Moro Bread

Excellent recipe and sooo easy-

courtesy of the magical Justine Reese who, if you are in her kitchen and you blink your eyes, fresh hot bread/bagels/chicken/cookies may emerge, as if from thin air. it's weird.

5 cups white flour (i use king arthur's bread flour)

2 1/3 cups wheat flour (i use arrowhead mills stone ground) or mixture
of 2 cups wheat flour & 1/3 cup flax meal and/or wheat germ)

4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp yeast

1/2 cup tepid water for dissolving yeast

3 additional cups tepid water

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup tepid/warm water for 5 minutes. Mix
flours/grains together. Mix in yeasty water and additional 3 cups
water. Mix with dough hook until well mixed, dough will be too sticky
to handle easily. Ease into two well-oiled loaf pans. Cover with damp
towel and let rise 2-5 hours (depending on how active/instant your
yeast is). Bake at 450 for 30 mins., then remove from pans and bake
10-15 mins more. (I keep a close eye on it towards the end, sometimes
it gets done more quickly)

The Milk Taste Test

Some how the topic of milk floated into our kitchen while we were patiently waiting for our gnocchi dough to chill. We were curious what kind of milk tasted better: O organics, Strauss, or Berkeley Farms. Everyone tasted, and ranked them from best to worst. To my surprise Strauss came in last place, O Organics second, and Berkeley farms first. Even with the results, I am still partial to Strauss!

ricotta gnocchi in the house

Anna and i had a fantastic cooking date with some helpers there at the end.

gnocchi:

lots of ricotta

Parmesan

eggs

flour

salt

sauce:

caramelized onions, yes for an hour

tomatoes, fresh until we panicked about not having enough, so some canned too

corn, ah summer

cream, oo moo

And we did a milk taste test- anna: blog away on how nobody's fav was Strauss.

Slightly Salty Caramel Corn

Popcorn is one of my absolute favorite foods. Covered with a sweet caramel sauce and sprinkled lightly with sea salt, it makes the best snack. Ever!

Popcorn

Sugar

Cream of Tartar

Corn Syrup

Butter

Sea salt

Strawberry Rhubarb Tapioca Pudding

This is delicious summer desert, incorporating luscious Spring/ Summer ingredients into my favorite food, pudding. What could be yummier?A special bonus: Its perfect to eat the day after getting braces!

Tapioca pearls

Orange zest

Sugar

Water

Strawberries

Rhubarb

family staple

FISH STEW

chicken stock

clam juice- mmm

white wine

tomatoes

garlic

onion

peppers

potatoes

fish- cod, etc.

sauce:

mayo

garlic

lemon zest

cayenne or ground dried peppers left over from Thai cooking

hi summer- let's post

watercress

kale

roasted baby shitakes

slivered kumquats

grilled corn

white balsamic & sensational olive oil from Orvieto (thank you so Mimi)

Guest post: Faking the KFC Doubledown

Please enjoy the following movie, courtesy of Michael Cecconi.

Hit the full screen button at the lower right of the video screen in order to read the captions.

Grilled Kale Salad

We have declared our favorite dinners in the Presidio when the 3 of us hover over our mini Weber grill, and the food goes from the fire directly into our bellies. Very cave man/woman/toddler and a sight you wouldn't see in Nana's house. Here is a recipe that often accompanies the carnage- it is inspired from Michael's days at Back Forty.
Grill a bunch of lacinto (dino) kale
throw into a bowl with
*juice and zest of one lemon
*olive oil
*salt or gomasio
* 1 clove smooshed garlic
*a squirt of anchovy paste

toss and ingest

Comforting Tapioca Pudding

I remember eating and enjoying tapioca pudding made by my mother and grandmother during my Midwestern childhood in the 1940s. To please my grandchildren, in recent years, I started making it and have always used Kraft Minute variety, until recently when I purchased large pearl and then small pearl natural tapioca at Real Foods. When I see it, which only seems to be in that grocery, I have an urge to buy and make it. After much discussion about the source of tapioca, we found that it is a thickening agent used in milk or fruit puddings made from the root of the cassava plant which grows in the tropics.

