Classics...

Call it Occam's Razor, call it chemistry, or maybe just call it good bread. Old, simple; always good.

The newest member of my bread-baking family has driven the creation of a new kind bread in my kitchen. It's something more rustic than the simplest of American Sourdoughs yet more complex and coordinated than the plainest of back-of-the-flour-sac recipes. It's called a Miche made with something called a Levian.

Levain: sea monster, right?

No, not Nessy.

A Levain is a naturally leavening pre-ferment not unlike a sourdough. While a leviathan may well be soothed by its sweet product, it is not nearly so delicious or attainable.

Now I love to bake with sourdough. The distinct sourness of the acids, the nurturing of the bubbly culture, and the tremendous rise it produces within the loaf in question - what's not to like?

Well exploring an older style of baking and using only salt, water, and whole wheat flour a great piece of baking history can be brought into the present.

 

The Risen Loaf: Pre-bake

Thanks to Local Breads, a great cookbook from one of my favorite bakeries in scenic Rhinebeck, New York I've found a whole new world of old  loaves to explore. I truly implore you to read this tremendous book; it's a bit daunting in some places but really gives a good feel of where bread baking has been and is a definite next-step for the experienced baker.

With a week or so of feeding and nurture, several hours of proofing, fermentation, a few kneads, and a spell in a hotter-than-usual oven, the product of one recipe for Rustic Miche produced wonderful results.

 The sadly fallen loaf, delicious nonetheless. Look at that gluten!

Buy the book, Bake some bread, Enjoy!

Bountiful...

It isn't typically a word I'd associate with something as indulgent as brownies. Try wholesome, nutritous, delicous. Well maybe that last part fits... Fair enough.
Well here's a recipe I've adapted from that given on Vegetarian Times which sounded generally irresistable. Red velvet brownies they called them. My adaptation takes that a step further:

Red Velvet Brownies Take 21/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder (preferably Dutch Processed but cocoa is always good, no matter its acidity)
2 eggs
1/2 cup chocolate chips...or more
2 beets, peeled, boiled, blended
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup agave nectar (or 1/2 cup sugar)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant coffee (Nespresso or similar)

Combine all wet ingredients with sugar and add remaining dry ingredients, themselves whisked together, in 2 parts. Pour into prepared baking vesicle (I used a 9x9 parchment-lined pan) and bake for 20 or so minutes at 350, or until just firm and producing a dry toothpick-test. They rise very little, so the thicker the batter the thicker the product, so plan accordingly. 

Brownie Batter...Mmmm

Enjoi!

Sweet Home...

Massachusetts, I'm back in town. Is it good to be back?
You bet.
I haven't done too much cooking I'm afraid, for a long time...
I did however get around to whipping together a simple Quinoa salad for an impromptu soiree with friends from  an earlier time. A better time? No, but a life I miss more deeply with every memory. The six of us enjoyed a bounty of grilled goods, citrusy salad, summer sweets and strawberries. Pounds of strawberries...
I missed home. I missed summer. Come fall, I'll be sick and tired and look forward to college but for the interim, I'll soak in all the sunny, sumptuous, and friended hours I can.

Quick Summer Quinoa:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cucumber, partially peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and shopped
3 medium radishes, quartered and sliced
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Evoo
Fresh chopped Organo
Pepper, salt, and spice to taste

Prepare quinoa according to directions and let cool. Combine all ingredients and fluff. Chill and serve!

Enjoi!

Chez Henri; With it

So I got a Gilt City coupon for a 3 course dinner for two with 2 entrees, 2 starters, and a dessert. It's a service not unlike Groupon, Google Deals, or Living Social - I recommend them all.

