Give me chocolate….

Prompted by a request from Cali, here’s a choc cake recipe (which I’m still hoping that you will be using to celebrate rather than to muffle your sorrows). Anyway, I’ve eaten a good-sized slice to wish you luck!
And yes, I for one have slipped into a food coma in the last few weeks, as pregnancy-induced food aversions will do that to a gal. Today however, chocolate cake had massive appeal, so hopefully it will satisfy your cravings too.

Chocolate cake with soured cream icing

6oz/175g/1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ oz/40g/ 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp good quality cocoa
pinch salt
1 tsp baking powder
6oz/175g/1 packed cup light muscovado (brown) sugar
175g/6oz/1 ½ sticks soft unsalted butter
4 fl oz/120ml/½ cup low fat natural yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tbsp ground fresh coffee (optional)
a little milk

Preheat the oven to Gas 4/180C/350F. Grease and line an 8-in/20cm diameter loose-based deep cake tin.
Sift the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and stir in the sugar. Add the butter, yogurt, vanilla and eggs, plus coffee if using, then beat with an electric mixer for about 2 mins until smooth and fluffy. Add a couple of tablespoons milk if needed to get a mixture that drops easily from the spoon. Scoop into the cake tin, level the surface and bake for about 40 minutes. The cake should be firm in the centre, but not dry – just beginning to come away from the edges of the tin. Cover the cake part way through cooking if it is darkening too quickly.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully removing from the tin and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

For the icing:
4 fl oz/120ml/1/2 cup soured cream or crème fraiche
4oz/110g dark chocolate (preferably around 70% cocoa solids, but at least 50%), chopped

Place the soured cream and chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl, set over a pan of gently simmering water (don’t let the base of the bowl touch the water). Leave to melt for about 5 mins, then stir together until smooth. Spread the icing over the cooled cake, and scatter with chopped nuts if you wish (I used slivered pistachios).

A "crackle crusted loaf" - for Cali

This gorgeous rustic loaf looks like those found in an artisanal boulangerie in the depths of France, and is the perfect accompaniment to a great terrine or farmhouse cheeses.

Although it sounds contradictory, to create a really crisp crust on a loaf it is necessary to introduce steam to the oven; this softens the dough in the first minutes of cooking, allowing it to rise, forming a thinner, crisper crust.

I know that you have different forms of flour in the US; UK bread-making/strong flour has a higher gluten content than all-purpose flour, to allow the stretchiness of the dough to develop, if that helps you in knowing which flour to use. The yeast I use is the type that doesn't need re-activating in water before use.

Rye and Potato Bread

8oz maincrop potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
12oz strong white bread-making flour
4oz rye flour or wholewheat flour, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon active dried yeast
2 level teaspoons salt

Cook the potatoes in lightly salted water for 15-20 mins until tender. Drain, reserving the cooking water, then mash the potatoes and leave to cool slightly.
Rub the mashed potato into the mixed flours, as if making pastry. Stir in the yeast and salt, make a well in the centre and gradually add enough potato water to give a soft but not sticky dough. Don’t add too much too quickly as this dough absorbs water more slowly than normal – you will probably need around a cup of the cooking water.
Knead the dough on a floured surface, adding a little more flour if you need it, but the dough should be slightly sticky, as if it is too dry the end result will be a heavy, overly dense loaf.
Cover and leave to rise until doubled in size (1-1 ½ hours). Punch the dough down; it will be very soft, springy and slightly sticky, so you may need to add a little more flour to make it manageable. Shape into a round loaf about 9 inches in diameter and place on a floured baking sheet, cover and leave to rise again for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F, gas mark 6.
When ready to bake, place a roasting tin full of boiling water in the bottom of the oven to create a steamy atmosphere, dust the loaf with flour and lightly slash a diamond pattern on top of the loaf. Place in the upper part of the oven, but allow the loaf plenty of room to rise, and bake for 30-35 minutes. Spray with water from a clean water spray every 10 minutes – this helps to develop the crust. It is ready when the crust is very crisp and the loaf sounds hollow when the underside is rapped. Cool the loaf completely before slicing – it will keep for at least a couple of days, and toasts really well.

Introducing Tamsin

I'm a complete blogging virgin so it's taken me a while to work out how to do this, but here is my self-introduction at last...

What brought me to cooking? Well, I believe it’s in my genes – my whole family loves to cook, and food is a major part of our social gatherings, both the preparing and eating of it, and as a topic of conversation. I first learnt to cook from my mother, who is a very good home cook (although bizarrely she always defers to me now and gets flustered cooking when I’m around!). Moving on from the usual childhood baking experiments, as I entered my teens I started to cook whole meals for the family, mainly to support my mother who I could see was frustrated with her life. To cut a very long story short, for me, cooking for people is a way of showing them that I love them.

