almond, hazelnut and poppy seed granola

New year. New beginnings. It's been more than several months since I've posted on this blog. And in that time, I've moved to Pittsburgh, PA with my boyfriend, Jacob and have had numerous and random food related jobs. I've worked as a lunch lady in a private school in Lower Manhattan, I've private cheffed for an eccentric old man in Soho. I've baked at a pretentious french bakery on Butler street in the cool kid part of Pittsburgh called Lawrenceville. And now I'm working part time as a baker and sous chef at a fancy Bed and Breakfast in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

I've cooked plenty at our new home, but I haven't hunkered down and really put together a recipe to post about. I thought I'd ease into the new year with a simple granola recipe that's healthy, fast and super delicious. And so much cheaper than buying all- ready made granola. There are a million different ways you can do this recipe. I basically just made it according to what I had in the cupboards. I like my granola with a lot of texture and spice, therefore I added two kinds of nuts (almond and hazelnut), raisins, poppy seeds for something a little different, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. And then I sweetened it all up with a bit of maple syrup. This granola is great served atop a big dollop of greek yogurt.

recipe: 
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not the instant kind)
1/4 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup blanched and sliced almonds
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
about a 1/4 cup maple syrup (depending on how sweet you want it)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 

Mix all ingredients into a medium sized bowl until oats are evenly coated.  Spread onto a large baking sheet and cook for about 12 minutes or until nuts begin to brown and get fragrant.

Let cool for five minutes. Sprinkle on top of yogurt or mix with almond milk as an awesome heart-healthy cereal.

Oats slathered with maple syrup, almonds and hazelnuts before being baked

 Baked granola sprinkled on top of greek yogurt

peach basil ice cream

Peach basil ice cream just makes sense. They're both peak in season right now. Both epitomize summer. And well, basil's licorice-like qualities perfectly complements the floral sweetness of peaches. I combined two different ice cream recipes to make this one. It definitely takes a bit of time, but it's so worth it. 

Peach Ice Cream:

4 large peaches

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Peel the peaches, slice them in half, and remove the pits. Cut the peaches into chunks and cook them with water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, covered, stirring once or twice, until soft and cooked through. About 10 minutes. 

Remove from heat, stir in the sugar, then cool to room temperature. Puree the cooked peaches and any liquid in a blender or food processor with the sour cream, heavy cream, vanilla and lemon juice until almost smooth, but slightly chunky. 

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the fridge, then mix with Basil Ice Cream (recipe to follow)

Basil Ice Cream:

1 cup packed basil leaves

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

pinch of salt

5 large egg yolks

1 lemon

Using a food processor, grind the basil leaves with the sugar and one cup of the cream until the leaves are ground as fine as possible. Pour about half of the basil mixture into a large bowl and add the remaining one cup cream. Set a mesh strainer on top. 

Warm the other half of the basil mixture in a medium saucepan along with the milk and salt. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan. 

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scrapping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Zest the lemon directly into the custard, then stir until cool over an ice bath. 

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the fridge, then combine with peach ice cream. 

It will yield about 2 quarts. 

brown rice salad with bok choy, tomatoes and purslane

I made this quick brown rice salad in less than 30 minutes, which is about how long it takes to cook a cup of brown rice via stovetop. While the rice was simmering, I chopped up all the vegetables and drank a bloody mary (more on that later). I used local red and pink tomatoes from the farmer's market here in Park Slope, as well as organic baby bok choy and a little green called purslane. This leafy vegetable has been called a weed, an edible plant and a succulent that has more omega 3's than any other leafy green! Pretty impressive for a weed. I like it because it has a slight spicy kick and a juicy texture reminiscent of cactus. It's great simply eaten raw or sauteed like spinach. I brought this dish together with a bit of mirin, which is a sweet rice wine similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content. And a bit of ume plum vinegar, which is a potent, tart bright pink vinegar made from the pickling of umeboshi plums. I drizzle it on basically everything because it really livens up vegetables. It melds perfectly with mirin, brown rice and bok choy in this dish. 

recipe:

1 cup brown rice

2 cups water

1 medium sized tomato

3 small baby bok choys, chopped

handful of purslane

2 tablespoons mirin

1 tablespoon ume vinegar

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Add one cup brown rice (and a dash of salt) to two cups water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure rice isn't sticking to bottom of pot. Meanwhile, wash and chop tomatoes and bok choy. When rice is cooked, add vegetables, vinegars, sea salt, pepper and top with a handful of purslane. Can be eaten warm or cold.

Serves 2

lentil soup with rhubarb and garlic scapes

This is a very simple and quick soup for utilizing what late spring in NYC has to offer. Rhubarb and garlic scapes are perfectly in season right now and both add a bright and dynamic flavor to an otherwise kind of bland, run-of-the-mill vegetarian soup. Garlic scapes are the curly green flower stalks of garlic bulbs and have an almost asparagus-like herbaceous taste without all the sting of raw garlic. I sauteed them in this recipe for a couple of minutes, which really mellows them out. The rhubarb also needs just a couple minutes of sauteing to bring out the lovely lemon zestiness of its stalk. 

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 cup red lentils (washed and picked through for any stones or non-edibles)
4 cups veggie broth
2 cups chopped rhubarb (one inch think pieces)
2 cups thinly sliced garlic scapes
sea salt and black pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or any herb you please- parsley or dill would go well too)

In a heavy stock pot, heat the butter over medium heat. Add garlic scapes and rhubarb and a sprinkling of sea salt. Sautee for only a couple minutes and then add lentils and veggie broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir every once in a while to make sure lentils aren't sticking to bottom of pan. Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender. Ladle into soup bowls and top with a good helping of chopped herbs and freshly ground pepper.

kale and mushroom risotto

Risotto can be time-consuming. It's not hard, you just have to be watchful. It involves adding a lot of water or broth. And lots of stirring. LOTS of stirring.  I opted for broth because it's much more flavorful. I added some thinly sliced dinosaur kale, shiitake mushrooms and a bit of red pepper flakes for color and kick.

