shain

3 Pizzas: Spicy tomato sauce with chili, oregano and thyme, aged mozzarella, creamy goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives. I ran out of semolina, so I had to use more flour for rolling the dough, as a result I overly dusted the first pie, hence the pale color. Also, I sprinkled salt over the rim of all 3 pizzas. Pesto, ricotta (big chunks, lightly salted), mozzarella (diced), cherry tomatoes, black pepper. Ricotta, mozzarella (mixed, sprinkled with sea salt), figs, a little anise and fennel seeds, black pepper (also a few chopped basil leaves that wilted and lost all flavor...)

I made penne alla Norma, but I forgot to take a picture I found this pic from last summer. Today's dish differs by the use of penne rather then rigatoni, the eggplant being cut to larger pieces and the basil cut into chiffonade. Also, I now enjoy plating individual dishes, rather then the more efficient method of serving directly from the pan, Both this year and the last I opted to bake the cubed eggplants rather then frying. I'm not a fan of fried eggplants, not the process and not the result, which I find taste more of oil then of itself. As for pasta shape - I think rigatoni suits this dish better due to their larger size.

Chocolate swiss roll, filled with banana whipped cream and crisp chocolate flakes. I kind of wish it was yellow...

I haven't cooked with leaves from my plant, but I plan to do so in the future, when the plant will be mature enough to handle being trimmed. Actually, I have yet to taste a dish cooked in banana leaves, or even the fruit of a banana other then commercial Cavendish. The area I live in grows plenty of bananas (and avocados), but I was always afraid to use the leaves, since they are likely to be contaminated with pesticides

They should be, but I want to wait until after winter, in case any of them will get damaged from wind or hail.

For launch I bought a few "fatayer" flatbreads from a nearby Muslim town. They are made with a pita dough, rolled thin and drizzled with olive oil, then spread with fresh zaatar leaves (the herb used in dry zaatar mix, closely related to oregano) and seasonal greens (usually spinach, my favorite, chard, or a mix of both). It is then folded and re-rolled, so it is essentially laminated. Baked on a saj, over strong flame, so that it is soft and chewy, charred at spots and has a wonderful aroma of herbs, olive oil and flames. It is eaten while warm, and I like mine served with labanneh cheese, a sprinkle of salt and some zaatar spice. Also cherry tomatoes, and onions with sumac.

I found a picture from one week ago: As you can see, it grows really fast! It also has a few shoots, but they seem to be on hold and did not grow during the last month. I assume the plant dedicates it's energy to the fruits.

Being vegetarian for many many years, I think that such faux-meat or lab grown can be a wonderful thing, It's don't that I miss meat in my diet, but as a person who enjoy cooking and eating all kinds of foods, I think that every good ingredient is a poitive thing, and I'll be happy to try cooking with it and eating it (assuming it actually tastes good). That's being said, I think the important aspect of those products is not for vegans/vegetarians to be able to eat meat, but rather environmental.

I'm expecting some bananas. It's the first time my plant blossoms, so I'm quite excited! And on a less happy note, I found this bastard in my garden, and he had the guts to be standing on my boots! This is a Batocera rufomaculata, it's weevils cause much damage to fruit trees, especially figs. This is their mating season, and they can fly long distances to find trees to lay eggs in. I think I'll have no option but to spray the trees. I don't have a good photo for scale, but this thing in about 3 inches long! They also have a tendency to hiss at people and animals.

I freeze a couple boxes of mango every summer, but I don't puree it. Mango has a high sugar and fiber content, making it stay quite soft even when frozen in chunks. The frozen mango is actually very tasty as is, I like to shave it thinly with a peeler or knife as a snack. It's also great for making yogurt based lassi or coconut milk based smoothies.

I'm dealing with an overload of mangoes, and running out of fridge space... Coconut rice with mango, mint and a tiny touch of cinnamon and chili.

Freekeh (green wheat berries, smoked over open fire), cooked risotto style (though the texture is quite different), with chickpeas, flavored with scallions, parsley, cilantro, chili, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic and some sharp olive oil. Grilled tofu with cumin rub, charred cherry tomatoes and onions. Not pictured is a generous (but photogenic) drizzle of lemony tahini sauce with more smoked paprika and plenty of sumac. Sapodilla fruit for dessert (a gift from a neighbor). Tastes just like a juicy date, with gentle acidity and hints of cinnamon, delicious!

Zucchini and carrot muffins with oatmeal bran, a little olive oil (though butter also works) and a touch of cinnamon. With very little added sugar, it's has a nice savory-sweet balance. The grated zucchini gives them a nicely moist texture. The carrot is finely diced to give some texture. The muffins were served with tahini and ricotta. I used a double baking method, in which I bake the muffins in their pan until just baked through, then take them out and place on a wire rack. I increase the oven temp a bit and turn on convection baking, the muffins go back in for 15min and turn brown and crisp from all sides, without over baking. I use this method for all muffins, both savoy and sweet.

