Ga Ga for Ghee November 10, 2009

solidified ghee

Ghee is Indian style fully clarified butter.  Through cooking, the butter’s moisture is removed and the milk solids are browned, transforming it into a butterscotchy-smelling, shelf stable fat with a high smoke point (485º).

Making your own ghee is simple and much cheaper than buying premade, even if you use organic butter.  I usually cook a whole pound of butter, which yields close to two cups of ghee.  I save the browned particles to use in Indian dal recipes for added flavor.  You can also add the solids to your rice or some of your breads.

GHEE yields varies

• organic butter—Organic Valley regular unsalted butter is perfect.  Click for a promotional offer including $10 in coupons.  The current Whole Foods Whole Deal newsletter contains a coupon for $1 OFF OV one-pound butter.
  

Put the butter into a medium saucepan.  I prefer a pot with a light-colored interior.  My Chantal white-enameled pan (just a few bucks from the Gucci Goodwill on Lake Austin Blvd.) is perfect.  Slowly melt and cook the butter, swirling the pan occasionally for that “hands-on” feeling, until the milk solids at the bottom of the pot have browned.  The butter will gurgle and sputter to you in a chatty way as it renders, keeping you apprised of the water content.  When the butter waxes taciturn, you’ll know it’s time to monitor the imminent browning.

Butterscotchly-browned and scented, your ghee is ready for decanting.  I ladle the clear butterfat through a permanent coffee filter into a glass jar.  Try not to disturb the particulates.  After you’ve gleaned all the golden oil you can without stirring up the sediment (that is NOT a lovely word), seal your jar with an air-tight lid.  Scrape the solids into a separate container and freeze them if you won’t be using them soon.  You can store the brownings in the fridge for a week or two.

The finished, strained ghee solidifies at cool room temperature and will keep in your pantry for months.   That’s more months in the cool season and fewer moons in hot weather.  (Unless your lucky kitchen keeps its cool year-round—mine sure doesn’t!)

Ravishing Radishes November 9, 2009

kalonji seeds (nigella)

It’s hard to believe another season has already passed.  I’m cutting up grapefruits and tangerines every night (unlike last year, when the husband had to wield the kitchen knife as I nursed the newborn), roasting winter squash, steaming cauliflower and stuffing myself with salad.  Last night we even ate mashed potatoes and gravy.

But I especially revel in the return of the crucifers.  I’m finding greens, cauliflower, radishes, turnips and bok choy at our farmers markets.  Our camera’s still sick.  In lieu of a picture of the finished dish, I’m presenting a word portrait—you know, a poem.

Splendiferous Cruciferous

They offer leaves, stems, buds and roots
so we forgive their lack of fruits
try the cooler season’s crunching
while on radishes you’re munching
rutabaga and kohlrabi
thrill your taste buds with umami
cauliflower, romenesco
you won’t even miss your pesto
mustard, collard, kale and turnip
eat them all the flavor’s turned up

…to eleven

INDIAN STYLE RADISHES serves about 1½ of me, maybe more of y’all

• 1 large bunch or two small bunches of round red (or pink or white) radishes
• a couple of quarter sized slices of fresh ginger, slivered into shreds, or minced if desired.  By the way, I almost never peel fresh ginger (dirty girl!) and neither did Barbara Tropp in the privacy of her home kitchen.  Peel if you must!
  
• one or a half a green chile (like a jalapeño or serrano), halved and sliced.  If you’re sharing with the children, cut out the seeds and ribs.  Or you can use a sweet green pepper, but I particularly like japs in this recipe.
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/8 teaspoon fennel seeds
• scant 1/8 teaspoon kalonji seeds, also known as nigella
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds—I grind them up myself, a small jar’s worth at a time, for greater freshness than purchasing pre-ground.  Use whatever works for you.
• scant ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• pinch of turbinado sugar
• 2 Tablespoons ghee—see my simple instructions.
  
• salt to taste (about ¼ teaspoon)
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice to taste

Separate your radishes from their stems.  Wash the orbs and leaves, scrubbing the radishes and thrice rinsing the leafy stems.  Drain, but don’t dry, the leaves and stems.  Cut the radishes into approximately ½ inch pieces and coarsely chop the stems and greens.  If your spicy little balls are big and overgrown, the thick stems may cook up a little tough.  You can either chop them finer or discard the thickest portions.

