Life is in the Details

The Big Reveal: Master Bathroom Cabinets #DIY

The before and after shots of our master bathroom cabinets - the test run before attempting the much larger job of painting the ones in the kitchen.

After much variable-overlay-hinge searching (they don't make them anymore), hinge spray painting, similar-in-results-size-5-wood-screw searching (they don't make them either or at least they don't have them in hardware stores anymore), much sanding (though not quite enough since there are places the paint didn't adhere as well as I'd like, aka "I will not be using Behr paint for the kitchen project" Principle), and sweating to push/screw those stupid size 6 screws into a size 5 hole with my brute force alone in some pretty tight spaces against the wall (and a manual screwdriver), we now have bathroom cabinets that feel like new! They are wonderful! I absolutely love them!

I have a newfound respect for handymen. And cabinetmakers. And kitchen/bathroom contractors.

Yesterday, Mike and I bought paint for the kitchen project. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping to be approached at the hardware store by some TV remodeling show wishing to help me with my renovation project. This one is going to be a much bigger job. If all goes well, I'm looking at starting to do the sanding on Tuesday after I finish teaching yoga.

Scenes from this weekend's wine tasting

This past Sunday I hosted a monthly wine tasting where each us brought a bottle of a favorite wine. There were lots of tasty ones this time around! Let me tell ya... we have good taste!!

I brought a bottle of what *used to be my favorite* (Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, $17-20) before starting this monthly-wine-tasting-with-friends idea this past September and I wanted to see if I would still consider it a favorite. Know what? It's not anymore! I'd much rather have an Alsatian or German Riesling (or even Pacific Rim from California for $8, which is awesome for pairing with any and everything) or Gewurtztraminer instead now. So I'm really happy to have started out on this adventure because now I know more of what I like! I confidently order wines in restaurants and know with almost certainly whether I'll like it or not. Very cool. And, not surprisingly, after all of this experience I've racked up in the comforts of my own home, I'm very ticked off when I see the crazy wine markups for bottles of wines at restaurants. So I've effectively made it impossible for myself to order a bottle of wine while at dinner and much more likely to open my home more to have friends over to share a glass or two with them. Which is how I find myself in the situation where I'm starting a second wine tasting gathering with another group of my friends that I know from when my kids were in preschool but who I don't often see much anymore. This is just too much fun!!

The appetizers I made for this wine tasting are Grape Salsa with Goat Cheese Crostini from The Sprouted Kitchen (http://www.sproutedkitchen.com/home/2009/11/12/grape-salsa-on-goat-cheese-crostini.html) and Edamame Hummus (http://ohsheglows.com/2012/12/12/edamame-hummus/). Both were great and I plan on making them again in the future!

Next month's theme is Rieslings From Around The Globe. I seriously can't wait for this one! Then, June is Sangrias.

Photos from my lunch/cooking play date

My first cooking-lunch-playdate went so nicely and we are definitely going to do this again!! Thanks Donna!

Lunch

I'm packing up a few things and heading off to my friend's house for a lunch cooking get-together. FUN! What's on the menu? I sent 4 possibilities via email and my friend chose Menu 4: Bánh xèo (Vietnamese veggie-filled pancakes in a sweet spicy soy sauce) and the grapefruit salad.

[The recipes are from Plenty and Burma, respectively.]

Succulent Grapefruit Salad

Here's what I wrote about this recipe from Burma: River of Flavors on 101Cookbooks Library:

This was a fresh and wonderful salad that relies on a few of the staples that I've already made from this book: toasted chickpea flour, crispy shallots, and shallot oil. I left out the shallot oil because I tasted the dish before adding it and thought it tasted perfect just as it was. Besides, the sweet, crispy shallots still have that flavor and mouthfeel of the oil that they were cooked in so it helps complement the grapefruit's acid well without the additional oil called for in this recipe. What I didn't expect was how much a unique and nutty flavor the toasted chickpea flour gives to the overall dish.

Now that I know what it tastes like I can see adding it to many things to give it a bit of depth. Aside from the usual salads, soups, tartines, steamed dumplings, and more to add this powder to, I'm thinking it might make a superb popcorn topper!

The salad recipe says that it serves 4 but by my observation they mean a small portion for each person. I halved the recipe and ate it all myself in addition to some more Green Pancakes from Plenty.

