And We're Back!

Greetings strangers. I know, its been quite some time since Ive been to this space.... but I guess my writings and ramblings parallel my sanity... they are sometimes in and they are often out. Anywho, these past few months have been filled with so much new, so much wondrous-ness, and occasional overwhelming-ness, that I just haven't found the time to be here. I guess it has been more that I haven't found the right time. Every moment I meant to write or share, the words just never seemed to come, so I didn't push them. But, I have been baking....a lot.... and I can't wait to share with you some of my new favorites in coming posts.

One of the aspects that I love about baking during the winter is that it is almost forced time spent indoors next to your stove. Forced time to take the time to experience and feel the season through creating and feeding yourself and others. I find myself reaching for more ginger on those cold rainy days and comforting foods such as sweet potato biscuits, apple pandowdy, and handfuls of oats to boot. I love how food helps us experience each season, and when you live in California, allowing it to help create a faux atmosphere of a cozy winter via spices and root veggies when the sun is shining and there isn't a cloud in the sky.

So, I have a new recipe to share with you. One that I would never reach for if it weren't late fall or winter. Enter: the sweet potato biscuit. Warm right out of the oven with a pad of butter, being enjoyed wearing a chunky scarf swirled around your neck 4 times, rainy clouds as a backdrop (even if the closest thing you can find is wallpaper), and a cup of spicy tea following every bite. And scene.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

I have thus far only used bright orange sweet potatoes because I am in love with the beautiful orange buttery results. But, that being said, feel free to experiment with japanese sweet potatoes which are so flavorful and mellow in color. You can also skip a step by buying canned sweet potato, or heck even pumpkin, although the flavor just wouldn't be the same.

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup spelt flour

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 TB light brown sugar

2.5 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

6 TB unsalted butter, chilled

3/4 cup pureed sweet potato

1/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees prepare your sweet potato for roasting. For 3/4 cups of puree you will probably need a medium size to large potato. Rinse and poke several times with a fork and then wrap in foil and stick it in the oven until very tender... about 45 minutes. After the root is done cooking you can scrape out the insides and mash with a fork or puree in a blender or food processor. Let cool.

Now for the dough. Sift and whisk all of the dry ingredients together. Using a pastry blender or fork or extremely chilly hands cut the butter in the dry ingredients until nothing but little bits resembling rice grains are left. Mix together the sweet potato and buttermilk in a separate bowl and add everything together. Try to handle the dough as little as possible. You want everything to come together, so if its a little sticky add some flour... if its a little dry add some milk. You'll get it. Knead the dough 5 or 6 times et viola... vous etes presque termine. Flatten out the dough on a floured surface so its about an inch thick. Cut biscuits with a round cutter or a jar works as well. Bake at 425 for about 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Music Pairing

"Truth" by Alexander

And again, whistleing just makes me happy. And so do sweet biscuits and cozy weather.

Oatmeal to Go

So the primary reason I opted not to call this one a cookie was, well... I worried it might deter you from eating it early in the morning. And I would never want to go and do that.

But really, this cookie delicious breakfast alternative to oatmeal is compact, simple, and even gets better as it sits around for a couple days. What more do you want? Really the only downside is that they disappear before I can get around to sampling them as they perfect during the following days.

I almost caught myself telling you how surprisingly good they taste because of all of the nutrient dense ingredients....but I guess I never really understood why people say that. All of the ingredients on their own are pridefully delicious... almond butter (yum) honey (yep) oats (also delicious) etc etc... that of course the end result would be nothing but. What does it matter that the components are whole and grainy? Well, I think it does matter actually, but it matters in a great way, not in the way that should prompt any sort of begrudging face quirks.

Anywho, enough ranting for now. I formulated this recipe after making some baked oatmeal and then figured why not take it a step further to cookie-esq form? Well I couldn't find a good enough reason not to, so I went ahead and did it. I know, I know...rebel. And what pairs better with fall than baking and oatmeal? Yes, I guess pumpkin, but who asked you anyhow?

Oatmeal to Go

If you can bear it, these delights improve dramatically if you let them sit for a day. Also, do not overcook! Just let them turn a little golden brown and remain a bit gooey inside. Just trust me here. Also, word of warning, if you are a diabetic-loving sugar addict, just don't bother. These are not overly sweet, although they are wholesomely delicious.

1/2 cup oats

2/3 cups almond meal (or simply stated ground almonds)

1/4 c wheat germ

1/2 cup oat or barley flour

1/4 c almond butter

1/4 cup honey

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

dash of almond or soymilk

handful of raisins

Mix up oats, almond meal, wheat germ, oat and/or barley flour, and salt in a bowl. In a pan on the stove top, heat up the honey and almond butter over medium heat. It should be warm, and make sure it doesn't get hot enough to reach a boil. When heated a bit, take off the stove and mix in the baking soda. It will create a reaction slightly reminiscent of chemistry class, but not as impressive. In a separate bowl beat up the eggs and add the honey/almond butter mixture to the dry ingredients... along with the vanilla as well. Stir until it is all nice and combined, potentially having to add just a dash of soy or almond milk to make the dough a bit more wet. Stir in raisins.

Bake these puppies (now can anyone explain the etymology of that phrase?) for about 7 or 8 minutes, or just golden. The end result will still be a little gooey on the inside.... perfect to replicate oatmeal...but, to go! And please do enjoy in the morning.

Music Pairing

Ray LaMontangne "New York City's Killing Me"

Its the east coast fall that always prompted me to make, or at least long for, oatmeal. The chill in the air and the unexpected change of colors that the lacking trees in New York City were suppose to bequeath.... just delightful. And it just makes sense, speaking of the city, that these fall-y treats would be, alas, to go.

