So there I was, having offered to make supper for my mother and two gentlemen friends on a night when I'd be gone all day. I thought of Jacques Pepin's* oven-baked salmon--ohmygosh, you bake salmon on a platter in a 200 degree oven then serve it at room temperature, succulent as can be. Then I remembered Anna Thomas's** salad combination of roasted asparagus with red and golden beets...as I was thinking about this, my eye fell on the sack of blue, red, and golden baby potatoes on the counter--I'll add those, too.
For hors d'oeuvres, I decided to go to Bay Cities Deli for their relish of mixed olives with pimentos and artichoke hearts, three cheeses (one goat's, one sheep's, one cow's), crackers, and mixed nuts. For dessert (Bay Cities is a treasure), I was looking at cookies when I saw the baklava! Unexpected. I picked a Venetian Pinot Grigio for the wine. Yum.
Well, I've made these gents many dinners and they've raved about all of them, but both said this was the absolute best ever. As important, by me, was the fact that I prepared EVERYTHING except the asparagus the night before and stuck it in the fridge. You can't beat that for an easy dinner party dinner...especially in hot weather.
Looking over all this language, the menu might not seem easy. But I assure you, it was. One fish...two simple (and fun) sauces...four vegetables...and it's an interesting meal to put together...the colors are so appealing.
Now my amounts are loose because, frankly, I didn't measure. So feel free to improvise.
COOL OVEN-BAKED SALMON FILLETS
Allow 4 to 6 ounces wild-caught salmon fillet per person...leave the skin on and keep pieces intact. Heat the oven to 200. Brush a platter with canola or peanut oil and arrange fillets skin down. Using about 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (Pepin calls for 3/4 cup crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup ground hazelnuts, even better), sprinkle evenly over the top as a moisture barrier (brilliant). Bake until an instant-read thermometer in the center of each piece registers 120 degrees, 40 to 60 minutes, depending on thickness. Remove from the oven, cool, then wrap the platter tightly with plastic film and refrigerate. An hour before serving, remove the skin and bring fillets to room temperature (cold salmon is firm rather than moist). Cut into serving size pieces and arrange on a platter, garnish with
ASPARAGUS SPEARS
Up to 3 to 4 hours before dinner, snap off the inedible ends of about 1/4 pound skinny asparagus spears per person and steam or simmer until tender-crisp--do not overcook! (Of course you can roast them if you prefer--425 degrees 15 to 20 minutes--but it'll heat up the kitchen.) Pat dry on a towel, pour over the reserved dill vinaigrette and turn so each spear is covered. Cover lightly and keep at room temperature.
TANGY CREAMY HERB SAUCE
For each person, scoop a generous 1/4 cup good mayonnaise (in which the second ingredient isn't water!) into a mixing bowl. Season with 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, and a scant 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic. Blend in as many chopped bits and very thin short ribbons of fresh herb leaves as possible--I used sweet basil, Italian parsley, dill, thyme, baby spinach, and blanched beet leaves...the sauce should be thick with greens. Cover tightly and refrigerate, then bring to room temperature to serve, tasting first for salt and freshly ground white pepper.
COMPOSED SALAD OF GOLDEN BEETS, RED BEETS, PURPLE AND RED AND GOLDEN BABY POTATOES
Allow 3 small or 1 medium beet of each color and 3 small potatoes per person. Scrub beets, trim stems to 1 inch, roast in an uncovered pan at 400 degrees until easily pierced with a cooking fork, 1/2 to 1 hour, depending on size--or steam the beets, about 20 to 40 minutes (cooler on a hot day). Keep the colors separate so the golds don't absorb any red. Take care not to overcook or they'll be rubbery! When cool enough to handle, slip off the skins. Cut beets into halves, quarters, or even eighths--large bite-size pieces. Steam the potatoes in their jackets until easily pierced with a cooking fork, 20 to 25 minutes--do not overcook! Cut into pieces resembling the beets' sizes. Turn golden beets, red beets, and mixed potatoes into three separate bowls and douse with:
DILL VINAIGRETTE DRESSING
For each person, prepare about 1/2 cup dressing (generous, but the extra a the bottom of the bowls can be drained into a jar and used later):
In a small bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, scant 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon salt until the mustard and garlic are thoroughly dispersed. Whisk in 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Snip in about 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill, or maybe more (you can't use too much), and blend. Grind in pepper (white, black, mignonette, or any blend you please) to taste.
Reserve about 1/4 this dressing for the asparagus, then divide the rest among the golden beets, the red beets, and the potatoes. Working with the red beets last, use your hands to turn over each piece in the bowl so all are moistened. Cover tightly and refrigerate. When you think of it during the next day, when you can, at last shake the bowl to re-distribute the dressing.
