu aokı.

classıc pear and frangıpane tart from stohrer.

caramel st. honore from laduree.

baguette.

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:21:02 -0400

what they say ıs true. you cannot walk around parıs wıthout seeıng someone makıng theır way to a park or work or home holdıng a baguette at theır sıde. and you’ll never fınd a baguette that ıs stıll capped on both ends as ıt’s a natural rıtual to take a bıte off of the crusty end as soon as you walk out of the boulangerıe.

thıs trıp was the culmınatıon of a lot of readıng and studyıng about and makıng and tastıng of bread. so ı could go on and on about starters, fermentatıon, poolısh, etc.etc. but ı’ll try to keep ıt short and sweet and just share some pıctures for now.

everyone has a dıfferent ıdea of theır perfect baguette. some are dark, crusty and lıght. others have a tıgher crumb and some a thın shell whıch ı wouldn,t even call a crust at all. every year there ıs a contest among the bakerıes for who makes the best baguette. We trıed 2007 and 2010 wınners. I preferred the dark, chewy crust wıth the open, ırregular crumb from la grenıer ın montmartre. We had emmental and butter sandwiches wıth these baguettes below and man, ıve now done a complete 180 on butterıng my bread. normally ı see butter as addıng a greasy layer to otherwıse great bread but the the butter ın france was saltıer and creamıer than any butter ıve trıed ın the u.s. and actually adds flavor to the bread. yum.

below are two other baguettes - the one on the bottom beıng erıc kayser’s natural levaın baguette - whıch means that ıt’s made usıng a wıld yeast starter. the flavor was very sımılıar to the tartıne bread ı was makıng before ı left. was defınately one of the favorıtes.

although everyone’s perfect baguette ıs dıfferent, ı was surprised at how some ı trıed were just not that ımpressıve at all. the baguette from the corner boulangerıe from where ı stayed ın the latın quarter could have easıly been from some random grocery store and ı wouldn’t have known the dıfference.

we dıd alot of thıs. these are the best baguettes wıth a gorgonzola cheese and a goat cheese covered wıth place pepper pıeces! thıs ıs on the steps of a church. ha.

macaroon.

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:56:34 -0400

ı fırst trıed french macaroons at the bakery ı worked at ın new york, sılver moon. at the tıme they weren’t very popular and vanılla and chocolate were the only flavors ı found ın nyc. almost all of the fancy patısserıes ın parıs make a mean macaroon though pıerre herme ıs known for hıs technıque and flavor combınatıons.

carrot + cınnamon + orange

olıve oıl + vanılla

vıolet + black current

a macaroon consısts of two lıght cookıes fılled wıth some kınd of creme. the cookıe ıs made from almond flour, egg whıtes and sugar and the creme can be a creme fraıche, heavy cream or butter base.

what makes a fantastıc macaroon? a crısp, delıcate shell that shatters wıth the fırst bıte (see above) + a unıform foot - or that craggy rock lookıng layer- that lınes the perımeter of each cookıe + a rıch and flavorful creme center. what always gets me about these pastrıes ıs how dynamıc the texures are. starts wıth a crunch and then makes ıts way from a fudgy brownıe that dıssolves ınto a lıght custard- all ın seconds. trust me frıends, these are not easy to replıcate. overambıtıon led to throwıng alot of trays of faıled attempt macaroons ın the trash at my pastry school bake sale.

but after tryıng these ın parıs, ım lookıng forward to returnıng home armed wıth a vıvıd memory of how ıncredıble these can be and gıvıng them another try.

paris snapshots

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:26:06 -0400

hı frıends! postıng from parıs. the followıng posts are just a handful of the ıncredıble food ı,ve experıenced so far. here ıs some landscape!

tarte tatin.

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:42:00 -0400

the french upsıde down apple tart ıs a tale of two sısters who ran the hotel tatın ın a small town ın the loıre valley. One day, stephanıe forgot to place the tart shell ın the pan before addıng the fıllıng. She trıed to salvage the apple fıllıng by ınstead drapıng the shell over the top. Voıla! tarte tatın. The classıc versıon of thıs dısh consısts of thıckly cut apples sauteed ın sugar and butter on the stove top untıl medıum caramelızed, then topped wıth an unbaked crust: eıther puff pastry or a pate brısee. The apples and dough are baked and then ınverted after comıng out of the oven.

the above ıs an ındıvıdual tarte tatın from la grenıer boulangerıe ın monmatre - where claudıa and ı trekked to fınd the best baguette of 2010. not only ıs theır bread award wınnıng but so are theır pastrıes!