Chocolate Pear Cake

The first few weeks in my new place of residence, the Monterey Bay, I am becoming acquainted with the new job and the folk it brings along with it, the farmers markets, the yoga schedules, and most importantly the new (to me) oven.

After woefully under cooking a perfect batter of spelt zucchini bread, I optimistically set my sights on a brand new recette: Chocolate Pear Cake. A friend of one of the roomies came over one day, with freshly picked pears from her tree... and that was enough to make her my friend too. I usually lean more toward the apple camp than the pear, but heck... throw in a bit of chocolate and Ill eat mostly anything. So, welcome fall with pears and chocolate. It just seems wrong not to.

I brought it into my new job at the restaurant, trying to gain baker/cook approval. So if you care it is La Bicyclette in Carmel, CA approved. Whatever that means to you.

Chocolate Pear Cake

For this recipe I used some barley flour along with almond meal because I like the soft and nutty crumb that it produces for cakes. But, if you want, you can always substitute the barley for regular or white whole wheat flour. The almond meal is a keeper.... although hazelnut flour would not be a bad call...

4 oz butter, unsalted

1/2 cup sugar

4 eggs

4 oz dark chocolate

1/4 cup barley flour

1/4 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup almond flour or meal

4 TB cocoa powder

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

4 pears, halved and poached (origin: preferably from a neighbors tree)

Poaching:

Don't let this step deter you. C'est tres facil... easy peasy for you non-francophiles. Just bring 2-3 cups of water to a boil along with 1/2 cup of sugar. Throw in your halved pears, potentially having to add more water to cover them and let cook for about 20 minutes on medium heat or a low boil. When finished, they should be tender when pricked with a fork.

Caking:

Set the oven to 350 F. Again, my friendly European counterparts...google the conversion. Butter a 9 or 10 inch round pan. Next, melt the chocolate and set aside. (Note: you can melt the chocolate by bringing one small saucepan with water to a boil and placing a larger bowl on top of the pot with the chocolate. This will ensure that your chocolate wont burn during the melting process) En suite, sift all of your dry ingredients together (flours, salt, baking powder, coco powder). In a separate bowl beat the butter and sugar together. After a couple minutes and the mixture is nice and fluffy, add in one egg at a time...incorporating each once well before adding the next. Then stir in the melted chocolate mixture. Finalement, go ahead and stir in the flour mixture in two separate parts. Don't over stir... or rather until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared cake pan and arrange the pears on top of the batter in a nice fashion. Push them down a bit. It should take 30 to 40 minutes depending on your oven. Remember convection bakers, your oven is an overachiever so watch your cakes extra carefully and maybe turn down the temperature a bit. You don't want to over bake this cake... it should be moist.

Serve with some fresh whipped cream and cozy up to the fireplace you may or may not need in this transitional seasonal period. But still... you have to love chocolate, pears, and coziness. You just have to.

Music Pairing

Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs. "New York City's Killing Me"

Hes so fall-y. And I just love his husky voice. Its almost as though he means what hes a sayin. Which sometimes feels like a rare find.

Cozy Breakfast

My move to Monterey is swiftly becoming settled into the county where fall reigns year round.... or at least the morning time feels like it. We are welcomed by the perpetual AM cozy fog and the chilly damp air that can only be answered with warm cable knit socks, chai lattes, and fire places. And although I (and my renauds) love the heat, I also can't resist the feeling of a great fall.

I am still adjusting to the bizarre-ish hours of the restaurant life, eating either a rather early dinner or being pushed through a rushed plate late into the night sometimes not being hungry at all in the morning and other times tearing the cabinets open. This morning I woke up to the fog rolling in, yearning for something substantial to offset yesterday's time in the sun, greens, fruits, and bike riding with a warm and sturdy meal. Breakfast and cozy weather tells me two things: oatmeal and spices. So who the hell am I to argue?

Yesterday, perusing the Carmel Valley farmers market, I was called to some lovely carrots, just pulled from the ground, with the intention of making either carrot muffins with a strudel topping or a carrot cake loaf accompanied by (of course) cream cheese frosting. But this morning, I decided to forgo the two previous inclinations and fix myself a steaming bowl of carrot cake oatmeal. I always love when you can rationalize dessert for breakfast. Anywho... Spices. Check. Vanilla Soy. Check. Walnuts and Raisins. Double Check. It was my first bowl of the steaming stuff since last winter and it feels good to be back. Peter Rabbit and my childhood are mightily proud.

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

Serves 1 hungry gal

Everyone has their own favorite take on the glorious carrot cake. This oatmeal is made with pretty standard fare, and I don't think it needs a bit extra. It is soooo good. But, if you love your oatmeal with those extras, you will undoubtedly love your carrot cake oatmeal like that as well. Suggestions? Well, I've seen crushed pineapple, coconut, brown sugar wouldn't be a bad call, and maybe you could even mix in some cream cheese for the frosting effect? Might be gross, might be glorious. Let me know how it goes.




handful of rolled oats (I have rather large hands)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of wheat germ
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup walnuts
1/8 cup raisins
1/2 cup vanilla soymilk
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
pinch of salt
honey, to top it off


Start with a small saucepan. Turn the stovetop onto a low setting and place the oats, cinnamon, and wheat germ in the pan to toast them. After about 1 minute you can add the water and carrots. I like to let this cook for about a minute. I dont really know why... I just do it. Then go ahead and add the rest of the ingredients (except the honey) and let cook for about 10 minutes on low, covered. When the oatmeal is finished, wither add more soymilk if you like it runnier or cook the goodness with the lid off and it will become thicker. Top with honey and enjoy!






