At last.

I have my new digital camera! (A Canon Powershot S70.)

More Exciting News

I ordered a new camera last week and it has arrived!  It was shipped to my parent's house so I will not get my hands on before this Saturday --but soon, soon dear friends, I will once again bring regular posting and pictures of food to all those who graciously allow me to bend their ear, so to speak.

I originally had a Canon Powershot S45 and after hemming and hawing over what to replace it with I realized I was at a point where I really, really wanted and could learn a lot from a camera in the upper echelon, but in reality I'm still just a recent college graduate who is quitting her job to run around the world soon and I have no business having (or resources to obtain) something so nice and expensive at this point. 

I decided to get the newer model of the Canon Powershot, the S70.  The reviews I read were good and comparable to those of other cameras in the same price bracket and I had the added benefit of finding a very good deal on one.  I would like to thank all of you for your kind words when I was feeling really bummed, for your advice on cameras, and your patience during this unplanned hiatus!  I would especially like to thank Melissa of cookingdiva and the Panama Gourmet for being so unfathomably sweet to me.

The picture above was taken in Central Park when I visited New York in June.  I love this picture.  If I had caught this scene a split-second earlier it would have more fully captured the little girl's energy and shown her in mid-air, though it still has some sweet and sunny innocence that I was lucky to snap at a great moment.

I didn't feel it was appropriate to post a full account of my trip to New York when I returned due to it being more autobiographically oriented rather than food oriented, but I have had such an itch to post recently I have been doing so on a separate site.  If you would like to read about the trip, I have begun posting accounts of each day with a small smattering of restaurant critiques.  I only have the first two days up at the moment, but I will post the remainder as time allows.

Take care all and I will be back in full swing shortly (and have more free time briefly after I quit my job this Friday and before packing gets really rushed)!

Food Blog Map

I stumbled across a neat map that Tana at the Small Farms Blog has set up.  If you have a food blog feel free to add it to the map.  Even though I already know where most of the food blogs I read are based out off, this seems like a great way to get introduced to new ones.

Exciting News

Exciting News!

I have officially given notice at my job and I will be leaving my place of employment in a matter of weeks.  Shortly thereafter John and I will be boarding a plane to London and setting out on six months of traveling. (The impetus for all of this is a result of our landlord selling our apartment to a mean guy who wants us out by the 1st. . . )

It will be hard to say goodbye to so much, but I am greatly looking forward to this opportunity.  The general plan is to see a portion of Western Europe in a timely fashion (so as to avoid spending as much money as possible) and head to Poland where we will hopefully be staying for about a month, then on to the Baltics and eventually to St. Petersburg.  Finally, if time and money allow, we hope to take the Trans-Siberian from Moscow to Beijing.  We will be flying out of Beijing, but if time (and again, money) allows we hope to visit Vietnam or Malaysia first.

We hope to be doing all of this as cheaply as possible.  We have some things set up, but if anyone would like to give us advice (we are going to remain fairly flexible for the entire trip, so advice on almost any location would be helpful) on where to stay in a particular city, offer us a place to stay, offer to let us use your internet connection for an afternoon, show us around, tell us where to find some not-to-miss cheap food, or give us advice on what you would encourage a guest to see or do in your town we would be grateful.  Feel free to post as a comment if you think others might find your advice useful as well or email me at probonobaker@gmail.com .

While we are traveling I am hoping to be able to continue posting regularly.  We still have about a month here in Chicago, so hopefully I will get a camera soon and I can quit these mainly autobiographical posts and get back to what we all really want:  pictures and descriptions of food!

Waupaca Chain O' Lakes

Last week my parents, my brother, and I drove four hours north to Waupaca, Wisconsin.  We have spent a week in Waupaca every summer of my life.  Waupaca is a tiny town situated about an hour and a half North of Madison by car.  While Wisconsin is home to many lakes, Waupaca itself boasts 22 inter-connected lakes.  Thus, it is known as the Waupaca Chain O' Lakes.  We have been staying on McCrossen for years, renting a tiny three room boathouse for the four or more of us.  Things get cramped, but it encourages us to stay outdoors where we should be.  The Menomini Native American tribe was among the first to inhabit the area.  During this time "McCrossen Lake was thought to be a lurking place of the great fish monster, Ma-shenomak, who was believed to have destroyed the “first people” " according to the Chain O' Lakes Protective Association.

One of the greatest features of the Chain is the ability to boat to restaurants and bars.  When using this mode of transportation our favorite destination is Clearwater Harbor.  Boaters may dock and choose to be served right in the boat or find seating on the ample outdoor deck. There is an often raucous crowd of half naked-sunburnt-and not so fit-patrons and either a band playing on the floating stage or a volleyball game being played in the shallow water. 