To serve, line a large shallow bowl or platter with lengthwise slices of endive (1 head per person). Tossing the vegetables one last time, arrange them--separately!--on the platter. Garnish with nasturtium flowers if you have them, or sprigs of fresh dill.
Serve the salmon, asparagus, golden beets, red beets, and blue/red/gold potatoes, and pass the herb sauce.
Wow.
*"Fast Food My Way"
**"The New Vegetarian Epicure"--Anna also roasts heads of garlic with these vegetables, but I omitted it...a bit much with delicate salmon, I think. Instead, I slipped garlic into the green sauce.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Honeyed Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta, Creamy but Skinny!*
Crazy about this…it’s not just delicious, it’s fabulously lean. Traditional panna cotta, three parts heavy cream to one part whole milk, has nearly as much fat per serving as ½ cup butter! while this recipe has close to ½ teaspoon butter. You don’t miss the fat because Greek-style yogurt is so creamy. And it's a breeze to make. Also, for guests, it’s prepared ahead of time. Usually panna cotta is unmolded, but I like to eat it out of a bowl or goblet smothered with fruit. If you serve it within a few hours of chilling—to the point where the gelatin has thickened but not quite gelled—it’s creamiest.
I love this for lunch sprinkled with blueberries or raspberries, just leaning against the garden door watching the birds at the feeder squabbling over their black sunflower seeds. And of course it’s a classic dessert…
That this is healthy should be kept a secret…
Most recipes say this quantity serves 8. Stingy. My sleek little custard cups are broad, shallow, and hold 6 ounces…filling them almost full makes this serve 5…an odd yield, but one can’t stop eating this cream, and I’d be annoyed if I got less…
Place 1 cup of 1% or 2% milk in a quart-size microwave-proof pitcher. Sprinkle over 2 slightly rounded teaspoons plain gelatin (actually 2-1/16 teaspoons, less than 1 envelope). Stir to blend, then ignore for 10 minutes while the milk absorbs the gelatin.
Stir again, cover the pitcher tightly with plastic film, and microwave on full power for 1 minute (about 135 degrees on the instant read thermometer) to dissolve the gelatin. Stir in 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract—or cut a 2-inch piece of vanilla bean and slit it down the side, scrape in the seeds, stir to blend thoroughly, breaking up any knots of seeds with a spoon against the side of the bowl. I must say the teeny specks call out, “Real vanilla here! Yum!”
Bit by bit, whisk in 2 cups (16 ounces) plain non-fat or low-fat Greek-style yogurt, then ¼ cup honey (the stronger the flavor, the better).
Divide the cream among 5 or 6—or 8!—dishes or goblets, leaving at least ¼-inch headroom. Cover each tightly with film, not touching the pristine surface, and chill.
This is ready to serve after 3 hours…can be unmolded after 4 hours…and will still be tender the next day.
Serve in the dishes or goblets topped with fresh fruit—about 3 to 4 cups berries or chunks of peaches, apricots, plums, or a mixture, and so forth. If you’re deft, you can unmold each dish** onto a pool of coulis (aka sweetened pureed fruit) and top with more fruit.
Once when I had one dish left in the fridge and nary a berry or piece of fresh fruit in the house (oh well, I had a banana, but I hate bananas and only buy them because I’m supposed to, they always turn brown, I always think, “I’ll make banana bread for my mother,” but I never do, I throw them over the fence into the meadow and hope some creature will enjoy very soft banana), I brought out a jar of Mixed Berry Jam from the farmers’ market, spooned over its purpliness. Oh boy. Winter’s panna cotta will be delish…
*Inspired by the recipe in a “Nutrition Action Healthletter."
**Google "unmolding panna cotta"…
I love this for lunch sprinkled with blueberries or raspberries, just leaning against the garden door watching the birds at the feeder squabbling over their black sunflower seeds. And of course it’s a classic dessert…
That this is healthy should be kept a secret…
Most recipes say this quantity serves 8. Stingy. My sleek little custard cups are broad, shallow, and hold 6 ounces…filling them almost full makes this serve 5…an odd yield, but one can’t stop eating this cream, and I’d be annoyed if I got less…
Place 1 cup of 1% or 2% milk in a quart-size microwave-proof pitcher. Sprinkle over 2 slightly rounded teaspoons plain gelatin (actually 2-1/16 teaspoons, less than 1 envelope). Stir to blend, then ignore for 10 minutes while the milk absorbs the gelatin.
Stir again, cover the pitcher tightly with plastic film, and microwave on full power for 1 minute (about 135 degrees on the instant read thermometer) to dissolve the gelatin. Stir in 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract—or cut a 2-inch piece of vanilla bean and slit it down the side, scrape in the seeds, stir to blend thoroughly, breaking up any knots of seeds with a spoon against the side of the bowl. I must say the teeny specks call out, “Real vanilla here! Yum!”
