I Like it Hot...

And it refuses to stop raining or to warm above sixty degrees in scenic suburban New England. With luck, it will be nice for my soon-to-occur graduation and other senior revelries.

To warmyself up and try to find some faith in the misery of this northern climate of ours, I finally made a curry that's been on my mind for days. I know, I know, I forgot to take a good pic, but it wasn't perfect as far as dishes go, so if and when I get it sorted out, I will be sure to provide a tantalizing snapshot or two.

Taking from the recipe on 101 Cookbooks I simplified the recipe and used the variety of coconut milk sold in cartons - it's so much healthier and thinner than the canned variety it seemed a simple replacement to me. Whisking the spices and simmering milk, I added zucchini, cubed extra-firm tofu, asparagus, raisins, peppers, and a few diced chunks of eggplant which I had previously roasted with Garam Masala.

The broth was too thin and not sweet enough, so that's where I intend to perfect this healthier-alternative to classic curry, but a wholesome dish served over brown rice, it hit the spot.

Sourdough^2...

I revisited my sourdough this afternoon and I must say it was a new level of baking in my book. I mentioned the starter I had prepared for pancakes over the weekend and it was well soured by this afternoon. Building on my last attempt at Sourdough - good but not perfect - and a desire to make great buns for some veggie burgers (the craving came from a recent post on Happy Healthy Life). Adding a quarter cup of wheat bran that I had soaked and a quarter cup of Buckwheat and Graham flours each and as always, a heaping tablespoon of gluten per cup of flour, this loaf (and its several satellite buns) were soft, chewy, airy, and flavorful.

Perfectly proportioned and substantial enough to house plenty o' vegetable goodness

Again, I'm reminded why I love the Bread Bible so much - Marist College, expect plenty of bread while I'm with you!

That's a Sandwich Bun...

The key, I believe, to my loaves' success was the microbial playgrounds that were a very sour starter and perhaps overly-active yeast mixture, in association with the wet towels I kept hot atop both the loaf and buns.

I Wish I had taken this from the side - it rose higher than I could have hoped!

Easter Mor'n...

Well they weren't ideal, so I'll keep at it, but I whipped together a batch of Chelsea Buns with Blueberry filling for easter breakfast last weekend (and today, some much better but more normal sourdough cakes). I got my inspiration from Seitan is my Motor and followed the recipe from my cookbook Low Fat, which has quite a selection of baked goods and many good pescetarian-friendly ideas.

Me being me, I decided to combine Buckwheat, Light Whole Wheat, and Gluten for my flour mixture and consequently the buns were very dense. That said, they were still very good warm but I would have liked lighter rolls and suspect that next time I'll be forced to succumb to a less healthy rendition of the recipe.

All that jam... I love jam...

When they're perfect, I'll put up the recipe. But until then, let me say that Sourdough Pancakes are terrific and it's a shame I didn't make those last weekend.

C'est la vie! I do like food however it comes...

Kosher...

It was delicious and I can't wait to eat more of it. It was Passover dinner at a friend's home. I'm not religious in the slightest; a born-again agnostic with little more knowledge of the Jewish faith than what I've gathered from the yearly family friends' Hanukkah party. When I was invited I decided I'd undertake the development of a recipe I found on NPR's Kitchen Window Blog, Matzo Pie. I made the asparagus-leek pie subbing mashed sweet potatoes with the cottage cheese for those with lactose allergies. It was good and everyone seemed to like it. That's not what this post is about however.

Pies and casseroles...

This post is about the terrific cuisine which is Jewish (and or Kosher) cooking. I had never had haroseth. I had never eaten Mazto Ball soup (which, by the way, is my new long-sought alternative to Chicken Noodle). I had never had Gefilte Fish which brings me back to the wonderful fish cakes my mum used to make when I was much younger. Combined with a wide selection of vegetables, a wonderful greens pie/quiche, and Kugel made for arguably the best meal of a religious celebration enjoyed in some time. Desert was great too, with a chocolate torte with just a tint of orange liqueur or something similar, delicious nut cake, and a great biscotti-like bread a friend of mine needs to share his recipe for.

I really didn't expect to like it this much...

I'm thinking Kimchee, Gefilte Fish, and goat cheese toasted; call me mad...

