Moist Yellow Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Icing and Chocolate Buttercream Filling

Posted on June 23, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

While I certainly don’t consider myself the best cake maker, or baker, for that matter, I like attempting homemade cakes rather than store-bought mixes a few times throughout the year: kids’ birthdays and my husband’s birthday. Perhaps a special occasion here or there throughout the year.

A couple days before his seventh birthday, I asked Silas what kind of cake he wanted? I thought he’d request a layered rainbow cake:

Photo by Pip & Ebby

Being right at the onset of summer, a nice strawberry cake with whipped strawberry frosting:

Photo by The Intrepid Baker

Back to kid-oriented, maybe a funfetti cake I remember loving as a child, myself:

Photo by Kokocook

Oreo ice cream cake? What kind of kid wouldn’t want an ice cream cake?

Photo by TheKitchn

But, no. As usual, Silas is full of surprises. When asked what kind of birthday cake he wanted, without hesitation, he said “I want an LSU cake. Yellow cake with purple frosting. And yellow. And it has to say LSU on it.” While I researched the internet for LSU cake ideas, most were fondant-topped. I have never made fondant and in such a short amount of time, didn’t want to mess with it. So instead I found a good yellow cake recipe. Then good frosting ideas. And the outcome? “Julie, thank you… it’s exactly what I was thinking it would be.”

I used the following yellow cake recipe, which came out very moist with a light crumb. It wasn’t “fluffy” as I had imagined, but it was still tasty. The vanilla butter cream is very light, and the chocolate buttercream… it’s based off of Joy the Baker’s recipe, but for this cake I also added mini chocolate chips.

I’ll warn you ahead of time: this cake is NOT light on the butter or sugar, but it’s very moist and surprisingly not overly hurt-your-teeth sweet. If you want to use different fillings or frostings, have at it! :)

 

Moist Yellow Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Icing and Chocolate Buttercream Filling

Moist Yellow Cake

recipe from Smitten Kitchen 

Ingredients:
4 cups plus 2 tbsp. cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, shaken

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Prepare two 9-inch pans for baking. Butter the bottom of each pan then line with parchment paper. (I trace the bottom of the pan onto the parchment, then cut it slightly smaller. Then cut a long, rectangular strip of parchment paper for the sides, about 3 inches thick, if the pan is 2-inches deep.) Brush the parchment paper lightly with oil or shortening, then very lightly dust with flour.

In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together over medium speed until pale and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add in the vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with each new addition. Add the buttermilk in at low speed, until just combined. (The mixture will look curdled, which is okay!) Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, a third at a time, until just incorporated.

Place half the batter in each pan (I like to weigh each pan to keep things even while baking). Bang the pan on your countertop a few times to get rid of air bubbles trapped in the batter. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cake is golden in color and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in its pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pan. Invert the cake onto a cooling rack (flat-side up for one, flat-side down for the other), discard the parchment paper, and then cool completely before frosting (1-1½ hours).

 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (lighter, for frosting the whole cake) 

Ingredients:
3 cups powdered sugar
1 stick butter, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. milk

Directions:

In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a bowl, using a hand mixer), cream the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the sugar over low speed. The mixture will be pretty thick, but at this point add in the vanilla and milk. If you’re adding any coloring, this is the time to do it. Beat until light and fluffy.

 

Vanilla Decorating Frosting (for writing and decoration accenting)

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp. milk
½ tsp. vanilla

Directions:

In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a bowl, using a hand mixer), cream the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the sugar over low speed. The mixture will be pretty thick, but at this point add in the vanilla and milk. If you’re adding any coloring, this is the time to do it. If you want to make multiple colors, separate some of the frosting into different bowls at this point then add your colors as desired. Beat until the color is well incorporated. Use as desired.