Music Pairing


I curled up in my chair with cozy socks and oatmeal in tow, so Jose Gonzalez seemed like the right fit the start of my oatmeal and foggy mornings. If I may suggest "Save Your Day" for obvious, oatmeal superhero-esque capabilities.

Im Borrowing: Lemon Lavender Shortbread

So the other week, my wife (seen at her badass foodie blog here) directed me to one of her old classmates' new endeavours. I explored, thinking it would be good, but wow, this one is a winner. Yummybooks blends her love of lit with that inner push that finds us crazy bakers in front of the oven with hot oven rack marks left all over are forearms.... or is that just me? She gives you a preview for what might be your next classics read and what for sure will be accompanying your side (and tastebuds) during the adventure. The featured recipe was inspired by the Secret Garden...which I think inspires some of my daily day to day life.

I chose to borrow Yummybooks lemon lavender shortbread mostly because they looked delicious, but it didn't hurt that we welcomed a new lavender plant to the garden the other day. And I must agree with this baker... use fresh. use fresh. use fresh lavender. The plant is beautiful and smells wondrous... not to mention it will withstand the sweltering hot California Valley heat that (knock wood) seems to have forgotten us this year. And of course it didn't hurt when I read she topped her cookies with sea salt. I love salt. Especially from the sea.

I thought I had my favorite shortbread recipe. This one, fairly thin and so flaky, is quite the contender. It will be served alongside peaches and vanilla ice cream for a dinner party tonight to make somewhat of a deconstructed peach pie. So fresh, so delicious.

Thank you so much Yummybooks for a new read in your blog and this delicious idea for a recipe. Profitez le weekend tout le monde!

Lemon Lavender Shortbread

adapted from Yummybooks

I tweeked this recipe a bit here and there, but the delicious idea remains the same. My best results turned when I refrigerated the cookies on the pan right before popping them in the oven and with a bit of whole wheat pastry flour for a nice crumb.

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup cane sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon fresh lavender

zest of one lemon

sea salt to finish

Start by beating up your butter and cane sugar nice and well. Sift together the salt, flours, and powdered sugar. Once the butter/sugar is beat up for a couple minutes go ahead and slowly add your dry mixture as well as the lemon zest and lavender. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the goodness. It should come together into a ball. Refridge for 2 hours or so.

Once your dough is nice and chilly lightly flour a rolling surface. Set oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough so it is about 1/4 inch thick and cut out whatever shapes you desire. I stuck with the inspired design because I thought they looked nice and will work well with the peach pie sundaes I am adding them to. Place them on a baking sheet and sprinkle (just a tad!) of sea salt. They bake for about 10 minutes or until just golden brown. Let cool on a rack and they will firm up and be delicious.

Music Pairing

Audiobook of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Its not music, but its sound. Might as well dive back into the classics with a shortbread in hand.

Cherry Barley Scones, Oh My.

My Apologies. I built up cherry season so much, promising jams, pies, salads, and basically anything one could possibly think of pertaining to cherries (the food that is).... and I just never did post anything. Before you get too mad, please picture a mid 20 something girl, so overwhelmed by the bountiful-ness of cherry season happening in her backyard that the tiny stone fruits are flailing through the air, leaving the grout on the kitchen tile a delightful but equally maddening shade of red, and all this while running around on a sugar high from the foods that were made subsequently from the mass influx of this great fruit.





Ok. I'm exaggerating a bit. But just a bit. Our cherry season went wonderfully and I managed to can some jam (even though I heard my mother say the word botulism 567 times), dry some cherries, make a grain salad with them, and then of course were these delightful scones.

If you've been at the other end of my baking, you know I love cooking with kooky (as it may seem to some) ingredients. I love to try and obtain a depth and interesting flavor that is a little beyond the grasp of white flours and sugar. Not to say they aren't delicious! Please. I would never say that. I do love a wondrous and simple croissant of course. But, more than sometimes a little creativity is worth your pursuits, and I don't think that this recipe with fall short of meeting high expectations. I used barley flour here, which is a tinge sweet with a malty sort of flavor. Indeed, I think its my new fave. I should have a biscotti recipe also using this flour comin at ya very soon as well. But you know me.... maybe that happens.... maybe that doesn't. But until then, please try these...

Cherry Barley Scones

adapted from Good to the Grain

If you love cooking with whole grain flours, Kim Boyce's cookbook Good to the Grain is essential to have. It meets all my criteria for a great book, hitting the high mark in fields of photography, interesting and innovative recipes, and not to mention the pic of the author in the bck is adorable. And she looks happy too. What baker shouldnt look happy? Anywho, tangent, mangent.... Feel free to experiement with different types of jams you have on hand from the season. I would guess that peach, nectarine, and berry work very well also in this recipe.

1 cup Barley Flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

scant 1/4 cup turbinado sugar plus 1 TB honey, or 1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 egg

to finish:

1/2 cup Cherry Jam

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon sugar

Les Directions:

Go ahead and set your oven to 350 degrees F. Rub a baking sheet with butta.

Sift all of your flours, sugars, powders, sodas, and salts into a bowl. Cut up the cold butter into small-ish chunks and add to dry mixture. Then you may either:

1. use your fingers, swiftly, to break butter into smaller pieces, resembling tiny pebbles or large-ish grains of rice. If you have hot hands.... forget about it and...