While known for their burgers (the Blues Burger is a family favorite), I keep coming back for the fried cheese curds. These warm and breaded bite-sized beauties of Wisconsin Cheddar cheese curds are like nothing else I have tasted in the world.  Sure, every restaurant in Wisconsin has their own version of breaded cheese curds, but none that I have tried even begin to compare to Clearwater Harbor's.  The texture is perfect, they are light, airy, and crisp, and they are seasoned with a perplexing and divine combination of savory flavors.  A basket of cheese curds, a pint of New Glarus Spotted Cow, the Clearwater bar crowd, and the blazing sun make up a meal that I crave from vacation to vacation and enjoy in large quantities when we finally make it back for a week.

One other favorite place is the tiny village of Rural.  With just a fifteen minute bike ride from our boathouse one can reach what is simply a gorgeous and unspoiled town.  It has a few obligatory antique stores but it also boasts some incredible historic landmarks such as the old Red Mill and many spectacular old homes.  The Crystal River winds through the village and is a popular resting point for tourists who partake in the Crystal River canoe trips.

The Weller Rural Store is by far my favorite place in Rural.  It is run by an sweet older couple and it basically seems to be an excuse to talk with a variety of people during the day.  They sell a few grocery items such as Wonderbread and peanut butter and you can rent an inner-tube to use on the river for a dollar.

They also sell some garage sale style items such as ten cent books and household items.  When we visit the Weller Rural Store, we go for the ice cream and the Ting.  They sell ice cream cones of the standard chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry variety for 25 cents and for 50 cents you can purchase a fancier flavor such as maple pecan or pistachio.

Ting pop (not associated with the Jamaican grapefruit drink of the same name) is manufactured and bottled in a nearby town.  Each bottle still costs 25 cents, though it is imperative that you return the bottle because they are no longer being made.  The way I have heard it, it appears an older man runs a bottling company that likely bottles popular beverage brands for local distribution.  However he used to also bottle this local Ting beverage and it appears he will continue to until the bottles run out (which they are reportedly quite close to doing).  The pop bottles are heavy glass and they are capped with a random assortment of bottle caps that are often unassociated with the beverage in hand.  The pop itself is sugary and comes in flavors such as lime, cream soda, grape, and 'blue'.  I do not ordinarily drink pop, but I love Ting when I able to drink it once a year from the Weller Rural Store.

Waupaca is one of those places that a new-comer might not see correctly at first.  I can imagine being taken to another family's 'Wisconsin lake destination' and wondering what the big deal is.  Due to such a life-long attachment to Waupaca and through seeing it change year by year yet still keep much of its character, I love it like a local and it holds a special place in my heart. 

I took so many more pictures and it pains me to have lost them forever.  But, I will be back to Waupaca next summer and I will be sure to report on some of the places I intended to this year.

IMBB #17: tasteTea: Matcha Pancakes with Matcha Yogurt Sauce & Matcha Soda Biscuits with Matcha-Ginger Butter

A La Cuisine is hosting this month's IMBB and the theme is tasteTea. I am quite a fan of using tea in cooking and was very pleased to see this theme.

Due to the events of late, I was expecting to have to miss this IMBB and was quite disappointed. However, my lovely friend Aviva has lent me her camera for the day so I am back in the game. (Thank you Aviva!).

I became a bit over-zealous when I expected to be unable to participate and therefore have made two items. I hope this does not annoy my fellow IMBB participants.

First, I decided to make matcha pancakes with matcha yogurt sauce. I based my recipe largely on Kate Habershon's Simple Pancake Stack recipe from her cookbook Pancakes and Waffles. I tried a crumpet recipe from this book a while back with mediocre results. The results of this pancake recipe were fantastic, however.

I added matcha powder, ground ginger, and a pinch of cinnamon to Habeshon's recipe. I then cooked the pancakes in a well buttered skillet on low heat and employed crumpet rings to produce the desired height and shape.

Meanwhile I combined a dash of vanilla extract and a bit of matcha powder with plain yogurt to create the sauce. These pancakes were a welcome departure from the Saturday morning pancake routine while still being full-fledged comfort food.

For my second item I made Irish soda biscuits with matcha powder based on a Martha Stewart recipe. In addition I also made matcha and ginger butter (by simply bringing unsalted butter to room temperature, incorporating the ginger and matcha to taste and chilling in waxed paper) and used this in the place of the butter called for in the recipe.

The butter was nice. I think I will experiment more with flavored butters. However, I could take or leave this soda biscuit recipe.

I would like to thank Molly, a fabulous woman from the LTH Forums, for sending me this high quality matcha powder. It was a generous and well-timed gift!

RIP: Canon Powershot s45

(me circa 2003)

Some asshole mugged me last night and made off with, among other things, my treasured digital camera.  Our time together was short (a gift from my family this past winter), but I became quite attached.  I was finally starting to get the hang of all this macro-food-photo business too.  I am fortunate to be fine with only a few cuts and bruises, it could have been a lot worse. 

