Sourdough

I've finally done it. After 2 failed attempts last year I decided that my fear of sourdough starters needed to be overcome. So I bought The Bread Bakers Apprentice by Peter Reinhart because of the rave reviews and tried again. And it worked! I am so happy. Finally I can make sourdough bread in my own home.

I grew up in California living off of sourdough bread. More than any other bread, sourdough, for me, is nostalgia. My mom and my dad would make me sandwiches with sourdough growing up. A baguette of sourdough always accompanied my mom's amazing pot roast or stew. My mom would even send me care packages with loaves of bread. I know. I'm crazy about sourdough. But I think everyone should be. There is absolutely no bread that even comes close. Sure, I love other breads. I don't think a BLT is the same unless its on toasted wheat bread. But sourdough is my go to bread.

The process of making the starter in itself took a while and there were a lot of instructions and web searches to make sure I was doing things correctly. But this time consuming process paid off. Yesterday I pulled out 2 loaves of bread from my oven and to my surprise it tasted great! I thought for sure I was going to mess up somewhere along the way. So glad I haven't (so far). The loaves aren't the most beautiful things that I have ever made, but I'm hoping with a little practice and some hard work I can get them (close to) perfect.

Lavender Scones with Lemon Curd

Thankfully the weather in Nashville has cooled off a little bit. Gone are the record breaking highs and a welcome return to summer storms. My garden is even looking halfway decent again. I was sure it was past recovery. This (slight) cool down allowed me to get back into the kitchen and bake something. I had recently come across a recipe in Bon Appetit for Lavender Scones and couldn't help to test them out. They were shown being served with lemon curd, so then of course I had to make lemon curd. 

I had never made lemon curd before, I'm not really sure if I had ever even had it before. I was curious to see how the ingredients could combine to make the most lemony, tangy, scrumptious concoction I have ever tasted. It was like the filling to a really great lemon meringue pie, only better! The tartness really complimented the flavor of the scones. This was a great breakfast for as long as it lasted (which wasn't very long).

Sweet Lavender Scones

Adapted from Bon Appetit May 2012

Note: I only made half of the recipe

3 cups flour, all purpose

3/4 cup sugar, white granulated

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp dried lavender buds

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, chilled and cut into tiny cubes

1 cup plus 2 tbsp buttermilk

2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated

1 tsp vanilla extract

Raw sugar to sprinkle on top

1) Preheat oven to 425 F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

2) Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, lavender, salt, and baking soda in a bowl, then add butter with a pastry blender or fingers to create a coarse mixture

3) Whisk 1 cup of the buttermilk with the lemon zest and vanilla then add the wet ingredients into the dry until a shaggy dough is formed

4) Pour dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, gently, about 5 turns, until dough is formed

5) Shape into a 10X6 inch rectangle, then cut into squares of your desired size (this recipe says that it will make 16)

6) Brush the tops with the remaining 2 tbsp buttermilk and raw sugar, then bake for 13-15 minutes, let cool on wire rack and enjoy!

Lemon Curd

Adapted from SprinkleBakes

1 stick of butter, at room temp

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temp

2 egg yolks, room temp

1/3 cup plus 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1) Beat the butter and the sugar together with Kitchenaid or electric hand mixer, then slowly add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, once they are fully incorporated pour in the lemon juice. The mixture is going to look curdled and awful, but don't worry! This is normal.

2) Pour the mixture into a saucepan and attach a candy thermometer and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and is no longer curdled. Then increase the heat a little and keep stirring until the mixture reaches 170 F then remove from stove

3) Let cool slightly then place in container and cover the top surface of the lemon curd with plastic wrap. Let cool to room temperature and then place in the fridge to cool. Remove when cooled and enjoy!

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Last week in Nashville had some record breaking heat. It was too hot to even make ice cream. That is how unbelievably hot it was. So instead, I decided to make some frozen yogurt. No heating involved. All you have to do is let the berries, sugar, and some vodka do their thing and mix in some lemon and yogurt and let it spin in the ice cream machine. So simple. And delicious. This frozen yogurt has that hint of tang from the yogurt, but the strawberry flavor comes through so clear that it almost tastes like a sorbet. I'll soon by trying this technique with some other fruits.

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop

1 lb fresh strawberries, rinsed and stems removed
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. vodka (I used vanilla vodka) (optional)
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp. lemon juice

1) Slice the strawberries into tiny pieces and combine with the sugar and vodka and let sit for 1 hour, stirring occasionally

2) Puree the strawberries, in their juices, in a food processor with the yogurt and lemon juice until smooth. You can strain out the seeds, but I like the texture they add

3) Refrigerate until cold, then add to machine, freeze in freezer and enjoy!