Instead of supreming the grapefruits I cut the grapefruit in half as if I was going to eat half for breakfast and then used my grapefruit knife and got all of the fruit's section out. This was so much easier so if you don't like supreming citrus like me and don't mind not having the elongated fruit shape that comes with that preparation, then this is the way to go.

A blanket suggestion that Ms. Guguid makes in the book to help vegetarians with substitutions for the ubiquitous dried shrimp powder and fish sauce, used in many if not most of the recipes in this book is to use toasted chickpea flour for the former and tamari/soy sauce for the latter. I took these suggestions here and they worked wonderfully.

My suggestion is to top with some sort of green or serve on a small bed of mixed greens (sliced thinly or not, you decide). I used a few cilantro leaves atop the salad and it makes it more appealing visually. You could do the same with sprouts, pea shoots, thinly sliced lettuce, parsley.... whatever you have really.

 

Succulent Grapefruit Salad

adapted from Burma: Rivers of Flavor by  Naomi Diguid

Ingredients

• 2 medium grapefruits
• scant 1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes and drained
• 3-4 tablespoons toasted chickpea flour (see this recipe)
• 2 tablespoons fried shallots (see this recipe)
• 1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce
• salt, to taste
• cilantro or other fresh green (parsley or thinly sliced lettuce), for garnish

Directions

1. Segment the grapefruit however you'd like to get the flesh free from the pith and put it in a medium bowl. If you want to supreme the grapefruit you can watch how it's done here (go to about 43 seconds in). Save any juice for another use. May I suggest drinking it right as you work?!
2. Add the shallots, toasted chickpea flour, fried shallots, tamari, and salt and toss to combine.
3. Top with cilantro leaves to garnish and then serve.

 

Here's what my fried shallots looked like:

 

Here's the toasted chickpea flour process:

The chickpea flour in a warm skillet over medium-high heat at the very beginning. (Chickpea flour is also called besan at international markets <-- much cheaper than garbanzo bean flour in the gluten-free aisle).

 

About 10 minutes later it takes on a tan hue.

Here's the side-by-side comparison in better lighting:

The cooled toasted chickpea flour can keep in a dry glass jar for a few months ready to sprinkle atop your kitchen creations whenever you feel the urge.

Chocolate Krantz Cake (or Chocolate Babka) from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem

This chocolate krantz/babka is absolutely gorgeous and utterly delicious. This became an instant favorite in our home.

If you're comfortable baking bread you must bake this as soon as you can! This is the best chocolate babka to ever come out of my kitchen. I'll be using the lengthwise log-cutting technique + braid a lot in my future.

This makes two loaves and you need to start the brioche dough the night before you plan to make the bread since the dough needs an overnight ferment in the refrigerator. The dough rolls out wonderfully... What a pleasure to work with.

These are also better the day after baking or at least until the loaves have had a chance to fully absorb the sugar syrup (making it a great make-ahead item for a brunch or dessert to bring to a friend's house).

The dough one the morning we baked.

Ingredient round-up.

 

Spreading the filling.

 

The key to the beautiful ribbons of chocolate is the lengthwise slicing.

 

Gorgeous striations:

 

Into the pans they go to rise for 60-90 minutes.

 

The little scraps that get trimmed off of each end sprinkled with some ground almonds and chocolate.

 

Chocolate Krantz Cakes (aka Chocolate Babka)

from Jerusalem: A Cookbook​ by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Headnote from the authors:

Making a krantz isn’t easy or quick (see pictures on pages 283 and 286–87). You need to let the dough rise overnight and then fill and shape it, which is quite an elaborate process. But, and it is a big but, we were guaranteed by two of our recipe testers, Claudine and Alison, that it is well worth it!

Although this recipe makes two fairly large cakes, there isn’t really any risk of anything going to waste. They are just the sort of thing everyone hurls themselves at as soon as they come out of the oven. They will also keep for up to two days at room temperature, wrapped in foil, and up to a couple of weeks when frozen.

For a fabulous alternative to the chocolate filling, brush each dough half with 6 tbsp / 80 g melted unsalted butter and then sprinkle with 1⁄2 cup / 120 g light muscovado sugar, 1 1⁄2 tbsp ground cinnamon, and scant 1⁄2 cup / 50 g coarsely chopped walnuts; then roll as described in the chocolate version. 