 

 Chocolate Buttercream Filling

Ingredients:
6 tbsp. butter, room temperature
¼ cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. powdered sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. milk
¼ cup heavy cream

Directions:

Cream the butter, cocoa powder, and salt together in your stand mixer. The mixture will be extremely thick. After scraping down the sides of the bowl, add the vanilla and milk alternately with the powdered sugar. As the sugar begins to incorporate, increase the speed to medium/ medium-high to beat the frosting. Beat until smooth.  Turn the speed down to medium-low, pouring the heavy cream in a steady but slow stream, until the frosting reaches a light, fluffy consistency.

Assemble the cake:

Use a cake stand, make shift cake stand, or as a last resort simply assemble on a large dinner plate. Place one of the cakes on the base, rounded side down. Use a serrated knife to create an even, flat surface. Spoon the chocolate buttercream filling onto the cake, then use a spatula to evenly distribute the buttercream. Place the second cake gently on top of the chocolate buttercream, then gently press the cake down slightly.

Spread the vanilla buttercream (whatever color you decided to use) on the sides of the cake, working from the top towards the bottom, rotating the cake as you go. Wipe the spatula as necessary before dipping into the buttercream, to keep it coated with frosting without lots of crumbs.

To frost the cake top, put a generous spoonful of frosting in the center, then spread it outwards to all the edges. Gently spread with a spatula, also turning the cake as you spread the frosting.

Use the decorating frosting however you desire.

Store the cake in the refrigerator for up to three days. (I think it’s best served at room temperature, though!)

Posted in Baking, Dessert, Kids, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Spicy Fish Tacos

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

My summer eating habits are pretty terrible. For one, I still need coffee every morning. I am not hungry for breakfast – ever. Most days, lunch completely eludes me. Then all of a sudden it’s dinner time. Hungry or not, I’ll eat dinner with my husband. Weather and moods: the apparent determining factor for my hunger. This isn’t smart or healthy. Don’t be like me. There are the very random things that I’ll consume on a whim: snap peas out of the garden while watering, baby romaine straight out of my very consistently producing lettuce tub, a banana or yogurt sometime near lunch time. Pieces of dark chocolate somewhere in there.

I’ve been living on homemade veggie burritos for the last couple days. If we weren’t out of the massive 14-inch whole wheat tortillas we found earlier this week, I’d probably eat another one right now. Another thing I could eat that way – you know, consistently through the week, without tiring of it – is tacos. Homemade soft tacos. We’ll make veggie tacos most of the time: home-cooked black or pinto beans, cheese, salsa, lettuce, sour cream, red or yellow toasted rice, chopped tomatoes, hot sauce, avocado. The beauty of homemade tacos is making your own tortillas, because then you aren’t limited to the typical 4-inch corn tortilla. You can get them to 6, 7, 8 inches – for tacos that don’t overflow so quickly! Homemade corn tortillas are my favorite, always. There are good brands of store-bought tortillas you can use and heat up, but I like the extra effort (and flavor) of making my own. Especially for these spicy, tasty, tacos.

I like veggie tacos a lot, but also love fish tacos. I don’t remember the first time I had one, but I remember it must have been close to my fish-despising days, because even the sound of a “fish taco” sounded questionable. I ate it anyway. Golden fried cod, shredded cabbage, tomatillo salsa, sour cream – it was so good. About six months ago I had fish tacos prepared differently: no fried fish, rather, pan seared and spicy bite-sized pieces of moist, delicious, fish. A spicy slaw, tangy Mexican crema, chopped onions, and fresh cilantro. It was amazing. I decided I was going to make this at home, except I simply used purple cabbage instead of making a slaw. It was equally as good.

 

Spicy Fish Tacos

Makes approximately 12 fish tacos

 Ingredients:
1 pound skinless pacific red rockfish, de-boned
1-2 limes
1½ tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
½ tsp. ground black pepper
½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. granulated garlic
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped (plus more for serving)
1 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
2 tbsp. oil

12 small corn tortillas (store-bought or homemade)
chopped fresh cilantro
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and diced
sour cream
cotija cheese (or any other mild, crumbly cheese)
about 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1 avocado, sliced into thin pieces

Directions:

Place the fillets of fish in a large baking dish. Squeeze the juice from half of one lime over the fish. Sprinkle on half of the cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, black pepper, salt, and garlic. Flip the fillets over and squeeze the other lime half over the fish, then sprinkle on the remaining cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, black pepper, salt, and garlic. Let the fish sit for 5-10 minutes.