Bit by bit, whisk in 2 cups (16 ounces) plain non-fat or low-fat Greek-style yogurt, then ¼ cup honey (the stronger the flavor, the better).
Divide the cream among 5 or 6—or 8!—dishes or goblets, leaving at least ¼-inch headroom. Cover each tightly with film, not touching the pristine surface, and chill.
This is ready to serve after 3 hours…can be unmolded after 4 hours…and will still be tender the next day.
Serve in the dishes or goblets topped with fresh fruit—about 3 to 4 cups berries or chunks of peaches, apricots, plums, or a mixture, and so forth. If you’re deft, you can unmold each dish** onto a pool of coulis (aka sweetened pureed fruit) and top with more fruit.
Once when I had one dish left in the fridge and nary a berry or piece of fresh fruit in the house (oh well, I had a banana, but I hate bananas and only buy them because I’m supposed to, they always turn brown, I always think, “I’ll make banana bread for my mother,” but I never do, I throw them over the fence into the meadow and hope some creature will enjoy very soft banana), I brought out a jar of Mixed Berry Jam from the farmers’ market, spooned over its purpliness. Oh boy. Winter’s panna cotta will be delish…
*Inspired by the recipe in a “Nutrition Action Healthletter."
**Google "unmolding panna cotta"…
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Birthday Cakes
Eep. I apologize (should you have noticed) that I've let this spot go for a while. But it's been a time-and-a-half. Recently, my mother turned 100. Extraordinary. Her eyes, ears, taste buds, lungs, and knees may show evidence of being 100 years old, but her mind is still bright and bonny.
I was thinking I'd like to tell you about my mother's birthday cake. Ma has looked forward to her coconut birthday cake as long as I can remember--her mother always made a coconut cake for her daughter's birthday, so when my grandmother went on to her next incarnation, I took up the charge. Now I've been a baker since I was eight...lots of time to perfect my baking. It was super when I had the opportunity to create a collection for Chronicle Books some years ago for "The Birthday Cake Book." It gave me the luxury of time to figure out how to make great cake...
The white cake that evolved for my mother's coconut cake isn't labor intensive, although it is a handmade--vs a whiz-whiz package--cake. It is light as a feather and keeps and keeps. Actually, when Ma turned 90 and friends gave her a party at a restaurant, I brought along the birthday cake, having increased the recipe to serve 50, and it was marvelous.
I usually bake the layers the day before (but I do not refrigerate them...just wrap the layers in foil and keep them in a cool place).
The frosting, made at the last minute, is the classic billowy seven minute stuff and that's not as easy as opening a can, but it is essential, I feel.
This recipe is born of the Formal Wedding Cake in "Farm Journal's Country Cookbook."
QUINTESSENTIAL THREE LAYER WHITE CAKE
Have all ingredients at room temperature (important). Warm eggs from the fridge in a bowl of warm water before separating.
1. Grease the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with shortening, line each bottom with a round of waxed paper, grease the waxed paper (do not grease the sides of the pans so the batter can cling to the sides as it rises). Sprinkle the waxed paper with flour, then dump out excess flour.
2. Set the oven rack in the center of the oven, or if the three pans require two racks, place the two evenly in the oven. Set the temperature to 350 degrees.
3. Sift enough cake flour to make 3 cups. Sift the 3 cups cake flour with 4 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 tablespoon salt. Sift together again.
4. Beat 2/3 cup vegetable shortening until fluffy. One tablespoon at a time, beat in 1-2/3 cups granulated sugar. Add 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon lemon or almond extract. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside.
5. In another bowl, beat 5 large egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy. One tablespoon at a time, beat in 8 tablespoons sugar. Beat until the whites stand in soft peaks when you lift the beaters.
6. To the shortening mixture, add the flour mixture in 4 parts--sprinkling it over the surface of the bowl--alternately with 1-1/3 cups milk in 3 parts. Beat until blended after each addition, about 1 minute.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the pans, smoothing the center and pushing the batter up against the sides of the pan (cakes tend to rise in the center).
8. Bake until the cakes have the fragrance of baked cake...the sides BEGIN to pull away from the edges...the top springs back when lightly tapped with a forefinger...a straw or thin cake tester comes out clean from the center...check after about 25 minutes.
9. Cool layers in their pans on racks 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges, turn out the cake, pull off the paper, turn right side up, and gently place the layers on racks to finish cooling.
TO MAKE A COCONUT CAKE
If you buy 2 small bags of coconut flakes or shreds, you may have too much, but...
