tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35690045037614943002024-03-13T03:03:11.231-07:00Desserts for Breakfastsweets and other eats.Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.comBlogger361125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-32932709212292202832020-09-27T18:41:00.004-07:002020-09-27T18:42:38.512-07:00A donut "tiramisu" trifle<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="cereal donut" border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQjdXiKQ6APMSDo-1keJ-kDdRFrFXEFC2R3jFu7KN9E9x2dzeiqv7jypgywiuKffLLpAf4nVaktWTnZVteo1XF1GkJ069n-4vn-opQjP0qbjG1PBJYIpg9xdb2Wiqu3Si_oAfYGhAWZD_k/s16000/forblog.gif" /></div><br /><p></p><p>What do you do when you find yourself with over 50 donuts in the house?</p><p>This past week, I've been working on a collab with a donut shop & bakery (can't wait to share more... soon!) and was left with about 54 donuts in the house after the shooting was done. There was no way the two of us could eat all that many donuts, even after sharing plenty with friends. By day 4, I was left with some rather dry and stale donuts.... which are perfect for a donut "tiramisu"! <i>Tiramisu</i> is in quotes here because it's not a real tiramisu, with eggs. I used whipping cream instead, so it sort of makes this one a tiramisu-flavoured trifle. 😅</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="donut disaster" border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjeu8QAI5c4omzoLraUVz8j52sWZkel2aKy6EV1oH6bN6CfpIK-Ey-ZMCFz9B6OTYLRypf88NvAeyn1hxWdTxMEuD0sdjKGnKwiyMSGZxfDWkDRx-oPoIW2gDfgJneC9CqvsCMa4Y_4QAI/s16000/lowres-blog-1.jpg" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"D" is for post-shoot donut disaster</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Most common suggestions for stale donuts involve donut french toast or donut bread pudding, but donut tiramisu, I feel, is the optimal way to go because what better flavour to pair donuts with than (boozy) coffee! *pats self on back* We also made a kimchi grilled cheese sandwich with one of the leftover croissant-donuts that was ... really good, but probably not the healthiest of workday lunches one could imagine. </p><p>Unfort, I have no picture of the final tiramisu for you (there's one uber-grainy photo, on instagram stories--not worth enshrining here!), since I made it super late into the evening in some to-go containers and immediately distributed it around LA to friends who replied to my last-minute text of "who wants to eat my donut experiment?" But after one friend labelled it a "Best of Pandemic" dessert (<i>it's a bop!</i>), I felt like I should at least share the recipe with you here!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0LgATd5o7aaYBFlm7OCDJ2RvmJvRUCvf3ab8x9JS3uh6WwN2awNzNAPmQey3rwBlgboROb-p5E-QnwGDAZ7W_UlZXFcYq0twuE7BnLFpt2ds2NiJIqBraiaAVedCrKiRqRXLolN79whg/s1623/lowres-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="donuts" border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1623" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0LgATd5o7aaYBFlm7OCDJ2RvmJvRUCvf3ab8x9JS3uh6WwN2awNzNAPmQey3rwBlgboROb-p5E-QnwGDAZ7W_UlZXFcYq0twuE7BnLFpt2ds2NiJIqBraiaAVedCrKiRqRXLolN79whg/w640-h426/lowres-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>P.S. Please keep in touch and stay up to date on my food adventures behind the lens by<a href="http://eepurl.com/hdLbRz" target="_blank"> joining my new newsletter</a>!</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Read on for recipe....</i></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><br /></p><p><b>Donut "tiramisu" trifle<br /></b><i>makes about 8 personal-sized cups (roughly the size of a large muffin), or one 10-cup trifle dish</i></p><p>16 oz. heavy cream<br />4 oz. mascarpone<br />2 tspn vanilla extract<br />3 shots espresso, at room temperature<br />3–4 Tbspn dark rum<br />3–4 Tbpsn bourbon (pick a nice chocolatey one)<br />sugar, to taste<br />1 or 2 squares of dark chocolate, grated<br />4–6 stale donuts, sliced into roughly 2cm-thick slices<br />1 mango, diced (or any other fruit you want would work, like berries)<br />cocoa powder, for topping<br /><br />1. Combine the heavy cream and mascarpone in a large bowl. Whip until you get soft peaks. The mascarpone should make it so that the soft peaks are pretty stable and firm. If not, whip a little bit more, but be careful not to over-whip. Stir in vanilla extract. If you are not using glazed or otherwise sugared donuts, you may want to add about 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar to the cream at this point. Mix to combine.<br />2. In a shallow bowl, combine the espresso, rum and bourbon, adjusting the alcohol level to your preferences. It should be rather alcoholic. Again, if your donuts are the type with toppings, you may want to skip sugar at this stage. If not, add about 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar, just to sweeten the syrup a bit.<br />3. At the bottom of your cups or trifle dish, place any chopped fruit that you are using, about a spoonful or two for the personal-sized cups, or all of the fruit for the trifle dish. Then, on top, ladle on a scoop of whipped cream, enough to create a medium-thick layer. Top with the grated chocolate, adding more or less chocolate as you prefer. Then, take the sliced donuts and dunk them into the espresso bowl, pressing them gently under the liquid so that they soak. Some donuts (like raised ones) will soak up the liquid really fast, so watch out. Others will take longer (smaller donuts, some cruellers/old fashioneds). Once the liquid has soaked into donut slice, remove immediately and layer into the trifle. Be careful not to let the donuts soak for too long, since some of them will very easily disintegrate in the liquid if left unattended. <br />4. Top the donuts with a thick layer of cream. For the person sized cups, you'll only need one layer of donuts. If you're making a trifle, you can at this point repeat the donut-cream layering steps.<br />5. Cover gently and refrigerate for 4 hours. Before serving, sprinkle on a generous dusting of cocoa powder.</p><p>Enjoy!<br /></p>Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-48586143715455564092020-09-04T02:04:00.003-07:002020-09-04T02:15:54.077-07:00What We've Been Eating<br />
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Dear long-time <i>desserts for breakfast </i>friends,<br />
I hope that this missive finds you well, or at least, as well as can be in 2020. I know it's been a long time, that <i>desserts for breakfast</i> has run silent since February of 2018, and I beg your patience for me barging back into your inboxes and blog feeds (wow! this is highly presumptuous of me that I'm even still have some platform).<br />
It's been several years since this blog was active, and a big part of that is personal, which I won't get into here, out in the open. The other major part of it was that, towards the end of its lifetime, I started feeling really uneasy with the pressure to constantly be producing novel and exciting and "perfect" looking bites on a weekly schedule: blogging expectations are punishing, and I greatly admire all those who consistently and frequently produce such wonderful content for all of us. For me, however, I started craving projects that were longer, allowed time for an idea to sink in and marinate, gave space for me to rummage around the complex innards of an idea before having to show it to the world. And for a while, that took the form of other art mediums (mostly, dance).<br />
But, at the beginning of this year's quarantine here in California, I was given a really beautiful gift of an opportunity, to do a big project and produce the art to help launch a food and produce company's delivery platform—they, a family-run, local company, needed to pivot really quickly to survive in this new reality, and I got to sink my teeth into developing a full set of looks for the website and packaging using their beautiful fruit and vegetables. I am so grateful at having had this opportunity, because that, and the sudden increase of time (and need!) to cook at home every day, really brought me back to my camera, back to my food eye, and back to creating with food. Turns out, I missed it dearly.<br />
Though I couldn't come back to blogging, what this return to my photography and cooking love did produce was the kind of longer-term, larger project that I've been wanting to do for a while. The idea started out as a way for me to write a long letter to friends in quarantine, sharing my favourite things I'd been cooking and eating along the way—originally, something super informal. But the collection of recipes and photographs actually started to coalesce into a gestalt, and out came <b>What We've Been Eating</b>, a colloquial home-cooking zine!<br />
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I did a very small first run, sending it out to friends as had been originally intended, and some of you on Instagram asked for the zine as well (I am <i>so</i> grateful for your encouragements: <i>thank you</i>). In return, I collected donations from the net proceeds for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, and together we raised nearly $200 in donations. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it was so heart-warming to me, that this tiny little project of mine, dipping my toes back into these waters, and everyone's support in this work could make a contribution to helping others during these really hard times.<br />
So now, we've been in quarantine (at least here in California), for six months, and I've collected even more recipes to share, in a second issue of <b>What We've Been Eating.</b> Twelve more recipes I've been cooking at home.<br />
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<br />
It's a small something, but if you're still out there, still reading, still cooking, still eating, and still interested, <a href="https://wwbe.bigcartel.com/" target="_blank">please check out<b> What We've Been Eating</b></a>. It's something from me, to you, that instead of reading on a screen, you can hold in your hand, and hopefully get wet and sticky and splattered from cooking with. And, as always, net proceeds will be donated to LA Regional Food Bank after each run of the zine, to help with families and individuals struggling with food instability, especially during this time.<br />
(<a href="https://wwbe.bigcartel.com/" target="_blank">For WWBE pre-orders, click here</a>. For more previews of WWBE 1 and 2, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/shihbakes/">follow along on instagram</a>.)<br />
I'm looking forward to sharing food and more with you all again, in one form or another. Please drop a line for a hello and such—I'd love to hear what you've been eating.<br />
xx,<br />
Stephanie <br />
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Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-4444932693602845672018-02-05T09:58:00.001-08:002018-02-05T09:58:08.383-08:00Runeberg Redux<br />
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Happy Runeberg Day!<br />
<br />
I've moved, and taken up a new job, and now I'm back in a place with at least one Finnish colleague. A conversation we had made me reminisce about the days in graduate school when I would make Runebergintorttuja -- aka: Runeberg cakes -- <a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2010/02/finnish-february-runeberg-cake-aka.html?m=1">for my Finnish professors on Runeberg Day</a>, aka: February 5th, the national day in Finland celebrating the poet Runeberg (<a href="https://finland.fi/arts-culture/runeberg-a-patriotic-rapper-of-the-19th-century/">more about Runeberg here</a>).<br />
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So I decided to brush off my rusty baking skillz and dig the cupcake molds out of their box (in my still-box-filled new apartment), and revisit my old Runeberg recipe. This time around, I made the cakes in cupcake molds, rather than their usual, tall 3-inch cylinders, so that they would be easier to transport to campus. I also took a bit of artistic license with the icing: traditional Runeberg cakes have only a simple ring of icing around the raspberry jam topping. There are other licenses as well, <i>just because I could</i>. ☺️ The cakes are now soaked in a syrup of calvados (apple brandy) rather than straight up rum, and the jam is now a combination of raspberry and grapefruit marmalade. You know, cause I can't help but make things schmancier. :P<br />
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Now I just have to suffer through having these cupcakes sit in my office all day until teatime! With the ginger and icing and almond and raspberry wafting out, they smell too good! Woe.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Continue for recipe...</i><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<b>Runeberg Cupcakes</b><br />
<i>makes 24 cupcakes</i><br />
