Woo hoo!

Hey, everyone! I'm super pumped about all the nice comments from everyone. I'm going to leave town for the next few days (my first vacation since I had my son almost 2 years ago!) and since I take 99% of the pictures around here, I don't think we'll be updating until I get back. Expect a new post on Wednesday! Wheeeeeeeee!

Shaken, not stirred: Estonian Cucumber Salad Recipe

Here's a simple Estonian cucumber salad that my mum used to make quite frequently when we were younger. We never knew there was a 'recipe' involved - just a technology - but recently more detailed instructions have appeared here and there, most notably in a rather elaborate cookbook Eesti Rahvusköök or "Estonian national cuisine", also available in English and German. So why not share it with my English readers as well.

What's special about this salad, you may wonder?

Well, although I love the crispiness of a fresh cucumber, sometimes I don't miss that in a salad. By mixing the cucumber slices with salt first, and then shaking the mixture vigorously, the cucumber slices soften nicely, and become almost silky in texture.

How's that for a cucumber salad? :)

Note that caraway seeds are optional. I love them in this salad, but many people outside the region are suspicious of caraway seeds, so these can be omitted. I make mine without caraway seeds sometimes as well. And if I don't feel like, I don't add vinegar either. It's still delicious and makes a nice side dish to grilled and barbequed meat and fish.

Shaken Cucumber Salad
(Klopitud kurgisalat)
Serves 4
Ready in 15 minutes

1 large seedless cucumber (about 300 g)
0.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp caraway seeds, slightly crushed (optional)
0.5 tsp 30% vineger
finely chopped fresh dill

Rinse and peel the cucumber, cut into thin slices (ca 3 mm, so not paper-thin). Place in a bowl with a lid, season with salt and caraway seeds. Mix to distribute these evenly and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Now cover the bowl with a lid, and shake the bowl vigorously for 30-60 seconds. This will soften the cucumber slices.
Drain, discarding the cucumber 'juice'. Season with vinegar (the salad should taste very subtly acidic), scatter the dill on top and serve.

Another Quick Brunch Recipe: Swiss Toast with Egg and Cheese

I seem to get excited about brunch recipes recently. First there was this utterly simple, yet genius idea of cracking an egg into a tomato 'shell' and baking it in the oven (Baked Eggy Brunch Tomatoes). Then I saw a recipe for 'Swiss Toasts' in Oma Maitse, an Estonian food magazine. The recipe was simple enough - slice of buttered bread, boiled halved eggs smeared with mayonnaise and topped with cheese. But I wanted something even simpler, so I omitted the butter and 're-located' the mayonnaise.

It's brilliant, should you happen to find some boiled eggs in your fridge in the morning. We've made it twice during last week alone, so I definitely recommend it. Use a cheese that melts nicely - and although I've made it with white bread, brown or rye bread would work well, too.

Grilled Swiss Toast with Egg and Cheese
(Šveitsi võileivad)
Serves 2, can be easily doubled

4 slices of bread
4 tsp of mayonnaise
2 boiled eggs
4 slices of cheese (f. ex. Havarti)

Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F.
Smear the mayonnaise onto bread slices.
Peel the eggs and cut into two halves lenghtwise. Place one egg half on each slice of bread, cut side down.
Balance a slice of cheese on top.
Put into a hot oven for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is starting to melt and the egg and bread are warm.

Garnish with a sprig of thyme from your windowsill and serve with some sliced tomatoes.

simple vegan pancakes with homemade syrup.

I like to pride myself on being a good pancake maker. After making them quite frequently for my three-year old for the past couple of years, I know just what a good batter should look like, how hot the griddle should be, and just when to flip them to make them look perfect. It wasn't always this way though. When I first started making my own pancakes, I was vegan and had no idea how to spot a good dairy/egg-free recipe. My batter was usually quite thick and my pancakes were squished down to nothing and either way too light-colored or black and burned (usually the latter). It took a lot of practice with many different recipes to get to where I could finally make a good pancake.

These days I still prefer making vegan pancakes, mainly because they use less ingredients and because I have never liked the taste of eggs (somehow I can always taste them in regular pancakes). My two staple recipes are the one I am sharing today, which comes from The PPK and one that comes from the beautiful Candle Cafe Cookbook. The secret to making these ones nice and fluffy is the use of carbonated water, something I had previously never used in baking.

Also, even though I usually use real maple syrup, every once in awhile I will make a batch of pancake syrup from scratch. It comes in handy when I am out of the "good stuff", but still want some pancakes. I cannot remember where the recipe comes from- it sure makes a good-tasting pancake topping though.



Vegan Pancakes: from The Post Punk Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy or rice milk
1/3 cup carbonated water (I use Pellegrino or club soda)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

Directions:

Preheat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the soy milk, carbonated water, sugar, and oil. Combine the two and mix until combined.
Grease your griddle or pan with margarine or a little oil. Pour some batter on and flip when it is bubbling.
Serve pancakes with syrup and fresh berries.
*Note: if you want thicker pancakes, use less liquid; thinner, use more.