While the fish is resting, heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the fish fillets. Cook the fish for a couple minutes, then flip over and cook the other side until the fish just begins to flake. Use a spatula or fork to flake the fish apart into bite size pieces. Add the 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro and 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped oregano to the pan. Gently stir to evenly distribute everything. Reduce heat to low.

Warm the tortillas according to the package directions. To assemble, place a tortilla on your plate. Layer some shredded cabbage, then about 2 tablespoons of fish, 2 slices of avocado, a tablespoon or so of cheese, then a light drizzle of sour cream, a small pinch of cilantro and jalapenos. Serve with a slice of lime for squeezing on the taco right before eating. Enjoy!

Posted in Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Seafood | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Making Your Own Cake Flour

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

While I have apparent obsessive compulsive tendencies, especially when cleaning and cooking, the truth is my cooking area and food prep areas are often a disaster zone. A giant mess of ingredients where they don’t belong, batter flying up the cupboard sides, oil splish-splashing all over my stove and clothes, haphazardly thrown (gently placed…) spice jars and miscellanies here and there. I say it keeps things fun. But really, it’s just my spazz-tastic version of cooking. Somehow things come together, though. And better yet, they taste good 98% of the time. Plus there’s always time for cleaning up, I suppose.

I don’t bake all that often. If I didn’t make pancakes or waffles, or even biscuits so often, I probably wouldn’t ever have baking powder or baking soda on hand when needed. I’ve learned to keep those in the cupboard. Along with a few other staples, like brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, all-purpose flour. One thing I’ve never bought is cake flour. I’ve seen it, but always tell myself that all-purpose will do, so why spend the extra dollars on something that’ll sit around unused most of the time?

Silas’s birthday was last week. He requested a yellow cake and as I searched the inter-nets for a good recipe, I noticed most of them called for cake flour. Turns out cake flour makes for a lighter, fluffier cake. As it also turns out, cake flour made from scratch is ridiculously easy. As in so simple, with only the addition of one other ingredient to your all-purpose flour: cornstarch. So here’s an easy recipe for homemade cake flour. No need to run to the store for that specially labeled box.

 

 

Making Cake Flour From All-Purpose Flour

Ingredients:

all-purpose flour
cornstarch

 

Directions:

Measure out one cup of all-purpose flour. Remove two tablespoons of that flour and place it back with its other flour buddies.

Add two tablespoons of cornstarch to your measured-out flour.

Sift together. Then sift again. And again. And again. And again… and then for good measure, to allow in more air (for light, fluffy flour), and to make sure everything is evenly distributed, sift one last time.

Easy, huh?

Simply use these measurements for every cup of flour that you need for your recipe.

 

 

 

Posted in Baking | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Homemade Hummus

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

One of my favorite last minute foods to make for groups of folks is homemade hummus. Sometimes I just like to make it because it tastes good. It’s easy, quick, and so much tastier than buying store-bought varieties. While you can use canned beans, cooking your own simply allows you to incorporate another layer of taste… Because although they’re easy and quick, canned beans don’t have a whole lot of flavor going on.

There are various ways you can beef up this recipe, but this is a simple and straightforward version. Add in some fresh chopped parsley, or roast your garlic (plus a few more cloves), try different spices in the bean broth. You can serve this all on its own, with chips, with vegetables, on a sandwich, in a wrap, with some falafel balls.

 

Homemade Hummus

Ingredients:
1 cup dried garbanzo beans
1 tbsp. sea salt
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika
water

1/3 cup tahini
¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. good quality olive oil
½ tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. ground cumin
salt, to your liking

 

Directions:

Soak the dried garbanzo beans overnight. The next morning, drain and rinse. Place the soaked beans, sea salt, ground cumin, bay leaf, black pepper, and smoked paprika in a large pot. Fill with enough water to cover the beans by one inch. Bring to a low boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until the beans are tender (about 1-2 hours).