although ıve made thıs tart before, ı was surprısed at how delıcate, buttery and complex of a flavor the apple layer becomes. The twıce cooked method breaks down the ınterıor fıbrous structure and essentıally leaves you wıth the apple chunks meltıng ınto apple sauce on your tongue. ı had thıs tart followıng a meal of lentıl salad and confıt de canard - where ıt was served wıth a dollop of creme fraıche. sıgh, ı wıll never eat or serve thıs apple delıght wıthout the tart and creamy sıde. too good.

bread camp

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:10:16 -0400

just a few things coming out of camp bread…

bench rest

the first loaf. oh what oven spring.

what a crumb

day old country loaf croutons.

preshaping baguettes, on the rise style.

final proofing croissants.

crispy, buttery, yeastly, slightly doughy…perfect.

cracker thin 50white/50whole wheat pizza dough.

it's alive!

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:14:34 -0500

flour + water + 2-3 days of sitting on room temp counter. it’s definitely making my home more alive. now…the feeding.

mission: loaf with an old soul

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:33:07 -0500

A new year, a new mission. Hey folks, its been a long time. Although my readership consists mostly of blood relations and a couple of old friends, I still feel the weight of abandoning this blog for a while. It’s back to winter time in cleveland and after doing quite a bit of running around the past few months, I’m ready to return to home routine with lots of good cooking and company.

It all begins with the most romantic cookbook introduction ever. My sister got me the perfect holiday gift: a cookbook. But not just any cookbook, an invitation to apprentice with the bread baker at Tartine - one of my favorite pastry shops in san francisco. This is the kind of introduction you want someone to read to you before you go to bed and then cuddle up with in the morning. It’s the story of a man who committed his life to find a ‘loaf with an old soul.’ After graduating from culinary school, he spent the next decade learning the ways of making natural leaven/wild yeast bread in maine, france and northern california. In true apprenticeship fashion, he lived and worked with bakers until he learned everything he could, and then was set free to go on and learn the ways of the next. His story makes me melt. Probably because I long for the time and space to be able to commit to such a mission, explore and create by way of your senses and fermentation. And also it’s pretty dam amazing to break bread and live/ingest a person’s life work.

I’ll have to be super flexible and creative and have a whole lot of activation energy to commit to a mission like this after starting work soon. Though instead of whining about it, I’m starting now. And hopefully I’ll be able to learn a handful of techniques that will help me to continue making fairy tale bread in the future.

A great inspiration to begin this project was the fact that I got a chance to try tartine’s old country loaf on my recent trip to san fransisco. Of course I had high expectations, but I am still floored and kinda obsessed with how delicious it was. For me, it was particularly striking how alive this bread is. It looks and acts like an animal! The exterior has so much topography! it’s smooth in parts, white and charry in others, black and caramelized on the edges, bubbly in waves and oh soo crisp. I am sure I left a trail from san fransicso to cleveland of the remnants of the crust - in my purse, the overhead compartment, my hair and now all over my apartment. It’s almost like its been shedding and molting in stages. And to top it off, it has an incredibly balanced sour crumb and offers the perfect way to reunite with friends.

The animal quality of this loaf is only reinforced my it’s natural leaven identity. This bread is only possible because of the yeasts in the air, on the baker’s fingers and the whole wheat grains and how the baker controls the process of fermentation. Per Chad Robertson, fermentation is the most important, time consuming and surreal part of bread baking to learn.

So, let’s get started.

First: the starter. To make a bread with natural leaven, you need to create a vigorous starter. This is a process of making a culture: you mix flour + water and all of the microorganisms in the air - wild yeasts and bacteria become the source of rise. I got wheat berries from the local co-op and used sam and janna’s grain mill to make fresh whole wheat flour. Not only does fresh milled flour yield a particularly lively starter, the first loaf will also be part hawkins’ family which is pretty great in my book. One of the best things about making the starter was imagining that all of the microorganisms: on my hands, on the kitchen towel, in the air - would all play their special role in making this a loaf specific to the time and place. A pretty incredible way to make a final connection with this place i’ve called home for 3.5 years.

50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and AP flour to feed to my starter everyday.

My starter! Plan is to let it sit for 2-3 days and see how bubbly and fermented it gets. Then to ‘train’ it. I will discard about 80% of it, add more flour + water and do this daily. This process builds a certain balance of yeast and bacteria which will cause the starter to rise and fall in a predicable manner. Once I learn to recognize the stages in terms of volume and aroma - I can start to make the dough for the first loaf. I’m unsure of how long this will take - and that’s the best part about all of this. It’s an adventure in learning to observe, smell and work with factors you can control and those that you cannot.

