I love good writing about food, and Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
by Gabrielle Hamilton ticks all the boxes. Hamilton is not only the chef/owner of Prune restaurant in New York’s East Village, she also has an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Michigan.
“I wanted a place with a Velvet Underground CD that made you nod your head and feel warm with recognition. I wanted the lettuce and the eggs at room temperature … I wanted the tarnished silverware and chipped wedding china from a paladar in Havana, and the canned sardines I ate in that little apartment on Twenty-Ninth Street. The marrow bones my mother made us eat as kids that I grew to crave as an adult. We would have brown butcher paper on the tables, not linen tablecloths, and when you finished your meal, the server would just pull the pen from behind her ear and scribble the bill directly on the paper like [the waitresses in France] had done. We would use jelly jars for wine glasses. There would be no foam and no ‘conceptual’ or ‘intellectual’ food; just the salty, sweet, starchy, brothy, crispy things that one craves when one is actually hungry.”
by Amber on May 27, 2011 in Food
“A lot of people think it’s mad to take time to bake,” she says, “but for me it’s a way of showing love for people I care about. This type of cooking is not essential for health, but it might be essential for mental health.”
I love this quote from Alexa Johnston, baking queen. And I think many of my friends agree. Baking for each other on birthdays and for parties is how we show affection for each other – whether that’s with an extraordinary narhwal cake, macarons or simply a big loaf of banana bread. Tomorrow I think I’m going to try and make ginger kisses for a certain someone… despite the fact I’ve never attempted them before, and my ardent dislike of ginger!
I am forever trying to organise my recipes in a handy dandy way. Right now I use a flowery Cath Kidston binder for print outs, or more often than not, drag my lap top into the kitchen. However for something more permanent, these darling Rifle Paper Co. Heirloom Recipe Card Boxes caught my eye:
Aren’t they fantastic?
Here’s one recipe I’ve made recently that I will be transcribing straight away. It’s a delicious lunchtime snack – or a great dinner with a crisp carrot & rocket salad.
Mushroom and poblano vegetarian enchiladas
1 package of firm tofu
1 small pepper
Sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. ground cumin
¼ cup dairy sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar and another sharp cheese of your choice
8 corn tortillas
Chopped tomato and red onion
Drain tofu; cut in cubes. Stem and seed poblano; cut in strips. In skillet heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add tofu, peppers, mushrooms, cumin, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until mushrooms and peppers are tender, turning occasionally. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup of the cheese.
Lightly grease a baking pan, set aside. Wrap tortillas in dampened paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds or until warm and softened. Spoon mushroom filling into tortillas; fold over and place in prepared pan. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Grill in oven for 1 to 2 minutes, until cheese is melted. Top with tomato and red onion.
Yield: 4 servings
by Amber on April 15, 2011 in Food
I’ve mentioned a few times before that my friend Tessa is a talented print designer, but it turns out she is also an incredibly talented CAKE maker. She fronted up to my recent house party with a magical narhwal cake. It features a blue jelly ocean, with chocolate fish swimming in it, crocodiles circling the outer ring, a hokey pokey iceberg, and two narwhals (which were individual cakes). Oh and the kicker? Once you cut a slice it was revealed to be a rainbow cake inside!
I have a narwhal tattoo emblazoned across my left gun, which I like to think served as the inspiration. Tessa says she wanted to “smash together the idea of a ‘pool party’ and ‘under the ocean’ensemble, with a nod to the traditional unicorn/rainbow combination.”
It was delicious as well as pretty. Thank you so much Tessa!
by Amber on April 6, 2011 in Food
The last few days have been a lot chillier here in Auckland. Time has snapped back one hour and the autumn rains have started. Despite rugging up in my deliciously warm shearling jacket and winter boots, I have still managed to catch the sniffles. One of the things that has been helping me feel better, alongside cuddles on the couch and watching lots of Antiques Roadshow, is bowls of apple crumble. It’s the ultimate comfort food – working well at breakfast, lunch, and dinner time.
Apple Crumble
The recipe is from my friend Leon. He says that personally he always doubles the crumb mixture, but I have made it both ways and it is fine. It really depends what ingredients you have on hand – it truly is a ‘throw-it-together’ recipe it). And on that note, it works a treat with berries or peaches thrown in with the apples.
For the apples:
6-8 apples (of any variety)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
¼ cup of water
For the crumble:
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup of melted butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp ginger – optional
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Peel and core the apples, chopping the flesh into large chunks. Then boil with brown sugar and a little water until you reach the desired consistency – softened but still solid.
In another bowl, coarsely mix the melted butter together with flour, caster sugar and cinnamon to make crumble.
Put the apples in an oven proof dish, and then spoon the crumble evenly on top. Cook the crumble at 180C for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Serve warm, or at room temperature, with a helping of ice-cream or thick yoghurt if you please.
