Blackberries at Night
When the orange lightning bugs
flickered strangely in the nightthe boys would run out
and pick hidden blackberries.
Ï
One would carry the yellow bowl,
one picked them off the bush,
another watched his brothers
and considered the moments.
Ï
He waited for something
to crack the silence,
to scatter their voices
in the sky forever.
-Donald Illich excerpted from Alimentum
July 09, 2007
July 06, 2007
RATATOUILLE: A Recipe for the Senses
"If you are what you eat, I only want to eat good stuff."
-Chef Remy
Take one part ambitious rat with an overdeveloped sense of smell and taste; add the best animation team around and place in the world of high profile restaurants and grill, sauté, and flambé for nearly two hours and serve up in Paris. Viola an aromatic visual feast.
While I will admit to at first being a bit uneasy with the whole rat in a kitchen idea Remy charmed and won my heart with his dream to 'chef.' And there's a lot we can learn from this "little chef." But this is a story not about a rat. No it's a story of Remy who follows his heart and puts his passion into being that dream against all odds. Trite as that may sound the folks at Pixar have assembled a delightfully, sweet and visually edible story to while a way a summer afternoon.
The Pixar crew took cooking classes, ate at notable restaurants in Paris and worked alongside Keller at the French Laundry. The commitment paid off in the dishes we see and can nearly taste: steamed pike with butter, braised fennel and heirloom potatoes; grilled petit filet mignon with oxtail and baby onion ragout topped with truffled bordelaise and shaved Perigord truffle. We also learn a few kitchen secrets along the way such as how a fresh baguette should sound, the proper way to chop a leek, and the value of keeping your station, and your sleeves clean. But the biggest lesson comes in the form of how to melt the coldest heart with a warm dish. This lesson comes through Anton Ego, portrayed by Peter O'Toole , the morbidly jaded restaurant critic.
The story made me immediately hungry and has inspired me to deconstructing the dish of the film's name over the next few weeks. There are many variations as there are French mothers. The dish and films' name, Ratatouille is the blending of two French words: rata, slang from the French Army meaning "chunky stew" and for the verb, 'to stir', touiller.
June 13, 2007
The Baker's Passport - Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, once known as Ceylon, just off the southeast coast of India, is a rich tapestry of cultures which can be experienced today through it's rich and diverse food. Julia Child was station here during her time with the OSS.
Sri Lanka's nearness to India has had a strong influence on its cuisine, as did the occupations of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. Writer Amanda Hesser, in the IHT poetically described its proximity as "...shaped like a fat tear rolling off the chin of India." As time lapsed the majority of defining dishes have been slightly modified. And it took a lot of cooking from many peoples, cultures and religions: the Hindus and Buddhists perfected the vegetarian dishes; the Christians refined the beef and pork recipes and the Muslims put attention to the mutton and lamb dishes. Many of the recipes revolve around rice, the central grain of curry dishes in Sri Lankan cuisine. Notably curries in this country are spicier than those found in India. Other staple ingredients include coconut (milk, oil, or grated), as well as aromatic herbs and spices such as curry leaf, fenugreek, turmeric, chilies, and cinnamon.
But what about dessert you say? Given the climate fruits are a plenty--mangoes, pineapple, papaya, woodapple, bananas, rambuttan, and mangosteen. For us bakers there's kiri pani made from buffalo milk curd and golden syrup; the of Malay origin, wattalappam an egg pudding with jaggary and also kevum made with flour and golden syrup.
Spice traders, specifically the Dutch and Portuguese left behind a meatball curry which is baked in a banana leaf. Hoppers, a crêpe of sorts with a bowl-shape and crispy edges shows up in many varieties such as honey, milk and the egg hopper containing a poached egg cooked into the center. The batter is made from from rice flour, coconut milk and then fermented with yeast or the traditonal, and sour tasting, palm toddy liquor. This favored treat is often found in "bakery hotels" or small restaurants for breakfast or lunch.