<br />
<i>for cakes:</i><br />
2 cups AP flour<br />
1 cup finely ground ginger snaps (the TJ's ones are really good for this)<br />
3/4 cup finely ground almonds<br />
(to grind almonds, put almonds and some ginger snaps in food processor at the same time.)<br />
1 tspn baking powder<br />
1 tspn baking soda<br />
1 tspn salt<br />
2 tspn freshly grated orange zest<br />
1 tspn ground cardamom<br />
1/2 cup whole milk<br />
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice<br />
1 tspn almond extract<br />
1 cup butter<br />
1/2 cup sugar<br />
1 cup dark brown sugar<br />
2 Tbspn molasses<br />
3 eggs, at room temp<br />
<br />
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cupcake molds with cupcake liners. If you're using a nonstick mold, skip the next step. If you're not using a non-stick mold, spray the edges of the cupcake molds with oil and flour so that the tops don't stick. Set aside.<br />
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, ground ginger snaps, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, orange zest, and cardamom. Whisk to mix. Set aside.<br />
3. In a measuring cup, stir and combine milk, orange juice, and almond extract. Set aside.<br />
4. Place butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Cream on medium low for about 4-5 minutes.<br />
5. Add molasses to the butter mixture and cream until fully incorporated. Make sure to scrap down the sides if necessary.<br />
6. Add eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, mixing thoroughly to incorporate each egg between each addition.<br />
7. Gradually add the dry ingredients (flour mix) and wet ingredients (milk mix) to the butter in three stages--dry followed by wet followed by dry followed by wet, etc. Mix until thoroughly combined.<br />
8. Spoon batter into cake molds until about 2/3 of the way full, being careful not to touch the exposed sides with batter. Tap the baking sheet on the counter to get rid of any large air pockets.<br />
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick removed from the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from molds. Then glaze with...<br />
<br />
<i>for rum syrup: </i>(* this makes a lot of syrup)<br />
1/2 cup sugar<br />
1/4 cup water<br />
1 Tbspn calvados (or rum or cognac)<br />
<br />
1. While the cakes are baking, make the syrup. Place sugar and water in a heat-proof measuring glass.<br />
2. Heat the sugar and water in the microwave on high for a minute and a half. Stir until sugar is dissolved.<br />
(or, Heat in a pot on the stovetop until sugar dissolves.)<br />
3. Add alcohol and stir into the syrup.<br />
4. When the cakes are unmolded, poke the tops with a few small holes. Use a pastry brush to brush the syrup on the tops and sides of the cakes.<br />
<br />
<i>for raspberry topping:</i><br />
1 jar of raspberry jam (or, a combo of 1/2 raspberry + 1/2 grapefruit)<br />
<br />
<i>for icing:</i><br />
1 cup powdered sugar<br />
1 Tbpsn milk<br />
1/2 tspn almond extract<br />
<br />
1. Combine powdered sugar with milk and almond extract. Mix well until a thick icing forms. If you need more milk, add a drop or two at a time until you reach the correct consistency. Be careful not to add too much liquid.<br />
2. Spoon icing into a squeeze bottle or piping bag fitted with round tip. Use immediately.<br />
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Assembly:<br />
1. Use a sharp knife and cut a shallow cone out of the top of each cake, like filling a cupcake, but make a very shallow cut, about a centimeter in from the edge. Scoop out the cone piece. (I did this instead by using a circle cookie cutter to trace a shallow cut, and then scooped it out with a spoon. Either method works.)<br />
2. Using a pastry brush, brush more syrup in the cut-out hole.<br />
3. Fill the hole with raspberry topping.<br />
4. Use the prepared icing in the piping bag to pipe a generous circle of icing around the raspberry topping.<br />
<br />
<br />
Enjoy!Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-59188413093286496812017-07-17T06:44:00.000-07:002017-07-17T06:44:02.898-07:00A postcard from Edinburgh<br />
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Dearest <a href="https://thefoodpoet.com/">Annelies</a>,<br />
<br />
Jars of Seville orange jam–<br />
or, if we’re fancy,<br />
<br />
call it “marmalade”–<br />
translucently shimmer in<br />
summer Scottish light.<br />
<br />
(Have I mentioned that<br />
I am obsessed with this light?)<br />
I wish you were here<br />
<br />
drinking all the tea<br />
with me.<br />
from Edinburgh,<br />
with love,<br />
Stephanie.Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-91174217694810055062017-06-26T07:33:00.002-07:002017-06-26T07:33:19.864-07:00Lemon Cream Pie<br />
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Back in November, two of my best friends got married (to each other!) in Hawai'i. It was this magical week of jumping off and diving under waterfalls, of eating-way-too-much poke and way-too-little shaved ice, of flower crowns, of sunsets, of driving all over Maui, of writing ukulele love songs after sundown, and of, most importantly, love and friendship. The day after the wedding, my friends and I drove up the coast to a little pie shop right off the highway, <a href="http://www.leodas.com/">Leoda's</a>, and bought a huge box of pies, and in true Hawai'i fashion, took them to the beach to eat. Pie on the beach! at sunset! As I said, magical.<br />
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The experience left me with, amongst all the warm and fuzzy feelings about friendships, this immense craving for mini pies. So around about December, I found <a href="http://pinchmysalt.com/easy-lemon-cream-pie-recipe/">this recipe for lemon cream pie</a> and whipped up (ha!) mini versions. It makes about three mini pies, and, because I love whipped cream, I doubled the whipped cream portion of the recipe and threw some vanilla bean in. It ended up the perfect little, hand-held ray of nostalgic sunshine cutting through an uncharacteristically dark winter.<br />
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<i>Read on for recipe...</i><br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<b>Lemon cream pie</b><br />
<i>for about 3 mini pies</i><br />
<i>adapted from <a href="http://pinchmysalt.com/easy-lemon-cream-pie-recipe/">Pinch My Salt's recipe</a></i><br />
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3 mini blind-baked pie crusts, using your favourite pie crust recipe<br />
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<i>for lemon filling:</i> (I used meyer lemons)<br />
3 large egg yolks<br />
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk<br />
freshly grated zest of 1-2 meyer lemons<br />
1/2 cup lemon juice<br />
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<i>for whipped topping:</i><br />
2 tspn unflavoured gelatin<br />
8 tspn cold water<br />
2 cups heavy whipping cream<br />
fine sugar, to taste (the OG recipe recommends about 1/2 cup powdered sugar, but I just usually use regular sugar to taste for whipping cream, since it's so personal of a choice about sweetness.)<br />
1 tspn vanilla paste (or vanilla extract + vanilla bean scrapings, if you don't have vanilla paste)<br />
blueberries for fruit topping, if desired<br />
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Preheat oven to 325F. Whisk egg yolks until light, then add condensed milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and stir until smooth. Pour into cooled baked pie crusts and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until filling is set (no jiggle, but no cracks either!). Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate before adding whipped cream, if desired (I'm impatient, so I skipped this refrigeration step).<br />
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Sprinkle gelatin evenly over cold water. Let sit for 5 minutes, then microwave in short, 5-second periods until the gelatin is dissolved. Let cool briefly. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Then, add gelatin mixture, vanilla, and sugar to taste. Scoop heapfuls of cream on to the cold pies. (or, if you're feeling more proper about it, you can use a piping bag and be all fancy.)Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-80230171017560088692017-01-23T23:52:00.002-08:002017-01-23T23:52:42.681-08:00Women's March SF 2017<br />
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I'm breaking my blogging silence to post these here, but I know that almost any words that I write to accompany these photos will be wrought with inadequacy. There is grief. anxiety. distraught, as we witness <i>human progress</i>--whatever small bits of it we've managed--being swept away in the blink of an eye. Sure, the Women's March on 21 January 2017 was but one day, but at least it projected a glimmer of hope for us to mobilize behind. I'm thankful to have been able to document it from behind the lens, to seek solidarity through making these images. There is no rewind. There is only forward.<br />
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^ This woman's pin was the best.</div>
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<br />Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-24645968973415071162016-09-20T22:59:00.000-07:002016-09-20T22:59:41.248-07:00Saffron Strawberry Peach & Vanilla Panna Cotta<br />
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I had a friend over recently for dinner who travels every year to Spain, so being the glutton for punishment that I am, I decided to attempt my hand at a Spanish-inspired menu: seafood paella (with chicken chorizo, shrimp, salmon, and tobiko), pan-blackened shishito peppers with smoked salt and shaved Iberico cheese (shishito because I couldn't find padron peppers at the market), and a <b>vanilla panna cotta with saffron-infused strawberry peach sauce</b>. Okay, so to be fair, it wasn't a traditionally Spanish meal, but the inspirations were fun to play around with! I particularly like this saffron-infused strawberry sauce. Strawberries on their own in a sauce tend to be a bit cloying and one-dimensional to me, so the saffron lends an interesting mellow exoticism. It's like that ingredient that you can't really pick out but the dessert would be otherwise empty without. I love those sorts of subtle hints. ;)<br />
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Panna cotta is one of those desserts that I just plain refuse to order at restaurants, because they're so easy and delicious to make at home! I like mine with a half-milk/half-cream mix, so that the texture is lighter and doesn't feel reminiscent of sunscreen the way that full-cream panna cottas do. But really, the name makes them sound fancier than they are! It's just milk jello, really!<br />
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Life has been cray cray busy lately, so it's nice to have this blog to escape to every once in a while without the pressures of being a regular blogger. Thank you all to those of you who still have me in your blog, email, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/shihbakes/">instagram</a> feeds. I think of you all often, and wonder what magic you're cooking up in your kitchens!<br />
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<i>Read on for recipe....</i><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Vanilla panna cotta with saffron strawberry peach sauce</b><br />
<i>makes 8 servings</i><br />
<br />
<i>for panna cotta</i><br />
460 g (2 cups) whole milk<br />
460 g (2 cups) heavy cream<br />
1 vanilla bean, split in half (I also added a half teaspoon of vanilla paste for good measure)<br />
86 g water<br />
4 1/2 tspn powdered gelatin<br />
100 g sugar<br />
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<i>for sauce</i><br />
1 punnet strawberries, with leaves cut off (best if frozen and then thawed, to release juices)<br />
1 small yellow peach, very ripe and chopped<br />
1 generous pinch of saffron threads<br />
100 to 125 g sugar<br />
<br />
1. In a medium saucepan with a lid, combine the milk and heavy cream. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape the insides into the milk. Add the bean as well. Over medium heat, bring to a bare simmer, then remove from heat, cover with the lid, and let steep for 5 minutes.<br />
2. Place the water in a medium bowl, and sprinkle the powdered gelatin evenly over the water. Let bloom for 5 minutes.<br />
3. Meanwhile, add the sugar to the milk mixture. Heat and stir just until the sugar has dissolved -- it just needs to be warm, so don't let it get to a simmer/boil. Remove from heat and set aside.<br />
4. Once the gelatin has bloomed, pour the milk mixture through a fine mesh strainer over the gelatin. Stir until the gelatin has completely dissolved.<br />
