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full-spectrum post-rain sky drama

florescent green mossy rock carpets

Hansel > < Sylvie

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(( in love ))

with these works by

Zander Olsen

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chocolate stout bundt cake

with cocoa-buttermilk icing

(recipe from Heidi Swanson)

for the cake:

2 c chocolate porter or stout beer
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
3/4 cup natural cocoa powder (non-dutched)
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c all-purpose flour
1 c muscovado or dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 c plain whole yogurt
3/4 c pure maple syrup

for the icing:

3/4 c powdered sugar
1/4 c natural cocoa powder (non-dutched)
2 Tbsp buttermilk

flaky sea salt, to serve

Preheat oven to 350F, with a rack in the center. Butter and flour (generously) a 11 or 12-cup capacity bundt pan (or equivalent). You can bake this in other cake pans, just be mindful to avoid filling the pan(s) more than 2/3 - 3/4 full. Adjust the baking time as well - baking until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, and the center tests clean when you insert a knife. In a saucepan simmer the beer down to 1 cup. Remove from heat, add the butter and stir until melted. Stir in the cocoa powder, mixing until smooth, then set aside to cool, stirring occasionally to let off heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, yogurt, and maple syrup. Whisk well, until nicely blended and uniform in appearance. Gradually add the (cooled) stout mixture, stirring all the while. Stir until well blended. Add the flour mixture, folding until just blended, using as few strokes as possible. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 35 - 45 minutes if using the bundt pan, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. You really don't want to over bake this cake - err on the slightly moist side if anything. Remove from the oven, and turn out onto a cooling rack after seven minutes. In the meantime, make the icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, cocoa, and buttermilk. Really go at it for at least a minute. The icing should end up smooth and creamy looking, adjust with a touch of powdered sugar or a few extra drops of buttermilk if you want to tweak the consistency at all. When the cake is completely cool, run the icing around the top with an offset spatula and let it set. Serve sprinkled with a bit of flaky sea salt. But don't sprinkle with flakes of salt until ready to serve, or you'll end up with little divots.

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aut(i)obiography volume three

and

can't seem to get enough of

bill withers lately,

especially
((( this )))

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Bucatini alla Carbonara

 <<<  for one  >>>

A friend of mine recently made me pasta alla carbonara. It instantly transported me back to Italy last summer, where I wilted with pleasure from my first experiences of this dish. I never realized it was so rich, so indulgent; the perfect combination of breakfast, lunch and dinner. And for anyone with an egg obsession such as I, it's a must-have. Of course I had to make it for myself. I adapted this recipe from Mario Batali.

1 serving Rustichella d'Abruzzo bucatini noodles (or other long noodles)

1/4 c pasta water (after cooking noodles)

1 slice bacon

1/4 c parmigiano reggiano, grated

about 2 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper

1 beautiful egg, separated

Boil a pot of salted water. Cook noodles. Cook bacon in skillet. Remove bacon and chop, leaving pan with bacon fat on stove. When pasta is cooked, add to bacon-pan with pasta water and cook on med-high for a few minutes while liquid reduces. Remove from heat. Add parmigiano, chopped bacon, pepper, and egg white. Toss. Plate pasta and top with egg yolk and more black pepper. (Mix yolk into dish right before eating.) No salt necessary in my opinion; the bacon and parmigiano do the trick.

 

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yesterday was a very exciting day.

i have been on the lookout

for fresh bergamot

for a couple of years now.

i always seem to just miss

its short growing season.

but this year is different. i bought $25 of bergamot

at BiRite market in San Francisco,

juiced it all, & froze it in ice cubes trays

so i can have it on hand

(especially when summer strikes)

for this uniquely delicious cocktail...

THE B-LINE

(recipe courtesy of Ken at Range)

Place a chunk of orange in a glass (about 1/2 of a slice). Muddle.
Add a splash of orange bitters, 1/2 oz honey syrup (made by reducing 50% water & 50% honey), 1 oz bergamot juice, 1 1/2 oz bourbon, and 3/4 oz Lillet Blanc.
Shake and serve up.

