Farm to Fork

Soul soothing soup

aka using what’s in the freezer
aka what do I have left

One of my favorite things to do is use the leftovers of Thanksgiving. The extra stuffing and mash go into a shepherds’ pie, the extra turkey and cranberry into sandwiches, and the turkey carcass goes into soup.

Last Thanksgiving there wasn’t time or energy to make Carcass Soup, to the bird skeleton got put into a Ziploc in the freezer and, frankly, forgotten.
In going through things and using things up, it was found last week, so with some farm box ingredients and about a couple of hours of easy prep, we got a lovely 3 meals out of it.

I share it here because it is a super-easy recipe and can be done with a leftover whole chicken just as easily. In fact, just about any bones leftover at the end of a meal will do. (Go ahead, prove me wrong, I dare you!) And because this is soul-soothing. It’s the kind of soup that just puts it all right in your body for a bit.

I believe this is because there is truth to the chicken soup fable (it cures all ills!) because of the herbs and because of some properties of poultry. This includes cysteine which is released from poultry when it is cooked and while non-essential, this amino acid has been found to help chest congestion. All of the herbs in this dish are known to have some role in healing in “simpler” times.

In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), celery is known to benefit the stomach and pancreas and improve digestion. Carrots benefit the lungs and pancreas and can help with heartburn. Alliums, like onions, are thought to produce inner warmth and facilitate metabolism.

Basically, yes, your food can help you feel better both in spirit and in body. So enjoy!

What you need:

A leftover bird carcass (chicken, turkey)
Leftover chicken or turkey
Rice
Onions
Carrots
Celery stalks
Bay leaf
Peppercorns
Fresh Parsley
Salt
Rubbed or Dried Sage
Dried Marjoram
Dried Thyme
Dried or Fresh Rosemary
Ground White pepper
Nutmeg
Butter or oil

First, you want to make a stock. This time, I mean it. You don’t want to add chicken broth to this lovely thing.

Take the carcass, even better if it still has lovely scraps of meat on it and put it on a baking sheet in a preheated 400F oven. You want to roast this set of bones until it is brown all around. The lovely deep brown color will impart a TON of flavor into your soup.

Once done, move it into your 6+ qt stockpot leaving all the fat behind on the roasting pan. (My dogs LOVE this mixed with their food in 1 TBSP portions, it lasts fine in the fridge for a couple of weeks.)
Cover the carcass with JUST ENOUGH WATER – you don’t want too much here so that the flavor is concentrated.
Add in an onion cut in half with peel removed, 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks all cut into quarters, 3 or for sprigs of parsley, a bay leaf or two, 4 peppercorns, and 1 tsp salt.

Bring the water up to just below a boil and then turn down the heat and leave it on simmer for at least 2 hours (you can leave it for a couple hours more, if needed). In the meantime, you can rest, read a book, or start on dicing everything for your soup. When the stock tastes like poultry and has a nice color, you are done. Next, move onto the soup instructions below:

Just before simmer – all ingredients ready to do their stuff and make magic

Carcass Soup
Serves 8 to 10 plus
Time: 4 hours total, 1 hour ACTIVE kitchen time
Contains animal products (marked with (A) for animal) and dairy products (marked with (D) for dairy)

Ingredients
1 tsp butter or oil (D)
1 c onion, diced
3 carrots, large dice
3 celery stalks, large dice
1 tsp sage (rubbed or dried)
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp white pepper, ground
1/8 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated / ground
1 to 2 cups turkey or chicken meat, diced (A)
3/4 cup rice (white, brown, wild, or any combo)
6 to 8 cups poultry stock (A)

Equipment
1 to 2 stockpots – 1 4 qt (optional) and 1 6 qts or larger
Strainer
Sharp knife
Cutting board
Large stirring spoon
Ladle

Instructions
Heat butter or oil in bottom of the soup pot you are cooking in. (If you are using the same pot you made the stock in, strain the stock into a bowl and discard the carcass and vegetables. Put the pot back on stove and add fat. Once warm, add onions and saute until soft. Add in carrots and saute 5 minutes. Add in celery and saute 3 minutes more. Add in all herbs and spices and stir.
Add in poultry, and rice and saute for a couple of minutes. Gently pour broth back in. (If you think there is too much sediment in the broth, feel free to use a strainer to pour it back in.
Simmer until rice is done, approximately 1 hour and you have soup.