1 cup uncooked arborio rice

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup of mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 cups dinosaur kale, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped onions

3 cups vegetable broth

sea salt and pepper

Saute onions in butter, add salt and cook until soft and translucent. Add kale and mushrooms and cook for about five minutes. Add rice, stirring for about two minutes. Stir in one cup of broth. Continue cooking and stirring until liquid is absorbed. Gradually stir in remaining broth one cup at a time, cooking and stirring until liquid is absorbed before adding the next cup. Portion into bowls and top with cracked pepper and freshly grated parmesan. 

Yields approximately 3 cups cooked rice

beet tapenade with green lentils and sea salt

This is what I did with the leftover beet puree from the beet ice cream I made the other day. It has a lovely red-pink hue and tastes sweet and earthy complemented with the sea salt and peppery green lentils.

beet ice cream with mascarpone, orange zest and poppy seeds

Beets are bright red, earthy and sweet. And when roasted, have hints of chocolate and an almost nutty quality. This ice cream is extremely decadent considering it's made with a root vegetable. The salty mascarpone lends a hand in that, as does the heavy cream and whole milk. The orange zest cuts into the richness, while the poppy seeds give it a nice crunch. It's a bit labor-intensive, but super worth it if you want to try an ice cream  that is multi-layered and unusually satisfying. The recipe is adapted from this great ice cream book called "Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home."

Makes about one quart

2 medium red beets
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon arrowroot
2 ounces (1/4 cup) mascarpone cheese
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Zest of one orange (use vegetable peeler to remove zest in large chunks)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Wrap each beet in heavy foil. Bake until very soft, about one hour.
Let the beets cool slightly, then peel while still warm. Cut into chunks and puree in a food processor. Force the puree through a sieve. Combine 1/2 cup of the warm beet puree with the sugar (save extra beet puree for a tapenade or spread-just add sea salt and olive oil and slather on a good piece of bread- delicious!) Set aside to cool.
Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the arrowroot in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the mascarpone, beet puree, and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.
Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup and orange zest in a large 4 quart saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, and gradually whisk in the arrowroot slurry.
Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about one minute. Remove from heat.
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the mascarpone mixture and beets until smooth. Cool to room temperature, discard orange zest, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours to really let the flavors meld.
Pour the ice cream mixture in a frozen ice cream maker canister. Add poppy seeds and spin until thick and creamy.
Pack ice cream in a storage container and freeze for at least four hours before serving. When ready to serve, sprinkle with a few poppy seeds for garnish. And enjoy!

sweet genius competitor

Last night I was a finalist on Food Network’s pastry competition reality show called Sweet Genius. I had auditioned back in November sort of as a joke and got a call back to participate in January-- much to my excitement and terror. I’ve never been on television before, nor have I ever cooked for a famous pastry chef that designs Martha Stewart wedding cakes. I was petrified. Cameras pointing at me in all directions while I finagle my way around a new kitchen. It’s also extremely unnerving to watch yourself on television, after the fact. Seeing my reactions to my own culinary blunders was especially frightening. Thankfully, the producers edited me well. I came across sweet—bittersweet – in fact. I talked a lot about my mom being sick and doing my best to make her proud. Her strong work ethic, her great baking skills, her humor, her resilience to fight this cancer. This post is for my awesome mom whom I can’t wait to see this weekend. I love you Moeder! 

I had a little viewing party in honor of my television debut and did a variation on the black bean cake I made on the show. This one is vegan and in cupcake form.  Black beans lend a really nice moisture and crumb to cakes. The earthy undertones accent the smoked paprika, cayenne and orange components really well. On top, I added a chocolate ganache, reduced raspberry syrup and roasted almonds with agave and sea salt.

Cupcakes:

2/3 cup canola oil

2 ½ cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 T grated orange zest

2 T orange juice

2 15 oz cans black beans (drained, rinsed and pureed)

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

½ cup water (or more if batter appears dry)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners.

Blend black beans in a food processor with the oil, sugar, vanilla extract, orange juice and zest, until smooth. In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking powder until mixed. Fold wet mixture into the dry until incorporated. Fill cupcake tins two-thirds full. Bake 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove, and cool on rack.

Toppings:

Roast a ½ cup of almonds, slathered in agave, in oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, put a ¼ cup of frozen raspberries and 2 tablespoons of agave in a saucepan and reduce for about 10 minutes, or until syrupy. Finally, melt any dark chocolate bar in a double boiler. To assemble: dip cooled cupcakes in melted chocolate. Sprinkle with chopped almonds and raspberry reduction 

strawberry rhubarb thyme sorbet

It's the little things. The first rhubarb of the season makes me so happy and hopeful. And strawberries are finally arriving at the farmer's markets. Even though the weather is a bit blustery and cold out, this sorbet reminds me of sunny spring days ahead (and the unseasonably warm days before.) The thyme gives a really nice lemony taste that enhances the sweetness of the strawberry and rhubarb.

12 ounces rhubarb
2/3 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
10 ounces strawberries
1 teaspoon orange zest

Wash the rhubarb stalks and trim any bad bits. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Place the rhubarb, water and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the rhubarb is tender and cooked through. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Slice the strawberries and puree them with the cooked rhubarb mixture and orange juice in a food processor until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

farmer's market caraway rye bread with honey lavender chevre