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 thoughts of

special places

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rain spells

leisurely mornings

spent in an overstuffed leather chair

all-day fires

and tried-and-true,

Marno's Chicken Noodle Soup

from The New Basics Cookbook

1 chicken (4 lbs), preferably a stewing hen

2 onions, halved

4 whole cloves (I like more, around 10)

4 ribs of celery, with leaves

4 carrots, peeled

3 parsnips, peeled

3 cloves of garlic

6 sprigs dill

6 sprigs parsley

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

3 quarts water

1 chicken bouillon cube (optional)

Marno's Noodles (recipe to follow)

1 1/2 cups fresh English peas

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Rinse the chicken well and place it in a large soup pot.  Stud each onion half with clove, and add them to the pot along with the celery, carrots, parsnips, garlic, sprigs of dill and parsley, and salt and pepper.  Add the water and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.  Occasionally skim off any foam that forms on top. Remove the chicken from the soup and allow it to cool.  Remove the skin and bones, and shred the meat.  Reserve the meat, covered, in the refrigerator. Strain the soup, discarding the vegetables, and return the liquid to the pot.  Add the bouillon cube (for stronger flavor) and adjust the seasonings.  Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes (to intensify the flavor). Set aside. Make the noodles. Before serving, bring the chicken broth to a gentle boil.  Add the noodles and cook until they are tender, 4 minutes.  Gently stir in the reserved chicken and the peas, chopped dill, and chopped parsley.  Heat through and serve. Yields 8 servings.

Marno's Noodles

(I like to double the noodle recipe)

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

(I add 1 tsp ground nutmeg)

Beat the egg and salt together in a bowl.  Mix the flour in with a fork.  Using your hands, form the mixture into a ball and knead it to form the dough. Dust a work surface with flour, and roll the dough out to form a very thin rectangle approximately 18x9 inches. Dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Roll the dough up in jelly-roll fashion, along the long side, to form an 18-inch long roll. Slice crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide rings. Carefully shake out the rings to form long noodles, and let them rest on a baking sheet for 10 minutes before adding to the soup.

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such pleasure

richness

sweetness

in this one seemingly simple pot

Baked Beans

from Diner Journal Issue #9, Fall 2008,

based on Jasper White's recipe for baked beans

This was a really easy recipe but was a bit of a time commitment.

After boiling on stove, I put pot in oven for a good 2 1/2 hours. Totally worth it.

1 lb navy beans, soaked overnight

1 onion, small dice

4 cloves garlic, sliced
3 Tbsp tomato paste

3 Tbsp Coleman's dry mustard

2 bay leaves

1/3 c maple syrup

1/3 c molasses

1/4 c vinegar (i used red wine vinegar)

6 oz salt pork, thinly sliced (bacon if you can't find salt pork)

salt to taste

Sauté the onions and garlic in a little olive oil until they start to sweat. Add the tomato paste and cook until the onions often and the tomato paste has cooked a little. Add the mustard, bay, maple syrup, molasses, and vinegar. Add the beans and cover with water, bring everything to a boil and then place the salt pork on top of the pot, cover with a lid or aluminum foil and bake beans at 300F until tender. This will probably take a long time as beans don't cook very well in acidic liquids. Keep checking beans and adding water as necessary. When beans are cooked season with salt and then let go a little longer until they are truly tender.

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mornings with tea and Lolita

in my overstuffed leather chair

(( and the sun's lighthearted entrance ))

ps. it's March

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large patches of wild miner's lettuce

make buttery, tender, little salads

(rainy day harvest & conversation with deer)

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Soba Noodles with Bok Choy & Ginger

It's overcast and cold out today. Mom was baking her famous cookies for my brother's upcoming art show in Santa Barbara, and I got sucked into major pantry organization; consolidating bulk teas and grains and baking stuff, throwing old things out, and putting new things in jars. We were dancing to this and were both in the mood for something warm and delicious for lunch. I put together this simple pasta dish with buckwheat soba noodles, sprouted tofu, and bok choy.

Roughly chop 1/2 yellow onion. In a medium sized pot, heat 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp curry powder, 1 Tbsp cumin, and 1/2 tsp ground ginger with 2 Tbsp sesame oil. After 1-2 minutes, add chopped onion. Turn heat to low and cover, remembering to stir occasionally. In a smaller pot, boil water for noodles. While onions are slowly cooking and water is heating, cut 1/2 package firm sprouted tofu into small cubes, and roughly chop 1-2 baby bok choy. Set aside. In small mixing bowl, combine 1 heaping tablespoon white miso paste, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tbsp brown rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp mirin (rice cooking wine), 1-2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger (depending on how spicy you like it), 1 Tbsp sesame oil, and 1 tsp soy sauce. When water is boiling, add 1 bundle (about 3.5 oz) soba noodles. Add tofu and bok choy to onion pot, give a good stir, and turn up the heat to med-high, leaving uncovered. When noodles are cooked through, strain and transfer them to vegetable pot, along with sauce mixture. Cook for another minute or two (until excess liquid evaporates and ingredients come together), then remove from heat and serve. Garnish with chopped toasted peanuts (I used pinenuts since I had no peanuts on hand and they were great), and/or chopped green onions. Serves 2.