Drain the beans (you can reserve the cooking liquid for later use if you want, but it’s not necessary). Place in a food processor fitted with the large chopping blade. Also put the tahini, fresh lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and cumin in the food processor. Blend until very smooth. If the mixture gets too thick, you can add a little more oil. Taste and add salt to your liking. (Remember, add a tiny bit, blend completely, and taste again. You can always add more, but once it’s too salty there isn’t much you can do to fix your hummus!)

Place in a serving bowl, then drizzle the top of the hummus with a little olive oil and sprinkle on a small pinch of smoked paprika. Serve with pita chips, or fresh vegetables, or however you best enjoy your hummus!

Posted in Appetizer, Gluten-Free, Sauces, Sides, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Old Oakland and New Food

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

Somehow it has become the middle of June and I’m not entirely sure where time has gone, yet again. We’ve had two birthdays (my 27th, Silas’s 7th), the end of the school year, an 8th grade graduation, a trip to Oakland, California, and lots of summer weather. That’s not a complaint; just an indication of why my blogging has been a little MIA lately. While I’ve got a number of recipes to share, that isn’t where this post is headed. Six months ago, Allegiant Airlines introduced a flight from Medford, OR to Oakland, CA for $9 per way. We jumped on the chance to book a trip for my birthday. This post is to recap our trip, specifically in regards to the amazing food we experienced.

About 10 minutes after arriving at our hotel in downtown (Old) Oakland, we walked to Souley Vegan, a vegan restaurant we’d been wanting to check out for quite some time. We had been here once before, but decided not to brave the long winding line of customers. I’m glad we made it back. The owner, Tamearra Dyson, was kind and approachable. The food? Very approachable, too. We ordered the Everything Plate to share – which sounds like a ton of food, but ended up being perfect for Craig and I. It didn’t take long for our two large plates of food to arrive, covered in mustard greens, black eyed peas, baked yams, perfectly spiced lentils, bbq tofu, southern fried tofu, mac and cheese, potato salad, cornbread, red beans with rice, and fried okra. The fried tofu was reminiscent of fried catfish; I’d never had tofu like this before. The bbq tofu stood out most to me – it had an amazing char on the tofu, with the perfect amount of chewiness similar to real meat. The sauce was smoky, sweet, and delicious. We also had a house-made cayenne lemonade, which was delicious. We raved about our experience here to nearly anyone we had a conversation with throughout the weekend. Vegan, vegetarian, or not, Souley Vegan is not to be missed.

On Friday, there was a farmer’s market across the street from our hotel. We had previously scoped out reviews on Yelp and knew we’d enjoy breakfast and/or lunch here. We shared tamales from All Star Tamales and a sweet corn empanada from El Porteño Empanadas. Our tamales were incredible. We got a green pasilla chile tamale, which also contained cotija and mozzarella cheese, steamed in a banana leaf. The other tamale we shared was filled with Anaheim chilies, cheddar and mozzarella cheese. The masa part of these tamales was different than any other tamale I’ve had: super moist, fluffy, and not dense at all.

Photo from Cosecha’s Facebook Page

While wandering the farmer’s market, we peeked into Swan’s Marketplace, a neat space, home to various eateries and businesses. We visited Cosecha Café, which both Craig and I had read rave reviews about. They weren’t open yet, but set in the open, we could watch the staff prepare mini guava tarts, shell shrimp for that night’s wild shrimp taco special, all the while being met with friendly smiles. As we were about to leave, a woman stopped to talk to us and told us how excited she was about that night’s specials, as well as what time would be best to come back if our intention was to avoid the crowd. Turns out she was the owner of Cosecha, Dominica Salomon Rice. We made it back for a light dinner, where we shared a wild shrimp taco, which came on a house-made tortilla. We also shared a yam and cheese quesadilla and large horchata. Everything was so fresh, delicious, and obviously prepared with care for the ingredients.