2. Use a pastry cutter or even a fork. This will buy you more time, not melting the butter while working.

Ok. Back to work. In a separate bowl, wish the egg and the buttermilk together. If you don't have buttermilk don't fret, just combine milk with a tablespoon or so of vinegar or lemon juice. Let it set for a minute et viola... your replacement for buttermilk.

Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Don't worry about leaving behind a few crumbleys. The less hands on time, the better the scones. Separate the dough in two. Turn the first of the two doughs onto a lightly floured surface. Flatten out to make a fairly thick round... about 1/2 inch. Do the same with the second dough. Now its time to make the scone sandwich. Spread the jam onto on one of the rounds and place the second on top. Cut into about six triangles and you are there. To finish, spread melted butta on top and sprinkle with some sugar.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes and enjoy!

Music Pairing


"Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Sons
Barley's a lil country and so are these guys.

My Favorite Breakfast

I've converted many a naysayer before, so it comes as no surprise that everyone doesn't share the same affinity for the rice cake as I do. The poor things do get a lot of crap. And if you are talking Quaker, then, yes it is even warranted crap. But next time skip over the styrofoam stuff and pick up a natural foods brand, like Lundburg. Top with some pb, raisins, banana, and cinnamon, and you wont be sorry. Pick up the Sunday Times..... and now thats a morning.

Seconds Please: Zucchini Spelt Bread

I feel like every post has become an "Im bacK!" post. Apparently its the fault of the migrant lifestyle I've become accustomed to. I just cant seem to stay put, now can I? I even found myself planning my next move before I returned home to California, from family vacation.... where I leapt to after camp counseling in Monterey, and that's what I did when I got back from Paris. I mean, I need to get a flippin grip. So, I'm trying something new... I'm just here in Stockton,CA....today. Not somewhere in my next 20 adventures, but just here. And there is nothing that brings me back to the right now with a smile on my face like baking. And my garden. Any maybe goblets filled with jewels. So, when I can incorporate 2 out of 3 into a recipe, I barely recognize that there is still a world happening outside of my kitchen.

This recipe is one of my favorites Ive put together in a while. It is pretty multifunctional; working as a breakfast item, an afternoon tea snack, or a light dessert....or not so light dessert when some people (maybe me, maybe not me) pair it with Haagen Dazs ice cream. I have so many monstrous zucchini squash in my backyard that there wasn't any way they were escaping the oven in a bread form. And everyone just loves it when you can tag on a veggie in the title of a sweet bread. I guess it lowers the guilt factor? And nothing says summer better than fresh zucchini and well, I just love it. I hope you like it too. Take it to the beach. or a picnic. Or ship it to one of your pals that you wish you were at the beach with.... or hell, even a picnic.

Zucchini Spelt Bread It Is!

inspired by Silver Palate Cookbook

makes 1 delicious loaf

I started the way I start most baking experiments, with a fairly simple base recipe, and then changed everything I possibly could. I decided to make this one with spelt flour because I think its absolutely delicious. And if you ask me, it completely makes this bread what it is.... and that is glorious.

oil/butter for the loaf pan

3 eggs

3/4 cup oil

1/2 cup milk

1 cup cane sugar

1/2 cup UNpacked natural brown sugar

1.5 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups grated unpeeled raw zucchini

1 cup spelt flour

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup raisins (I didn't add them by request... but I really wanted to. Why don't raisins get any love?)

Sea Salt and Coarse Sugar to top it off

OK. Pretty simple recipe. Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If you are from Europe I am not providing conversions so use google.

Oil a rectangular loaf pan. Beat the eggs, oil, milk, vanilla, and sugars until combined and slightly thick. Fold in the shredded zucchini.

In a separate bowl sift together the flours, baking soda and powder, the glorious salt, and cinnamon. Add to the wet mix and stir until all is nice and combined. Fold in your walnuts and raisins. I'm guessing chocolate chips wouldn't be a bad call either. Instead of the raisins that is. But, oh so not necessary. Pour batter into the oiled loaf pan et voila! The zucchini is about to meet its fate dans le four!

I almost forgot my favorite part. Sprinkle just a TEENSE of sea salt and turbinado sugar on the top of the bread before it goes in the oven. Its too good. Just be careful with the salt. A little bit makes it amazing, but too much kills it. I would aim for about 1 teaspoon if not less.

It takes about 50 minutes in my oven, but it generally bakes things rather fast. Stick a knife in the middle and if it comes out clean, the bread is done. Enjoy...

Music Pairing

"SummerTeeth" by Wilco.

Its Summer. Nuff said.

A Take On The Chocolate Chip

Oh, camp.

One Breath. Two Breath. Three Breath, four. These chicas are wild.

For those of you who are unaware, I have been spending the past three weeks being a Camp Counselor in Monterey, CA. A beautiful place, spent with hundreds of energetic and lovely (for the most part) young ladies.