NOTE: This is a great neighbor gift, and can easily be frozen in quart or gallon ziplocs for future use (freeze them flat and stack them!)

In need of brunch

A rainy housebound day like today means baked goods. So we are doing a recipe for pancakes that only needs 1 cup of flour.
One of my favorite recipes is from “The Breakfast Book” from Marion Cunningham. Perhaps one of the most talented cooks to grace our planet. I found a lovely version for you adapted by @shunalydon, one of the best pastry cooks I know, over on the KQED.org website. Check it out here.

Pancakes are good hot. I don’t like them cold This recipe will make enough for 4 people. If you have leftovers, you can easily reheat them in the toaster or toaster oven. (As with all baked goods, I suggest staying away from the microwave.) A bit of butter and jam or maple syrup and you have a morning treat on its own or served besides eggs, bacon, fruit, ham, whatever you wish to eat and perhaps a nice mimosa or gin fizz on the side. If you must eat them cold, make a sandwich with them at 2 am with nutella-type spread and marshmallow.

Easy ingredient list:

Flour
Baking Soda
Salt

Eggs
Melted butter
Buttermilk

Okay. Wait. Buttermilk? Excuse me, this is 2020? You expect a normal person to have BUTTERMILK?

Sigh. Honestly. No. No, I don’t. Even food geek me, doesn’t have buttermilk in my home, but that’s a different post…

You have three things you can do:
1) “Sour” your milk, by adding 1 tsp vinegar (I preferred distilled wine or apple cider for this due to flavor) or 1 tsp lemon juice.
2) or you can “invest in a dried Buttermilk product. Sound gross? It’s actually not. Not at all. Hopefully easy to get, this buttermilk powder can be mixed with lukewarm water and get your great pancakes.
3) Use regular dry powdered milk (instant is fine) with water and vinegar
As you can see, #2 is the route I took.

Just mix the buttermilk powder into lukewarm water and we are on the way.

The pancakes were just fluffy enough and just flavorful enough. And we were done and cleaned up in less than an hour.

Mission accomplished for brunch-y things.

Contrasts in Comfort Food

Okay, confession number two.
I’m comfort eating… and drinking. I’m still pretty good about keeping to my routines in the morning, but by noon, I’m starting to crack. My healthful thoughts are surrounded by the stress and tension that has built all morning, and all I want to do is break down for a large double caff mocha and pumpkin bread, or a maple scone, or lemon pound cake – you get the drift.
So, we’ve been focusing on comfort foods for dinner the past couple of nights.
Two nights ago, my honey, sometimes called D in these musings, made me a macrobiotic comfort feast of tofu, seaweed, noodles and bok choy.
I know. That is NOT your idea of comfort food and you do not have 3 kinds of miso around. We have talked about how much of a geek I am, right?

We’ll pass on recipes for that meal but let me just say, it was perfect for what I needed. The sense memories and sense of fullness I get from those meals can carry me for days. What meal creates that for you? Whatever it is, put it on your menu plan.
Then last night, we had farmers market things to eat. We first said soup because there is little better than soup to soothe the soul, but I wanted something more “toothy” so we went with Risotto paired with a lovely Chicory Blossom Mead from Heidrun

When Risotto is fabulous, the rice is creamy, and it warms you from head to toe.
It’s not the easiest of meals because it is all “a-la-minute” – in other words, cook it now and serve it immediately – you have to be prepped, but the prep is easy and malleable to what you have on hand. You can have it done in an hour.