Later on that night, we went on the hunt for a good taqueria, open late, ready for a burrito to share. We managed to pass right by the first place on our list of options, then found that Yelp had run us on a snag for the second – the taco truck had already gone home for the day. While walking around exploring, trying to find somewhere else to eat, we noticed a food truck “Eatup” (ala Twitter) along with a man walking down the street eating a massive burrito. Turns out this was the well known Curry Up Truck  and we ordered a tikka masala burrito, which was filled with methi pulao (a fenugreek rice), chana masala (a slightly spicy chickpea dish), pickled onions, and soft cubes of tofu. It was AMAZING. Perfectly spiced, plus wrapped into a burrito, it made walking a cinch. While we waited for our burrito, we walked over to The Sweet Stop truck, the first mobile bakery in the Bay Area. We spotted the last strawberry shortcake mini cake and decided to indulge, for birthday’s sake. The owner, Audrey Kramer, placed a lit birthday candle in our cake and announced my birthday over their truck’s intercom, which was met with a “Happy Birthday to You!” chorus of folks who were eating at the food trucks. It was a sweet, kind, surprise. And that cake… the lightest, fluffiest, most delectable strawberry shortcake I’ve ever had.

One place we’d read about was called OB’s Café. On Yelp, the reviews don’t have much middle ground: either five stars or 1. There are stories of the “unfriendly owner” who appears disgruntled, turns customers away, or kicks them out after they try to order a dish some certain way. Then there are reviews from people who simply say you need to approach OB’s as a friend’s home you’re a guest at, not somewhere to be served. There are rave reviews for the best shrimp and grits outside of Louisiana. When we peeked in, we noticed the entire space OB prepared his food consisted of hot plates, a grill, and a toaster. Craig went to OB’s one morning, intending to bring back breakfast for us. He said he was the only person in the restaurant, and that he and OB had a great conversation. They shared stories and OB was very kind. When Craig mentioned that he was getting our food to-go, OB suggested the Creole Breakfast, rather than Cajun Shrimp and Grits. The Creole consisted of  cornmeal crisped catfish, creamy grits, eggs, and toasted english muffins. The catfish was perfectly cooked. The grits were the most buttery, creamy, grits I’ve ever had. The scrambled eggs were perfectly done, and even the english muffins were delicious!

Overall, our eating-experiences in Oakland were such a pleasant surprise. It seemed like everywhere we enjoyed something to eat, the owners, chefs, and employees took immense pride in what they were preparing, and made a conscious effort to share their ingredients with care. We are definitely looking forward to visiting again soon.

Posted in Life, Restaurants, Travel, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Molly Wizenberg’s Burg’s French Toast

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

When I was a kid, my mom would make French toast for breakfast at least once a week. Being the weird child I was, I didn’t like these custardy pieces of bread, coated with butter and maple syrup. I liked that she’d cook them up, wrap the leftovers and put them in the fridge… When I got home from school hours later, I’d take the cold French toast and make a cream cheese and jelly sandwich (I didn’t like peanut butter).

Mom often used regular sliced sandwich bread for her French toast, unless we happened to have French bread leftover from the previous night. Thin slices of cinnamon-sugar eggy custardy French toast. That’s the way I prepared it later on when I re-discovered French toast. Sometimes I like to use cloves, orange zest, and brown sugar in my milk-egg mixture.

About a year ago though, I was reading Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life and came across the following recipe. It’s by far my favorite French toast. While very straightforward and simple, this French toast is magic. There’s no cinnamon, just fresh nutmeg. You cook each slice in a deep pool of oil, rather than butter. It creates a perfectly crisp outside and a delicate, tasty, egg-custard inside. This recipe never disappoints; do yourself a favor and try it.

 

Burg’s French Toast

Recipe adapted from A Homemade Life 

Makes 2 to 3 servings

Ingredients:

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt

pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

canola or other neutral vegetable oil, for frying

6 to 8 slices day-old bread, sliced on the diagonal about 3/4-inch thick

pure maple syrup, for serving


Directions:

In a wide, shallow baking dish, whisk the eggs with the milk, sugar, vanilla, salt and nutmeg until well combined.