The other day was the sanctuary of my week, my 24 free continuous hours granted every glorious Wednesday accompanied simply solo with the liberty to do as I please. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my girls, and camp is a blast... but sometimes you just need a break. As a matter of fact, I think they do too. There seems to be little time to linger and enjoy what is happening right now... and as our first session is wrapping up everyone is wondering where all the time went. In short there is little time to do "things" let alone do them well or even notice when they are happening. A problem indeed. It actually becomes impossible when your daily schedule is on autopilot and consists of:

7am Wake up

8 Breakfast (although I did see a camper take an entire peach pie to breakfast this morning; so I use the term "breakfast" loosely)

9 Class 1

10 Class 2

10:55 Snack

11 Class 3

12 Lunch/Fustercluck Time

1:30 Class 4

2:30 Class 5

2:25 Popsicle Break/ Sugarfest

3:30 Class 6

4:30 Free Time (Squeeze in hygiene maintenance, telephone calls, screaming, jumping, and maybe 3 seconds of sitting time)

6pm Dinner

7 Evening Activities/ Fustercluck #2

8:30 Night Meeting

9:30/10 (more like 10:30 in reality) wrestle the little ones into bed and hopefully regain sanity (usually 50% success rate)

Throw in crazy amounts of sugar, occasional disorganization and I cant flippin believe our girl's heads are still attached. Funny enough, all of this wondrous craziness was my inspiration to make some chocolate chip cookies. There is nothing that is more connected to childhood and understated than a chocolate chip cookie. We tend to dismiss them swiftly as being rather consistent, unchanging, and even boring (gasp!) using the standard ingredients: flour, butter, sugar, and chocolate chips. Its understandable how one might mistake the results of these darlings as being rather stable and unchanging. Au contrare my friends, since there is so much variety to look for in this sweet treat, I could seriously make hundreds of batches and not repeat the same flavor /texture/experience profile once. When you take the time to peer a bit closer, you begin to notice the techniques and elements that make all the difference in the world. Brown sugar lends a molasses flavor and chewiness. You want lightness and lift? Try beating your butter and sugar together on high for 4 or 5 minutos. Make your jaw work a bit more with a grainier flour and thus a denser cookie. Guaranteed chocolate in every bite, you request? Great idea... instead of adding more and risk overloading, cut up dark chocolate bars and find slivers and chunks throughout.

Its actually camp and its girls that make me think about my childhood and how I wish I would have paid more attention to the details then. The closer you begin to look at the one genre of anything the more varieties and differences unfold. So, I chose to look at the chocolate chip cookie. The other night I tried three different batches... the first too cakey, the second missing a certain je ne sais quoi, and the third just right. They will be dished out hot with milk to the girls on their last night, made with love as always, but more importantly....they are made with time. If only one notices, I'll feel triumphant, and hell if no one does... I always have my personal stash of leftovers and a chocolate laden smile.

Enjoy your time. Reading this. Baking these. And eating every morsel.

Les Cookies du Chocolat

adapted from here

1 3/4 sticks (10 TB) of unsalted butter, softened

2 TB cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup Turbinado sugar

1 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

12 ounces dark high quality delicious chocolate cut into various sized pieces

more turbinado for tops of cookies

Preheat the oven to 360 degrees.

Cream the butter and the sugars in high for about 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides a couple times. Beat one egg into the mixture at a time, making sure each is incorporated individually. Sift your dry ingredients together: flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this mix slowly to the batter, reserving a teence for the end. Once everything is mixed up nice and neat fold in the rest of the flour mix and the chocolate chunks and slivers. We are now ready for the magic to happen.

Using a spoon or small ice cream scoop, drop the dough onto cookie sheets. Pop into the oven for around 8-12 minutes, depending on your oven and how done you love your cookies. After they start flattening a bit sprinkle some turbinado sugar on the tops...it makes all the difference. I like them when the edges are just turning brown and they are still nice and gooey. But hey, thats just me.

Enjoy with friends, family, and campers alike.

Music Pairing

Since I find it impossible to let myself recommend any camp friendly music coming out of Lady G*G*'s mouth, I will meet in the middle with Spice Girl love. Baby Spice would completely adore these cookies. And summer camp for that matter.

Girl Power.

Earl Grey Tea Cookies

I miss tea. I miss tea time in New York at my old favorite spots, that have since, sadly closed. The shutdown of operations were probably major contributors for me taking the final steps to leave behind my crazy Manhattan life. But, god, if there is anything I miss from the other coast, besides Tuesday night all you can drink at Doc Holidays... its tea time.

There is something so simple and beautiful about enjoying tea with friends. It just doesn't seem right to rush tea into to-go containers. It urges you to take the pot, and sit down a while... taking your time to enjoy your day... or trying to rectify a really bad one. Indeed, there just isn't anything like tea. The times we (Schmoopie et moi) pretended to be super fancy while attempting to solve all things life... we always did it over tea. and various pots of tea. and tea lattes. green tea cupcakes. lavender bread. and tea infused cookies. Well I guess that brings me to my recette. Le cookie du the. It is a take on shortbread, but with that great bergamot flavor from earl grey tea leaves. If you love tea.... this is a must. And if you don't... just give it a shot. They're truly special.


So have a treat, invite a friend over, and remind yourself sometimes you just need to take the time. So why not do it over deliciousness. Maybe the Brits did get something right afterall.

Early Grey Tea Cookies

adapted from The Kitchn

These are so, so simple. You can make (and bake) them, start to finish, in about 30 minutes. (minus refridge time) I used tea from an organic tea bag, but I'm sure loose leaf would work just as well....if not better.

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon Earl Grey tea leaves

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp honey

1/2 cup unsalted butter

Begin the wonderfulness by pulsing together the flour sugars, salt, and tea leaves in a food processor. You want the tea leaves to be finely ground.


Ina separate bowl beat your butter up and then add in the vanilla and honey until combined. Finally add in your dry mixture until everything is uniform. Roll your dough into a log and place in the refridge. Wrap it up... in parchment or plastic, to avoid other smells being absorbed. Chill for about 30 minutes.


When ready preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the dough from the refridge and slice off quarter inch segments off the log. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until they just are turning brown. Enjoy... with tea.