I have a few pictures for you from Waupaca that I will put up soon, but the asshole made off with most of them still in the camera.  For the moment Part-Time Pro Bono Baker will be on hiatus with less frequent posting.  I will probably be able to borrow a friend's camera here and there, but I certainly can't afford to buy myself a new one at the moment.

If someone from say, Canon, Minolta, Olympus, Sony, Nikon, etc. is reading this and would like to donate a digital camera to the Pro Bono Baker cause, feel free to email me at probonobaker@gmail.com (you can also send me Paypal donations to this address if you feel so inclined) and I will be sure to advertise like mad for you.

Short of that I will have to consider this an "opportunity" to upgrade my camera.  Now that I have learned a bit about digital cameras, I find that perhaps a camera with better macro capabilities or the possibility to change the lenses would be pretty awesome.  It will be quite a long time before my broke self is able to afford another camera, but I will cross my fingers that it will be before John and I leave on our trip.

In the mean time, I would be quite happy to hear recommendations from other food bloggers and my readers in general as to what camera I should buy next.  As I said, I am not exactly rolling in cash, so the price would have to be a few hundred dollars or less.  Please let me know what you would suggest, I would be grateful for the advice.

People can be pretty lousy, huh?

Waupaca

I will be out of town for the next few days.  I am going to Waupaca, Wisconsin for our annual family vacation.  My parents have been going up to this chain of lakes since college.  It is quite beautiful and relaxing.  My brother took this picture of me there about two years ago.  He is a superb photographer and you can see more of his work on his website.  I will be happily grazing on pizza from the Wheelhouse, Swedish pancakes from King's Table, fried cheese curds from Clearwater Harbor, ice cream from Scooper's, and New Glarus beer while pondering what to make for the upcoming IMBB with the matcha powder that an excellent woman from the LTH Forums recently sent me in the mail.

6th Annual Feast of the Senses: Part 2

The second half of our evening at Feast of the Senses:

The Marx-Saunders Gallery (230 W. Superior St.) hosted Wave restaurant of the W Hotel Chicago-Lakeshore.

We spoke with Executive Chef Kristine Subido who was unfailingly welcoming and clearly proud of her work.

And the fennel encrusted salmon with citrus and arak glaze we were served made it clear that she deserves to be.

The detail in site set-up for this table was far and away the most thought out and beautiful. The Cuvaison Winery of Paterno Wines International was available for tasting.

We walked to the adjacent Schneider Gallery (230 W. Superior St.) to find ristorante We of the W Hotel Chicago-City Center. I believe Executive Chef Charlie Brown was busy preparing the items, though John and I were able to speak at length to Mark DiDomenico, who much like Chef Subido was impressively warm and charismatic.

ristorante We served a chilled poached garlic soup with grilled asparagus and olive oil croutons and topped with greens. This was easily the most delicious dish we tasted that evening.

The velvety-smooth texture of the soup was punctuated with the resoundingly clear flavors of garlic and asparagus creating a near perfect sensation. DiDomenico informed us that at the restaurant the soup is served warm, however the chilled version had been a huge hit that night. I hope that John and I can make it over to ristorante We sometime during the next few weeks.

(Event-goers taking a break near the el stop.)

We moved on to the Judy Saslow Gallery (300 W. Superior St.) and took a pass on the Izze sparkling juices. Though quite good, we needed to save room for new things. The Spice House had a table set up with, according to the pamphlet, "Ginger nibs and cacao nibs, in the form of baked nibbles."

Regardless of what you might call them, we ate some amazing cookies here. The gingersnaps were so soft and the ginger so pronounced, giving them a warm and filling flavor. The chocolate brownies tasted of high-quality chocolate rather than cocoa powder and flour as some might, thanks to the "nibs". Quite good.

Also hosted in this gallery was Dave DeWitt, author of the Spicy Food Lover's Bible. The book was available and DeWitt was offering to sign copies. At the table he had samples of wasabi. The first (on the left) was a bright green wasabi made with commercially available wasabi powder.

This wasabi was one we are all likely familiar with, it has a sharp and prolonged spiciness which is readily available at any sushi establishment (and sometimes may even be horseradish with food coloring!). The next dish was made with freshly grated wasabi. It was dark green in color and had a very mellow and smooth taste. It was less spicy but at the same time tasted more complex. It was exceptional and quite eye-opening to see the difference between the two types of wasabi.

(Your author at work. Thanks to John for keeping me on task.)

We descended a staircase to the Catherine Edelman Gallery (300 W. Superior St.) to find the West Town Tavern closing up their stand. Determined to use our last half hour wisely we crossed the gallery to find the Barboursville Vineyard of Virginia. Of the Barboursville wines we were able to sample, the best was their Octagon 2002. The real treat of this table was the Monti Erei extra virgin olive oils. Infused with flavors such as garlic, mint, arugula, and pepperoncino these oils provided a delectable and unique array of flavors. Behind the garlic soup at ristorante We, these olive oils were the best tastes to be had. They can be purchased at Sam's Wine here in Chicago.