In a large, heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, pour in enough oil to thoroughly coat the bottom (seriously coat it – not add in a bit of oil and turn the pan to move it around; get enough oil to really cover the pan’s bottom).

Meanwhile, place 2 or 3 slices of the bread in the egg mixture. Let stand, turning once, for 1-2 minutes.


Use tongs to transfer the bread slices to the skillet. Cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden brown on each side – about 2 minutes on each side.

Remove the bread to paper towels or a cookie cooling rack and let stand for 1 minute before serving. Repeat with the remaining bread slices. Serve hot with maple syrup.

*These really are best served right after they’ve sat for a minute after cooking; my experience is that they deflate the longer they sit. I suggest serving the slices as they’re ready, rather than waiting to serve them all at once.

Posted in Bread, Breakfast, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Adaptations, Last Minutes, and Thrown-Togethers

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

At the end of the week, I’ll be 27. Honestly, I don’t have much apprehension about getting older. Maybe it’s because I’ve always felt, to some degree, that I’m older than I am. Don’t you worry: I don’t always act that way. At all. I don’t always think that way. And certainly, I am often reminded in one way or another, that I’m still in my mid… oh, crap… my latter-20’s.

The older I get, the more open to meal flexibility I find myself. And flexibility in general, which is neat for someone who has slight control issues. Or often finds herself in need of plans, schedules, an idea of what’s going on between the time she gets up and goes to bed. Perhaps it has to do with keeping up with busy kid-schedules, or keeping up with so many family schedules in general. I like preparing elaborate meals, but when it comes down to it, I actually like the times where I find myself scoping out the fridge and pantry, trying to piece together dinner for two, or three, or four, avoiding the grocery store and more money spent, at all costs.

Now that summer is approaching, we’ve got curly endive growing faster than I can pick and a bin full of baby romaine and leaf lettuces that also need constant picking. It’s heavenly. Paired with various fresh herbs sprouting all over the garden and yard, last minute meals seem to have more flexibility, too.

So. The last couple of weeks, our food co-op has been placing Henry & Lisa’s Wild Alaskan Teriyaki Burgers on sale from nearly $7 to 99 cents. We have bought many boxes. Then inhabit the majority of our freezer. Right next to the Ben and Jerry’s, sweet corn, and frozen berries intended for smoothies (not all three for smoothies; just the berries!). Upon first taste, I decided these were disappointing, just because I expected teriyaki flavored burgers. Instead, they were just salmon-y. Good, but just plain fishy. No real punch, kick, flavor. What to do with these burgers, then?

One of the keys to last minute meals, thrown-together dinners, or adaptations of recipes you want to attempt but don’t want to make a special trip to the grocery store for, includes having good basic staples on hand. Some of the key ingredients I like in my pantry and fridge, or this time of year, the garden, include:

fresh basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley, marjoram, dill
whole nutmeg, vanilla beans, and dried peppers
dried beans (including black, pinto, red kidney, and cannellini)
long-grain brown and white rice
vegetable and No-Chicken stock
canned tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted)
dried cumin, red chili flakes, turmeric, sea salt, coriander, and sage
fresh garlic and onions
tofu and/or tempeh
mustard
pastas of various types
corn masa
polenta
tamari or soy sauce
vegan Worcestershire sauce

AND! One of my favorite items to have on hand, either in the fridge or as backup in the pantry, is Soy Vay’s Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce. It is veri-veri-good. Good as a marinade, as a topping, on its own, or mixed in another homemade sauce.

Tonight’s dinner was simple: greens pulled from the garden tossed with sundried tomatoes, along with pan-seared teriyaki salmon patties, first browned lightly with sunflower oil, salt, and pepper, then lightly coated with veri veri teriyaki, cooked until the sauce slightly caramelized onto the fish, and finished off with sharp cheddar cheese. It was quick, easy, and surprisingly good. Really, last minute meals are only limited to two things: ingredients at hand and your imagination. My method: dive in, have fun, let go of everything but the desire to make something tasty.