But for me I'd like to try this quaintly named spicey infusion "Love Cake" adapted from Portuguese cuisine, probably around the 16th century, when Portugal dominated the spice trade and controlled a portion of the island. The recipe's cashews and cardamom are native to the island. The rose water fragrance are a Muslim aesthetic and can be traced to Ceylon Muslims or to the Moorish influence of Spain and Portugal in the Middle Ages. A country's cultural history all in a slice of cake. Oh and I'll have mine with a cuppa Ceylon.
PS: I'm coming home with this must-have Sri Lankan kitchen gadget, a coconut scraper, waste not want not!
Bolo d'Amor
Portuguese Love Cake
The traditional recipe, served at graduations and weddings, contains 14 egg yolks. I just couldn't live with that on my mind. So, I asked around at work, my company has one of the most diverse workforces and adapted the following recipe which comes from her handwritten recipe notebook. She says she got it from a newspaper but doesn't know where as she's moved around a bit. So be it as its too good not to share. If anyone knows let me know so credit can go where it belongs. The secret is to have a soft texture in the middle and a firm and chewy exterior. Some say if be slowly bake it and using the right-sized pan is the magic.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups semolina meal (US bakers: Cream of Wheat)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg or cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups raw cashew nuts, finely chopped
4 tablespoons rose water
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
9 egg yolks and 5 whites
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
4 tablespoons honey
Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Warm semolina in a dry pan over medium heat until fairly hot to the touch, being careful not to let it brown.
Put in a bowl and stir to cool. While still a little warm, mix in softened butter using a wooden spoon. Add lemon rind, spices and salt. Mix well, cover and set aside two to four hours.
Separately, mix cashews with rose water, almond extract and vanilla. Cover and set aside.
Grease 9-by-13-inch pan and line with three thicknesses of wax paper. Butter well the top layer of paper.
In a large bowl, beat yolks and sugar until they have doubled in bulk and become thick, creamy and very light in color.
Beat in the semolina-butter mixture, a little at a time. Add the honey and beat. When well beaten, fold in cashew mixture.
Beat egg whites with lemon juice until they hold firm peaks. Fold into the cake mixture. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for 25 minutes. Lower the heat to 250 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes, until the cake is evenly golden-brown and the top feels firm to the touch.
As the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan it should be a bit moist in center (test with a skewer), remove from oven. If cake is very moist in the center, switch off oven, cover cake with paper or foil and leave inside for another 10-15 minutes.
If the cake begins to brown too much any time during baking, cover with paper or foil.
Cool cake completely. Do not remove cake from pan instead cut into small servings while in the pan.
June 05, 2007
Cruise West to Go Inside
If you are looking here for continuation of The Baker's Passport series you'll need to wait another week or so while I get this post out of my system. I've been away for two weeks on holiday. And while this is a bit of a "what I learned on my summer vacation" this next statement will shock a good many of you so I'm just going to put it out there.
I was on an Alaskan cruise. Not a big mega cruise ship but a small cruise line, Cruise West based in Seattle. And do they know how to show a girl a good time. This trip is a huge benefit of my job and the best surprise of all to me is that I would do it all again and again. There ships are designed for an up close and intimate experience, sorta like Alaska in hi-def. And they are conscious about the impact they are having and do something about it actively by reaching out to the communities they travel in. Plus if you are into the nature up-close thing their boats can do "donuts"...oh there a whale, no wait over there...!
Over seven days 70 of us floated among bitty bergs and glacial waters peeping at glaciers, (they are all pretty much receding), bears (looking very lean from a longer than typical winter), and humpback whales, dolphins, stellar seal loins, puffins, and the one of the single most spectacular moments of my life occurred in 25 degree weather at 12:30am, a viewing of the Aurora Borealis. My 8th grade dream realized!
I'm a bit of a lucky gal as this was my second time in Alaska. I've stayed at Camp Denali during a fall pro photographer's tour a few years back and now I've seen the Inside Passage from a puffin's view (interestingly they do look as they appear on the Trader Joe's cereal box!). So, the icing on the cake on this sailing was that most of the passengers onboard were not only there for the marine and wildlife they were all into talking about light, exposure, pixels and the ongoing raw vs. jpeg debate. (When will this question end?) Mark Kelly, a local Alaskan and professioinal photographer helping out with the logistics of putting us in the right spot at the right time (see photo above) and their was another professional, Julie Smith, helping us out with all types of photo-related problem solving.