So as an early birthday gift I took my mother recently and enjoyed what was among the best meals I have ever had.
Chez Henri is located exactly between Cambridge and Porter squares on a side street just off of Mass Ave in Boston. It's a fusion between French and Cuban; sauces and styles beckon to the Western culinary tradition as flavors and dishes tend to lean nearer the equator. Dishes such as Bouillabaisse, Steak-Frites, Ceviche, French onion Soup, chickpea crepes, Seared Flounder...
The list goes on, never mind an extensive and well liked bar menu including empanadas and what is called the best Cuban Sandwich in Boston.
I enjoyed what was perhaps some of the best service I've ever received at a restaurant and a comfortable environment, not to mention food. Oh the food!
I had the Bouillabaisse of shrimp, crawfish, Cod, Salmon, Mussels, Clams, and a Deliciously salty-spicy-garlicky broth. With a Ceviche of the freshest calamari and sweet mango, I was quite satisfied. My mother had a delicious and generous crab and blue cheese salad - two flavors which complimented nicely despite the strength of the cheese and mild sweetness of the crab - before a trout dish with rock shrimp and root puree. We each enjoyed our dinners immensly and hardly had room to demolish the amazing lemon-berry Creme Brulee that followed it all down.

I'd certainly frequent Chez henri were I better funded and closer to the city but I will be back, nonetheless.

Photos to come!

Back In Town

The Beantown. Thank god for Spring vacation and what a week to have it too! Yesterday I enjoyed good conversation and a delicious Thai Peanut Tofu wrap at Blue Shirt Cafe in Davis with the best of company from Tufts University. I must say if you're ever in Davis Square and you can't decide on what restaurants to count out, it's not going to get any easier because Blue Shirt certainly isn't one to skip over. Oh Davis Square how I missed you...

The Organized Chaos of Something Great...

But today, on my way north from south of the city I stopped in East Boston for sweet sustenance at Flour Bakery + Cafe on Farnsworth street. There are three of the charming bakeries scattered across Boston and this one certainly sees its fair share of patrons from the bustling business district it nested beneath. It was a busy shop and I waited about ten minutes for my take-out order but considering the customer to employee ratio I observed it was a feat of cooperative capacities.

I enjoyed a delicious Grilled Tofu panini stacked thick with crisp roasted vegetables, salty-umami Olive tapenade and perfectly soft-crusted bread. The sandwich was substantial but sadly I devoured it before realizing I had intended to photograph it!

Good? No. Perfect.

Beyond the extensive sandwich menu sure to please carnivores and veg-heads alike (Hummus to Portabello Melts and Tofu for the latter and Curried Chicken, Roast Beef, Grilled Chicken-Avocado, and Turkey-Cranberry for a sample) the bakery treats... Oh the sweets...

Soups, salads, and stuffed savory breads are rotated daily alongside delectable-sounding quiche (Portabello and spinach I think it was today) and pizette.

I'd love to stop in some Sunday morning and sip a steeping tea while enjoying the sticky residue of a cinnamon bun or piping oatmeal bowl. Perhaps next time...

Cookies, Cakes, Croissants, Cross Buns... Too much!

Never.

So if you're in the vicinity of one of these gluten-stronghold stop in. Even if you've jumped the wheat-ship there's something you'll enjoy, I assure you, even if its the company of as good friend and a few good cups of tea.

Veggies Out of this...

Galaxy! At Veggie Galaxy they just keep coming and joyfully so. For so long have I wanted to indulge the vegetarian/vegan getting pushed down by the burden of cafeteria food. But no longer; more specifically my craving is sent into temporary remission and now it will probably only be worse come March vacation.

Anyways, to the crooks of the matter: the food. Veggie Galaxy is owned and operated by the same people who run Veggie Planet at Club passim in Harvard Square. Galaxy is a more sit-down diner style joint whereas the former is a very noisy, less intimate (if a diner can be intimate) place. I love both restaurants' menus but Veggie Galaxy caters to a more comfort food-seeking audience.