Posted in Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Homemade Horchata

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

Let’s talk beverages. I enjoy good drinks. Not always of the inebriant variety, although living in the Pacific Northwest means that delicious, unique microbrews are vastly available. And beer aside, I have a soft spot for bourbon. And gin. And good tequila. Okay, let’s stop there.

Beverages… right-o. Five years ago, my husband introduced me to horchata (or-CHAH-tah). Being the Mexican food king, I listened when he said I had to try this drink that was the perfect accompaniment to our veggie burritos. I’ve been hooked since, and in fact seek out horchata at every new taqueria we visit, always on the hunt for a good, creamy, nicely cinnamon-flavored horchata. Traditional horchata is merely rice, cinnamon, sugar, and water. Sometimes lime.

We travel to the Bay Area relatively often. There are taquerias all over the place, some better than others. The burritos are frequent, the horchata much anticipated. There’s a place in Sebastopol, California that has my favorite horchata of all time, Viva Mexicana – it’s the creamiest I’ve had, by far, and the perfect blend of cinnamon, sugar, rice. If you ever find yourself in the North Bay, this place is a must for the horchata. Plus the burritos and breakfast items are delicious.

The following recipe isn’t traditional, as I’ve included almonds, vanilla, and milk. But it makes for a creamy, sweet, delicious drink. I know I said I’m into non-alcoholic drinks as well, but I’ve also been intrigued by boozy horchata, which I’ve seen on drink lists in larger cities or fancy Mexican restaurants. So far I’ve not gone that route, but am certain I’m not missing out by enjoying my virgin horchata, straight up. You won’t be disappointed, either.

Horchata

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain white rice
¼ cup almonds
3 Ceylon cinnamon sticks
11 cups water
¾ – 1 cup sugar
1 cup half and half or whole milk
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
ground cinnamon for serving

 

Directions:

Place your rice, almonds, and cinnamon sticks in a large container or pitcher. Add the water. Soak for 8-10 hours (overnight) at room temperature.

Place the grains of rice, almonds, cinnamon sticks, and about half of the soaking water into a blender (don’t throw out the remaining water – it’s your horchata in the making!). Pulse for 20-30 seconds at a time, until the rice and cinnamon sticks are broken up (but not too small! The pieces of rice should be about 1/8-inch in length).

Pour the broken up grains of rice, almonds, cinnamon sticks and water back into the remaining soaking water. Stir thoroughly. Add in the sugar, vanilla, and milk/half and half, stirring again. Refrigerate for an hour or two, until cold.

Strain out all of the rice, cinnamon stick, and almond pieces. Stir well. Serve over ice and sprinkle a little ground cinnamon on the top of each glass before serving (if you want… you know, for aesthetic purposes).

The horchata will keep in the fridge for a few days. Separation will happen, which isn’t a big deal – just stir before pouring.

Posted in Beverages, Kids, Life, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

We just spent the weekend in the Bay Area, where my husband played a few shows with his band, Cast of Clowns. I do enjoy Ashland, where we live, but also appreciate and enjoy the time traveling elsewhere. Trips of these sort are always filled with amazing people, great music, good food, new scenery even when it’s familiar, a degree of relaxation, and at the end, a desire to be home.

Usually I’ve got good judgment as far as grocery shopping prior to plans of being out of town. This past week wasn’t the case. I had milk, cream, eggs, avocadoes, tomatoes, fresh herbs, broccolini, tempeh, and a number of other things that needed to be used up. So what’s a girl to do? Of course bake a bunch of cookies, right, that will need to eaten up as well? Oy!

I have this new hobby. It’s listening to backdated episodes of a HomeFries podcast done by Joy the Baker and Tracy Benjamin of Shutterbean while cooking, while photo-editing, while doing the dishes, while folding laundry. I’d say it’s borderline obsessive. The fact that my husband will crack up while listen in too, pretty much on accident, and probably because it’s unavoidable considering my fascination – adds to my happiness around the whole thing. Anyway. A couple months ago, I listened in and heard these hilarious ladies discussing “cookie butter.” I hadn’t heard of cookie butter before, but the need for it in my kitchen sounded necessary.

