Honey-baked nectarines with labne

Here's the thing: I am very hungry, very busy and very excited in no particular order. So here's a quick recipe for your Sunday morning. Or any morning of the week. I've had baked fruit before, but this one towers above all others. I'm planning on devouring every delicious, silky spoon of it every single weekend till the cows come home, or until nectarine season draws to an end. Whichever comes first.

Honey-baked nectarines with labne

Ingredients:

25 gr unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
6 nectarines, pitted, halved
100 gr honey
a few bruised cardamom pods
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
juice of 1 orange
500 gr Greek yogurt for labne

Drain the yogurt over a muslin lined sieve over night. Next morning you can call it labne.
Preheat oven to 375F. Scatter butter pieces in a baking dish. Place all nectarines, cut side up over the butter. Scatter all spices on top of the nectarines, drizzle with honey and pour over orange juice. Bake for about 20 minutes or until your kitchen smells so good, you just can't take it any more. Serve warm with a generous dollop of labne. Add some home made granola and you can call it a meal.
Recipe from GT magazine.

Good Morning Sunshine!

A lovely day

I woke up smiling this morning. It was rather early, the sun was up, birds were singing and I was surrounded by this mesmerizing lush green as far as the eye could see. Early summer bliss in the middle of the city. Very very quiet. For you see, it's a holiday today. The first long weekend of the season. And city folk are rejoicing, you might say. Some went to cottage country, some went camping while others chose to stay put and enjoy the peaceful pace of the first holiday Monday. I belong to the latter category. Just lying here on a checkered blanket, reading a very old edition of The Dickens Digest, "four great Dickens masterpieces written for the modern reader" it says. I bought it at a yard sale not long ago. As I open the book I find an inscription written on the very first page: "From Frank Whitmore, Christmas 1943." It was someone's Christmas present during the Second World War. That makes it all the more special to me. I am going to escape today. To another world. Then maybe take a nap al fresco. My favourite. Don't even have plans for cooking. Some cool garden pea salad with feta and yogurt will do. And maybe some minty lemonade to wash it down.
Breakfast was simple and comforting as well. Some rather robust stalks of rhubarb have crossed my way the other day. So I made some stewed rhubarb and strawberry jam to go with my semolina porridge for breakfast. Utterly delicious, if I do say so myself.

Semolina porridge with strawberry rhubarb jam

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup of honey
60 g semolina
20 g butter
slivered pistachios to serve

For stewed rhubarb preheat oven to 325 F. Add about 400 g rhubarb (cleaned and cut into 2 cm pieces), 3/4 cup of brown sugar and 2 cinnamon quills to a baking dish. Mix it all together, cover the dish with foil and bake for about 1 hour. Remove dish from the oven. Let it cool a little. Transfer stewed rhubarb to a pan. Discard cinnamon quills. Add 2 cups of strawberries and sugar to taste. Quickly boil for a few minutes, until strawberries have broken up and given the jam a wonderful rich pink colour. Cool.

Combine milk, vanilla, lemon zest, honey in a bowl. Bring mixture to a boil. Add semolina in a steady stream and cook until thick, about 10 minutes. Add the butter and stir until melted. Transfer porridge to 4 individual bowls ans serve with strawberry rhubarb jam and pistachios scattered on top.

Happy Sunday!