This and the posts that follow will not be so much instructive as they will be documentary. Chad Robertson’s Tartine Bread book is a masterpiece with respect to the visuals and detailed instruction and I can’t imagine these posts will do justice to the process. So blogging will more be inspiration and motivation for me. If you want to take on this journey as well, I would recommend picking up a copy!

tea time

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 13:00:00 -0400

During my recent visit to India, I realized that tea time is not only a break from the day but actually an activity in itself, which at times, requires a period of rest right after completing. I’d wake up and be greeted with a hot mug of ginger chai made by my grandma/cousin/aunt, sip it directly or pour a few sips at a time into a saucer to slurp up at a drinkable temperature. I remember most mornings so clearly - probably because my attention only on the tea and scenery.

My daily tea in Cleveland consists of electronically heated water + tea bag + cold milk, making for an eye opener that’s lukewarm enough to chug on the way to work. On the other hand, the chai I had in India was so fulfilling, partly because it’s so much richer with more milk and partly because it’s made with care - Letting the ginger first steep in hot water, adding tea leaves or grounds and giving them time and room to roll around. Adding milk and letting it all meld together until you get just the right color.

Expecting to not have much time to make chai a daily ritual when I start work this summer, I’m hoping to find a way to add a little bit of extra care to my morning tea now. I’m trying to apply the same attitude I strive to apply to daily cooking to my chai: Any food or drink: no matter how simple : whether it may be toast, tea or scrambled eggs: with little care, taste and observance, can taste oh so much greater than the sum of its parts.

One way to begin: have all the ingredients ready, prepared so you don’t find yourself without a clove or a cinnamon stick, etc, etc. I started making masala chai boxes for gifts like the one pictured above. They’re great —> a one stop shop. Black tea leaves, cloves, cardamom pods, dried or crystallized ginger, star anise, black and white peppercorns. Next, it’s nice to have a mortar and pestle. Although not necessary, you will get more flavor from the extra surface area provided when spices are in powder form. For chai beginners like myself, I recommend a one spice approach so you can get an idea of what flavors you like. 7 days, 7 spices: One day make only cardamom tea, next day, only ginger, etc. etc. You will then be able to blend your spices to make just the tea you like.

There’s really not too clear cut directions for chai. Though the consensus is that you boil the tea leaves in water for about 5 or so minutes, then add milk and keep it at a simmer/roll until you get the right color. Ah, the color. This color is similar to the bright green of coriander chutney or the cinnamon stained apple in a chunk of apple pie. One of the many colors that elicit memories of comfort and love.

Give it a shot, find your color of home.

chit chaat

Sat, 16 Oct 2010 08:01:14 -0400

embracing the end of ohio summers

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:18:00 -0400

all summer i’d been waiting to christen my new canning equipment and so before i left for india, i decided that trying my hand at peach jam was a priority. i still remember how deliciously ripe and juicy the first ohio peaches tried were. being as this is likely the last summer i’ll be spending in ohio - i couldn’t help surrender to the desire to preserve.

i got the recipe for peach jam from the cookbook: canning for a new generation. the book includes fantastic photographs and a mix of classic and modern recipes for fruit preserves and vegetable pickles. the author, liana krissoff, champions the use of natural pectin - thus using every part of the green apple to help set the preserves. she warns the reader multiple times that natural pectin won’t be able to provide the structure/stiff set mold you find with powdered pectin. though after you taste some of these subtlety sweet, fresh flavors and read some of her recipes, i doubt you’ll see the soft set texture as a minus and rather enjoy eating completely natural jam.

Although entitled classic peach jam, I found it to have a delightful fresh edge. the brightness that comes from the lemon juice is shocking. really! i was so surprised at how much juice from a half a lemon or so adds such depth of flavor and a bite on the tongue that helps to counter the sweetness of fruit+sugar.

This was the first time I canned on my own. Adequate preparation and having things super clean and organized are both key to successfully canning solo. It was difficult to take time out to take good pics as my hands were full and jammy. Thus the pics are more documentary than anything else. Alright, here we go!

First, peaches!

and

Apples!

I chopped up apples into quarters and saved the cores, seeds and stems.

I peeled and chopped up the peaches into 1/2 inch chunks and threw them all in a pot with some sugar. The sugar immediately pulls moisture out of the peach junks and creates a pool of syrup.

I simmered and stirred for about 2 hours until the peaches were just barely covered with the syrup. By that time, the peaches had broken down and become much smaller. I then strained the peach mixture through a medium fine sieve and returned the syrup back to the pot. (This was all an unfamiliar process to me.) I added the apple quarters and cheesecloth bag filled with the seeds, cores and stems of the apples (supposedly these parts have the the highest concentration of pectin).

