“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”-George Bernard Shaw

I’m sort of half-assing this post, and for that I apologize. I have in the works, in my head at least, a giant rant about how much I hate the Food Network now, and yet still watch it almost compulsively but.. Well, that’s for another day.

This IS, however, another food post.. As if you couldn’t tell from the title quote. Cooking is by and large a stress-reliever for me, albeit it one that I happen to be pretty good at. I’ve already written before, I think, about that particular aspect so I’ll spare you the recap. I will say that as of late I have not gotten to do it nearly enough outside of very basic things like grilling chicken and sauteeing veggies. I’m home alone so much that doing anything fun and fancy would just be wasteful. But with the amount of stress I’ve had invading my personal bubble lately I felt like I needed to do something and thusly, have been baking a little bit. This usually also proves to be wasteful because while I do love to churn out cupcakes and cookies and other fun stuff like that, there’s no way I would ever eat all of them before they went bad. Now I have someone to send them to though, and so far he seems to both appreciate and enjoy the fruits of my culinary labors. ;)

I used to bake various types of “breads” all the time. I place that word in parentheses because I think that term is used loosely to apply to any loaf-shaped food. In actuality, what I baked was more like muffins in bread form. Banana, pumpkin, zucchini, apple.. You name it, I’ve mixed it into a batter and baked it. We had some over-ripe bananas laying around the house and of course my first thought was “Banana bread!” I went digging through all of my cookbooks and came up with a variation that was a little different from anything I’d ever made before, yet delicious sounding and so I gave it a shot.

This comes from 1999’s Southern Living Annual Cookbook, and was exceedingly simple to put together.

Honey-Banana Bread

Dry Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
3/4 cup honey*
1 cup mashed banana

Preparation
Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl. Next add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Then add honey and beat until well-combined. Mix in, by hand, the mashed banana until well-incorporated.

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until moistened. Be careful not to overmix! This will result in a tougher, chewier end product as opposed to tender, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

Spoon batter into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes, OR until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.**

Baker’s Notes
1.* I used orange blossom honey for this. The recipe doesn’t specify any particular variety so you’ve got a little creative license in this aspect. Whatever your favorite is will work. Might I suggest giving your measuring utensil a spray with some non-stick cooking spray? This will make the honey slide out of the cup, as opposed to you having to sit there and scrape it to get it all out.

2. I added just a dash of nutmeg to my dry ingredients, more for aroma than for taste, although it is slightly noticeable. Cinnamon would also be good, as well as just a tiny little bit of ginger, I think. This is not a part of the original recipe but being that it doesn’t add extra fat or leavening agents, it will not affect the final outcome in any other aspect than taste and smell.

3. **More or less any loaf pan will work for this, you will just have to keep a close eye on your cooking time. The pan I used was slightly smaller than the one called for by the printed recipe so it took just a little longer for the bread to cook all the way through. This could also be split up into mini-loaves.. Again, just keep a close eye on it as it’s baking to ensure it doesn’t over-cook.

4. As soon as it comes out of the oven, I would suggest running a knife around the edges of the pan just to prevent any sticking that may have occurred during cooking. However, if you have properly greased and floured your pans, this should not be an issue. Better safe than sorry, though.. Right?

Serving Suggestions
I ate a piece warm with a little Earth Balance spread on top, along with a drizzle of the orange blossom honey. A glaze would also be excellent on top of this, and if you do use orange blossom honey, might I suggest this..

Mix 1/4 cup of orange juice into 1/2 pound of confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Pour this over the bread, and enjoy.

You could also snazz it up by mixing about a tablespoon of orange zest with one stick of softened butter, and spreading some of that over a slice.

AND if you do so happen to be eating this for breakfast and want to carry the orange theme all the way home (and you know that I do..), you could always serve a pitcher of mimosas along-side.. maybe with some scrambled cream eggs and maple-glazed bacon?

Those are other recipes for other times, though. Enjoy! And if you decide to try this recipe out, let me know what you think!

Play with your food!

Snickerdoodles, from box cookie mix. (c) 2009 r.smith

Being that this will be my second food-related post in a row, it will come as no surprise that I love the stuff. Food, that is. I love to look at it, I love to eat it, and I love to cook it. I spend what could probably be considered an unhealthy amount of time watching the Food Network, and I talk about my favorite chefs and cooks the way other people talk about their favorite sports stars. I don’t know if anyone else would consider me a foodie, but I most certainly consider myself a bit of a nerd when it comes to the subject. I’m not picky, either.. No, I do not like onions but other than that, there isn’t much I won’t try. That also applies to cooking. Even when I fail, I enjoy the challenge of mastering a recipe and then putting my own spin on it.

I also love to bake. I’ve noticed that a lot of people don’t care for it, and feel like it’s not as much fun as the type of cooking where you get into the kitchen and sprinkle in a little of this and a little of that as you go, eventually achieving what you hope is a culinary masterpiece to be spoken of for generations to come. To the contrary, I say that baking can be even MORE fulfilling than the “other” type of cooking because speaking from experience, there is nothing like the feeling of pride one gets when pulling a perfectly risen cake out of the oven. Or, the most golden brown cornbread you’ve ever seen. Or, biscuits that would put your grandmother’s to shame.. The list could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Revenge of the Killer Cupcakes

Admittedly, I have a weak spot for baking desserts. I’m borderline obsessed with cupcakes, and one of these days I’m going to get around to opening my own bakery. For the time being my friends and family are subjected to guinea pig treatment, as every time I think up some new idea for a cake or brownie or pie they’re the first ones forced to try it. So far I haven’t heard any complaints but then, it could just be that they are sparing my fragile ego. I think the thing that draws me to baked goods of the sugary variety is that they are just so darned fun to dress up, and even more fun to eat. Sure, plain old yellow cake is kind of boring.. that is until you pile on your favorite icing and blast it with sprinkles, nuts, coconut, fresh fruit, anything that strikes your fancy. The sky is the limit! And if you’re anything like me, the messier it looks the more you want to eat it.

While I do enjoy baking from scratch, I will be the first to say that it can be kind of a pain. There’s so much measuring to do, otherwise your cupcakes/cake will fall flat and it will still taste good, but will be much harder to dress up in all of that fun stuff I just mentioned. I see absolutely nothing wrong with using boxed cake/brownie mixes or pre-made frostings. Sometimes baking from a mix is even more fun than from scratch, because it provides a bit of a new challenge– how do I turn this into something special that everyone is going to remember, instead of serving up just another boring old white cake with chocolate frosting?

Bastard birthday cupcakes (c)2010 M. Bertling

The trick is to think of ingredients that aren’t going to add any extra moisture or fat to the mix, because these will throw the ratios in the entire recipe off and result in a cake that is either too dry, or too wet. Or even worse, overdone around the edges and still liquid in the center. Mix-ins like nuts, chocolate chips, certain types of candy (I’m partial to Nerds :] ), and coconut are ideal because they add both flavor and texture without compromising the integrity of the final product. I don’t have a set amount that I add, I just sort of wing it by adding a little at a time until I’m satisfied with my mixture. Another favorite mix-in is different flavor extracts, and I advise using caution because oftentimes 1/4 of a teaspoon is more than enough to flavor an entire cake without being overpowering.

Now, the point of all of that was to get to this, these “Aztec” brownie cookies that I made recently. Sometimes ideas just pop into my head mid-mixture, and they won’t leave me alone until I give them run of the kitchen. I’d decided I wanted to bake something sweet but didn’t really want to go to the trouble of hauling out all of the ingredients required for cookie-making, so I got to digging around the cupboard and lo and behold, a box of brownie mix! Upon inspection of the instructions, I found printed on the back of the box a “modified” recipe for brownie cookies. I like chocolate! I like cookies! The decision was not a difficult one to make. However, as per usual, I felt the need to trash them up a little bit with something unexpected yet delicious.

I have long been a fan of “Aztec” or “Mexican” style chocolate dishes and drinks. My research tells me that because sugar was an unknown commodity to the Aztecs, they mixed their chocolate with water and spices in order to make it more palateable, although reportedly it was still a bitter concoction. Furthermore, this draft was reserved only for royalty and from what I have read, was served in golden goblets that were thrown away immediately after one use. Fancy! I also have a long-standing love affair with more or less anything that involves coffee, and especially coffee and chocolate. The gears were turning. The recipe on the box only called for a small amount of water, so I replaced that with some strong black coffee and also threw in 1/8 of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. This was enough to impart a warm and somewhat “slow” burn to the finished product, along with just a hint of coffee flavor underlying the chocolate. While the cookies didn’t taste like they had the pepper in them, they definitely felt like it, but not uncomfortably so.

Once the cookies had baked and cooled they were absolutely phenomenal and yet, I felt as if they were missing something. They just looked so.. plain. And doesn’t one good turn deserve another? So I decided to add more chocolate! More coffee, too, for just a little extra kick. More chocolate and coffee in the form of a drizzle of glaze on top of each cookie. I melted approximately 4oz of Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate together with about a tablespoon of coffee to create the glaze. Because I cannot leave well enough alone, I also gave each cookie a sprinkle with just a few grains of sea salt. Let’s be honest, the great thing about chocolate covered pretzels and peanuts is the salty-sweet combination, so I figured that just a little hint of salt would be fantastic.

[I figured correctly! These cookies came out sounding weird and tasting amazing. I tried to get away with not telling anyone what was in them at first, only because like the vegan food I wrote about in the last post, strange ingredients tend to turn people off from a gustatory experience they may otherwise have enjoyed if not for knowing what was in the food. In the end I think everyone who tried them enjoyed them, and were a little surprised that they liked the flavor combination I’d created.

Like I’ve said before, variety is the spice of life, and quite literally in this case. Next time you’re craving something sweet, grab the first boxed cake or brownie mix you find and start throwing in whatever sounds good to you. Of course, it might not come out exactly like you expected and then you’re out a whole $5. On the other hand, you might be pleasantly surprised, or even end up creating that dessert that’s requested at family get-togethers for years to come. (And for that, I apologize in advance.)

“Aztec” Brownie Cookies
1 package brownie mix (The mix I used, and got the recipe from, was Betty Crocker Hershey’s Ultimate Chocolate Brownie mix. I have never attempted this recipe with another brand so be forewarned, results may vary.)
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water (For which I substituted the coffee)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Pre-heat oven according to instructions included on the box. Mix above ingredients until smooth. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a GREASED cookie sheet. Bake according to instructions. (Mine baked for right at 13 minutes, time may vary. The cookies should be “set” around the edges, meaning, kind of crispy looking.) Remove from oven, transfer to wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Drizzle
4oz Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate (Feel free to use whatever type of chocolate you like however, I chose bittersweet because the cookies are already so sweet by themselves.)
1 to 2 tablespoons of black coffee

Add chocolate and coffee to microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stirring afterwards. Continue to microwave in 30-second increments until mixture is smooth and all chocolate has melted. If the mixture is too thick, add more coffee. If too thin, add more chocolate. It should “ribbon” off the spoon at the proper consistency. I added this to the cookies by improvising a piping bag– add the mixture to a zip-top bag, and push it all to one corner removing air bubbles in the process. Snip just that corner off the bag to create a tiny opening, and drizzle as you see fit.

Sprinkle some sea salt on each cookie and then place in the fridge or freezer for just a few minutes to make sure that the chocolate sets. Enjoy! :)

“What is food to one, is to others bitter poison.”- Lucretius

Soybeans!

When I was 16 or so, I decided I wanted to be vegetarian. At this moment I can’t really recall why, and it sounds bad to put it this way but it may have just been some strange teenage whim. I “got it out of my system,” so to speak, after a couple of years.. Again, I don’t mean to sound so dismissive of this lifestyle but in retrospect I can’t help but think that it was just another fad for me. Sort of like the Sublime tattoo that I used to swear I was going to get one day. (Thank heavens I never did. No offense to any readers who may have a Sublime tattoo. If it makes you feel any better, I proudly sport a Morrissey tattoo. There, now you all know.)  I didn’t really understand why I was doing it, or the sort of committment it requires to dedicate oneself to a decision like that.

Food is a big part of our every day lives, whether we realize it or not. I assumed that if I just stuck to veggie foot-longs from Subway and lots of starches, it would be easy stuff. While vegetables and starchy foods are both delicious, when that’s all you eat.. well, they get old very quickly. Ultimately it didn’t work out for me, but I remember that when I would mention my self-imposed dietary restrictions at any event where food was present I would inevitably get the “What the hell is wrong with you?” look from 3/4 of the people present. Obviously I never really had a good explanation for why I decided to stop eating meat when even I didn’t know the reason for it, so it was hard to explain to people why I’d give up all that delicious dead flesh in favor of “rabbit food,” as I’ve heard it called.

I spent this past weekend in the company of one of my best friends and her husband, both of whom are vegan. I have another long-distance friend (whose photography and mad culinary skills are featured in this post) who is vegan. I greatly admire their dedication to their lifestyle, just like I admire pretty much anyone I come across with that sort of passion and conviction, no matter what their reason is for sticking to it. This isn’t because I don’t think I could do it. It’s because the more I’ve learned about vegan and vegetarian cuisine and cooking, the more I’ve come to realize just how complex it really is. A steady diet of salads and starches it is not, more or less any non-vegan dish can be turned into a vegan one with a little creativity and some specialized ingredients. For instance, this vegan Cincy-style chili mac.

Cincy-style chili mac. Photo courtesy of D.B. Ruzak, used with permission.

I always get excited about hanging out with the local friends because I always eat myself silly and don’t feel bad about it; aside from the occasional fried seitan or Tofutti sundae, it’s all healthy! And contary to what most people seem to believe, it is also absolutely delicious. I accompanied said friend on a run to the health foods store to purchase nutritional yeast once we decided that we wanted vegan mac n’ cheeze for dinner, and along the way we got to discussing what it is that most people have against vegan and/or vegetarian food. I’m of the opinion that 9 times out of 10, you could put a plate in front of someone and they would never know that it didn’t contain any animal products until they were done inhaling the food. There’s a definite stigma against this type of cooking and cuisine, and I just don’t get it.

And let’s be honest.. even if they DID know what was in it, what’s so weird about tofu? It’s just BEANS, for Pete’s sake! Admittedly they are in an entirely different form than the beans most people are familiar with, but so are the refried beans you get at Mexican restaurants, and I have yet to meet a person who won’t eat that. As for the vegan mac n’ cheeze that I am oh so fond of, the list of ingredients definitely contains a couple of names that will be unfamiliar to most. For example, nutritional yeast.. Which, at the very least, is self-explanatory. Anyone care to explain to me exactly what sodium stearol lactylate (an ingredient in Twinkies) is? Anyone? Bueller? Most people I know would sooner dig into a box of snack cakes than they would a bowl full of tofu.

I think a lot of the hesitation to welcome vegan cuisine with open arms is that food is such a source of comfort to people, myself included. Food brings back memories of the cookies your mom made when you were a kid, your grandmother’s heirloom beef stew recipe, that little bistro you visisted on your honeymoon.. It’s a powerful thing and when presented with something unfamiliar, most people are going to shy away. Then again, there is also the misconception that since it’s generally healthy food, it’s going to be tasteless and boring. As a non-vegan who regularly gorges herself on vegan food, I am here to tell you that misconception could not possibly be farther from the truth.

Vegan raspberry-balsamic cupcakes. Photo courtesy of D.B. Ruzak, used with permission.

As I’ve stated already, the mac and cheeze is my favorite. There is a depth of flavor present in the sauce that makes you all but forget that you’re not eating something terribly unhealthy. It is rich, it is filling, it is delicious, and it is completely free of animal products. It is also, dare I say, better than its non-vegan counterpart. (If you’re going to throw anything at me for this statement, make it broccoli, it’s my favorite.) I could honestly go on for days about all of the dishes that I love to stuff myself on but as a starting point for the curious, I think this is the way to go. And for as good as that sounds, vegan baked goods look even better.. I’d take the Pepsi challenge with these things vs. “regular” cupcakes any day of the week.

In contemplating the subject of this post, and in the process of writing it, I’ve been inspired to re-examine my reasons for why I think I wouldn’t eat certain things. (Fermented cabbage and monkey brains come to mind immediately.) I would encourage others to do the same, whether it be with vegan food, Indian cuisine, sushi.. Conquer your fear of the unknown! While I believe it’s true that veganism stems more from a choice to dedicate one’s lifestyle to cruelty-free living, rather than a simple preference for that type of cuisine, I don’t judge anyone’s reasoning for adhering to it. By the same token, I don’t judge anyone who doesn’t adhere to it, either.. But strongly suggest that the next time someone invites you to a vegan potluck, you consider taking them up on the offer. They say that variety is the spice of life, and I personally agree. Don’t be afraid of something just because it has some ingredients in it that sound funny or bland. As long as it doesn’t make you sick, you’ll be no worse for the wear after trying it.

And who knows, you might even find a new favorite food.

[Where noted, photos were posted with permission from D.B. Ruzak, the long-distance vegan friend mentioned in this post. Thanks for the support and all the help, I appreciate it more than you know! All links open in new windows.]