Because the frosting is billowy and layers can start slipping, assemble the cake as close to serving time as possible (a couple of hours max).
10. Just before using, prepare 6 cups of classic Seven Minute Frosting (the recipe in "Joy of Cooking," for example).
11. Set the thickest layer (should there be one) bottom side up on a platter (on a paper doily). Smooth over 1 cup of the frosting. You can sprinkle with coconut or not, as you wish. Set on the second layer, top side up. Repeat with the frosting (and coconut). Set the third layer on top.
12. Use the remaining frosting to cover the tops and sides. Immediately press as much coconut into the frosting all over as will hold. Set the cake in a cool place. Serve as soon as possible.
Ah. I said 'Birthday Cakes' plural. That's because I want to tell you about my Marbled Chocolate and Lemon Cake with Chocolate-Spattered Lemon Frosting. But it's late, it's been a long day, so I will hope to do that tomorrow...
I was thinking I'd like to tell you about my mother's birthday cake. Ma has looked forward to her coconut birthday cake as long as I can remember--her mother always made a coconut cake for her daughter's birthday, so when my grandmother went on to her next incarnation, I took up the charge. Now I've been a baker since I was eight...lots of time to perfect my baking. It was super when I had the opportunity to create a collection for Chronicle Books some years ago for "The Birthday Cake Book." It gave me the luxury of time to figure out how to make great cake...
The white cake that evolved for my mother's coconut cake isn't labor intensive, although it is a handmade--vs a whiz-whiz package--cake. It is light as a feather and keeps and keeps. Actually, when Ma turned 90 and friends gave her a party at a restaurant, I brought along the birthday cake, having increased the recipe to serve 50, and it was marvelous.
I usually bake the layers the day before (but I do not refrigerate them...just wrap the layers in foil and keep them in a cool place).
The frosting, made at the last minute, is the classic billowy seven minute stuff and that's not as easy as opening a can, but it is essential, I feel.
This recipe is born of the Formal Wedding Cake in "Farm Journal's Country Cookbook."
QUINTESSENTIAL THREE LAYER WHITE CAKE
Have all ingredients at room temperature (important). Warm eggs from the fridge in a bowl of warm water before separating.
1. Grease the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with shortening, line each bottom with a round of waxed paper, grease the waxed paper (do not grease the sides of the pans so the batter can cling to the sides as it rises). Sprinkle the waxed paper with flour, then dump out excess flour.
2. Set the oven rack in the center of the oven, or if the three pans require two racks, place the two evenly in the oven. Set the temperature to 350 degrees.
3. Sift enough cake flour to make 3 cups. Sift the 3 cups cake flour with 4 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 tablespoon salt. Sift together again.
4. Beat 2/3 cup vegetable shortening until fluffy. One tablespoon at a time, beat in 1-2/3 cups granulated sugar. Add 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon lemon or almond extract. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside.
5. In another bowl, beat 5 large egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy. One tablespoon at a time, beat in 8 tablespoons sugar. Beat until the whites stand in soft peaks when you lift the beaters.
6. To the shortening mixture, add the flour mixture in 4 parts--sprinkling it over the surface of the bowl--alternately with 1-1/3 cups milk in 3 parts. Beat until blended after each addition, about 1 minute.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the pans, smoothing the center and pushing the batter up against the sides of the pan (cakes tend to rise in the center).
8. Bake until the cakes have the fragrance of baked cake...the sides BEGIN to pull away from the edges...the top springs back when lightly tapped with a forefinger...a straw or thin cake tester comes out clean from the center...check after about 25 minutes.
9. Cool layers in their pans on racks 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges, turn out the cake, pull off the paper, turn right side up, and gently place the layers on racks to finish cooling.
TO MAKE A COCONUT CAKE
If you buy 2 small bags of coconut flakes or shreds, you may have too much, but...
Because the frosting is billowy and layers can start slipping, assemble the cake as close to serving time as possible (a couple of hours max).
10. Just before using, prepare 6 cups of classic Seven Minute Frosting (the recipe in "Joy of Cooking," for example).
11. Set the thickest layer (should there be one) bottom side up on a platter (on a paper doily). Smooth over 1 cup of the frosting. You can sprinkle with coconut or not, as you wish. Set on the second layer, top side up. Repeat with the frosting (and coconut). Set the third layer on top.
12. Use the remaining frosting to cover the tops and sides. Immediately press as much coconut into the frosting all over as will hold. Set the cake in a cool place. Serve as soon as possible.
Ah. I said 'Birthday Cakes' plural. That's because I want to tell you about my Marbled Chocolate and Lemon Cake with Chocolate-Spattered Lemon Frosting. But it's late, it's been a long day, so I will hope to do that tomorrow...
