Look at the a-m-a-z-i-n-g trifle my sister made! She’s even using what seems a proper trifle dish? Oh yeah, she made the poundcake from scratch.
I have been cooking, yes, I have been cooking. But my camera battery ain’t what it used to be, and nevertheless I am often with folk who avoid the paparazzi aim of my lens. So lemme show off my sister who is the cat’s meow.
Photo credit: Julie T.
I enjoy every moment spent at this wonderful, warm home of 13. Everyone is inclusive, interesting, kind, and welcoming. Household members share cooking duties, and this night Alice “cleaned the fridge”, finding red quinoa (true?), lentils, golden and chioggia beets, carrots, cabbage, favas, and potatoes. Let me set the stage. I arrive to find Alice in the kitchen with her “Yodeling Mad: Best of Country Yodel” CD playing, and she greets me with the phrase, “Everything is going in.” Into what, you might ask? Eight shepherd pies! She’s bought yummy vegan crusts, and we step by step assemble her vision into mounds of comfort and belly joy. After topping each pie with a generous helping of mashed potatoes, Alice drizzled them with olive oil, and applied pinches of sea salt and rosemary. I want to eat like this every night.
(photo credit – Glenn Bachmann)
This one was a great recipe from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Delish! I only made it (honestly it was before the holidays and I forgot to post the photos) because I wanted some breakfast cake, but didn’t want to go shopping. Well, look no further. This one was so short, I will include the recipe. Moisty!!!
1 cup rolled oats, preferably noninstant
1/4 pound (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup Pecan Streusel, which is just your choice of nut (I used almonds), sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a 1/2 cup flour all crumbled together
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray or butter and flour a 9 x 12 inch baking dish.
Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over the oats and set them aside. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the bowl and continue beating until the mixture is smooth, then add the vanilla, cinnamon, and oats. Combine the dry ingredients and stir them in with a rubber scraper or wooden spoon. Pour into the prepared baking dish, cover with streusel, and bake until a skewer comes out clean – about 35 minutes.
I want to have a meal from the food I’ve frozen over the past few months. Let’s see, at a glance I found a couple servings of risotto, some dirtbombs, and a bit of RLLH ice cream. Also, to you who requested I freeze my dad’s cupcake for later consumption, it is still safe. There is bound to be at least one more surprise in there… let’s see what I can whip up this weekend!
My father passed away in 2005, but he still is with me every day – sitting across from me on the MUNI train, in a stranger’s smile, and in the person i strive to be. I’ve never known a more patient, kind person. Ask anyone who knew him. This gingerbread cake is a childhood favorite (my mom’s recipe), with my own twist. She can bake like the dickens and he loved every pie, cake, tea cookie, and pumpkin bread from her kitchen.
I love you, Dad!
John Robinson
October 21, 1940 – February 10, 2005
I have good news and nearly good news…
The good news is that I made some delectable vegan cupcakes from my favorite, funny cookbook – Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. And it’s true what they promise. These tasty, tender, moist-y cupcakes could in fact take over the world if you’re not paying close attention. I will do anything they say. Top your chocolate crumb with a dollop more fluffy buttercream frosting? Yes. Garnish you with freshly harvested lavender leaves for fragrant goodness? Yes.
The nearly good news is that I am working on a special recipe or “design” for my cupcake entry. Normally I would just let things fly into my head, or pick from a recipe I always wanted to try. But the due date, October 21, is my dad’s birthday. And the idea to enter is Larisa’s. These cupcakes are deserved of something special! So bear with me. I am thinking.
This bread tested me. I had so much doubt while making it! The dough needed to rise twice, in 3 hr increments, doubling, then tripling in size. The process spanned two days, and I often wondered if I’d have to let go and try again, thinking to myself, if this is a sign of the New Year, what exactly was this challah saying? I’ve just torn off the first piece. It is warm, it is sweet, rich, aromatic, and I feel better.
Well I finally made the beet ravioli and they were quite yummy! I got organic golden and purple beets from Golden Produce. The beets roasted for an hour, and were so good just as they were. By the way, I think the recipe will make 1500 ravioli, so after about two dozen I was thinking…lasagna. I don’t want these delicious roasted beets to go to waste, and I’m not able to spend the next 6 hrs stuffing ravioli. I’ve got rugelach to make!! For the lasagna I used the cheeses I had in the fridge, the pasta rounds, and a pureed a can of herb tomatoes for the sauce (no pic). Here’s the ravioli recipe. 
I also made rugelach with apricot preserves, currants, and walnuts. Mmmm! I saw this episode of Barefoot Contessa and really wanted to give the recipe a try. She’s great! So I guess the moral of today’s post is revisiting things you’ve always wanted to do. Enjoy!