Walking through the lower entry way we came upon the zg gallery (300 W. Superior St.) and Lula Cafe. Chef Jason Hammel and Chef Amalea Tschilds served a very refreshing seasonal dessert of sweet biscuit shortcake with honey, lavender crème fraiche and local berries. The dish had a lovely presentation as well.

I have had the pleasure of eating several meals at Lula Cafe and would highly recommend it to anyone.

Also in this gallery we found Paringa White Blend wine. These was one of my favorite wines of the night. If memory serves this was a blend of Chardonnay, Semillon, and Sauvignon Blanc. It was crisp, light, and refreshing and would be a fantastic summer white for a hot evening.

Lastly, we made our way briskly to the Carl Hammer Gallery (740 N. Wells St.) to sample the chilled ahi of Chef Paul Kahan and friends from Avec.  (Their website appears to be down currently.)

This too was an excellent summer dish boasting a festive array of colors, a very nice way to end the evening.

The three men were sweet and their humor provided a nice segue-way into the night as we left with full bellies and heads cushioned by wine.

I would like to thank Portia Belloc Lowndes for inviting John and I, it was a lovely opportunity. Check out the book she co-authored, The Slow Food Guide to Chicago.

6th Annual Feast of the Senses: Part 1

The Chicago Art Dealers Association: Feast of the Senses.  Food, art & wine.

Thursday, July 14th John and I met in river north to attend the sixth annual Feast of the Senses.  This was our first.  The proceeds from this event were used to benefit three not-for-profit organizations: Purple Asparagus, Common Threads, and Slow Food.

We checked in, received our wine glasses and neck holders, and proceeded to our first stop.  The Maya Polsky gallery (215 W. Superior St.) hosted Andersson's Chocolates and Patisserie. We missed the gazpacho and salad that was set up later in the night, though their chocolates were quite nice. They had an exceptionally smooth texture, though left something to be desired with flavor that might set it apart from other gourmet chocolates. Sadly, there was no attendant while we were there so we were unable to learn more.

The gallery also hosted the Illinois River Winery.  Using grapes grow at the Starved Rock Vineyards, these wines were nice, especially their dryer whites. They offered about six wines to sample and Gregg Kane, the vintner, was quite helpful in offering us the best wines for our individual tastes and a pleasure to speak with due to his enthusiasm.

Crossing the street we entered the Ann Nathan Gallery (212 W. Superior St.) which hosted Vie of Western Springs, IL.  Chef Paul Virant served crostini of grilled and marinated eggplant, and eggplant caviar with domestic asiago.
This dish was excellent.  The soft, cool eggplant went well with the crisp crostini and the sharp, salty cut of the asiago.  Chef Paul Virant and another attendant were exceptionally nice and warmly encouraged John and I to make it out to their restaurant soon.  We both hope to.

Also hosted in this gallery was the M. Chapoutier Winery of the Rhone Valley.  Touted as 'Eco-Friendly,' these vineyards rely on flora and insects rather than chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In addition they employ horse-drawn plows, hand tools, naturally occuring yeasts, and lunar cycle timing for composting. The wine can be found through Paterno Wines International.

Next we entered the Habatat Gallery (222 W. Superior St.) to find Thyme which served a nice and refreshing cold ratatouille salad. Goose Island Brewery had their 312 Urban Wheat, India Pale Ale, and Demolition Ale available for sampling.  John and I are frequent Goose Island customers and were familiar with all three beers.  We shared a bit of their IPA and some of their Demolition ale.  They make a solid IPA with a nice amount of hoppiness.  It isn't overpowering like a west coast IPA, which is actually something I miss.  The Demolition is a serious beer that I highly recommend if you can find in your area.

Next door in Perimeter Gallery (210 W. Superior St.) we found 610 Magnolia of St. Louis, Missouri.  Chef Edward Lee was serving a chilled asparagus and Col. Newsome's Kentucky ham in tomato water gelee, sumac (ground spice berry) and dill.  The soup was quite light, yet offered an impressive array of flavors.  I would venture to say that this was the most complex dish of the evening and it worked nicely.  Chef Edward Lee was sweet and helpful. The space also hosted the Sokol Blosser Winery from Dundee Hills, Oregon, also associated with Paterno Wines International.  They too rely on natural methods rather than chemical to care for their vineyards.  John and I are quite familiar with their white, but were far more impressed with their red which we had never tasted before.