Playin' around

Yeast and I have had somewhat of a roller coaster relationship throughout the years. As a rebellious cook/teenager, I avoided any recipe that even mentioned the dreaded Y word. Same goes for gelatin.
Needless to say my first endeavour into this (for me) uncharted territory was a disaster of epic proportions. What can I say? I was 15, it was Saturday, and I felt adventurous. Enter an old recipe for cheese danish with raisins. I had fresh yeast on hand, lots of it. So I though, why not?
Thick headed that I am, I was adamant about not needing any help whatsoever. Baaad idea. On the first try the yeast wouldn't rise. No problem, had lots more where it came from. Second try, just as bad. I had the windows open, there was a major drought in the house. But the recipe didn't mention anything about the precarious working relationship of yeast and drought. Thus, not my fault! Finally, on the third try, yeast + sugar + warm water rose beautifully. I was in business! Or so I thought. I put all the ingredients in my large ceramic bowl, mixed it all together, worked the lovely vanilla scented dough into a shiny, springy little ball of beauty. I felt really proud. I covered the dough and let it rise while practicing my "see, I told you I could do this by myself" speech. And then I waited. And waited. And waited some more. But even after two hours the dough wouldn't rise. After three hours and much consideration I concluded that it has risen. A little. A tiny bit. And it still smelled wonderful. Plus I already made the filling. The creamiest cottage cheese from my grandmother' own cremerie, kirsh soaked plump raisins and vanilla sugar. So I rolled out the dough, cut it in squares, filled it with big spoonfuls of cheese and formed the adorable tiny purses. They were a marvel to look at. At this point I was convinced that this achievement was going to be the pinnacle of my blossoming culinary career. To backtrack, I had had some considerable cooking success before that day. My chocolate sour cream ice cream and my potato salads were famous. I mean, really. With my entire family, all three of them.
Next I placed my baking sheet of danishes in the oven and anxiously waited for the final result. I had my serving trays all prepared with doilies and all. The whole house smelled wonderful.
After 30 minutes, the recommended baking time, I went to check on my work. I wish I hadn't. The dough had not risen at all and all the cheese filling was seeping out of the little pockets, forming charred crusty little pools on both the baking sheet and the oven floor.
It took me five years to even look at a recipe with yeast again.
Since that time many a yeasty recipes have found their way to my kitchen, with various degrees of success. I got bolder and no yeasty recipe is ever going to scare me again! But seriously, no two recipes ever come out exactly the same. Is it just me? Am I doing something wrong?
I'm on a quest to make the perfect brioche. Fluffy, light, not to buttery or crumbly or dry and definitely not one that requires 7 eggs for 2 cups of flour!
I know a lot depends on the quality of your flour, your eggs and even the room temperature. I've done my research and the consensus seems to be that fresh yeast is superior to that of the dried kind. But these days fresh yeast is not widely available.
And it's a little scary, too. And then there's the instant kind, which I never used nor do I have any desire to use in the future.
If you get the best results by letting your dough rise slowly, what exactly is the point of instant yeast? What's the hurry?




This past weekend I was craving the satisfaction that comes from working with soft yeasty dough with your bear hands. So I made these walnut buns, using Nigella Lawson's Norwegian Cinnamon buns recipe for the dough. I halved the recipe, since
using 4 cups of flour for two people seemed a tad to much. For the filling I used 1 stick of butter mixed with 1 cup of ground walnuts and some vanilla sugar. Should you wish to give this walnut version a try, you could also use this recipe (for the dough), one of my favourites and on regular rotation in our kitchen. The walnut cream knocks it out of the ball park, so you might want to try it. You can bake them in muffin tins, or just spread the filling on the dough, roll up, cut it up in 1 1/2" coins and bake them as you would cookies, placing them 2 inches apart on your cookie sheet. I baked the second half in these cute little tins I bought in Tokyo, along with a bunch of other tins and moulds that I have yet to figure out how to use.
Happy baking! As for me I'm right back to the drawing board. I still have a lot to learn. Another day, another stubborn recipe: caramel roll ups with fennel seeds. And yeast, of course. I'll keep you posted. Later,(in my life) I might even consider making homemade bread. Real bread. With crunchy, thick crust. Just like the ones they make in Paris. Whit natural starter or old dough. Check out the brilliance here.
In the meantime any yeast related tips, suggestions are more then welcome.