As promised in last post, I am still having foodleftovers (though no beer). During this holiday from new recipes, allow me to introduce my new friends! First, meet Lavender. Lavender lives side by side in identical row houses, and knows just how to calm my nerves when I’ve had a long day. I once replicated a batch of vegan lavender shortbread that I had at Millennium. Very tasty indeed, and just one of the many delicate dishes I plan to prepare once I harvest Lavender. I’m also thinking… ricotta gelato with Lavender and lemon zest. Or, keeping in the frozen dessert theme, trying my hand at Bi-Rite Creamery’s “Honey Lavender” ice cream. I don’t care how long the line is. Wait your turn and get yourself a cone or cup! Thank you, Lisa, for the gift that keeps on giving. I can’t wait for Lavender futurefood!! (Note to Lisa: I was scouring my computer for a photo of you, and the only known one I have is from graduation…if I find it, no when, it’s going up.)
My other foodsidekick is Chiles. We met on a walk a couple of weeks back. Apparently Chiles is inedible (!), having been raised with toxic pesticides and such, but I’m told Chiles offspring are safe (how?). I might try my hand at propagation – or look for an organic pepper companion for Chiles at the Farmers Market. Everyone wins, including my liver and other organ filters!
Yes. On rare occasions I have made food thankyous. Thank you for recommending me for MTPCCR (oh yeah, I need a letter again…), thank you for being seriously special folk in addition to being special co-workers, and thank you Student Services!! My first food thankyou was to Helaine (no foodphoto), who believed in me, connected me, and helped me realize my academic path. I think I owe you an “i’ve finally graduated” food thankyou. Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?
Here we have a box of treasures for those who wrote MTPCCR recommendations. I bought blank cards, and the boxes were lovely, so I put the cookies in them to give away. Inside I tucked two types of cookies, both sandwich. The pink are meringue, dipped in dark chocolate, and sandwiched together. The others are two flourless pistachio cookies – sandwiched and enrobed in dark chocolate. Both were tasty, and recipes were courtesy of a certain martha, in a love or valentines themed february volume.
Then, I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful evening of GRADS closure. I wanted to thank my friends/co-workers for helping me through a hard year. This is my modified family recipe for pound cake. No changes except I made them into little cakes (using that same texas sized muffin tin!). It worked. I think I also lowered the baking temp and cooking time. I made a meyer lemon curd, added blueberries, mint leaf, powdered sugar dusting, and a dollop of crème fraîche , and there was no turning back. Three generations of scott/robinson women went into this food thankyou. PS. Never forget the serenade!!
And finally, I made my mom’s caramel cake into baby cupcakes and topped them with marzipan shaped fruits and vegetables. In keeping with the theme of public health, I insisted that student services/SPH have their fruits and veggies with their dessert. This was really fun to make – the marzipan art was kind of calming to create. The key for fruits/veggies: beets, carrot, pear, banana pepper, lime, grapes, raspberry, strawberry, + orange.
Thanks, again!
I don’t know what you call them, but I call them “breakfast , lunch, or dinner”. A neighborhood bakery (side note: I was wondering as I post, can you call it a bakery if they don’t bake on said premises? apparently the answer is “yes“.) sells these really delicious pastry. On Saturdays I go by and pick up a treat with coffee. I thought, I can make this! I found several recipes online, but my favorite looked the most like the muffins from the shop I frequent. I followed the recipe, which is not my forte. I’m a girl who likes to improvise. Lo and behold, they turned out exactly the same. I will freeze the extras and thaw for Saturdays and other special occasions!
The recipe yielded loads of dough. I used a “texas” size muffin tin, and filled each cup to the brim. I did have a moment of concern when I saw them rising in the oven. Giantess muffins!
As soon as they are cool enough to handle, brush them with melted butter and roll in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Mmmm, try for yourself! Or come over for brunch some time.
I’ve lived in San Francisco for nearly ten years. In that time, I’ve met mostly people native to other locales. Locales with seasons. I never hear anyone say, “I miss sticky summers and walking into gnat swarms”, or “Black ice takes me back”. Usually it’s, “I miss Fall”. I do, too. So I made a pie.
Well not yet this year, but a few back. It was a love pie. The love moved on, but I do have a photo memory of a tasty baked good. I can live with that. The photo reminds me that what I miss of “Fall”, and other seasons, are reminders that life is transient – strung together cycles of fried fresh corn, tomatoes from vines braced with pantyhose, Mom’s caramel cake, Christine’s potatoes and onions, 10 types of apples, pumpkin bread, and all the countless things that tie me to distinctly different years in my life. “That was the year the cake fell, but tasted good anyway”, or “We used sweet potatoes instead of russet”, and so on. My belly is my sundial.
