Vegetarian Foodie

Hazelnut Brown Butter Cake with Espresso Ganache

I am headed to a Birthday dinner this evening for one of my favorite gals ever. The cake above is what I will be carrying: Hazelnut Brown Butter Cake with Espresso Ganache (Thanks again Smitten Kitchen).

Have a stunning week end everybody.....if you have a minute, enjoy this inspiring music video: HERE

Kittens!

This gorgeous mama had kittens a few weeks ago. She is such. a . good. mama.

And these kittens are so delightful. Leaving them makes us all feel very very sad.... Finding a great home for them is now #1 on our to-do.

Here are a few pics of them in all of their kitten cuteness:

27 days....

My absence from this space is related to our pending adventure.... Our to-do list has blown up and is keeping us quite busy as we aim to nail down many-a-things here. The good news is, we are right on task. Things are getting sorted, boxed, pitched and sold. Landing spots rented and secured (both in Fiji and Australia). Dinners with favorite people on the calendar.

It has been awhile since I have prepped for a journey of this size. I love how days leading up to a big trip take on a surreal quality-everything feels very vibrant and charged.... life takes on a sort of heightened awareness level. 

We have been eating some delicious food although I have not paused to photograph anything. I hope to return to documenting recipes shortly especially since my cookbooks will be gathering dust in a box while I am away- I will be relying on this blog (among others) for my favorite recipes. 

 

Plum Wine Update

Same batch of plums bottled in 2 different gallons. The result: 2 very different wines. One gallon is pretty delicious in a country wine kind of way. The other ...well, maybe needs more time or may go off.... I think I will store it while we are away...wait and see.

The bluberry wine was vile and I sent it to the fish.

The fig wine needs more time but tastes as though it might be a good recipe.

The Best Brownies

I adore these brownies because they are not too sweet, the perfect amount of chocolate, chewy and cake. I am pretty sure I gave made them before and mentioned them before but they really cannot be mentioned enough.

Thanks Cooks Illustrated for the delicious recipe that we never tire of.... 

• 1 cup (4 ounces) pecans or walnuts, chopped medium (optional)
• 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into six 1-inch pieces
• 2 1/4 cups (15 3/4 ounces) sugar (I used 2 Cups)
• 4 large eggs (I used 3 because that is all I had)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 18-inch length foil and fold lengthwise to 8-inch width. Fit foil into length of 13 by 9-inch baking dish, pushing it into corners and up sides of pan; allow excess to overhand pan edges. Cut 14-inch length foil and, if using extra-wide foil, fold lengthwise to 12-inch width; fit into width of baking pan in same manner, perpendicular to first sheet. Spray foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

If using nuts, spread nuts evenly on rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Whisk to combine flour, salt, and baking powder in medium bowl; set aside.

Melt chocolate and butter in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan of almost-simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth. When chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove bowl from saucepan and gradually whisk in sugar. Add eggs on at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three additions, folding with rubber spatula until batter is completely smooth.

Transfer batter to prepared pan; using spatula, spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle toasted nuts (if using) evenly over batter and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick. Cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours, then remove brownies from pan by lifting foil overhang. Cut brownies into 2-inch squares and serve. (Store leftovers in airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days.

Monthly Grocery Bill for a Family of Five

A favorite quote of mine that I heard from Joel Salatin, "You can pay the doctor or pay the farmer!"

For March I kept all of our grocery receipts and added them up at the close of the month. The grand total offered itself at $1029.99. At first I gasped.... then I thought about it.

5 of us eat 3 meals a day for about $12 a meal. Not bad at all considering we buy local, organic (most of the time) and the total included fancy cheese, beer and wine.

A few relevant notes:

• We eat out less than 10 times a month
• Beer and wine is a regular beverage around here not reserved for special occasions
• We have friends around for dinner often
• We have chickens that offer us our eggs and we do eat a lot of frittatas and tarts
• The garden was generous in the lettuce department this month-I day dream of a more organized and productive garden
• The husband and I work from home so lunch is included in the total
• I shop at a variety of grocery stores and farmer's markets -none of them being big box. While I am not too insane about saving money I am mindful when it comes to what costs what and where: I will buy a loaf of bread at Trader Joes rather than Sprouts if I can save $1.95 per loaf 

I find the cost of living to be a fascinating topic-especially where food is concerned. Clearly one can spend less on groceries but in doing so I feel that quality and freshness will be compromised. I would love to hear any feed back regarding your own experiences in feeding your family. 

No Bake Chocolate Granola Bar

These lasted only a minute in our house..... not the healthy kind of granola bar but definitely the not healthy I want another granola bar....now.