Vacations to state the blind obvious, are magnificent things. Often we don't realize how much we need the escape of routines. To be pulled from the ho-hum ordinary into the extra ordinary. To hear stories about others and to think maybe, just maybe I could be that, I could do this or that. That's what this trip did for me. You see if you have a leaning, I mean a real passion for something like nature, or for the bigger prouder "environment" you need to go to Alaska. The size and shape of the land will shock you and humble you all in one breath. And it'll sneak right up on you and make you re-evaluate most of what you thought was important in existence. Really, it's that big. You learn to use the full range of your senses allowing you to return to your previous existence slightly changed.
Before the trip began I took a rather indulgent and pricey 40-mile excursion south of Juneau on a float plane over the Juneau Ice Fields taking in the Taku Glacier and landing for lunch at the same-named lodge. Now what drew me to this quiet rather senior citizen outing was of course the notion of eating the pink fish in Alaska in a wild and rustic setting. Oh yes and although I persuade people all day to buy things they may or may not want I was drawn in by the "your cool beverage will be chilled with chips of 1,000 year old glacial ice." Hey, we all by bottle water so back off.
The lodge site is between two glaciers on the Taku River. Lunch was already in progress. The BBQ pit was being stoked and fanned with alder wood by the young chefs in preparation for the wild King salmon bake. Inside the lodge the finishing accompaniments of reindeer sausage, baked beans, blueberry coffeecake scones, baked compote and herb biscuits was being pulled together. There was little to be seen of Scarface the bear that lives well during the season on salmon droppings.
After lunch we heard the story of the long-time previous owner of the lodge Mary Joyce who in 1935 at the age of 27 decided that just for fun she'd like to drive a dog team 1,000 miles from Juneau to Fairbanks. Frankly, everyone thought she was off her sled but she arrived in Fairbanks, where she learned she was entered in the Miss Alaska beauty contest and declined that in favor of honorary membership in the Pioneer Women of Alaska. Ms. Joyce also had a salmon-eating cow and a connection to the Smith in Smith-Corona but that's a whole 'nother story.
Finally we were invited to ask questions. After I asked enough appropriately worded but pointed questions about personal observations on global warming, waste disposal, the source of the wild king salmon (locally caught and sustainable) and about the realness of glacial ice in my glass all was confirmed with the yarn about "how" these young lodge keepers keep their "refrigerated" goods chilled by an itty bitty berg.
Imagine that, all in the last true frontier, and just one day.
Taku Herb Biscuits
Adapted from Taku Glacier Lodge Secret Recipes
These biscuits were all flaky goodness.
4 cups bread flour
3/4 cup dry milk
2 tsp. baking powder
2tsp. salt
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 level tbsp each of dried thyme, parsley, tarragon, basil
1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
1 cup cold butter
About 1 1/2 cups very cold water
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Place all ingredients except butter and water in mixing bowl, cut butter into mix (so pieces are not smaller than a peanut).
Make a well and add cold water. Don't add all the water at once. Work enough to make a slightly sticky dough, adding water as needed.
Place dough on floured board. Fold, turn it over and fold again. Do this about 8x. You may need to add a little flour between folds if the dough is too sticky.
Pat into a square about 1" thick, cut into square shaped biscuits or simply use a round cutter.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Best served hot accompanied by butter and honey.
May 02, 2007
The Baker's Passport- Tunisia
During the middle of the day it was no longer the sun alone that persecuted from above--the entire sky was like a metal dome grown white with heat. The merciless light pushed down from all directions; the sun was the whole sky.
– Peter Bowles, The Sheltering Sky
Thousand-year-old mosques, strolls through a medieval medina, and camelback treks across the Sahara can all be found on many a traveler’s list of desires when in the North African state of Tunisia. These rather romantic travel thoughts also bring up that song, “Midnight at the Oasis/Send your camel to bed/Shadows paintin’ our faces/Traces of romance in our heads/Let’s slip off to a sand dune…” Oh I think you get the idea.