5. Divide the milk between 8 ramekins/glasses, leaving room at the top for the strawberry sauce. Cover the ramekins with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours until set.<br />
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6. For the strawberry sauce, place the strawberries and their juices and the chopped-up peach in a food processor. Blend until there are no chunks left and the mixture resembles a thick juice.<br />
7. In a saucepan, combine the strawberry-peach mixture, saffron threads, and 100g of sugar. Taste the mixture briefly to make sure you like the sweetness. Add more sugar if needed.<br />
8. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly just until the sugar has dissolved at a bare simmer. Remove from heat and cover the saucepan with a lid. Let steep for at least 10 minutes for the saffron to infuse. Then, strain through a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer. Chill until needed.<br />
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9. Serve the panna cottas with strawberry sauce on top.<br />
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Enjoy!Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-9389490712950584352016-07-19T04:24:00.001-07:002016-07-19T04:24:41.362-07:00Traveling Desserts: Vanilla Pudding and Fifteens<br />
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What do you do when you're living at an AirBnB and having super foodies over for dinner? I was faced with this predicament when I was in Scotland for the summer (more on that later!), trying to make new friends by impressing them with my foodie skillz. :) It turns out, without an oven, or many of the conventional tools and ingredients of the trade, one can still turn out a simple but fun dinner party!<br />
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The main star of dinner was chicken soup, which sounds like a funny main! But, I had promised a good expat friend of mine (<a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2011/01/easiest-chocolate-chip-cookies-on-earth.html">of easiest chocolate chip cookies fame</a>) who pined for American-style chicken soup that I would make him some when I visited, so soup it was. The rest of the menu was cobbled together by whatever looked good in the local markets:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Chicken noodle soup</div>
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<i>chicken (<a href="http://www.johnsaunderson.co.uk/">from a local butchery</a>), celery, carrots, fresh tagliatelle</i></div>
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Pan-roasted butternut squash salad</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>ras el hanout-spiced pan-roasted butternut squash and red onion, sliced D'anjou pear, bee pollen, rocket, honey dijon red wine vinaigrette</i></div>
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Bread & cheese bruschetta</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>pan-roasted cherry tomato and garlic, mature Scottish white cheddar, sourdough toast</i></div>
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For dessert, my friend was going to make brownies to bring over, so to complement the chocolatey squidgy-ness of the brownies, I put together vanilla pudding pots (for which you really just need a whisk, pot, and jars!), with kiwi coulis and fruit. These were also a joy to make in a country in which vanilla paste is actually a standard and easy ingredient to come by! Yum. :)<br />
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Finally, I also made some fifteens, which are an Irish cookie! that another one of my Scottish-based expat friends made for me during my visit. Fifteens are a no-bake cookie that is made out of crushing other cookies (ahem, "biscuits") and mixing them with more ingredients. It's like cookie cannibalism! Traditional fifteens have candied cherries and coconut, but my friend, Jefferson, made them with candied citrus peel and almond, which I thought helps cut the ultra-sweetness of the cookie well. So here is Jefferson's version of fifteens!<br />
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Hope everyone is having a super fun summer. If you find yourself traveling but in need of a few super simple but totally yummy dessert recipes, here you go!<br />
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Happy ☀️!<br />
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<i>read on for recipes...</i><br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Vanilla Pudding with Kiwi Coulis</b><br />
<i>recipe adapted from </i><a href="http://www.chowhound.com/recipes/easy-vanilla-pudding-27483">Chowhoud</a><br />
<i>makes four vanilla pots (in four 228 ml/1 cup jars)</i><br />
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<i>for pudding:</i><br />
67 g sugar<br />
2 Tbspn cornstarch<br />
300 ml whole milk<br />
232 ml double cream (aka: heavy cream)<br />
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten<br />
2 Tbspn slightly salted European-style butter, chopped<br />
1 1/2 tspn vanilla paste<br />
<br />
<i>for kiwi coulis:</i><br />
1 kiwi<br />
2 tspn tangerine juice (optional)<br />
sugar, to taste<br />
<br />
<i>for topping:</i><br />
fruit to serve<br />
<br />
1. Prepare a fine mesh strainer over a medium-sized bowl, preferably one with a pour spout.<br />
2. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, cream, and egg yolks. Whisk until the egg yolks are incorporated.<br />
3. In a medium saucepan, whisk to combine the sugar and corn starch. Whisking constantly, slowly add the milk mixture to the pan. Stir to combine thoroughly.<br />
4. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble, about 5-6 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to stir constantly, making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan to make sure everything is cooking evenly (the original recipe recommends a rubber spatula for this job, but all I had was a whisk, and it worked fine). Cook for about 3-5 minutes more until a whisk leaves visible traces that disappear rather slow from the surface.<br />
5. Remove from heat, and strain through the prepared strainer. Add the butter and vanilla paste. Stir to combine thoroughly. Divide the pudding into the jars, cover, and chill for at least 2 hours.<br />
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6. For the kiwi coulis, finely chop the kiwi. Stir in the tangerine juice, if using. Then stir in sugar to taste, starting with about 1 tspn and working your way from there.<br />
7. Cover the coulis, and let it macerate in the fridge for at least an hour.<br />
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8. Serve by pouring a thin layer of coulis on the pudding. Top with fruit, if desired.<br />
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<b>Jefferson's Fifteens</b><br />
<i>recipe adapted from </i><a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/fifteens">BBC Goodfood</a><i>, by way of my friend, Jefferson</i><br />
<i>makes about 15 cookies</i><br />
<br />
15 digestive biscuits<br />
60 mini marshmallows, each cut in half<br />
15 teaspoons finely chopped candied citrus peel<br />
175 ml condensed milk, plus a little extra<br />
200 g ground almonds<br />
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1. Crush/pulverize the biscuits until they are the texture of flour (I was able to easily do this with just my hands, given the brand of digestives that were at the store).<br />
2. Mix the crushed biscuits, cut marshmallows, and chopped citrus peel in a large bowl. Add the condensed milk and mix until the batter sticks together when pressed between your fingers. If it's dry (i.e., there's still biscuit powder that won't incorporate), add a splash more condensed milk at a time.<br />
3. Prepare a large piece of parchment paper or foil. Sprinkle about 75% of the ground almonds into a large rectangular layer on the parchment/foil. Shape the batter into a long log, about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. Sprinkle more almond on top, and then wrap the paper or foil tightly around the log (really pack it in, if you can!), twisting the ends of the paper/foil to form a seal.<br />
4. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours, and the batter should become firm. Cut into pieces and serve.<br />
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A note: Jefferson used chocolate chip digestives in his version; I used regular digestives here. Both work!<br />
<br />Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-21081029457227621102016-06-21T02:47:00.000-07:002016-06-21T02:47:34.912-07:00Victoria Sponge Cake<br />
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People often ask me what my favorite dessert is, and I get stumped. I mean, how does one choose?!? Victoria sponge cakes, though, are often at the tip top of the list. Especially in June, when beautiful summertime fruits start appearing in all of their glory. The cake is like a perfect demonstration of how simplicity is often the key to classic deliciousness: what else does a dessert really need besides cream, buttery and fluffy bites of cake, and the best, very minimally-fussed-with fruit that the season has to offer?<br />
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Victoria sponge cakes traditionally are two layers of buttery yellow cake, sandwiching layers of cream and jam. I like to mix it up, maybe putting the fruit on top, or changing the jam to a rhubarb-raspberry-peach-saffron compote, or topping it with fresh berries, or adding in some sourness of creme fraiche in the cream. The cakes are like beautiful slates for painting on--little flourishes go the longest way, and I always have to pull myself back from doing too much except the smallest little tweaks here and there. Also, let's talk butter. Regular butter is fine, but if you want to experience the full glory of this cake, it's European-style, 85%+ butterfat butter all the way, okay? Please do try it that way. It's worth it.<br />
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Also, can we have a shout-out to Annelies, of <a href="http://thefoodpoet.com/">the food poet</a> blog, for finally getting me back in the kitchen and behind a camera to do some food creating and shooting? I have missed this dearly, so thank you, Annelies!<br />
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Grab some tea and a slice of cake for June! And stay tuned. Summer travels are coming up, so there will be lots to share! I hope you all have exciting summer plans, too!<br />
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P.S. If you have any recommendations for must see/eat/drink/visit places in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Montreal, and Savannah, please, please do leave them in the comments!<br />
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<b>Victoria sponge cake</b><br />
<i>makes one 2-layer, 8-inch round cake</i><br />
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<i>adapted from <a href="http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/6603/classic-sponge-sandwich">BBC</a></i><br />
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200 g all-purpose flour<br />
2 tspn baking powder<br />
1/2 tspn salt<br />
200 g European-style butter, at room temperature<br />
200 g sugar<br />
4 eggs, at room temperature<br />
1 tspn vanilla extract<br />
2 Tbspn creme fraiche<br />
whipped cream<br />
jam, fruit, or fruit compote<br />
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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the bottoms and insides of two 8-inch round cake pans. Line the pan bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Wrap the pans with moistened bake-even strips, if using.<br />
2. In a bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking power, and salt. Set aside.<br />
3. Place the butter into a mixer bowl. Beat on medium until the butter is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.<br />
4. Add the eggs to the butter one at a time, beating well between each addition. Then add the vanilla extract and mix well.<br />
5. Add the flour mixture to the butter in 3 parts, alternating with the creme fraiche and beating well between each addition. Make the batter stays fairly light and fluffy.<br />
6. Divide the batter between the two cake pans.<br />
7. Bake in for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out cleanly. Remove the cakes from the oven and place onto a wire rack. When they have cooled sufficiently to handle, remove the cakes from the pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.<br />
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Serve the cakes with whipped cream and jam, fruit, or fruit compote.<br />
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The beauty of a victoria sponge is that you can have them with any topping. Here were my random proportions/experiments with cream and fruit. Note that these aren't exact, because they needn't be! Follow your instincts.<br />