We next entered the Andrew Bae Gallery (300 W. Superior St.) to find the circus that was the Whole Foods Market smorgasbord.  Taking up two giant tables, Whole Foods offered Thai chicken satay, teriyaki shrimp satay and spicy tofu satay, Southwest eggrolls, and vegetable potstickers.  The spicy tofu satay was excellent, with a fabulous texture and well matched sauces. In the same gallery Merchant du Vin offered a selection of their beers including the delicious Lindemans Framboise Lambic and assorted Samuel Smiths. Lastly, the Glunz Family of Winery & Cellars offered some tasty sangria with plenty of fruit.  On the way out we were given a Whole Foods shopping bag containing a box of 365 brand organic truffles.

Read about the second half of our night here.

SHF#10: Honey, Pistachio and Rum Palmiers

Oh honey!  The Baking Sheet is hosting this Sugar High Friday and the theme is honey.  I decided to try palmiers.  You can see what others chose to make here.

Honey Pistachio and Rum Palmiers

3/4 C pistachios (roasted and hulled)

1/4 C caster sugar

7 teaspoons Flor de Caña Nicaraguan rum

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 stick of butter (at room temperature)

2 tbl light brown sugar

2 sheets puff pastry (I used store-bought)

1 C honey plus 1 tbl

Preheat oven to 400F

Process pistachios until finely ground.  In a bowl combine the pistachios, butter, caster sugar, cinnamon, 3 tsp of the Rum, and 1 tbl of honey until the ingredients come together to form a paste.

Distribute half of the brown sugar on a counter or cutting board and place one of the puff pastry sheets over it.  Press the puff pastry so the sugar adheres.

Spread half of the pistachio mixture onto the center-third of the puff pastry.  Fold each outer third in to meet in the middle and press down.  Fold each side in once again and press. Repeat one last time and fold each side of the resulting cylinder into each other.  Cover in plastic wrap and chill for about 15 minutes or until the pastry is cool enough to handle without coming apart.  Repeat with the other half of the ingredients.

Remove from the plastic wrap once chilled and cut into pieces 1/4in thick.  Place on a greased cookie sheet or Sil-pat mat.

Bake 10-15, watching carefully near the end so the bottoms do not burn.  Meanwhile combine 1/2 C of the honey with 2 tsp of the rum in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat.

When finished baking, place one palmier at a time in the honey mixture, turn to coat, and place on a wire rack (with paper towels underneath).  Allow to cool and enjoy.

This was a very easy recipe and it would lend itself well to substitutions and different flavors.  I do not typically enjoy things that taste heavily of honey, but I really enjoyed these.  The rum and boil mellow out the sweetness and leave you with a lovely consistency.

I used Kallas brand unfiltered and uncooked alfalfa honey.  The alfalfa gave a subtle earthy flavor that worked nicely with the honey's natural sweetness.

My roommates really seemed to enjoy these.  Aviva made madelines during the day, so we had lots of sweet things to eat last night. Mmmm.

New York: Breads

I recently visited New York with my mother. (Like so many other food bloggers!) She retired this year and we took this trip with two of her long-time friends and their daughters. We all had different goals for the trip and I regret that I did not get to as many bakeries as I had hoped, but the most important thing was spending time with my mom and I am happy to say we had a lovely time. It had been four years since I had last been to New York and I fell in love with the city all over again. I will always be a Chicago girl at heart but I hope to spend some more time in New York soon.

On the morning of our third day some of our party insisted on going to Rockefeller Plaza to shout at morning news stars and try to get on TV. After about thirty seconds of this I took refuge in the Dean & Deluca on the corner and decided I would spend my time reviewing something tasty. Their croissants sure looked like they would fit the bill.

This croissant was buttery and tasty, though uncomplex. The crust did not flake as one would desire and was overall below average with an unappetizing toughness. The crumb did most of the work and was in fact quite decent, as was the coffee (though I did not see any fair trade options).

Later in the day my mother and I parted ways with the other women and headed to Amy's Bread in Hell's Kitchen. Amy's is an adorable little store with a shockingly blue paint job and a pleasant staff. There are a few tables in back as well.

I ordered a rosemary mini, a small black olive loaf, a French baguette, and a tomato and basil focaccia.  My mother and I walked to Central Park and I planted myself in the grass to try the breads while we waited for the others to meet up with us.

I began with the French baguette. In the handout I picked up the French baguette is said to be made with: "unbleached flour, water, salt, and yeast. Shaped by hand!." I find the latter claim to be a bit alarming, what else should I expect from a small, professional, artesian bakery? The appearance of the baguette was nice (must be that hand shaping!). The crust was oddly chewy, soft, and flavorless.

The crumb had a nice flavor but a poor structure and very few holes, much like a hamburger bun. Butter did very nice things for this bread. Overall this was a below average baguette.

The rosemary bread is said to be made with: "unbleached flour, organic whole wheat flour, water, natural starter, fresh rosemary, olive oil and salt." This bread had a fantastic aroma and a lovely flavor. You can tell that they do in fact use fresh rosemary. The thin, chewy crust was good and had integrity, though ideally it would have been a little more robust and thick.