Yield: 6 hearty servings
by Amber on April 3, 2011 in Food
On Saturday night my flatmates amd I hosted a wee soirée at our new house (I have moved again – house number 5 or so since I started Code For Something). My contribution was this elegant and easy drinking vodka orange punch. The addition of tea makes it rather refreshing, and not overly sweet. I used edible flowers to make the punch pretty – nasturtiums this time because I found them for sale at the city farmer’s market on Saturday morning, however marigolds or orange blossom work well too.
Orange Saturday Punch
1 part Vodka
1 part Ginger Beer
1 part Tea
1 part Orange Juice
A dash of Cointreau to taste
Mix high quality vodka , ginger beer and orange juice (non pulpy) in a punch bowl. For the tea – make a pot of your favourite black tea, and leave it to cool before adding to the mix. If you’re in a hurry, ice can be added to the tea to cool it. To make it pretty, add slices of orange to the mix, or if you have them in the garden, edible flowers. Serve chilled.
{Thank you to Rhiannon for the recipe – it’s a winner!}
by Amber on March 11, 2011 in Food
Other people are FASCINATING. The Makers is a photography project by Jennifer Causey that documents the lives of makers. In particular I like the shots of kitchens, and food being made. I love seeing process and tools as much as the final product. (As an aside, did I tell you this year I’ve vowed only to give tools, ingredients and experiences as gifts?)
The Jewels of New York are food stylists. Look how they have repurposed a Bulliet Burboun bottle. Simple but pretty.
Morris Kitchen are a brother-sister run company who supply ginger syrup to mixologists. Yum. Wish I could try one of their conncoctions.
Gorgeous. Be sure to check out the rest of the photographs and the other Makers.
by Amber on February 21, 2011 in Food
Look what I made with my own two hands: one hearty little round loaf! Well, to be honest, part of that statement is not true. My hand’s weren’t really involved in the process at all. You see friends, this is a no knead bread, with a recipe so easy to follow that a four year old can make it.
The original recipe was shared by the New York Times in 2006, and again, I stress that it’s easy-peasy. There’s no photographs of the rising stage, as it was a gloopy, shaggy mess that looked like a paper making project gone bad. Best served warm from the oven with a lump of real butter!
Making bread satisfies my desire to slow down right down and pay attention to the art of living (as outlined in this previous Code For Something post). It seems like the older I get the more time speeds up… So I prescribed some time to nurture my herb garden, make food from scratch and write more by hand. So far so good.
by Amber on January 14, 2011 in Food
One of the nerdiest presents I received for Christmas this year was a siphon coffee maker (thanks Thom!):
You put your ground coffee in the top chamber, and use the burner to boil the water in the bottom beaker. The steam generated forces the water up to the top, where you whirl and brew it for a minute. Then remove the heat, and voila, the fresh coffee will fall to the bottom after passing through the filter. It makes every morning feel like a science experiment (which it is, really).
The smarty pants at Coffee Geek have a full blown guide to using siphon coffee makers, and there’s a couple of cool videos of siphon in action on Youtube. If you’re in Auckland and would like to taste the end results, Little B on Cross Street sells a cup o’ siphon for around $5.
by Amber on November 3, 2010 in Food
It’s finished! The limoncello process I started way back in August is bottled and ready to drink. Yum. The hardest part was upfront – the zesting – while the waiting time (anticipated as unbearable) simply flew past. Out of sight, out of mind in a dark kitchen cupboard.
Lesson learned: the amount of zest you put in really does effect the lemon strength (as you can see by the colour). Bottle 1 was tightly packed with zest, while I was a bit relaxed with the amount in Bottle 2, resulting in a lighter mix.
For the recipe click here – keep in mind I doubled my mixture, to get these 2 bottles plus an extra litre jar not pictured.
I’m storing it in my freezer until ready to serve, preferably into little crystal glasses. Belissimo!
by Amber on October 21, 2010 in Food
I baked this on a Saturday afternoon and left it cooling on my bench top while I went to meet a couple of friends and watch a roller derby match. The bout was ruthless and there was cheap beer. We wandered back very merrily to my apartment… and spotted the cake. It was devoured in 5 minutes flat. I can happily report that the crumbs left in the morning were just as delicious and still very moist.
The recipe is from Orangette, one of my favourite blogs. I enjoy the sumptuous combination of excellent, simple food and succinct writing. If you don’t know it, do check it out.
Banana Bread with Chocolate and Cinnamon Sugar
3 ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips (or buttons)
Topping:
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chocolate chips
- Mash the bananas well (or blitz them with a hand mixer as I did, I’m not a fan of lumps). Add the eggs, and stir well to combine. Add flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix well. Add the ¾ cup of the chocolate chips, and stir briefly. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan.
