Sourdough Lavender Chocolate Cake

This cake has only been in my production line for roughly two weeks and it's already my biggest hit to date. Within the first day of offering it, I already had to quadruple my production of it in anticipation of the future sales. Quite possibly one of the easier cakes to make as well; if you have sourdough starter on hand, that is.

First, you do need to have a sourdough starter for this cake, which is what makes it so moist and fluffy and really brings out the chocolate flavour. Making sourdough is, I will admit, both way more difficult and way more easy than people make it out to be. It's difficult in the sense that if you don't know what you're doing - you think you've failed when you haven't. Seeing that layer of water on top of your starter is enough to scare the pants off any new baker - but trust me when I say that doesn't mean it's dead! It just means it's cold or needs a touch more flour in it.

Sourdough starters are easily enough made but the first two weeks are crucial. You can begin making bread after a week but the truth is, the older your sourdough, the better the bread (and cake, and pancake). This cake REQUIRES at least a 3 week old sourdough to create the effect of crumb, texture and flavour you want. I will post a recipe on how to make sourdough starter in the very near future but until then here's a link.

The reason sourdough needs to be a bit agey for this recipe is simple. A good starter will react to the bicarb in the recipe and create a fluffy but moist cake and provide a great deal of rise when the cake bakes. Sometimes it's risen to 2 or 3 times it's size! The older your starter, the less batter you'll need to pour into your prepared tin. I've gotten four cakes out of a triple batch before instead of the expected three!

Sourdough Lavender Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup sourdough starter (fed one hour prior to baking, make sure it's gotten lots of volume in the jar before beginning)
1c milk
2c flour
1c sugar (I actually infuse my sugar with lavender for this cake so I get a double hit of lavender-y goodness without having to over-use the buds themselves. If you do not have infused sugar, double the lavender)
2tbs lavender buds
1tsp vanilla bean paste
1c vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
3/4c cocoa powder
2 large farm free range eggs

Combine starter, milk, flour, sugar and lavender into a bowl and allow to sit for about an hour or until a good reaction starts bubbling away. I put the lavender in early so it infuses with the sourdough and makes the taste strong but not bath-tubby as lavender can sometimes be. You can let it sit for up to 8 hours before the reaction stops, which infuses the lavender flavour even more. It really depends on how strong you want it, or how thrifty you're feeling with your lavender, which can be a tricky ingredient to get if you don't grow your own. I've gotten away with one tablespoon lavender (and lavender sugar) for two cakes letting it infuse for 5 hours.

Preheat oven to 160c fan forced, 180c regular, 320f fan forced or 350F regular. Gas mark people can take care of themselves, damnit.

In a mixer (or with a bowl and wooden spoon if you're not as lazy as me) with the bubbling 'sponge', as bakers call it, add the last of the ingredients except for the bicarbonate and salt.

Sift the bicarb and salt in a small bowl and set aside while you prepare your pans. The reason for doing this is sourdough grows from bicarbonate and expands immediately and salt kills yeast so you do not want to put it in before this if you want your cake to rise nicely. If you're going for a denser cake, put the salt in sooner.

This recipe should be held in a 23cm (or a 9.05511811 inch pan for you Imperialists) nicely but if your sourdough is older you're going to want to line the pan with parchment up the sides to prevent overspill (alternatively: use two pans and make a double layer cake). The pan itself does not need parchment and I find that it sticks a little more than just regular ol' oil spray (but really really don't use the cheap supermarket brand. That creates so much watery moisture it kills the cake - find a decent spray or, better, put a few drops of oil in the pan and swish around. The cake shrinks a little from the edges when fully baked so it doesn't need too much help here.)

When everything is prepared, mix in the last two reserved ingredients well and place in the oven for about 35 minutes. When you stick a cake tester in it and it comes out clean and the edges have started to pull away from the sides of the pan, you know you're done. Wait until mostly cool (because, honestly, can anyone wait until 'completely cool'?), cut the top flat and invert onto a pan so the bottom becomes the top.

Frost. I used a combination of sugar, butter and honey for this frosting - and I find the honey accents the lavender and chocolate excellently, but you do what you want and like best. Admittedly, I'm not a frosting fan and I will eat the cake as-is. But the majority of people fill ripped off if they don't get a giant dollop of frosting on their cake.

Now what to do with all those cake-tops I keep cutting off......


At the markets:

1 slice - $6
1 slice + coffee - $8
Whole cake - $35

Chicken Liver Pâté

Much like Kimberly's schmaltz, Chicken Liver Pâté is an excellent classic Jewish dish. Even more so, you'll need the schmaltz for this recipe so it's a good thing we have it prepared! I have used, for a more personal touch, duck instead of chicken in this recipe.

250g chicken livers
1-2c chicken stock, preferably homemade
3 hardboiled eggs
1 red onion, chopped
3 tablespoons duck fat or schmaltz
Fresh flaked sea salt and fresh ground pepper

1. Slowly simmer the livers in enough chicken stock to just barely cover them - about 10 minutes. Drain. Reserve 2 tablespoons stock.
2. Using food processor, puree eggs and livers with stock as needed until smooth
3. Heat fat in pan until melted completely.
4. Gently caramelize onions over low heat for about 15 minutes or until just barely dark around the edges and golden in the middle.
5. Pour onions, fat and all into the livers and blend once more until a nice deep delicious paste.
6. Season to taste. I found it's best with a bit of salt and just a touch of pepper.

Eat like there's no tomorrow. Fantastic source of Vitamin A and protein!

Rosemary-Balsamic Strawberry Shortcake

So you went to the U-Pick like I suggested yesterday, right? And now you picked too many strawberries and you want a good recipe to use some of them up? Well good, because I just came up with this snazzy little number and I'm eager to share my success with you.

Oh, you will not believe how well these flavors go together!