This bread had a nice crumb that was moist and semi-resilient with a decent hole structure. However, it was in serious need of some salt. With a bit of sea salt and butter this would have been a very nice bread.

 

The black olive bread is said to be made with: "unbleached flour, organic whole wheat flour, water, natural starter, Kalamata, Amfissa and Atalanti olives, salt, and yeast." This bread also had an excellent aroma and had a pleasant sourness that went well with the olive and yeast flavors. Much like the rosemary bread, this crust was decent, thin and chewy but could be improved upon.

 

The olives were chopped and used liberally, giving a strong and excellent flavor to each bite. The crumb was resilient and glossy with a decent hole structure. This bread took butter superbly.

The focaccia is said to be made with: "unbleached flour, water, natural starter, olive oil, milk, salt, and yeast." They had a lovely tomato and basil focaccia propped up in the display window and it prompted me to order one. However, as I spread out my loot in Central Park I noticed that my tomato and basil focaccia had no basil. . .

This was a beautiful focaccia nonetheless. Unfortunately, it did not taste as well as it looked. The crust was passable, but the crumb was down-right bad. It had the same hamburger bun-like texture of the baguette but this was far worse. It honestly looked indistinguishable from a bun and it tasted like one too. This focaccia was also far too oily. It was a hot day so I could be mistaken, but it appears as if the bread was doused until wet with olive oil after it was baked rather than before.

Amy's is an adorable bread shop and I suggest a visit. When you go stick to their rustic breads rather than their delicate European breads. Amy's would do well to let a real crust form on their breads. I do not know what type of oven they use, but a thick charred crust would do wonders for the olive and rosemary breads.

I will post more about our New York trip soon.

Bonnie's Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

For much of our childhood my brother and I were members of 4-H.  If you know anything about the organization you are most likely conjuring up images of cattle, funnel cake, and horse shows right now, however we started our own little group and we were more involved in arts and crafts and service projects (the real treat was camp).  Every year we would show our products at the county fair and my mother would help me to prepare a baked good entry.  One year we came upon a superb recipe from a bed and breakfast in Wisconsin for chocolate zucchini muffins. I have not looked at a zucchini the same way since. 

Far and above simply earning a blue ribbon, the muffins were selected to represent our county at the state fair in Springfield, IL (this was quite a big deal to me at the time).  There, they received top honors and the requests for this recipe still come in a few times a year.  Thanks Bonnie, your recipe has left a lasting impression around here.

Visit the White Lace Inn and find the recipe here.

(For the muffin you see above I had to substitute grated chocolate squares for the chips.  Go with the chips if you have them around, it makes a much tastier muffin. Also, I usually forgo the nuts.)

Mmm. . . Americana

I went home to spend this past weekend with my parents and to celebrate my father's birthday, the 4th of July.  We had a family cookout and I made my flag cake as I do every year.  My mother pulled a Cool-Whip/Sara Lee sponsored recipe out of a magazine advertisement years ago and I have been making this cake for my father's birthday ever since.  It is just about the simplest thing and any kid could make it.

Flag Cake

(I generally make 1 and a 1/2 of this recipe)

1 tub Cool-Whip at room temperature

1 Sara Lee pound cake (or 2, see below)

about 1 cup blueberries

about 2 cups strawberries (cut in half long-ways)

Cut the pound cake into 10 slices and layer them in the bottom of the pan. Top with half the blueberries and half the strawberries.  At this point you may add a second layer of pound cake if desired.

Spread the Cool-Whip on top with the back of a spoon.  Add the blueberries in an orderly rectangle and then begin to add the strawberries so that the fruit and Cool-Whip make stripes.

Chill until ready to serve.

My father grilled brats.

I grilled vegetable skewers for my brother and I, the two vegetarians. Everyone enjoyed sweetcorn.

My mother made the ramen noodle salad on the top right and the marinated cucumbers.  My aunt Cheryl made the pasta salad and used soy bacon bits!  I think this might be the first time that anyone has remembered Evan and I in this manner.  Typically we either have to pack our own lunches or just feed on potato chips at family events.

Here is my cousin Sydney holding the tasty mulberry pie her mother Cheryl made.

My grandmother made shortbread (yes, we were a bit heavy on desserts. . .) to pair with luscious blackberries that she had picked fresh from their land in Wisconsin.

These were the real treat of the day. So sweet and tart and velvety.  If you were to try and buy fresh berries like these in a store they would cost an arm and a leg and the taste could not compare.  We are quite lucky to have a family that can still grow fresh foods.

Happy birthday dad!

Meme: The Cook Next Door

Zarah from Food and Thoughts tagged me for one of the many memes running around the food blogging world of late:  The Cook Next Door.