Music Pairing


"Glamorous" by Fergie


This song always makes me think of my favorite tea friend. Too many good times were spent swifer-ing the floors and sipping tea over this tune. Plus, you cant help but feel first class fanciful with tea. and tea cookies.

I Did Not Bake This...

I repeat. I, Stephanie Stein did NOT bake this dense, delicious, walnut cranberry, whole grain loaf. But I wish I did. I did, however, take a crucial part in the consumption of it. And I'm damn proud of it.

After leaving Paris behind, and regretfully my addiction to good bread (and believe me, not by choice), I have come along a great bakery, right here, within a lengthy biking distance from my house in California. Double yay!

So,again I didn't bake this, and have no recipe to give you, but what I can do, is share the gloriousness of this place with you. That is if you happen to be somewhere in northern/central California strongly craving delicious bread. Its my new favorite, and if you aren't somewhere close to here, then please plan a visit.

Did I mention its a winery too? Just sayin...

Tarte au Citron REMIX

fantabulous photo compliments of Miss Megan W Moore

So this time I did things a little backwards. Sitting at the comp listening to le musique on the wondrous Grooveshark, I was smiling so hard listening to M Ward (also the smiles no doubt credited the gloriousness of the weekend too) I decided to let the song dictate the recipe. No thought really, just listening and then whatever came to mind... smiles, sun, bike rides, and ah yes, a lemon tart. Et plus...le chanson: "Chinese Translation" par M. Ward.

I think its partially because I have just wanted an excuse to make a tarte au citron. Ive been thinking about it since I left Paris and their cute little sunshine tartlets with "citron" written in a white chocolate cursive over their tops. My mom is going to kill me, when she sees yet another dessert sitting on the kitchen counter, waiting for her to make sure the lines from the last slice are as straight and clean as possible, usually meaning a sliver here and there to even everything out. Its true that the poor pies, tarts, crumbles, cobblers (not to be confused with the shoe man) always need a bit of help when it comes to upkeep and we, the Steins, have dedicated ourselves to never let one let itself go, you might say, until there isn't a crimbly crumb left. Its funny though how no frittata, Shepard's pie, or any of the like never needs any straightening like the glazed foodstuffs do. I guess sometimes you just do what you can, and when it comes to straight lines and the absence of crumbs, I guess we will just stick with the suga.

Tarte au Citron ReMix with Almond Meal Crust

adapted from Mr. David Lebowitz

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
zest of one lemon, grated
1/2 cup raw sugar (such as turbinado)
6 TB butter
2 eggs
2 egg yolks

One pre-baked Almond Meal Tart Shell (recipe to follow)



You are ready to commence!

In a small saucepan, heat the lemon juice, zest, sugar, and butter until everything is melted together. Keep on low heat.

In a separate bowl whisk together your eggs and yolks. To this eggy mix add about a couple TB of the buttery sugary mix to temper. Once you have warmed the egg mix whisk the two mixes together in the saucepan over low heat. The mixture should thicken, but be sure to stir constantly and attentively so you don't get scrambled eggs.... not a welcome attribute of a tarte au citron I say.

Once you see whisk marks in your curd (this should have taken about 10 minutes), pour through a strainer right into your pre-baked tart shell. Let this set up for a couple hours so you have a nice sturdy tart. Finish with shaved white chocolate...trust the frenchies on this one. Enjoy with puckered lips...


Ah, yes, to make the crust (or 2).....

Sweet Almond Tart Crust

adapted from Mr. Pierre Herme

Now, lets try something new. To get things just right when you are baking..whether it be bread or crusts, you need to start doing the gram things. I know, I know. I was intimidated at first too. But why? Its so easy. I guess it was letting go of my cute stainless measuring cups that I have grown accustomed to and reaching for my mom's digital scale that hasn't been used in a creep's age.* One definite benefit is the precise number flashing at you on the screen, ensuring accuracy time in and out. Yay for something new.

285 grams sweet (unsalted) butter
150 grams raw sugar (such as turbinado)
100 grams ground almonds
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
500 grams white whole wheat flour

Beat da butta. until creamy. Then add in your sugar, ground almonds, salt, vanilla, and eggs and beat on medium speed in a kitchen aid until things are just Incorporated. Then, take your flour and add, bit by bit, at a low speed. Et viola... you have your dough. Refrigerate at least for 2 hours or up to 3 days. This also keeps in the freezer....just transfer to the fridge about a half day before rolling.

When ready, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Now, formation. It depends what you are making the crust for, but for this particular recipe, I like to keep the dough fairly thick (around one inch) to counterbalance the intensity of the lemon. Flour your work space as needed, as well as the top of the dough. Roll dough out to desired thickness. Place in your desired vessel (mine was a medium sized square Pyrex) and it took approximately took 20 minutes to finish with a nice goldeny brown tone. Don't forget to stab the dough with a fork before baking. Once it has cooled, pour your citrus filling dans le centre et refridge ou mangez tout suite! Comme vous voulais....


Now... if you have managed to wait long enough to let your tart set, take a slice, turn on the aforementioned tune and skip around in circles trying not to stumble over your clumsy feet. There is nothing like good music, citrus tarts, sunshine, and a great spring day. If I ever open a cafe, each time someone orders a tarte au citron, the above will commence. They might think I'm a wacko, but again....I'm just gonna run with it.


*not exactly sure what this is suppose to mean....but just roll with it.

Homemade Wheat Thins

I am extremely close to getting banished from the kitchen. It isn't really the constant mess or flour, butter, and sugar's daily appearance on the grocery list. Its more my mom's (me too! me too!) sugar addiction. I'm not sure one would actually qualify it as a problem, per se, but we...