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
A loud and brave little dog
I was in the laundry folding towels (the laundry is on the other side of my garden wall so that the steamy whooshings from the dryer vent moisten the air around my orchids) when I heard Cakes barking barking BARKING BARKING. Cakes barks at other dogs and bicycles when we're on a walk, but she's well-behaved at home and is silent when I leave her. So I couldn't imagine what all this noise was about--surely not my having left her alone in the garden for three minutes.
Finally, her barking was so LOUD AND URGENT--full-throated, insistent--that I left the laundry (I later discovered a bath towel half-folded in my hands) and went around to my garden gate.
"What on earth, Cakes?" I said to her as I opened the gate. She was looking up to the top of the garden wall--the wall facing the meadow with the walnut trees--barking barking BARKING! I followed the line of her nose and it landed on AN ENORMOUS DARK-FEATHERED BIRD... ENORMOUS! Small head, huge body, lonnng tail.
OHMYGOSHESANDGOLLIES it was a TURKEY! At least, I thought it was a turkey, having only seen a handful of wild turkeys along the road in New England.
The bird stood on the top of the wall almost motionless, without a care in the world (also without much of a brain, I'm told). Cakes kept barking so hard I was amazed--the bird was much bigger than she was. Then it struck me that I wasn't SURE it was a turkey, it could have been a bird of prey, so I picked up the frantic little dog and brought her indoors. Poor child was shaking like a leaf, coughing and trembling...
I gave Cakes great praise, a hug and a cookie, then ran for my bird book, and sure enough, there it was, a female wild turkey. When I went back outside, she was gone.
And at that moment, the Lakers won!
Such is life doing laundry in Ojai...
Finally, her barking was so LOUD AND URGENT--full-throated, insistent--that I left the laundry (I later discovered a bath towel half-folded in my hands) and went around to my garden gate.
"What on earth, Cakes?" I said to her as I opened the gate. She was looking up to the top of the garden wall--the wall facing the meadow with the walnut trees--barking barking BARKING! I followed the line of her nose and it landed on AN ENORMOUS DARK-FEATHERED BIRD... ENORMOUS! Small head, huge body, lonnng tail.
OHMYGOSHESANDGOLLIES it was a TURKEY! At least, I thought it was a turkey, having only seen a handful of wild turkeys along the road in New England.
The bird stood on the top of the wall almost motionless, without a care in the world (also without much of a brain, I'm told). Cakes kept barking so hard I was amazed--the bird was much bigger than she was. Then it struck me that I wasn't SURE it was a turkey, it could have been a bird of prey, so I picked up the frantic little dog and brought her indoors. Poor child was shaking like a leaf, coughing and trembling...
I gave Cakes great praise, a hug and a cookie, then ran for my bird book, and sure enough, there it was, a female wild turkey. When I went back outside, she was gone.
And at that moment, the Lakers won!
Such is life doing laundry in Ojai...
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Professor's 4-Ingredient Supper
My cherished brilliant gifted beguiling young friend, Christopher Baswell (Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University and Anne Whitney Olin Professor of English, Barnard College), is in process of restoring a venerable two-story house up the Hudson which he calls Big Brick. A dazzling cook, Chris just read my entry about dodging about in my kitchen and emailed the following (which I quote with his permission):
"My own version of cook-simple-for-me-alone was this weekend. I got to the house very late (I love driving up late at night when the traffic has thinned) and without going to the grocery. The one thing my immediate area lacks is a decent grocery. It's either something called Price Chopper or a 40-minute drive.
"Anyway, next afternoon I faced a fridge with (among other leftovers of the family visit) a pint container of crumbled Feta cheese and two large aging portobello mushrooms. Oh and a big sweet onion and some whole wheat tube pasta in the pantry. So chopped a quarter of the onion, softened in olive oil while I chopped the aging mushrooms; softened them in same little frying pan, covered mostly so their liquid would be there to finish the pasta. Branch of thyme from the pot garden outside and a grind of pepper. Pasta cooked barely al dente, with a dip of its liquid in the sauce, then drained and dumped back into its pot to finish with the sauce liquid. Off the heat and tossed with a generous handful of the feta. NO SALT since the feta so salty on its own. It came together beautifully & I will repeat for guests. Takes no time at all. Do you know that 3 ingredients cook book? I was trying to emulate that. I guess my dish had 4."
I'd add a salutary word or two but it's suppertime and the temperature has gone down from the high 80s to the 70s and Cakes and I are off to the market to fetch portobello mushrooms, feta, and some whole wheat pasta, yummmmm...
"My own version of cook-simple-for-me-alone was this weekend. I got to the house very late (I love driving up late at night when the traffic has thinned) and without going to the grocery. The one thing my immediate area lacks is a decent grocery. It's either something called Price Chopper or a 40-minute drive.
