whole wheat loaves: tuesdays with dorie/baking with julia

the last couple of weeks have been a blur.  mom and i traveled to atlanta to visit my daughter.  our days were filled with trips in and out of antique shops and restaurants with a few stops at bakeries and asian markets in-between.  now that we are back in nashville, it is about the same-you name it, if it is an antique shop or a thrift store, we have probably been in there.  needless to say, whether i would have the chance to spend some time at home in my kitchen baking the challenge for this week's tuesdays with dorie/baking with julia challenge was questionable.

the saving grace, we ran out of bread-an opportunity or an excuse, to get to work and make a loaf of bread.  better yet, it is a simple loaf of whole wheat bread that was quick to mix up in the kitchen aid.  the only note, i did not need all of the flour called for; of the 6 1/2 cups of white and wheat flour that are mixed together, i had about 1/4 cup left over and still had a slightly tacky dough.  once the machine kneaded dough was in the pans, it rose quickly.  word to the wise, this isn't a good time to run out to the store while the bread rises...

this is why, it rises up real quick and before you know it, it is hanging over the sides of the pan like a drunk on a stool.  but in their defense, i will say that the directions to use an 8 1/2"x4 1/2" loaf pan may not be the best idea.  if i make this again, i will have to remember to follow my first instinct and use my slightly larger 9"x5"x3" pans.

looking a little like a plumbers gut hanging over the top of his pants, my loaves baked in the suggested 35 minutes but i took them out of the pans at about 32 minutes and baked them on the oven rack for a few extra minutes.

the next morning, it sliced beautifully and tasted wonderful with a little salted butter.  thanks to our hostesses, michele of veggie num nums and teresa of the family that bakes together.  be sure to check out the tuesdays with dorie page to find the links of all of this week's participants and see how they did. and if you are interested in baking a batch of this wonderful bread, buy the book or visit michele's or teresa's blog pages.  bake on friends!

pear upside down cake; tuesdays with dorie/baking with julia

for this weeks baking with julia challenge, we turn to our hosts, marlise of the double trouble kitchen and susan of the little french bakery .  summer may be quickly coming to a close but the nectarines called for in this recipe are still easy to find in grocery stores and farmers markets making this a great dessert for any picnic or barbecue.  unless of course you have just spent the last month making all things peach in honor of national peach month.  and before you go on about the differences between peaches and nectarines, be honest, once incorporated into a cake like this, who will actually be able to tell the difference?  not my husband and as far as he is concerned, a cooked peach is not one that he will eat.  that said, i grabbed a large, ripe bartlett pear and got to work.  knowing that we wouldn't eat a tall 10" cake by ourselves, i cut the recipe in half and used an 8" cake pan.  even though it was only 2" tall, the batter filled the pan completely and did not run out onto the tray while baking.

 one difference between most upside down cakes and this one is the choice of cake.  most recipes call for a rich but simple butter cake while this recipe utilizes a lighter chiffon cake.  the other difference, a crunchy streusel that is baked until golden before being layered into the cake.  the recipe called for almonds and the need to toast them before adding them to the streusel.  feeling a bit lazy, i grabbed my bag of dry roasted pistachios and omitted that step.

 butter melted in the bottom of a cake pan, dark brown sugar patted down in an even layer and pear slices arranged over the soon to be caramel layer.  the bottom of the pan now but it will be the top of the cake after baking so it is important to make it look pretty.  try to keep the center of the pear on the inside so that the top of the cake looks nicer.

 prebaking the streusel made it seem like a layer of granola so i am now wondering if you might not just skip that step and sprinkle a good granola into the cake-surely that could work.

listen to the warning to serve the cake immediately, it really does not hold up well for more than a day.  the moisture in the fruit makes the cake gummy and gives it an unpleasant texture.

thanks to marlise and susan.  buy the book and bake with julia!

peaches and cream pie

 did you know that august was national peach month?  i learned that fact the hard way-i had to make a peachy dessert for the cafe for each day of the month.  hello, september!!!  really, though, i had fun with it and came up with a couple worth sharing.  one is the peaches and cream pie.  lovely, creamy, vanilla custard poured over fresh, ripe peach slices and finished off with a crunchy, crumb topping.

 many were baked over the course of the month.  many were sold.

peaches 'n cream pie

1 (9") pie shell

3 cups sliced peaches-peel them first!