To make risotto, you need to have stock of some sort. I’m not a fan of canned chicken broth, but that’ll do. So will tetra pack vegetable broth, or you can make your own if you have an extra chicken or some vegetable ends lying around. In fact, you might want to make a note to save the pieces of vegetables you don’t eat. Before composting, fresh ends of carrots, celery, onions and just about anything else can make a nice flavorful vegetable stock that you can use as a base for soup, stew, risotto, flavor for pasta, you name it.
Besides the stock, you need rice. And yes, ALMOST any rice will do, preferably SHORT GRAIN (D is cringing as he reads that part) but it is best if you have RISOTTO rice – also called Carnaroli or Arborio (likely not as IN DEMAND as some rice this month, so perhaps on the shelves? or maybe you have some in your pantry and haven’t known what to do with it!)
Onions are an essential pantry item and if kept correctly, last a long, long time. You’ll need at least half of one for this.
You also need some butter or oil for the pan so things don’t stick.
Last necessity is cheese – parmesan. And if you are still buying it in that green jar, just STOP. Seriously. Real blocks of parmesan or Gran Padano can be bought and stored for months if not years and are so much better for you. Invest in one and a grater if you don’t have it and let’s get going.
Okay, so everyone that cooks risotto has (gasp!) opinions on how to do it. This is not about the perfect risotto, this is about a comforting food for you and the fam and whoever else is stuck at your home with you.

Here are the basics:
Ingredient Checklist:
Rice (Risotto-style, short-grain regular in a pinch)
Stock (canned, boxed or freshly made)
Onion
Fat (Butter or Oil)
Cheese (Parmesan or something similar)
Add-ins can be small chopped vegetables, shrimp, bacon, (the list is endless, pick something with umami (like mushrooms) and something bright (like asparagus or lemon) for a nice flavor combo)Wine is a great flavor for risotto – something white and crisp like a Sauvignon Blanc would be good and can be substituted for some of the stock

Whatever feels good Risotto
Serves 4 (split in half for 2, also great for leftovers)
Time: Takes about 1 hour ACTIVE kitchen time
Contains dairy products (marked with (D) for dairy)

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow or white onion
2 cups risotto rice
5 cups stock (vegetable or animal) – 1 cup can be substituted with wine
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 c parmesan cheese (D)

Add in whatever vegetables and / or proteins you would like. Cut them up, blanch or steam them, roast them, whichever. Just have them ready to mix in at the end.

Equipment
4 qt saucepan
2 qt or larger saucepan
ladle
large kitchen spoon
cheese grater

Instructions:
Peel and finely chop the onion. Heat the oil in a 4 qt saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring continuously, until it turns soft and translucent. Turn the heat down if the onion starts browning.
In second saucepan, heat the stock over medium heat until it is simmering. Adjust heat so that you maintain this simmer the entire time you are making risotto.
Once the onion is soft, splash a little wine or stock into the pan and loosen all the remnants at the bottom of the pan. Then add the rice. Stir it gently for 3 minutes to warm the rice. Turn heat down if needed, don’t let the rice brown.
Using your ladle, transfer about 1/2 cup of stock to the pan with onions. Continue stirring constantly. It should look soupy. As you continue to stir, make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan. The rice will absorb the stock and start to become dry. You will see little bubbles in the liquid between grains of rice. Gently bubbling is good. If it’s too vigorous, turn the heat down.
As the rice is obviously dry, add another ladle of stock. Stir constantly. Take turns stirring, but DON’T STOP. And as the rice dries, add another ladle of stock. ladle of broth to the pan and stir constantly, as before.
Continue to add stock one ladle at a time, stirring, until you’ve used most of the stock. (About 20 minutes) [NOTE: if you are using wine, use htat in the middle here. It’s not about the alcohol, so don’t worry about it burning off.
Test the rice is cooked by tasting a grain. Scoop up one with a spoon and bite the grain, is it crunchy? Still too raw. Keep ladling. If you run out of broth, use hot water.
Is it tender? Nice. You’re on track. Add in your add-ins now (perhaps a bit sooner if they need a bit of cooking). When the rice is tender and the risotto has a creamy consistency, it is done. Season it with the salt and pepper, about 1/4 tsp (of each) at a time ’til you find the right mix. Add the grated cheese and stir well. Serve the risotto immediately into warm bowls. Have extra grated Parmesan on hand.