I’ve been lucky enough to be able to make a career from my love for food; I divide my working time between freelance food styling (preparing food for photography), and recipe writing, mainly for magazines, although I’m currently working on my fourth cookery book. One of my areas of special interest is healthy eating, as I’m passionate about showing how easy it is to prepare low fat meals that taste so good that you don’t feel as if you are depriving yourself.

Secret passion? I’m another sucker for baking, especially breads as it always seems magical how a simple mixture of flour, yeast, salt and water can be transformed into a sweet-smelling, crackle-crusted loaf.

My values as a cook? Local ingredients take precedence over organic for me (although if the two can be combined, that’s the perfect scenario). Food made with love above all.

Inspirations? My mother in the first instance, then Delia Smith whose books were my cookery bibles in my early days (and still are much used now). You may never have heard of Delia, but her closest equivalent in the US is Martha – but minus the huge business empire and jail time! Since then, cookery writers such as Elizabeth David, Claudia Roden and Nigel Slater.

Balsamic asparagus

Ok. This is the best way to eat asparagus. Ever.
Ever in the whole world.


I'M NOT KIDDING


Preheat oven to 450.

Toss said vegetable, about a pound, in olive oil (enough to coat - about 1 TBSP)

Shave or cut large flat curls of Parmesan cheese**

Place curls over asparagus and bake for 12-15 minutes until is just tender and cheese is melted

Transfer with a spatula to warm plates and drizzle a nice balsamic vinegar over the top (or allow guests to sprinkle vinegar on, to taste)

I can barely write that last part without wanting to eat the keyboard. OMG I must have it right now. This is from The Balsamic Vinegar Cookbook. Please try this and tell me if you think it is the best friggin' asparagus you have ever had.

**or shredded BUT NO NASTY Kraft shit that gets sprinkled on pizza. We are talking about REAL Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. From a nice supermarket. Don't even get me started on American Parmesan cheese, I don't hat it per say (it is lovely on a greasy pizza slice) but it should not have a similar namesake to the real stuff. Ok I got started, but now I will end.

Additionally...
I cannot not mention the phalic nature of this vegetable. Have any of you seen it growing in a garden? Holy.
And the white asparagus? Enough said.

Tuesday's Cookie

Tuesday's cookie is actually a cake today. An apple cake. In a bundt pan. After my horrid experience with a silicone bundt pan (see picture, I've nicknamed it Lump) I went and bought a nice metal one and am trying again.

What's different about this one? Good quality DARK brown sugar. Cardamom. Freshly grated nutmeg. Melted butter (again!) as well as oil. It's glazed with an spice apple juice and honey glaze.

My own changes? As always, I subbed half the flour with whole wheat. That's all.

Hint for the day? Sift all your dry ingredients onto wax paper. It will save you a bowl.

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Dinner?

I've been working on cutting out dairy from my diet. Last week I made my usual veggie enchilada recipe but for the FIRST TIME without cheese. I shuddered to think how it would turn out. It was really good. Here it is:

Four zuchs (you can use any squash you want to here...I actually love the yellow sundial squash but they're not in season at the moment)
One yellow or orange bell pepper
One onion
1.5 cup or so of corn (I use frozen all the time for this)
Salt
One or two jalepenos, minced
Chipotle powder, to taste
Oil for frying
Tortillas (I use whole wheat and they work nicely)
1 jar green salsa from Trader Joe's (or any salsa you like, I'm to lazy to make my own).

Preheat over to 375.

Dice all veggies to about 1/4 inch.

Heat a oil in a large skillet. Add onion and saute over med-high heat until nice and soft (I like my onion well cooked). Add squash, corn and bell pepper and saute until all are soft. It's nice to have them a little browned in areas. Remove veggies, stir in salt, let cool a little then stir in chiles and chipotle powder (I use a heaping 1/4 tsp because it's hot stuff).

Heat approx 1 cup of oil in a skillet (I use high heat canola for this) until it sizzles a drop of water. Place a paper towel over the sports section of the newspaper (he he). Fry tortillas for four seconds on each side and move to paper towel to drain.

Place enough filling on tortilla to fill it (I like to really stuff mine), fold bottom of tortilla over filling and roll. Place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Continue until pan is filled. Pour jar of salsa over.

Bake for 20 minutes in preheated over.

Food of the Week: Asparagus

The oft misunderstood asparagus is our food of the week.

It's just the end of asparagus season and the pencil thin tender new asparagus are being replaced by their old siblings with their thick stalks and tough outer skins. No matter, asparagus can be a sublime vegetable.

I found many resources for asparagus. There's even a band called Wild Asparagus. It's hard to imagine asparagus being wild. Asparagus have many advocates across the states. They have their own advisory council in Michigan and their own festival in Stockton, CA. They're even international with a council in Australia.

My favorite way to chomp on asparagus? Steamed and slathered in a lemon dijon viniagrette.

Look for more on asparagus this week!