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<b>Whipped cream</b><br />
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~1 cup heavy whipping cream<br />
~2-3 Tbspn creme fraiche<br />
powdered sugar, to taste<br />
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Begin whipping the cream. Whisk in the creme fraiche before you reach soft peaks. Once at soft peaks, whisk in tablespoons of powdered sugar until you reach your desired sweetness.<br />
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<b>Raspberry, Rhubarb, and Peach Saffron Compote</b><br />
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2 punnets of raspberries<br />
4 stalks of rhubarb, chopped into pieces<br />
2 peaches, peeled<br />
4 cups sugar<br />
2 big pinches of saffron threads<br />
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Combine the ingredients in a medium pot. Bring to a boil and let boil for 2-3 minutes. Then lower the heat to a strong simmer. Stir occasionally, and skim off any bubbly scum that accumulates on the top with a slotted spoon. Reduce the fruit by simmering for a good 30-45 minutes, until syrupy in consistency. Remove from heat, cool completely. Serve over cake.Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-51415993923965902582016-04-20T00:26:00.003-07:002016-04-20T00:27:17.651-07:00Summer is coming<br />
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We've gotten our first spell of 100 F weather in California this past week. School is winding down. Summer! is! coming!<br />
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(Also, who's exciting about the Game of Thrones premiere this weekend, raise your hands!)Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-45896388678119920642016-04-04T00:59:00.000-07:002016-04-04T00:59:12.362-07:00My best friend's wedding<br />
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My best friend got married a few weeks ago! The entire day, I had <a href="https://youtu.be/c74BSImG4xM?t=17s">this opening scene from <i>My Best Friend's Wedding</i></a> running through my head.<br />
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My friend had a pro photographer and cake maker and florist for her wedding, but of course, she knows me well enough to have known that I would absolutely not sit idly on the sidelines. So she asked me to contribute on the fun parts for the wedding. Because how could I not when weddings incorporate some of my favorite things: flowers, photography, cake, music, and friends. :D<br />
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So here are some shots from her wedding from my point of view. I made the bouquet and decorated the cake (which was ordered plain from <a href="http://biritecreamery.com/">BiRite Creamery</a>). My friend really wanted peonies, which are a wee bit out of season, so we woke up at 4am the morning before the wedding and hiked over to the <a href="http://www.sanfranciscoflowermart.com/">SF Wholesale Flower Mart</a> (an amazing place, if you haven't been) to track down fresh peonies for the cake and bouquet. I also love that it's lilac and dogwood season, so insisted on incorporated some of those into the bouquet and cake. I'm so, so pleased with how they both turned out! My cake skillz haven't completely atrophied, it seems!<br />
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As the maid of honor, I also got to tag along on the photoshoots, so naturally, I brought my own camera (You can take the girl out of the studio, but you can't take the camera from the girl? Or something). :) My friend picked these gorgeous spots around SF, including Lover's Lane, which is this beautiful trail on the southern edge of the Presidio, with tall, whispering eucalyptus and a thick, verdant blanket of wildflowers this time of year. It was such a smart choice, because the tall trees provided the perfect antidote to the high noontime sun, creating some awesomely dramatic shadows and stabs of light to photograph in. Seriously, this makes me almost want to become a wedding photographer. *almost*<br />
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(<a href="https://www.instagram.com/shihbakes/">For more shots from the day, see instagram.</a>)<br />
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Super congratulations here to my bff and her new hubby! I'm so thankful to have been a part of your guys's wonderful, wonderful celebration.<br />
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<br />Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-63612149912576061542016-03-04T02:43:00.001-08:002016-03-04T02:43:55.728-08:00Destination 36: Los Angeles<br />
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I was in LA last week giving a work research talk, and afterwards, my colleagues and I took two very, very rare days off and did <i>sightseeing </i>for the weekend! I've been to LA a lot, but usually for work and almost never have time to sight-see, so it was really fun to be a tourist for 36 hours. Of course, this involved significant amounts of food, and I was particularly lucky because my hosts were really knowledgeable about all of the hipster hotspots. :D<br />
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The first day, we started off at the all-you-can-eat Indian brunch buffet at <a href="http://www.mayurala.com/">Mayura</a> in the Culver City area. I mean, who doesn't want to start their Saturday stuffing their face with deliciously spiced Indian food?! There were yoghurts and chutneys and curries and sauces of all kinds, and all sorts of bread or rice things--gluten free and not--alike to soak up all the goodness with. The sponge-y type bread was one of my favorites: slightly sour, just like a mild version of injera. The brunch comes with a choice of many types of drinks, and I was so pleased when the guy brought out a cup of freshly single-brewed chai for me. ^^ They even have this dessert-type thing, which is ice cream with fruit salad embedded inside, like gems suspended in sweet, orange goodness.<br />
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With our tummies pretty much packed to the brim such that I felt sufficiently like <a href="http://i.giphy.com/xTiTneZmCI1ogaKQqQ.gif">Tubbs</a>, we rolled out to start a day of sight-seeing. The first stop was <a href="http://www.mjt.org/">The Museum of Jurassic Technology</a>, just down the street. It's sort of hard to explain the Museum, but I highly recommend a trip if you're one of those people who appreciates tongue-in-cheek eclectic esotericism. I was hanging out with two academics, and so it definitely hit the right nerd buttons.<br />
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Then, we headed downtown to LACMA because I wanted to see the Rain Room, but alas! the Rain Room is completely booked. :( But, walking through LACMA, I got to see <a href="http://www.lacma.org/art/installation/henri-matisse-la-gerbe">Matisse's </a><i><a href="http://www.lacma.org/art/installation/henri-matisse-la-gerbe">Le Gerbe</a> </i>in person, so that totally made my day. The piece is totally bigger in person than I thought! Alongside LACMA, we went to see the La Brea Tar Pits, which I was pleasantly surprised to figure out (after all these years hearing the name) that there <i>are</i> actually tar pits there! It's geologically really cool. They've also done a good job putting up explanations and exhibits about the fossils that have been excavated from the tar pits, like the Giant Sloths, which I'm hugging below.<br />
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For dinner, my friend took us to perhaps the hippest restaurant I have ever been to in my life: <a href="http://baroola.strikingly.com/">Baroo</a>, in Hollywood. The restaurant sits in a totally nondescript, run-of-the-mill strip mall on a random corner of Santa Monica Boulevard, and is completely unmarked. (Hence, you have to be, like, you know, <i>in the know</i>.) The concept of the restaurant is based entirely around pickled and preserved foods, and at the back of the minimalist restaurant is a wall shelf full of random pickling specimens--grains, fruits, veggies. There's also a huge wall of cookbooks, which I enjoyed scoping out to see where the chef gets his inspiration.<br />
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The food was so super yummy, and I thought, very true to the LA maximalist aesthetic of putting a lot of flavors into one hearty bowl. I had the kimchee fried rice, which wasn't your regular kimchee fried rice!--with pineapple-flavored kimchee, a perfectly sous vide egg, crunchy quinoa, and this mysterious red powder (maybe gochu?) that was so addictively savory. My friend got the freshly-made pasta dish, with all sorts of preparations of celery, including celery ash. As she put it, "Baroo is an ash-type restaurant, not a foam-type restaurant." :P Oh, and though they were out of the passionfruit tart that I wanted to try, their chocolate chip cookie is *mwa* very good and the perfect texture.<br />
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The second day was spent in Venice, because my host insisted that--<i>one</i>--I needed to finally go to the beach in LA (I never get around to it, with work), and that--<i>two</i>--I needed to experience the new-age, over-the-top hipsterness of Abbot Kinney and the nearby canals.<br />
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We walked down the boardwalk and saw the famous Muscle Beach and skate park, and interesting characters like this insanely blue parrot out for a Sunday stroll. (I also got to leave the DfB mark on the sanctioned graffiti wall. :))<br />
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Then, we stopped in at <a href="http://www.gjusta.com/">Gjusta</a> for sustenance. Oh, Gjusta. How to I explain thee? This restaurant/deli/fine foods purveyor/coffee shop housed in a warehouse is like, hipstery, foodie paradise. Every <i>inch</i> of the place is a perfect Instagram moment just begging to happen: white-washed brick walls, concrete countertops, enamel and plank serving platters, rough wood accents, cashiers wearing chambray and/or beards. My favorite moment of this sort were two bearded guys in flannel sitting on crates in the eating patio, sharing a joint plate of kale. 💕.<br />
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Good bread is hard to come by in LA, so I appreciated Gjusta's loaves, which are hearty and very good and perhaps only miss the mark in being not quite crusty enough. They also had bialys that were served with house-smoked lox, and of course everyone knows that bialys are the new bagel! (sarcasm) I got the pumpernickel bialy, which perhaps still isn't quite as dark as proper East Coast pumpernickel, but definitely was yummy. My favorite thing that I tried was actually the iced grapefruit yerba mate, which had a beautiful sunrise color, delicious sweetness from the citrus, and just a hint of the traditional smokiness of mate.<br />
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After lunch, we rounded out the day by wandering down Abbot Kinney and amusing ourselves with the very trendy business names there: e.g., two stores within blocks called "Herringbone" and "Flannel", the juice bar appropriately ironically named "The Butcher's Daughter". We also saw the canals, which I had only ever seen in movies before, so that was definitely fun!<br />
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All in all, I think we fairly successfully weekended in LA. This time off and sightseeing thing--apparently there is something to it!Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-48583975922496218412016-02-16T00:31:00.001-08:002016-02-16T00:33:02.675-08:00Smokey pickled beet vinaigrette salad<br />
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Did I never get around to telling you about this beet salad that I made last year? With smokey tea-pickled beets and kumquats and blue cheese and all things springtime?<br />
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My apologies for the gap, then!<br />
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I made this salad for a meeting of our Lab Ladies' Tea series, previously featured <a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2013/10/croissants-for-sunday-tea.html">here</a>, <a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2014/07/white-cardamom-and-lavender-milk-jam.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2014/09/roasted-purple-tomatillo-gazpacho.html">here</a>. I always delight in bringing a non-sweet item to a potluck, and also, the fellow Lab Ladies are such wonderful bakers--there's always for sure going to be some amazing goods already on the table. This time around, we had a rough "Slavic" theme, for <a href="http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~dkavitskaya/">a special guest</a> that we invited to tea to regale us with stories of fieldwork in remote parts of Russia. Of course, "theme" is a very loose suggestion here, but hence my inspiration of beets pickled in lapsang souchong tea. Also, I learned that move from <a href="http://thefoodpoet.com/">Annelies Zijderveld</a>'s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Steeped-Recipes-Infused-Annelies-Zijderveld/dp/1449464971/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=dessertsfo-20&linkId=e9b9bd658fa32c8650731c1656f9d828">tea book</a>, and the smokeyness worked beautifully against the sweet/sour vinegar and crispness of the fresh beets.<br />