ROSEMARY-BALSAMIC STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Shortcake Biscuits:
2 cups unbleached white flour
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 Tbsp sugar (vanilla sugar, if you have some!)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup very cold butter, cubed
Generous 1/2 cup half-and-half (plus extra for brushing)

Strawberry Filling:
3 cups strawberries, trimmed and halved
3 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Good-quality vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toss all the dry ingredients for the biscuits into your food processor and mix them up, or do it by hand in a bowl. Cut in the butter, pulsing with the food processor or crumbling into the flour mix with your fingers, until it resembles a coarse meal. Slowly add the half-and-half, and pulse or combine until it's just blended in (the dough will still be crumbly).

Pat the dough into a ball, giving it a little knead if it's not holding together, and roll it out to about an inch thick. Use a glass or biscuit cutter to cut out large rounds; brush them with a little half-and-half, and bake them for 20 minutes or until done.

Meanwhile, mix the strawberries with the honey, balsamic, and rosemary. Set aside for at least half an hour or so. When the biscuits are done, set them aside too and let them cool.

When everything's ready, split a shortcake biscuit in half and top the bottom half with the strawberry mixture. Set the top half of the biscuit on top, spoon a little extra strawberry love around the plate, and top the whole shebang with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Enjoy on the porch and relish the feel of a summer evening.

Tight-Arse Tuesdays: Ribs!

Maybe I'm just Southern, but I love ribs. I don't do pig, but beef ribs and buffalo ribs feature in our house on a regular basis, and why not? They're flavorful, easy to cook, extremely filling, and very cheap - usually the cheapest meat on the animal!

They have a reputation for being hard to make, which is completely undeserved. They're time-intensive, sure, but almost all of that time is passive time. In my opinion, the best way to cook ribs is by braising them. Since they're such a fatty cut, all they need is some liquid and time to really bring out all that nice beefy flavor and soften them up a bit. And that takes next to nothing out of you! You get to serve up a delicious old-fashioned dinner that looks like you spent all evening on it, but really you were soaking in a bubble bath while time did the work. Ssh. I won't tell.

Here's a one-dish meal recipe that is super, super flexible. Add a salad if you want (I did). I didn't measure most of this so I'm not putting measurements here - just try a little bit of this and that. Feel free to substitute other root vegetables, or add some sturdy greens like kale or collards when you add the other veg.

THE EASIEST BEEFY RIB DINNER

Beef Ribs (about ¾ lb per person; the bone weighs it down)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Handful of mushrooms (dried is fine)
Spoonful of tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, halved
Chili powder (chipotle if you have it)
Cumin
Fresh rosemary
Salt & pepper
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Onion, chopped
Potatoes, diced
Carrots, sliced thick
1 Tbsp corn starch, potato starch, or arrowroot powder

Heat some water to boiling.

Heat the olive oil in a sturdy pot with a lid (use your cast-iron Dutch oven here if you have one). Brown the ribs, then pour in enough boiling water to mostly cover them. It's okay if the tips curve out of the water. And be careful doing this, since it's going to send up a huge steam cloud.

Throw in the mushrooms, and everything else but the veggies and starch/arrowroot. Give it a quick stir, then cover the pot and turn the heat to medium-low. Let it simmer for an hour if you've only got a couple of ribs in there, or 90 minutes if you have several. Meanwhile, pour a glass of wine and retire to a bubble bath.

When the timer goes off, have your husband, older child, or the next-door neighbor add the veggies to the pot and put the cover back on. They can add some more water if there's not enough to almost cover the veggies and meat. Sip your wine, finish your bath, and go slip into something comfy.

20 minutes after the veggies were added, remove them with a slotted spoon, along with the meat. Discard the mushrooms if they were dried (they will be tough, but they'll have flavored the broth nicely). Turn the heat all the way up on the liquid left in the pot, and dissolve the starch or arrowroot in a little bit of water. Stir that into the remaining liquid; let it boil for a minute until it thickens slightly. Spoon this sauce over the ribs and veggies. Serve immediately.

And don't forget to save the rib bones for later! They add excellent flavor to soups, stews, and beans. Unless you have a dog, of course, in which case rib night is fun for the whole family.

Silverbeet Chips

I have really weird issues with vitamin a. I suck at getting it. People recommended kale chips to me as a fun flavour-packed way to supplement my dietary habits.

In Australia, Kale is hard to find. Not agressively so, but it's not necessarially at the grocery stores and I didn't want to drive too far just to try kale chips. I figured, hey, silverbeet is related to kale so I grabbed that.


1 bunch silverbeet, spines removed
1 tbsp salt
1/4c rice bran oil

Combine oil and salt in bowl. You want quite a bit of salt to get a 'chippy' flavour but you can have less if you need. Dredge silverbeet in oil/salt mixture and place on drying racks. Dry on low for 6 hours for a more chewy chip or high for 4 hours for a more crispy one.

It's really delicious. I quite enjoy these. I am now getting all the nutrients I need. Thank you silverbeet! *gold star*

Make-Your-Own Monday: Freezer Pot Pie (but cuter!)

I made these the other day and had some requests for the recipe, so I'm sharing it here. I really seem to have a pie fetish going on these days; it seems like all I'm posting about lately is pie! Rest assured we do eat other foods in this house. But I love savory pies for a lot of reasons, and small individual-size pies are perfect for a quick portable meal. I used to buy them at the store many years ago, but quit buying them because they were loaded with sodium and trans fats and G-d knows what else... good thing we can make them ourselves!