Making tapioca is not quick and easy, but an act of love! When using large or small pearl it must be soaked for 30 minutes before cooking. No doubt that is why minute tapioca, which only needs to soak 5 minutes is more readily available for American cooks. All sizes of tapioca take about 20 minutes of constant stirring, so you have to be patient or have a good book or TV close by.

Rather than copying the recipe from a package or a cook book, I suggest that people who want to give others a comforting treat should use the recipe on the package. The instant variety has a simple/shorter version and a longer yummier version. I am including a few photos of the process and a short video on the technique of folding egg whites into the creamy hot pudding, which makes it more complicated than cooking the whole beaten egg with the sugar and milk. These photos are from the one time I made chocolate, the all-time favorite of the grandchildren. Don't worry if when adding the cocoa it looks like the above photo. As you stir it will mix in with the milk.

Make Tapioca as directed on the packaging. Here is a short video of the important step of folding the egg whites into the hot pudding. But wait, first be sure to temper the egg whites by slowly mixing some hot pudding into the beaten whites. (See, I said it is an act of love!)

Below is a photo of the finished chocolate tapioca ready to deliver to loved ones in individual bowls set on a tray that I inherited from my grandmother.

Mendocino Memories

Papa and I had a great salad at the Mendocino Cafe, and Margi and I recreated it in SF.

Main ingredients:

red cabbage, golden raisins and browned sliced almonds. Make a dressing that appeals to you and enjoy a nutritious side dish.

3 Youngs at Farmers' Market

Here we are on a chilly September day choosing fresh produce at Ft. Mason.

lentil spread

Most people see this and ask me if it is pate. To which i get a film in my mouth recalling the last time i accidentally stuck a big blob of pate in my mouth getting a FREE sample at a cheese store in Bayhead. I have a relatively open palate, but pate makes me barf.


I can't put amounts, because every batch is different and fin throws everything in- and at this age, he is lacking in culinary precision.

lentils
garlic
onion
sun dried tomatoes
dijon
red peppers
alepo pepper (highly optional- a butcher gave me some when i bought goat to grill, and i am moving product)
toasted walnuts
capers

darn- i am having my problem again where blogger doesn't let me upload another image. blogger, i need to have a talk with you.

it's hot in here and i feel stuffed

Presidio Chicken

My dad has always laughed at how much I love free stuff. Whenever an amuse bouche arrives, or there is a pile of mints, or chocolate chip cookies at First Republic, he whispers "free," and we giggle because we are so psyched. Tori calls it "granddaughter of the depression" syndrome.
Now that i live closer to the land, I have a little obsession with foraging so on Michael's rehab walks when we come upon mass amounts of rosemary, I want to pick pick pick because it is free free free.

Honestly, I don't even like rosemary and at this moment I am over roasting whole chickens, but I couldn't think of anything else to do with it- ideas? rosemary popsicles?

Minty Hot Chocolate

Now that Christmas has gone and 2011 has come, the last bit of fall that we have been holding has been pushed out of our grasp . The chilly rain falls and the gray sky sits, and all I want to do is sit by a heater with a warm blanket. I eat soup and drink tea with lots of honey. But when the cold days seem to drag on and the rain hasn't stopped streaking down for days, I want hot chocolate. Delicious, creamy, steamy hot chocolate, to make everything better.

My hot chocolate experience started with the packet and water after skiing, then I started to add milk, and eventually cinnamon. But how do you make hot chocolate, actually using real chocolate?! Because I love me my hot chocolate, I heated milk added chocolate and sugar and mint extract, and there it was sitting in my favorite cup.

Making hot chocolate from scratch is very, very easy. You can use any kind of chocolate depending on the bitterness you want, and you can use any kind of milk; including cream or half and half. I used half dark, dark chocolate and half semi sweet chocolate chips with a teaspoon of sugar. I also added a bit mint extract, to make it minty and bring out the chocolateyness ( if that is not a word it definitely should be)

I love stuff, as in toppings. Toppings just make everything better, so i used whipped cream (yumsers) and some shaved chocolate! You could also use marshmallows, candy cane, anything you want to make it delicious.