                               

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?
It was 1987 and I was 6 years old and on vacation in Waupaca, Wisconsin with my family.  I slept a bit late and woke up to an empty cottage.  Our van was not in the driveway and there wasn’t a sound.  In a profoundly calm and collected manner, I recognized that I had been abandoned and that I had to fend for myself. I cried a few tears, pulled myself together, put Michael Jackson’s Bad on the tape deck, fast-forwarded to Liberian Girl, and decided the most responsible thing to do would be to eat a decent breakfast.  (I mean, I couldn’t allow myself to disregard all semblance of order simply because I was unsupervised.)  I then put some Cheerios in a bowl, topped it with milk, and in a particularly classy addition, sliced some strawberries into the cereal.  I went outside to eat on the stoop in the sun, only to find my entire family lounging out on the pier doing the same.  Embarrassed at my dramatics, I went inside washed off my tears and re-entered my childhood world.  So, it’s not really cooking, but it was the first time food registered as something important and comforting and something that I could have agency over.

Who had the most influence on your cooking?
I remember baking cookies and muffins with my mother growing up and I will never forget how good my dad’s pancakes, eggs and spaghetti are, but there was never a lot of cooking occurring in our house.  Most of the things we ate were from Market Day: frozen and ready-to-pop-in-the-oven Midwestern food.

The biggest influence on my cooking was not through a person necessarily, but occurred when I stopped eating meat.  I have never liked meat, I’m somewhat hyper-tactilely sensitive and the texture has always been intolerable for me.  I tried to stop eating meat in middle school, but was forced to eat fish and chicken until the beginning of high school because my parents had no idea how to cook for a vegetarian, and frankly, neither did I.  This was before the prevalence of the obligatory portabella burger that can now be found at many restaurants in the Midwest, therefore there really weren’t that many options to be had on the occasions that we went out to eat either.  The desire to eat tasty things that were not meat or side dishes propelled my interest in cooking and baking.  So, to answer the question, I would say my parents have influenced me the most, yet through a lack of cooking.  If my parents had been vegetarian culinary wizards, who really knows if I would even care about food that much today.

Since then, my boyfriend John has taught me a lot.  His intuition is much better than mine with spice usage and some cooking technique.  I think I have learned that it is good to experiment in the kitchen, but one must also have a vague plan to make something work well. (When I first started cooking, I would often go in headfirst and come out with some pretty bizarre flavor combinations because my vision of the dish had changed substantially from the beginning to end.)  We now have a lot of friends around us who are amazing cooks and we all have strong points.  It has been fun to attempt to use the skills we all bring to the table (pun).

Do you have an old photo as evidence of an early exposure to the
culinary world and would you like to share it?

I will look for an older photo to scan while I am visiting my parents this weekend. This picture is from the birthday celebration that my grandmother and I shared this past fall. In the center is my adorable cousin Sydney.

Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that
makes your palms sweat?
Meat, since I don’t eat it and haven’t for so long, I have no idea how to make it taste good.  And honestly, it would take quite a bit to convince me to cut up raw chicken or mold bloody beef. . ick.

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was
the biggest letdown?
The most valued: I had a post on this very topic a while back.  I am in absolutely in love with my flat, tough whisk.

Biggest letdown: I bought a bunch of farina rice flour a while back and have yet to touch it.  I had grand plans of baking gluten free bread in order to see how it worked and to learn more about the gluten breads I currently make.  It is still sitting on my shelf.  Confessing this is a good incentive to use it soon.

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like -
and probably no one else!
I’m obsessed with nutritional yeast.  No one else I know cares for it.  I have a little bag of it at work and sometimes I will just eat it (in small quantities) from the bag. . . 

I like making savory baked goods a bit sweeter than they perhaps should be.

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?
Bread. Cheese.  Avocado or good apples.

Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to
answer? Well then, feel free to add one!

Three quickies:
Your favorite ice-cream?
Simple: Good vanilla or chocolate.  I also have a soft spot for green tea flavored ice cream.

You will probably never eat?
I make a point to try everything once, but I would have a hard time rationalizing my adventurousness with the horrible things I have heard about Veal or Kobe beef.

Your own signature dish?
Hrm. . I don’t think I necessarily have one.  I make quiches and savory tarts often, breads of course as well.  I guess the thing I often make in a pinch would be a red bell pepper, spinach, and goat cheese quiche.

On average, how many times a week would you cook something to satisfy your sweet tooth?
I have been slowly losing my sweet tooth in the last few years, so I don’t often create something just to satisfy it. I would instead be more likely to find some sweet thing to munch on (some chocolate, a cookie, a bit of ice cream).  I think I cook more often to satisfy my, um . . . savory tooth?

And, last but not least:
Tag three people!

Sera at Culinary School Diary

I will post the rest as people accept the tag.

Spicy Olive Bread

It had sure been a long time since I last made a real yeasted bread. I finally did last weekend. I used the recipe for olive bread from Beth Hensperger's Bread Bible.