White quinoa porridge with banana and toasted coconut

Quinoa is an ancient food that has been cultivated in the South American Andes for centuries. The Inka called it the "mother grain" and considered it sacred. Technically it is not a grain, but a seed, rich in iron, protein and calcium. The protein in quinoa is considered to be a complete protein due to the presence of all 8 essential amino acids.
Before using, the seeds need to be rinsed well in order to remove a bitter resin-like substance called saponin. Usually quinoa sold in North America is already rinsed, but it's always a good idea to rinse again to remove any leftover residue.
Consider using quinoa in soups, stews, salads, breakfast foods, desserts...The possibilities are endless. Being highly nutritious and gluten free, quinoa is a worthy addition to anyone's diet.
I stock up every month on both white and red quiona and try to incorporate it in my cooking at least once a week.
You'll love this one:

White quinoa porridge with banana and toasted coconut

Ingredients:

2 cups light coconut milk
1 cup white quinoa
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 banana, sliced
1/4 cup shredded, toasted coconut

Combine coconut milk with 1 cup water in a pan. Add a pinch of salt and quinoa. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently for about 25 minutes, until the grains are tender.
Meanwhile place sugar with 1 1/4 cups water in another pan and place over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar and simmer until thick and syrupy.
Pour some syrup into your serving bowls, then add a layer of quinoa, add more syrup and finally top with sliced banana a sprinkle over the toasted coconut.
Serves 4.
If you haven't got much of a sweet tooth you might enjoy this quinoa salad recipe: http://labohemecherie.blogspot.com/2009/02/moroccan-red-quinoa-salad-with.html

Breakfast for a rainy day

I have a thing for rainy mornings in general and this one in particular. Waking up early just agrees with me somehow. We had a lovely breakfast of baked pears with hazelnut crumble served with greek yogurt and whipped cottage cheese, followed by a healthy dose of Bugs Bunny. Never mind the rain, the sweet smell of cinnamon makes everything better. This is shaping up to be a wonderful day. For you see, this is not a usual Saturday for me. On every other Saturday but this one, you'd find me studying Spanish grammar, running errands, having long conversations with my favourite vendors at the farmer's market, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, and cleaning out my nest. You know, getting ready for a relaxing Sunday. But today is different. I have no intention of studying, cleaning or cooking as I already finished my cooking for the weekend last night. The theme is the Iberian Peninsula, that means braised squid with chorizo and sherry in a roasted garlic and sweet tomato sauce, followed by some Pasteis de Nata, picked up from the bakery.
Right now I'm off for some Dim Sum, this documentary, and later a guitar class.
Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

Spiced honey baked pears with hazelnut crumble



Ingredients:

For the baked pears:

4 ripe, but firm pears, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cardamom
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbsp honey

For the crumble:

3o g rolled oats
20 g chopped hazelnuts
15 g brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
40 g butter, melted
Yogurt or cottage cheese to serve

Preheat oven to 325 F.
For the pear mixture, simmer all ingredients in a pan until pears are soft, but not mushy and the liquid has almost evaporated. Pour mixture into a buttered oven proof dish.
For the crumble mix all ingredients by hand making sure to coat all dry ingredients with melted butter. Scatter crumble over pear mixture, bake until golden about 15 minutes.
Serve warm with yogurt.
Recipe adapted from GT magazine.

Lemon curd

This one is for one of those mornings when you feel like starting the day on the right note. And by that I mean with dessert. Kinda.
Until a few years ago, in my lil' book of big bad munchies lemon curd fell in the vaguely familiar category. Nowadays it's become a staple in my fridge, right along with Moroccan lemons, Harissa paste and Gianduja spread.
This recipe will yield about 250 grams of luscious curd. Now be warned, this amount has more than 1 stick of butter and can be eaten right out of the jar in one sitting, if you're like me. ( Look for my forthcoming autobiography,entitled How I clogged my arteries in stores everywhere.) But jokes aside, pace yourself, and spread it thinly on toast or use it in a lovely pot de yaourt with some fresh kiwis, pomegranate seeds and passion fruit. And maybe ad some nuts and granola.

Lemon curd

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
2 lemons, juice and zest
125 gr butter, chopped

Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale. Add lemon juice and rind and finally the chopped butter. Place over simmering water(low heat), cook until mixture has thickened (8 to 10 minutes), whisking continuously, bien sur.
Enjoy responsibly!

Happy New Year!