Combine the whole spices in a small dish near your stove top.  Have your ginger and chiles close by.  Combine the ground spices and sugar in another dish and keep that handy as well.

Heat up a large (12″) heavy skillet, I like the stainless steel All-Clad vessel I found at Goodwill on Lamar, (yes, South Lamar—not Lake Austin Blvd.!) for seven or eight bucks.  Quality pan.  Cooks on a budget don’t forget to check out the housewares sections of your local resale shops.  Get your skillet hot on highest heat and add the ghee.  Quickly toss in the whole spices, stir them around and let them toast up until they smell fragrant and browned.  Add the ginger and chiles, stir and delight in the nose-tingling aroma.  Toss the radishes in and stir-fry until they’re picking up browned patches.  Turn the heat down a bit if you must to prevent smoking, but high heat delivers the best color.

Stir in the ground spices, then add the stems and leaves.  Wilt the greens, add salt, cover the pan, turn the heat down to LOW and let the mess cook for 15 minutes.  The dish should require no maintenance during this time, but I like using a glass lid so’s I can spy on the cookin’.

At the end of the cooking time the radishes should be tender and all the ingredients should be nicely browned.  Remove the pan from the heat and squeeze some lemon juice all over.  Stir to distribute, correct the seasoning if necessary and serve right away.  Actually it’s even delicious cold, so serve it whenever you want.

Vanilla Variations November 6, 2009

I noticed that I keep referencing an old post to explain my homemade vanilla, but the information is kinda buried in that recipe.  This is so simple.  Just in case you hadn’t thought of it, though, here it is:

HOMEMADE VANILLA VARIETALS makes one small jar

• 1 fresh looking (shiny, moist appearing, pliable) good-quality vanilla bean.  I usually buy Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon.  Use a fragrant pod.
  
• good quality rum (silver, gold or dark—your preference—I like Flor de Caña Gold), or Maker’s Mark bourbon (or your favorite brand), or your usual brandy (we’ve got Christian Brothers)

Split your bean lengthwise, and halve it at the equator if your jar is short.  Place the pod in the jar and fill ‘er up with liquor.  Let it steep for a couple of weeks before using.  It’ll keep forever.  Top it off with more spirits when necessary.  You can even add used (washed and dried!) vanilla beans for more flavor and thrift.  AND you can mix drinks with your flavored booze!

Bottoms up!

Texas Wheat Bread and Market Report November 5, 2009

Speaking of holidays, just visiting our local farmers markets has me gettin’ into the spirit.  Expect to find TWO sources of local asparagus (if all goes well) at Sunset Valley Farmers Market this Saturday:  McKemie Homegrown and newcomers Montesino (organic!).  Georgetown Pecan Company is back with new crop pecans.  Orange Blossom Farms returns with the first of this season’s tangerines.  Richardson Farms has been selling pastured turkeys (this weekend they plan to offer fresh again!) plus their own freshly ground whole wheat flour.  See below for my bread machine recipe using their Texas-grown wheat!

If you’re headed for the Austin Farmers Market this weekend, be sure to check out Dai Due’s new booth for the crème de la viande:  charcuterie (including their famous lard!), carefully crafted from locally-sourced ingredients.  Shop local and get cookin’ so’s you can get to eatin’!

You can’t beat a bread machine for convenient sustenance.  On workdays, if I have nothing cooked up already, I can just throw some ingredients (good ones, of course) into the bread maker and know that my family won’t starve in my absence.

BREAD MACHINE WHOLE WHEAT LOAF makes 1 medium sized loaf

• 2 Tablespoons orange juice (HEB’s selling our sweet ‘n’ juicy Texas oranges right now) plus enough water to equal 1 2/3 cups total liquid.  The OJ is optional, especially out-of-season, but it helps tame the bitterness some folks detect in wheat bran.
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons local honey.  We Central Texans enjoy so many apiary options.  I’m partial to Good Flow’s local wildflower nectar from Central Market’s bulk department.
• ½ cup organic old-fashioned oatmeal or ½ cup plus 1 teaspoon organic quick oats (for an even lighter crumb).
• 300 grams (about 2 ¼ cups plus a scant Tablespoon) Richardson Farms whole wheat flour.  If measuring by volume, stir up the flour to loosen it, then lightly spoon it into your measuring vessels.
  