According to the “The Momo Cookbook-A Gastronomic Journey through North Africa written by Chef Mourad Mazouz of London whose little gem of a cookbook provides glimpses into the land of the Maghreb, the region of northwest Africa comprising the coastlands and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The collection of recipes bridges the region’s history to the creation of a distinctive cuisine which, over the centuries, has been influenced by Jewish, Arabic, Italian and Spanish culture.
Folklorists have an expression in this region which states that, Tunisians get hungry when they see the color red, the color of appetite and passion. It’s also the color of harissa, a fire-red chili blend made from crushed dried red peppers, garlic, salt and caraway seeds that is central to Tunisian cuisine. Known for its heat and its association with red (passion), another folk tale shares that a man can judge his wife’s love by the amount of spice in his food—if it’s bland then romance is dead.
Given the area's Mediterranean climate fruit is is often often found on the table at the end of a meal. The quality and range of fruit is said to be outstanding, bursting with flavor. Tunisia ice cream, or sabayon made with egg yolks and often served with fresh fruits that have been peeled and artfully arranged as if an artist's palette, on a large tray with ice. Here you’ll find watermelon, cherries, grapes, apricots,and strawberries. Fruit juice drinks made from oranges,or ruby-red pomegranate whose pressed seeds are often mixed with a sugary rose-flavored water as a remedy for the traveler’s tummy and other fruit are available from street vendors and in cafes. Seasonal fruits include the wild peaches of early summer its interior carrying a deep red color and a jacket of thick beige fuzz and is similarly and called pêche de vignes of the Lyonnais region; small, bite-sized pears and mishmish, very delicate apricots. Or the Barbary Fig (known here in the States as Cactus Fruit or Prickly Pear) first introduced by the Spanish in the 16th century available October through December.
Turkish baklava has been integrated into the baking culture here. Layers of whisper thin pastry interspersed with ground pine nuts, almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios, bathed in golden butter, baked and dipped in a honey syrup in all it’s many shapes, sizes and delights. Sweets in this country are, to an American palate said to be sticky and overly sweet. Pastries are delicate and scented with the fragrance of orange blossom water. Many are filled with dates, nuts and dressed in honey. Zlabiya, is a snake-like pastry with a crispy dark brown shell simply dressed with honey; gazelle horns are delicate, flaky horn shaped pastries with almond paste and sugar. In Kairouan search out the street carts selling the local specialty called makroudh, deep fried semolina pastries stuffed with dates and covered in honey syrup. And for breakfast brik à l’oeuf a thin pastry wrapped around tuna and an egg, fried and served with harissa or if you prefer a sweeter version filled with almond or sesame paste and covered in honey.
Mint tea is the classic and predominant tea choice. The au pignon or the a l’almande, offers up a cup of brew with pine nuts or almonds floating in the cup, this lends a welcoming buttery taste. In cafes you will also see locals drinking Ahwa arbi (Turkish coffee) fragrant with orange blossom or rose water and other espresso-based pick-me ups. There’s also an aromatic spirit called Boukha made from distilled figs is served straight up at room temperature or chilled and mixed with Coca-Cola. (that’ll certainly keep you going!)
However in through this traveler's window, I see myself in Sidi Bou Said winding and weaning my way through the steep, narrow alleys, lined with whitewashed, blue-shuttered houses to the restaurant at the top, only to sit under the open sky with the brilliant sunlight warming my face as I linger over a few samsa, sipping mint tea, the smell of jasmine dancing in the air.
Samsa
Crisp Almond & Sesame Pastries
About 2 Dozen
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp orange-flower water
1 1/2 cups blanched almonds, lightly toasted and ground
1 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 oz filo pastry
olive oil, for brushing
lightly toasted sesame seeds for sprinkling
Instructions
Place the water and 1/2 cup sugar into a saucepan and gently heat, stirring until dissolved. Add lemon juice and bring to boil. The consistency will be syrupy. Remove from the heat and add the orange-flower water. Allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, stir together the ground almonds, orange zest, cinnamon and remaining sugar. Mix together until well blended.