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new beaded necklaces

(brass, bone, glass, leather)

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a pair of horses appeared out of nowhere

(our neighbors don't even have horses)

silhouettes camouflaged

against the night sky

appropriately, later that night

he drew the Horse card

from the deck

i stopped running

to collect fifty grey feathers;

they were scattered in piles

in the middle of the trail

some had blown into the grass.

the sun was quickly disappearing,

these were its parting gift

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((( ! )))

new website for my artwork

allisonriegel.com

(and a new moon)

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a common scene

 these days

the communal cutting board

i'd like to do a time lapse video

of its constant evolution

beauty in haphazard configurations

ps. on repeat

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leather bracelet

for Donald

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happy day of

l o v e

((( exude it give it spread it welcome it )))

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Buckwheat German Pancake

(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Five or six years ago, German pancakes used to be an almost weekly staple in my breakfast routine. It's been awhile since the last time I've watched one magically puff up in the oven. But going along with the buckwheat theme, here is my new favorite version.

3 tablespoons buckwheat flour
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon table or fine sea salt
1-2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1-2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
 

Heat oven to 400F. Whisk the flours, sugar, salt, milk and eggs together in a medium bowl. Melt butter in a 12-inch cast skillet, preferably cast iron but any heavy ovenproof skillet should work. Roll the butter around a bit so it goes up the sides. Pour in the batter and transfer skillet to the oven. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the pancake browns lightly at the edges and rumpled. Cut into wedges and serve immediately. You can add whatever you like to the top. (Today I topped with Straus plain yogurt, bananas, blueberries, and chopped raw almonds mixed with lemon zest and maple syrup.)

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Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Cumin-Orange Walnuts

Made this one up. I suppose it's fitting to make a dish with Jerusalem artichokes after my recent time spent in the beautiful ancient city. I love love the flavor of these delicious tubers.

Chop 8 large (16 small) Jerusalem artichokes (aka sunchokes) and 6 medium fingerling potatoes into fairly uniform-sized pieces (about 1/2" thick). Roughly chop one onion and mince 3 cloves garlic. Add 2 tsp each of: ground cumin, coriander & nutmeg to a large pot. Toast spices on medium for a few minutes. Add a few tablespoons olive oil and onion. Cover and cook on low-med heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sunchokes, potatoes, and garlic; stir & cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock to just above the level of the vegetables. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low heat. Cover pot and simmer for about 30 minutes, until potatoes and sunchokes are tender. Remove from heat. In batches, transfer mixture to a blender and puree everything until smooth. Add pureed soup back to pot, keep on low heat. Add salt to taste and 3 leaves chopped kale or chard (optional). In small skillet, lightly toast 1/2 c chopped walnuts with 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp olive oil, & 1/2 tsp ground cumin. Transfer to small bowl and toss with the zest of one medium orange. Garnish soup with walnut-orange zest mixture.

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Gnocchi with Shiitakes, Kale & Parmigiano

Gnocchi is one of my favorite things to eat and it is surprisingly easy to make by hand. The only thing that takes a long time is baking the potatoes. I like to bake them ahead of time to have on hand for later that evening or the following day. 

 

For gnocchi: Bake 2 medium sized russet potatoes in foil for about an hour at 400F. Once cool, remove potato flesh from skins and place in large bowl. Using the tines of a fork, finely mash potatoes. Add about 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper and 1 Tbsp ground nutmeg. In a small bowl, beat one egg. Add to potato bowl and incorporate. Add 3/4-1 c all-purpose flour and gently incorporate using your hands until dough comes together. Dough should remain fluffy/pillowy. Turn dough onto flat surface & separate into quarters. Roll dough into long rolls about one inch in diameter. Working from one end to the other, chop 1/2" pieces to form individual gnocchi. (It's optional to roll each dumpling over the tines of a fork to create decorative ridges.) Scatter gnocchi evenly on baking sheet until ready to cook.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (for the gnocchi). Chop one onion and add to a second large pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Cook onions, covered, on low heat for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, slice about 2 1/2 c shiitake mushrooms, de-stem & chop 3 large leaves of kale, and mince 3 cloves of garlic. Once onions have slightly caramelized, add mushrooms & garlic. Turn up heat to medium-high. Cook with lid off, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms cook down a bit. Add kale to pot. Deglaze with a splash of sherry. Add salt to taste, a dash of champagne vinegar and about 1/4 c pinenuts. Remove from heat. Once pot of water is ready, add gnocchi (in 2-3 batches) to water. Gnocchi will float to surface of water when done cooking, so using a slotted spoon, gradually remove gnocchi from water and spoon directly into vegetable pot. Repeat until all gnocchi is cooked. Toss gnocchi with mushroom mixture & add a generous drizzle of olive oil. Serve with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

