Anna N

Remind me again, please. Do you make your own tortillas? They look so much nicer than anything I can source.

These two ladies who lunch, @Kerry Beal and I, had quite an adventure today. We decided to choose our place to eat before we left the house and then work our way back from there. Usually we go out and choose our place to eat based on where we end up at lunchtime. So we decided we would go back to the Ethiopian restaurant in Hamilton. Upon our arrival at Wass, at a couple of minutes before noon, we found the door was locked. This, despite their website saying they opened at 11:30. A couple of phone calls went straight to answering service and so we abandoned that idea. Next choice was a return to The Butcher and the Vegan. On our way there someone from the Ethiopian restaurant called Kerry. It was a little hard to understand the conversation but the bottom line was that they were now open for lunch. Kerry pulled a U-turn and we headed back to Wass. But just as she made the U-turn she saw from the corner of her eye a restaurant called The Little Grasshopper offering authentic Portuguese fare. Another U-turn. While Kerry searched for a parking spot, I entered the restaurant and was warmly welcomed, always a good sign! Kerry ordered tea (look at that cup) and I ordered a cappuccino only because I’ve never seen one on a menu since I was on a ferry between England and Denmark a hundred years ago. We ordered calamari. And here you see the spot on the table waiting for the calamari. The server came by to tell us they were very sorry but they were all out of calamari. Darn. While he tried to entice us with other offerings we tried our best to explain that nothing would do but calamari. Kerry asked about the cut of pork used for the Pork Á Casa. I think all of the FOH and BOH staff became involved. Once it was determined that it was from the pork butt. That satisfied Kerry so her entrée was the Pork Á Casa with the salad substituted for the french fries. The dressing was a DIY affair using the oil and vinegar cruets which were part of the condiment set on every table. I ordered the steak on a bun with french fries. A very satisfactory and pleasant lunch due to the serendipity of finding something we were not looking for.

It’s wrong. Just wrong.

I can only hope that my second bread project today is an improvement on my first. I have no idea what might have gone wrong but something obviously did. These loaves are less than 2 inches in height. They are the German Sunflower Seed Bread recipe.

There are some sources that suggest that it earned the name tender not because it’s tender but because its shape resembles the tenderloin.

I was amazed at how good it was. I could taste the parsnip but it was not overpowering by any means. I wondered if someone who did not know that there was parsnip in there would detect it or just notice a different flavor.

You might get some useful information here.

Belgian endive braised in cream and dusted with Parmesan.

Grilled Treviso, St. Agur cheese, dressing and a reheated slice of pizza.

Perhaps one of the easiest recipes I have yet attempted in the mini. Only two main ingredients – – pork shoulder and barbecue sauce. It was a desperation move on my part. There was a small piece of pork shoulder in the refrigerator that needed to be dealt with and I was running very short on stamina. I have always said I am not a fan of pulled pork but this was perfectly adequate for a quick lunch and there are two baggies ready to go into the freezer for the next time I need something fast and tasty.

