Blackberry Fraisier, er, Mûrier

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine. We were required to make chiffon cake, pastry cream mousse and simple syrup from scratch; the cake had to feature fruit on its sides and be free standing. You can download the full challenge and recipes here.

Don't be intimidated. I promise this is totally do-able. Making the components requires some advance planning due multiple steps and a 4 hour minimum chill time time, but as long as you pay attention the recipes are manageable! The Fraisier's assembly is by far the hardest part, but even my products' imperfect appearance looks impressive and more importantly it was delicious.

If you like desserts that are fruity, creamy and light on the palate (though not so much on the waist), then a Fraisier is perfect for you. The chiffon cake has a tender texture similar to Angel food cake and soaking it in simple syrup makes it very moist. If you flavor your simple syrup effectively, I'd imagine it also adds an extra flavor dimension. Since my ginger simple syrup wasn't detectable I ended up with blackberry and vanilla for my flavor profile and that was fine with me.

The pastry cream's speedy production really impressed me. It was so quick that when I walked away from the stove after returning the custard to it it clumped (see the picture with an x over it below) and I had to start again. As far as mistakes go this one wasn't so bad; Dad has been quite happy with the leftover lumpy pastry cream. I may make it my go to recipe

Thank you for a cool, sweet, summer challenge, Jana! It was a perfect fit for Virginia's heat wave and berries from the Red Dog Farm.

Basic Chiffon Cake
1 cup and 2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
3/4 cups Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt, preferably Kosher
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil (I used Canola.)
3 large egg yolks
1/3cup and 1 tablespoon Water
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
3/4 teaspoon Lemon Zest, grated
5 Large Egg Whites
1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Farenheit.
2. Line the bottom of an 8-inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan. (I didn't have a springform pan and substituted a 13 x 9 x 2 Pyrex baking dish.)
 3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder. Add in all but 3 tablespoons of sugar, and all of the salt. Stir to combine.
4. In a small bowl combine the oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and lemon zest. Whisk thoroughly.
5. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly for about one minute, or until very smooth.
6. Put the egg whites into a stand mixer, and beat on medium speed using a whisk attachment on a medium speed, until frothy. Add cream of tartar and beat on a medium speed until the whites hold soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining sugar and beat on a medium-high speed until the whites hold firm and form shiny peaks.
7. Using a grease free rubber spatula, scoop about 1/3 of the whites into the yolk mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in the remaining whites just until combined.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack. (Mine sunk a little. Reading through other Daring Baker's comments it looks like cooling it in the pan upside down helps to avoid sinking.)
10. To unmold, run a knife around the sides to loosen the cake from the pan and remove the spring form sides. Invert the cake and peel off the parchment paper. Refrigerate for up to four days.



Pastry Cream Filling
1 cup Whole Milk
1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1/8 teaspoon Salt, preferably Kosher
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
1/4 cup Sugar
1 Large Egg
2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
3/4 teaspoon Gelatin
1/2 tablespoon Water
1 cup Heavy Cream

1. Pour the milk, vanilla, and salt into a heavy sauce pan. Place over medium-high heat and scald, bringing it to a near boiling point. Stir occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer add the cornstarch and sugar. Whisk to combine
3. Add the eggs to the sugar and cornstarch and whisk until smooth.
4. When the milk is ready, gently and slowly while the stand mixer is whisking, pour the heated milk down the side of the bowl into the egg mixture.
5. Pour the mixture back into the warm pot and continue to cook over a medium heat until the custard is thick, just about to boil and coats the back of a spoon. Do not walk way... This happens quickly!
6. Remove from heat and pass through a fine mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool for ten minutes stirring occasionally.
7. Cut the butter into four pieces and whisk into the pastry cream a piece at a time until smooth.
8. Cover the cream with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap onto the top of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the refrigerator for up to five days.
9. In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand for a few minutes to soften.
10. Put two inches (55 mm) of water into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat.
11. Measure 1/4 cup (2 oz/60 ml) of the chilled pastry cream into a small stainless steel bowl that will sit across the sauce pan with the simmering water, without touching the water.
12. Heat the cream until it is 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the gelatin and whisk until smooth. Remove from the water bath, and whisk the remaining cold pastry cream in to incorporate in two batches.
13. In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream until it holds medium-stiff peaks. Immediately fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream with a rubber spatula.



Simple Syrup
You may choose to flavor the syrup. One way is to use flavored sugar (for example: apple cider sugar, orange sugar, or vanilla sugar) or to stir in 1-2 teaspoons of flavored extract. You may also infuse with herbs or spices, if desired or add four tablespoons of fruit juice or liqueur while the syrup is cooling.

1/3 cup Sugar, flavored or white
(1/4 cup peeled and sliced Ginger)
1/3 cup Water

1. Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and let the sugar dissolve. Stirring is not necessary, but will not harm the syrup.
3. Remove the syrup from the heat and cool slightly.
4. Transfer syrup to a lidded container or jar that can be stored in the refrigerator. Simple syrup can be stored for up to one month.