Other Risotto recipes I like:
https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/rice-recipes/risotto-bianco-white-risotto/
https://www.nigella.com/recipes/lemon-risotto

Waking up in times of stress

I have a confession… I hate smoothies. I hate the grainy texture of adding powders, the cold, and the sheer volume.

I love warm drinks in the morning – regardless of the weather they make me feel calm and coolheaded and perk me up. Since I don’t drink much caffeine anymore, I have wanted alternatives for what to drink. And right now? I want something that picks me up but keeps me mellow as I’ve got enough stress in my day.

I love green tea because it has less caffeine than black tea or coffee (about 50mg per cup) so it gives you a steadier climb to alertness rather than the rude jolt. Green tea also has other health benefits we can get into at another time. In general, tea can brighten your eyes, clear your voice and is a great way to start the day. Add in some herbs and this little concoction is something to bring some alertness to your system and keep the blues at bay.

Chai is traditionally served with lots and lots of milk/cream. Here we only use a tablespoon to give you a nice fat boost and we hide in some lovely additions to help you get started in your day.

Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom are all warming, help increase vibrancy in your system and can help with digestion.

Collagen is a way to deliver protein to your system and has many health benefits, some of which have helped my recovery greatly. (Happy to share more if you want to DM.)

So here is my way to ease into your morning with bright eyes and a calm attitude.

Green Tea Chai with mood boosters
Makes 1 cup
Time: 15 minutes or less
Contains animal products (marked with “A”)

Your favorite Green Tea (loose or bag – caffeinated or decaf)
Chai Spice Mix (see recipe below)
2 Tbsp Hydrolysated Collagen (A)
1 Tbsp Milk – your personal favorite (dairy or non)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract or powder
1/2 tsp agave (if desired)Freshly grated nutmeg on top
**Optional adds: If you want a mood boost:
I suggest adding a second teabag containing Raspberry Leaf (fabulous for the ladies!) or Ashwaganda Root for any gender!

Equipment
A way to boil water 😉
Teacup or mug
Tea strainer or cheesecloth or empty teabag
Grater (for nutmeg)
Optional: spice grinder

Directions:
Add the collagen to your mug or cup and add a bit of water to dissolve it. Add your tea(s).
Add hot water and spice mix and let steep for 5 minutes. Remove the spices. (If you use ground spices, you will have some floating grains, if this bothers you, use an empty tea bag or cheesecloth.)

Spice Mix Recipe:
1 whole black peppercorn
1/2 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
2 whole cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger, or a nice fresh slice of some
1 cardamom pod (green preferred) or 1/8 tsp ground

Put these ingredients in a piece of cheesecloth or a tea strainer and us in the recipe above.
NOTE: If you have a way to grind these and put them in an empty teabag or cheesecloth, great! Otherwise, keep them whole. You will get some grittiness from the ginger and cardamom, but the flavor is worth it!
(If you want to make a ground mix you can spoon into an empty teabag for long term use – I love this recipe.)

Week 2 of Isolation – Eating

Some of the world around me is worrying about toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Currently, I am focusing my worrying on food. Having enough, getting enough nutrition, balancing stress and comfort eating, and not going hungry.

For the world other than me, there are those that can’t get it easily. SNAP, the Federal food stamp supplement program instituted planned ~~changes~~ reductions weeks before the pandemic hit. Children (and their families) dependent on School breakfast and lunch programs are no longer going to school. I’m doing my best to continue my support of this through Feeding America but I’m open to other ideas.