Ingredients

For the dough

• 4 cups / 530 g all- purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1/2 cup / 100 g superfine sugar
• 2 teaspoons fast-rising active dry yeast
• grated zest of 1 small lemon
• 3 extra-large free-range eggs
• 1/2 cup / 120 ml water rounded 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3cup / 150 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 3/4-inch / 2cm cubes
• sunflower oil, for greasing

For the chocolate filling

• scant 1/2 cup / 50 g confectioners’ sugar
• 1/3 cup / 30 g best-quality cocoa powder
• 4 oz / 130 g good-quality dark chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup / 120 g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup / 100 g pecans, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp superfine sugar

For the sugar syrup (enough for both cakes)

• 2/3 cup / 160 ml water
• 1 1/4 cups / 260 g superfine sugar

​

Directions

1. For the dough, place the flour, sugar, yeast, and lemon zest in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix on low speed for 1 minute. Add the eggs and water and mix on low speed for a few seconds, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes, until the dough comes together. Add the salt and then start adding the butter, a few cubes at a time, mixing until it is incorporated into the dough. Continue mixing for about 10 minutes on medium speed, until the dough is completely smooth, elastic, and shiny. During the mixing, you will need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times and throw a small amount of flour onto the sides so that all of the dough leaves them.
2. Place the dough in a large bowl brushed with sunflower oil, cover with plastic wrap, and leave in the fridge for at least half a day, preferably overnight.
3. Grease two 21⁄4-lb / 1kg loaf pans (9 by 4 inches / 23 by 10 cm) with some sunflower oil and line the bottom of each pan with a piece of waxed paper. Divide the dough in half and keep one-half covered in the fridge.
4. Make the filling by mixing together the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate, and butter. You will get a spreadable paste. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle measuring 15 by 11 inches (38 by 28 cm). Trim the sides to make them even, then position the dough so that a long side is closest to you. Use an offset spatula to spread half the chocolate mixture over the rectangle, leaving a 3⁄4-inch / 2cm border all around. Sprinkle half the pecans on top of the chocolate, then sprinkle over half the superfine sugar.
5. Brush a little bit of water along the long end farthest away from you. Use both hands to roll up the rectangle like a roulade, starting from the long side that is closest to you and ending at the other long end. Press to seal the dampened end onto the roulade and then use both hands to even out the roll into a perfect thick cigar. Rest the cigar on its seam.
6. Trim about 3⁄4 inch / 2 cm off both ends of the roulade with a serrated knife. Now use the knife to gently cut the roll into half lengthwise, starting at the top and finishing at the seam. You are essentially dividing the log into two long even halves, with the layers of dough and filling visible along the length of both halves. With the cut sides facing up, gently press together one end of each half, and then lift the right half over the left half. Repeat this process, but this time lift the left half over the right, to create a simple, two-pronged plait. Gently squeeze together the other ends so that you are left with the two halves, intertwined, showing the filling on top. Carefully lift the cake into a loaf pan. Cover the pan with a wet tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 to 11⁄2 hours. The cake will rise by 10 to 20 percent. Repeat the whole process to make the second cake.
7. Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C, making sure you allow plenty of time for it to heat fully before the cakes have finished rising. Remove the tea towels, place the cakes on the middle rack of the oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. While the cakes are in the oven, make the syrup. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan, place over medium heat, and bring to a boil. As soon as the sugar dissolves, remove from the heat and leave to cool down. As soon as the cakes come out of the oven, brush all of the syrup over them. It is important to use up all the syrup. Leave the cakes until they are just warm, then remove them from the pans and let cool completely before serving.  

 

New WINE section added to the blog

I've added a new wine section to my blog that you can now access through the navigation bar up top. I invite you to go have a look and let me know what you think. Links to all of my wine club tasting notes from September through to the present are available now. There are also some tips for starting your own wine club (with more information coming soon) and what I've learned so far. Enjoy!

Wines of Spain Wine Tasting & Tapas from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian

Yesterday, I had some friends over for a wine tasting at my house where we explored some wines from Spain.

Here's a photo of the wines we sampled (2 whites, 4 reds):

A closer look:

I really enjoyed this Albariño but didn't care for the Rueda.

I liked the Toro better than the Rioja.

I favored the Garnacha (the one on the right) over the Ribero del Duero.

I made some tapas to nibble on for the occasion and my friends each brought something to share. It was a feast of small plates. So much goodness, really. And I completely forgot to take any photos once my friends started arriving.

All three recipes that I made were ones I tried for the first time the day of the occasion. Nothing like experimenting on friends!! They were all from World Vegetarian and they were all so very good. All will be made again (I promise!).