Fraisier Assembly
Components
1 baked 8 inch Chiffon Cake
1 recipe Pastry Cream Filling
1/3 cup Simple or Flavored Syrup
2 lbs Strawberries
(Traditionally it is covered with almond paste, but I skipped this and used extra pastry cream to "frost" the top of mine.)

1. Line the sides of a 8-inch spring form pan with plastic wrap. Do not line the bottom of the pan.
2. Cut the cake in half horizontally to form two layers.
3. Fit the bottom layer into the prepared spring form pan. Moisten the layer evenly with the simple syrup. When the cake has absorbed enough syrup to resemble a squishy sponge, you have enough.
4. Hull and slice in half enough strawberries to arrange around the sides of the cake pan. Place the cut side of the strawberry against the sides of the pan, point side up forming a ring.
5. Pipe cream in-between strawberries and a thin layer across the top of the cake.
6. Hull and quarter your remaining strawberries and place them in the middle of the cake. Cover the strawberries and entirely with the all but 1 tbsp. of the pastry cream.
7. Place the second cake layer on top and moisten with the simple syrup.
8. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. The longer it chills, the more firm the gelatin will become.
9. To serve release the sides of the spring form pan and peel away the plastic wrap.
10. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Friday Distractions -- Random Links & Recipes Bookmarked

Ready for the weekend? I always am... To help you pass your Friday here are the highlights of what distracted me this week online, what I bookmarked that I hope to one day eat and a picture.

I would have supported Debbie Reynolds' museum of Hollywood history had it been financially viable and had I known about it. How sad to know that her purchases are being split among buyers by auction. For links to fantastic Golden Age of Hollywood clothing pictures and the story see: Hollywood Auction Ends Myth of Zaftig Marilyn by Virginia Postrel. For waist measurements of Hollywood icons, all tiny, read Postrel's follow-up article.

If you haven't seen More, the 1998 Academy Award nominated short film, take 6 minutes to check it out. The end result for the tinkerer reminds me of Valley of the Dolls.

ToneCheck is a tool that proofs your e-mails for tone. I read everything twice, but this sounds super useful! (via Diana)

Recipes Bookmarked
Eggplant Crostini
Fancy Butter at Simplifried
Simplest Corn Pudding at NY Times

Beach at Low Tide, Brewster, MA July 2011

Regardless of how Amy Winehouse passed I hope she is now resting in peace.This song is still in my iTunes top 25 several years after its release.

Pink Summer Salad

Growing up this pink salad was one of my favorites. I forgot all about it until a few weeks ago when I came home from Red Dog Farm with tomatoes, cucumber and onions and saw Mom, who triggered the memory. I promptly asked if she would show me how to make it for dinner. Her response was to ask if I was sure since it involved Sweet 'n' Low and mayonnaise.

It's true that I don't use artificial sweeteners and only in recent years started using mayo sparingly, but I couldn't resist the delicious memory. Thank goodness as, Sweet and Low be damned, this still is a great salad. It is comes together in a snap, especially if you don't get all OCD about dicing the veggies, and is so satisfying with its crispness, sweetness and tang. I'm salivating as write about it. In fact, I suspect by the time you see this post I'll have made it again for lunch.

Moving on now. In the picture below, I used equal amounts of tomato, cucumber and onion but I have decreased the onion in the recipe by half. If it would make you more comfortable, you probably can swap sugar or another sweetener for the Sweet and Low, but I'm not going to break with tradition. Mom got this loose recipe before I was born from a church picnic (nearly 30 years ago!) and I see no reason to change it now.

Pink Summer Salad
2 cups chopped Tomatoes (no need to seed them, you want the juice)
2 cups seeded, chopped Cucumber
1 cup chopped Onion
3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons White Vinegar
1/2 to 1 packet of Sweet and Low
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Combine the chopped vegetables in a large bowl. Sprinkle with Sweet and Low. Stir.
2. Add the mayo, white vinegar and salt and pepper. Stir until the liquid turns pink and the taste meets your approval.
3. Consume a generous portion and look forward to finishing it the next day.

Friday Distractions -- Random Links & Recipes Bookmarked

Ready for the weekend? I always am... To help you pass your Friday here are the highlights of what distracted me this week online, what I bookmarked that I hope to one day eat and a picture.

Warm fuzzies, kind words from a friend or stranger, never fail to make me smile. I would be delighted to find a bit of poetry grafitti sewn into clothing during my next thrifting adventure. (via The Improvised Life)

That artist's efforts made me think of Operation Beautiful, which encourages people to place post-it notes with positive messages around for people to find them. On a similar yet different note, Things We Forget places post-it reminders in public places for people to discover. (via Courtney, indirectly)

Courtney also pointed out this Firefox Add-On, ShareMeNot, which prevents third-party buttons (such as the Facebook “Like” button or the Twitter “tweet” button) embedded by sites across the Internet from tracking you until you actually click on them. They can track you, even if you have third party cookies blocked. I installed it immediately.

This sentiment rings true for me sometimes.  

If you are heading to or living in NYC, this guide to Cheap Eats in NYC (less than $10, put together by food bloggers) looks promising. (via Blondie and Brownie)

Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno series detailing the sex lives of animals is interesting and charming just as The Improvised Life noted.

