sprinklefingers

oh oh oh! how is it already this late? i should have been in bed an hour ago!

i blame the bbc. their good food site sucked up 100% of my free time tonight.

there are many reasons to love good food. the first being that they call zucchini courgette. the second being their library of blackberry recipes. seriously, bbc? seriously?

and the third reason i love it? the search engine. seriously. i typed in ‘chutney’ and screamed out loud: EIGHTY results for chutney. EIGHTY!

sure all the recipes are written for folks across the pond - but after a few conversions it’ll be a piece of cake. i’ve already picked out what we’re having for dinner tomorrow night. and dessert, too.

thank you, good food.

in a recent post i wrote a recipe calling for magical lyle’s golden syrup.
it’s a sugar-based syrup better known in the UK than it is here, and nutritional questions aside, i love the stuff. true to its name, it’s golden in color. it’s the consistency of corn syrup and is totally delicious.

speaking of corn syrup, lyle’s golden syrup is not corn syrup. lyle’s is made from cane sugar. and lyle’s is packed in amazing tin containers and costs about 5 times more than corn syrup. BUT you can use lyle’s  in place of corn syrup in many of your recipes (note i said many and not all.) and you can also put it on pancakes. what? seriously.

i recently visited lyle’s home on the web. and i’m so glad i did. they have a recipe section and i found a recipe for something called sausage rockets. you basically glaze the sausages in a wash of soy sauce and lyle’s. okay, fine. i’ll try it.

sprinklefingers confession time: i’m not a drinker.
i managed to get a lifetime of drinking accomplished in the years before i was a junior in college - sure, i drank a few beers here & there after that, but then one day i simply stopped. and then i had a kid - and that solidified my position. who wants to take care of a baby AND a hangover? not this mother. so, now, i’m officially a non-drinker.

because of my status as non-drinker, when i’m cooking from a recipe calling for wine, it’s sometimes hard for me to justify buying a whole bottle when i’m usually using less than a cup in a recipe. that said, i should tell you that when a recipe calls for wine i do usually use wine - i find it always adds a depth of flavor that stock or water just can’t manage. [note: when a recipe calls for hard liquor, i generally NEVER use it. unless we’re talking about pecan pie and bourbon. because that’s a must. a must!] anyways, with all this extra wine around that i wouldn’t drink i had to do something - so, i turned to a good friend in my time of need - my freezer!

because i made all my aforementioned kid’s baby food, i still have a whole slew of freezer containers (ice cube trays, really) that came with lids. very handy for baby food. even more handy for freezing wine (which is hilarious and weird when you think about it.)

after i’ve used wine in a recipe, i simply pour the leftovers into the freezer trays, cover and freeze. the best part about this, in my opinion, is once you buy one bottle, you’ve got wine in your freezer for recipes to come - which means NOT having to buy a bottle of wine every time you cook from a recipe calling for wine. you’ve got it in your freezer! simple! handy! boozy!

note: don’t judge me on my choice of wines. i have no idea about any of this wine crap. i shop based on label, price and whether or not the store’s description is well-written. so there.

my kid loves bars. i have stash of them that i use when i reaaaally, reaaaaally need him to do something - translation: i bribe my kid with them.

kid bars are one of the last frontiers of ‘making everything myself.’ up until now, i’ve just simply ignored the fact that i really should be making them myself. it just seemed too hard. both in making them AND in coming up with a recipe the kid would deem an acceptable substitute for something clif was doing pretty well to begin with.

until last weekend when i had a few empty hours, a pound of blueberries and a surplus of whole grain flours. i tweaked, i tasted, i tweaked, i tasted…and i came up with a bar that works. the only criticism i got from the kid: where’s the wrapper?

blueberry kid bars

for the base layer and the topping you need:

i’m pretty much always interested in a cookbook that claims to be ‘for kids’ - one of my very favorites is the gastrokid cookbook - feeding a foodie family in a fast food world. the cookbook is the product of the very popular gastrokid blog, and it’s filled with some delicious ideas. and the best part about this cookbook is that it doesn’t advise parents to hide squash in mac & cheese. instead, it aims to help you find great ways to prepare squash so that your kid will (eventually!) become interested in eating it. yes!

the gastrokid blog - while clunky as all get out in design - is filled with ideas & recipes that go way beyond the book. next time you’re sitting at your computer wondering what to look at next, you should check it out. even if you don’t have kids, i know you’ll find something worth eating. honest.