Brush one sheet of filo with olive oil, keep the other sheets covered with a damp cloth. Cut the oiled sheet into 3 lengthwise strips. Place a small spoonful of filling at the bottom of each strip.
Fold the sides over the filling then roll the pastry up along the length. Brush inside the end of the pastry with oil and seal it to the roll. Brush with oil and put on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling. Bake the pastries for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden.
Lower the pastries a few at a time into the warm syrup, leave for about 3 minutes so the syrup infuses the pastries. Remove on to a plate and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds. Let come to room temperature before serving.
April 13, 2007
The Baker's Passport - Senegal
The southern area of Senegal , known to many for it's stunning beaches usually speckled with sun bathers from France and for its primary crop rice which is grown in this region called Casamance. African desserts in countries south of the Sahara Desert are not common. What is found are mixes of cut fruit such as mango, papaya, bananas and pineapple or simply just fresh fruit, either way this "course" is called "after chop."
Some of these central dishes to this part of Africa are Tiébou Dienn {pronounced: cheb-oo jenn}(rice and fish) and chicken au yassa (chicken with lemon, pimento and onions) and maffe (chicken or mutton in peanut sauce). Drinks include home-roasted coffee with pimento and and mint tea, with the first tea steeped along with sugar and is very bitter. This first pour is thought to be bad for a woman's health so they do not partake; the second time around water is added to the same leaves and boiled again. Unlike their Northern neighbors in Morocco who serve only three services of tea--the third being considered the perfect pour. The Senegalese just keep serving it up with more sugar as the enjoy it sweet.
Marcus Samelusson, the Ethiopian-born Swedish chef at Aquavit, has infused his passion for African cuisine into his recent cookbook, Soul of a New Cuisine. One of the peoples of Senegal, the Fulani people are known for their love milk. Whether this recipe originates there are more likely from the inspiration that Chef Samelusson found while traveling through the country. Here, in the following recipe he uses rice to create a very luxurious pudding; the creamy flavor is clean and bright from the lime zest, vanilla and small pieces of fresh mango.
Lime-Scented Poppy-Seed Rice Pudding with MangoFrom Soul of a New Cuisine by Marcus Samuelson
2 1/2 quarts whole milk
2 cups short-grain rice (14 ounces)
One 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
6 ripe mangoes—peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
In a medium enameled cast-iron casserole, combine the milk with the rice, coconut milk, vanilla bean and seeds and the poppy seeds and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat, stirring. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until the rice is tender, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Stir the sugar, heavy cream and lime zest into the rice and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice pudding is sweet and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then cover tightly and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. Spoon the rice pudding into small bowls and top with the mango.
MAKE AHEAD The rice pudding can be refrigerated overnight. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Serves 12
photo: J.C. Durka
April 09, 2007
Brownie Points @ Work
I have long harbored a cynical baking world view that not as many mothers baked from scratch as we may like to believe. Lest, I start crushing everyone's view of motherhood let's just agreed that if the house smelled like baking what's wrong with that, right? And while my mother did bake from scratch she also when she returned to the workplace there were brownies from a box. They do fill a niche need.
However, I can't tell you how many times I've labored over a cake for a big dinner party or birthday gathering where the cake is devoured but no one says a word about it. It's somewhat confidence deflating for the baker. If anyone had someone at home as a child who did bake from scratch they would have an idea about how much effort (not time...it's really not that much more) went into baking from scratch, certainly the accolades would be running wild. While this may be my ego whining but I started casually investigating this theory over the past few years.
"Oh yes, I can bring a cake for 30. Certainly, homemade, what else?!" I willingly volunteered. Brunches, birthdays and office events, wherever, whenever. It's at gatherings like t his where I've been tapped on the shoulder and asked if it's difficult to bake from scratch. Usually I would casually wave off the compliment, slightly embarrassed and worried for my baking reputation. Once, however I let my guilt overcome me and ended up gifting a total stranger. I'm not cold. How could I not? It was at a friend's huge birthday bash one of those affairs that has just the right amount of sophistication. I had agreed to help out a friend pull it all together by lending catering services and prep support. I baked and simply decorated a 20" chocolate cake. (Yes, I have a pan that big!) .