- In another bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the bread-to-be, and top with the remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes at 190 °C or 375 °F until your cake poking device comes out clean, then let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Other banana loaf recipes I have been eyeballing include Laura’s interpretation of Vegan Banana Bread (think agave honey and coconut!) and Katie Lee’s Nutty Banana Bread (I would definitely toast the walnuts first).
by Amber on October 7, 2010 in Food
Love like a sunset… or a delicious yoghurt lemon syrup loaf baking in the oven?
My boyfriend really likes cake, and he bought me a loaf pan – so I’ve been on a bit of a baking spree. I nabbed the recipe for this loaf out of Viva – the New Zealand Herald’s weekly lifestyle supplement. It’s moist, suitably dense (a slice is definitely enough to make me feel full), and to be honest, sweet enough to eat without all the syrup hoo-ha.
125g butter, softened
3 teaspoons lemon zest
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup Greek style yoghurt, plus extra to serve
2 small lemons, sliced
1/4 cup caster sugar, extra
1/2 cup water
Icing sugar
1. Preheat oven to 160C. Cream the butter, lemon and sugar until pale.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Fold in the flour and the yoghurt then spoon into a greased loaf tin and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the loaf springs back when lightly touched.
3. Put the sliced lemons, sugar and water into a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes or until syrupy. Spoon over the loaf before dusting with icing sugar and serving with extra yoghurt.
by Amber on September 23, 2010 in Food
In an attempt to break the record number of people I can fit into my apartment at once, I am planning a dinner party. 3 guests + me. It might be tight! I want it to be special, so I’ve been scheming hard. Here are a what I think are the essential elements of hosting a great dinner party – scalable to any number of guests:
- Formal invitations are important (as in don’t just say “Hey wanna come ’round sometime?” – get specific). Create a sense of importance, anticipation, and give people ample time to work it into their diaries. I think two weeks is good notice as far as invites go.
- Choose your company wisely. Just because so&so is always welcomed by other people doesn’t mean that you’re obliged them to have them at your house. That said – don’t be afraid to introduce new blood! Mix and match friends. Invite someone who fascinates you that you haven’t gotten to know well yet.
- Lots of booze and a good mixture of it – wine, beer, spirits – with fresh garnishes, like lime etc. Jugs are a classy way to serve cocktails (Pimms, Mojitos, Sangria). Individual bottles of ginger beer or limonata are a lovely touch for non-drinkers. Make sure you have ice.
- Friendly lighting. Nothing too bright/eye-gouging. I always think overhead lighting is the enemy – so turn your lamps on and the ceiling lights down. For romance, add candles. For whimsy, add fairy lights (especially for outdoor settings).
- Brian Eno mused once on music choices: “If it’s bad, nobody talks – but if it’s good, nobody listens”. I definitely agree – choose something less intrusive than metal, like jazz or blues and play it at a conversational level. My dinner party albums picks: Ernest Ranglin’s Below The Bassline and Oh No’s Dr. No’s Ethiopium.
- Mandatory: make sure your bathrooms are clean. Seriously, put that in the cupboard. And buy some toilet paper.
- Don’t buy a bunch of stuff – simply use what you have on hand. Don’t be afraid to use mismatched silverware or cups, or use the vintage lace tablecloths you’ve been saving forever. Let high and low work together. Sure, put in the effort to make things special, but pay more attention to the people than to the things.
- Ensure the host stays relaxed. That’s you, baby! Keep it simple for yourself by buying two, and making one e.g. cook the main course but buy the snacks/entrees and a plate of macarons for dessert. Also plan to take time out before your guests arrive by putting your feet up for a second or have a glass of wine. Breathe. Smile. Have a good time.
by Amber on September 2, 2010 in Food
A friend recently mentioned that she was thinking about becoming a vegetarian. A move which I enthusiastically applaud. Don’t worry, I promise not to get all preachy at the rest of y’all, but my goodness, there are some delicious vegetarian recipes out there. I’m not really into the fake meats or replacements, just yummy dishes that coincidentally don’t have meat in them..
I’m on a cooking kick at the moment, and here are some of my favourites:
And a couple of mini ideas:
- Spring rolls! Buy some premade rice wrappers, soak them in water, then fill them with whatever veggies you like & dip into saucy goodness. Good fillings: greens, carrots, sprouts, cucumber.
- Sweat out some seasoned leek and mushrooms, cook up some penne and smother with Parmesan.
- Roasted vegetables with curry powder & pepper, mashed into greek yoghurt.
- Red pepper bruschetta. Thickly slice some good bread (I like sourdough), then toast with a little bit of olive oil in the oven. Caramelize some onions and spread liberally on the toast, along with some chopped roasted red peppers, and thin slices of basil.
- Tachos – chili beans, salad ingredients and browned onions, stuffed into taco shells or burritos. Replace cheese with hummus if you want to be sooooper healthy.
What are your favourite go-to recipes? Or what do you serve up when you’re feeding a bunch of happy herbivores? I would love to know!