i made strawberry syrup. then i made a list of things you could do with that strawberry syrup. then at dinner last night, i though of this: making a salad dressing with the strawberry syrup! inspired! delicious!

it’s no secret that i love the combination of strawberry & balsamic. which is why i was so surprised i hadn’t thought to make a dressing with the syrup before. but, even i have faults - and i guess this is one of them. but it ends here. now that i’ve made the dressing once, i have a feeling it will be in my fridge all summer long (if summer ever gets to oregon. seriously, as i type this it is 42 degrees out.)

simple vinaigrette with strawberry syrup

all vinaigrette begin with a 3-to-1 ratio of oil to vinegar. meaning, if you use three tablespoons of oil, you’ll want one tablespoon of vinegar. if you like strong vinegars (like a good aged balsamic) you may decide to use a tiny bit less vinegar. which is fine. making a good salad dressing, like most things in the kitchen, depends a lot upon your tastes. adjust ingredients to your liking, and you’ll come up with something perfect for you.

note: this makes enough dressing to keep it around for a while.

• 3/4 cup best olive oil
• 1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar
• 1 or 2 T (or more) strawberry syrup
• 1/2 clove garlic, pressed (or use a few shakes of granulated garlic)
• pinch of crushed dried basil
• pinch of orange zest
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

add all ingredients to a glass jar, put on the lid and shake like crazy. alternatively, add all ingredients to a non-reactive* bowl, whisk like crazy. once you’ve got it mixed up, taste it. adjust as you see fit.

let the dressing sit at room temperature for a bit before serving. or, make it a day ahead and store in the fridge. it will keep for weeks, so it’s a good thing you made plenty!




* what’s the deal with non-reactive? check it out.
also ahead: a strawberry-balsamic inspired salad idea!

in an earlier post, i reprimanded you for not saving your vanilla beans.

i hate to say it, but i’m back to do the same - and this time it’s about parmesan rinds. more specifically, the rind of a wedge of parmigiano-reggiano. no, this cheese isn’t cheap. and after you’ve used all of its salty, nutty goodness on food, why not stretch it a bit further and also put the rind to good use?

how?
good question!

after you’ve grated all of the cheese away, stick the rind in a refrigerator container and place it in the fridge. or freezer! [note: don’t forget it’s there!]

the next time you’re making anything brothy - a soup, a stock, a braise - grab that rind out of the fridge/freezer and plop it into your cooking liquid.

the rind imparts a difficult-to-describe sweet, nutty flavor…something that will elevate even a simple soup to new heights.

after your soup/stock/braise has finished cooking, simply fish the rind out - it will be a soggy (somewhat icky) mass - but it will have done its job deliciously.

don’t believe me? well, you should because many specialty grocers are now selling parmigiano-reggiano rinds by the pound. nose-to-tail eatingwithout the actual nose & tail!

and now, because you are so sweet, a recipe using parm rinds:
minestrone soup from sunset magazine (a soup we have literally eaten about one hundred times since the recipe was published. crazy, crazy, crazy good. especially if you use homemade broth.)

just a few days ago we talked about desserts with crumbly tops. and just before that i shared a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb crumble. now i’m here to help you design your very own delicious fruit dessert with a crunchy crumbly top. thank goodness, right?

now, let’s get down to it. a crumble (or a crisp!) is basically a bed of yummy fruit with a topping made from a variety of baking staples. it’s thrown together and baked until bubbly, thickened and fragrant.

because it’s something you can literally throw together, a crumble is one of the most forgiving delights you can possibly bake. this forgiving nature means that crumbles are perfect for experimentation. and that’s where i come in…

design-your-own crumble

filling:

• 2-2 1/4 lbs fruit - cut into large bite sized pieces
• 1/2 cup sugar (minimum - more to taste, especially if your fruit isn’t super sweet. if you like things extra sweet, you’ll definitely need more.)
• dash of salt

topping:

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 t kosher salt
• 6 ounces cold, unsalted butter, cut into smallish cubes

prepare the filling:

1. mix all filling ingredients together.

prepare the topping:

1. in a bowl, mix together the flours, oats, sugar, salt and butter. using your fingertips, smear the butter into the other ingredients until you come to the point where the mixture will stay clumped together if you squeeze it. it will look mealy, and you do want it clumpy.

prepare to bake:

preheat oven to 375.