Recipe: serves 2-3

1/3 cup dark chocolate

1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate

4 cups 2% milk

1/2 teaspoon mint extract

1 teaspoon sugar

whipped cream

chocolate shavings

Bring the milk to a simmer over low heat. Slowly add the chocolate, and mint extract. Whisk for several minutes until the chocolate has been incorperated with the milk. Poor into a cup and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enjoy :)

French toast and corn flakes

When you read this title you may think I am talking about a nice breakfast of french toast and corn flakes.

But this post is only about french toast; made amazing by being dipped in corn flakes and brown sugar.

My sister and i have an obsession with french toast. We will eat it any time, anywhere. My dad makes some stuffed with cream cheese and berries. This version however was a knew kind altogether for us. After dipping the french toast in the batter, I dredged them with corn flakes and brown sugar, and fried them in butter they were absolutely delicious!

Recipe:

makes 6 pieces

2/3 cups milk (add more if there is not enough)

1/4 cup cream (optional)

3 eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 slices french bread

1 cup crushed corn flakes

2 teaspoon dark brown sugar

Mix together milk, cream, eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla in shallow bowl. Add the bread and let soak for 3-5 minutes. While the bread is soaking, in a separate bowl crush the cornflakes and brown sugar. Dredge the the bread in the corn flakes. fry the bread in butter until golden brown on both sides. Enjoy!

bacon salad... ohh yes

Some things go together beautifully, like popcorn and movies, or rain and hot chocolate. For me bacon, apples, blue cheese, and arugula are that way. They paint a wonderful salty, sweet, contrasting composition in your mouth. If you are one of those people who doesn't think of food like that, if there would be one word to describe this salad it would... yummy.

I made this salad for my dads birthday, we had ten people, two tables pushed together, and delicious food. My mom and I took on the challenge

of making the entree. We had kabobs (my dad grilled), and salad (yum).

Recipe: from the Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

• 8 ounces thick-cut bacon, such as Niman Ranch
• 8 ounces baby arugula
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup toasted walnut halves, coarsely chopped (see note)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 6 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled

For the dressing:

• 3 tablespoons good apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup good olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and lay the bacon slices on the rack. Roast the bacon for about 20 minutes, until nicely browned. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, apple, walnuts, cranberries, and blue cheese.

For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, mustard, maple syrup, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.

Chop the bacon in large pieces and add it to the salad. Toss the salad with just enough dressing to moisten. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss well. Serve immediately.

note: I would half the dressing!

Snack1: Yogurt

Hey guys, I am starting a snack series. A couple of posts all about snacks, my favorite meal of the day! This post is about an amazing snack yogurt. Notjust any yogurt, homemade maple, and berry yogurt! Here is the fourth young cook,

Jackie, to tell you all about it!

I’m Jackie. I love to cook and I recently made something I want to tell you about. Yogurt! They were super yummy, and it was cool to make an

every day thing like yogurt by hand ( with the help of the yogurt maker). I made two kinds, maple syrup, and berry. The syrup turned our better that the berry but the berry still turned out well. This is how I made them; first I made the berry.

So I pored the milk in to a pot and let it come to a simmer, than I

added five tablespoons of berry jam into the warm milk. I whisked them together until it was smooth. Then I waited for it to cool, and got started with the maple syrup.

The syrup is just a little bit easier than the berry because you don’t have to warm up anything! I started by using 4-5 tablespoons of pure maple syrup to the milk. Then I wisked them together until they were incorperated.

Now, I know this might seem weird but when you’re making yogurt you have to add a little bit of already made or store bought yogurt. So I added three tablespoons of plain yogurt. So I added my already made yogurt to the syrup mixture and then let it sit while I finished my berry yogurt.

Once I was finished I put both kinds of yogurt into glass cups, and then in to our yogurt Maker

And seven hours later… yummy yogurt!

Tata for now- Jackie :)

HAPPY B-DAY ANNA

Your party was a blast. You inspire me on so many levels--- especially your desire to have everything yummy and beautiful. So, this was the prettiest appetizer i have ever made. crackers/thin jalepeno slice/ smoked tuna/ roasted tomato. (when nana arrived fresh chives from her garden were sprinkled on top)