Here in Hyde Park we have an excellent produce shop just a few blocks from my house called, fittingly, Hyde Park Produce. This tiny store is always filled with people piling tofu, cheese, fresh pasta, and yogurt into their hand baskets from the small cooler section and topping that with bulk nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, fair-trade coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, and fresh herbs. In addition there is a small deli in the back with Boar's Head meats and cheeses, breads and of course, olives. The variety that we get are green olives mixed with hot peppers and celery and cured in a very spicy oil.

For this bread I substituted this spicy olive oil for the plain olive oil the recipe calls for and I used these olives in place of traditional green/black varieties. Just before baking and after proofing, I brushed the last of the spicy oil onto the tops of the breads which resulted in a lovely earthy hue. Amazingly, not much of the spiciness baked off and the bread had a delightful dose of heat to it.

These breads turned out quite well. My roommates seemed to like them quite a bit too, which is always a good sign.

Cheddar Gougères

One afternoon this past weekend I decided to make Gougères.  These airy, eggy, crusty puffs of pâte à choux are delicious right out of the oven.  Traditionally they are made with Gruyère, yet I used this recipe from Leite's Culinaria (and omitted the chives because I did not have them on hand).  This is such a quick appetizer to make.  It might take a few attempts to get the pâte à choux the right consistency, but once it comes out correctly it will be simple in the future.

SHF #9: Pear and Almond Frangipane Tart

The topic for the ninth edition of Sugar High Fridays, one of the many excellent food blogging events, was Tantalizing Titillating Tempting Tarts.  I am quite the tart fan and I decided to take this opportunity to learn to make something new.  I decided on a pear and almond frangipane tart.  I based the recipe primarily on this recipe, though I made some notable changes.  I used almonds in place of the hazelnuts because they were more readily available here.  I also substituted canned pears at the suggestion of another pear tart recipe.  This worked well, though you must be sure to properly dry the pear halves before use. Lastly, per the suggestion of other cooks in the comment section, I cut the almond flavoring in half.

This was a very tantalizing, titillating, and tempting tart and it was incredibly easy to make.  It is also a fairly healthy tart (except the butter and sugar. . .), but with only two eggs, almonds, and pears you fare pretty well.  The hardest part was cutting the pears and keeping them nicely arranged while transferring to the tart.  I used a a flat cake knife to slide under the pears once I had fanned them and was ready to move them.  Having an extra pear half or two on hand is a good idea.

This was a great theme.  To find out what the next topic for this event and others will be, visit the Is My Blog Burning website.

Brick Oven

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to meet Lauren Bushnell and to see her partially completed brick oven. There was a small reception and an informal talk given. Lauren has worked at the Red Hen and the Medici Bakery. Most recently she has been baking at home and delivering to people in the Hyde Park/Woodlawn community. With this oven she will be able to produce an incredible amount and hopes to broaden her operations to include subscription services in the community and surrounding areas (e.g. you might sign up for 2 deliveries a week from her and then receive a quantity of fresh bread on the designated days).

The oven is being created with the help of master oven-builder Alan Scott. Above you can see the arch being built on top.  The domed shape will help even out the temperature more than flat surfaces would.  On the day before one wishes to bake a fire is made in the actual baking chamber out of wood and the heat is stored up inside the oven walls. The next day the charred remains of the wood are scrapped out and the oven is ready for baking. These remains are scraped through a section in the front of the oven and can be removed through the hole in the bottom (see above). Thus, interestingly there is no fire involved while baking the actual bread. The oven will hold enough heat to bake for up to a week. It will cool slightly as the week goes on, so the breads to baked will have to be thoughtfully scheduled throughout the week depending on what temperature they should be baked at. Lauren thinks she will be able to bake 80 loaves at a time several times in a day and will bake twice a week.

Below you can see the arch in more detail and what will eventually be the inside of the oven.

If all goes as planned the oven will be done sometime in August. The oven is being built in Woodlawn at the Experimental Station and it seems that the goal is to ideally have as many people involved with the oven as possible. Whether that will Lauren teaching youth how to bake, community home bakers organizing time to use the oven, or pizza parties using ingredients from the community gardens just across the street.

Many people have offered their support in this endeavor, yet more fundraising needs to happen before the oven can be completed. If you would be interesting in helping out checks (made out to the Experimental Station with "Brick Oven" in the memo line) can be mailed to:

The Experimental Station

6100 S. Blackstone Ave.

Chicago, IL 60637

The Experimental Station is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

I am so happy for Lauren, this truly must be a dream come true for her. I look forward to eating what I am sure will be superb bread and hopefully being able to try the oven out as well.

New York City

I will be visiting New York with my mother and some of her friends from June 25 to June 29.  Clotide has compiled some excellent recommendations for the city, but if anyone has any other advice (we did all the museums, etc. a few years back) I would love to hear it.

More to the point (or perhaps just in addition) I would love to hear recommendations for bakeries that have good breads.  Thanks for any help!