"Anyway, next afternoon I faced a fridge with (among other leftovers of the family visit) a pint container of crumbled Feta cheese and two large aging portobello mushrooms. Oh and a big sweet onion and some whole wheat tube pasta in the pantry. So chopped a quarter of the onion, softened in olive oil while I chopped the aging mushrooms; softened them in same little frying pan, covered mostly so their liquid would be there to finish the pasta. Branch of thyme from the pot garden outside and a grind of pepper. Pasta cooked barely al dente, with a dip of its liquid in the sauce, then drained and dumped back into its pot to finish with the sauce liquid. Off the heat and tossed with a generous handful of the feta. NO SALT since the feta so salty on its own. It came together beautifully & I will repeat for guests. Takes no time at all. Do you know that 3 ingredients cook book? I was trying to emulate that. I guess my dish had 4."
I'd add a salutary word or two but it's suppertime and the temperature has gone down from the high 80s to the 70s and Cakes and I are off to the market to fetch portobello mushrooms, feta, and some whole wheat pasta, yummmmm...
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
What I Learned In My Apartment When I Moved Out of It
Gosh, it's June already. My friend Susan has already made batches of strawberry jam. And here I haven't had a thing to say since April.
Well, I've had stuff to say, but it's largely been mutterings to myself while I've been in process of sorting...packing...schlepping...unpacking... positioning...giving away...you know the moving drill.
I've finally completed the move from my wonderful New-York-style apartment in Los Angeles to an extraordinary casita up the coast. Me and Cakes.
Yesterday was our last day in the apartment. I'd been there four years, and my last few days I made some discoveries that charmed me. You might as well find things that charm you when you work for three days (the cleaning lady twice failed to show) in hopes of getting your hefty security deposit back.
First discovery was when cleaning the stove top, I couldn't figure out how to get under the top...then with a little tug, the whole damn thing lifted up and I could clean under the burners! Amazing.
Next I discovered that if you spray oven cleaner on 4-year-old muck and leave it for two days, the muck wipes right off. Also amazing.
Then I learned (from the manager) that you're supposed to keep dog fur and city grit off the tops of the baseboard molding. Never ever noticed, never ever cleaned there. Big shock. Also a shock to find baseboard molding in places I never saw (behind the day bed, behind the magazine rack).
Speaking of magazines, though, when I was recycling two years of "New Yorkers," as I heaped the last bunch into the bin, I heard a little clink. I looked down and there was the little gold Celtic ring my husband bought me in Edinburgh castle. I'd been missing it for months, hadn't a clue where it had got to. It was nestled in the "New Yorkers." So that was a happy beginning to one of the cleaning days.
Next I discovered something called Magic Eraser. My granddaughter who was helping that afternoon said she already knew about it. She picked up a ballpoint pen and drew a squiggle on a kitchen drawer--I gasped--then with a sweep of her arm she wiped it off with the spongy white pad. Where on earth has that invention been all my life? Maybe it's new.
Next I learned about 409. In the cleaning aisle at Ralph's, I couldn't decide which cleaner to buy--alas, I already knew that if it said, "Natural" in the title, it didn't work. Wowzer. 409 is as amazing as Magic Erasers.
Oh, and at the cleaning aisle I unearthed a tool that looks as though it should be sold on late night television: it's still in the car (haven't had the strength to unload the last boxes) and I forget its name, but its a battery-driven brush (it says "sonic" in the name but I doubt it's sonic--it's just strong) with various brush-heads you can twist in or out of the base, and it cleans like a son of a gun. Some gummy orange deposit at the bottom of the fridge--stuck stuck stuck hard hard hard--with a spritz of 409 and a concerted whirling of the cleaning brush--came off beautifully. One of the brush heads is tapered to a point so you can whiz out the icky years-old (in my case, surely not in yours) deposit around the base of faucets. Or in the crevices of the panel of the dishwasher (why do designers add so many nooks and crannies that have no function but you've got to get the gunk out of them? most annoying). As I say, the brush is typical of the gizmos demonstrated in the middle of the night on television, but this is the real deal.
Next I was amazed to find loose change all over the place...a penny here (some were heads up, good luck), a quarter or two there (probably fell out of my pocket on the way to the laundry room), a few errant dimes and nickles. Why was there so much money slopped around?
What else did I learn? Well, for the past year the paper guest towels in the bathroom had the cartoonish drawing of a woman in a 40's outfit--high heels, fluffy white apron, bright red lipstick--leaning over a tub with a rag and the logo said, "A clean house is the sign of a wasted life."
My apartment is clean now. But I'm no longer in it. As I say, I was gratified discovering magic erasers and powerful solutions and ingenious tools and how my apartment should have looked the past four years.
But I'm glad I didn't waste more than a few days of my life in the process...
Well, I've had stuff to say, but it's largely been mutterings to myself while I've been in process of sorting...packing...schlepping...unpacking... positioning...giving away...you know the moving drill.
I've finally completed the move from my wonderful New-York-style apartment in Los Angeles to an extraordinary casita up the coast. Me and Cakes.
Yesterday was our last day in the apartment. I'd been there four years, and my last few days I made some discoveries that charmed me. You might as well find things that charm you when you work for three days (the cleaning lady twice failed to show) in hopes of getting your hefty security deposit back.
First discovery was when cleaning the stove top, I couldn't figure out how to get under the top...then with a little tug, the whole damn thing lifted up and I could clean under the burners! Amazing.
Next I discovered that if you spray oven cleaner on 4-year-old muck and leave it for two days, the muck wipes right off. Also amazing.
Then I learned (from the manager) that you're supposed to keep dog fur and city grit off the tops of the baseboard molding. Never ever noticed, never ever cleaned there. Big shock. Also a shock to find baseboard molding in places I never saw (behind the day bed, behind the magazine rack).
Speaking of magazines, though, when I was recycling two years of "New Yorkers," as I heaped the last bunch into the bin, I heard a little clink. I looked down and there was the little gold Celtic ring my husband bought me in Edinburgh castle. I'd been missing it for months, hadn't a clue where it had got to. It was nestled in the "New Yorkers." So that was a happy beginning to one of the cleaning days.
Next I discovered something called Magic Eraser. My granddaughter who was helping that afternoon said she already knew about it. She picked up a ballpoint pen and drew a squiggle on a kitchen drawer--I gasped--then with a sweep of her arm she wiped it off with the spongy white pad. Where on earth has that invention been all my life? Maybe it's new.
Next I learned about 409. In the cleaning aisle at Ralph's, I couldn't decide which cleaner to buy--alas, I already knew that if it said, "Natural" in the title, it didn't work. Wowzer. 409 is as amazing as Magic Erasers.
Oh, and at the cleaning aisle I unearthed a tool that looks as though it should be sold on late night television: it's still in the car (haven't had the strength to unload the last boxes) and I forget its name, but its a battery-driven brush (it says "sonic" in the name but I doubt it's sonic--it's just strong) with various brush-heads you can twist in or out of the base, and it cleans like a son of a gun. Some gummy orange deposit at the bottom of the fridge--stuck stuck stuck hard hard hard--with a spritz of 409 and a concerted whirling of the cleaning brush--came off beautifully. One of the brush heads is tapered to a point so you can whiz out the icky years-old (in my case, surely not in yours) deposit around the base of faucets. Or in the crevices of the panel of the dishwasher (why do designers add so many nooks and crannies that have no function but you've got to get the gunk out of them? most annoying). As I say, the brush is typical of the gizmos demonstrated in the middle of the night on television, but this is the real deal.
Next I was amazed to find loose change all over the place...a penny here (some were heads up, good luck), a quarter or two there (probably fell out of my pocket on the way to the laundry room), a few errant dimes and nickles. Why was there so much money slopped around?
What else did I learn? Well, for the past year the paper guest towels in the bathroom had the cartoonish drawing of a woman in a 40's outfit--high heels, fluffy white apron, bright red lipstick--leaning over a tub with a rag and the logo said, "A clean house is the sign of a wasted life."
My apartment is clean now. But I'm no longer in it. As I say, I was gratified discovering magic erasers and powerful solutions and ingenious tools and how my apartment should have looked the past four years.
But I'm glad I didn't waste more than a few days of my life in the process...
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Blueberried Polenta Pound Cake After Deborah Madison's
Bliss.
I've had a box of blueberries in my little fridge for a week, kept forgetting about them. "I'll make blueberry pancakes on Sunday morning," says I.
But I've been hankering for cake. Finally this morning I looked in Deborah Madison's "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" for a cake recipe and came across her "Polenta Pound Cake." Now perhaps you know about me and polenta...
I took the cake out of the oven 15 minutes ago and have eaten a quarter of it for my supper.
Bliss.
Because I'm still in process of moving my big kitchen to this 5x5 galley kitchen, I put the cake together with a couple of substitutes. One was the sugar (I only had Trader Joe's Turbinado Raw Cane Sugar, not your basic granulated white...it hasn't a strong brown sugar flavor, it's just that the crystals are coarser) and the other was the mixer (for creaming, I used the Cuisinart wand thing designed for pureeing...it worked fine with a little coaxing). Oh, and I didn't grate the lemon zest--lemon zest is CRUCIAL to the delectable flavor of this cake--I used a vegetable peeler to remove the rind from an, ahem, past its prime Meyer lemon, then I cut the zest into slivers...probably even better than grating because the pieces are slightly larger.