Located In Central Square between Harvard and MIT, next to The Middle East and amongst so many good restaurants, it still stands out. It's flashy to look at and really serves food unlike most restaurants in the area. I've never been to the Cambridge location of Life Alive, just a few blocks away, but it's not at all the same in my opinion. The food is fresh and moderately healthy (still good diner style food remember) but creative and entirely enticing. Serving everything from omlettes to pancakes and French Toast, to Veggie Burgers, Open Faced Seitan Sandwiches, Mac and Cheese (ze) and Tempeh Ruebens. The fillings in the omlettes (also available as tofu omlettes) are many, as are the toppings for the burgers.

All That Burger Goodness. I'm a Sucker for a good house-made patty...

My fellow diner and I enjoyed the Salad special to start, an arugula salad tossed with a light balsamic vinaigrette topped with chopped walnuts, roasted squash, and a very light goat cheese, all dotted by tart dried cherries. It was sweet and very generous considering we split it. The waitress even split the salad before bringing it to us - very thoughtful!

I had the Mushroom Chickpea burger topped with sauteed leeks, roast Brussel Sprouts, and a corn-apple salad. It was all the vegetables I love this time of year tossed together. With a delicious homemade Brioche bun and Cabbage slaw, it was fantastic. I'm pretty sure I'm still full from it this morning. My fellow diner had some of the most delicious baked mac and cheese (vegan, if you so like) I've ever tasted, with a creamy herbed ricotta and crisp bread crumbs. It was spicy from cracked black pepper, spiced just right with oregano, maybe dill, some basil perhaps... I can't be sure but it was terrific.

The prices were very good and the desert looked amazing - all vegan and all enormous - but alas we were too full.

I'll go back as soon as I can. The food was great, the bill reasonable, the space clean, bright, and very lively; for a reasonably new restaurant the staff was on top of everything and very attentive. I'll recommend it to carnivores, omnivores, and veggies alike!

Galaxy Site

Enjoi!

Chestnuts Roasting...

In my toaster oven...

It's been that time of year: the time to cook, bake, eat, sleep, stress, laugh, and generally stare out the window to watch cold air blow upon the carefully hung Christmas lights, now is terrible but beautiful disarray. I love Christmas time and the holidays and I can't say I feel any rush to go back to school.

I've been baking and cooking like mad but just too busy or conversely relaxed to bother blogging any of it. Sorry!

But here are some of my less recent creations. Yesterday I did whip up a cornmeal brioche from The Bread Bible - slightly too dense but wonderful toasting bread, as I had intended it to be - and perhaps the best whole wheat sandwich loaf I've ever made. Not to pat my own back - I'm much too busy holding that two-fisted sammy.

I also experimented with making Seitan and a good stand in for mac and cheese from Healthy Happy Vegan Life that actually really hit the spot, tossed with some Green Beans, Chard, and Zucchini.

Cookies and Sourdough galore, below are the few actual pictures I did take - sorry! I'll pick up better blogging later into the new year. Only so much time for so many resolutions at once.

Apple-Pear Gingerbread Upside-down Cake

A great end to a wonderful Hanukkah dinner with friends

I even made un petit gâteau for home use...Pumpkin Sherry Quick Bread

Great for, well any time... The Brandy I subbed does bake off but really brings out the spices. Thank you again Bread Bible!

Batch two and just as good as the original!

There was, by the way, Chestnut stuffing on the Christmas table, but here's my contribution to that meal. I did bake up some Challah from a wonderful recipe I'll have to share once I get it down. Here, however was my personal pride and joy:

Pumpkin-Chocolate Yule

The Snowflakes and green sugar were just right considering I forgot the marzipan Fungi...

The Recipe came from inspiration off of Joy the Baker. The sponge cake itself was a rich pumpkin, the filling a Neufchatel-unsweetened chocolate mixture, sweetened with a bit of Agave Nectar. The frosting is a rich Chocolate-Pumpkin butter-cream of simple softened butter, heaping tablespoons (2) of cocoa powder, a splash of soy milk, powdered sugar, and a few tablespoons of pumpkin butter.

Never has a dessert been so rich. It was enjoyed if not to blame for a worse case of Tryptophan-Coma than is commonly witnessed.

Enjoi! I promise I'll bring some more soon!