I got this idea the other day when I felt like baking at a friend's house, and my friend didn't have a pie plate but she did have a muffin tin. Pot pies are awesome, but how much cooler would it be to have muffin-sized pot pies? It took a bit more time to roll out each crust individually, line the muffin tins, and assemble each small pie individually... but the little pies, once cooled, went to the freezer beautifully and held up great in the microwave. I zapped a frozen one for about 4 minutes to see how it would do, and the crust was still nice and flaky. So these are cute little quickie meals later - I also thought these would be good for kids' lunchboxes as well as take-to-work lunches for adults.

Use a storebought pie crust if you want, or use this one (with a tablespoon of cider vinegar added in), or try my gluten-free perfect pie crust. And the filling can be whatever you want - my chicken pot pie filling (over at my other blog) is always good. For my project the other day, I adapted the chicken recipe to use veggies and tofu instead since my friend is a pesco-vegetarian; I also made the tuna pot pies in the picture above, and I'll give you that recipe now. (I adapted it from this one.)

TUNA MUFFIN PIES

Crust for TWO double-crust pies
4 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, diced
6 Tbsp flour (any flour, wheat or gluten-free is fine)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp garlic powder *
1 tsp paprika *
1/4 tsp chili powder *
Sprig fresh thyme, leaves only (optional)
2 cups milk
2 cans sustainable, water-packed tuna, drained and flaked
2 heaping cups fresh or frozen veggies (I used corn, peas, and a carrot)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (optional, I left it out but will include it next time)

Beaten egg for brushing on crust (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Melt the butter in a big saucepan and saute the onion over medium-low until it softens up. Sprinkle in the flour, a tablespoon at a time, blending it in with a fork after each addition. Cook another minute until you have a paste, adding in your salt and pepper and other seasonings. (*I did not measure my seasonings, so this really just means season to taste with whatever herbs and spices you have handy.)

Stirring with your fork, slowly pour the milk in, whisking it up to blend it with the flour. Make sure you get the lumps out so it's nice and smooth. Keep stirring it for a few more minutes until it simmers and thickens up like white gravy. At that point, stir in everything else except, duh, the pie crust. Shut off the heat and let the filling sit aside while you roll out the crust.

Take about a fourth of the crust and roll it out thin. Using a bowl as a cutter or a guide, cut circles out of the crust and line the muffin tin, making sure that the crust sits against the bottom and walls of each cup. Leave a bit hanging over the edges of each cup, trim up the rest, and keep rolling up your trimmings with additional dough until you've got the tin lined up.

Now gently spoon the filling into the muffin cups. You should have just enough filling for a dozen muffin pies - go ahead and pile them up, it's okay if the filling mounds up a little higher than the muffin cup. That's what the top crust is for. Once the pies are all filled, roll out the rest of the crust and use a glass or another smaller guide to cut circles for the top crust. Lay each circle on top of each pie, pinch around the edges to seal, and trim off the excess. Brush with a little beaten egg if you want a golden crust, then use the tip of a sharp knife to poke a few holes in the top. Bake for 30 minutes.

When the muffin pies are done, carefully run a butter knife around the outside edges if you need to loosen them up, and gently move them to a plate. You can also hold a large plate upside-down over the pan and carefully flip the pan over so the muffins slide out upside-down. Let them cool a bit, eat one right away, and let the rest come to room temperature before you wrap them up individually and pop 'em in the freezer or fridge.

This will make you 12 regular-sized muffins or 6 of those big ones.

Farm Fresh Friday: Fajita Salad

What's better for Farm-Fresh Friday than a salad? Homegrown salad greens are thriving this time of year, and some of you are finally getting tomatoes and other tasty garden treats. This is why summers are meant for salads.

Y'all know I love salad, and this is an old standby. (Apologies for no picture, because this really is gorgeous - I'm just traveling and hence a bit photographically impaired.) Like all salads, this one is super-flexible, and it makes a really great dinner in the summer. Sit outside and have it with a nice cold beverage!

FAIJTA SALAD

1/4 cup olive oil, plus some for cooking
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 lb. steak, chicken, and/or portobello mushrooms
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup corn kernels (canned, frozen, or fresh)
Tortilla chips (I recommend blue corn)
Freshly-grated cheese (cheddar and/or Monterey Jack)

You'll also need a big bowl of salad greens and all your favorite toppings: sliced carrots, chopped tomato, cucumber, green onions, raw turnips, avocado, whatever you're into. The more, the merrier!

Whisk up the 1/4 c olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lime juice, cumin, garlic, and salt. Set aside.

Slice the meat and/or mushrooms into strips, fajita style. Pour a little oil into your skillet and fire it up! Saute the meat/mushrooms with the onion until it's all cooked up. Alternatively, you can leave the meat/'shrooms whole and slice the onion in half, grill them, and then slice them afterward. Either way, you'll wind up with cooked fajita strips and onions...

...which you should toss with the dressing mix you just made. Stir in the beans and corn (gently, so as not to smoosh the beans) and stick it all in the fridge to chill for awhile. I like to do all this after lunch or in the morning so it's nice and chilled for dinner.

When you're ready to eat, assemble your salad. Big bowl of greens, all the toppings scattered around, and then the chilled fajita mixture, drizzling the dressing over the rest of the salad. Toss it up a little, and then top it with the grated cheese and a couple handfuls of tortilla chips crushed in your hand.

If you have any leftovers, they're great the next day wrapped in a tortilla for lunch, or spooned over a baked potato, or served atop some quinoa.

Happy summer!

How Udderly Nutty

Damn hippies have got me at it again. I have decided to post a recipe for nut and seed milk. Nut and seed milk is considered to be an extremely protein-rich and healthy alternative to cow's milk. Great for that lactose intolerant hooligan in your family. It takes roughly 2 cups of seeds and nuts to make 1.5l of milk. Oh and you can make flour from the dredges. Bonus.