1) would gladly swap most main courses (steaks, caviars, cheese, etc etc) for a 50 cent Reese's or any type of cookie

2) cant say no. I mean, we can... but we're really not that into it.

So, to keep myself sane (and my poor mother that wakes every morning saying "Arghhh... I don't feeeeeel good. You have to stop this") I just needed to re-evaluate my approach to baking. Do I always have to bake a cake, double chocolate tarte, or cookies? Well, I will ignore my instinctual answer and give a more sanity based: no. So, as I wanted to bake the other day I came across a recipe for wheat thins. I love wheat thins! So I swapped the butter and sugar for some salt and whole wheat flour and got to business rolling out these cute and salty crackas.

Whole Wheat Thins (Homemade!)

Makes a whole-lotta

The idea of making a cracker and then storing them in old Lipton boxes, thankfully not occupied by those sad tea bags any longer, was really fun and exciting. The first go around, I didn't roll the crackers thin enough and I made them too large, so they weren't as snappy as the original. But by golly, the second time, they turned out just like the Nabisco boxed version... except better. Well at least that's what my mom said, but I'm sure shes just encouraging my new direction of butter-less baking. But I really must say, the wheat thins, well, they tasted like wheat thins. Quelle surprise I say! Lets roll....

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar (I like turbinado/sugar in the raw)

2 tsp salt (plus more for tops)

3 TB olive oil (et plus pour les tops)

3/4 cup milk

And let us begin. Take your white whole wheat and white flour and sift them together into a rather large bowl.

(this is the flour. and the bowl.)

Add the salt et sugar and remix.

Add a little of this (the olive oil). Combine oil and dry mixture with fork until it resembles tiny pebbles.

Then add a little of that (the milk). Mix together so it forms a ball. And there is your dough. Now how easy was that? Well, I don't think I forgot anything...

Take your dough and roll it out on a floured surface until it is fairly thin.... let's say about the size of a wheat thin or your favorite snappy cracker. The thinner the dough, the crispier it will be.

I used a pizza cutter and a straight edge to get these squares. Then I brushed the tops with olive oil and sprinkled them with salt .... the signature of the wheat thin. (Tip: It is easier to brush the dough with oil before you cut them, but be careful not to brush the sections that are leftover from the squares as you gather the misfits and roll those again to make even more)

I forgot to tell you earlier, but set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange the squares on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes... although I check mine about every 10 minutes or so. They are done when they are golden brown.

Let crackas cool on a rack and Enjoy! Take that Nabisco.

Music Pairing

"Gone, Gone, Gone" from the soundtrack Crazy Heart. Because these thins aren't hanging around the kitchen for too long (forgive the corniness s.v.p.)... and like all the other music pairings... its just an excuse to post some more great music....or crappy stuff that I just like.

Blueberry Oat Pan-a-cakes

Far from the perfect (looking) pancake. But hell, I think they're charming. The taste, on the other hand, glory god (or whatever they say) is definitely there.

So if you hadn't noticed already I love experimenting with what "normal" people might dub as peculiar ingredients. Teff? Whats that? Ill take it please. Quinoa Flour? Next cake thank you very much. Once you have baked for a while, the white flour/sugar thing becomes a little boring... or at least to me. There are endless amount of kooky concoctions waiting to be found out there... the sweetness of oat flour pairs really nicely with its opponent the sour lemon, buckwheat's nuttiness with strawberry I particularly like, and well, I still have yet to try the quinoa flour.... but I promise to have something for you soon enough. Hanging out in the bookstore yesterday, I came across Good to the Grain by Kimberley Boyce, a great book if you are thinking of expanding your pantry to include more complex flavors when it comes to grains. So many people hastily characterize whole grains as heavy and strange tasting, but when done right they can actually make a more complex and often times lighter and more delicious end result. Et plus, its really fun. Its sort of like experimenting in the science lab.... but you can eat the result without calling poison control.

Anywho, I am always looking for a reason to make something, so this morning I decided to make some pancakes. I originally wanted oatmeal, but then i became bored with my lack of imagination. Plus, its spring, and although I adore oatmeal... please! Lets break out with something new. I still wanted my oats, so I pulsed them in the food processor to make a course oat flour and combined it with some white-whole wheat flour (a milder grain is used to make this flour, but its still 100% whole grain) so I wouldn't loose the flavor of the oats yet still have a partner that is a little more exciting than just your plain white stuff. Blueberries, yogurt, milk, and some other stuff later.... viola! The french would hate me, then love me after when they were caught swiping up the last bit of syrup with their cakes. C'est pas chic but oh so fun.

Blueberry Oat Pan-a-Cakes

inspired by 101 Cookbooks' recette

makes about 9 medium sized pancakes

I have been quite out of pancake practice, so my #1 mistake (in cooking et plus) is always being too impatient. When pouring the dough onto the hot pan, relax a bit until the top bubbles, then flip and let cook until the cake is done entirely through. The more patient... thus only flipping one time (it took me a couple tries to calm down a bit in anticipation) the more fluffy and airy. Happy Flippin.