• 2 C Chocolate Chips
• 1 1/2 C Rice Krispy Cereal
• 1 1/2 Rolled Oats
• 1/2 C Coconut
• 1/3 C Sunflower Seeds
• 1/2 C Honey
• 1/3 C Creamy Peanut Butter 
• 1/4 C Butter

1. Spay 9 x 13 Pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine: Chocolate Chips, Oats, Cereal, Coconut, Sunflower seeds.
3. In a saucepan, heat honey and butter. Once bubbly, remove from heat and add peanut butter. Stir.
4. Pour hot mix over dry goods and sir. Press into 9 x 13 pan (use some wax paper over your fingers to avoid sticky mess). 
5. Refrigerate and cool for 1 hour. Stores covered for up to a week (they won't last that long).

 

Djibouti and The Keeper

Djabouti's Flag

Back in December, one of my best girls Kirstin came around for dinner and cards. She brought along her friend Christine who was visiting from Djibouti where she works at an embassy. Following, "Hello"...I asked, "Where IS Djabouti??"

Djibouti (pronounced Ja-Booty) is a small country adjacent to Ethiopia.

Djabouti, aside from having a fun name to say, is not on Christine's recommended places to visit list. 

Kirstin handed me a Christmas present and announced that it was a gift I would love. Christine agreed. I unfolded the small package and held in my hands a curious item: A cup made of gum rubber called the Keeper. 

They were right, I do love it. Am I the last to know about this amazing invention?

In case you don't know-the Keeper replaces the need for tampons and/or pads.  

A few interesting facts taken from the Keeper website:

• Plastic tampon applicators from sewage outfalls are one of the most common forms of trash on beaches.
• Over 12 BILLION pads and tampons are USED ONCE and disposed of annually, adding to environmental pollution.
• For building owners, pads and tampons that are flushed down the toilet are the most common cause of plumbing problems.

I find it so liberating to not waste unnecessarily, to consume throw away goods and to simplify my life. 

Carrot and Zucchini Tart

A recent cookbook release sent me straight to my Amazon account... La Tartine Gourmande. As with her blog, the cookbook is filled with stunning pictures and vignettes as well as delicious recipes. Most of the recipes are gluten free and incorporate a mess of interesting flours: Quinoa flour, spelt flour, millet flour etc. I usually keep brown rice flour and garbonzo bean flour on hand but the other flours require me to take a trip to Wholefoods (or as we call it: Whole-paycheck). 

Whether I was just acting impatient or enthusiastic I am not sure-but I decided to simply modify one of the recipes and make the tart crust with only brown rice flour. I assured myself that I would soon make the crust as instructed once I had purchased all flours for the recipe.

I used my favorite crust/tart recipe which calls for mixing 1 stick of butter and 1 Cup of (now) brown rice flour. Once the butter and flour resembles a course meal, add 3 tablespoons of buttermilk or half and half....knead into a dough, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour minimum.

In addition to revising the crust recipe, I adjusted the filling to accommodate what I had in my kitchen.

Egg Batter

• 3 Eggs
• 2 tablespoons Chopped Cilantro
• 5 Tablespoons Creme Fraiche
• Salt and Pepper

Mix egg batter and set aside

• 2 Thyme Twigs
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Cups Grated Carrots
• 1 Grated Zucchini
• Goat Cheese (as much as you like)

In a pan, heat olive oil and add thyme. Add carrots, zucchini, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes.

Roll out the crust into a 10 in pie pan/tart pan. Note: The brown rice flour makes for crumbly roll out, I actually pressed and flattened the dough into the pan and it turned out fine. 

Mix with egg batter then pour into crust. Top with goat cheese (be as sparse or generous as you like).

Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes. My pie dish was glass so I could peek and see if the crust was nicely browned (which it was).

The brown rice flour crust was delicious and the filling divine-anything with that much butter and creme fraiche has no choice but to be good.

Homemade Deodorant

I admit that I am not the best groomer. I lost my razor almost 20 years ago while backpacking in India and have never bothered to shave since. I wash my hair (occasionally) with baking soda and apple cider vinegar.

Pretty and good smelling beauty products make their way into my bathroom only to sit pondering their purpose.... I aspire to use them.

I really am not that much of a dirty hippie- I just don't think about it or have time for this type of business in my days...  

All that being said, I think I found the perfect deodorant recipe (recipe credit HERE)

• 1/2 C Cornstarch
• 1/2 C Baking Soda
• 10 drops essential tea tree oil

MIX....smells great, feels good.....EASY to make and while applying a coat of mascara may be out of the question, I do have time to douse a bit of powder.