Place 6 cups of water and 2 cups almonds in a blender. Or hazlenuts. Or walnuts. Or pecans. Mmmm... macadamias. What? Oh, yes, sorry. Let them sit for about 3 hours and soak the flavours nicely. Blitz. Strain. Put milk back in blender and dredgy nut paste in the dehydrator. Add honey/agave nectar/sugar/2 dates/sweet fancy into the blender. Blitz again. Store up to one week.

Dry pasty chunky nut bits in dehydrator until perfectly dry, about 6 hours. Blitz in blender. Almond meal. Or hazlenut. Or walnut. Or pecan... or macadamias..mmmmm. Almost tasty enough to make me like you dam raw vegan hippies.*



*not really, I still hate you.

Tight-Arse Tuesday: Golden Rosemary and Sea Salt Sweet Potato Chips

Why should you be making your own potato chips when a bag only costs about two bucks? I know, it seems very 'un tight-arse' to you right? Well.

1. This giant pile of potato chips cost me about a 60 cents in potatos. Only 3 potatos were harmed in this photo.
2. Health - what I'm saving you may only be $1.40 per bag, but your body will thank you!
3. Less fat than normal chips! I normally only eat the "three ingredient" chips anyway so I'll go as far to say as it even has less carbohydrates than normal chips.
4. Using sweet potatos instead of normal potatos changes the GI to be *GASP* LOWGI POTATO CHIPS!
5. $1.40 is $1.40! If you eat a packet a day, I have saved you over $600! See, this is a savings.
6. Psst. It's also raw. Damn crunchy granola hippie freaks.


You can flavour your chips with anything you want. Simply slice about 4 potatos (I ate one while it was drying, don't judge me!) on the mandolin or, if your food processor has a slicer attachment, use that. Pour about a tablespoon of oil into the bottom of a bowl and your seasonings (I used fresh rosemary and blitzed it until it was dust) - use slightly more than you think you'll need if you want that real 'chippy' flavour.

Toss. Arrange onto racks. I find if you just haphazardly chuck them onto the racks instead of laying them out separate, you can just toss them around every few hours when you peek (and you will) on them and they'll dry evenly.

Dehydrate on high for about 6-8 hours.

Keep on hand as a great healthy alternative to your normal snacking!

Grapefruit and Vanilla Bean Marmalade

First of all: What makes a marmalade? Why is this a marmalade and not a jam or a preserve? For one, jam is made from fruit which is one, not a citrus, and two, peeled. For a marmalade, you use the entire fruit. You can remove the pith, but it is not necessary in this recipe. I also find it time consuming. If you are going to keep the peel in the jar and not strain it like I did, you will want to do this, otherwise you get a very unpretty jar of marmalade.

Now I adapted this recipe from a delicious Gourmet Traveller one after I realized I was inundated with in-season citrus and delicious vanilla beans from the local farms. I am looking forward to eating this, letting it settle in it's jar for a few days to really set that vanilla flavour in.

First off you will need:

1.4 pounds (omg did I use imperial?) or a little over half a kilo of grapefruit and lemons. This should be roughly one grapefruit and one lemon.
5 cups of water
3.5-4 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean
and... that's it!

Cut citrus in half and then slice thin slices lengthwise. Remove pith if you do not plan on straining. Do so on a plate so you can collect the extra juice and throw into a thick bottomed pan with the water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off and let cool. The longer the better - up to a day. This is when I strained. If you have decided to keep bits in it, go right ahead. Still tastes delicious.

If planning on keeping preserves for awhile, this would be when you prepare and sterilize your awesome jars.

Place sugar in pan. Slice vanilla bean in half and scrap seeds into pan. Bring to a boil and then simmer at 230F/110C for half an hour. Let cool a bit and then pour into jars. At this point I got nervous about the setting and added a teaspoon of pectin for Gd knows what reason - it's setting quite thick now and was probably unnecessary. But hey, unlike your local politician, I didn't lie about it.

Seal and/or enjoy.

Tight-Arse Tuesdays - Vegetable Packet Soup - Without The Packet

I have no idea why I never thought of this before, but it just occured to me when I was trying to think of ways to save money. Another recipe I've been working on is tomato leathers in my dehydrator pre-flavoured so all you do is add it to water to make pasta sauce.

I hate packaged soups. They always taste a bit funny to me. Of course, it's filled with preservatives and, oh, about $4 a fricken box. But that's only a dollar a soup, you say! Yeah well.. this recipe is only about TEN CENTS a soup. Cheaper than that girl you don't like. Easier, too.

Ingredients:

2 cobs corn
2 cups frozen peas (once mine actually grow, I'll be drying these freshly boiled baby)
2 carrots
2 capsicum - any colour (bellpepper)
2 spring onions
2 stalks celery
1 red onion
2 zucchini
3 baby eggplant
dehydrated garlic (already had it on hand, but you can just use 5 cloves garlic and dry and smoosh)
dried parsley
dried oregano
sea salt (I used pink himalayan though)
pepper
1/4c dehydrated stock or 4 smooshed buillon cubes
2 cups cous cous

Place couscous, stock, and spices to taste in the jar.

Using a knife, remove the kernals of corn from the cob. Throw leftover cob to chickens. Save corn husks for recipe I'll be giving you next week. On the bottom of the dehydrator place the corn and peas spread evenly. You'll need to stir these every 2 hours to keep them from sticking.

Instead of spending hours cutting carrots and zucchini, just shred them. I used a rather thick cut shredder, so it would be nice sized bits. Dice red onion and capsicum and thinly slice green onion. Slice celery and eggplant lengthwise and then chop. Dehydrate six hours, checking every two to disperse the ingredients evenly for optimal drying.

Package.

1 part soup mix to 4 parts water. 1/4c mix 1c water makes roughly one bowl of soup. Just put in bowl, pour boiling water over, wait a few minutes and enjoy!