1 TB ground flax seed

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4 cup roughly ground oats (oat flour works too)

1/8 cup turbinado (cane) sugar*

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 pinches of salt
1/2 cup whole yogurt

3/4 cup reduced fat milk
1 egg

1 TB melted butter (plus more for pan)

Handful of blueberries (fresh or frozen...plus more for topping pancakes)

maple syrup for serving

and if you are feeling really fancy....whipped cream

First prepare the oat flour if you are making the flour from rolled oats. Take a generous 1/4 cup full of rolled oats and pulse them in a food processor until the consistency resembles a slightly clumpy flour. Take the oat flour and mix in with the other dry ingredients... flax seed, white whole wheat flour, sugar, baking soda + powder, and saltiness. In a separate bowl mix the yogurt, milk, butter, and egg. Beat together and then mix with the dry ingredients. Finally, stir in the blueberries verrry carefully. Wouldn't want to upset them.

Take a large cast iron or non-stick pan and turn the heat to medium. Place a bit of butter in the pan and when it has melted and seems a little steamy pour your batter onto the pan in whatever size or shape you want. I only know of two: 1) the circle or 2) the three circles combined to make le Mickey Mouse. When the batter starts getting bubbles (remember be patient!) all over the place, wait a bit more and flip. You get just one flip! Cook until both sides are browned but not burned. It might take a couple to get it just right. Enjoy with maple syrup, more blueberries, and if you love colored sprinkles, then that's okay too.

wait for it mr...... a tad longer...

Music Pairing
"At the beach" by the Avett Brothers
Blueberries and Oats make me whistle and smile. Listen and you'll understand.


*note. If you find it, for some strange reason, unnecessary to buy minimally processed sugar, start out swiping "Sugar in the Raw" from your local cafes and restaurants. Many US establishments have them, and once you have collected enough (I would say around 10 or 15 packets) you can start experimenting in this recipe and you will be won over for sure. Its so much better than its bleached distant cousin. Unless you try a souffle. That's for another time. I'm out... a la prochaine.

Le shortcake aux Fraises

Um. I highly doubt this.

Mostly because that involves some sort of censoring/curtailing of actions and/or mouth that I am just really not that in to. I saw this book today while I was just screwing around like I normally do in the mornings, and it inspired this post. I mean, manners are really not fun, and I this was especially prevalent considering the happenings of last night.

I, Stephanie Stein, do love a dinner party. Or so it has been said.

What I do not love, are guests that are obxnious, too loud for their own good, and/or phony.

I knew I was in trouble last night when this incredibly annoying man that I will call by his actual name, Incredibly Annoying Man, arrived at our doorstep with two bottles of wine and a lecture starting immediately with how gracious he is. To continue, Incredibly Annoying Man talked about how wonderful my mom and I were before we could make it past the door mat. He then continued to make "joke" after "joke" about how my mother looks like my sister... and it just never recovered from there. After we talked about I.A.M and his virtues through the rest of dinner I chimed my glass with my fork and ceremoniously re-dubbed him I.A.S.R.M. or rather, Incredibly Annoying and Self-Righteous Man. If there is anything that makes a dinner party go south real quick its a phony. And babies.... but thats a whole different story. But, I managed... because I got to make dessert. And there wasn't anything fake about it. Introduce le strawberry shortcake. And I wouldn't have minded throwing it in this guy's face. And I don't care what that manner book says...that would have been fun.

Recette: le Shortcake aux Fraises

Adapted from Mlle. Martha Stewart

serves 6

3 pints of strawberries

juice of one lemon, preferably picked off/stolen from your neighbor's tree

1/2 cup turbinado sugar

1 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour

1 heaping TB baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 TB cold unsalted butta

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

1 TB powdered sugar

1 1/4 cup plus 3 TB heavy cream

1/4 cup milk

Ok, so here we go. Wash off your strawberries and cut off the cute tops and slice them in half. Throw or place them in a bowl with the juice of a lemon... minus the seeds please. They no taste so good. (If unable to steal from your neighbor's tree, you may steal one from the supermarket... but please buy it from the farmer's market) Mix together with a 1/4 cup of your very natural sugar on let sit for about an hour. It should be a little saucy.

Now for ze cake. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. And yes you may bake it and eat it too. In fact, since you baked them you may have double. Anywho, whisk together the flour, baking powder, remaining sugar and salt in a medium size bowl. Cut up the chilled(very important!) butter and add it to the mix. Then take a fork or a pastry cutter and work the butter until the mix resembles a course meal. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup plus 2 TB cream. Add the wet to the dry, slowly, and mix gently with a fork until it is just combined. The goal is to handle the dough as little as possible.

Transfer the goodness to a floured, flat surface of choice and roll out the dough until it is about one inch thick. This is so much fun... flour in your hair, the air, everywhere really... Once you have it all nice and rolled then dip your circular cookie cutter (mostly any moderate size will do) in flour and cut up your lil cakes. Make sure when you press out the cakes that you press, then twist the cutter. This will give the cakes little ripples that will help it aerate and rise.

The oven should be ready by now, and if its not, its broken and you should call someone, so line your baking sheets with parchment and plop the cakes on there. Beat egg yolk and TB of cream together and brush on top of the cakes. They should bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

Have I ever mentioned how much I adore parchment paper? I don't know what it is... maybe the easy, the old-fashiony look, or the diffused light it encourages.... but simply put, it just rocks. I love it so much I'm thinking about wallpapering my room with it.

Right before serving place the remaining cream in a bowl with vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat on high until cream is whipped and makes soft peaks. Serve with cakes and strawberries.

Et viola... le shortcake aux fraises:

Bon Appetit!

Music Pairing: "I Tought I Saw Your Face Today" by She & Him. Even though I sometimes think I am the only person on the planet that can be slightly irked by Zooey Deschanel, there is no arguing she is the cutest thing dans le monde. And you have to have cute music when eating shortcake and drinking tea. I tink it just goes.

A la prochaine.