2/3 cups sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup half and half

1 batch of crumb topping-recipe follows

preheat the oven to 325.  place the pie shell on a sturdy baking sheet, line it with parchment paper and fill it with 2-3 cups of dry rice or beans.  bake until the bottom no longer looks shiny and wet but seems mostly opaque and the edges are lightly golden, about 20 minutes.  remove from the oven and carefully spoon out the rice/beans and remove the paper.  turn the oven up to 350.

to mix the filling, place the peach slices into the prepared pie shell and set aside.  in a mixing bowl, whisk the sugar, flour and salt together.  whisk in the eggs and vanilla and mix until completely combined.  whisk in the half and half.  pour the custard over the peaches and sprinkle the crumb topping over the pie evenly.  bake until the crumb topping is evenly browned and the filling puffs up and the pie is somewhat firm in the center, 50-60 minutes.  allow it to cool completely before slicing for the best looking slices.

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

combine the ingredients in a bowl and using a pastry blender or a fork, cut the butter into the flour and sugar until it resembles coarse meal.  

just one more reason i made so many of these pies-my coworkers.  when they like the desserts, many more get sold.  go kaylin!

the nashville farmers market

when we first moved to nashville 17 years ago, we went to the farmers market.  it was a far cry from the ones we had been visiting in san francisco bay area.  there was a definite lack of exotic produce such as the plethora of asian herbs and produce we were accustomed to.  never mind finding anything organic either; it just wasn't there.

what we were thrilled with was how a small farmer could pull his truck into a stall and sell what he had picked that morning.  maybe it was silver queen corn or watermelons or turnip greens or some other seasonal vegetable.  it really didn't matter to us as it was affordable and it was fresh.  then, sadly, local politics and various nonsense got in the way and the farmers market became something of a joke.  too many of the vendors there were simply reselling produce they had purchased from wholesale produce houses.  it bordered on ridiculous; bananas, oranges and pineapples? honestly, were we supposed to believe they were locally grown and fresh?

with a resurgence in all things local and some management changes for the better, the nashville farmer's market now looks much more like a real farmers market.  sure, some of the vendors still resell (wholesale purchased) produce.  but many more are squeezing in with fresh, locally grown produce.  on a recent trip downtown, i lugged the camera bag with me and set out to see what i could find.

seventeen years later and fresh picked corn in the bed of a pickup truck is still a magnet for both myself and my husband.  this was labelled silver king, a white corn.

 when it comes to hot peppers, i am a bit of a wuss.  however, that does not stop me from growing my own or making my own hot sauce.

 smileys farm in ridgetop is always one of my stops.  they always have plenty to look at.  known for their turnip greens, you can always count on their produce to be locally produced.  looking at the crookneck squash they had on display had me wondering...

 a sure sign that fall is approaching; hard squash of all kinds.  we had several dumpling squash vines in our garden and we only picked 3 before the vines gave up.

 another tennessee delicacy, bradley tomatoes.  

 eggplants-don't you just love the pattern on the skin?  somebody fire up the grill!

 more peppers, not sure what kind, i forgot to look at the sign!

 before moving to tennesee, i had never heard of scuppernongs or muscadine grapes.  they are native to the area and make great jelly and wine.  the skins are not edible and they have a lot of seeds making it necessary to cook them, strain them to remove the skins and seeds and then cook them again to make jelly or pie with the pulp and juice.

 time has flown and i am just not ready to shift over to fall.  

 hardly local now, these were coming in from south carolina

 more hard squash; i am so not ready for fall...

 lined up on the shelves like soldiers, i found myself mesmerized by the pattern the perfectly straight rows of jars made.  the selection of jams, jellies, preserves and butters was never ending.  it would have been very easy to pick up 3 or 4 or 12 different ones.

and as always, there is always that one guy who has to make a spectacle of himself.  amidst all of the jars of relish, preserves and what not stood two jars of neon pink pickled eggs.  why pink?

keep it local, visit a farmers market near you and keep a farmer in business.

beware of the angry peach

august is national peach month.  it has been nothing but peach pies, peach cobblers, peach upside down cakes-you name it, if it has peaches in it, i probably baked it in the cafe this month.  from oatmeal cookies with dried peaches to peach cheesecakes, the desserts were well received and many peaches were peeled and sliced.  then i ran into this guy.  he wasn't too thrilled with the carnage on the cutting board.  time to move on to a new flavor and quickly-angry peach has got fangs...