We started off this brand New Year on a very good note, I'd say. With a scrumptious breakfast. Eating some sort of fried dough (which I have a thing for) for breakfast on every January the 1st has inadvertently become a tradition around here. And there's nothing wrong with that, as my New Year's resolution is very skimpy on any details regarding any kind of self restraint when it comes to guilty pleasures.
Find the recipe for these delicious Buttermilk Beignets here.
May your New Year be the best ever, filled with love, peace, hopes and dreams!

Olive oil doughnuts

Blackberry season is upon us. I went to the farmers market, spent a small fortune on a huge box of them. Had big plans for making this thick, dark, gorgeous blackberry cordial laced with mint and lime juice. But It seems like fall has really made its presence known as far as my health is concerned. I was down with a cold the past few days. So blackberry cordial NO, fresh, sweet smelling local blackberries eaten straight out of the box YES.
Let's hope this is just my immune system (wanting to get stronger) playing tricks on me and getting ready to dodge all the viruses that might come my way this winter.
When I'm sick I'm always hungry. Weird, I know. I have strange cravings. I'm not talking about a healthy helping of hot soup needed for that oh so essential boost of vitamins and overall comfort of the soul. Oh, no. I'm talking fried dough. Lots of it. Drenched in some sort of luscious syrup or dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. And in this case served with a big bowl of blackberries.
But let's keep this short, sweet and addictively delicious. These are the easiest doughnuts ever. They are shortened by olive oil and sweetened by freshly squeezed orange juice. The blackberries are just a bonus.

Olive oil doughnuts

1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup table cream
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup olive oil
60 g sugar
90 g icing sugar
475 g self raising flour
1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Combine egg and 60 g of sugar in a large bowl. Add cream, orange juice, olive oil and vanilla. Add flour to make a soft dough. Knead until it all comes together neatly. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces, then form 15 cm cylinders. Pinch ends together to make doughnut shaped rings. Combine icing sugar with cinnamon. Heat oil to 350 F and fry doughnuts until golden (turning once) about 5 to 6 minutes. Cool completely. Coat with cinnamon sugar. Let go of your willpower. They're worth it.
Recipe adapted from GT magazine.

Fig and date granola with cardamom and ginger poached quince

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. How many times have you heard that??? While we may find it boring, it is absolutely true. It's been scientifically proven that people who eat a nutritious breakfast tend to have more energy throughout the day and are also likely to have less problems with their weight. As a teenager I used to skip breakfast whenever I could. I just thought it was a waste of precious sleeping time. It wasn't rebellion or anything like that it was just a matter of fact. I much preferred to have some quick bite, like a Mars bar or sugary cereal (empty calories, my friends). Nowadays I pay more attention to what I put im my body and I have to say I grew to love breakfast. Actually it's my favourite meal of the day. Especially the loooooong, weekend breakfast, that is usually a 3 or 4 course affair around this household. OK, that sounds more like brunch, doesn't it? I've been known to still be in my PJ's at 3pm, with a warm almond croissant in one hand a double shot latte in the other.
But that only happens on the weekends. On a weekday, when time is of the essence granola is my saviour. This particular granola has oats,nuts, honey and all the goodness of dates and figs. I added honey and lemon juice for moisture, but you can also use any kind of cordial you have at hand. (Blackberry an lime cordial is brilliant for this job). You may also want to have different nuts and seeds. With this one anything goes. Really. Did I mention that oats are good for you? They can help reduce cholesterol, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and they are low GI foods, providing a steady release of energy throughout the day.
Quince is one of those fruits that you either love or hate. I belong to the quince lovers category. This wonderfully aromatic fruit is widely used in Middle Eastern cooking, in tagines ans sweets. You can't go wrong with paring lamb and quince.
The Spanish have a great concoction as well. It's called dulce de membrillo or quince cheese. It is served with thick slices of Manchego cheese. Heaven!!!
When raw, quince has a very hard and grainy flesh. Practically inedible. But once it's cooked it turns into this silky, smooth, and soft marvel of a fruit.
You can serve the poached quince with different kinds of granola or muesli, or just plain vanilla ice-cream. Add a thin crisp cookie and you hit a home run.