I baked the cake in my toaster oven (default oven from now on). Excellent.
This is a sublime cake and it hasn't even cooled yet...actually, why not serve it warm with ice cream?
Here goes:
4 ounces unsalted butter, soft (plus 1-2 tablespoons for the pan)
1 cup sugar (turbinado or granulated)
Zest of 1 lemon, in fine julienne
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Overflowing 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt (I happened to have sour cream on hand)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons polenta meal or yellow cornmeal
1 cup unbleached flour (plus 1 tablespoon for the pan)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Heaping 1 cup (6-ounce box) fresh blueberries, although I suppose you could use good quality thawed frozen
Powdered sugar, optional
Butter a 5- by 8-inch loaf pan and dredge with flour. Set the oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium-size bowl, cream the butter and sugar with the lemon zest until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until thoroughly blended after each. Beat in the vanilla and then the sour cream.
Stir in the polenta (the mixture will be thin). On waxed paper, use a fork to mix the flour, baking powder, and salt, then pour into the bowl and use a rubber scraper to blend until smooth. Stir in the berries.
Smooth the batter into the pan. Rap the pan on a surface to force out any bubbles, then set in the middle of the oven.
Bake until you can smell the lemon, the top is beautifully browned, and the cake has begun to come away from the sides of the pan, about 1 hour.
Cool 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack to finish cooling--or, like me, slice and serve.
Shake powdered sugar through a sieve over the top, if desired.
Deborah says it makes 8 to 10 servings. Hah.
NOTE FROM THE MORNING AFTER: Woke up this Sunday morning, couldn't wait for a slice...it's still yummy, but I quickly realized this is a cake that is at its best warm. So I toasted it in the toaster oven, smeared it with sweet butter. Bliss.
I've had a box of blueberries in my little fridge for a week, kept forgetting about them. "I'll make blueberry pancakes on Sunday morning," says I.
But I've been hankering for cake. Finally this morning I looked in Deborah Madison's "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" for a cake recipe and came across her "Polenta Pound Cake." Now perhaps you know about me and polenta...
I took the cake out of the oven 15 minutes ago and have eaten a quarter of it for my supper.
Bliss.
Because I'm still in process of moving my big kitchen to this 5x5 galley kitchen, I put the cake together with a couple of substitutes. One was the sugar (I only had Trader Joe's Turbinado Raw Cane Sugar, not your basic granulated white...it hasn't a strong brown sugar flavor, it's just that the crystals are coarser) and the other was the mixer (for creaming, I used the Cuisinart wand thing designed for pureeing...it worked fine with a little coaxing). Oh, and I didn't grate the lemon zest--lemon zest is CRUCIAL to the delectable flavor of this cake--I used a vegetable peeler to remove the rind from an, ahem, past its prime Meyer lemon, then I cut the zest into slivers...probably even better than grating because the pieces are slightly larger.
I baked the cake in my toaster oven (default oven from now on). Excellent.
This is a sublime cake and it hasn't even cooled yet...actually, why not serve it warm with ice cream?
Here goes:
4 ounces unsalted butter, soft (plus 1-2 tablespoons for the pan)
1 cup sugar (turbinado or granulated)
Zest of 1 lemon, in fine julienne
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Overflowing 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt (I happened to have sour cream on hand)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons polenta meal or yellow cornmeal
1 cup unbleached flour (plus 1 tablespoon for the pan)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Heaping 1 cup (6-ounce box) fresh blueberries, although I suppose you could use good quality thawed frozen
Powdered sugar, optional
Butter a 5- by 8-inch loaf pan and dredge with flour. Set the oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium-size bowl, cream the butter and sugar with the lemon zest until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until thoroughly blended after each. Beat in the vanilla and then the sour cream.
Stir in the polenta (the mixture will be thin). On waxed paper, use a fork to mix the flour, baking powder, and salt, then pour into the bowl and use a rubber scraper to blend until smooth. Stir in the berries.
Smooth the batter into the pan. Rap the pan on a surface to force out any bubbles, then set in the middle of the oven.
Bake until you can smell the lemon, the top is beautifully browned, and the cake has begun to come away from the sides of the pan, about 1 hour.
Cool 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack to finish cooling--or, like me, slice and serve.
Shake powdered sugar through a sieve over the top, if desired.
Deborah says it makes 8 to 10 servings. Hah.
NOTE FROM THE MORNING AFTER: Woke up this Sunday morning, couldn't wait for a slice...it's still yummy, but I quickly realized this is a cake that is at its best warm. So I toasted it in the toaster oven, smeared it with sweet butter. Bliss.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)