4th of July Cake

Hey everyone! Sorry about the absence. We have been moving and I haven't had a chance to really cook anything too exciting. Luckily are move is possibly the shortest move in history. To the other side of our duplex. You may be wondering why move to the other side of a seemingly identical unit. Well, the other side has a finished attic! Which means we now have space for Will's office and all of our extra stuff that was overflowing in our house. Yay! There are also ceiling fans in every room and a kitchen with a little more counter and cabinet space for all my kitchen stuff!

I did get a chance to bake a 4th of July cake, but I haven't had a change to get onto my computer since we have been so busy. So, better late than never, here is the Independence Day cake.

Zucchini Pizza and Anaheim Pepperoni Pizza

This is not my first post about pizza and I doubt that it will be the last. As I discussed before, some of the simplest foods can have the most diverse methods of cooking. I recently tried a new way of preparing pizza that I've been reading a lot about. This is probably how many of you have been preparing yours, but for me this is an ingenious way of getting that wood fired taste. All you have to do is preheat the oven and pizza stone for about 20 minutes, get it good and hot, then when you put the pizza in turn the oven to broil. This way the top of the crust will get a little charred. I like to put the dough on the stone first (keep it at 500 F) and crisp up the bottom for about 3 minutes. This also makes the pizza easier to put on the stone when it is covered with delicious toppings. Take the partially cooked dough out of the oven and begin to add the sauce, cheese, and toppings. Return to oven and cook the pizza for about 8-10 minutes depending on your oven. The crust us amazing! Perfectly crispy and delicious.

I decided to test this new method with some of the fresh zucchini from my garden. So I shredded some up and added a grilled artichoke heart from the night before as well as some caramelized onions. The results were scrumptious! I always like to make two pizzas so I also included a pepperoni pizza. Only with this one I also wanted to include something from my garden so I roasted an Anaheim chili and added it to the pizza. I really love the smoky heat that it added.

Remember pizza is a great way to experiment with new and interesting flavors. For the dough recipe see this post on pizza.

Nashville Street Food Festival

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to participate in Nashville's first Street Food Festival. The event was sponsored by Wanderland Urban Food Park a company that specializes in gathering these food trucks together. Food bloggers of Nashville were asked to be judges of best savory, best dessert, and best drink. This was a really great opportunity for me and fellow food bloggers to get together and try some new and innovative cuisines.

I find the food truck movement to be really interesting. As an anthropologist who studies the intersections of food and culture I think that the food truck movement will emerge as an interesting topic of study in the near future. Food trucks move away from some of the traditional American concepts of how and where foods can be eaten and create a new sense of identity and community. The trucks themselves are movable representations of art and culture, as well as movable feasts.

I really encourage everyone out there to go and try these food trucks. These unconventional businesses are also locations for discovering some unconventional foods and twists on some classics. No mater what your taste preference is I'm sure that there is a food truck out there that will satisfy your cravings!

Linguine with Garden Veggies

Sorry for the absence of posts lately. I just finished my masters exams! Woo hoo! I've also been busy being the teaching assistant for a summer program at Vanderbilt for some very intelligent and great junior high students. It has been a long week but a great one.

But I'm not the only one around here that has been busy. My garden is really going! I have some Anaheim chiles growing and the tomatoes are popping up every where. I would have been able to enjoy one of the wonderful beauties, except those darn squirrels in our backyard got to them first! I was so angry. If anyone has any suggestions on how to keep them out of there that would be great. I don't want to hurt them I just want them to stop biting and discarding my tomatoes. But the zucchini is great and so is the Swiss chard. So I decided I should cook some of it up and make a fresh, bright pasta meal, perfect for a warm summer evening (before a giant storm hits!).

Linguine with Garden Veggies
1/2 lb of linguine
1 zucchini, grated
1 big bunch of Swiss chard, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Olive oil
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper
Parmesan to taste
Salt

1) After the zucchini has been grated add a pinch of salt and set in a sieve. The salt will draw out excess water. Let sit for 10 minutes then squeeze to remove water.
2) Boil water for pasta and cook linguine
3) Coat a saute pan with olive oil and add the veggies, garlic, and spices and cook until veggies are softened

4) Add the white wine and let it reduce
5) Once the pasta is cooked add it to the pan and add the Parmesan and cook until everything comes together. you can add more wine or pasta water if it needs it, just cook it a bit longer
6) Serve and enjoy!