Fig and date granola

Ingredients

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup dates, chopped
1/2 cup figs, chopped
4 tbsp honey
juice of half a lemon

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix oats, almonds,pumpkin seeds with honey and lemon juice in a large bowl.(Mixture should be slightly wet. Add more honey if need be). Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Pour mixture on the cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and mix in chopped dates and figs. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Serve with poached quince, thick yogurt and honey.


Cardamom and ginger poached quince

Ingredients

4 large quince
1 cup sugar
5 cups water
2 cm piece of ginger
3 cardamom pods
juice of half a lemon

Peel, halve and core quince. Cut in 1 inch slices. Place quince slices in a large pot along with all the other ingredients. Bring to a simmer. Keep at a low simmer uncovered and cook for about 1 and 1/2 hours, or until the fruit is soft. Take off the heat, and lift quince pieces out of the poaching liquid. Place poaching liquid back on the stove and simmer for about an hour, until the the liquid is reduced to a wonderfully fragrant thick syrup. Remove ginger and cardamom. Discard. Put quince pieces back into the syrup and cool completely, before refrigerating.
Enjoy the aroma that has just filled your house!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009! I wish you all a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.
I can't believe another year has gone by. We finished the year on a sweet (literally) note and what better way to start the new year, than something fried, sweet, spicy and delicious? I found this recipe for Cinnamon-Sugar Pillows on the Williams-Sonoma website.
I thought it would make a great New Year's day breakfast, so I prepared everything last night. We had them this morning with a steaming mug of latte. Find the recipe here.

Glorious brunch

Bad weather should not get me down. Not me. Not usually. But when by some miracle it does, I already know how to make my day better. A long, long weekend brunch that will keep me satisfied for the day is the answer.
Muesli, with lots of sweet dates, apples, walnuts. Maybe some coffee cake. A big bowl of latte. And maybe some simple scrambled eggs, with chives and truffle oil. Just a tiny bit. Drizzled on top.







Honey muesli with medjool dates, apples and walnuts


Ingredients

225 g old fashioned oats
125 ml fresh orange juice
250 g plain yogurt
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
4-5 pieces chopped medjool dates
2 apples, grated
50 g toasted walnuts

Mix oats, orange juice and 150 g of yogurt (or more, depending on how thick you like it).
Mix in lemon zest, chopped dates and half of grated apples. Serve in a bowl, topped with rest of the yogurt, chopped apples and toasted walnuts.

Aromatherapy with cinnamon honey buns

Cinnamon buns will never be old news in my book. I have made different variations of them countless times. They're pretty hard to get bored of around our nook. Last Sunday I woke up craving something comforting and delicious, something that would go perfectly well with a hot mug of cafe latte. So I decided to make this pecan honey variation. They are a lot easier to make than they might sound. The sweet smell of cinnamon filled the entire place. That alone is worth making them for.

Pecan honey cinnamon buns





Ingredients

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup milk, warmed
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus more for buttering
3 large egg yolks
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups plus 3 tbsp all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp salt

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup light brown sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for brushing
1 1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened




To make the dough: In a bowl combine yeast, a pinch of sugar and the milk and let stand until foamy, 5 minutes. Add remaining sugar, 4 tbsp melted butter and the egg yolks, honey and vanilla. Mix until blended. Mix in flour and salt. Knead until dough is smooth. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about an hour.

For topping: Butter a 9-by-13 inch glass baking dish. In a medium sauce pan melt honey with the brown sugar and 4 tbsp of butter over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved, about a minute. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle with pecans.

For the filling: In a bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 12-by-18 inch rectangle. Spread the butter over the dough, leaving a 1 inch border all around. Sprinkle the dough with cinnamon sugar.
Starting at the long side, roll the dough into a log and turn it seam side down. Cut into 12 slices. Arrange the slices, cut side up, in the baking dish. Cover and let stand in a warm place until buns double in volume, about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the honey buns for about 35 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Invert buns onto a baking sheet and let cool slightly. Serve warm.
Recipe from Food and Wine magazine.