For the past few years I’ve been playing around with a couple sourdough starters I created, and I’m amused to note that, except on a very few occasions, I’ve ended up using starters instead of packaged yeast for my yeast-based baking needs. It’s really nice to be able to produce one’s own bread. It’s especially […]
Tag Archives: recipe
Sweet creamy yogurt dressing
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
This sauce is perfect for fruit salads, puddings and cakes which need just a hint of sweet moisture. A note about the yogurt: I use lowfat yogurt that’s smooth in the Australian/European style, e.g., Wallaby Yogurt. It doesn’t contain any thickeners like pectin or gelatin. Ingredients 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream 3/4 cup plain yogurt […]
Preserved green satsumas
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Our bush-like satsuma tree had so many fruit on it that the branches were threatening to break. “Time to thin down.” The prospect of throwing out, even into the compost, nearly half of the satsumas made me feel guilty. That is, until I realized I could treat the underripe fruit like lemons, and preserved them. […]
Plum jam with ginger & cinnamon
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
We didn’t manage to make any preserves this summer. Both the apricot and tomato harvest were, well, were not. However, on the first day of autumn, Simon got a load of Betty Anne plums from the farmers’ market, and we made jam. The resulting flavor, with ginger and cinnamon, brings stars of chilly air tang […]
Orange cake with hominy grits & pine nuts
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Packages of hominy grits always seem too large. So, having heard that some cakes are made with polenta, I tried something similar with grits. My recipe resulted a moist yet pleasantly crunchy cake, with a thin sugary crust and pine nuts to add to the crunchiness.
Elderflower cordial & citrus cake
Friday, 19 August 2011
Elderflower has the aroma of spring, and brings respite from the heat of summer. (Even though, admittedly, we’re not having much of summer. But still.) Combining elderflower cordial with lime or lemon juice in a cake has yielded one of my favorite cakes for this and the last season.
Passion fruit ice cream
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Oh, sure, passion fruit sorbet is yummy and popular. But what if you, I or any one of our friends want some creaminess to counter passion fruit’s extraordinary tartness? Here I present passion fruit ice cream.
Cream scones
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
I can’t believe I haven’t posted a recipe for cream scones! My version is somewhere between the classic and cream scone recipes from The Joy of Cooking, wherein I use cream, eggs and butter. This yields a very tender and very rich scone, as one could imagine.
Yellow sponge cake: génoise
Friday, 13 May 2011
I’ve been searching for years for a sponge cake recipe. A cake that’s less dense in texture than the typical American butter cakes, that’s not necessarily made by the creaming method, which is to say, by beating soft butter and sugar until creamy and somewhat fluffy, then adding the other ingredients (eggs, flour, etc.). So, […]
Cauliflower with black garlic, anchovies & white wine
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
There was a head of cauliflower sitting in the vegetable box in the refrigerator. I didn’t feel like steaming it, or making a gratin, but wanted a dish that was flavorful yet on the lighter side. Jeremy F. had mused about cooking this veg with anchovies and garlic, and I thought, “Hey, that does sound […]