Recipe Bookmarked
Cheesecake Ice Cream at Deliciously Organic
Chinese Five Spice Tuna and Stone Fruit Skewers at Tartlette
Cucumber Lime Mint Agua Fresca Recipe at Simply Recipes
Curried Eggplant Turkey Burgers with Mango Raita at Clean Eating
Dill Pickle French Fries at Peas and Thank You
Flatbreads with Honey, Thyme and Sea Salt at Smitten Kitchen
Grown-up Jalepeño Poppers at Eat Make Read
Polenta Fries without the Deep Fry at ReadyMade via Everybody Loves Sandwiches

Brewster area, Cape Cod, Masschusetts July 2011

(More photos to come!)

When you play this song imagine it sans base with a calypso beat... We'll be on the same page.

Find more Taio Cruz songs at Myspace Music

Spaetzle, Zucchini and Peppers with an improvised Green Curry Sauce

Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks' July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine. She provided us with recipes for Spätzle and Fresh Egg Pasta as well as a few delicious sauces to pair our noodles with! I appreciated her willingness to let everyone experiment with their own variations on the theme based on their personal preferences, dietary requirements and/or financial restraints.

Since the spätzle was her Dad's recipe, and it was estimated to take 30-minutes, I chose to tackle it instead of fresh egg pasta. My previous attempt at spaetzle involved squeezing it through a potato ricer and resulted in brain like squiggly masses; the tablespoon method Steph and her Dad endorse treated me better. The resulting spaetzle reminded me of dumplings, though not as soft to the bite and sans butter.

As in our house no meal is complete without a vegetable or two, I decided to drop chopped squash and yellow bell pepper into the boiling water during the last minute or so. This made it simple, summery and minimized the number of additional dishes used. The green curry sauce gave it some added zest, thank goodness as the lemon zest I had thrown in did nothing to add flavor thus it is missing from the spätzle recipe below. I would happily revisit this again, though perhaps with a revised or different sauce, and suggest that you consider trying it as long as you like dumplings and/or gnocchi.

Thanks for the reminder to not give up on spätzle, Steph! 

German Spätzle
Yields approximately 15 spätzle pieces

2 Large Eggs
1/2 cup Milk (Any type works - I used Coconut.)
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour (I needed 1/4 cup extra.)
1 tablespoon chopped Basil (up to 1 tablespoon of any herbs and spices can be used.)
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon chopped Basil (for decoration)
1 medium Zucchini, chopped
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, chopped

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and any herbs and spices.
3. Sift in 1/3 of the flour into the liquid mixture and stir until incorporated. Continue adding the flour until the dough is elastic, smooth and very hard to stir.
4. Dip a tablespoon into the boiling water, pour the water out. Scoop up enough dough to fill the moistened tablespoon halfway and drop the dough into the boiling water. Continue until all dough is in the water.
5. Boil for 15 to 20 minutes. If desired, add the zucchini and squash for the last minute to minute and half to blanch it. While the spätzle boils make your sauce.
6. Drain the spätzle and veggies thoroughly.
7. Place the them in a dish and pour a little sauce over each spätzle (you want just enough to dress them lightly). Top with the the chopped basil. 

Improvised Green Curry Sauce
1/2 cup Coconut Milk
2 teaspoons Green Curry Paste
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cornstarch
1 tablespoon Shredded, Unsweetened Coconut

1. Whisk together coconut milk, curry paste and cornstarch in a bowl. Heat in the microwave for a minute. Whisk again. Continue until it has reduced/thickened to the desired consistency.
2. Stir in shredded coconut.

Friday Distractions -- Thrifting!

Since I'm at the Cape, hopefully minimizing internet use and maximizing relaxation, I am skipping my usual Friday distractions. Instead here are the clothing and accessories I have thrifted since January. It is like a flashback to my long discarded stylediary, only most of these pictures include my head. ;) To see a larger version of any picture, just click it.

I am not keeping everything, as sometimes the thrill of the find overtook my best judgement and I don't want to end up on Hoarders, but thrifting these items and a few housewares has been fun. With my sporadic income, this has been my way to shop largely guilt-free.

Do you thrift? What has been your favorite find?Would you be seen with me in any of this?

 

 

(Just kidding on that last "suit." You should see the stuff I don't buy!)

 

Find more FELIX DA HOUSECAT songs at Myspace Music

Friday Distractions -- Random Links & Recipes Bookmarked

Ready for the weekend? I always am... To help you pass your Friday here are the highlights of what distracted me this week online, what I bookmarked that I hope to one day eat and a picture.

This bunny is SO cute. Our bunny would never permit this and that makes me a little sad.