Perfect for businessladies on the go who don't have time to prepare lunch that day. Keep at work or in the cupboard! Much healthier alternative to packaged soup - and much cheaper too!

Depending on the size of your ingredients, this should make roughly 20 servings of soup.

The Perfect Pie Crust (and it's gluten-free!)

I know a lot of people are cutting out gluten nowadays. I'm not on that bandwagon, but I'm always willing to try new things, and I had a hunch that gluten-free pie crust might be better than the traditional kind. I was right!

See, when you make pie crust, gluten is your enemy. The more you work the flour, the more you handle it and the more the butter melts into it, the more it glutenizes. That formation of gluten is what turns a pie crust tough and makes it turn out like bread or a cracker. All those little tricks people tell you, about keeping everything cold and handling it as little as possible and refrigerating it between every step and keeping your hands ice-cold but dry - that's all to prevent the formation of gluten. So why not just use gluten-free flours?

That's what I did, but I also kept my traditional pie-making tips. I'll give you the recipe I used, but you can also use these same techniques on a traditional pie crust recipe if you want to. They work!

THE BEST (AND EASIEST) GLUTEN-FREE PIE CRUST

1 3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup arrowroot
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar
1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves (all optional)
3/4 cup butter, frozen
1 egg
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
5-6 Tbsp ice water

Mix the dry ingredients together thoroughly. Then grate the butter with a cheese grater, or cut it up into small cubes, and add it in. If you have a food processor, pulse it all together until it looks like coarse sand; if you don't, get in there with your fingers and crumble the butter in. (This can be very relaxing on a stressful day.)

Beat the egg and vinegar together, and pour into the flour-butter mix. Don't skip the cider vinegar, whatever recipe you're using! You can cut back on the water by 1 Tbsp so it balances out, but the cider vinegar is a big secret for perfect pie. Stir the liquid in slightly with a fork (or pulse in the processor) until it's mostly even, and then add the ice water just a tablespoon or two at a time, mixing (or pulsing) after each addition. Eventually it'll be a nice dough - not sticky, not springy. It'll be crumbly, but when you roll it into a ball it will hold its shape, like this:



So divide it into two parts, one slightly bigger than the other, and roll each into a ball.

At this point you would normally refrigerate the dough for awhile, giving it a chance to rest and dragging out the time it takes to make a pie by hours or a day. Fie, says I. Now you don't have to. You can roll it out right the heck now. Take it over to the table, unless you're really tall, because it's hard to get the right leverage for rolling out a crust on the countertop.

Some people say to roll out pie crust on wax paper. I don't do this or recommend it, because I always find that it tears up into little pieces, which get embedded in the pie, and it's a pain in the ass to remove them. So I like parchment paper, but when I don't have any on hand (like today), I use plastic wrap. Whichever you're using, spray a little water on the table and spread the paper/plastic over it - the water will hold it in place so it doesn't slide around when you roll it.

Drop the bigger of the two doughballs on top, cover it with another sheet of paper/plastic, and get to rolling. Change direction every so often so you get a nice big circle. You want it REALLY thin, so keep going until it's a huge thin circle. Peel off the top paper/plastic. Then put the pie plate on top of the crust, upside-down. Slide your hand underneath and flip the whole thing over carefully. Now smooth the crust over the inside of the pie plate, making sure that it's sitting nicely against the sides and bottom and hanging over the edges. Carefully peel off the paper/plastic, like so:



It might rip as you go. That's fine. Pinch it back together. No one's going to notice or care. The great thing about gluten-free pie crust is the fact that you can't overwork it!

Now repeat the process with that other doughball, which will be your top crust. When it's rolled out all nice and thin, put your filling in the bottom crust - in this case an apple-pie filling I made back in October and froze in a pie plate so that it would be the right size and shape to just plunk down in the crust without thawing.



Once the pie is filled, carefully lay the top crust over it and peel the bottom layer of paper/plastic off like you did before. Then seal the crust by crimping around the edges - hold your two index fingers horizontally, facing each other, and make a little V by pushing each one in. Once it's crimped, trim the excess off the edges, so it looks like this:



At this point I highly recommend brushing some beaten egg on top. It's not necessary, but it'll give you a nice golden crust with texture. And if you're adding a decoration (about which more in a minute), it'll help it stick.



Now for decor! You've got that big heap of trimmings right there, after all. I usually like to take some of those trimmings and make a little ornament to go on the crust. Since this is an apple pie, I made an apple. I've also made hearts, stars, and other easy-to-cut-out little shapes. If you're not inclined to do this, don't bother, it isn't necessary.

What you do need to do now is cut some vents. This can just be a couple of slits, it can be an X, or you can make a little star-type design with the vents like I did.



Another optional thing - I recommend sprinkling the whole pie with a bit of sugar here. It gives the crust a bit of texture, and an appealing, rustic look that kind of sparkles when the pie is done. You don't need much, just a teaspoon or so (I never measure it, I just grab some sugar in my fingers and give it a good dusting).

Now you're ready to bake. This is going to vary depending on your filling, but with a fruit pie I start out with the oven at 450 F. I bake it for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 F and continue baking for another 45 minutes. That shock of hard heat at the beginning is what melts the butter and creates little air pockets which result in a nice flaky crust.

When the pie is done, let it cool, or the inside filling may be runny. It's most delicious while still just a bit warm though!



Heavenly.

Meatless Monday: Eggy Barley Bread

We had a beautiful sunny weekend, but today looks like a chilly rainy day again, so lunch is vegetable barley soup and fresh-baked eggy barley bread. You don't get much more warm and cozy than that!

I'm a big fan of barley, which for some reason does not get the attention today that it did in the previous century. As a whole grain, it's got a chewy, hearty texture and wholesome flavor that is the perfect accompaniment to soup; you can also make risotto with it instead of rice. As a flour, it brings a lovely rich warm flavor and a creamy softness to breads.