 

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Romanesco with Purple Kale & Capers

This romanesco at Whole Foods was so gorgeous, I couldn't resist! Made this dish up to serve as an accompaniment to baked salmon. The only thing I could have added (didn't have on hand) was some plumped golden raisins.

Break apart one large head romanesco into small florets. Remove ribs from 4 kale leaves, and roughly chop kale. Chop one yellow onion. Put about 2 tsp dried chili flake in pot along with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Toast for 2 minutes, then add chopped onion. Cover pot with lid and allow onions to caramelize on low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add romanesco and about 1/2 c water, replace lid and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Continue to cook (add a little more water if necessary to create steam) until romanesco is tender but still has slight crunchy bite. Add 2 Tbsp capers, 2 cloves minced garlic and chopped kale, cook a few more minutes, until kale is wilted. Deglaze pan with a drizzle of champagne vinegar. Remove from heat & finish with zest of one lemon, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/4 c raw pinenuts, and salt to taste.

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in any case,

and in all cases

the only thing to do

is free oneself

from internal distortions

and external addictions 

(timothy leary)

 

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bejeweled & adorned

she moves effusively

into the new year

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it's coming,

tonight...

and with it

comes

pretty spiraling

thoughts

of cozy summer air,

illuminated

backdrops

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total accidental placement
&
later realization
of correlating rays

(funny ways of the subconscious)

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dream pillow

with lavender, hops & chamomile

1 2 . 3 0 . 1 1

today,

Dad stumbled upon Mom's

written project for her

Master's at CSUS

in September of 1980,

when Dad was Mom's

art advisor

(( the beginning ))

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made these little morsels

for breakfast

this morning

(with fried eggs and bacon)

Potato-Parsnip Latkes
with Horseradish and Dill


(from Smitten Kitchen)


recipe follows

1 2 . 2 8 . 1 1

this cake

is not the most gorgeous

(nor the most decadent)

but it is so satisfying and delicious

(( going along with my recent buckwheat obsession ))

Breton Buckwheat Cake
with Fleur de Sel


(from 101 Cookbooks, originally written by David Lebovitz
in The Sweet Life in Paris)

For the cake:

7/8 c buckwheat flour

1 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp plus 1/3 tsp fleur de sel

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 lb unsalted butter, at room temp

1 c sugar

4 large egg yolks

1 large egg

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp dark rum

For the glaze:

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp milk

Butter a 9 or 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or a 9-inch springform cake pan. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, whisk together the buckwheat and all-purpose flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the cinnamon. (I added 1 tsp ground cardamom as well.) In the bowl of a standing mixer or by hand, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue the beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat the 4 egg yolks and whole egg with the vanilla and rum (I used bourbon instead) with a fork, then gradually dribble the egg mixture into the batter while beating. If using an electric mixer, beat on high speed so the butter gets really airy. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top as flat as possible with an offset metal or plastic spatula. Make a glaze by stirring the single yolk and milk together with a fork, then brush it generously all over the top. (You may not use it all, but use most of it.) Take a fork and rake it across the top in three parallel lines, evenly spaced; then repeat starting from a slightly different angle to make a criss-cross pattern. Crumble the remaining 1/3 tsp salt over the gateau with our fingers and bake for 45 minutes. Don't over-bake or it will be on the dry side - start checking after 35 minutes or so. Let cool completely before unmolding.

1 2 . 2 4 . 1 1

1 morning

4 Riegels

4 breakfasts

persimmons/raw cashews/maca/banana/goji berries/bee pollen/cinnamon

buckwheat/walnuts/ghee/maple syrup/salt/poached egg

fried eggs/toast/roasted potatoes with onions, garlic, chili

flax cereal/plain Straus yogurt/toast