Things got a little tricky here. I didn’t have much syrup left over and the instructions advised reducing the syrup with the apples for 10 minutes! It was bubbling like crazy and becoming thick and caramel like. I also wasn’t paying close enough attention to it and one hot spot burned pretty quickly. To make sure I didn’t preserve burnt peach caramel, I took it off the heat and tried to get as much out as possible, unfortunately losing more jammy goodness. I let the apples and cheesecloth sit in the syrup for a while with the heat off, hopefully promoting more pectin transference. Then, returned the peach chunks back to the syrup and voillah! ready to can peach jam.

Check out how much it reduced!

Now, I’m no expert on water bath canning, so I suggest you refer to any canning book, like the one I used or a website for instructions on water bath canning. This advice comes in light of the fact that my jars didn’t seal so I had to keep them in the fridge instead of having them defy time and nature and enable me to send them to far away friends and family. Also, I ended up with 3 half pint jars of jam when then= recipe predicted about 6. Hah. I have quite a bit of trouble shooting to do with jamming. Even though the end product did not really meet my original goal of preserving, I was pretty content and enjoyed the entire process of canning alone - and was left with a smile and some super sweet and lemony concentrated peach jam to top on my peanut butter toast.

Classic Peach Jam

-Canning for a New Generation, Lianna Krissoff

12 oz Granny Smith Apples

4 lbs peaches, peeled, pitting and diced

2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice

1. Prepare for water bath canning: Sterilize the jars and keep them hot in the canning pot, put a small plate in the freezer and put the flat lids in a heat proof bowl.

2. Cut the apples into quarters and core them. Tie the cores and seeds in a cheesecloth bag and set aside.

3. Put the peaches and sugar in a wide - 6 to 8 quart - preserving pan. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, and cook until the juices just cover the peaches. Pour into a colander and set over a small bowl. Gently stir the peaches to drain off the juice.

4. Return juice to the pan, add apples and cheesecloth bag, and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil and stir occasionally until the syrup is thick and reduced, about 15 minutes (like i mentioned, be careful with this step! if you start with thick and reduced, don’t go overboard like i did)

5. Return the peaches to the pan, add the lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Simmer and stir frequently until the peaches are very tender and a small dab of jam passes the freezer test. Freezer test: Remember that plate in the freezer? Take it out, dab a small amount of jam and return it to the freezer for a few minutes. Once it becomes somewhat firm, remove the peach mix from the heat. (I only had to do the freezer test once, however the first time I made strawberry jam with friends, multiple freezer plate tests ended up being the most important step in producing a jam rather than strawberry sauce)

6. Gently stir the mixture to distribute the fruit. Remove the bag and the apples.

7. Ladle boiling water from the canning pot into the bowl with the lids. Using a jar lifter, carefully remove the each sterilized jar from the canning pot, pouring the water from each one back in the pot, and then placing them upright on a folded towel. Drain the water off the jar lids.

8. Ladle hot jam into jars, leaving 1/4 inc of headspace at the top. Use a damp paper towel or clean cloth to wipe the rims of the jars, then put a flat lid and ring on each jar, screwing the ring so it’s just on - not tight.

9. Return the jars to the canning pot, make sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes. Remove the jars onto a folded towel. Now - Listen for popping. Often the jars seal within minutes however you can give them up to an hour. After 1 hour, to check if the lids have sealed: press down on the center of each. If i can be pushe down- it hasn’t sealed and the jar should be refrigerated. (My jars didn’t seal so I stuck em in the fridge —> next jam post: troubleshooting when jars don’t seal)

I’ve been swirling chunks of peach jam into greek yogurt and spreading it on open face peanut butter toast with tea in the morning. I recommend using this in any baked good that asks for jam: thumbprint cookies or jam filled muffins or oatmeal bars. enjoy!

101 reubens

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:00:00 -0400

Came across this site, Portland Vegan Reuben, while Sonali and I were searching for a saturday cooking adventure. Years worth of posts dedicated to vegan Reubens!

http://portlandveganreubens.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html

The one we tried subbed slabs of whole grain mustard marinated tempeh for corned beef, cannellini bean puree for russian dressing, raw beet slaw for sauerkraut and red wine braised mushrooms for caramelized onions. Crazy! We stuck to rye bread and swiss cheese and had some baked kale chips on the side.

Texture variety was rockin though it ended up being a pretty complex flavor profile, heavy on the pungent, sour notes. Each component could probably have stood alone though did make for a nice spread.

Look out for part II: making sauerkraut at home.