First up was Spanish-style Chickpeas and Spinach. I love chickpeas in any form and I'm smitten with beans and greens because of how healthy and nutritious they are... in addition to lending themselves to infinite delicious variations. This one had a nice, spicy kick from some cayenne pepper and a background of smokiness lent by the smoked paprika and cumin. And, of course, there was garlic. I haven't beets many tapas restaurants so I've never knew these were a Spanish offering. The recipe headnote mentions that this was a recreation of Jaffrey's experiences in a restaurant in Seville, Spain.

Next was a Tortilla de Patata (Potato and Egg Cake) with classic Romesco sauce.

The ingredient photo below was a roundup what would eventually become the Romesco sauce: tomatoes (I used fire-roasted canned tomatoes since its not even close to tomato season), onion & garlic that get broiled and roasted in the oven (or a toaster oven, in my case), ancho chiles that get rehydrated in warmed vinegar and water, roasted almonds, and olive oil. This sauce was amazing and I was tempted on more than one occasion to eat it straight from the spoon. I may or may not have done so. The instructions say to peel the skin off the of rehydrated anchos but I almost went mad trying to pry the clinging skin from the pepper's flesh and the halfway through gave up and threw it all in the Vitamix and it all worked out wonderfully. Next time I won't even bother with trying to peel it and will throw it all in the blender and give it a whirl.

I had my sous chef in the kitchen to help out that day. We also made the most incredible chocolate babka that day too, but that's for another day.

The potatoes are cooked in a lot of oil. I normally shy away from recipes with this much oil, even though the potatoes don't absorb it all. I tried it this time for the sake of authenticity and it was sublime. I'd like to make this again and will opt to try cooking the potatoes in vegetable broth until tender instead and add a few tablespoons of oil only at the end when it's time to put the egg in with the potatoes and onions.

I also put out Marcona almonds, a wedge of Spanish dried fig and dark chocolate, and Manchego cheese on a platter.

I plan to upload all of the tasting notes from our previous wines tastings, so stay tuned! I hope it encourages you to try a few new wines or to host a wine tasting of your own.

Spanish-Style Chickpeas with Spinach

Espinacas con Garbanzos, From World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dried chickpeas
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 lbs. fresh spinach, cut into chiffonade
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Directions

1. Soak chickpeas overnight in cold water to cover by about 3" (or do a quick soak by bringing to boil and covering for 1 hour; drain and proceed).
2. Bring the chickpeas and about 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Cover and lower the heat and simmer about 2 1/2 hours or until the chickpeas are tender.
3. Put the oil in a hot sauce pan. Put in the garlic and stir. Add the spinach and stir until the spinach has wilted. Add the chickpeas with their liquid, the cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, salt and 1 cup of the water. Mix well. Cook on medium heat, uncovered for 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally. There should be a bit of juice left at the bottom of the pan. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Tortilla de Patata

From World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lbs potato, peeled and sliced as thin as possible
• 1/2 small onion, thickly sliced
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup olive oil
• Pinch of dried oregano
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Arrange the potato and onion slices in the bottom of a 10 inch skillet. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the salt on top. Add the oil and on medium heat, bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes until potatoes are tender.


2. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the remaining salt, pepper, oregano and water.


3. Pour out the oil into a container and remove the potato slices and onion to a plate. Strain oil and reserve for later use.


4. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the reserved oil into an 8-inch nonstick skillet set to medium heat. Pour the eggs in, reduce heat to low and add the potato slices and onion on top. Cook on medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes until the top is just set. (I covered it to help the top set,)


5. Place a plate on top and flip the cake onto the plate. Slide it back into the skillet and cook the other side for 2-3 minutes. Flip over onto serving dish. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with the Classic Romesco Sauce.

Classic Romesco Sauce

Adapted from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, peeled but left whole
• 8 to 10 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 3 large very ripe tomatoes or a 28-ounce calf fire-roasted tomatoes, drained
• 3 dried ancho chilies
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 5 tablespoons blanched slivered almonds
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt

 

Directions

Turn on the broiler (i used my toaster oven). Spread the onions garlic, and tomatoes on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil.

Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat for 5 to 7 minutes, turning the onions, garlic, and tomatoes as the outsides char. The garlic will get done first. Remove the garlic cloves and continue for another 10 minutes or so until the onions and tomatoes are also browned on all sides. Remove the tomatoes at this stage.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake the onions for 25 to 35 minutes, or until they have softened all the way to the inside. Meanwhile, remove the stems and seeds of the ancho chilies by cutting the tops off and shaking out as many seeds as possible. During the last 2-3 minutes, add the almonds to toast with the oven ingredients until golden brown. Set aside to cool, then grind the almonds to a fine powder in a clean spice grinder.

Put the chilies in a small pot along with the vinegar and 1/4 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, turn the heat down to low, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until all the chiles are soft. Turn the heat off. Let the ancho mixture sit, covered, for another 5 minutes, or until the peppers are very soft. Cool slightly in the liquid. If you don't have a high power blender you'll want to remove the skin. If you have a BlendTec or Vitamix then don't worry about it... all will be blitzed to smoothness in the magic machine. Remove any seeds that are still clinging to the flesh.

When the onions are very tender, remove them from the oven and discard the charred outer layer. Chop them coarsely. Peel the garlic cloves.

Put the ancho-tomato mixture, onions, garlic, ground almonds, oil, leftover vinegar, if any, and salt into a blender and blend until smooth.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

 

Happy Pizza Friday!

I have dough bubbling away on the counter that i mixed up last night and it's been two weeks since our regular weekly installment of Pizza Friday. I'm really craving it today. Here's what two weeks ago looked like...

It was my first attempt at cooking eggs on a pizza (I cooked it a bit too long and the yolks weren't as saucy as I'd hoped). I'm not sure what tonight's pizza will look like. It will probably be topped with mushrooms since I have a pack that needs to be used. I just can't decide what to use as the base. You can't go wrong with artichoke lemon pesto, though....my favorite by far.

I'm off to workout and conclude week 8 of my 90-day XTrain rotation. I'm seeing some great strength gains in the push-up department and enjoying the series. Good stuff!

 

Grapefruit Olive Oil Poundcake (The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

I *love* grapefruit and have been eating it since I was a little kid. My mom even let me take our family grapefruit knife with me to college and that very same knife rests in my kitchen drawer today. I love that this knife has some history and that it's passed through my mom's hands, my own, and now my children's. So this recipe's use of grapefruit made it instantly intriguing. I've seen orange and chocolate cake dessert combinations, lemon is a super common dessert ingredient... think pound cake, Italian cake/cookies, lemon bars, lemon meringue. But grapefruit as a dessert addition, aside from eating it straight up or broiled with brown sugar sprinkled on top, isn't something I've come across much. Go Deb!

This recipe is wonderful just as it is (though the healthy cook in me will definitely be adding some alternative or whole grains next time to up the nutrition quotient and just play with it a bit).

This cake is nice and moist due to the grapefruit sugar syrup. The glaze adds a perfect sweetness to balance the grapefruit's acidity and makes it feel a bit decadent. The grapefruit zip adds a light refreshing taste the way only citrus can. I made this to serve at my monthly wine tasting (February was all about dessert wines, hence the wine picture up above) and everyone asked for the recipe. This was a winner!

Grapefruit Olive Oil Pound Cake

from Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman
Yield: 1 loaf; Serves: 10-12

The Cake
Butter or non-stick spray for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons freshly grated grapefruit zest, from 2 large grapefruits
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup raw or turbinado sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice
1/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

The Syrup
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice

The Glaze
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice
Pinch of salt

Directions
Make the cake

Heat the over to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, rub the grapefruit zest into the sugars with your fingertips. This will bruise it and help release as much grapefruit essence as possible. Whisk in the oil until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, and whisk until combined. Scrape down the bowl.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a second bowl. In a liquid measuring cup, combine 2 tablespoons of grapefruit juice and buttermilk/or yogurt. Add the flour and buttermilk/or yogurt mixtures, alternating between them, to the oil-and-sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour.

Spread the batter in the pan, smooth the top, and rap the pan on the counter a few times to ensure there are no air bubbles trapped. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Make the grapefruit syrup

Combine 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1/3 cup grapefruit juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves.

When the cake is finished, let it cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then invert it onto a rack set over a tray. Poke holes in the cake with a skewer or toothpick, then spoon or brush the grapefruit syrup over the cake. Let the cake cool completely while it absorbs the syrup.

Make the glaze

Combine the confectioners' sugar, grapefruit juice, and pinch of salt in a bowl, whisking until smooth. Pour the glaze over the top of cooled cake, and allow glaze to drizzle decoratively down the sides.