I guess I just wanted to say that I loved the food of Passover but even more so that I am truly grateful that my friends would invite me over for such an experience - beyond the dinner. It's an unusual thing when I can say that I see the good in religion but I really feel like I saw a new side of Judaism this passover. What little I learned showed me a renewed importance of perseverance and community. It's a wonderful thing to share a meal with friends...

Nouveau Gateaux...

It was my mum's birthday and the two requests she made were to make dinner and a birthday cake. The former, a precarious undertaking, the latter more enjoyable.

Dinner was molasses and cornmeal coated salmon, pan seared and finished in parchment, baked. The cake, small, vanilla, layered with raspberries and a lightly sweet-tart lemon buttercream. Despite terrible difficulties in baking at first (Cake Mk. 1 was quickly thrown away) the finished product came out terrifically, if I might say so.

Hidden in the frosting is a great light-yellow speckling

The cake itself came from Joy the Baker's Vanilla Cupcake recipe and the frosting from memory and 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes. It was:

• about 2 cups confectioners Sugar
• 8 tbsp butter, softened (unsalted)
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 lemon's zest
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2 tbsp milk

There was about 1/4 yield left over, some people enjoy that solo, but you can scale the recipe if need be, apparently, depending on your cake's proportions.

I simply studded the cake batter with some raspberries and sliced it in half, making 2 thin layers, spreading a healthy dose of frosting beneath and atop a dense layer of fresh raspberries. Further frosting the outside, I finished it off with a few fresh raspberries.

Dense but that really isn't always a bad thing... This is not a "boxed" cake after all!

It was dense, sweet but not too much so, tartly refreshing from bite to bite, and brought each of the cakes many flavors together wonderfully. Best of all, it was liked as a birthday gift (thank you baked goods for making shopping less stressful).

Relaxing with Brownies?...

Well, not in that way, but it's been a very long Tuesday (and week for that matter) so what better way to let it all go than to bake something good. It's not even a healthy recipe I made so it has to be even more relaxing than usual (it is still whole grain, so we're ok).

They were supposed to be S'mores brownies but I lacked Graham crackers so I substituted pretzel bits. Hoorah!

Yes to the relaxing effects of Cacao...

S'more Brownies of Mine

Courtesy of Joy the Baker and with inspirational pictures from Half Baked Baker

1 1/2 cups flour (white whole wheat, of course)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter + 1/2 cup canola oil

6 oz unsweetened bakers chocolate, chopped

5 large eggs

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 cup cane sugar (white sugar)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup broken graham crackers *But, I subbed about 1 cup of broken up pretzel bits

12-20 large marshmallows, broken in half, to coat the top of the batter

So many elements to savor...

Combine the butter and chopped chocolate in a small bowl over a simmering double boiler configuration, stirring to melt and combine each. Combine oil, eggs, and sugar in a medium bowl. Combine these two mixtures, adding the vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients (sift...) and add slowly to the wet mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 and empty batter into 13x9 or so inch pan, preferably lined with parchment, and top with crumbled pretzels. If you prefer, combine the pretzel bits with the batter prior to pouring, or swirl it in, layering slightly. Top with torn marshmallow bits, side by side.

Bake for about 30 minutes, but check, as they can easily be overcooked! Mine were a bit dry and cake-like (which may have been due to the fact that I first read teaspoons of baking powder as tablespoons, which I did correct, but...). They had nice flavor and texture nonetheless and were very well received. Oh, chocolate you are man's friend...

Chhhallahhh...

I can't roll letters but I can roll dough. Interestingly Challah is braided here so no rolling of loaves required (notice how I so cleverly worked in that comment on my notoriously poor pronunciation of words?).

Look at my poor braiding skills...

I followed the recipe from my Bread Bible cookbook (which continues to grow on me still) and it came out wonderfully. Despite my poor braiding skills, this one (whereas Challah attempt numero uno was a literal rock because my yeast was uncooperative) is light, very egg-y, and terrifically aromatic. I, as always, substituted light whole wheat flour for the all-purpose variety and even threw in a bit of vanilla extract and wheat bran for a change. I wish it were sweeter - I have a fond memory of the perfect Challah from years past at a family friend's Hanukkah party that I'm yet to replicate. Nonetheless, I think this would make a great soup soaking-French Toasting-Jam spreading bread as it is.

Love that Loaf Pan