This is a good recipe for the bread machine, if you have one. If you don't, you should get one! I don't often bake my breads in the machine, but I do when I'm busy and it still churns out hot, delicious, crusty fresh-baked bread with only five minutes of effort from me. It's cheaper than storebought bread, as well as fresher and more delicious. So get you a bread machine post haste, and then make...

EGGY BARLEY BREAD

1 cup water
1 egg
1 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup barley flour
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp yeast

Get the water in your measuring cup and then crack the egg in. Beat the egg and water together slightly, then pour into the bread machine. Sprinkle the flours over so that they float on top of the water. Cut up the butter into chunks and drop it into two corners of the machine, then add the sugar to another corner and the salt to another. Make a little well in the middle with your finger and pour the yeast into it. Switch the machine onto its basic setting and let 'er rip.

Come back when it's done, and transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool. Make sure you cut a big slice for yourself (and anyone you like) and butter it while it's still hot. Have that slice with vegetable soup. Watch the rain fall as you eat and think about how much you love life.

It Works!!

I just have to give a big endorsement of Lizzie's recipe for baking soda shampoo. Sure, it's cheap and it's all-natural, but why not just use regular shampoo?

Aside from avoiding phthalates, it turns out there's an even better reason. This stuff cures dandruff better than any expensive high-tech dandruff shampoo on the market!

For some reason, most of the guys I know suffer from dandruff issues, and my husband's were getting bad. Head & Shoulders didn't fix it, and he only got moderate results from a very pricey bottle of KMS. He had to use the dandruff shampoo every single day to avoid that festive Christmas-flocking effect.

Then a few days ago, he ran out of shampoo and didn't have time to go out to buy more, so he whipped up some of the baking soda shampoo and vinegar conditioner from Lizzie's blog post. (See, men can read and enjoy our blog too!) Lo and behold, his hair is glossier, silkier, less oily, and there is not one hint of dandruff. We haven't seen any in days!

So, I'm a convert, and I hope y'all don't mind the double post. I just had to share these awesome results and encourage the world to give this a try. Don't you just love it when the best solution also turns out to be the cheapest one?

'tis the season for a hot toddy..apparently.

I do recall mentioning a couple times on this blog I had every intention of being away for ten days on a glorious silence retreat where no bill collectors or salesmen could contact me and my only job would be to simply exist and meditate. According to my body? Bugger that.

I have what you would call a dreadful calamity. The flu. Seeing as I can't find inner peace in the mountains of the Sunshine Coast of Australia, it looks like I'm going to have to find pleasure in my tissue box at home. Or.. in my liquor cabinent.

I have to admit, I never heard of this drink in America when I lived there. It seems to be, to me, a very British and Australian thing to have. I'm not surprised Australians would have a keen eye to adopt liquor as a medicine at the first chance they got. Thus, I give you: the hot toddy.


100mL of Bundaberg rum (because I live in Queensland and we're all about local booze here)
2 cinnamon sticks
12 cloves
1 lemon
1 tbsp honey
boiling water to taste

Combine all the ingredients in the pot, first squeezing the lemons and then chucking the bastards in (I can curse, I'm sick). You don't have to but I adore the taste of lemon peels in my teas. Pour boiling water in. The less you poor in, the more liquored up you'll be. To be fair, I'm guessing on the 100mL of rum as well. I kinda went, "Hm, here's a flask of rum... about half that is 100mL. A little extra in case my measurements are off and well.. I already have most of the bottle gone, I might as well finish it up." Obviously I've embraced my new-found Australianisms. You should too.

Let steep for a few minutes before pouring or skulling and feel better soon!

Pity the Fool!

What better day than April Fool's Day to make a nice and tasty fool?

This British dessert is a great way to showcase seasonal fruits. Usually, the fruit is pureed and then blended with whipped cream and egg whites to give it a fluffy, mousse-like texture. Occasionally the fool is then layered with cake or pastry to dress it up.

Jamie Oliver has a better version in his excellent book Jamie At Home. I made it recently to celebrate the delicious rhubarb which is so abundant right now, and I found this recipe as quick and easy at it was delicious. It got rave reviews at our table, especially from guests who had never had rhubarb before. And it came together so quickly and easily that I was still able to enjoy hanging out with my guests.

By the way, if you don't already have a copy of Jamie At Home, you need to get one. It's all about fresh, simple food made from homegrown ingredients, and it includes gardening tips, seasonal cooking, and even a chapter on wild game. The photography is so sensuous it borders on the pornographic, and the writing style makes it the kind of cookbook you can curl up to read on a rainy day. And, as you will see here, the recipes are fantastic.

JAMIE OLIVER'S SPEEDY RHUBARB FOOL

For the rhubarb compote:
1 lb rhubarb, trimmed and chopped
1/3 cup sugar or vanilla sugar *
Juice of 1/2 an orange **

For the wafers:
3 Tbsp confectioner's sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Piece of frozen puff pastry

For the flavored yogurt:
2 cups plain yogurt
zest of 1 orange
1 heaped tablespoon honey

* I used 1/3 cup sugar plus 1 tsp vanilla; next time, I will substitute 1/4 cup honey.
** I used all the juice of the whole orange just because I wanted to.

Jamie says: "Get yourself a small pan and throw in the rhubarb, sugar and orange juice. Put a lid on top, bring to the boil for a couple of minutes, then remove the lid and simmer for a few more minutes until you get a thick compote consistency."

Meanwhile, sift the confectioner's sugar and cinnamon onto a clean countertop. Cut 4 slices about 1/2" thick from the puff pastry, then roll each slice out to 1/4" thick, turning it over a few times as you go so that it gets coated in the sugar and cinnamon. Cut the strips in half so you have long triangles, then fry those triangles in a hot dry skillet until golden brown on both sides. Cool them on a rack.