Out of the corner of my eye a woman with a huge 2 carat-diamond approached me.
"I know I don't know you and I'm sure that this is impossible to bake. Well, really, I don't bake. But my husband just can't stop talking about your cake. It reminds him of his mother's cake. She just passed away last year. He's near tears over there." She bit her lip. "It would mean the world if, well, could you..."
My heart went out to this woman. I began to think I could save her husband's soul memory of his mother not to mention solidify her young marriage. I certainly didn't need to have stronger proof of my theory than this.
"Can you keep a secret?" I asked in a hushed tone. She nodded. "Duncan Hines."
"What?" she said, confused.
"Everyone likes to believe 'mom' baked from scratch. Truth is that she did but it was from a Duncan Hines cake box."
She grabbed and hugged me and took her leave smiling.
Many years have passed since that day. But I continue to test the notion. On Friday afternoon I sat in a conference room overlooking San Francisco's Civic Center waiting for 16 office mates to participate in a Brownie Blind Taste; in front of me where three different brownies made from three recipes and three types of chocolate. One was a Betty Crocker brownie mix featuring semi-sweet chocolate; another was prepared-from-scratch version made with Nestle Chocolatier bittersweet chocolate (62%) and the third made from Baker's unsweetened chocolate.
People love chocolate. Since I had come across a new bittersweet chocolate from Nestle that held up pretty well in a side-by-side tasting against Ghiradelli I thought it might be worthwhile to put it to the brownie test. There's no better demonstration of a chocolate's qualities than this all-American treat. Everyone loves brownies. The division seems to come in preference to either a cakey or chewy consistency.
So which brownie won over the crowd? By an astounding 75%....(drumroll) Betty Crocker. So while I am smugly reassured that my theory continues to hold up my new favorite is from Nestle.
Oh, and while you may want to do your blind taste panel, the guys and gals in the office of varying ages and places in the States overwhelmingly chose the chewy over the cakey.
Nestle Chocolatier Brownies
Quite possibly this is one of the best brownie recipes around. The brownie is rich, moist and chewy. Clearly many mothers did not bake in the style of the "moms" at Nestle! This final recipe shared here is a slight variation from the one on the package and from the product's website, verybestbaking.com where there is a cookie recipe that I'll be trying later this recipe with the 52% morsels.
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 tbsp water
10 oz. pkg of Nestle Chocolatier 62% bittersweet morsels
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 325º F. Line 9-inch-square baking pan with foil; grease.
HEAT in a double boiler the package of morsels, sugar, butter and water over low heat, stirring constantly, until morsels and butter are melted. The consistency and color should look like vanilla pudding. Pour into medium bowl. The liquid should be warm but not steaming hot before proceeding to the next step. Stir in eggs, one at a time, until mixed in; add in vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix well.
POUR into prepared baking pan.
BAKE for 16 to 20 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool in pan on wire rack. Lift brownie from pan with foil to cutting board. Carefully remove foil. Cut
April 07, 2007
Random Word Eats
I'm spending more time reading than writing these days...
I recently learned from Bea that there's now (ok it's been over a year) an Edible Boston edition. Bea, is appearing in the Spring 2007 edition with a recipe for Honey & Lemon Tea Cakes. There's some tempting images of the delights at her site. Additionally there's also a great article on Planting a Culinary Herb Garden and the Traditions of Maple Sugaring (both links in PDF).
Thailand is the largest exporter of the world's stinkiest fruit, durian. And many are not happy about this change at all. And yes, it really does smell bad, worst than a locker room after an August doubleheader. But one of the world's leading fruit experts has figured out how to breed for no odor. In Malaysian culture durians are said to be an aphrodisiac..."when durian falls the sarongs fly up", goes a Malay phrase. The dark side is that there's usually one death a year from a falling fruit. A friend from Malaysian tells me that growing up she would eat mangosteen with durian to balance out some of the effects of durian eating.
Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!
One a penny two a penny - Hot cross buns
If you have no daughters, give them to your sons
One a penny two a penny - Hot cross buns
And it seems that hot cross buns, or as the historical tomes say Good Friday buns, are the theme of the moment. A great history piece at the Old Foodie, another at Spitton with some luscious learnings; step-by-step instructions there; and arrestingly sharp looking ones in New Zealand and here in San Francisco Sam shares a bit from her past and notes from the present.
In Italy at this time there are many food-related Easter traditions. In the Marches region crescia, a Parmesan pepper bread is shared at the table. Food on the Food shares a family recipe yielding seven loaves! Or you may prefer the ring-shaped ciambellone which was originally more of a harvest bread but it now seen at Easter particularly in the area of Rome. There are many recipes some with limoncello another more savory. And it wouldn't be Easter without the mention of Peeps. Check out this great demonstration video class for homemade chicks from CIA. Also check out the menu via this photo essay of a California family sitting down to a Palestinian Christian Easter meal. And finally for the ambitious in the crowd how about assembling an Easter Bunny Cake,
March 20, 2007
The Baker's Passport - Iran
Persian New Year, or Nowruz dates back over a thousand years and is a family event to celebrate the coming of spring. The two-week holiday begins the instant the sun crosses the celestial equator. This year it begins at 4:07 and 26 seconds PM-PST.
Norouz means "new day" in Farsi, the language of Iran, which is present day Persia. It begins on the first day of spring and is a two-week celebration of rebirth and renewal. Dating to pre-Islamic times, when much of the vast Persian Empire followed the religion of Zoroastrianism, Norouz today is the biggest holiday of the year in Iran. Schools and businesses are closed, and the well-to-do take vacations or retreat to the countryside.
Foods served during Norouz communicate spring themes. Sweet and sour flavors are meant to represent the duality of good and evil. Eggs represent fertility, and are served in dishes like the popular kuku (somewhat similar to an Italian frittata). Ash reshfte a warm noodle soup, typically begins the new year meal. The symbolism of the noodles it is said represent wishes for the unraveling of life's knotty problems. The main course for a typical Iranian New Year's meal is sabzi polo hami, or green herbs and rice, served with a white fish sauteed with chopped onion, lemon juice, turmeric, salt and fresh garlic.
The number seven has been sacred in Iran for thousands of years. Significance of number seven historically was to represent the "Seven Eternal Laws", which embodied the teachings of Zarathushtra. The teachings included having a good mind, good guidance, and discovering the ultimate truth among other things. At this time Iranians prepare a table or sofreh (a plastic sheet used as a tablecloth on the ground) on a rug with a variety of foods. Traditionally, these seven symbolic items are displayed for haft sin, the ceremonial table set for the Persian New Year. Sofreh-ye haft-sinn or "seven dishes' setting," each standing for the seven angelic heralds of life: rebirth; health; happiness; prosperity; joy, patience, and beauty. The holiday dishes -- each of which starts with the Persian letter sinn -- represent the keys to a happy life. The symbolic dishes consist of sabzeh, or sprouts, usually wheat or lentil, representing rebirth. Samanu is a pudding in which common wheat sprouts are transformed and given new life as a sweet, creamy pudding, and represents the ultimate sophistication of Persian cooking. Sib means apple and represents health and beauty. Senjed, the sweet, dry fruit of the wild olive, represents love. It has been said that when the wild olive is in full bloom, its fragrance and its fruit make people fall in love and become oblivious to all else. Seer, which is garlic in Persian, represents medicine. Somaq, sumac berries, represent the color of sunrise; with the appearance of the sun Good conquers Evil. Serkeh , or vinegar, represents age and patience. In addition seven sweets are often included:
"On the same table many people place seven special sweets because, according to a three-thousand-year-old legend, King Jamshid discovered sugar on Nowruz (the word candy comes from the Persian word for sugar, qand). These seven sweets are noghls (sugar-coated almonds); Persian baklava, a sweet, flaky pastry filled with chopped almonds and pistachios soaked in honey-flavored rose water; nan-e berenji (rice cookies), made of rice flour flavored with cardamom and garnished with poppy seeds; nan-e badami (almond cookies), made of almond flour flavored with cardamom and rose water; nan-e nokhodchi (chick-pea cookies), made of chick-pea flour flavored with cardamom and garnished with pistachios; sohan asali (honey almonds), cooked with honey and saffron and garnished with pistachios; and nan-e gerdui (walnut cookies), made of walnut flour flavored with cardamom and garnished with pistachio slivers."