Spotify is coming to the US. I signed up for access already... If you like music, you should consider doing so as well. Jeff showed this to me a few years ago and we were able to listen to full, new albums for artists for free. (via Lara)

Are you a have-runner? I am! I miss that feeling. I've had a nagging pain in my left hip flexor area for quite a while now in spite of taking a month-long break from 95% of exercise. I suppose it is time to suck it up and pay the money to get that checked out. Sigh. (via Sarah)

An ocean wave made of maps... This is in the same vein as Liesl Pfeffer's travel art that I highlighted a few weeks ago.

iPhone/iPod touch users there is now an app to create your own animated gifs! Neat. (via Courtney)

A thought-provoking Op-Ed on our choice to lose our privacy. I will never think of supermarket loyalty programs in quite the same way. (also via Courtney)

Recipe Bookmarked
Greek Nachos at Not Without Salt

 Lighthouse in Maine, July 2008

Find more Vampire Weekend songs at Myspace Music

I left for Cape Cod this morning! If you leave a comment, I'll get back to you but it might be a bit. Spending time at the beach with friends and celebrating Rachel and Peter's wedding is the perfect way to reward myself for having finished Microbio. Regardless of how the class turned out.

Cabbage, Squash and Spring Onion Pie

Way back in 2008 Deb at Smitten Kitchen raved about Tomato and Corn Pie, I didn't bookmark it. Leslie made the pie, substituting greek yogurt for mayo, and said it was amazing. Still I ignored the recipe, though I did bookmark an adapted version Jeannette at Everybody Loves Sandwiches made using her favorite biscuit dough. I guess I was afraid of pie crust after attempting a lattice on my first pie.

2011 rolls around, Leslie still says Tomato and Corn Pie is one of her favorite dishes and Rachel informs me Peter loves it too. So I finally decide to try it out, only at the time tomato and corn weren't in season. Since I had cabbage, squash and red spring onions courtesy of my farming internship, I changed the filling to include those items. The filling's bright lemon flavor, hint crunch from the cabbage and overall vegetal sweetness were a hit with my taste testers.

For trial one, I used Smitten Kitchen's Cream Biscuits for the pie's crust. If, like Jeannette, I had a favorite biscuit dough recipe I could make in my sleep this would have indeed been easy. Instead it was a bit messy to put together. That said the resulting pie "crust" was doughy and a little flaky. I also added a sprinkling of feta on top of the vegetables.

For trial two, I stuck to the original crust recipe and OMFG (remember that controversial ad campaign from Gossip Girl Season 2) the resulting flaky, golden crust was SO good. I don't think you can beat butter. It also was super easy since I used the food processor to assemble the crust and it rolled out nicely. As the feta hadn't added a significant flavor I skipped it.

Final thoughts... Take whatever produce you have, throw it in Epicurious' buttery crust and call it dinner, lunch and snack. The meal time won't matter; this pie and its original crust are a little bite of heaven and it reheats pretty well. I can't wait to try the tomato and corn version for the first time next week while vacationing. As for the heavy cream biscuits, I would make them again too if I had cream on hand but not butter and need a biscuit.

Cabbage, Squash and Spring Onion Pie
Adapted from Tomato and Corn Pie from Gourmet 2003 at Epicurious with reference to the recipes linked above

3/4 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1 3/4 teaspoons Salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 2 teaspoons melted
3/4 cup Whole Milk
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
Zest of a Lemon and juice from 1/2 of it
1 medium to small Summer Squash
1/2 head Cabbage
4 Red Spring Onions
Salt and Pepper

1. Slice the summer squash into circles, I aimed for 1/8 inch or less, sprinkle it with salt and set aside. Slide the onions into circles. Chop the cabbage up thin ribbons, then go back over it to break it into small pieces. (You may not be able to fit all the veggies into your pie, if not they'll be great for stir fry.)
2. Add unbleached all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it resembles wet sand. Add milk and continue to pulse until a dough forms, then remove from the food processor and make it into a ball. (This can be done by hand. See the original recipe for instructions).
3. Place one sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and place the dough ball on it. Divide the dough in half. Wrap half in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. Cover the remaining dough with a sheet of plastic wrap, then roll it out into an approximately 2-inch round that is 1/8 inch thick. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap and lift dough using bottom sheet of plastic wrap and invert into a 10-inch glass pie plate, patting with your fingers to fit. Set the plastic wrap aside.
4. Preheat oven to 400°F.
5. Stir together mayonnaise, lemon juice and lemon zest. Pat the water off the squash. Arrange a layer of overlapping squash in crust, then a layer of onions and finally the cabbage. Spread approximately half the mayo mixture over top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then repeat the layering process.
6. Remove the remaining dough from the refrigerator. Spread out the plastic wrapping it, place another sheet of plastic on top and roll it out into an approximately 2-inch round that is 1/8 inch thick. Fit it over the filling and pinch it into the bottom crust. Cut steam vents in the top and brush with melted butter.
7. Place the pie in the oven on the middle rack and bake until crust is golden, approximately 35 minutes, then cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

P.S. If you have any must try ideas for first time visitors to Cape Cod, please leave them in the comments. I leave Friday morning!

Friday Distractions -- Random Links & Recipes Bookmarked

Ready for the weekend? I always am... To help you pass your Friday here are the highlights of what distracted me this week online, what I bookmarked that I hope to one day eat and a picture.  Happy 4th of July!

Two different ways to look at your food: Wild Food, pictures of your food in its natural setting, by Jay Parkinson MD + MPH and, one he linked, Inside insides: Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Foods by Andy Ellison. The artichoke MRI is hypnotizing.

