Success!

The day has come that I can say I made a delicious loaf of whole wheat bread. I assure you that I am not meaning to brag or to “toot my own horn”. It is just that this seems like this day has been a long time in the making. Here is a brief recap of my history with whole wheat bread.

My first attempt was fairly successful but I have to admit that I didn’t do it by myself; I had help from our resident bread baker at the Eco-House and we made it in the bread machine. However, it was still a little bit dense and too misshapen for my liking. My next attempt is something that I can look back at and laugh but I think I might actually have cried when I first saw it (it had been a LONG day). It was a misshapen, dense brick. Literally, no rising had occurred. The jar labeled “YEAST” contained sugar. Seriously? Lesson: pay attention to your ingredients. Now I find it rather shameful that I didn’t even notice I was adding brown sugar instead of yeast. It was the strangest incarnation of “bread” I have ever had and I had to transform it into baked French toast to make it edible. My third and fourth attempts were decent and encouraging but I knew that I still had much room for improvement. They were solid but the bread was dense and a little bit dry. (This is a recurring theme with 100% whole wheat bread). I still had faith in this recipe but just thought that my technique could probably improve more. For example, I wasn't sure if the bread rose all the way because the kitchen, where I let the dough rise, wasn’t very warm. Yesterday, Food Club had a potluck and no one had volunteered to bring bread so I thought I would make some with our local whole wheat flour. Wednesday, I set about making the dough and decided that I would take some creative license with the recipe. In hindsight this really could have gone bad since I had already committed to bringing bread and I could have gotten unfortunate results. However, this time I made sure that the dough rose enough, both for the initial rise and the second rise after it was shaped and in the pan. Also, I used a different kind of sweetener. The molasses I used gave the bread a nice color and slight sweetness. I also used a tad bit less flour.

But, I am sure you would much rather hear about the results. The bread had beautiful holes from the yeast and was light. It wasn’t dry which is a nice change from bread that you have to choke down or wash down with a lot of water. Also, the recipe is easily doubled. Here is my recipe, adapted from the one above:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons molasses

3 1/3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (or active dry mixed with the lukewarm water before adding to mixture)

Instructions:

Combine the ingredients in large bowl until a fairly wet, shaggy dough forms (you can do this with your hands or a spoon). Let the dough rest, covered for 20 minutes. Then, knead dough for 10 minutes. Allow to sit covered for 1 to 2 hours (or more if your kitchen is not warm).  When it is about doubled in size, gently deflate and shape the dough. Put shaped loaf in a greased 9x 5 loaf pan. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes to an hour (or more if it isn’t in a very warm place). Preheat oven to 350 degrees about 10 minutes before the hour is up. Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.

Enjoy!

Blue: A Restaurant Review and My Quest for the Top 25

Several months ago, I discovered a Charlotte magazine article online that details the top 25 restaurants in Charlotte and the best dishes served at each. Instantly, I was hooked. For some reason I love eating at a restaurant or just going somewhere that I have heard or read about. I think it makes me feel in the loop. So, I added to my bucket list to eat at all 25 places.

I now have seven restaurants from the top 25 checked off. I think that is pretty good progress thus far. Granted, a few I went to based on recommendations from friends or other sources and then just happened to notice I could check them off the list. One trend I am happy to report is that several of them use local and sustainably raised meat and produce. I think that this attests to the growing amount of importance placed on this, and rightfully so, in my opinion. It also shows that Charlotte has some pretty great places to eat, you don’t have to go to New York or California to get inventive food from creative chefs who care about quality ingredients.

Thursday afternoon, I was able to see where I would be working this summer for my internship and given a tour of the agency. It was really useful and got me so excited about this summer! I know that God has some very challenging but great things in store for me. Since I was in Charlotte anyway, Jerry and I agreed to meet for dinner. Little did I know that he had made a reservation at Blue, a restaurant that I have been dying to try (and also one of the Top 25).

The interior was beautiful and surprise, surprise there were hints of blue. Wavy lines adorned the walls and soft colors permeated the restaurant, making it a relaxing but elegant atmosphere. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful and I treasured the man that kept refilling our water (I drink my weight in water at a restaurant). The valet service was also a great plus. It’s free and then you don’t have to worry about parking in a sketchy or far away parking deck.

However, my main hardship was that it very hard to pick what I wanted from the menu. Blue serves Mediterranean food and Mediterranean, specifically Greek, food is my very favorite kind of food. Finally, I settled on an appetizer and a mid course. I chose the jumbo diver scallops (served over a fava bean puree with a lemon marmalade), which won Taste of the Nation Best Hot Appetizer, and the Flavors of the Mediterranean (with excellent baba ganoush, hummus, olives, dolmades, peppadews stuffed with goat cheese, white bean salad, and warm pita bread). Both were amazing! I would definitely order both again. The Mediterranean sampler was huge, Jerry and I easily split it. And, the complimentary bread must not be left out of the equation. They served big hunks of warm bread, both focaccia with cheese baked into the top and a cinnamon raisin walnut bread (I think). The two were very different, crunchy and salty versus soft and sweet. The focaccia was elevated by the housemade olive butter (kalamata olives mixed with butter). For the main course, my scallops were presented beautifully and although there were only two it was just the right portion (it was only an appetizer) since each scallop was about 4-5 bites big. I could definitely understand how it won such an award. Finally, Jerry and I agreed to split dessert. After much debate about which one to order, we picked the pumpkin cheesecake with white chocolate croquant, praline syrup and a praline crisp on top. It had warm pumpkin and cinnamon flavors and was very homey tasting. It was a great way to finish the meal.

The pumpkin cheesecake, above, was delicious and beautiful. (This is an edited version of the picture, though, meant to look kind of artsy so don’t think it is totally true to life.)

Side note: Wednesday I was lucky enough to go to Savor Café, also in Charlotte and on the Top 25 list. I tried the pad thai, which I was warned was not like any same old, same old pad thai but the noodles were covered in a spicy thai curry sauce made with coconut milk. I got the Asian veggies instead of chicken or shrimp on mine. I am a coconut hater but I loved this dish! The veggies were cooked perfectly and the sauce was a little sweet with a strong curry flavor and kick. It was quite a mound of noodles though; I took home half as leftovers. On the Top 25 list, it recommends several dishes/drinks (which are not really options to me being a pescatarian and under 21), but it does suggest to try their dessert. They are evidently best known for their banana pudding and cobbler although dessert specials change daily. The banana pudding might look slightly foreign to a born and raised Southerner at first, but all the components are there, the thick and creamy banana pudding, Nilla Wafers, and banana slices (the toasted meringue is just the cherry on top, so to speak).

Some favorites from Savor:

 

You could get the butterscotch bread pudding (pictured left), but the banana pudding is what they are known for and, although our table’s opinions were split, this is the better option. The swirl of the toasted meringue tops off the creamy banana pudding with just enough airiness and a hint of salt (pictured right).

Enjoy!

Cake for College Kids

This past weekend, my friend and I wanted to hang out. We hadn’t gotten a chance to do so in what seemed like forever. I was really excited about it so I asked her what she wanted to do. She suggested that we bake something (obviously knowing that I like to bake). Among my friends, I have become the baking “expert” (although really far from it), a fact that is both embarrassing yet thrilling for me. This raises two points: 1. Do people think that the only thing I think/care about is food?(Although I love it a lot, I care about so many other things and not just about food as a thing or physical nourishment but how it brings people together) 2. Also, if someone asks me about baking, this makes me feel kind of special. While this expertise is totally not the truth it really makes me feel flattered because I am so passionate about baking and love to do it so much. Also, I have this grand illusion in my head that I am going to leave some sort of baking legacy in which my name is associated with moist cakes, sweet and fruity breads, and delicious, buttery bars. Then, everyone will know that I am passionate about baking, especially as a way to show people that I care or to connect/bond with them.

Here is a recipe that I found that is very fun to make. And, I find it perfect for college students. It requires very few ingredients and they are all staples that are probably in your fridge/pantry if you have one. It doesn’t take a lot of prior preparation or bowls, pans, utensils, etc. Also, it is super easy and fast. No need to be a pastry chef or some other culinary expert, you can make and eat this cake- in-a-mug in under ten minutes flat.

It is also the perfect dessert to make with a friend. And, let’s face it, dessert wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t eaten with someone special and if it didn’t satisfy a longing for that certain something that tickles your sweet tooth (for me, this is cake without a doubt).

**Notes for the recipe: I would definitely double the sugar, it wasn’t nearly sweet enough for me (but I didn’t try the chocolate glaze). Also, for the two servings you can divide the batter into two mugs to make it easier/less awkward to eat. Finally, I added a pinch of cinnamon to mine and I really liked it; actually, next time I would add more (but this probably has something to do with my cinnamon obsession).

In the Kitchen with Friends

Although I do love getting up early on a Saturday morning and making pancakes or baking muffins or biscuits in a quiet kitchen by myself, some of my fondest memories over the last few years have been in the kitchen with friends. In college, I have found cooking or baking with friends to be a bonding experience that is always very fun and relaxing! Besides, it is totally a justifiable study break since everyone has to eat. Yet there is something that bonds people through making something, just as stirring together raw ingredients like eggs, milk, flour, and sugar and then baking them transforms these staples into delicious baked goods. Here are just a few recent experiences this semester, with hopefully many more to come over the years.

Hot Chocolate

Near the beginning of the semester my friend Alexandra and I made hot chocolate. Me, a proclaimed hot chocolate lover, had lived my whole life drinking the powdered Swiss Miss kind 99% of the time. However, this definitely does not compare to hot chocolate after I had the real thing, especially coupled with the experience of making it myself.

However, even though the results were stellar, it was a very simple process. We put some good quality dark chocolate chips in our mugs and then warmed up milk (this is not the time to use skim!) mixed with a little bit of vanilla extract and sugar. Then, we poured the hot milk over the chocolate chips and stirred. The hot chocolate was never totally homogenous but that made it even more beautiful. The texture was thicker than most hot chocolates that I have tried but not overly rich, I easily finished mine while we were watching the documentary about bottled water (for class, although I would admittedly watch it just for fun too). We both had so much fun and I think it was at this time that we decided we absolutely must go back to Asheville to try French Broad Chocolate Lounge’s “liquid truffles” (similar to the European sipping chocolate).

Check out the recipe here!

Blondies and Blueberry Pound Cake

It had been one of those weeks where I had a million things to do, it had been my birthday and I was going home for Saturday night (which meant that nothing productive would be done) so I had literally worked Friday. I am talking one spot on the Eco-House couch, switching between different books, my laptop, and notes. It was seriously a marathon. So I really needed something to look forward to that Friday night and this baking time with friends was just the thing. Some of my friends that came didn’t know each other very well but the conversation flowed easily nonetheless. We talked about things we had baked before and lots of other random subjects. Our work was rewarded with very rich, gooey and hot blondies studded with melty chocolate chips. You could definitely taste the butter, but the good thing about the richness is that you can cut the bars smaller and make the pan of blondies last even longer. The blueberry pound cake was delicious too! I was skeptical about using out-of-season blueberries, but it turned out like a delicious hybrid between a blueberry quick bread and pound cake. I took a loaf of this home to share with my family and it was a real hit. Afterwards I even made granola with two of my friends, although I kind of led them astray. I am generally hopeless without a recipe! (Way too much honey and salt!)

Other Fun Times

Making and eating a whole box of pancakes (from the mix) with friends from InterVarsity, baking with friends last year for Valentine’s Day (and almost burning down Duke kitchen), impromptu baking with Kaitlyn, making cottage cheese and baking sweet potato bread with Claire (simultaneously), and cooking community dinner with my roommate, Rebecca.

Give Me Some “Momo”!

I am actually pretty sure that the name Momo’s, a funky pizza joint perfectly suited for the college town of Tallahassee, Florida, did originate in this way, but I just took some creative license and was trying to think of a not boring title. Thursday night my herpetology class was staying in Tallahassee as part of a tour through the Southeast of herpetological laboratories and sites. It was someone’s birthday so we went out for a very fun night that started with pizza. Momo’s motto, which is on their sign and boxes is “Slices As Big As Your Head”. Our group was ravenous by the time that 7:00 rolled around and we piled in the car to go eat. But, I can safely say that it wasn’t just our hunger or the atmosphere that made this pizza so good!

One of the first things that you see when you walk into Momo’s is their pizza boxes high on the wall. There is a box for a slice of pizza that is huge and you think, “Well, there is no way that one slice would fill up that whole box”. Then, you see that the pizza boxes start at medium and increase up to an extra large. This is when you think, “In their dreams. There is no way that the XL pizza is actually that big. A pizza can’t be the size of the table. Pshh!” But, then you see guys behind the counter skillfully throwing and spinning stretchy, round pieces of dough that could possibly create a pizza the size of the XL pizza box. When the menu says that it can feed 8 to 10 people, which is quite a feat for a pizza that is only $23.50, this is no exaggeration.

Our group split a cheese pizza. Although I would never order a cheese pizza on my own, (I really like specialty pizzas with fun toppings like pesto, goat cheese, caramelized onions, etc.) I do like cheese pizza. Some people in our group also got a medium meat lover's pizza, which was easily the size of a chain pizza shop’s large, because they denounced cheese as too boring.

When our pizza came out, it was huge. The XL is supposedly 50 inches in diameter. If this is true, then I am only 14.5 inches taller than our pizza was wide. This blows my mind! The pizza came with silver serving plates (which are probably the size of a medium pizza anywhere else) for us to eat on and the slices hung off of the plates. The dough was extra thin. The sauce was plentiful and sweet. I scraped some off of my slices because I am not a huge sauce fan. The cheese was very good though and the bottom crust was cooked just right so that there were little charred bubbles. Although hard to eat (they gave everyone a knife and fork), it was really good! Everyone in our group started with two slices but some people were brave enough to go for three. I basically finished my two, wished that I had room in my stomach and the metabolism for a third, and left room for Cold Stone afterwards. I always have room for dessert!

If you are ever in Tallahassee, try this hole in the wall and if you are with a large group of people, please get the XL!

All About Cake, Birthday Cake

Last weekend, along with the excitement of getting engaged, I also had a much awaited birthday dinner with my family. It was a great meal that I got to help my mother cook and it felt really good to be home. It was also nice to have great conversation and linger over the delicious spread. First of all, let me preface this post by saying that I really love birthdays! There have been years that between birthday parties with friends (always elaborate, ranging from sleepovers to boy-girl get-togethers with food planned weeks in advance, party favors, and sometimes arts and crafts) and celebrating with family, I have celebrated my birthday for two or three weeks. These celebrations usually involve several different cakes and many of my favorite meals.

Two layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. (Only when decorating this cake did I feel kind of pathetic for making my own birthday cake. The decorating was a first and last time thing.)

I think that my love of cake also adds to why I love birthdays so much. For probably the last five years (although I am not sure about one of those years in high school), I have baked my own birthday cake. This does not mean that my mom wouldn’t have made me a cake or gotten me one from a bakery of my choosing, I just have come to really enjoy deciding what to make and then baking and icing it. But, baking my own cake does not mean that I made the cakes single-handedly, my mother was there whenever I needed her and my dad washed numerous dishes. My mom literally went to at least five different grocery stores one year looking for Rainbow Chip cake mix. This elusive cake mix made by Betty Crocker is much harder to find that its icing counterpart. And, if you were to try to tell me that it’s the “same thing” as the Pillsbury or Duncan Hines version, I will tell you that it most definitely is not. It has a distinct and better taste than those other imitators, also the different colored sprinkle-like things baked in the cake and in the icing are round chips, not plain Jane sprinkles. Somehow these colorful discs make the icing so good that my sister and I would literally fight to eat it from the can and I always apply it very liberally to the actual cake. Year by year, I have become more adventurous and I would like to think that I have learned some things along the way. This year I made my own from scratch, which although I have made plenty of cakes from scratch, hadn’t yet attempted for my birthday. Although I am very interested in eating local, sustainably grown food and not much processed food, Rainbow Chip will always have a very special place in my heart.

Left: My somewhat deformed Rainbow Chip cake being lit by my mother; Right: Another cake from last year which was a surprise from two of my best friends, Jennie and JiSoo. It was a four-flavor cake from Harris-Teeter: carrot, chocolate, red velvet, and yellow cake.

Last year, my sister gave me a big cupcake cake mold for Christmas, like I am sure you have seen on TV. I was so excited to get it. I wanted to make one of the elaborate masterpieces that is featured in the recipe/instruction book that comes with the mold. However, I knew that you couldn’t really make anything cool with Rainbow Chip icing, so out went that idea. But, I still wanted to use the mold and just make it look like what it was, a giant cupcake covered in icing. I read the directions, or so I thought. To my dismay, the cake turned out looking not so much like a giant cupcake but more like the lopsided top part of the Mad Hatter’s hat (from Alice and Wonderland). I am not sure if I didn’t put correct proportions of cake batter in the top and bottom or what, but it did not have a perfectly spiraled top, instead we had to saw off part of the top and bottom so that the two pieces would fit. It still tasted as delicious as always. Still, I haven’t been adventurous enough to try this again.

I had to include this picture, partially because it is kind of funny. As you can see I am beaming and Jerry looks really happy as well. But, I was told to place my hand on the table in such an opportune spot, that was not of my own prerogative.

This year, for my 20th birthday I wanted to use a recipe that I had seen on a food blog (since I am sort of obsessed with them). I turned to one of my favorites, Willow Bird Baking. I made the Cranberry Orange Pecan Cake. I substituted some of the vegan ingredients for non-vegan ones, partly because you cannot find many of these in Lexington and because I like my dairy. It worked out perfectly with these substitutions and was just the right size, an 8 x8, so that my family wasn’t eating it for a week. Actually the cake was so good that about four hours after the happy birthday song and the blowing out of the candles, Jerry and I finished the remaining half of the cake. We totally lost all control. Yes, it was that good. I have a special weakness for cream cheese frosting and this one worked perfectly with the flavors of the cake. Also, it added a luxuriousness and slight tanginess. The cake itself baked up golden brown and the tart cranberries gave the cake vibrancy, both in color and in flavor (it was the star of the show). However, the orange zest and toasted pecans (subtly different in flavor from the untoasted ones) really added to the cranberries and the vanilla extract. I added gold sprinkles on top of the cake because I thought they complimented the icing and made it more festive.

This year’s cake, Cranberry Orange Pecan Cake. Top: This is my cake before I blew out the candles. My mom randomly decided that five candles was a good number to put on my cake for my 20th birthday. Everyone said, “just blow them out already” while I was taking this picture but I think it was worth it; Bottom: A piece of the cake, you can see that the texture is just right and the cranberries are so beautiful, especially with the icing and sprinkles.

This is the beautiful cake that my sister decorated in her foods class. She used all of my favorite colors and told me about all of the fancy piping techniques that totally surpass my knowledge like coral and stars. I really loved this one. Too pretty to cut!

Allyson (my sister) and me with the cake she decorated for me.

 

“All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much."

-George Harrison

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates…

You never know what you’re gonna get. These are the famous words of Forrest Gump, from the classic movie. This quote might be the most quoted line from the movie and possibly one of the top movie quotes of all time, but I suspect that is because there is some truth to it. No one ever knows what life will throw at them much like a box of chocolates is a grab bag or surprise (unless you have the cheater guide that tells you which chocolate is where).

I have received many boxes of chocolate in my lifetime: a Russell Stover heart every Valentine’s Day from my grandfather, a special surprise from Davidson Chocolate compliments of my parents, and collections of chocolate covered cherries for Christmas or Valentine’s Day. I have fond memories of all of them. Whether truffles, chews, cream-filled, clusters, or cherries, they were all delicious! (That is, except for coconut, I do not mess around when it comes to that dreadful one in the box. Thankfully though, I have come to have a pretty good eye for picking these out.) Milk or dark chocolate, I love them both! Most of the time I savor the box and see how long I can make it last, but I am human so occasionally one thing leads to another and the box is half-eaten, whatever. Although these boxes of chocolate have always been delicious and are good quality confections, what made them taste even better is that someone I loved gave them to me. Whether as a surprise or an expected Valentine’s Day tradition, they made me happy because of the person who bought me the chocolate. I have never and will never buy myself a box of chocolate, it seems almost like gluttony and not that special treasuring that is especially associated with chocolate.

Surprisingly, Jerry had never given me a box of chocolates. Last year for Valentine’s Day my request was a customizable chocolate bar and he has bought me chocolate in many other forms, but never a box of chocolates. However, I can definitely forgive him for this since he gave me one this year for my birthday and his story to go with the chocolates led to him getting down on one knee and asking me to marry him. Yes!

Left, back: dark chocolate covered cherries, foremost: caramel truffle, rightmost: Black Forrest truffle

I think the first thing I said after “Yes!” and “I love you” was, “What kind of chocolates are those?” The box was from The Candy Factory in Lexington, my hometown favorite for anything chocolate. Upon opening the box, I had immediately recognized the dark chocolate covered cherries (I can’t decide if I like milk or dark chocolate better with cherries, it’s a total toss up).  Jerry told me the others were a caramel truffle and a Black Forest truffle. The caramel truffle was a milk chocolate shell filled very liberally with caramel and with a little bit of white chocolate on top. Beautiful and tasty. The Black Forest truffle was dark chocolate with a chocolate infused with cherry flavored filling. It had a pink drizzle on top, again beautiful and very tasty. He really knows me too well, including a familiar favorite but indulging my love for novelty with new varieties, a mix of milk and dark chocolate, and combining beauty with tasteful, locally made chocolate. The chocolate was really enough for a yes. I totally jest, I have even better reasons for my answer.

Thanks for letting me share my good news with you!