~~excerpted from New Food of Life, Najimieh Batmanglij
A traditional menu includes ash-e reshteh, a hearty noodle soup; sabzi polow ba mahi, fresh herb rice and fish; and kuku ye sabzi, a lighter-than-air herb souffle. As with everything at Nowruz, many foods have meaning as an example: eating the noodles symbolically representing the Gordian knot of unraveling life's knotty problems. Before we wander too deeply into the vast waters of Iranian food culture this needs to work itself back to desserts in the Persian new year with this recipe for the traditional walnut flour cookie enjoyed at this time.
March 17, 2007
What is Irish Soda Bread?
I've met a lot of soda breads in my life. Some dense, some light and some disguised as soda bread but actually, technically something else. My mother's annual Irish soda bread (another recipe I need to add to ask for) was distinct made with caraway and currants with a tough exterior but tender tangy bite. Turns out it's more of a kissing cousin to true soda bread.
First a bit of history of the bread which isn't really as old as you may be thinking. In it's most simplest description it is a quick bread earning it's name for it's leavening agent, baking soda which was substituted for yeast. The climate being a bit damp and all. In fact it wasn't until the 1840s that bicarbonate of soda (i.e. bread soda) as a leavening agent was introduced to Ireland. The use of buttermilk reacts with the baking soda and carbon dioxide bubbles cause the bread to rise. According to the Boston Globe, "traditional model of soda bread is based on four ingredients: whole - wheat flour, buttermilk, baking soda...and salt."
If you're traveling around the south of Ireland, you'll hear soda bread referred to as soda cake, which is baked in the oven and served as a circular, well, cake. If you're wandering across the north, you'll probably hear it called farl, a variety that's baked on the stove in a pan and cut into triangular pieces. A skillet version of soda bread farl is a central accompaniment to an Ulster Fry. It's a hearty start to the morning but not too heart-friendly: fried eggs, fried Irish bacon, fried soda farl, fried potato farl (a 1/4-inch thick griddle-cooked potato bread), fried black pudding, fried sausages, fried tomatoes, fried mushrooms. The name originates from the Gaelic word fardel, meaning "fourth part."
As to the cross in the center is made, so folklore tells us, it is either to let the fairies out or to ward of evil or more practically perhaps to allow the dough to rise and for even slicing.
Nuances exist partly due to families living in remote farmhouses where most kitchens had only open hearths, not ovens, so the breads that developed were baked on griddles or in large three-legged black iron pots over fragrant peat fires.
According to a few research points if your recipe, contains raisins, eggs, baking powder, sugar or shortening, it's a cake not a bread. Historically raisins were imported and as a result expensive and not commonly used. The sweeter is all the better to go with a 'cuppa at teatime. Keep in mind that soda bread with raisins is sometimes referred to as spotted dog. If you pre-soak those raisins in Irish whiskey you have sotted dog. My mother's variation is actually a seedy bread due to its use of caraway seeds. Brown bread is one that has been made with whole wheat flour. Variations on soda bread also can be found in, Treacle, Feckle and the Australian outback bread called Damper.
A few tips when making Irish soda bread, don't over knead the dough as it will produce bread which Irish mums call "hard as the hobs of hell." However you decide to make this bread serving it with Irish Kerrygold butter is a tasty choice.
WOP Ireland Post: Erin Go Blah No More
Recipes around the food blog world:
BlogHer RoundUp - Irish Soda Bread
jeannebee
what happens to the hole when the donut is gone?
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