For those not used to working from home, perhaps it’s sourcing three meals a day plus snacks for yourself when you likely bought lunch or had it where you worked. And many of you have families and kids all at home making this less about packed lunches or money for lunch and more about having to source food, meal prep, and somehow still work. I might be able to help.

Why? Well, because I’ve been working from home for eight years next month; before that, I was a cook, and I’m good at planning and strategy. So, this week, I’m going to talk about the strategies we’re using to feed the two of us. I’ll start with some of what we are preparing and go from there.

If you have specific needs, leave it in the comments and we’ll tackle it one by one. We’re a community here – a tribe and keeping sane and satisfied during this time is going to be a challenge for everyone.

To start the week in food, we braved the farmer’s market today. More about solidarity and community than anything else. As our guv’nah says, keep your distance if you have to go out, pretend you have the virus and do all you can to keep it from others.

It was a small market with sparse attendance so it was easy to stay away from each other. It was very good to see the farmers and sellers we know. Happily East Bay was already out of sourdough, so we nibbled on those pastries you see in the picture before lunch. Upper Crust had some options left, including Everything bagels!

Food for the sick

It’s been a tough virus year for me. And it’s only the 26th day. Bah.
(Note: I know I’m not alone, and there are whole cities in China right now with harder roads than mine. My heart goes out to all of those individuals. I wish you healing and speedy recovery. )

I have a love/hate relationship with soup, and I love it most when I don’t feel well. When the throat is dry and rough from coughing or sore and aching, there isn’t much better than soup. And while I agree that a good bowl of chicken noodle or matzo ball does the heart right. There are lots of other options out there.

I found one while perusing the menus of 2020 #cook90 at epicurious.com. Based on the book by @davidtamarkin , this is the 5th year that they have put together a menu plan with shopping guide and recipes and fun theme to cook 30 days at home – 3 meals a day. For some reason, this year, I found it more comprehensive and fun – perhaps because they are using a sustainability twist (Be still my heart!). You can get the book by clicking these words. I’ve been saving the recipes from epicurious.com for the right time, and boy, was this the weekend for it.

I made Crispy Tofu in Shiitake Broth – which is basically a Japanese dashi broth with vegetables.

I have a deep well of love place in my heart for Japanese cuisine. I’m not sure if it stems from my childhood or young adult experiences or something else, but there is something truly comforting about Japanese food. It is a go-to cuisine for me when I feel unwell physically, mentally and spiritually.

And, I don’t mean your average sushi joint (though a good dose of wasabi can clear out the sinuses!). I mean a place that manages a sense of place – in Japan, this is called Washoku.

Menu items like nigiri (raw fish on seasoned rice) and tempura have a place there, but so do battered fried pork and beef (Tonkatsu), curries, and so does Dashi.

Dashi seems mysterious to many I meet but the basic recipe makes it one of the simplest broths around. Clean, filtered water, some dried seaweed, and some umami – either in the form of dried fish (bonito flakes) or mushrooms. Heat together, let it sit for a while, strain and then it’s ready to use or freeze for later.

This recipe has lots of lovely pieces to it, including the teriyaki-like marinade for the tofu, but, of course, being me, I had to add my own take, so here is my adapted recipe and notes.

Crispy Tofu in Shiitake Broth
adapted from Andy Baraghani as part of Epicurious Cook90 2020

Time needed before serving: 3 hrs including draining tofu, about 45 minutes active.

Makes 4 servings
(NOTE: you can definitely half this to serve, but make the full bit of dashi and freeze it or use it in 2 to 3 days)

INGREDIENTS

1 (12-ounce) package firm tofu (we prefer organic sprouted), drained – see below
1/4 c soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
1 T brown sugar
8 cups water, preferably room temperature filtered
2 pieces dried kombu seaweed each approximately 4-inch by 3-inch
1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
3 scallions
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, rinsed, patted dry
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 T vegetable oil (we prefer sunflower)
Salt
4 baby bok choy (about 12 ounces total), halved lengthwise
2 medium carrots, halved and quartered into sticks
1 medium radish, trimmed, thinly sliced into rounds
Fresh sprouts (optional)
Toasted sesame oil (for garnish)

EQUIPMENT

9 x 13 baking pan
Paper towels
Cutting board
Your favorite sharp knife
Large skillet, preferably non-stick
2-cup (or larger) liquid measuring cup
Large pot (can hold 4 gallons or more)
Slotted turner (like this)
Ladle

*Drain the tofu: Slice the tofu into the shape you want, for this recipe we prefer squares. Place the tofu on top of two folded paper towels on a baking sheet. Put another two paper towels on top and then place a cutting board on top of that. Weight the tofu down with the 9 x 13 baking dish you will be using below. Check the process in one hour and replace paper towels if necessary, flipping the tofu. Let it sit a second hour before using it below.
Mix 1/4 cup soy sauce and brown sugar in the 9 x 13 baking dish holding down the tofu. Place tofu in the baking dish and flip with a turner to coat. Let sit on each side for 10 minutes.
While tofu is marinating, prepare your garlic and ginger as noted above. Remove green tops from scallions and slice thinly; set aside for garnish. Coarsely chop the white parts.
Put 8 cups of water into the pot. Add whole mushrooms, kombu, sliced ginger, and peeled garlic. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and discard kombu. Let the dashi sit for 20 minutes to infuse flavors, then scoop out scallions, mushrooms, ginger, and garlic, if you desire.**
Heat vegetable oil in the skillet, over medium-high heat. Make sure the oil is at least 1/4″ deep in the pan. When oil is hot (and I mean HOT), add the slices of tofu, working in batches if needed, and do not touch, flip or move. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, flip and repeat. Transfer to paper towels to drain; season with salt.
While the tofu is cooking, bring dashi to a full boil. Add carrots, then bok choy and carrots and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Taste and season with more salt, if needed.
Ladle soup into bowls. Add tofu, sliced radish, and reserved scallion tops; drizzle lightly with sesame oil.

Feel free to mix it up! I added some leftover fresh pappardelle we had to make this a bit heartier.

Using the leftovers:

** I personally leave this all in and take out the mushrooms. The fresh mushrooms can be sliced and added back in. The dried ones usually have enough flavor left that I slice them into quarters and use them again in another dashi or some vegetable stock within a day or two.

I highly recommend you use the leftover kombo to make a salad called tsukudani (This is a link to a recipe on Spruce Eats for your reference. I have not used that specific recipe.)

The extra dashi without veg can be frozen for up to 3 months or kept in fridge for 3 days. The soup will last about 3 days as well and can be easily reheated in a pot on the stove.

Final Result:

Another thing to do with whey

Gotta love the internet. It gives you far too many ideas.

wwblueberrymuffins

Call me old-fashioned, but in the days of BOOKS and cookbooks, in particular, you were able to at least assume that the recipe worked.

Sadly, in the days of Pinterest, Blogs and paid content, that is not always the case. I have seen more that one recipe that makes me cringe. Whether it is because it is obviously untested, or missed steps, or ingredients, or all three.

There are some sites that do make sure you get a good recipe. One of my favorites for baking is King Arthur Flour. Sure they want to sell you flour (and other things) but they have a lovely recipe archive that is available to all. (You don’t even have to sign up for all the recipes to magically appear available.) And the recipes (usually) work. [Note: I take FULL responsibility for the ones that don’t. 😉 ]

This gem, I found in my internet trawl for whey recipes and it is a keeper. It is adapted from this recipe. But, of course, I had to meddle.