• 130 grams (about 1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon plus 5/8 teaspoon) organic all-purpose flour—Whole Foods 365 is usually the best priced.
• 1 ½ teaspoons instant (bread machine or Rapid Rise) yeast—NOT active dry

Put all the ingredients into your bread machine in the order specified in your instruction manual.  In my Zojirushi, that would be the order I have listed.  I use the regular cycle (not whole wheat or quick) and get great results.

An interesting note about freshly ground flour:  Used within 7 hours of milling (some sources say 8-24), the flour should work as expected in your doughs.  However, after that initial post-grinding period, enzymes get to working and interfere with the flour’s behavior.  I noticed that effect when I made my first batch of bread with Richardson Farms fresh ground flour the day after purchasing it.  After storing for 10 days or so (some sources say one week, others claim two), those enzymes settle down and the flour will perform reliably.  So I recommend putting that new bag of fresh ground flour in the freezer for a week before embarking on baking.  My third batch, baked 15 days after purchasing my flour, baked up the lightest.

Weekly Sales November 5, 2009

Frugal Foodies can enjoy numerous specials on great items this week.  Central Market is selling Parmigiano Reggiano for only $12.99 a pound.  Load up for carbonara and alfredo plus pesto to use up your basil.  Sun Harvest is offering Muir Glen organic tomatoes, 14.5 oz. cans, 2 for $3, Late July organic crackers 2 for $4 and Maranatha organic peanut butter $3.99 for 16 oz. jar, creamy or crunchy.  Sprouts is right there in the running with the same deal on peanut butter, plus organic russet potatoes, 5 pound bags 2 for $5 and Texas red grapefruit 4 for $1.  Newflower Market trumps with Texas Rio Red grapefruit 5 for $1, organic celery (hard to find locally grown…check with Finca Pura Vida at the Sunday farmers market) 2 for $3 and organic Hass avocados 99¢ each.  HEB brings up the rear with Texas green beans at $1.49 a pound.  Feels like the holidays already!

(In)Credible Crescent Rolls November 3, 2009

During this motherhood experiment (Oh wait,  it’s not a trial run.), I’ve had to resign some of my pantry to convenience products—and I don’t mean just dried pasta.  I’ve always enjoyed canned tomatoes (even the loca-terroirist Italians appreciate a good processed pomodoro), but I didn’t even cook with canned coconut milk before I had children.  I still rarely purchase bread (except for tortillas), and I make my own yogurt, but we might starve around here if it weren’t for canned beans!  I’m grateful that organic and natural convenience foods are readily available, as the occasional pre-made cookie , tortellini, and of course mayo, mustard and ketchup, help keep our family going.  Oh yeah, peanut butter, tofu and sausages, sauerkraut and other pickles, preserves—I just can’t cook it all myself yet!

But no natural crescent rolls.  You know what I’m talking about.  I haven’t eaten Pillsbury’s canned Americanized croissants in many years but I sure won’t say I didn’t love them.  And they’re so handy for quick treats and appetizers.  If any of you natural foods conglomerates are listening, I’m tellin’ you there’s a market for this item!

Until the convenience food of a carb and butter lover’s dream becomes a reality, I’ll make do with my Easy Crescent Roll recipe.  With just a little bit more effort than a batch of your regular homemade rolls, you can turn out a respectably flaky, buttery baked good that’ll please the whole party.

EASY CRESCENT ROLLS makes 16 rolls

• 85 grams (1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons) milk.  I use either Swede Farm Dairy or Wateroak Farm goat’s milk.
• 2 Tablespoons butter.  I prefer Organic Valley.  Click for a coupon.
• 1 local egg
• 3 Tablespoons water
• 1 Tablespoon yogurt.  Click for instructions.  I make my own with local goat milk.  You can buy local goat yogurt, too!
• 1 ½ teaspoons local honey.  I love Good Flow’s local wildflower honey.  I buy it at Central Market in the bulk department.
• 175 grams (about 1 ½ cups plus 1 Tablespoon) organic white whole wheat flour.  I use King Arthur.  Whole Foods sells the 5 pound bag for $6.99.
• 172 grams (about 1 ½ cups minus 1 ½ teaspoons) organic all-purpose flour.  WF’s 365 brand  5 pound bag is usually the best deal.
• ¾ teaspoon salt.  I like Real Salt.  I buy this in bulk at WF.
  