Cold noodles, sweet peppers, chili peppers, scallions, cucumber strips, basil leaves, in peanut sauce - peanut butter (natural), soy sauce, coconut milk, garlic, mint, rice vinegar. Recipe by Kenji Lopez-Alt. I think some cilantro would have made a good addition.

Roasted sweet potato and soft tofu, glazed with a mixture of soy sauce, anise and fennel seeds, ginger (juiced), a little honey,garlic, toasted sesame oil, a little miso, rice vinegar, chilly. Served with rice with, flavored with a little garlic, anise seeds and a touch of cinnamon. Some scallions.

@Toliver I feel silly, Iv'e linked to a different blog then the one I intended. Thank you for posting one that works! I'll fix the link in mine for the ease of future readers... @pastryani That's one crispy looking sugar crust!

@DianaB I haven't looked at Valrhona's recipes, but your cake looks great and I can imagine how great the blond layer tastes. I know ATK has an annoying pay wall, so the link I've posted above (This one) is not to their site, but rather a blog where it was reposted.

3 layer chocolate mousse cake (ATK recipe). I made a few adjustments, most notable are making half a batch in a rectangular shape. Second was adding coffee and vanilla to the otherwise plain white chocolate layer, giving it a much more interesting flavor (and coffee-vanilla is one of my favorite combos to begin with). The bottom is a brownie layer, as per the recipe. I highly recommend this recipe. I should've thought of moving the cake to nicer plate before taking a picture...

I'm always worried that they won't soften enough, so I bake them covered for the first half. If baked to long with no cover, the skin might get tough. (20-30 minutes, tightly covered with foil at medium heat, then another 15 minutes under a gentle broiler). This being said, I have baked them uncovered in the past, and usually they softened fast enough. 30min at 220C (430F) should be good using this method. They are based served with labaneh (add roasted pine nuts to gild the lily), or tahini sauce.

Baked baby eggplants with olive oil, garlic, zaatar and lemon. I make a V shaped cut in the bottom of each eggplants and fill them with a mixture of olive oil, lemon, garlic, zaatar and salt. Then they are brushed with a little more oil and baked covered until very soft, and shortly broiled. On the side are onion and chili.

Okra, stir fried until charred and slow cooked with bell peppers and chili pepper, tomatoes, onion, garlic until tender. Cumin, paprika, parsley. Freekeh (green wheat groats, lightly smoked over fire) with sauteed mushrooms and mung beans, browned onion, garlic, sage, turmeric, a little cumin. Slightly over cooked, but freekeh/bulgur is tasty both when al-dente and when soft. I whould usually opt for chick peas in this preperation, but had found an old bug of those mung beans in the freezer, it worked quite well.

Ricotta gnocchi. Slow roasted cherry tomatoes and garlic; kalamata olives, garlic sauteed in olive oil, diced red onion, oregano; white wine and wine vinegar, reduced with a handful of halved grapes. Bread crumbs and chives.

Focaccias for dinner. A large one, with rosemary and coarse salt, baked in a wide pot, placed on a steel plate. Two small ones, one with cherry tomatoes and the other with grapes; free baked on the steel. Served warm, they were crisp and not oily, with a nice scent of olive oil. Served with some fresh cheeses (ricotta, sirene), olives, sliced veggies. As you might notice from the pictures, the one baked in a pot, which was covered for half of the bake, has a more open crumb, and harder to see, also a thinner crust.

A couple of dinners from the past week. Salad of cherry plum tomatoes, scallions, sirene cheese, hot green chili, olive oil, zaatar. Dollops of labaneh cheese on the side, with more zaatar. Eaten with soft warm pita breads to reap pieces from, make mini wraps and soak up juices. Purple cabbage, sauteed with onion, tart apples, caraway and parsley.

Perhaps Iv'e been unclear. I find the results being better when I start the bread covered in foil, then finish it uncovered until browned sufficiently. The crust will form either way, but I find that if the bread is started covered, then the crust ends up thinner and with a more reddish hue. Also, a covered bread does not need added steam in the oven, which is more convenient. When I said covering the bread makes it softer, I meant as in not crisp, which is to be expected. I did not mean that it will make it softer as in having less of a bite. In terms of ease in controlling the color, I don;t think it makes much difference. I usaully bake it covered until it's done or near done in the center, then let it brown as needed, I find that it's hard to over-bake bread. I hope Iv'e managed to better explain my thoughts