Many thanks to King Arthur Flour and PJ Hamel for the inspiration.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Makes 12 (consistently)

5 ounces whole wheat flour

5 ounces whole wheat pastry flour (reserve 2 tablespoons)

6 ounces brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup neutral vegetable oil (sunflower is my latest fav)

10 ounces whey or 12 ounces buttermilk (play this by ear, it is better to have this look like a loose pancake batter than a stiff dough)

8 to 10 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen (I prefer to make sure there are 6 large or 8 medium blueberries per muffin (so I measure by weight and count as well)

One small bowl

One large bowl

Medium Whisk

Mixing Spoon

Tin with 12 muffin cups (with paper if desired, or cooking spray, if not) – silicone is not the right choice for this recipe

Add all dry ingredients (except 2 T of flour) together into the large bowl and whisk.

Add all wet ingredients to small bowl and whisk.

Pour wet ingredients over dry and stir to combine.

Dust blueberries with the 2 Tbsp flour you have set aside and fold into batter with as few strokes as possible. (if you prefer you can leave these separate and stud your muffins with them separately. I do this sometimes because I want equal blueberry bites per muffin!)

Spoon the batter (don’t pour with this or the berries will sink) into the muffin cups filling them a bit over 3/4 full.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. (I like to switch trays between racks halfway through.)

Remove from oven and let cool in the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to complete cooling. [Note: These are great warm or at room temperature and in testing this, just a few have made it to room temp.]

Store leftovers at room temperature covered with a light towel or in a slightly open container. Eat within 4 days for best results.

Not much better than a warm muffin and a hot cup of coffee. blueberrymuffinandcoffee

What I did this week, or making bread what to do with extra whey

I have been making yogurt for the past few weeks and since I am straining it to a Greek-style, there has been a surplus of liquid whey in my life.

I’m using some of it to try and acidify my garden soil for a camellia or two. (Still debatable as helpful.)

I still needed other options and decided to try and use it as the liquid in a bread recipe or two.

I’ve tried it a couple of different ways and what is posted here is my favorite so far.

Trace’s Spelt / Whey Bread

makes 2 freeform loaves

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups bread flour (strong flour)
4 cups spelt flour
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon dry yeast
3 cups whey, warmed to 110F (43C)
Stand Mixer

Place the flour, salt, dry yeast and sugar in a stand-up mixer bowl.

With the dough hook attached, start the mixer on very low speed to mix the ingredients.

Slowly pour the warm whey little by little over the mixture waiting for the flour to absorb the liquid.

Increase the speed of the mixer to medium and knead the dough for about 10 minutes.

The dough will be a little bit sticky, which is ok.

Stop the mixer.

Form the dough into a nice, round ball and place it in a greased bowl, turning it over so the top has a thin film of grease on it as well. This helps keep it soft so that, as the yeast begins to grow and produce carbon dioxide bubbles, it can expand.

Cover the bowl with a damp towel or a piece of plastic wrap. It’s a good idea to grease the underside of the plastic so that it won’t stick if the dough comes in contact with it.

Let the dough rise anywhere from 1 to 2 hours depending on warmth and humidity or until it doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 425F/220C.

Punch the dough down, split it in two (I recommend to do this by weight.) and then mold each into a loaf shape and put each into a greased loaf pan.

Rise a second time until 1 inch over the loaf pan rim.

Reduce heat to 350 and cook approximately 25 minutes or until loaf middle registers 190 degrees F

Cool on racks.

Can store at room temp for three or so days .

And then there were Pez…

I have a long-standing love of collecting things that, as Marie Kondo would say, “Sparks Joy” for me.

I find small gifts of happiness to be the light that takes us through the bouts of suffering we have as a species, as a society, as humans.

So, once upon a time, I discovered Pez. I may have been six or seven. I wasn’t allowed sweets of any kind. None. Seriously. I was completely deprived. 😉

And then there was this little stick that looked like a little sheep (like Shari Lewis’ lambs!) or some such and when you tilted its head back you got sugar. In the form of a hard chewable Pez tablet.

I was hooked. And not allowed.

So, of course, in my adulting year’s, the first thing I do? Start collecting them. Muppets and WB cartoon figures and Marvel and DC and holidays and goofy figures.

(BTW, did you know there is a MUSEUM???)

About half of my collection is now visible in a fit of cleaning that happened over the weekend.