sriracha

 by the end of summer, the tomatoes and cucumbers are long gone but the pepper plants are still pumping out the produce.  i have wanted to make some sriracha and have been waiting for the peppers to ripen.  pictured above, starting from 12 o'clock:  tobacco peppers, hot banana peppers in a range of colors and sizes, thai chiles, korean chiles and in the center-cayenne peppers.  the korean pepper plant gave up its fruit long before the others and i ended up throwing them in the freezer while i waited for the others to catch up.  the process is surprisingly simple and easy and this recipe from viet world kitchen is fool proof.

 the recipe calls for palm sugar or light brown sugar but i had a cone of piloncillo sitting in the closet and decided to use that despite the recipe suggesting it could lend a darker color.  to get the amount needed, i simply used the large holes on a box grater.

 the peppers simmering with the other ingredients: water, vinegar, sugar(piloncillo) and salt.

 running it through the food mill-you need to let it completely cool first and then blend it before straining it.  warning never try to blend hot liquids in a conventional blender-they will blow the top off and shoot hot liquid everywhere!

 i can feel the heat just looking at that puree!

 such a beautiful shade of spicy hot

it will be interesting to try it out, we have an old bottle of the rooster in the fridge and i will have to compare them.  my taste of this one was of course very hot but it also had a fruity flavor that i can only guess was caused by the combination of peppers-oh to repeat that blend....

buckwheat popovers; tuesdays with dorie

welcome to the learning curve...this week's lesson is brought to you by tuesdays with dorie/baking with julia and is hosted by none other than paula of vintage kitchen notes and amy of bake with amy.  the subject of this week's lesson is popovers.  sounds simple enough but don't let that cute name fool you; many cooks and bakers have been schooled by these seemingly easy to bake puffs of crispy deliciousness.  and it looks like i am just another name on that list...

a quick note from one of our sponsors:  to find the recipe, please consider buying the book, baking with julia.  consider it a way to keep her memory alive after all, it would have been her 100th birthday last week!  if not, visit either paula's or amy's blog page to find the complete recipe and then bake a batch in memory of julia!

first of all, let me say that i didn't want to make just plain white flour popovers, i wanted to add a whole grain to the mix since i have a fridge full of flours to choose from, literally.  and i also have a husband wanting me to use up said flours in the fridge-not sure why he is in such a hurry, what could he possibly want with the space???  anyway, i grabbed the buckwheat flour and was off and running.  next came the realization that i had absolutely no milk in the house other than unsweetened soy milk, it was that or nothing.  i don't own a popover pan although i would love to have a large one and a small one (because if you are going to go for it, go all the way! who's with me on that?)

batch number 1:  can you say disaster?  i can only say it sounds more like "$#*@, i'm going to have to make another batch!"  all the while my husband rolls his eyes and walks out of the room muttering his fool proof methods and the "i never heard of using soy milk" comments(what do you expect from a chef?)  i used a 50-50 split on the flour and soy milk for the whole milk.  i also placed my muffin pans on sheet pans and heated them first; one of those "fool proof methods" my husband swears by and another is to use the fat of the animal you are serving them with-beef, pork, etc.  we were having them with salad, i used cooking spray.

batch number 2:  wow, look at the difference.  this time around, i used a ratio of 2 parts white flour to 1 part buckwheat (2/3 cup white, 1/3 cup buckwheat)  and for the milk, i used 1/4 cup half and half and 3/4 cup soy milk.  this time around, i used a heavy duty muffin pan that has 24 cups in it and i did not heat it; it went into the oven cold and filled with room temperature batter.

 look at the difference between the batches.  number 1 on the left, number 2 on the right.  the ratio of whole grain makes a difference as does the heat.  so forget about preheating the pans, don't bother with placing them on sheet pans (unless you are using individual cups) because it prevents good heat circulation and place the oven rack in the top third of the oven.

 inside view of batch number 1; the walls are thick and sections were not even hollow but rather cake-like, dense and rubbery and eggy cake, um, eeww.

 inside view of batch number 2; thinner, crispier walls with less eggy-cakey parts in the middle.

can you tell which ones were part of batch number 1?  just look for the hockey pucks.  they will be going out to the possums tonight.  as for batch number 2, they were individually wrapped and frozen for the next time i am in need of a little something to fill a menu.  and if you must know, i left them sitting on the counter unwrapped all night and they didn't get soft-they were still crispy in the morning!

and so ends this week's lesson.  yes, i have been schooled on popovers and i am now eager to move on to something less complicated...many thanks to this week's hosts, paula and amy and a big round of applause to this weeks newest sponsor-my new oven!  and last but certainly not least, happy birthday to julia!