Pancake Syrup

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Combine the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool, and pour into a bottle. Store in the refrigerator.

Corn salsa. (Salad?)

Is this technically a salsa? I looked up salsa and it just means sauce, I guess. I don't really think of this as being a sauce, though. It's like a... dip? Salad? I guess it's a salad.

This is a super easy (like, think Rachael Ray easy. No, think "Semi-homemade with Sandra Lee" easy. Eughdughhhh.) side dish that I like to throw onto a taco plate when the mood strikes me. I usually think it's kind of silly to post about recipes that call for prepackaged foods, but it's not like we're making kraft mac n' cheese or anything- this is really tasty.

You need:
1 or 2 good sized poblano peppers
a can of black beans
a bag of Trader Joe's Fire roasted corn.
A couple of avocados
A red onion
Handful of cilantro
Limes/lemons
Uh... salt & pepper? That's it.



First thing's first, turn your oven on to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, and trim and oil your peppers. Stick them in the oven for a few minutes until the skin puckers up and you get a few nice charred spots. Put them aside to cool while you finish prepping the rest of your stuff. Rinse and drain your black beans and throw them in a nice big bowl. Add about half the bag of fire roasted corn (get the fire roasted stuff if you can, it's AMAZING considering it comes out of a bag). You can thaw it beforehand or just let it thaw in the bowl, it doesn't retain that much water, so it's not going to make it soggy.

Now, dice your onion! I know I'm not the first person to post an onion-chopping how-to, but why the hell not, right? Recently I came across an onion chopping tutorial (hi, I'm a dork) that made a light bulb go off in my head. I'm insanely lucky to be married to a dreamy culinary school graduate, and I picked up most of my knife work over the last few years from him. He showed me how to butt my knuckles up against the blade so I won't cut myself, and he showed me how he likes to cut an onion.



It's pretty simple. After trimming the root and stem ends, cut the whole onion in half vertically (slicing across the ends you already cut, not through the fat middle part) and then run over to the sink and rinse the whole thing with cold water. The water bonds to the gasses that cause your eyes to water, and it helps keep you from crying. I also breathe through my mouth and not my nose while I'm cutting onions, that helps too- but nothing helps like rinsing.

After you have your halves, use the lines on the onion as a guide for slicing. don't slice all the way through, though. You want it to all be one piece so you can hold onto it later.

Here's the part that made me smack my head and go DUHHHH- the horizontal slice! Once again, not slicing all the way through, do a quick horizontal slice across where you already cut. If your onion is big, do 2 of them.



Then, just chop off the ends and they will be perfect little squares of onion!



When you get to the bit that was holding the whole thing together, it should be thin enough that a few quick chops will take it down to diced size easily.




That's pretty much it. Peel and chop your roasted poblanos and then mix everything together in a big bowl. If you're having a party, you can just put this out with a bag of chips and people will go apeshit. It owns the hell out of regular salsa and it literally takes a few minutes to make- even less time if you buy roasted peppers at the store. (But where can you buy roasted poblanos? They have an amazing flavor that other peppers can't match!) Tonight I served it on a big plate of taco fixins, and instead of mixing the avocado in, I just dropped it on top- I didn't want to have leftovers with mushy avocado in it. I'll just add more when I eat some more tomorrow.

apple crostada.

I am in love with all things apple. It really doesn't matter what time of year it is (I know most people associate apple desserts with autumn)- I am almost always in the mood for them. One thing I have learned when baking is that it is very hard to mess up an apple dessert. As long as you have the combination of either brown or white sugar, butter, cinnamon, and apples, it will almost always be good. I love them in all forms: pies, cobblers, turnovers, cakes, crisps, breads... you get the idea.

Yesterday morning I decided to make a recipe that I posted on Design is Mine awhile back that just looked so delicious and beautiful: an Apple Crostata by one of the cooks I trust most, Mrs. Ina Garten. Her recipes, especially her baking ones, always seem to come out perfect, and this was no exception. It was quite fun to make and turned out absolutely delectable.





Apple Crostata: by Ina Garten

Ingredients:

For the pastry (2 tarts)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 pound very cold unsalted butter, diced
For the filling (1 tart)
1/2 pounds McIntosh, Macoun, or Empire apples
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1/2 stick), diced

Directions:

For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the 1/4 cup ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form into 2 disks. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate one of the disks for at least an hour. Freeze the rest of the pastry.
*Note: You can also do this without a food processor, like I did. Just combine all the ingredients except the cold water in a bowl with a pastry blender or two knives. Slowly add the cold water and form a dough.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
For the filling, peel, core, and quarter the apples. Cut each quarter into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples, pleating it to make a circle.
Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Let the tart cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer it to a wire rack.

butter cookies.