I see it every time I sit down in my office chair. Happy. Happy. Joy. Joy.

Life is good.

Mother’s Day

I must jump ahead to Mother’s Day. There were many good meals in between, but that one filled a hole. One that I didn’t know I had.

I am a lucky one in that my offspring remembers this day most years and we usually celebrate it together.

The older they get, the more we become friends and have space to share meals and time and gossip and woes without the overbearing weight of parent-child boundaries leaning on our shoulders during our visits.

And thank all that is grace, they are a foodie! So we have that in common and can enjoy a good brunch, lunch, dinner, wine or cocktail, and possibly even a dessert. Phew!

So this year, I got asked where I wanted to go and to everyone’s surprise I did not say “boozy brunch” or “dim sum” (though both are spectacular ideas!) Nope! I said “Kin Khao” in hopes of a terrific experience. And did it live up to my hopes.

My journey to Kin Khao started a bit less than 20 years ago when I started blogging and reading other blogs. And there were a few that stood out (and still do!)

The one that led me to this meal was by Pim. First working in kitchens (like I wanted to) and making jam (when I was working in kitchens) and then one day she switched to IG and I kept up a bit less but still tried.

A few years later I heard of KK and it’s been on my list since then. Since we are now more seriously sojourning to SF for food again (thank everything!) and since I somehow decided this is the Year of Women in Restaurants, off we went.

Pim has since obtained a Michelin Star AND taken on a position in Bangkok at a two-star hotel restaurant there (where she worked with another of my heroes, Shuna Lydon). I continue to be impressed by her talent, work ethic and palate.

A noon (or so) reservation for us a lovely corner table looking out over the scene. Casual tables, nicely uniformed servers, a beautiful wall of colorful postcards showing off her food and we spent a copious amount of time trying to pare down what we would order. For four!

We started with drinks from the bar and spiced peanuts and moved on to Mushroom Hor Mok, Nam Tok Beans, Baby Chow Sum and, of course, Pretty Hot Wings (and yes, they are both pretty and pretty hot, if that lovely Thai way of building heat and sweet until you can’t not have more even with tingling lips.)

[note: I don’t have the receipt handy so there aren’t prices here, I’ll try to add them later. ]

The mushroom Hor Mok was phenomenal. Unctuous curry mousse with rich bites of shittake served with housemade rice cakes (think savory crispy treats?)The other dishes not far behind. The Nam Tok had crisp romaine had what may have been cranberry beans nestled in them for a lovely contrast of crunch and soft. The chicken wings had a crunchy hot exterior with soft, tender, juicy interior and that addictive sweet-hot flavor. And the Chow Sum (like bok choy) was bright, refreshing and so fresh. A good contrast.

For mains, we shared Khao Mun Gai, Ngop Pla (trout rubbed in red curry and roasted in a banana leaf), Yaowaraj Noodle with Hodo tofu, and The Pork Bowl.

The trout was cooked perfectly and had lovely flavor. It was served with white rice with provided great balance.

The pork bowl was lighter on seasoning than we would have liked and the chili paste served with it didn’t quite make up for it. The pork was, however, perfectly cooked and it was the most photogenic of the mains.

KMG was a bit tacky, the rice a bit plain. Not my favorite version. The noodles with tofu was delicious. Pan-fried rice noodle with crumbled tofu – it was umami all the way and a dish I’m still dreaming of.

With this course, we had a lovely bottle of Riesling from a compact but well-curated list of bottles.

And finally dessert. At lunch, KK has one. And that’s okay. Because it’s a black rice pudding with coconut cream and caramel alongside a house-made praline. We all kept going back for more even was full as we were.

I want to be back there right now, for dinner and have the green curry with rabbit and another Yaowaraj or maybe the Massaman beef cheeks. Oh, but there is also squid and prik laab and… sigh. Yes, please.

The company was exquisite. The food so good, I’d eat there solo… but then I wouldn’t get to try everything again.