Jamie at From Me To You captured great photos of Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra's Jazz Age Party last weekend. I'm smitten with this party, as you likely know. I will be there one day in August!

Gone with the Wind, one of my favorite books, was published this month 75 years ago. I'm not sure what inspired me to read it as the movie didn't do much for me, other than creating a love for green velvet, but I could not put the book down. The characters are so well developed! And I so wanted a Rhett Butler after my last reading. Anyway,  NPR's All Things Considered has a five-minute story that gives a bit of background on it. Having read the NPR story and listened to it, I can tell you they are virtually the same so explore the material as you wish, if you wish. (via Jaime)

Creative gardening, again... This garden is vertical, made of gutters and attaches to your house.

If It Were My Home allows you to compare life in two different countries. (via Marginal Revolution)

Recipes Bookmarked
Horchata at David Lebovitz which then indirectly led to Rick Bayless' Horchata recipe at Chef Bud
Korean Spicy Cold Noodles Recipe (Bibim Guksu) at Simply Recipes
Latik (coconut topping with the handy by-product coconut oil) at Cupcake Project
No-Bake Chewy Cookies and Cream Bars at Picky-Palate (I fully intend to make these from scratch.)
Take 6 Cupcake (vegan, who would have known?) at Parsnips and Sprockets via The Cupcake Project's Ice Cream Cupcake Contest Round-Up
The Best Frosting at Mel's Kitchen Cafe

 Bumblebee at Red Dog Farm, June 2011

Song of the Week: Doin' Time by Sublime, which makes me remember high school summers spent riding around in friend's cars with lots of bass. Are crazy speakers still cool with high school kids these days?

Friday Distractions -- Random Links & Recipes Bookmarked

Ready for the weekend? I always am... To help you pass your Friday here are the highlights of what distracted me this week online, what I bookmarked that I hope to one day eat and a picture.   

True Blood returns this Sunday! I don't know how I feel about the fairy aspect but whatevs I'm psyched. HBO has an 8 minute trailer up, in case you haven't seen it.

How cute is this baby hippo? (via Pinterest. By the way you can see everything I pin on Pinterest here.)

Erin's reflections on being an introvert, which I empathize with, linked this post by Carl King highlighting 10 points from The Introvert Advantage (How To Thrive in an Extrovert World), by Marti Laney, Psy.D. If you've ever wondered why I'm so ... maybe that will help you decipher me.

“A new dress doesn’t get you anywhere; it’s the life you’re living in the dress and the sort of life you had lived before, and what you will do in it later.” – Diana Vreeland (via Zuburbia Vintage Clothing)

This week PBS' POV started airing weekly documentaries. I caught Kings of Pastry Tuesday and highly recommend it. My breath caught several times at the beauty of the pastries and drama of the competition between 16 chefs to become Meilleurs Ouvriers de France. I was also impressed at the collegiality of the competitors and current MOFs. You can stream it online here until September 20, 2011. Later this summer I plan to catch Sweetgrass, Enemies of the People, Storycorps and Last Train Home. I just wish they didn't air at 11 p.m. in my area; local PBS is making me miss DVR. Who would have thought?

Kitchens in Cuba

A Year of Meals Mapped 40 Ways is fascinating and allows you to consider the value of many different infographic styles side by side. While the stacked line graph and rainbow diagram's caused me to linger they weren't as easy to understand as some of the others. Fascinating. (via Food News Journal)

Recipes Bookmarked
Banana Rosemary Baby Bundt Cakes with Rosemary Brown Butter Icing at Always Order Dessert
Boston Cream Whoopie Pies at Baking Bites (I love this type of donut.)
Chap Chae (a.k.a. Jap Chae) and Pad See Ew at NPR's Kitchen Window
Mom's Gazpacho Recipe at Epicurious via Meg, who said it was DELICIOUS.
Rich Homemade Ricotta at Smitten Kitchen based on Salvatore Brooklyn's recipe, which is like no other...or at least it was until Deb made her own version.
Three-Ingredient Summer Cocktails at NY Times, especially the Guadalajara Sour, Cherry Caipirissima and/or the Take 3. They had readers send in their suggestions too via Twitter.

Heading to Governor's Island from Manhattan, July, 2010

Find more artists like Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings at Myspace Music

If you live in Richmond, you can see Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings tonight for $10 at Friday Cheers!

Summer Squash Brownies

Interning at Red Dog Farm is leaving me with lots of delicious summer squash! For some reason people at the market seem to prefer sleek, green zucchini over its bumpy yellow sibling, squash, so I wanted to think of a way to encourage squash consumption. And what better way than incorporating it into something sweet? If it can be done with zucchini, it can be done with squash. After all they are pretty much interchangeable due to their mild flavor and high water content.

This reasoning and insatiable craving for chocolate led to brownies. Inspired by the recipes listed at the end of the post, I came up with a fudge-like brownie that no one will guess contains squash. I've also limited the amount of added fat and sugar in the recipe, making it a healthier choice than many brownie recipes out there.