@RobertM Sorry I cannot help you with your Amazon question. Vanilla Meltaways, the recipe that drew me to the book, The Artful Baker. At too many points during the production of these cookies I came within seconds of dumping everything into the bin and forgetting the whole idea. First, my treasured vanilla beans, which I had carefully vacuumed packed when I received them, had lost their vacuum and were now as brittle as tinder. I tossed one into the microwave with a bowl of water and was able to make it at least pliable enough to scrape out the seeds. The next issue to crop up was mine and mine alone. I knew these cookies required icing sugar and in fact had just purchased some to make the recipe. But when it came time to weigh out the sugar I weighed out granulated sugar and dumped it into the bowl with the softened butter. I was largely able to recover from this mistake and didn’t think the few granules of ordinary white sugar would matter too much. After the ingredients are mixed to a course crumb stage recipe instructs one to gather them into a ball. Ha ha Ha. It was like trying to make a snowball out of dry sand. Then one is instructed to roll out this ball of crumbs between two sheets of parchment paper and to flip it frequently to avoid creases. Ha ha Ha. At least a quarter of the crumbs hit the floor as I attempted this maneuver. Then one is instructed to put the dough and the parchment paper into the refrigerator. There was no mention of wrapping it properly to prevent it from drying out but that should’ve been common sense. My sense returned about an hour into the chilling stage when I shoved everything into a plastic bag. The following morning as per instructions I removed the dough from the refrigerator in order to cut out cookie shapes. Yet another Ha ha ha Ha. I would’ve needed a sledgehammer to drive a cookie cutter into this dough. I left it alone for a while and when it eventually warmed up and became reasonably malleable, I cut out 12 or so cookies and managed to move them to a prepared sheet pan without them crumbling completely apart. But now I am instructed to gather up the remaining dough and once again, between two sheets of parchment paper, attempt to roll it out. NO! NO! NO! Not going to happen a second time. I tore off two good pieces of plastic wrap, used one to gather together the crumbly mixture and press it into a cohesive mass before rolling it out between the two sheets. Ah. So much easier. Perhaps plastic wrap is not available in the author’s home country of Turkey? Perhaps I should learn to trust my own instincts? We have had a huge outdoor freezer for what seems like weeks but of course when I decide to make these cookies, which need to be frozen before they are baked, the temperature is above freezing outside! Ha ha ha ha. So I have to scramble to make enough room in my freezer drawer for a sheet pan. At this point I can’t believe I am still optimistic enough to believe that anything edible will come out of this exercise. But it did. Not nearly as pretty as the ones pictured in the book but I don’t have to deliver them in a plain brown paper bag and they are tasty.

Lucky you. The lunch would’ve been nice but meeting up with @JohnTwould’ve been really special.

This parsnip, date and hazelnut loaf with some home-made cultured butter.

Sometimes I just need a nudge. This quick bread has intrigued me since I first opened the book. I decided to challenge myself before breakfast this morning and make it. I wonder if the 8 x 5 pan that is called for is a typo. I have 9 x 5 and 8 1/2 x 4 1/2. Search doesn’t bring up anything like an 8 x 5 but it worked just fine in my 8 1/2” x 4 1/2”. It also took longer to bake than suggested — close to an hour (and yes I did check my oven temperature). I tried to take a shortcut by throwing the toasted hazelnuts into the food processor to be chopped. Bad move. Some were pulverized and some remained pretty much whole. So just a word of warning there. Your knife is your best friend for chopping hazelnuts. It is cooling now and I’m getting hungrier by the minute.

I’m ambitextrous. I use both.

Yup. One of my favourite cocktails.

I may yet spring for Supra if only to read it for the sake of interest. I already know what a challenge it is to source some of the ingredients. You have done well with the sources that are available to you in the US but they are not available to me in Canada. In the meantime I will enjoy what you are doing from the book. Thanks for the summaries.

@blue_dolphin Thank you for starting this topic. I need to get back to that book (but there are so many books I need to get back to and so many I am anxious to get started on).

@heidih Quite jealous. Love injera. Time to revisit our Ethiopian restaurant.

Such a shame to waste bacon fat on Brussels sprouts.

I used to have the same problem. But think about this. Have you ever eaten raw leeks? If you clean them, chop them, dry them in the salad spinner, spread them on a cookie sheet or equivalent and stick them in the freezer for an hour you can then bag them and pour out as many as you need when you need them. Works for me. No more slimy leeks that I forgot in the crisper.

I think part of it is that once we have a new hammer then everything is a nail! Most of us get over that fairly quickly and realize that our latest toy isn’t necessarily the most appropriate tool for the job at hand or just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

You might find this an interesting read.

I really, really wanted to do scrambled eggs in a bread case but I don’t see that happening in the near future. And today I really wanted to fool around with scrambled eggs sous vide. Three eggs, 1 tablespoon each cream, milk, melted butter and salt pepper. Whisk together and put into resealable bag. Evacuate as much air as possible using Archimedes principle and then sous vide for 15 minutes at 75°C squishing the eggs around in the bag every five minutes. Delicious. Various sources give credit to Heston Blumenthal for this recipe but I couldn’t really confirm that he actually did them sous vide. But if he deserves the credit then I’m happy to give it to him. If you are a fan of creamy scrambled eggs and of sous vide then you need to try this. (No stuck-on-egg pan either.)

How are you prepping the broccoli? I’m asking how big you are making the florets? Thanks.