Mix the yogurt, honey, and orange zest together in a bowl. You can do this ahead of time and keep it chilled; you can also make the compote and pastry triangles ahead of time too and just assemble when you're ready to serve dessert. To serve, glop some yogurt onto a small plate or into a pretty glass bowl, then top it off with some rhubarb and pastry, and repeat the layers.

Welcome to April, Fool!

How To Get Dressed In Seconds

One of my favorite things about spring is the return of Salad Season!

During the summer, I pretty much live on salad. It's good for breakfast, it's good for lunch, it's good for dinner, and it's good for just a random snack. If you grow your own salad greens and veggies, it's even better, but you don't have to. Just make sure you're going to a farmers' market or a good produce stand for the good stuff; plastic-wrapped iceberg lettuce really has no place on anyone's table.

Salads don't have to include lettuce at all, of course. It's great if they do, but you can be creative. In the summer, I make salads out of nothing but tomatoes piled high, sometimes sprinkled with crumbled cheese, and of course tossed with dressing. Tonight I'm making a sunchoke salad (think potato salad with more flavor), and last summer I made a fabulous salad out of grilled vegetables (which included eggplant, potatoes, onions, and turnips, if I remember right).

The real secrets to a good salad are the dressing - we'll get to that in a minute - and, most importantly, variety. Salads are satisfying when they combine lots of different flavors and textures into one huge sensory experience. The one in the picture, which was our lunch the other day, was made of a mix of young spring greens topped with sliced artichoke hearts, diced avocado, carrot shreds, raw kohlrabi, leftover BBQ chicken, and sunflower seeds. Think about all the nutrition in such a meal! So many vitamins, good fats, proteins, and everything else the body needs. It kept us full for hours, much longer than you'd think "just a salad" would.

But now for the dressing, which is crucial. Most of the time when you go to a restaurant, they'll serve you a perfectly healthy salad and then drown it in a dressing which is actually worse for you than anything else you could order. For example, here's how a salad at Wendy's weighs in:

1/2 Pound Double Cheeseburger - 750 calories, 42 g fat, 1520 mg sodium
Chicken BLT Salad - 790 calories, 53 grams fat, 1670 mg sodium

That's right, almost all the day's fat intake and most of your calories (and way more sodium than you need) in a damn SALAD! Some of that is in the processed chicken they use, but almost all of it is in the dressing, and bottled dressing from the grocery store is not much better. So make your own. (It's a lot cheaper that way too!)

Salad dressing, contrary to popular opinion, is super-easy to make yourself. All you need to remember is two parts oil to one part acid (which can be vinegar or acidic fruit juice). Play with different oils and different vinegars, and add whatever spices you like (paprika and cumin are delicious with balsamic and olive oil, for example). Here's my most common, foolproof standby dressing - it goes really well on just about everything, from green salad in the spring to tomato salad in the summer to hot potato salad in the fall and winter.

10-SECOND LEMON-DIJON VINAIGRETTE

1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
2 Tbsp lemon juice (see note!)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Few drops of hot sauce, optional

Note: If you made the Preserved Meyer Lemons I posted about two weeks ago, use the juice from that and don't add any more salt to the dressing. You can even chop up one of the lemon wedges very fine and stir that in for extra zing!

Add all the ingredients together right there in the measuring cup and whisk them together with a fork for ten seconds. Pour into a pretty little serving container if you want, and serve. If you're keeping this on hand to use a little at a time, just store it in a jar and shake it up before using, or give it another whisk with the fork.

Easy-peasy!

The Spa In Your Kitchen

So your skin is blotchy, dry in patches and oily in others, looks ten years older than you are, and is just generally in need of restoration. You can go pay half a paycheck for a salon facial, or you can whip up this mask in the comfort of your own home, without even getting out of your pajamas.

Even though I'm good about moisturizing every day and taking care of my skin, I'm 30 years old and getting to the point where my face needs a boost every so often. Besides, I like to take a Beauty Day for myself every once in awhile. Sunday was one of those for me, and so I threw together a face mask...

1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp organic yogurt
1 egg white

That is it, ladies, no mas, finite. Whisk it up in a bowl with a fork until it's all evenly blended and that's your fancy-ass spa facial. Try to use raw honey and a free-range, organically grown egg. Save the yolk - you'll use it momentarily!

Hold a hot damp towel over your face to steam it for a minute, then dry it with a fresh towel and use your fingers to apply the face mask as thickly as you can, covering your face and under your chin. If you have a little more than you need, apply it to your neck and decolletage. Let it stay there for 20-30 minutes, or until it feels very dry and tight all over.

Meanwhile if you want to treat your hair too, take that egg yolk and whisk it with a tablespoon or two of coconut oil or olive oil. Apply that to the ends of your dry hair (ends only! no roots!) and comb through your ends with your fingers so that it gets evenly distributed. Let that sit for a bit as your face does - I like to spend this time soaking in a bubble bath with a good book.

When that face mask gets so tight you can't stand it anymore, now's when you wash it off very gently with warm clean water. Use an exfoliating scrub too, if you like. Shave, if you do, and massage your whole body neck to toes with coconut oil or olive oil to keep it soft and supple. Now wash and condition your hair as usual, but before you get out of the shower, dilute a little white vinegar with an equal amount of warm water. Pour that over your head for a rinse that will leave your hair super-shiny - don't worry, it won't make you smell like vinegar, I promise!

Now step out of the tub, apply your favorite facial moisturizer, and fix yourself up. Relax and enjoy feeling extra pretty!

St. Patrick's Day: Potatoes!