The other morning I was sitting at our small cafe table drinking my morning cup of coffee and suddenly had a craving for some French butter cookies (yes, I am a cookie-for-breakfast kind of girl). I absolutely love butter cookies, especially as a morning treat.



French Butter Cookies: adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Egg Wash:
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

Directions:

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat just until incorporated.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough a few times to bring it together, and then divide the dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm (at least an hour).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Remove one portion of the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick. Using a lightly floured cookie cutter, cut out the cookies, placing them on the prepared sheet. Place the baking sheet of cut out cookies in the refrigerator for about 15 -20 minutes to chill the dough. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the egg with the water for the egg wash. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and brush the tops with the egg wash. Then, with the tines of a fork, make a crisscross pattern on the top of each cookie. Bake cookies in the preheated oven for about 12-14 minutes (depending on size of cookie) or until golden brown around the edges.

edible weed flatbreads.

After purchasing the April issue of Martha Stewart Living, I fell madly in love with an article on edible weeds. My vegetable garden is frequently overflowing with weeds, all of which usually get thrown in either the compost bin or the yard waste bin, so I was quite excited to learn that some of these could be used in cooking. The recipes in the article include jams and cordials, which all sounded wonderful, but there was one recipe that caught my eye immediately: Flatbread with Sorrel Pesto and Edible-Weed Salad. It was one of those recipes that I just couldn't wait to try.

I have recently become rather infatuated with the beautiful bunches of sorrel at our local farmer's market, so I picked up a couple last weekend. During the week, I suddenly realized that I had all too many vegetables to use in my vegetable drawer, so I decided to make some sort of a vegetable feast for family. The menu included: the edible weed flatbreads, mini tofu quiches with red onions and broccoli, honey-roasted carrots, beet salad with fresh feta, thin sweet potato fries, and sugar snap peas with oregano. The star of the meal was the flatbread which turned out to be one of the most delicious foods I have eaten in awhile. I think I could easily have them all the time.



Flatbread with Sorrel Pesto and Edible-Weed Salad: from Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients:

For flatbreads
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
Coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and drizzling
For topping
1 1/2 cups (1 3/4 ounces) loosely packed sorrel leaves, stems trimmed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (if you want to make this vegan, use vegan Parmesan, which I did)
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 cups assorted edible weeds, such as chickweed, purslane, or lamb's-quarters (any tender greens can also be used)

Directions:

To make flatbreads: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine yeast and water, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir well.
Pulse flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor to combine. Add yeast mixture and oil. Process just until dough forms. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 1 minute. Shape into a ball. Place in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch dough. Divide into 4 pieces. Shape each piece into a 6-inch disk. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt. Place flatbreads on an inverted baking sheet.
Bake, without turning, until both sides of each flatbread are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets. Cut each flatbread in half crosswise.

To make pesto and salad: Process sorrel, Parmesan, pine nuts, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until coarsely ground. With machine running, add oil in a slow, steady stream until mixture is emulsified. (Pesto may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.)
Spread 2 tablespoons pesto on each flatbread, and top with 1/2 cup edible weeds. Drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with salt. Serve immediately.

guest blog : mom's artichokes & arrabiata.

My mom came to stay with us a couple of weeks ago and ended up cooking a wonderful meal of two foods I remember with great fondness from living at home: stuffed artichokes and pasta with arrabiata sauce (which she has recently perfected). I took some pictures and asked her to share the recipes, which she kindly has contributed. Thanks mom!


(photo by me)

"My Italian nonie used to make these every Sunday. They are very filling, but she would serve them as an appetizer, followed by a large meal of pasta, meatballs, sausage, and whatever else she decided to cook that day. To this day, I can’t get enough of artichokes and often enjoy it as a meal. She would never serve hers with mayonnaise, just the olive oil and garlic that she cooked it with."

Stuffed Artichokes

Ingredients:

1 artichoke per person
Stale bread (preferably Italian or French) *About 2 pieces per artichoke, broken up
Stem from artichoke, peeled and chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
Fresh parsley
Oregano
Parmesan or Romano cheese, lots of it
Olive oil

Directions:

Wash and and cut off tops of the artichokes, about ½ inch across to get rid of the prickly ends, and cut stem off and save.
Put all other ingredients in bowl and drizzle with enough olive oil to moisten. Add tablespoons of water as needed to moisten. Stir all together.
Turn artichokes upside down on flat surface and press down gently with a rocking motion. This will open up the leaves. Turn over; pull leaves gently apart to form a bowl-shaped area to stuff, and stuff.
In a large pan, cover bottom with olive oil and brown 2-3 cloves of garlic. Let cool, add one cup of water to oil and put artichoke(s) in pan. Bring to a boil, and then turn heat to medium and cover. Artichokes will steam in pan, but be sure to check every 15-20 minutes to be sure water has not evaporated. Keep adding water as needed. Cook for one hour. Artichoke leave should pull off easily when done.

Serve with melted butter or oil and garlic. *I recently served an artichoke on a beautiful plate with olive oil dotted with Balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with pepper, and a scoop of mayonnaise whipped with some horseradish. It was wonderful!



"I really do enjoy a good arribiata, or “angry” sauce. The problem I had was trying to make it hot, or angry enough. I accidentally found the answer a few years back. My husband had a bottle of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce for his Asian recipes. As I was making my arribiata using crushed red pepper flakes, I kept tasting it and just could not get it hot enough. I grabbed the chili sauce and gave it a couple of squirts. It was just perfect."

Arrabiata Sauce (or "Angry Sauce")

Ingredients:

Two 28 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes (My nonie crushed and bottled her own tomatoes. I stick to really good imported tomatoes in the can, crushed with added puree, but feel free to peel, seed and crush your own fresh ones)
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped fine
Fresh basil
Salt
Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Directions:

Drizzle olive oil in a large pot, enough to cover the bottom, and lightly brown garlic and onions (don’t burn). Let cool, and add crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer and add some fresh chopped basil and salt to taste. Add chili sauce to taste. Usually two good squirts is enough to make the sauce hot enough. Cook for about 30 minutes.

Make pasta of your choice. Penne or Rigatoni is great with this sauce. Put pasta in bowl, toss with sauce and sprinkle with Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese.

rosewater cupcakes.

Last week, I purchased my first ever bottle of rosewater. I felt excitement as I pulled the beautiful bottle out of my grocery bag and set it in my cupboard, just dreaming of the tasty concoctions I could create. I adore the idea of combining flowers with baking and cooking, and really, the recipes just sound lovely (Violet & Rosemary Sorbet, Lavender Fudge, Rose Salad, etc.).

After my sad first attempt at using rosewater a couple days ago, I decided yesterday that I would make something simple where the rosy taste could shine through. I remembered the Pistachio Rosewater Cupcakes recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and although I was lacking pistachios, I chose to go for it anyway, sans pistachios (I am not really the hugest fan of nuts in baked goods anyway). The result was a moist and flavorful cupcake, although not overpowering at all. They were topped off with a rosewater buttercream I threw together and crystalized rose petals (which tasted like flowery candy). Delicious.

Also, I am quite in love with the photographs Alice took of the cupcakes. Putting rosewater cupcakes inside of a rose bush? A stroke of genius, I must say.





Vegan Rosewater Cupcakes: Adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vanilla or peach soy yogurt
2/3 cup soy milk
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons rosewater
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, soy milk, oil, sugar, and rosewater. Sift in flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until large clumps dissapear. Fill liners three-quarters of the way.
Bake 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.

Rosewater Buttercream

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) soybean margarine or Earth Balance
1 tablespoon soy milk
1 teaspoon rosewater
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Using an electric mixer, beat the margarine at medium speed until creamy. Add the soy milk, rosewater, and 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat at low-medium speed until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar to arrive at the consistency you prefer.

Cold Kefir Soup for Hot Summer Days

I start with an apology. I cannot remember where I got this recipe from. But it was in my old recipe card box, and the only note was 'Uzbek recipe?' (refering to Uzbekistan, the country in Central Asia; well, actually it said 'usbeki retsept?' on my recipe card, but you know what I mean). I don't know about that - apart from the Cayenne pepper, it sounds very Estonian to me. And on a hot summer day last week, I made this soup - it took me 5 minutes in total, and I fell in love with it all over again.

If you live in the US, you'll find kefir in Whole Foods and international food stores. Lifeway Foods does a decent one. Here's what they've got to say about kefir:

A creamy probiotic dairy beverage similar to but distinct from yogurt. Lifeway believes it offers the largest selection of kefir in the world. Low-fat or non-fat pasteurized milk is the basic ingredient in kefir. Its effervescent quality stems from the kefir culture, which contains ten active "friendly" microorganisms, compared to two or three in yogurt.

What I've got to say about this soup, is following: it takes 5 minutes to put together; it tastes fresh and refreshing; it's highly versatile - you can use any herbs you like or have around; it looks pretty gorgeous; it's good for you; it's very easy to digest :)

Cold Kefir Soup
(Külmsupp usbekkide moodi)
Serves 4

1 litre of plain kefir
250 ml/1 cup cold water
salt
Cayenne'i pepper
2 green 'English' cucumbers
1 bunch of crisp radishes
3 - 4 scallions/spring onions (incl. green parts)
4 Tbsp or more fresh chopped herbs - parsley, dill, coriander/cilantro

Mix kefir and cold water, then season with salt and Cayenne'i pepper to taste.
Wash and dry the cucumbers and radishes, then cut into small cubes or slices. Chop spring onions/scallions and herbs finely. Divide between four soup bowls. (Add an ice cube to each bowl, if it's really hot outside).

Pour the cold kefir mixture over, and serve the soup at once.

See also:
Ximena's El gazpacho de Escolástica, or the best gazpacho in the world
Ajoblanco: the other Spanish chilled soup

lavender shortbread.

Oh, this lavender shortbread. I really had such high hopes for it. I had been eager to try this one recipe out for awhile, but somehow never seemed to have all the ingredients on hand. Today, however, I had both rose water, lavender, and some home-blended powdered sugar, so I was excited to make a go for it. Sadly though, other than being quite beautiful and smelling like flowers, I was not too impressed by the final product. The texture was crumbly and not very "shortbread-like" and the taste was way too flowery (not in the good way) and not sweet enough. So, this being said, I am not going to post the recipe.

I couldn't resist posting about it though because I am just so in love with these photographs Alice took. The lavender flowers, the bottles of milk, the tiny violets... so, so lovely.





If you would like to try a recipe for lavender shortbread, here are a few other I found online:
Renee's Garden, Food Network, Dessert First, and All Recipes. If you end up trying any of these, please let me know how they turn out!

Harissa (semi-failure.) edit: redemption!

Before we get into anything, can we take a moment to admire these unmarred, brand new, lovely cutting boards I just purchased at Ikea the other day?



I love them. I haven't used them yet. Ha! Finally oiled up and ready to go, I had to replace some of my old smaller wooden chopping boards, they were getting a little funky. And god bless you, Ikea- these were only five dollars. Okay! Onto the minor humiliation.



First of all, before you read any of this and come back 2 hours later weeping, scrubbing your hands frantically- LIME JUICE WILL TAKE THE STING OUT. Kind of. But don't bother, just wear gloves, like I should have. Now that we have that out of the way- HARISSA. Harissa is an African chili paste that is currently the culinary darling of Portland. I first saw it on the menu at Toro Bravo, 2007's (well-deserved) restaurant of the year (and chef of the year, and blah blah blah) and one of Portland's most outstanding restaurants. The other night it popped up at Lauro, in the form of harissa ketchup. Jason said he'd had harissa ketchup at Clyde Common, too- the fancy schmancy joint attached to the Ace Hotel downtown. Every nibble of deep fried potato coated in spicy ketchup had me craving some of my own, so I got a bug up my butt and started hunting down recipes.



Like curry blends, it seems like everyone has their own version of harissa- though I did notice a theme- a combination of equal parts coriander, cumin, and caraway. Every recipe I looked at had this trio. Some recipes called for dried mint and fresh cilantro, some called for roasted red peppers. It was so hard to find one that I was sure would be THE BEST, that I just said screw it and started messing around with my own combinations. I don't know if I'm even pleased with my own creation yet, because I just made it a few minutes ago and I'm waiting until dinnertime to try it. It smells fantastic, and I did mix a bit with ketchup and give it a taste- whew! It was atomic, to say the least.



One thing that was kind of annoying is that every recipe had it's own ideas about prepping the chilies, and none of them explained why they called for a certain way. I am here to say: IGNORE THE RECIPES THAT TELL YOU TO SOAK AND THEN SEED THE CHILES. Seed them while they are still dry! I tend to screw up new recipes when I'm trying them for the first time. I try not to let it get to me too bad, but I get really bummed out when I'm trying to do something I'm excited about and I keep messing it up. Case in point- the first recipe I picked out called for 3 oz. of birdseye chilies. Hey, did you guys know that those chilies are REALLY TINY? Yeaaah. So, the first thing I did was pour them into a bowl and cover them with warm water. Then I was like "oh, crap- shouldn't I take the seeds out first?" So I drained the bowl and got to work (this part took a million years.) and then I realized that they were already partially rehydrated, and the dumb seeds kept sticking to everything. It was really frustrating! I remembered that we had a handful of larger dried red chilies in the cupboard so I busted those out and started seeding them. When they're nice and dry it's easy! You just crack them in half and roll them between your fingers kind of like a cigarette, and the seeds just fall right out. I ended up using all of those and as many as I could stand of the smaller ones. I ended up with about a cup of chilies. At that point, I realized that since I didn't know the exact measurement of my chilies, I was going to have to wing it a little. Why the hell not?

Based on a mishmash of all the other recipes I looked at, here's what I came up with (and I DO NOT NECESSARILY RECOMMEND THIS RECIPE, Y'ALL.):

3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. caraway (I DIDN'T HAVE GROUND, SO I USED WHOLE. LAAAME. buy it ground, or get a mortar & pestle.)
1 tsp. coriander
a pinch of fresh cilantro
1 cup or so of seeded rehydrated red chilies. (Soak them in a bowl of hot water for 30 minutes, then drain)
Edited to add: later on I added about a tablespoon of tomato paste and it's a whole new chili paste now!

Throw it all in a food processor and blend the hell out of it with some olive oil until a paste consistency is reached. Spoon into a clean jar and cover with a thin layer of olive oil.



As you can see, my harissa paste didn't get that bright red glow that all the others I've seen pictures of. Is this because I omitted using any tomato or red pepper? Probably, I'm guessing. I think I'm going to add some tomato paste later and see if it improves the overall quality. My chilies lost a lot of color when they were rehydrated, booo.




Overall I can't say I'm completely disappointed with the way it turned out, but I know all the things I'm going to do differently next time-
1. I'm going to find a recipe online that is very specific and I am going to follow it to a T.
2. I'm going to buy an effin' mortar and pestle
3. Oh, I guess that's it.

If you want to try making this stuff, go ahead. I might just head to the African market and pick up a can of the pre-made stuff. Why the hell not? Harissa ketchup, here I come!



Edit: After adding some tomato paste I could tell just by smelling it that it was going to taste better. Now I'm hunting down recipes to use it in! Hooray!

Nami-nami turns three and makes a great brunch dish

On Sunday this little food blog of mine, NAMI-NAMI, turned three. On June 15, 2005 (while still living in Edinburgh), I wrote my first post, which has led to three more years of food-related posts. Starting this food blog was one of the best decisions I made that year, as it has led to making and meeting many good friends both in 'real life' and on the Internet. Lots of other things have changed during that time. I've moved back home to Estonia. I've started a new life with K. I've started a new job. More importantly, during that time I've become a better cook. I've learned a lot from reading your food blogs, dear readers. I've read zillion cookbooks, taken two professional cookery courses here in Tallinn, done an 10-day internship in a top gourmet restaurant, relaunched my Estonian site. I've got a new camera, and even took a short photography course last year. Life is good..

Thank you all for being such generous readers and a special thank you to K. for putting up with this somewhat obsessive blogging of mine..

Here's what we ate on the morning of Nami-nami's third blogday:

Baked Eggy Brunch Tomatoes
(Küpsetatud tomatid munaga)
Serves 4, can be easily halved, doubled, trebled
Adapted from BBC Good Food (June 2006)



4 large tomatoes
4 medium free-range eggs
butter
salt
freshly ground black pepepr
4 slices of thick rye bread
8 slices of smoked bacon

Heat the oven to 200 Celsius.
Cut a lid off tomatoes and scoop out the seeds, using a small spoon.
Place tomatoes on a baking sheet, season the insides with salt and pepper.
Break an egg into each tomato and top with a small piece of butter. Season again and replace the lid.
Bake in the middle of the pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes, until the eggs are set to a suitable degree (20 minutes, if you prefer your egg runny).
Place the bacon slices ionto the baking sheet for the last 10 minutes, so they could crispen up.
Toast the bread, and smear with butter.
Place two slices of bacon onto each slice of bread and top with a tomato.
Garnish with some fresh herbs and serve. (Note that baked tomato is very hot in the beginning!)

Other relevant posts:
Nami-nami turns ONE
Nami-nami turns TWO
Moving back home

allergen-free cinnamon cake.

One of my dearest friends, Sharin, is vegan and allergic to gluten. After hearing that she would be able to make it over to our house tonight for a tiny fondue party, I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to try out a new allergen-free dessert recipe. Baking gluten, dairy, and egg free can be quite a challenge, mainly because the regular ingredients used in them are ones I never really use- xanthan gum, garbanzo bean/fava bean flour, white/brown rice flour, and potato starch, to name a few. It is quite difficult to remove all the ingredients that usually bind a recipe (eggs, milk, and flour) and create a good-tasting and moist final product.

New York City's Babycakes Bakery is known for mastering this task. They are a fully vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free bakery, so they know their stuff- which is why I chose one of their recipes tonight. This cinnamon swirl cake (or "Cinnamon Toasties" as they call it) came out very moist and the same texture as any good cake one might eat. My friend seemed to be quite impressed by it and almost could not believe how perfect it was.



Cinnamon Swirl Cake (or Cinnamon Toasties): from Babycakes NYC Bakery

Ingredients:

1/2 cup canola oil, plus more for pan
1 cup garbanzo and fava bean flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup arrowroot
1 1/4 cups unrefined sugar, divided
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup store-bought unsweetened applesauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Brush a loaf pan with oil; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, potato starch, arrowroot, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. In a medium bowl, stir together oil, applesauce, and 1 cup hot water. Add oil mixture to flour mixture; stir until well combined. Measure out 1/3 cup of batter and place in a small bowl. Pour remaining batter into prepared loaf pan. Stir remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon into reserved batter. Add to loaf pan, swirling to combine.
Transfer to oven and bake about 20 minutes. Brush top of loaf with oil and continue baking until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before unmolding.

Fondue: A Guest Blog?

Does it count as a guest blog if I'm blogging something I didn't actually cook? I know it can seem kind of unclear how things work around here, but here's a quick rundown: Summer is the bones of the operation. She does 99% of the baking, which ends up getting featured the most for a few reasons- for one thing, baked goods are just so lovely to look at! For another, she lives in a beautiful, colorful, stylish home which makes for a much more attractive background. Better lighting at her house, too. So, how it works is, she'll message me in the morning to tell me what she's baking that day, and I'll swing by her house (only a couple miles away from mine) whenever I get a chance and photograph the food while our kids play. Not a bad arrangement! The only thing that sucks about it is that sometimes, I'll end up photographing a few things in a row and then there's a ton of stuff to get blogged. Plus, she maintains her design blog daily, so it can get to be a bit much. So, tonight when I was hassling her to blog at least one of the 3 things we have backlogged, she told me to go ahead and blog the fondue. Woo hoo!



I can't say I've ever had fondue before. I've received a few fondue pots as gifts, but none of them ever came out of the box. (Sorry, Mom!) I like cheese, but HOLY MOLY! A whole pot full? So, when Summer invited me over for fondue tonight, I agreed so I could take pictures, but I was a little apprehensive about wolfing down so much cheese. I don't think I have to explain what makes fondue fun- it's kitschy, it's goofy, it's extremely versatile, and come on! Long skinny weird fork things! A pot over a flame! Copious amounts of melted cheese!



Because I am a dork, and also because I do not want to say something stupid about whatever I've cooked, I like to look up the foods I'm blogging on wikipedia and do a little reading beforehand. I would feel like a total dum-dum if I said something totally wrong about a certain kind of food, plus- it's fun to learn about foods! If you have a moment, check out the fondue wiki page to catch a little fondue history. I especially like the little bit about fondue "etiquette" at the bottom, "In longstanding Swiss tradition if a nugget of bread is lost in the cheese by a man he buys a bottle of wine and if such a thing happens to befall a woman she kisses the man on her left."




Summer's fondue recipe came from good ol' 101cookbooks.com. She told me she recently dined on an absolutely TO DIE FOR plate of gruyere mac n' cheese at The Victory Bar down the street from her house, which inspired her craving for gruyere fondue.

Classic Cheese Fondue:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. Gruyere cheese, shredded (or 1/2 lb Gruyere + 1/2 lb Emmental cheese)
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
A splash or two of kirsch (opt)

Toss the cheese with the flour. Rub the interior of a medium saucepan with the peeled garlic. Place over medium heat and add the wine. Bring to a simmer and add the cheese mixture, one handful at a time. Stir in the nutmeg.

Stir over low heat until smooth and cheese is melted and bubbling. Add a splash or two of kirsch (opt). Continue stirring until it starts to bubble just a bit. Transfer the cheese mixture to a fondue pot and you are ready for dipping. Continue to stir frequently.




The possibilities for dipping are endless, but here are some of our highlights: pan-roasted asparagus and zucchini (from the farmer's market, yum!), a sliced warm baguette, apple slices, oven-roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, and hunks of kielbasa. I would love to dip bits of roasted brussels sprouts, bits of any kind of cured meat (pancetta? sopressata? oh, yes.), grilled chicken, grilled veggies like large spring onion, roasted beets, I could go on and on and on. I'm making myself hungry!

Of course, there are also tons of options for the dip itself, too. Fontina is a nicely melting cheese, and Summer tantalized my tastebuds (haha, ew- that sounds weird, right?) telling me all about a sharp cheddar and dark beer fondue she made awhile ago. Then of course, you can go the chocolate route- though, OH DAMN, I don't know what kind of PMS I'd need to have that would convince me that a big ass pot of melted chocolate was a good idea. I'd probably have to be pregnant, haha.

Just like the tartlettes, fondue is a rad party food, simple to throw together and sure to impress your homies. Now that summer is finally starting to kick off, why the hell not throw a garden party? (Or if you live in a 2 bedroom upstairs joint like me, a dining room party, haha!) Call some of your buddies, pick up a bottle of nice wine and a half-rack of a seasonal summer ale, and make some party food! Invite me, please.

savory tofu tartlets.

I always have high hopes for the summertime. I have started constantly daydreaming of picnics, movies in the park, berry picking, and most of all, summer parties. It is not that I frequently throw them, but I usually always try for one nice warm weather get-together. We have plans this year to get our backyard together, so I keep thinking about white holiday lights, soft music, and our table outdoors with candles all over it. I really cannot wait.

Another one of my favorite things about throwing parties is the food. I adore tiny finger foods, both savory and sweet. I love the idea of big beautiful plates covered with dozens of miniature delicious hors d'oeuvres. On Friday, I was flipping through cookbooks and suddenly felt like making something small and party-like. After flipping through ideas with Alice, we both agreed on me making some tiny tofu quiche tartlets made with fresh zucchini and asparagus from the farmer's market. And oh, these were good.

This recipe can easily be altered to your taste. Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand or are in season- broccoli, mushrooms, roasted peppers, sundried tomatoes, spinach, eggplant. etc. Also, you are more than welcome to add cheese to this. I kept them vegan, except for a curl of fresh parmesan on the tops.