Pleased with my end result I brought, apparently illegal, samples to the Farmer's Market this past weekend. They were gone by 9:47 a.m. as were our blueberries, which I'd say makes them a hit. Even the small children who tried them were happy (and none the wiser). I liked that people liked them and I liked it even better that I wasn't busted by an inspector for my contraband baked goods! Enjoy.

Summer Squash Brownies
Yield: One 8 x 8 square pan, which I cut into 25 pieces

4 ounces Unsweetened Chocolate
3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour (All all-purpose flour should be fine too.)
1/2 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 Large Eggs at Room Temperature
1 cup Grated, Pressed Summer Squash
1/3 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1. Grate the squash using the large holes on a box grater or a food processor's grating plate. Place the grated squash in a colander with small holes over the sink and press the liquid out with a spatula. Let the squash rest in the colander in the sink.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 8 x 8 baking dish with olive oil. 
3. Place 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate in a large, microwave-safe mixing bowl. Heat on high for 2 minutes, then stir. Return to the microwave for another minute on high, remove, stir and add the butter. Heat for another 30 seconds. You want the butter and chocolate to both be just melted. Stir them until smooth. 
4. Add 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup of white all purpose flour to the chocolate and butter mixture. Stir to combine. It will look very dry...
5. Crack the 3 eggs into the bowl. Stir to combine.
6. Press the squash one more time to get as much liquid out as possible. Measure out 1 cup of it into the bowl. Stir.
7. Add 1/3 cup of chocolate chips to the bowl and stir them into the batter.
8. Pour batter into the prepared 8 x 8 pan and place it in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until a knife pierced in the middle of the pan comes out free of crumbs. Take care not to overcook the brownies or they will get dry.
9. Remove the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes, then remove it from the pan onto the rack. Once cool wrap in plastic and chill overnight. While the brownies can be consumed hot, they taste best the next day.

They also taste good slightly frozen.  

Recipes Referenced
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes at 101 Cookbooks
Fudgy Brownies at Martha Stewart via The Kitchn
Fudge Drops at King Arthur Flour
How to: Make Cakey, Chewy and Fudgy Brownies at Fine Cooking via The Kitchn
Moosewood Fudge Brownies at Everybody Likes Sandwiches
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies from the great book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Friday Distractions -- Random Links & Recipes Bookmarked

Ready for the weekend? I always am... To help you pass your Friday here are the highlights of what distracted me this week online, what I bookmarked that I hope to one day eat and a picture.   

Six Word Story Every Day tells a story daily through 6 words (obviously). If you enjoy typography, you'll like it. Silence Has Never Sounded So Good at Time and a Half led me to their website and may be my favorite. Windows not frosted but steamed up, He leapt, fell but never landed. and Broken words for the broken souls also caught my fancy.

I ended up at Time and a Half thanks to Kristina at Up Your Wall noting that Kat there had highlighted some of their art. Liesl Pfeffer's twist on travel photography truly is art. I love Mountain Waits. Yes, there is a theme here; mountains amaze me.

Speaking of mountains, I would like to join the mob of tourists visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to witness the synchronous fireflies mating. That NY Times video is a nice technical overview, but here's a pretty picture. Hurray for a new, domestic destination (Gatlinburg, TN) that isn't out West.  

With the big 30 coming in September I may have to copy Subtle Revelry's matchstick birthday candles.

I've always been intrigued by antique lampshades with swing-y fringe; this fringe chandelier at The Sweetest Occasion takes that idea to the next level.

The FDA has created new rules for Sunscreen labeling as the NY Times detailed here. Most relevant is this advice for selecting sunscreen "Dermatologists suggest that consumers look for products that say 'broad spectrum,' have an SPF between 30 and 50 and generally reapply lotion every 40 to 80 minutes." Here's to avoiding sunburn this summer!

It wouldn't be a complete week if I didn't link something awesome from Courtney. This week I've chosen Juliette Tang's Still Life with Book photo series on Flickr. Juliette creates a still life portrait based on a book's contents that includes the book.

Recipes Bookmarked
Apple Pancake Cake (Gluten-Free) at VitalJuice
Asparagus, Mushroom and Ham Quiche with a Potato Crust at PositScience (because a potato crust sounds brilliant!) from For the Love of Cooking
Blueberry Sorbet at Simply Recipes
Faux Full Fat Blue Cheese Potato Salad at Audax Artifex
Mango-Ginger Potato Salad at Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives
Oat Bran and Flax Seeds Whole Wheat Broom Bread at Gayathri's Cook Spot
Potato Power Salad (Beets, Avocado, Edamame and Tahini Dressing) at Zodelicious

Great Falls Park, McLean, Virginia, April 2009

Find more artists like Those Darlins at Myspace Music

I prefer their more recent music as it is a bit less country but it is all good.

Five Layer Fiesta Potato Salad

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

Jami provided recipes for Green Bean Potato Salad, Creamy Yogurt and Dill Potato Salad, Light Potato Salad and German Potato Salad. You can check them and the full challenge out here. Thank you for a fun and tasty challenge, Jami. This challenge definitely inspired me as you can see below.

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Have you ever had seven layer dip? In case you haven't, it consists of refried beans, taco seasoning, tomatoes, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, green onions and olives layered in a dish. It is addictive. I've been known to demolish it and a bag of tortilla chips at parties...by myself...not healthy and mildly embarrassing.

Inspired by that special occasion dip I created this Five Layer Fiesta Potato Salad, which fills the same craving without the messy fingers or crazy calorie intake. The nutrient dense ingredients are filling and include a good amount of dietary fiber since the skin stays on the potatoes. Keeping the ingredients layered makes for an attractive presentation that is still party perfect - at least until the first scoop happens.

Who wants traditional Seven Layer Dip only at parties when you can have this salad anytime? Feel free to tweak the recipe for your own purposes... I may add black beans in the future.

Five Layer Fiesta Potato Salad
3 Red Potatoes (approximately 1 1/4 pounds)
1 Orange Bell Pepper
2 Avocados
1 Lime
3/4 cup Salsa
1/2 tablespoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 cup Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese (l like Cabot's 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar.)
1/4 cup Chopped Cilantro

1. Scrub the potatoes and remove all projecting eyes/dents. Dice into 1/2 inch cubes placing them into a large pot half full of water as you go. Once all the potatoes are in the pot, turn the burner up to high and bring the water to a boil. Boil the potatoes for approximately 27 minutes or until potatoes yield easily to biting but retain their shape. Drain potatoes and rinse with cold water to prevent additional cooking.
2. While the potatoes boil, dice the orange pepper into 1/2 inch pieces. Cut the avocado into 1/2 inch cubes, placing them in a container and squeezing half of the lime over them to prevent browning. Remove the cilantro leaves from the stems and chop enough to fill 1/4 cup.
3. Place the drained potatoes into a mixing bowl. Squeeze the other half lime over them. Add 1/2 tablespoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Toss to combine.
4. Move the potato mixture to a serving bowl. This is your first layer.
5. Top the potatoes with the orange pepper, then add the avocado on top of it. Pour the salsa over the avocado.
6. Sprinkle the avocado with cheese, then cilantro.
7. Chill until ready to serve. It can be served a room temperature or cold.

Friday Distractions -- Random Links & Recipes Bookmarked

Ready for the weekend? I always am... To help you pass your Friday here are the highlights of what distracted me this week online, what I bookmarked that I hope to one day eat and a picture.  

Models Unretouched still look great! But they also look a little more like normal people and that is comforting.

Chile's Puyehue Volcano Erupts - a story in pictures at The Atlantic.

Toby Ng's World of 100 answers the question: If the world were a village of 100 people, what would its composition be? through 20 infographics. They are a simple, startling reminder of inequities in the world and more personally how privileged I am to live the way I do. (via Courtney)

Decluttering as Zen Mediation

Recipes Bookmarked
Ginger Rhubarb Chutney at All Our Fingers in the Pie (I like the idea of a savory preparation!)
Matt Bites' Fudge Popsicles at Smitten Kitchen
Hamburger Buns at Deliciously Organic
Quick Salmon Tikka with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce at Jamie Oliver
Sweet Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream + Chocolate Sauce at Healthful Pursuit

Rosslyn, VA, June 2005

(I'll be near there for a hot second this weekend.)

Find more artists like Marissa Nadler at Myspace Music

Her voice reminds me of Mazzy Star. Does anyone else remember her?

May Our Chickens (and My Racing Mind) Rest in Peace

Last week Dad transferred our seven chickens from indoors to a coop he built them outside. During the day the chicks wandered near the coop or roosted inside and at night they willingly re-entered it to be locked up for safekeeping. We were all much happier! They liked the freedom and we liked that the house no longer smelled.

This morning when Dad went to let them, there was one living rooster, four dead hens and lots of feathers. He found Miss Cleo, my Easter Egger, in the yard and another brown one is still missing. We have no idea how a predator got them out of the hen house! Or even got in there... Its windows were wire-lined and there weren't any cracks bigger than the 1/4 inch up where the roof and the walls met higher than 8 feet up. Based on these descriptions it must have been a fox. (Mr. Fox, you are no longer fantastic.)

The chickens weren't my idea. They weren't friendly. They weren't even laying eggs yet and I had said from day one that if they turned out to be roosters we were eating them... I know predators go after chickens. Yet I am upset. We had nurtured them from little balls of fluff into pullets that were big enough to live outside. If we ended up eating a rooster, it was our decision. These deaths, like most deaths, were not our decision. They are shocking and feel like theft.

I turned my life on end this past December. I left NYC's hustle, bustle and breathtaking bits of blue sky between the tall buildings, its comfortable friends and patterns and came home to pursue a different future. I started non-curricular classes to complete pre-requisites to apply to graduate programs, volunteering, catering and trying to catch up with the people and the changes in Richmond that had occurred since I left in 2003 for the DC-area then NYC. I had reluctantly decided to try and be brave; I still am trying.

Some days I feel like I'm pursuing destiny and everything is great! Other days, like today when something little goes wrong, I struggle. Logically I know life is unpredictable, rolling with the punches is good, that the only way I can succeed is to stop worrying and act, blah, blah blah... But here I am catastrophizing that the chickens have died, I'm not going to get through the hard science classes I largely bypassed in undergrad, graduate school won't happen, etc. Silly.