Sure, we're doing corned beef in Guinness today just like everyone else (and a Guinness cake for dessert!), but let's take a moment to honor the Irish for their humblest contribution to world cuisine: the delicious potato. For some reason, Americans have recently decided that potatoes are bad for you. What a bag of hooey! Potatoes are among the most nutrient-dense foods out there, loaded with fiber to lower your cholesterol and keep you feeling full, rich in potassium, iron, copper, and heart-healthy vitamins.

In my opinion, the most healthful and delicious way to prepare potatoes is by roasting, especially if you roast them along with other root vegetables and tubers. We often have a side dish made with roasted potatoes, sunchokes, turnips, kohlrabi, carrots, celeriac, or any combination of the above. If you're ever confronted with an unfamiliar root veggie or tuber, throw it in with some diced potatoes and roast it up. And, for reasons I will explain in a minute, make double the amount that you need.

Here's our dinner from Sunday night: Steak filets cooked in a Jameson whiskey sauce with mushrooms, chard salad on the side, and there at the back is our roasted potatoes and sunchokes. The basic recipe for the roast veg follows.

ROASTED TUBERS

You can use all potatoes for this, or make it more interesting by subbing in any combination of the roots and tubers I mentioned above. (Yes, I know kohlrabi is neither root nor tuber, but honestly I don't know what category it goes in, and from a culinary standpoint I treat it just like a turnip whenever I use it raw or cooked.) I especially recommend sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes; if you use them, remember DO NOT peel them. Ever. The skins are tasty and all the nutrients are directly under the skins, so just scrub them thoroughly with a brush and leave those skins on!

5 cups diced tubers and roots
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 sprigs fresh minced rosemary, or 1 Tbsp dried
1/2 Tbsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 F (225 C). Chop up your veg and spread them out in a casserole dish. Whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour it all over the veggies, then use your hands to toss it all together so it's evenly distributed. Slide that dish in the oven and roast for half an hour; stir it all up, then roast for another half hour until those veggies are nicely browned and cooked through.

"Oh, but Kimberly," you say, "That's way more than the two or three of us will eat in one meal."

That's right. You made extra roasted potatoes so you can use them again! Now you can put together a quicker meal with roasted-potato deliciousness and you won't have to wait an hour while they cook. They're very good tossed into soup (lentil soup is our go-to quickie dinner around here), or you can even toss them with a little pesto sauce and have them with fish, which cooks up in under ten minutes.

Or, you can make a nice frittata in the morning.



Do not underestimate potato frittata. It's so versatile - you can add sausage or bacon to it if you're so inclined, or whatever veggies you have on hand. The eggs give you a big protein wallop to start the day, and the potatoes will keep you feeling full well into lunch time. When I make frittata, I usually have it for breakfast and again for lunch, as it tastes absolutely delicious cold or at room temperature and goes so nicely with salad. This is a great one to take to work with you.

VEGGIE FRITTATA

1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1 leek, sliced -OR- 1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cups leftover roasted potatoes (and other tubers if applicable)
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup baby spinach
6 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450 F (225 C).

In a heavy, oven-safe skillet, melt the butter or olive oil over medium-high heat. Throw in the onion or leek, saute until it softens, then add in the garlic and potatoes. Continue sauteeing until the garlic starts to turn golden, stir in the grated carrots, and keep going until they soften up a bit.

While the veggies are cooking, crack all the eggs into a bowl. Add the milk, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper; beat it with a whisk or fork until it's an even mixture. Set aside and stir the cooking veggies. When the carrots are soft, stir in the spinach and cook another minute or two until the spinach wilts, and then spread everything out evenly in the skillet. Pour in the egg mixture and tilt the skillet around to make sure the egg is evenly distributed. If you're using cheese, sprinkle that on top.

Stick the skillet into the oven and bake it for about 10-15 minutes, or until the eggs have set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Slice into pie wedges and serve.

Happy St. Pat's, don't drink TOO much beer, and make sure you wear a little green today!

Tight-Arse Tuesdays - Vaginas

I know this seems like avery odd topic for a cooking and domestic blog, but let's face it - we all want cheap and natural ways to care for our little lady. American healthcare is expensive, and you all know it. You're not getting a decent doctor's visit anytime soon and by george, you're itching to see one.

I have two incredibly helpful home remedies to help your box be top notch!

Yeast infections are annoying and sometimes incredibly painful. You itch and itch and itch and finally give in and spend seventeen dollars on an antibiotic ointment. Garlic, babies. Garlic is a wonderful healing aid for many things and can prevent yeast infections when ingested reguarly. however, I am not suggesting you ingest this one. That's right ladies, peel that sucker, cut notches into it and, if you're not very good at fishing, tie a string to it before you insert it directly into your goddess zone. I have to tell you now though, you will taste of garlic. I don't mean just your bits, but you will taste garlic in your own mouth. Keep a clove of garlic inside for 6 hours and change. Keep changing til infection is gone - around a day or two.

BV is smelly and itchy and painful. It's caused by an imbalance in the good bacterias of your vagina. Yogurt. I am saying you both eat, insert and apply this wonderful natural cream. Sugar free all natural plain yogurt - sugar is just going to buid up the yeast and the next thing you know you're making a garlic yogurt concoction. Use an old tampon applicator and get some yogurt in there. A spoonful will do you. If you don't like this option, buy some acidopholus pills and insert one of those instead. Apply yogurt topically to ease the itching and eat it do balance out your happy feelings.

If symptoms persist, DO see a doctor. If you get swelling, bumps or other issues associated with your infection, DO see a doctor. You might have something entirely different and vaginal health is incredibly important. We only have one, ladies! We gotta keep it healthy and safe. Use your best judgement. If you feel something is wrong, don't hesitate to spend the extra money to see someone.

But all in all, these two simple tips should help clear any casual case of vaginal distress and save you heaps of money on creams, lotions, pills and doctor's scripts.