• 1 teaspoon instant (“rapid rise” or “bread machine”) yeast.  NOT active dry.
• 1 stick or block of butter (at least 4 ounces), frozen.  I really like the results I get from using a higher fat butter for this step, such as Organic Valley European Style or Straus Family Creamery’s organic European style, but regular OV will work.
• 2 Tablespoons softened butter.  OV’s Pasture butter lends excellent flavor here, but again, regular high quality butter will work.  Or try Texas’ own Lucky Layla—maybe the tastiest butter I’ve ever tried!
  

Scald the milk in a small saucepan (bring it just below the boiling point.  You’ll see small bubbles around the edge of the pan).  Add the 2 Tablespoons butter, stir in the honey (Thanks, Suzanna!), and set aside.  In a medium small bowl stir together the egg, water and yogurt.  Combine both flours in the work bowl of your food processor.  Put the yeast on one side of the flour and the salt on the other.  Run the processor to mix the dry ingredients.  Pour the milk into the egg mixture, and with the machine running, add it to the flour through the feed tube.  Process the dough for 45 seconds.  Turn the dough out into a large buttered bowl and gather it all together, forming it into a smooth ball with your hands.  Seal the bowl shut with a lid, plastic wrap or even aluminum foil if the vessel is clear (so you can see through it) and let the dough rise for about 2 hours.  It won’t quite double, but it will have risen noticeably and will feel somewhat puffy when poked with your finger.  Place a box grater in the freezer after you get the dough covered, so it will be very cold after the first rise.

Turn the dough out onto a nonstick mat (such as a silpat or kneading mat—my preference) or a lightly floured counter.  Press down the dough all over with your fingers to flatten it.  Roll the dough out into an approximate rectangle about 15″ X 14″.  Occasionally pick up the dough from one end with both hands and let it hang, shaking it gently like a beach towel, to let the gluten relax into shape.  Retrieve your frozen butter block and box grater from the freezer and quickly grate about 1 ½ ounces (three Tablespoons) frozen butter all over the surface of the dough.  Use a chilled metal icing spatula to lift up any butter flakes that have fallen onto the mat and place them back onto the dough.  Take one long end of the dough and roll it up, jelly roll style, to enclose the butter.  Now coil that roll into a tight spiral, sealing the seams together and pressing  the end of the roll to attach it.

Now roll the dough out again, repeating the steps above (roll out, grate butter, roll up, coil up).  If your kitchen is warm or you feel like it’s taking too long to get the dough into shape, go ahead and put the frozen butter and grater back in the freezer while you work.  As you roll, the seams of the dough will pretty much rejoin, but pinch them together when you think it’s necessary.

After you’ve wound the rolled up dough into a coil again, roll it out into a 14″ circle.  This time try to make it as even and circular as you can.  Pinch any separatist seams into shape.  Now spread an even layer of the softened butter all over the circle of dough.  Using a pizza cutter (works best) or a sharp paring knife, cut the round into 16 wedges.  Roll up each wedge—not too tightly—starting with the wide end, and tuck the narrow tip underneath the roll.  Place each formed roll onto a parchment lined baking sheet (approx. 11 ½” X 17 ½”).  Loosely cover the rolls with plastic wrap or clean plastic bags and let rise for about one hour.  The rolls will spring back a little when lightly pressed with your fingertip.

About 20 minutes before the rolls are ready, preheat your oven to 375º.  When the rolls have risen, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake them for about 17 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a cooling rack.  Let the rolls cool for 5 minutes before removing from the baking sheet.  Love those layers!

As I worked on this recipe, through numerous variations, my husband kept bugging me to make cinnamon rolls with the dough.  After I finally got the rolls right (I had started with a quite different recipe—galette pérougienne), I made a quick and simple cinnamon sugar variation.

BONUS  CINNAMON CRESCENTS variation makes 16 rolls

• 3 Tablespoons organic sugar.  Central Market and Whole Foods carry this is bulk for $1.49 a pound.
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.  I like the full flavor of Vietnamese cassia.  CM sells it in bulk and if you do Costco, they package it as well.

Complete the above steps through spreading the dough with the softened butter, but use only one Tablespoon of softened butter.  Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the buttered dough.  Use your fingertips to gently distribute the sugar mix over the surface.  Cut the dough and form the rolls as above.  Let rise and bake the same.

Sweet swirly!

Autumn Scrambled Dinner November 2, 2009

For quick meals lately we’ve been relying on good old eggs.  Actually they’re great eggs ’cause they’re local, laid by free-roaming hens.  I believe entomophagy is the solution to humanity’s nutritional problems but usually I prefer to eat bugs vicariously through chicken eggs.  Superior protein and Omega 3’s deliciously yoked in yolks.

With a stash of boiled organic spuds and baked Texas sweet potatoes in the fridge, this skillet supper almost cooks itself.

FALL SCRAMBLED DINNER serves 3 at our house

• local onions, chopped how you like.  I’m still buying yellows and reds from at the farmers market.  Hairston Creek Farm is selling green onions right now and they’d taste fine here.
  
• local sweet peppers, cut up as you please.  I continue to enjoy the sweet little orange gems from Flint Rock Hill.  The baby even eats them raw!  Add a spicy chile or two for an NC-17 version.  I’ve spied some bright habaneros at the markets lately.  Their fruitiness would complement this hash.
• a Tablespoon or two of tasty fat.  Bacon or poultry drippings, or Dai Due’s decadent lard work perfectly.  Be sure to look for the Dai Due booth this Saturday (Nov. 7) at the Austin Farmers Market.  Olive oil is fine—try Texas Olive Ranch.
• 2 medium organic potatoes, boiled
  
• 1/2 a good-sized Texas sweet potato, cooked.  I prefer to bake mine, three or four at a time.  The toaster oven works great and I find that the cooked tubers keep very well in the fridge.
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon dried thyme or a teaspoon or so fresh.
• ½ teaspoon good quality curry powder.  My Caribbean blend plays nicely with the other flavors in this dish.
• 4 or more local eggs, beaten to blend with some Herbamare (I buy this at Central Market) or your favorite seasoned salt (or just salt)
• local cheese.  We love Full Quiver Farm’s tangy white cheddar.  Happily for Austin locavores, we enjoy numerous cheese choices—pepper jack, feta and chevre, just to name three more that play well with eggs.
  

Saute your onions and peppers (and dried thyme) in your fat of choice until translucent.  Smash the potatoes into chunks with the heel of your hand.  For homey hashes, I prefer this method over cutting with a knife.  I like the rough edges and uneven hunks.  Process as you please, however.  Add the potatoes, curry powder (and fresh thyme) and a healthy dose of kosher salt (Diamond brand’s my top choice) to the skillet and fry, stirring occasionally, until the spuds are browning delectably.  Add the sweet potato (I finely chop the skin and toss it in, too) and mash it around to distribute as the mixture cooks.  Pepper it all up with some freshly cracked black, stir it in and push the mixture to one half of the pan.  Pour your eggs into the bare side of the skillet and scramble them, using broad strokes to form large curds.  When the eggs are almost done to your liking, amalgamate the mass, folding the spud mixture into the huevos.

Turn out onto a large serving plate and top with the cheese.  Share!

King Arthur’s Coconuts–No Bleach! October 30, 2009

King Arthur unbleached cake flour blend

LET ME EAT CAKE!!!

My favorite dessert is cake.  Light and fluffy, meltingly moist or hearty with produce and nuts, frosted or not, cake calls to me.  And I answer “Yes!” every time—as long as it’s honest.  For me, honest ingredients don’t include artificial flavors and preservatives, hydrogenated fats or GMO ingredients.  I bake a scratch cake at least once a week so when I noticed some months ago that I’d run out of cake flour (always chemically bleached), I decided to work with alternative flours.  Bleached cake flour will almost always yield the softest, fluffiest and most tender crumb in a cake.  As I enjoy the full flavor and toothsome texture whole grains can deliver in baked goods, I consider my adapted recipes to be superior, even if somewhat coarser (although if a cake comes out too coarse, or otherwise texturally faulty, that’s not a success.)

Now King Arthur Flour has come out with an unbleached cake flour product (not organic, though).  A blend of soft wheat flour, malted barley flour and unmodified cornstarch, King Arthur promises “medium-fine” textured results.  I bought the two-pound box at Whole Foods for $4.99.  I’ve made two different cakes with this flour, and both turned out with a quite acceptable crumb.  If I hadn’t mentioned the flour to any of the lucky tasters, no one would have suspected a thing.

For my first experiment, I chose the Heavenly Coconut Seduction cake (coconut milk version) from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s new Rose’s Heavenly Cakes book.  A gorgeous work,  almost every cake is illustrated in full color on a full page.  For the cake baker, this treatise delivers an education in cake composition, construction and craft.  I highly recommend it!

With the King Arthur unbleached cake flour blend, the coconut cake baked up a little denser and slightly more resilient, less yielding.  Still, for any dessert lover confronted with this moist flavorful layer (sans topping…I’m not Supermom!), the texture was much better than acceptable.  Beranbaum notes that the original version, which calls for cream of coconut (CocoLopez, which I don’t use) MUST be made with bleached cake flour or the structure will dip dramatically in the center.  She knows cake chemistry, so, trusting her judgment, I tackled the recipe with Whole Foods 365 organic coconut milk (not light!).  A winner!

I baked another coconut cake with KA’s cake flour blend, this time using the creaming method (Beranbaum’s cake, like most of her butter cakes, utilizes the two-stage mixing method).  Fantastic!  Moist and tender, this flavorful layer exhibited no textural shortcomings.  I tried not to eat the whole thing.

So far (that is, two cakes into it), I can recommend King Arthur’s cake flour blend.  I haven’t tried it in sponge cakes, yet.  I expect good results, though, and of course I’ll keep you posted.  I can’t wait ’til King Arthur comes out with the organic version!

COCONUT CAKE makes one 9″ layer

• 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, softened.  I like Organic Valley.  Click for a $1 OFF coupon.  Beranbaum recommends this brand as well, and she’s not even biased towards organics.
  
• 2/3 cup organic coconut milk (not light), well-shaken and close to room temperature.  Whole Foods 365 is great and a great buy.
  
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon natural coconut extract or ¼ almond extract (optional)
• 2 local eggs, close to room temperature, lightly beaten.
• 200 grams (1 cup) organic sugar.  You can find this in bulk departments at our natural grocers and Central Market packages their own brand for $2.99 for a 2 pound bag.
• 167 grams sifted King Arthur Flour cake flour blend. That’s about 1 ¼ cups plus 1 Tablespoon (sift into your measuring vessels).
  
• 1 teaspoon plus a heaping ¼ teaspoon baking powder, sieved.  I use Rumford non-aluminum baking powder.
  
• heaping 1/8 teaspoon salt

Get your oven heatin’ to 350º.  Grease up and flour a 9″ round cake pan (at least 2″ tall).  I mixed up some “pan prep” recently, combining coconut oil (you can also use ghee) and all-purpose flour until I got a spreadable paste that I can brush onto cake pans.  It’s very handy and works well, and eliminates a can of baking spray.  I like to put a baking strip around the pan to help the cake cook evenly.  For a cute DIY tutorial on baking strips check out littleladycakes.com on Youtube.

Using a stand mixer (my preference) or a hand mixer, gradually cream the sugar into the butter until light and fluffy.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a flexible spatula a couple of times to ensure that the mixture is evenly incorporated.  Gradually beat in the eggs, scraping the bowl as necessary.  Beat for another minute to achieve a very light, fluffy homogeneous mix.

Combine the coconut milk and extracts.  Beat the dry ingredients into the batter in three parts alternately with the coconut milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Scrape the bowl with your spatula after each addition to ensure the ingredients are well-incorporated.  Pour the batter into your prepared pan (if you’re not using baking strips, the cake bakes more evenly if you mound the batter up around the sides a bit) and bake for about 36 minutes, until the cake tests done (a bamboo skewer inserted into the center will come out clean.)

I usually don’t have time for frosting these days.  We didn’t miss it.  But anything from milk chocolate ganache, whoop cream, coconut or vanilla buttercream, or even a simple coconut milk glaze could guild this lily.  Now you can leave out the bleach!

October Spring—only in Central Texas… October 24, 2009

…or maybe California.  Walking the dog along the woods this morning, we spied a stand of bluebonnets in bloom.  I guess the months between May (June? July?) and February are getting shorter and shorter.  A welcome sight of spring in the middle of autumn.

Another spring delicacy you can find at Sunset Valley Farmers Market right now is McKemie Homegrown’s asparagus.  That’s right.  Asparagus.  In Central Texas.  In late October.  At $5 for a ½ pound bag, it’s not cheap,  but I managed to find the funds to pamper myself a bit.  Luckily I had packed an extra fiver.  I can’t wait to toss these fronds with a little olive oil and roast ‘em up in the toaster oven at highest heat.  A little salt.  A little pepper.  That’s all they’ll need after that.  My kindergartner’s palate seems to have matured somewhat since the spring, because last week we shared our fall surprise.

McKemie expects to bring more asparagus to market next week.  Grab a taste of spring before the spring crop comes in—Ha!

Belated Bun Bonus October 23, 2009

steamy blooms

savory bouquet

I was starting to feel guilty for not having posted the bonus recipe from my Steamed Goat Buns entry.  So I went back and checked and it’s only been six weeks!  What with the weather change (finally!) and all this mommying I thought I’d steamed my buns months ago.  I guess I’m not that late after all.  I’ll just pretend I timed this post to coincide  with my mention of South River’s wonderful organic miso in the last recipe.  Plus I happen to already have the requisite photos on my desktop and with our camera on the blink (get well soon, Mr. Olympus), I can post-with-images, like a respectable blogger!

STEAMED BUNS BONUS:  Savory Flower Rolls yield varies

• steamed bun dough, ready to roll.  See my Steamy Goat Buns post.
  

• South River organic white miso, or your favorite brand and style.  I bought mine at Whole Foods.
• toasted sesame oil.  Spectrum bottles an organic version.

I made these flower rolls with excess steamed bun dough for which I had no more filling.  Mix together your miso and some sesame oil to taste.  You want a spreadable yummy blend.  Maybe four parts miso to one part oil.  Just taste as you go.  The amount required will depend on how much dough you have to fill.  You can make an entire batch of flower rolls if you want.  Any leftover miso filling can be stirred into stir-fries, rice or noodles, so don’t worry about mixing up too much.

Roll out your dough into a rectangle about ¼” to 1/3″ thick.  Spread the miso paste all over the surface (I use a small offset spatula, but the back of a  spoon will work.  I’m sure you’ll  find an adequate implement.)  Roll up the dough to enclose the filling, jelly roll style, starting with a longer edge.  Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into about 1″ segments.  Stack two segments on top of each other, cut sides facing you (and, obviously, the other cut sides facing away from you).  Place an oiled bamboo skewer on top, perpendicular to yourself, and press down to squash out the roll fore and aft.  Slip out your stick.  Pick up the roll and pull the left and right sides down to meet each other on the underside of the bun.  Pinch these ends together.  This kind of fans out the floral layers on the top.   There’s more than one way to flower a bun, but I like the bloom this technique (from the irreplaceable Barbara Tropp’s indispensable reference, The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking) delivers.

Btw,  I’ve seen Chinese Flower Rolls blogged-up recently.  For a striking wasabi-fllled roll (using a more traditional dough recipe and a different forming method), check out the “Bread Baking Babes”  Lucullian Delights and Bake My Day.

From here on out, the process is just like making other buns.  So I’m simply copying much of the relevant info here from my goat buns post.  You’re going to form the rolls, let them rise and then steam them.  Easy peasy.

Cut out 20 approximately 2″ X 2″ squares of silicone-coated parchment paper.  I use If You Care brand unbleached parchment, available at Central Market and Whole Foods.

Set each formed flower atop an individual square of parchment paper and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.

When you’ve rolled all your rolls, cover them loosely with a piece of plastic wrap (or green alternative, such as a large aluminum roasting pan), and let them rise until springy to the touch, about 30 to 60 minutes.  The timing will depend on the usual doughy factors such as ambient temperature and humidity.

Towards the end of risin’ time, get a 10″ diameter (to match your steamer basket) pot of water boiling.  Use plenty of water ’cause you’ll be steaming your buns for 15 minutes.  Place each bun, still on its parchment square, into the steamer baskets, leaving about 1 ½” between them, to allow for their expansion.  Stack your steamer atop your boiling pot—be sure to place the lid on the steamer—and steam for 15 minutes.  Remove the entire contraption from the heat and WAIT for 5 minutes before slowly opening the lid away from yourself (so’s not to get a face full of hot steam).

Your buns are hot and ready now!  Store leftovers in the fridge and reheat them by steaming for another 15 minutes.