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This time around, I asked the other Lab Ladies to share their recipes as well, so below the fold are their recipes to some absolutely wonderful baked goods: a lemony-brandy bundt cake from Clara, an orange nut chocolate babka that Sarah made, jam-filled cookies by Emily, and savory kale, feta, and green chili khachapuri from Andréa. We had a huge picnic on a sunny balcony in the Berkeley hills overlooking a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, and everyone got pleasantly sun-red from the weather and cheek-red from the smiling and tea. ♥ these girls. Go, women in science!<br />
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<i>Read on for recipes...</i><br />
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<b>California pickled beet salad</b><br />
<i>serves 4 to 6</i><br />
<i><a href="http://www.chow.com/recipes/14237-momofuku-beet-pickle">inspired by Momofuku's pickled beet recipe</a></i><br />
<br />
<b>for pickled beets</b><br />
<i>makes about two 32-oz jars - make at least 1 day ahead</i><br />
<br />
3 large red beets<br />
3 large yellow beets<br />
1 cup rice vinegar<br />
1 cup white wine vinegar<br />
2 cups water<br />
2 cups sugar<br />
4 Tbspn salt<br />
1 dry bay leaf<br />
6 juniper berries<br />
1 heaping tspn rainbow peppercorns<br />
1 1/2 tspn lapsang souchong loose leaf tea<br />
4 Tbspn Grand Marnier, optional<br />
<br />
1. Throughout the process, keep the red and yellow beets separate so that the red beets do not bleed colour into the yellow beets. Peel the beets. Slice thinly with a mandolin or sharp knife. Layer the sliced beets into the jars--one jar for red, one jar for yellow. Leave at least 1/4-inch at the top of each jar.<br />
2. In a small pot, combine the rice vinegar, white wine viengar, water, sugar, salt, bay leaf, juniper berries, peppercorns, and lapsang souchong tea. Bring to a rapid boil over medium high heat, stirring to make sure the sugar dissolves completely.<br />
3. Remove the liquid from heat and pour into the jars, making sure to cover to the top of the beets. In each jar, add 2 Tbspn of Grand Marnier, if using. Close the lids and shake the jars to make sure the liquid is evenly distributed. Let the jars cool at room temperature for 1 hour, then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 1 day (to 1 week).<br />
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<b>for salad</b><br />
<br />
130-150g baby kale<br />
1 bunch chives, cut into 2-inch pieces<br />
1 can cannelini beans, drained<br />
Humboldt Fog cheese and/or another mild blue cheese, crumbled<br />
1 cup kumquats, seeded and sliced thinly<br />
pickled beets (strained) + 1 cup pickling juice<br />
1/2 Tbspn dry mustard powder<br />
<br />
1. Mix the baby kale with the cut chives. Place in serving bowl.<br />
2. On top of the kale, arrange the cannelini beans, crumbled cheese, sliced kumquats, and pickled beet slices.<br />
3. In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup of the pickled beet juice and 1/2 Tbspn dry mustard powder. Dress salad as desired.<br />
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<b>Phoebe's Mystery Cake (from Clara)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Cake ingredients<br />
2 cups ground almonds<br />
½ cup very fine breadcrumbs<br />
1 cup flour<br />
8 eggs, separated<br />
2 tsp baking powder<br />
1¼ cups sugar<br />
pinch of salt<br />
grated rind of 1 lemon<br />
¼ cup brandy<br />
<br />
Syrup ingredients<br />
1½ cup sugar<br />
1½ cup water<br />
¼ cup brandy<br />
½ cup lemon juice<br />
<br />
Cake<br />
1) Preheat oven to 375°. Generously butter and flour a bundt cake pan.<br />
2) Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until they are a light yellow color.<br />
3) Dilute the baking powder in the brandy and pour into the egg mixture.<br />
4) Add the almonds, breadcrumbs, flour, and lemon rind.<br />
5) In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture.<br />
6) Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes.<br />
<br />
Syrup<br />
7) Boil together the sugar and water until it reduces to about half. Be careful not to let it burn or caramelize<br />
8) Remove it from the water and add the lemon juice and brandy.<br />
9) Pour the hot syrup over the cake and set it aside. Let cool.<br />
<br />
10) Serve with whipped cream.<br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Orange Zest Babka (from Sarah)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Sarah used <a href="http://www.poiresauchocolat.net/2012/10/chocolate-pecan-krantz-cake.html">the Poires Au Chocolat recipe here</a>, except with orange zest instead of lemon.<br />
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<b>Jam-filled cookies (from Emily)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Emily used the recipe for <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/10230/jam-kolaches/?evt19=1&referringHubId=715">jam kolaches here</a>, except with her own homemade (fig?) jam!<br />
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<b>Kale, Feta, and Green Chili Khachapuri (from Andréa)</b><br />
<br />
Andréa used <a href="http://food52.com/recipes/17177-georgian-khachapuri-filled-with-ramps-green-onions-herbs-and-cheese">the recipe here</a>, but with the following changes: "I changed the filling a lot, not intentionally, but because I used what I had. Instead of ramps and green onions, I used kale. I used feta and fresh mozzarella, no ricotta. I left out dill and parsley, because I didn't have any, and used dried mint instead of fresh. On top of the cayenne, I put an Indian green chili, because I had one. And I baked them rather than frying them, because it seemed easier. I think they would be even better if I had brushed them with butter."<!--3-->Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-15651615562226744212016-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:002016-01-26T09:53:14.268-08:00Blackout Chocolate Birthday Cake.<br />
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I don't find myself with much time to make huge celebration cakes very often anymore these days, but I did put this one together for a friend's birthday over the summer. The only thing I knew about his dessert preferences was that he loves chocolate, because every time we'd go walking their dogs, he'd order a chocolate sundae with chocolate brownie pieces and more chocolate fudge on top at the local ice cream stop. So, hence the invention of what I deemed, the true <i>blackout chocolate birthday cake</i>. Like this one, with moist black chocolate layers of cake and dark chocolate fudge frosting and embedded chocolate chips and cacao nib brittle on top, is truly a sentence of death by chocolate. Everyone needed milk, but it was glorious.<br />
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<br />
In other notes, I've been finding myself avoiding blogging recently, mostly because time constraints on the tenure track keep me from "perfecting" blog posts. Sure, I've still been cooking and making fantastical desserts, but I haven't had time to write down recipes and create picture-perfect set-ups with brand new props and mood lighting each time. In fact, I've just been living and cooking in real life. Which is kind of a refreshing change of pace. It's freeing, to cook creatively and spontaneously without having to note down every minutiae, but I miss the blogging aspect, the interacting and sharing with you all part.<br />
<br />
So here it is, the start of a new chapter in the blog: the imperfect chapter. This is now going to be <i>Desserts for breakfast: the notebook</i>, the journal, the not overly-crafted diary. There aren't going to be perfectly written recipes. Instead, I'm going to share a glimpse into how I normally write down recipes for myself: jotted notes, lists of ingredients. Because cooking ultimately shouldn't be about following a recipe to a <i>t</i>. Cooking should be about following such finely-honed instincts that you have about flavors and textures and tastes to make a recipe your own. And then sharing it with others.<br />
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<br />
So sorry but I'm not sorry for the casual tone this blog is going to take on from here on out. It's going to be this way because blogs, like everything else, need to evolve. To grow. To develop. And so this is the phase in <i>Desserts for breakfast</i> life where we learn to love the imperfections. Where I learn to share just because that's how people connect. Where I figure out how to live parts of my life contently, to value what's in front of me, rather than always trying to make every action serve some purpose of getting ahead. Because there's enough of that rat race for my career. And dessert should just be about dessert.<br />
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Elements of the chocolate cake<br />
for one three-layer 8-inch cake<br />
<br />
for frosting<br />
227 g (8 oz) bittersweet (68-72%) chocolate, chopped<br />
2 Tbpsn light corn syrup<br />
43 g (1 1/2 oz) unsalted butter<br />
1 cup heavy cream<br />
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1. Place the chopped chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in the bowl of a double boiler over simmering water. Heat and stir just until melted. Remove from heat.<br />
2. Meanwhile, heat the cream in a separate pot just until boiling with small bubbles. Remove from heat and stir into the melted chocolate.<br />
3. Let sit and stir occasionally until the chocolate has come to room temperature and is of spreading consistency. (You can speed up the process by putting it in the refrigerator, but make sure to keep a close eye on it and stir it regularly--it will set up and become too hard to spread if left too long in the fridge!)<br />
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for cake<br />
600 g sugar<br />
100 g rye flour<br />
100 g whole wheat flour<br />
113 g AP flour<br />
135 g cocoa powder<br />
1 1/2 tspn salt<br />
2 1/4 tspn baking powder<br />
2 1/4 tspn baking soda<br />
3 eggs, at room temperature<br />
150 g coconut oil<br />
1 1/2 cup whole milk<br />
1 1/2 cup hot coffee<br />
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for brittle<br />
1 cup sugar<br />
1 cup roasted cacao nibs<br />
1 tspn chocolate salt, or 1 tspn flaked salt<br />
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<br />Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-87890946432542464112015-11-04T00:58:00.000-08:002015-11-04T00:58:41.605-08:00Postcards: Autumn in Yosemite<br />
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It's amazing that I've been out here, near Yosemite for a year now. I recently took a few friends on trips into the park and realised that I'd seen every season this year around Yosemite Valley, and the changes are just gorgeous to witness. Each season is just totally different: <a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2014/12/happy-festivities.html">cloudy blankets of snow and fog in the winter</a>, <a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2015/05/postcards-may-in-yosemite.html">roaring waterfalls and exploding dogwood in the spring</a>, dry moss padding underfoot in the summertime, and heavily slanted sunsets and blue-orange-black-browns in the fall.<br />
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Here are some photos I managed to capture the past few times in the park. Several visitors are coming in for November, so I'm extra excited to get to see the park at the autumn-winter transition this year.<br />
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<i>Get outdoors! Breathe deep! Stand silently at the topmost point and dream.</i></div>
Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-8650488611190668862015-09-17T01:16:00.001-07:002015-09-17T01:16:15.401-07:00Farm-to-Fork Sacramento, CA<br />
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For me, the best food happens when it's stripped of all the pretension of trying to be "good food." It's when "good food" is treated as an inalienable part of our everyday existence, rather than something that must be saved for special occasions or strived for as a symbol of upper crust society. It's when food is an appreciation of dirty hard work and the vicissitudes of human experience rather than some capstone that has been scrubbed clean of all of its uglier, smellier, muddier parts before getting served up on a fancy platter. It's like the difference between a huge, reflexive bear hug from your favorite kindergarten teacher when you scraped your knee on the playground versus the requisite ceremonial, curt handshake you receive from the Chancellor when walking across a college graduation stage with 1000 other unnamed masses. This is why I prefer Portland over NYC, why I will always choose to go to Berkeley for dinner over some new-fangled trendy place in San Francisco, why I'm the happiest foodie when I encounter good food <i>anywhere</i>, not just in the middle of some highly-Instagrammed locale.<br />
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Over the past year since moving away from Silicon Valley, I've been getting to know a lot more about the Central Valley regions of California--our state's equivalent of the nation's "fly-over" territory, where most people whiz by on Highway 5 or Highway 99 without giving a single thought to what lies just beyond the freeway offramps. Ask people what they know about this true heartland, where most of the food for not only California but the whole US is grown, and they'll wrinkle their noses and say, "it's brown" or "it's hot" or "Where is Modesto? or Redding? or Merced? <a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2015/06/blackberry-peach-and-corn-cobbler.html">or Sacramento</a>? or Fresno? or Bakersfield, anyways?" But the beauty of what people are missing is this huge, richly culturally-diverse, historical swath of one of the largest U.S. states, where good food <i>minus</i> coastal pretension is found. So when the team behind Sacramento's Farm-to-Fork initiative invited me to a dinner to preview and celebrate <a href="http://www.farmtofork.com/">their huge Farm-to-Fork festival that's happening this month</a>, I jumped at the chance to learn more about this lesser-known, not-as-widely-popular-as-SF food town right in my backyard.<br />
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Dinners in a room full of people you don't know can always be a frightening experience for the socially awkward introvert like me, but sitting down at this table between Sacramento-ans who really appreciated and loved and believed in their food, one could immediately feel the warmth. Our stomachs were placed in the incredibly capable hands of two amazing Sacramento chefs--Chef <a href="https://instagram.com/oliverridgeway/">Oliver Ridgeway</a> from <a href="http://www.grangesacramento.com/">Grange Restaurant & Bar</a> and Chef <a href="https://instagram.com/oneofmanypatels/">Ravin Patel</a> of <a href="http://www.sellands.com/">Selland Family Restaurants</a>. Here's the crazy amazing menu:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>1st</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Melon & Tomatoes</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>pickled melon rind, walnuts, basil, mint, chili lime dressing</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Rabbit Galantine</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>dill and fennle pollen, radishes, cucumber, sorrel, puffed grains</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Chicken Fried Dixon Lamb Sweetbreads</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>gypsy pepper BBQ sauce, summer squash and blossoms, fried basil, pickled strawberries</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>2nd</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Karlonas Farms Pheasant</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>roasted oyster and beech mushrooms, chamomile nage, brown rice cakes</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Passmore Ranch Trout</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>hierloom bean succotash, baby tomatoes, fried eggplant, salsa verde, charred lemon</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Coffee-braised Masami Short Ribs</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>corn, chili, radish, pickled onions, cilantro, jus</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Tortilla Española</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>local peppers, potatoes, farm eggs, sauce romesco, charred kale, chili oil</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Dessert</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Valley Stone Fruit</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>honey, creme fraiche and lavender ice cream, almond streusel</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Cucumber Namelaka</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>pickled cucumber, rye crumble, dill, white chocolate, cucumber ice cream</i></div>
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My absolute favorite dish of the evening had to be the cucumber namelaka dessert, from Sacramento pastry chef <a href="https://instagram.com/rodcuadra/">Rod Cuadra</a>, which Chef Ridgeway is plating up below. Namelaka is this super soft white chocolate panna cotta-like concoction, and it was layered with a beautiful blend of slightly tangy cucumber sorbet (thanks to rice vinegar--yay years of Asian palate-training to be able to pick out that ingredient), crumble, and dill. What can I say, I'm just a sucker for desserts that incorporate traditionally savory ingredients (as you well know, if you follow the recipes on this blog).<br />
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The other great thing about the dinner was exploring all the drinks of the Sac region. Although Sacramento isn't really conducive to wine growing, it has a rich culture of wine-making. And beer making, and coffee roasting. Basically, Sac-town is serious about its beverages. :) The pairings were chosen for us by Darrell Corti, long-time grocer of the <a href="http://cortibrothers.com/">Corti Brothers</a>. We got to try <a href="http://www.michaeldavidwinery.com/winedetail/symphony">a wine from a grape variety developed at UC Davis</a>--go UC!--and, for dessert, I got to try <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/food-drink/wine/dunne-on-wine/article3566332.html">a wine from Harbor Winery</a> that was made <i>in my birth year</i>! That was a pretty special treat, for sure.<br />
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Sacramento's Farm to Fork Festival runs until September 27, 2015 this year. If you're looking for a good weekend or day trip in September, I highly recommend it!Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-39424424533724861442015-08-24T22:19:00.001-07:002015-08-24T22:19:23.235-07:00Cake for breakfast at Masse's Pastries (Berkeley, CA)<br />
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On the morning of my birthday, my parents asked me, "What do you want for breakfast?"<br />
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The answer is always cake. Specifically, cake from <a href="http://www.massespastries.com/">Masse's Pastries</a>, which is my favorite local bakery in Berkeley. So at 9am on a Sunday, we went for cake and tea.<br />
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So here's a little pro-tip for all you kids out there whose parents won't let you eat cake for breakfast. Just wait until you're a 20-something 'adult'. Then your parents will let you eat all the cake for breakfast you want. It's magical.<br />
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P.S. Then my friend Annelies Zijderveld of <a href="http://thefoodpoet.com/">The Food Poet</a> made me some <a href="http://thefoodpoet.com/2015/06/28/lollipop-love-book-review-and-earl-grey-lollipops/">birthday Earl Grey lollipops</a> out of my other friend Anita Chu's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1452125937/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1452125937&linkCode=as2&tag=dessertsfo-20&linkId=B6ESDNJG2W55QDPO">lollipop cookbook</a>!<br />
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<br />Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-1030934670418102502015-08-04T09:43:00.000-07:002015-08-04T09:43:01.326-07:00Strawberry, Guava, Campari Ice Pop-tails<br />
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If, like me, you discover yourself at that point of the summer when deadlines are heaping upon you at a mad rate because it's almost the end of summer and everything that you planned to get done (which was too much and too ambitious to begin with) in June when summer first started and everything that's gotten piled on since (beacuse it's hard to say "No" when there are seemingly open-ended months with long daylight hours),... make these <b>strawberry, guava, and Campari </b>ice pop-tails, and take a deep breath. In that order, please.<br />
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Seriously, the making process (aside from the freezing) takes all about 5 minutes, and you will thank me because the payoff is worth way more than 5 minutes.... which is more than I can say about the other tasks on my to-do list! Anyways, these are inspired by a good friend and collaborator of mine who was the first one to introduce me to Campari and <a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2013/12/urban-fruit-foraging-los-angeles.html">the first one to show me strawberry guavas picked off a real life tree.</a> Of course, strawberry guavas aren't easily available outside of SoCal, so here I've subbed in a combo of fresh summertime strawberries and guava juice. The great thing about guava juice is that it's often sweet enough where you won't need to add any extra sugar to this ice pop. Even so, it's sweet and summery and lightly exotic--not your childhood's strawberry popsicle!<br />
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Grab a ice pop, and <i><a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ganbatte">ganbatte</a></i> to all of us.<br />
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<i>Read on for recipe....</i><br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Strawberry, guava, and Campari ice pops</b><br />
<i>makes about 8 small popsicles</i><br />
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12 - 15 strawberries, stemmed<br />
1 1/2 cups guava juice<br />
1 - 2 Tbspn Campari<br />
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1. Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor.<br />
2. Combine the pureed strawberries with guava juice. Stir in the Campari.<br />
3. Divide into the pop molds, leaving about 1/2 inch at the very top of the mold to allow for expansion. Place in the freezer. Freeze for one hour, then insert the wooden sticks. Continue freezing until solid, about 4 hours.<br />
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<i>Enjoy!</i>Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-71038013559986409552015-07-30T02:56:00.000-07:002015-07-30T02:56:20.082-07:00Interlude: Avec, Chicago<br />
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A few weeks ago, I was in Chicago for a week-long work trip. My head was so far immersed in Linguistics! the whole time that I barely pulled out the big hunk of a camera I insist on lugging around with me whenever I travel (hey, it's good exercise?), despite how beautifully green and vibrant and wonderful Chicago is during this time of year. Hydrangeas everyone! <a href="https://instagram.com/p/5R72DQueaB/">Flowers abloom</a>! The riverside teeming with picnic blankets! The cityscape shimmering in a post-thunderstorm glisten! Intricate American gothic architecture! Fireflies at dusk!<br />
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I was so distracted that here are the only photos I managed to get at the Art Institute (which, by the way, was wonderful, and felt like I had stepped into <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2015/05/postcards-from-paris-museum-life.html">Musée d'Orsay</a>'s sibling museum. </span><br />
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On one occasion, I did manage to get my head screwed on straight enough to get my camera out, and boy, am I glad that I did. A good linguist friend of mine, who happens to also be an expert foodie, took a a few of my colleagues and me to <a href="http://avecrestaurant.com/">Avec</a> near downtown Chicago. Tucked away in a small storefront that is reminiscent of a hipsterised, wood-paneled version of a shipping container, the tapa-s style French/Mediterranean fusion was so, so good. I have major respect for restaurants that can put together flavor combinations that <i>surprise</i>, and there were definitely several fun moments for the tastebuds throughout the evening.<br />
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Above: bacon-wrapped dates and a watermelon-jalapeno-cheese salad.<br />
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Below was one of our favorite salads, with season-peak stone fruit and fava beans and this uber-creamy, light, fluff of cheese. We also had this sort of fantastical roasted cauliflower dish, where the top of the cauliflower was encrusted with whole mustardseeds and baked until black, The whole thing was sauced in this sweet honey glaze and layered upon a foundation of something like yogurt or cheese (I can't remember the details). This is a dish I'm soooo going to attempt to replicate at home. I'm thinking Thanksgiving.<br />
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To fill out the meal with a substantial "main", we decided on the freshly-made, nice and sardine-y squid ink pasta, coasted with panko crumbs. The sardine-lover in me adored the fishiness, though it proved too much for some others in our party. But hey, more pasta for me! :D We finished up the evening with a cheeseplate, of which I was most excited by the mounds of bright pink, translucent quince paste. Ah, sign this girl up for good quince paste <i>any day</i>.<br />
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<br />Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-19868073248751811082015-07-23T00:00:00.000-07:002015-07-23T00:00:10.545-07:00Postcards from Paris: Let them eat cake, Part I.<br />
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Happy belated Bastille Day! I meant to take advantage of Bastille Day celebrations to finally post about all of the food moments that I had in Paris in April, but of course work and travel got in the way, so here it is, a week late. (Also, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCsNg6XB3dg">the soundtrack for this post</a>.) But I hope that's okay, because oh there are so many good food moments to share, ranging from the planned to the surprising to the serendipitous. I've gone back and forth on how to order this post--savouries versus sweets, neighborhoods versus cuisines--but in the end, I decided to tell my story chronologically, because the stories, the context--that's what makes the food truly memorable, for me. So here's Part I of my Paris food adventures. Part II to come, because there's just too much for one post!<br />
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In Paris, I based myself in Upper Marais, on the recommendation of a friend. I swear I picked this AirBnB on the sole criterion that it had beautiful plant life. Green!<br />
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After I checked into my place, I met up with a colleague of mine who was attending the same conference, and we went wandering around Paris, getting our bearings. For dinner, we went with a recommendation from another colleague of ours who works in the city: Szechuan hot pot at <a href="https://plus.google.com/115194267696844530678/about?gl=us&hl=en">蜀九香 Fondue 168</a>. I have to say that I'm pretty excited that this place doesn't even really have a Western name. I know it's a bit unconventional to go to Asian food in Europe, but some of the best food that I had on my Paris trip was Asian-influenced (see below, too!). The hot pot came with so many dippables, from veggies and tofu and mushrooms galore to more unusual meats that I'd never had, like a shrimp/fish cake with an egg inside. Then, we hit up the <a href="http://www.experimentalcocktailclub.fr/">Experimental Cocktail Club</a> down the street, where I had a cocktail that was garnished with a whole radish at the bottom, which cleverly soaked up a hint of the drink! Talk about experimental!<br />
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Of course, when in Paris, one has to get serious about the pastries. Because Paris. Because cake! Luckly, several of the patisseries that I wanted to visit/that were recommended to me were in a similar area, so I got to hit several in efficient fashion. My very first stop (pictured in first photo above) was a pilgrimage to <a href="http://www.pierreherme.com/">Pierre Hermé</a>, naturally. Like, one of the greatest patisseries. Ah, be still, my heart! Behind the modern, streamlined case were <a href="https://instagram.com/p/1qEJsHued0/">rows and rows of impeccable and beautifully made desserts</a>, in flavor combinations that my puny brain (however creative I pride myself to be) has yet to fathom.<br />
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Then it was off to a Japanese-French fusion patisserie, <a href="http://www.sadaharuaoki.com/boutique/paris-en.html">Sadaharu Aoki</a>, that a good friend of mine recommended highly before I left on my trip. It's sort of an out-of-the-way bakery that isn't on a lot of the "top bakery" lists, but in my book, it's <a href="https://instagram.com/p/1xz9UBueb_/">one of the most creative places I've seen</a>. I snagged a small layer cake for myself, which had layers of black sesame cake, matcha cake, and vanilla-cognac mousse, and also picked up some gifts for others, in interesting Asian-fusion flavor combinations. All of the matcha things here that I tasted were amazing.<br />
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Armed with my various pastries, I headed off to the nearby Jardin de Luxembourg to find a sunny bench on which to dig into my stash. It was really funny, on a Sunday morning, to see so many people out and about, playing ball, jogging around the fields, or practicing taichi--all while my own, personal form of Sunday morning "exercise" was enjoying the hell out of a magnificent piece of cake. Only in Paris.<br />
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After pastries, it was time to seek out bread, at <a href="http://www.maison-kayser.com/en/">Eric Kayser</a>, of course. Ah man, I swear I don't think I'll ever be able to have a baguette anywhere else again. These baguettes have ruined me forever! Accompanied by cheese from a local fromagerie and tapenade from a deli in the Jewish Quarter, this bread constitued many breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners for me while I was in Paris. Because with bread and accoutrements this good, who needs to go out for restaurant food?!<br />
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Okay, Part II of Paris food adventures coming soon!Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-11011394472095836372015-06-30T03:00:00.000-07:002015-06-30T09:16:51.937-07:00Blackberry, Peach, and Corn Cobbler, and 24 hours in Sacramento<br />
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This past weekend, I took some time off to head north to Sacramento and visit foodwriter Garrett McCord of <a href="http://www.vanillagarlic.com/">Vanilla Garlic</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316213373/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316213373&linkCode=as2&tag=dessertsfo-20&linkId=H34IQUY52KB6UXC5">Melt</a> fame. Garrett's been trying to get me to visit, and finally thanks to the flexibility of summertime, our schedules synced up. I've also been meaning to check out Sacramento for some time now, since recently its food and arts scene has sort of been exploding. Of course, it's always been the California state capital and home of some awesome Gold Rush era sights that I visited on school field trips as a little kid, but other than that, in the past while I was growing up in the Bay Area, Sacramento as a town was never particularly a <i>destination</i> (especially to us snottier SF Bay folks). But all that has been changing recently, and after hearing so much buzz about the town, I was really excited to be able to see it for myself. And Garrett, who knows the food/arts scene there really well, was the perfect guide. I was only in Sac for about 24 hours, but I already can't wait to go back again.<br />
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I kicked off the weekend by doing some cafe writing at <a href="http://www.chocolatefishcoffee.com/">Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters</a> (waiting for Garrett to get off of work) so that I could try the new "nitro coffee" craze. Nitro coffee is cold coffee served out of a tap, and it has this ultra clean taste with tiny bubbles. It's not at all bitter and doesn't have any of that deep roastedness that regular coffee has, and it was an interesting experience to drink coffee that texturally felt like beer. Then, Garrett took <a href="http://www.thetomatotart.com/">Sabrina of The Tomato Tart</a> and me to this amazing Thai restaurant called <a href="http://www.thaibasilrestaurant.com/">Thai Basil</a> for dinner (pictured below). It takes a lot to impress me with good Thai food because there's so much of it where I live, but Thai Basil did not disappoint <i>at all</i>. There's this amazing seasonal menu that had dishes I've never seen before at a Thai restaurant, like this <i>nam prik ong</i> dipping platter, of ultra fresh veggies and rice crackers, with a meaty, tomato, chili-y sauce. So. Good. We rounded off the night at <a href="http://bstreettheatre.org/">B Street Theatre</a>, watching the current production of <i><a href="http://bstreettheatre.org/the-explorers-club/">The Explorers' Club</a></i>, which has this awesome mix of high society British colonialization comedy and unexpected slapstick. We sat in the dark, popping <a href="https://andyscandystore.com/">Andy's Candy</a> chocolate-covered salted caramels in our mouths between laughing, and all in all having pretty rollicking good time.<br />
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The next day, I spent quite some time hanging out with Garrett's adorable menagerie of pets. I travel too much to have animals of my own, so I try to spoil my friends' pets with all the love and affection (and camera stalking) that I can whenever I get the chance. ♥<br />
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Then, we headed to the farmers' market to pick up some ingredients for a potluck that we were attending that afternoon. Garrett and I waffled back and forth about what we wanted to make...a salad? a dessert? It had to be something that would be delicious and simple but stand up well in the heat outside. And it also had to be something that struck the right balance between light and heavy, since no one would be wanting to eat a triple-layered cake in 100 degree weather under the afternoon sun on a dusty, drought-parched hillside. Finally, inspired by what looked best that day at the market, we settled on a <b>blackberry, peach, & corn cobbler</b>.<br />
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Garrett has a beautiful section of thyme in his garden, and so I chose some silver thyme, which has bright lemony overtones to throw in with the sweet yellow peaches and inky, midnight-black berries. For the biscuit topping on the cobbler, we added plump kernels of fresh yellow corn for a natural sweetness and gritty cornmeal for extra texture, and used sour cream instead of butter for a lighter tang to the biscuits. The overall cobbler was not very sweet at all, and allowed all of the market-fresh summer flavors to shine through in their unadulturated glory.<br />
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(Also, may I say that I am now sooo lusting after Garrett's beautiful <a href="http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-2087286/Le+Creuset+Heritage+Au+Gratin">Le Creuset oval baker</a> that we used.)<br />
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The cobbler was a hit at the potluck. Someone else brought orange blossom meringue cookies, and we discovered that in breaking up some of the sugary sweet, floral meringue cookies and mixing them in with our rustic, fruity, earthy cobbler upon serving, together they made an even better dessert. It was like the best of potluck kismet.<br />
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Thanks once again to Garrett for the wonderful (and naturally, delicious) Sacramento weekend!<br />
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<i>Read on for recipe...</i><br />
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<b>Blackberry, Peach, & Corn Cobbler</b><br />
<i>makes one 9x13-inch (or equivalent) cobbler</i><br />
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1 ear of yellow corn, with husk on.<br />
2 lb. yellow peaches<br />
2 punnets blackberries<br />
3 to 4 sprigs of silver thyme (optional)<br />
1/4 cup (32 g) cornstarch<br />
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar<br />
1/4 cup (45 g) cornmeal<br />
1 3/4 cup (230 g) all-purpose flour<br />
2 tspn baking powder<br />
1/4 tspn salt<br />
1/2 cup + 1 Tbspn (130 g) heavy cream, plus extra for brushing<br />
1/2 cup (115 g) sour cream<br />
coarse turbinado or demerara sugar, for sprinkling<br />
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1. Preheat oven to 450° F.<br />
2. With the corn still in its husk, heat the corn in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. Remove from the microwave and let cool. Once cool, remove the husk and cut the kernels from the cob. Set aside.<br />
3. Pit and slice the peaches. In a large bowl, combine the peaches with the blackberries. Add the thyme leaves, if using. Toss the fruit with the cornstarch and sugar. Let macerate for a few minutes while preparing the biscuit topping.<br />
4. Meanwhile for the topping, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream, and the corn kernels. Gently fold the cream mixture into the flour mixture, being careful not to overmix. You should have a clumpy mess rather than a uniform dough. If the dough is a little bit dry (e.g., leftover flour at the bottom of the bowl), add about 1 more Tbspn of cream.<br />
5. Using a slotted spoon, strain the fruit and transfer into a baking dish (9x13-inch or equivalent), discarding the leftover liquid (or, you can cook this down into a syrup for other uses). Using your hands, form loose biscuits about 2-inches in diameter in size and place on top of the fruit. Brush the top of each biscuit with heavy cream and sprinkle generously with turbinado or demerara sugar.<br />
6. Bake in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the cobbler is golden on top. Remove from the oven and let cool briefly before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dash of cream or a scoop of ice cream, if desired.<br />
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Enjoy!<!--3-->Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-11755485818132718932015-06-26T08:44:00.002-07:002015-06-26T08:47:07.261-07:00Postcards from Paris: Out and About<br />
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When I went to Paris for the first time in April, I was much more excited by the prospect of desserts and <a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2015/05/postcards-from-paris-museum-life.html">museums</a> than I was about actually seeing the big "sights". Like the Eiffel Tower. It was about a week after I'd arrived in Paris that I actually made it to the tower--because, how big of a deal could it actually be?<br />
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But, once there, at sunset, watching the lights glitter, with the silhouette against an uninterrupted gradient of colored sky, I got it. I understood the romance.<br />
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Mostly when I travel, I just like to walk around and run into whatever I run into. A few weeks after returning from the trip, I discovered that my phone's health app had been tracking my steps each day, and for the week I was in Paris, it was off the charts. I walked everywhere, hoping that my meanderings, combined with serendipity, would take me to see the best, undocumented-in-a-guidebook corners.<br />
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When not walking, I did sort of fall in love with the Paris metro system. Maybe it's just that it was wonderful being back in a city with a proper metro, by which I mean one that runs at reasonable hours, with a convenient and constant availability of trains, and with stations pretty much near everything. Throw on top the beautiful station-specific designs that pepper the system, and one starts thinking of the dizzy, convoluted, dense maze of colored lines as idiosyncractically artistic. The metro system sure does have character, I'll give it that. Also, if you are ever near the Arts & Métiers stop, you must go explore it. I missed my chance of getting a photo of it (I have a phone photo somewhere...), but one level of the station is totally steam-punked out, covered wall to wall with copper plating, holographic portholes, and gigantic exposed gears protruding from the ceiling.<br />
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I will say, though, Paris gardens are a funny breed. After being used to the rambling, "I woke up like this" unkemptness of English gardens, I wasn't expecting the expansive, gravel-sand boulevards that are favored in Paris, which are lined with hedges cut in unnaturally rectangular rows and studded with statuary. Also, everytime I find myself in England, or now Paris, I'm thankful that I'm from a country that doesn't care so much for people to walk on and enjoy the grass, because what's the point of swaths of lawn in no one can wiggle their toes in the dew-green blades?<br />
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The ducks get to enjoy the grass...<br />
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So this post is just about the outdoor scenes in Paris. For inside museums, <a href="http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2015/05/postcards-from-paris-museum-life.html">see the previous post here</a>. I'm saving the food for last... and also, a most serendipitous meeting with <a href="http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/">a fellow food blogger</a> halfway around the world.<br />
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One last thing, yay, SCOTUS! Go, equality.Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-56758842023139103662015-06-17T10:10:00.003-07:002015-06-17T10:10:43.844-07:00STEEPED book signing in San Francisco<br />
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A quick update: if you're in San Francisco tomorrow night, come to the <span id="goog_545457743"></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449464971/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1449464971&linkCode=as2&tag=dessertsfo-20&linkId=3BB3XDGFLAKXQV7U">STEEPED<span id="goog_545457744"></span> book</a> signing that <a href="http://thefoodpoet.com/">Annelies Zijderveld</a> is having at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/487630994724008/">David's Tea</a>! There will be tea-inspired snacks, and you'll get to hear Annelies talk all about cooking with tea. As an added bonus, I'll be there, too... because, you know, I'm never one to miss out on a good tea party! :) Hope to see you there!<br />
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>>><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/487630994724008/">Details on the facebook events page here.</a><<<</div>
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<br />Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-16392761915804394712015-06-11T09:33:00.001-07:002015-06-11T09:33:07.983-07:00Pencil Asparagus Frittata<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(<i>Above photo from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449464971/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1449464971&linkCode=as2&tag=dessertsfo-20&linkId=MEISUNTHHDCU7JDA">STEEPED</a> book shoot</i>)</span></div>
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When spring semester finals are done, and grades are turned in, and all the students move out of the dorms and go home, the <i>real work</i> starts. Sure, the school year is busy, but that's just sort of day-to-day busy-ness, filled with things like teaching and admin. Summertime is when most academics (at least, at research unis) do the lion's share of what our jobs are about: busting our asses to get research going, writing grants, writing papers, revising papers, exploring new data, re-exploring old data, crunching through analyses, reading all the papers, setting up labs and experiments, all the things.<br />
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Sure, it's nice that there are fewer daily constraints on time (i.e., I don't have to be in class at <i>x</i> time or at a faculty meeting at <i>y</i> time), but I honestly feel like the hours fill up faster during the summer. There's never enough time to get what needs done done!<br />
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But, quick breaks <i>are</i> necessary for sanity, so when my little chamber music trio--made up entirely of swamped summertime paper-writing academics--had an uncharacteristic mid-week rehearsal recently, I pressed pause on the paper-writing to make sure we had a yummy but quick lunch to go along with rehearsal.<br />
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Lately, since I get to work from home a bit more during the summer, eggs have been my lunchtime jam. They're super easy and satisfyingly filling, and I find the blank canvas of egg dishes to be really exciting creatively. This time around, I decided to go with one of my favorite, easy-but-impressive make-ahead dishes: the frittata, which can be made the night before amd either served cold the next day or re-warmed briefly with great results. This <b>pencil asparagus frittata</b> is a simple but elegant affair, with thin pencil asparagus roasted to a savory crisp, embedded in a fluffy kefir and asiago cheese frittata, and flavored with just a dash of Worchestire and sumac. The top of the frittata, after it comes out of the oven, is sprinkled with lemon zest for a bright burst of summery freshness.<br />
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Okay, that was a quick update, but paper deadlines are once again looming. Back soon!<br />
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P.S. Want more Desserts for Breakfast? Come say hi on the <a href="http://dessertsforbreakfast.tumblr.com/">new tumblr companion blog</a>, for more frequent, quickie updates!<br />
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<i>Read on for recipe...</i><br />
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<b>Pencil asparagus frittata</b><br />
<i>makes one 10-inch frittata</i><br />
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1 large bunch of pencil-thin asparagus<br />
olive oil<br />
salt & fresh ground black pepper<br />
8 eggs<br />
1/4 cup kefir cheese<br />
2 Tbspn milk (e.g., 2% or whole)<br />
1 Tbspn Worchestire sauce<br />
1/4 tspn sumac<br />
3/4 to 1 cup coarsely grated asiago cheese<br />
freshly grated zest of 1 lemon<br />
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1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spread the pencil asparagus on a baking sheet in one layer. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, sprinkle with a light bit of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake the asparagus in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the stems are wilted and the tips are approaching dark brown. Remove from oven and let cool, to a point where you can handle them by touch.<br />
2. Meanwhile, adjust the oven to broil. If you have multiple setting, choose low broil.<br />
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, kefir cheese, milk, Worchestire sauce, and sumac. Add 1 tspn salt and a healthy bit of freshly ground black pepper (~ 1/8 to 1/4 tspn). Whisk to combine. Continue beating until the top of the eggs are very frothy.<br />
4. Heat a 10-inch, oven safe, non-stick pan over medium low heat, with about 2 to 3 Tbspn of olive oil--just enough to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Add the eggs to the pan. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, just until the edges begin to turn golden brown but the center top is still liquidy. About half-way (4 minutes) into the cooktime, sprinkle the grated asiago cheese onto the egg. Then arrange the roasted asparagus into the pan while the egg is still cooking.<br />
5. Once the edges of the egg turn golden brown, put the pan under the broiler for about 3 minutes, just until the top is nearly solidified but still a bit jiggly, like a custard. Remove from oven. Let cool for a few minutes in the pan (it'll continue cooking and solidifying). While waiting for the frittata to cool, sprinkle the lemon zest over the frittata. Once cool, slide the frittata onto a serving plate.<br />
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Serve hot or cold. Can be made the night before if served cold (or reheated in the microwave for about 2 minutes before serving--just be careful not to overcook!).<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3569004503761494300.post-13021917245734218872015-05-27T22:37:00.001-07:002015-05-27T22:37:42.829-07:00Peony obsession<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46gEnVGfzgVhlGxW-7_Usl87-WPT5GTCOXUWlWXiqnZoJ3Fpz98NTHYphU_oMAtriRvNoJV5AI1BxhflCjaXu5NKunx-DUoYxYu8zfqikgCusXRBsa1ylWfegeUdYDaZXD8Xjo5uIN70a/s1600/peonies-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46gEnVGfzgVhlGxW-7_Usl87-WPT5GTCOXUWlWXiqnZoJ3Fpz98NTHYphU_oMAtriRvNoJV5AI1BxhflCjaXu5NKunx-DUoYxYu8zfqikgCusXRBsa1ylWfegeUdYDaZXD8Xjo5uIN70a/s1600/peonies-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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I can't get enough of peonies right about now. Every time I walk by a peony, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xCkg2pWmAw">this song gets stuck in my head</a>. One of my friends has peonies growing in her yard every year, and I'm so jealous. All the peonies, please!Steph (desserts for breakfast)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07806977864958481985noreply@blogger.com2