One day while walking with Silas in the grocery store, I happened up on jars of Biscoff cookie butter (next to the organic cereal bars and vegan this-and-thats, of course). In a neurotic glee, I said, “Si! Do you know what this is?! Cookie butter!” I’ll tell you right now – it doesn’t take a lot of convincing when you tell a 6-year-old that cookie butter is needed in your home.

Nearing the end of our jar of cookie butter and craving cookies, I thought, well – you can make peanut butter cookies, why not cookie butter cookies? Turns out you can make cookie butter cookies. And they’re tasty. Especially with hazelnuts and chocolate chips.

 

 

Cookie Butter Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies

Recipe adapted from Joy the Baker’s
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies


Ingredients:
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
½ cup Biscoff Spread (Belgian Speculoos Spread)
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
¾ cup mini chocolate chips
½ cup chopped hazelnuts
an additional ¼ – ½ cup granulated sugar

 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.

Use a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. If you don’t have one, a hand-mixer will do. Beat the butter over medium speed until it’s smooth and creamy (30 seconds – 1 minute). Add the biscoff spread (cookie butter) and mix for an additional minute. Add both sugars and beat for a few minutes, until well combined. (Don’t over-mix.) Add the egg, beating for a minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Over low speed, add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture, mixing just until the flour isn’t visible (a minute or two). Mix in the chocolate chips and hazelnuts. The dough will be soft.

Pour the additional granulated sugar in a shallow dish. Scoop the dough one tablespoon at a time for each cookie, rolling it with your hands into balls, then roll them in the sugar. Place on your prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each ball. Use a fork to press the dough ball down, creating a crisscross indentation.

Bake the cookies for 12 minutes. The cookies are done when lightly colored, but still slightly soft (they’ll crisp while cooling). Cool on the baking sheet for a minute, before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool to room temperature.

Posted in Baking, Dessert, Kids, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Toasted Coconut, Cilantro and Lime Rice

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

Rice was a substantial part of any meal I had for at least half of my lifetime. Plain white, sticky, rice. Breakfast at times meant sticky rice, scrambled eggs, and Portuguese sausage. Lunch – nori (seaweed) wrapped spam musubis or a scoop of white sticky rice in a bento box laden with fried chicken, or shrimp, or various other ingredients. Dinner – rice alongside nearly any ingredient. I’ve had a very under-appreciated relationship with the grain, despite its ever present existence in my life.

I have a new-found like for the stuff. Brown rice, cooked like pasta. Long-grain white rice served under a delicious curry or peanut sauce. Tomato-based rice with chilies or other flavors. And now, coconut rice that is tender but hints at just the slightest toastiness that keeps it from being mushy and fragranced more than flavored with hints of ginger and lime

The following rice is great on its own as a side dish. Or it can be the bed beneath a good coconut-inspired curry. Or alongside fried seafood. Its flavor can hold up on its own, but certainly won’t overpower if you decide to pair it with other flavors.

 

Toasted Coconut, Cilantro and Lime Rice

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups coconut milk (NOT coconut water)
1 ½ cups No-Chicken stock
1 ½ cups basmati rice
½ cup toasted unsweetened coconut flakes
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
½ tsp fresh ginger, minced
the juice from ½ a lime plus its zest
pinch of salt
1 tbsp. oil

Directions:

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Add the rice, stirring to evenly coat each grain. Occasionally stir the rice, being careful to keep it from burning, until the grains are smell toasty and turn a golden brown color. Add in the coconut milk and stock, stirring to combine well. Cover, reduce heat to low, and allow the rice to cook until tender and the liquid has been fully absorbed (about 20-25 minutes).

Turn off the heat, then fluff the rice with a fork. Re-cover and allow the rice to rest for about 10 minutes. Gently mix in the toasted coconut, cilantro, fresh ginger, lime juice, lime zest, and salt.

Serve immediately.

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Sides, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments