Tartine Country Bread

B R E A D. I love you. I could eat you, romantically of course, every day, at every meal and loaves at a time. It doesn't matter if you're white, wheat or country. I will love you just the same and you'll never have to worry about me cheating on you with Mr. Cookie. As long as we can shake things up and throw goat cheese into the mix every once and a while, our love will be eternal.

I rarely do this, if I ever have, but I won't be including a recipe in this post. Not that I don't have it, but that I don't think I will be doing it justice by posting it on my blog. For Christmas last year, "A" received a copy of the Tartine Bread book from an old college friend. If you haven't heard of Tartine, I will assume you haven't been to San Francisco or don't have the obsession with bread that I do. To prepare myself for the Tartine method, I had been building up my starter and learning how to make bread all over again.  

I'm an experienced bread baker and I had to practice the Tartine method. That should be your first clue why the recipe won't be on the blog. The first few loaves were delicious and turned out fine, but the process to get there left me crying, yelling and pulling my hair out. It was hard and why was the dough SO STICKY!? Then one day it clicked. I remembered all the ratios and knew what the dough should feel like between my fingers. During the long bulk fermentation phase, the billowing air bubbles brewing in the bread is now a welcome comfort. I get it and it gets me. 

So I urge you, if you have any desire to make sourdough bread, please, pick up Chad Robertson's book . It's a work of art with pages upon pages of science and instruction. If that doesn't suit you, he has the most wonderful step-by-step photography that a frustrated baker could ask for. If more proof is needed, look at this bread. I did not a minute of kneading and the dough was able to rise in the fridge overnight as to produce a fresh loaf right before a dinner party.

Red Wine Chocolate Cake with Cherries

Somehow July sneaked past me and decided not to stop by to say hello. If you asked me what I did last week, I would think I just watched the fireworks booming over Lake Michigan. Sitting on the Michigan-side shores and looking back on a town of my childhood. But apparently that happened just about a month ago, if you believe the calendars. Personally, I think a Time Lord visited Madison and erased my memory to hide our wild adventures.

Yep. That's my story. Time Lord. In July… in Madison, Wisconsin. Quite logical really.

So that means that I made this cake just a few days ago if we're thinking back to last week, "the beginning of July." Rumor has it there was a nasty heat wave that swept though the region and made me think of my stove as the catalyst to the apocalypse. Good thing that "hasn't happened" yet and I made this cake pre-heat wave for a wonderful lady named Kate.

Kate and "A" are grad school friends and soon after moving to Madison we bonded over being Michiganders and living approximately five doors down from each other. After many potlucks, late-night group beers, dog sitting and crazy landlady adventures, I can honestly call this gal a good friend.

And anyone who knows me knows friends get cake, especially on their birthday. And what's a Michigander girl to do for a Michigander's birthday? Make a Michigan "Kate Cake." Ok, maybe the term "Kate Cake" isn't hot yet but trust me! It will be as it is composed of (only what I assume is) Miss. Kate's favorite things: Michigan cherries, (Michigan) red wine and dark chocolate. It doesn't hurt that it's utterly delicious and one of my favorite cakes that I've made! 

Anything that has a tight but moist crumb, chocolate and is easy to decorate is a win in my book. I also can't discredit the fact that it's relatively low sugar and incorporates fresh fruit! So while the cherries are still blooming and the temperatures are mild, make someone you know a Kate Cake! They won't hate you for it.

Chocolate Red Wine Cake

Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted goat butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar (I used a little bit less)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups dry red wine

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 minutes longer. Working in two batches, alternately fold in the dry ingredients and the wine, until just incorporated.
3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack; let cool completely. Top the cake with pitted and sliced cherries reduced in a small sauce pan with a little bit of water.

Banana Bourbon Muffins

The past month has been an unfortunate one in our household. No, all ten fingers and all ten toes are still intact. No, our garden is still thriving against all odds and days of rain. No, I didn't coat a body part in gold during an unfortunate smelting accident.

Our oven was broken.

As in, it would heat up, beep loudly, stop it's foot and shut down. Just like that our Sunday pizza nights came to a halt. No more roasted vegetables. Most tragically, baked goods ceased to exist. This was not an exciting discovery to make less than two weeks after moving into our apartment.

Life happens and it took a while to coordinate a visit from the repair man. He came by, listed to the bowls of our aging stove and diagnosed it as needing some surgery. Placed on the donor list and hoping for a new part, we waited for relief. Thankfully, the temperature outside rose and the desire to turn on the oven was less tempting. But a crockpot cannot be used as an oven forever and my desire to bake was bulging. Eventually, as this post would suggest, our oven was successfully mended and I got back to baking.

With bourbon. Because I said so… and because "A" went down to Louisville for a bachelor party and we are now are well on our way to having a legitimate collection. There were also some bananas in the corner maturing into prime fruit fly food. Putting two and two together seemed like the best option.

Then because I have a slight addiction to cocoa nibs, I threw in a handful for crunchy good measure.

Banana Bourbon Muffins with Cocoa Nibs

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 3 large eggs 
• 3/4 cups sugar 
• 3 large very ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• Splash of vanilla extract
• Scant 3/4 cup cocoa nibs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a muffin tin with liners or grease with vegetable oil if not using liners.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. 
3. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat bananas until mushy. Add in oil and sugar and beat for 2 minutes, or until well combined. Add in eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Mix in bourbon and vanilla extract.
4. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Stir in cocoa nibs. Scoop batter into muffin tin, filling 2/3 of the way.
5. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely.

Apple & Pear French Tart

Let's play two truths and a lie. I like most things geekery. I don't like math. Math was my worst subject in school.

What did you guess? If you said geekery…. EEEEEEHHHH. WRONG. Guys, my iPhone cover is a TARDIS, I saw Star Wars when it was rereleased in theaters in elementary school, Mark Hamill was my first crush, I make "A" see the Star Trek movies with me and I celebrate Pi Day every year.

Which brings me to my lie. Math was not my worst subject in school, but it was my least favorite. Writing aside, math was an anomaly that made its way to the top of my standardized test scores. To this day, I have no idea why. But secretly? I think I'm a math genius who will solve the world water crisis with a math equation I casually doodle on the back of a letter I have yet to open. Apathetic enough for you?

While my prophecy hasn't come true yet, I'm prepared for the day it does by celebrating Pi Day every year. Last year I made some mini vegan roasted apple pies. The Year of the Epic Cherry/Apple Venn Pieagram crowned my first March in Seattle. This year? I christened my new Nordic Ware tart pan by making "A's" pie of choice: an apple & pear French tart.

Math isn't ever going to be something you see me begging to do, but I will keep up appearances by making a pie every March 14th.

Apple & Pear French Tart

Adapted from La Fete Blog

Ingredients:

• 1¼ cups flour, plus more for dusting
• 12 tablespoons unsalted goat butter, cubed and chilled
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 baking apples, peeled, cored and slices
• 3 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and sliced
• ⅓ cup sugar with a shake a cinnamon combined
• ½ cup apricot jam
• 2 tbs. rum

Directions:

1. Combine flour, 8 tablespoons goat butter, and salt in a food processor and pulse until pea-size crumbles form. When properly (not over!) mixed, it should feel like wet sand.
2. Drizzle in 3 tablespoons ice-cold water and pulse until dough is moistened, about 3-4 pulses.
3. If dough seems too dry, drizzle in additional water 1 teaspoon at a time until dough is the correct consistency. 
4. Transfer dough to a work surface and form into a flat disk; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. Unwrap dough and place between two pieces of parchment paper.
6. Using a rolling pin, flatten dough into a 13″ circle and then transfer to a 11″ tart pan with a removable bottom.
7. Using fingertips, lightly press dough into the bottom and sides of tart pan.
8. Using a rolling pin, gently press down on top edge of tart pan to trim excess dough.
9. Chill for 1 hour.
10. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375°F.
11. Gently move the slices to the crust and make a pattern with the apples overlapping so there are no gaps of crust showing through.
12. Once tart shell is completely filled with apples, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and dot with remaining 4 tablespoons of goat butter.
13. Bake until golden brown, 60-70 minutes.
14. Meanwhile, heat apricot jam and rum in a small saucepan until warmed and thin.
15. Transfer tart to a wire rack; using a pastry brush, brush top of tart with jam rum glaze.
16. Let cool completely before slicing. Serve with ice cream of choice!

Black Bean Bowl with Poached Egg

Give me a potato, sweet or of the russet variety, and I'm a happy lady. Maybe it's because I'm Irish. Maybe it's because I love brunch food. Or maybe it's both. Regardless of the origin of my lusting, whenever I see a brunch recipe on the internet that manages to incorporate a potato, it's game over for me. If I see it on a weekday, whose morning are filled with oatmeal & drip coffee, I make sure to stash the recipe away for a few days. Sometimes on Pinterest, but usually by refusing to close its browser tab.

But this bad boy black bean bowl? I considered it made the first time I saw it. If you often find yourself short on time in the morning, the bulk of this recipe can me made the night before. Substitute canned beans for dried, even if it does raise the price point a bit. If you're like me and can't make your own poached egg with a perfect dribble, throw on a sunny-side-up egg instead. Don't like runny yolks? I don't judge - I was the same until a few years back. Try a scrambled version and no one will think less of you. In fact, your friends will probably be begging to brunch at your place again and again.

Another praise I can sing for this dish is about its leftover potential. Cook everything down  a little to thicken it up and throw it in a tortilla to call it "burrito lunch." "A" and I used ours the next morning for brunch to make blintzes. To stretch things out a bit more, add some stock and call it soup. It's a flexible dish that will bend to your needs without complaint. All it wants is to make you happy, as do I.

BLACK BEAN BOWL

Adapted from Spouted Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. dried black beans (rinsed and soaked overnight)
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tsp. chile powder
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced in 1'' cubes
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1-2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste
• 4-8 eggs (use 1-2 eggs per person)
• cilantro and hot sauce to finish
• Cheese of your choosing 

Directions:

1. Drain and rinse the beans from soaking. Place them in a large pot and cover with a couple inches of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the beans are cooked through and just tender (one to one and a half hours depending on freshness of beans), avoid overcooking. They should still have a tooth to them. Remove from heat, add a pinch of salt. Let the beans cool for about ten minutes before draining. Add the cumin, cinnamon, garlic, chile powder, hearty pinch of salt and broth. Bring the mixture to a low simmer.
2. Add the sweet potato to the warm beans, give it a stir and cover the pot. Cook for about 8-10 minutes until the sweet potatoes are cooked through. Stir in the tomato paste and olive oil and taste for salt, you'll likely need another pinch or two, and spices. You could add heat with a pinch of red pepper flakes or chipotle. Cover and keep warm until ready.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water with a splash of vinegar to a low boil. Poach the eggs to desired doneness (deliver the eggs to the water in a ramekin, seems to help them stay together well).  For a medium poach, simmer them 2-3 minutes. If you like the yolk more firm, take them 4-5 minutes. Serve each portion with a hearty scoop of the beans and poached egg on top. Finish with hot sauce, cilantro and cheese if using. 

White Russian Cake

Once upon a time there was a very special food blogger with a very special dad whose birthday was separated from hers by only one day. As the years passed and it became 2013, he was now exactly twice her age.

Growing up, this meant that the young fiery-haired little food blogging girl and her fiery-haired dad were required by the Evil Queen of the Household to share a birthday cake. As luck would have it, the little girl was none too happy with this arrangement as the years passed. She would stomp down her foot, demand a cake and be sent away to the lonely tower to think about what she had done.

Seasons passed, suns went up & down and the little girl was not so little any more. She followed her dreams, moved across the land to a magical place called “Seattle” and had no more shared birthday cakes with her fiery-haired dad. To her surprise, this made the grown up food blogger incredibly sad!

But as luck would have it, the girl fell in love with her prince and his white steed name “UHaul” took them back to Midwestia. Not Michigania, but Wisconsonia. This made the girl squeal with glee as now she would be able to share her birthday cake again with her birthday partner in crime.

She baked and baked and baked (and drank a beer) and baked trying to make the best possible cake for their fateful reunion. Taking inspiration from The Dude himself, she made it a bit boozy to celebrate the reunion. Or because she just likes the White Russian cocktail.

Cake was eaten. Smiles were had. And the little food blogging girl and the fiery-haired dad were celebrating in style together.

-FIN-

Folks. That is a true story. The vegan White Russian (as I make it with almond milk, not cream) is hands down my favorite drink – it tastes like a milkshake! For our birthdays this year, my family, “A” and I all met up in Chicago to celebrate.

The recipe below is for a full-sized cake but I halved it to make my cake a bit more mini. If you’re more in the mood for cupcakes – full-sized or mini – this recipe works perfectly! The Evil Queen of the Household, erm, my wonderful, lovely & perfect mother can attest, she forced my evil Full-Blood Sister to bake a batch for her ladies night gathering. Need proof? See below!

White Russian Cake

Ingredients:

• 14.5 oz cake flour (To "make your own" cake flour, do this, it's what I did: http://joythebaker.com/2009/09/how-to-make-cake-flour/)
• 8.75 oz confectioner’s sugar
• 0.5 oz baking powder
• 6.75 oz almond milk
• 6 oz canola oil
• 3.25 oz eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 13 oz egg whites
• 9.5 oz granulated sugar
• 1 cup coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
• 1/2 cup vodka

Directions:

1. Oven 375°F. Prep pan by butter bottom and sides. Place parchment in pan and butter the parchment.
2. Sift dry ingredients (except granulated sugar) into a large bowl. 
3. Mix all ingredients (except the 13 oz of egg whites and granulated sugar) in the large bowl until combined. Whip whites and granulated sugar to medium peaks. Fold into batter gently. 
4. Bake until set, about 20-25 minutes (do the toothpick test – no goop on toothpick… 30 minutes for me).
5. Remove from oven and remove from pan. Let cool on a rack. 
6. You can get 3 layers from one cake, or four layers from two cakes… it all depends on how tall you want your cake and how many layers of cake you want.
7. Mix the coffee liqueur and vodka together.

For the Dude-worthy buttercream frosting:

• 1 cup goat butter, room temperature
• 6-8 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• ⅓ cup coffee liqueur (Kahlua)

1. To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium high until light and fluffy.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar until incorporated. Mix in coffee liqueur until smooth. Add more if necessary until frosting has reached a good consistency for piping or spreading. Frost the cupcakes as desired and enjoy!

Assembly:

1. Place a base layer, bottom-side-down on your serving plate. Pour a quarter of the booze evenly over the cake layer. 
2. Spread a layer of the frosting over the cake. Set a second layer of cake on the frosted layer. Repeat until the last layer (should be the other base). 
3. Soak the cut side of that layer with the remaining booze and carefully flip that onto the top of the cake. Frost the sides (crumb coat first, then frost) and the top of the cake. 
4. Decorate as desired. Serves 12. Consume immediately or refrigerate for a few days.

Spicy Ginger Pickled Carrots

This is a quick n' dirty blogpost for a quick n' easy recipe. These carrots had bigger dreams and ultimately ended up in some homemade Bahn Mi (100% homemade to toot my own horn). That "recipe" will be coming soon but I already apologize in advance for the quality of the photos. Night isn't always the best time for lighting, as one would assume, but now that we're past daylight savings time, things are on the upswing! Unfortunately, I'm pretty backlogged with recipes that were taken after sundown. 

These picked carrots are less of a "recipe" than the Bahn Mi. It's more of making due with what you have on hand. I don't often keep fancy Mason jars on hand (a girl can dream), but I have mild hoarding tendencies and feel the need to save any decent glass jars. Perfect for bulk spices and leftovers alike, I can't ever bring myself to throw them out! So why are these carrots is a former fermented black bean jar you ask? Because I recycle (read: hoard) and because that's what I had on hand.

Back to the food. Basically, just take as many carrots as you can fit in the jar… then make them fit in the jar. Then top with pickling liquid and spices, or what will fit in the jar. Wait. Then… WHAM! Delicious easy, make-your-friends-jealous food!

Spicy Ginger Pickled Carrots

Ingredients:

• Carrots, peeled
• 1 ¼ cups water
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon powered ginger
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. Cut the carrots into matchsticks. Bring a medium-sized pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. (Use a non-reactive pot.)
2. When the water boils, drop the carrots in and simmer for one minute. Pour into a colander and rinse under cold water. Drain thoroughly and place in jar.
3. In the same pot, heat the remaining ingredients. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for two minutes.
4. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Once cool, pour liquid over carrots in car and chill. The carrots will be ready in about 3 hours but it's best to wait for at least a day.