Spinach-Asparagus Tofu Tarlets:

Ingredients:

For the pastry shells
9 tablespoons of butter or margarine, cut up into small pieces
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons ice water
2 teaspoons olive oil
For the filling
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 small zucchini, finely chopped
5-6 asparagus spears, finely chopped (remove tough ends)
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
Fresh black pepper
1 12.3-ounce package firm silken tofu, drained of water
1/4 cup milk or soy milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon tahini or nut butter (preferably cashew or almond- I wouldn't recommend peanut)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions:

For the pastry shells: Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter or margarine until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the ice water and the olive oil and work into a loose dough. Knead gently until smooth. Shape into a flat disk and refrigerate for about an hour.

When chilled, break off small a ball of the dough and flatten into a small circle. Push into an ungreased mini muffin tin. Repeat. At this point, you can also crimp the molds to your liking.



For the filling: Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Add garlic, asparagus, and zucchini and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the green onions and black pepper and remove from heat. Blend the remaining ingredients in a blender until very smooth. Add the tofu mixture to the warm vegetables and stir until completely combined.

Spoon the filling into the pastry shells. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes until the filling appears to have set and the crusts appear golden. Top with shaved cheese, roasted tomatoes, or fresh herbs.

Estonian Deviled Eggs Recipe

There are plenty of recipes for devilled eggs on the blogosphere (just check out this). But you know what - I think the way I make them is just enough different to justify yet another blog post on these :)

There are actually two major 'schools' of making devilled eggs in Estonia - one using something similar to canned anchovy liquid to season the egg yolk filling, the other one prefering mustard. I belong to the latter 'school'. Here's my usual recipe, and I do make these quite frequently for various festive tables - most recently for my birthday, alongside these cute quail egg mushrooms, where they were devoured by the kids and grown-ups alike..

Deviled Eggs, Estonian style
(Täidetud munad)*
Makes 12

6 medium or large organic eggs, boiled**
50 grams butter, not too cold
1 to 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 to 2 tsp strong mustard
salt, to taste

To garnish:
fresh parsley or dill, finely chopped
fresh or frozen cranberries or redcurrants

Peel the boiled eggs and halve lenghtwise along the middle. Scoop out the yolks.
Mash the butter with egg yolks (either press both through the sieve grate finely - I do the latter). Stir in mayonnaise and mustard, season with salt.
For a nicer finish, put the mixture into an icing bag with a serrated tip and fill the egg white 'bowls' with the egg yolk filling.
Garnish and keep in the fridge until serving.

* They're simply known as 'filled eggs' or 'stuffed eggs' in Estonian.

** Use whatever perfected egg-boiling method you prefer. I leave my eggs at room temperature for an hour before boiling. I then place them in a pan filled with water, bring to the boil and boil for 7 minutes. After that, I quickly cool them under cold running water. Always works for me, but you can check out what Alanna or Elise or Kalyn or Thredahlia are doing.

Tostada night

I know I've been leaving the posting up to Summer, mostly. I'm on a MAJOR health kick right now. It's been like 2 weeks and I've been taking really good care of myself, eating lots of salads and nonfat yogurt, and bananas, and brown rice, and stuff like that. So, while it makes my body feel pretty good, most of those things aren't really spectacular food blog fodder, you know?



Added to that, I'm having one of those weeks where my husband's been called away for work on way too many occasions to count, and I feel like I've been cleaning the same spot in my kitchen over and over again to no avail. Seriously, I clean and clean and clean and it still looks like a bomb went off, I don't know. But hey! Complaining aside, tonight I was in the mood for something easy as... well, pie's not very easy. I started digging around in my fridge and cupboards and pulled out the following ingredients:

Corn tortillas
A perfectly ripe avocado (woo hoo!)
One small white onion
A red bell pepper
One can of whole pinto beans
Half a cucumber
A handful of cilantro from my mom's garden
And, the bottom of a bag of spring salad mix from Trader Joe's.

Not a bad haul for dinner, if you ask me.




I think you can guess where things went from there. 5 tortillas (2 for me, 2 for hubby, and one extra, just in case.) were brushed lightly with vegetable oil, salted, and placed on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for... oh, a few minutes. I actually burned my first batch, whoops! Check often, haha.

Pintos were rinsed and heated in a pan (nothing fancy tonight), cucumber was diced and placed on top of a small bed of spring greens and covered with chopped cilantro, and the onion and bell pepper were sliced and sauteed briefly with a palmful (like a tablespoon? less?) of cumin, some garlic powder, and some chili powder. Everything was plated, and then a generous squeeze of lime juice over everything to finish.



The best part is that (HALLELUJAH) the sun finally peeked out a bit today, so this light meal went perfectly with the newfound summer weather. It probably would have gone well with a Dos Equis and some lime wedges, in hindsight. Oh well, I have the rest of the summer to enjoy light fresh meals with light beers. Hopefully the weather will cooperate!