Anyway, I thought I would empty my mind here hopefully disrupting the cycle so I can get back to Microbiology. Success isn't going to come from dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. It may not come from dedicated studying either, but at least I will actively have tried rather than letting the fear of failure halt me. If the current plan doesn't work out, there is another one somewhere... I just have to be open to whatever comes my way.

May our chickens rest in peace and may we find the rooster a new home, so he doesn't meet the same fate as the other chickens tonight. 

Friday Distractions -- Random Links & Recipes Bookmarked

Ready for the weekend? I always am... To help you pass your Friday here are the highlights of what distracted me this week online, what I bookmarked that I hope to one day eat and a picture. 

Stories about how people improved their lives by changing their diets always intrigue me. I would say they inspire me except that I keep not taking the appropriate steps... Hopefully one day I'll get over that bump. In the meantime, memorable stories I've read over the past few months that illustrate a connection between what individuals eat and how they feel.
Jay Parkinson + MD + Ph.D. cut caffeine and lost his daily migraines.
Carrie at Deliciously Organic manages her Hashimoto’s disease (thyroid) with diet.
Helene at My Tartlette manages her Meniere's disease by eating gluten-free.
Nicole at Pinch My Salt manages her reactive hypoglycemia with diet.

The "What's Cooking, Uncle Sam?" exhibit at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC sounds fascinating. It covers 200 years of America's relationship with food and the government's role in it. It runs from June 10, 2011 – January 3, 2012 and is free.

It is here! The USDA's Food Pyramid has been replaced with MyPlate. This format is easier to interpret, but I find it shocking that $2 million will have been spent between developing and marketing the new logo and creating the new accompanying web site. Marion Nestle offers her commentary on the new format and  highlights other eating guides that use the plate as their shape here.

Vogue Italia is featuring three beautiful plus size models on its July cover. (via Courtney who rightly comments "But did they have to sit the "plus sized models" at a dinner table?") French Elle's April cover featured Tara Lynn, one of the models. You can see her 20-page editorial from that issue here.

Zuburbia has a neat weekly feature where they curate the best vintage items on eBay. It is worth the time if you enjoy vintage.

Jelly Shot Test Kitchen - brilliant and surely delicious. I had been contemplating a pursuit of this sort when Courtney posted this. It will be a good resource should I go down that road and, in the meantime, it is great eye candy.

Richmond residents - Broad Appetit on Sunday sounds mighty tasty. 

Recipes Bookmarked
Coconut Shrimp Poppers with Chili Mango Cream at Pinch My Salt
No Knead Bread (8-12 hour version) Pizza Dough at David Leibovitz
Ranch Dressing at Deliciously Organic

Carribean, May 2006

(I wish I were there now!)

I'm not a huge fan of mash-ups, but Paul makes a good case for them with this one featuring Radiohead and Dave Brubeck. Click through to hear it.

Honey-Rum Roasted Rhubarb

Last year Molly from Orangette wrote about her variation on Canal House's Roasted Rhubarb so convincingly that I had to try it. It was a risky move as I had never had rhubarb without strawberries, but there was reward in its sweet, tart taste. So for a while I reveled in it and then rhubarb was out of season.

Cue Spring in Richmond this year and a dearth of rhubarb. Apparently it is a Northern crop, so it isn't widely anticipated or available here the way it is in New York City. After a few weeks of searching I was resigned to not having rhubarb, then I saw it on Farm to Family's produce list! I squealed and promptly went to pick up some of the red celery-looking stalks.

Molly's original version still is great, but I've tinkered with it a bit halving the proportions, removing the refined sugar and using rum in lieu of wine. With wine you end up with a spare 3.5 cups to drink, which didn't interest me nor did cluttering the fridge with the bottle. Rum can be held for at room temperature in the pantry and it goes well with honey.

This rhubarb has more flavor and is sweeter when cold, so I recommend eating it that way although it eating it while its warm won't hurt you. Enjoy the rhubarb on its own, over plain greek yogurt for breakfast or over popovers, which convinced my mom that "stewed rhubarb" as she was raised eating it was actually quite tasty rather than the mushy, undesirable stuff of her memories.

Honey-Rum Roasted Rhubarb
Adapted from Molly at Orangette's twist on a recipe by Canal House Cooking, Volume 3.*
Yield approximately 1.5 cups

1 pound Rhubarb, trimmed (the leaves are poisonous!) and cut into 2-inch lengths
1/4 cup Honey (I used clover.)
3 tablespoons White Rum (We had Ronrico. Don't judge. It worked.)
1 tablespoon Water
1/2 Vanilla Bean, split up its center

1. Set a rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Pour the honey, rum and water into the bottom of a pyrex dish (a dutch oven or other over-safe pot would work too). Add the rhubarb and stir gently to combine the ingredients.
3. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, then remove the dish and stir the rhubarb to ensure even cooking.
4. Return the dish to the oven and continue baking it for 15 more minutes.
5. Remove from the oven, cool briefly on the counter and then place it in the fridge to cool overnight.

*It looks like David Lebovitz and Sarah Galvin at All Our Fingers in the Pie have done something similar too!