1. butter a baking dish - something smaller than a 9x13 if you like your crumble to have more fruit in each serving.
2. scrape the filling into the baking dish.
3. top with AT LEAST half of the topping. you can use more if you, like me, prefer the topping to the fruit.
4. put the dish in the oven and let it bake for 45 minutes, minimum. you want the fruit to be bubbling vigorously - and you want it to bubble until those bubbles thicken and kind of burst open (instead of bubbling rapidly like something that looks like boiling water.)

easy, right? you mix the filling together, you rub the topping together, you put it in a dish and you bake it. done!

now that you’ve got the basics, let’s talk about fruit fillings. most fruits will work in a crumble, but these are my favorites:

• blueberries
• peaches
• nectarines
• plums/pluots
• blackberries/marionberries
• raspberries
• strawberries
• rhubarb

i often find i like the results of a crumble made of a mixture of fruits much more than i do one made of, say, just blueberries. here are my favorite fruit combinations:

• blueberry/peach (white or yellow, but white are my favorites!)
• peach/plum
• blackberry/nectarine (white or yellow, but white are my favorites!)
• peach/raspberry
• strawberry/rhubarb
• blackberry/raspberry/peach

now that you’ve got the fruit down, let’s talk about the various flavorings you can add to your fruit filling. in addition to the sugar called for in the basic recipe, what about:

• scraping the seeds out of a vanilla bean, then mixing them with the filling
• orange zest - start with at least a teaspoon, adjust to taste
• balsamic vinegar - start with a tablespoon, adjust to taste
• cinnamon & other favorite spices - start with a teaspoon, adjust to taste

you’ve picked your fruit. you’ve settled on flavors. now check out these variations for your crumbly top:

• cinnamon - a teaspoon, sprinkle it in and combine as described in recipe (omit or use less if you’ve also added it to your filling)
• shredded coconut - 1/4 cup, toss it in and combine as described in recipe
• chopped, lightly toasted nuts - 1/4 - 1/2 cup (hazelnuts are delicious, just try to remove the bitter skins first.)
• wheat germ - 1/4 cup adds a delightful extra crunch

i plan to make at least one crumble every week of the summer. who’s with me? you? oh, good.

[white peach & blueberry crumble]

first comes english muffins. as soon as i’ve sorted out my recipe, i’m going to give you all the details.

after english muffins (and this link settles it,) i’m tackling pretzels. you’ll be as excited as i am once you take a look at these photos. (do not miss the shot of the pretzel sandwich. holy deliciousness.)

as you know, i most usually keep my word. posts soon on muffins & pretzels. get the jam (for muffins!) and hot dogs (for pretzel dogs!) ready.

just kidding about hot dogs. they kinda gross me out.

ps: if an ad opens when you open the link, just click on ‘skip this ad’ to be taken to pretzel deliciousness.

i had a post planned for you that i thought was going to be really great.

see, i love cookbooks and i (actually) enjoy spending time trying out new ideas - especially when someone comes up with a way that will make things easier or faster in the kitchen.

enter artisan bread in five minutes a day. when this book first came out, i was superexcited about it. the concept is brilliant - prepare a bucket of dough that you can pull apart and bake from all week long…fresh bread after a long day at work, who wouldn’t want that?

in theory, it makes complete sense. until i started actually using the recipes. i swear to you, i have tried the light whole wheat AND the kimball sandwich bread recipes countless times and have NEVER ended up with a product i would rave about. or serve to guests. or even my picky kid, to be honest.

and i get mad because i think to myself that i MUST be doing something wrong, so i try the recipes repeatedly. and my failure is NOT because i don’t know how to make bread…because i do - and not using this ‘five minutes a day’ method, either. (i swear to you, i am not making excuses!)

anyways. after lots of dumped loaves, i finally decided to turn to my friend the internet to see if it could shed any light on my problems. and that’s when i found it. the ‘errors’ page for the first edition of artisan bread in five minutes a day.

three errors smacked me right in the face: my copy of the book gives inadequate resting times. my copy of the book lists an incorrect amount of yeast in the ingredients. my copy of the book says that when the dough is extremely wet i should let it rest longer than described (when, in fact, it is the exact opposite.)

huh. super. thanks! i understand a couple of typos, i do. but these three things are kinda major - especially when the subject of your book is something as persnickety as bread dough.

but i’m not giving up. i promise to return (after a complete scouring of the errors page and a lots of re-experimenting) with better news - because the method is so super great for people like me…and you. it just has to work!

ps: if you go out now and buy a new copy of artisan bread in five minutes a day, your book will not contain the errors mine does. the publisher has since corrected them!