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Wikipeida: Asparagus
Stockton Asparagus Festival
California Asparagus Commission
Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board
Washington Asparagus Commission
Australian Asparagus Council

Welcome to a New Member!

Culinarian is going international. Tamsin, in Great Britain, is joining the team. Look for her posts soon!

Charlotte here

Topic of the day: White flour

I love starch. An ode to starch. Pasta. Bread. Cake.

But really I found a wheat pasta I super like, and it is better than white, I think.
Brand: Gia Russa.

Tip of the day: Cast Iron

I help along the seasoning of my cast iron pan by keeping some olive oil in it, and placing it on top of the toaster oven. Every time we toast something (which is multiple times per day) the pan heats and the oil helps it season. I'm friggin brilliant.

Recipe of the day: Veggie Fajitas

Onion and peppers (yellow or red are sweetest): Saute some with some fajita spices (make your own or use "Simply Organic: Fajita Seasoning" and add some extra cumin.) After 5 mins add some: chicken, or fake meat. I used "Quorn" Strips (which is a yummy meat alternative that has no yucky aftertaste or texture). Add more seasoning and a bit of water to help steam everything and bind the spices to the veggie and meat product. Also you can add some zucchini or squash.

Heat some tortillas** (amateurs only do 1-2 at a time), flip a lot with tongs over your (please tell me you don't have an electric stove) gas burner. Put some random stuff from your pantry and fridge (beans, chili, grated cheese, cilantro, chopped onion, strawberries (yum!), shredded lettuce, lime juice, whatever) on the tortilla with the fajita fixins.

But really you must make some excellent guacamole:

Ripe Avocado (2?)
Onion, finely chopped 2 TBSP or more to taste
Cilantro, finely chopped 1 TBSP or more to taste
Ripe tomato, (2?) chopped
Lime juice NOT lemon, fresh - USE A LOT like 2 limes at least
Salt - salt the avo and tomato while you are prepping the other ingredients
Pepper - freshly ground, or course

Mash it, but not to an entirely smooth consistency. I dig it chunky. Leave out anything you don't like (cilantro, tomato). The proportions of ingredients are really up to each person's taste, but this should be tangy. If you are not sure what to do add more lime.

**Oh, I love the habanero/sundried tortillas from Trader Joes, they are not spicy, but have great flavor and get all nice and charcoaly over the gas burner.

Tuesday's Cookie

Every Tuesday I treat myself by baking. Sometimes it's gingerbread, or zuchinni bread, or cake. Usually it's cookies. Then I take them to work on Wednesday so my coworkers can curse my name and not my wife.

I've discovered there are only so many chip cookies a person can make. So I've been trying to branch out and try new things. Last week I made a spectacular dried apricot, cranberry and cherry oatmeal cookie with coconut. It was well received.

I'm also working my way through Baking By Flavor. Some of the recipes are above my skill level, but I like a challenge.

This week's cookie? The chip cookie rears its ugly head in the form of chocolate chip with coconut. This was mainly because I still have coconut left over from last week. What's different about this recipe? Well, it called for half of the butter MELTED and 1/3 cup of oats cut down in the food processor. My first batch is in the oven, so we'll see.

To make this post useful, here are a few of my baking essentials:

• Parchment Paper. I don't have silpats so parchment paper is an essential. I spent too many years chipping cookies off my cookie sheets before I discovered how fabulous this stuff is.
• A cookie scoop. My friend Bob (the baker) is as crazy about baking as I am and he swears by the cookie scoop. Me too! It makes getting the dough from bowl to sheet SO much easier.
  
• Leveling spatula. I spent years looking for one that would work. It's basically a metal icing spatula but I use it to level off my measured dry goods.
  

The Dearth of Winter

We're in the inbetween stages, the hinterland of seasons. Even my staple, greens, is not in season at the moment.

Imagine a time when we didn't have international travel and access to anything we want. You live on what's available and right now, nothing is available except salted meat and potatoes. Imagine that moment when the first vegetables of spring became harvestable, you bite into a tender leaf of spinach or a spicy radish and you know that the bounty is coming. It's only weeks away but still too far.

My mind is moving from the comfort of stews and casseroles and lingering on the crisp fresh lettuce and juicy tomato, salads made with summer corn and beans, tossed in a snappy viniagrette. Grilled vegetables. Not much longer and summer eating will be upon us.

In the meantime, greens are back in May, and spinach, and radishes and maybe even the errant artichoke. My favorite, simple, way to eat greens:

• Prepare one or two bunches of greens by washing and cutting leafs off stems. My favorite is kale but chard works well too, or even collards.
• Steam until tender.
  
• Saute greens in a pan with a little olive oil and a pinch or two of red pepper flakes.
• Toss with a good balsamic vinegar

Suggestion? Make a batch of cornbread, cook a pot of black eyed peas with spices (onion, bay leaf, parsley, some red pepper flakes) and serve over rice. Put the greens on the side. You have a healthy, southern style meal.