On a baking frenzy

I love the creative, spontaneous nature of cooking dinner each night, the free-flowing way vegetables enter the pan, followed by complimentary spices and sauces, inspired by the weather, a novel, or a recent trip. Sometimes, however, I require a little more structure. The focus, attention to detail, and precision involved in baking can be really therapeutic for me, especially when my life feels a bit out of my control. I think that's why my last four posts have all been about baked goods (and why I've been running my oven overtime). These confections bring comfort (a melty, steaming slice of banana bread with gooey chocolate chips), shared joys with friends (a basket of crisp coconut macaroons passed around the birthday table), and fill our souls (corn bread on a rainy Tuesday night, served up with BBQ tempeh and collards).

These past fourteen months I have researched, studied, written to, interviewed with, and visited dozens of graduate programs. The hundreds of hours preparing for exams, writing essays and talking with professors, as well as the astronomical costs of the application process have finally come to fruition. This summer, Alex and I will finally be moving to a town where he can pursue his passions with international sociology (including food systems and "green" economies) and where I can explore my interests in the law (workers' rights, environmental justice and civil rights.) After the many harried late nights on the subway plotting essay outlines on the back of advertisements found in am New York, I am finally DONE with the process! Last week, Alex and I officially accepted our offers from our respective graduate programs, and we will be relocating to our new town in just a couple of months.

The denoument of our quest to find "just one good option together" has finally played out, somewhat anti-climactically given the length of our seaerch. Just a couple of weeks ago, we visited the town to make certain it was the right choice, and after a day of torrential rain, the clouds parted for our first truly beautiful day this year. It was a warm welcome from our future home, whose brick townhouses smiled down at us. I snapped this parting shot from a passing window to remind me of the new town's charm. It will be hard to leave Brooklyn and her many offerings, but we hope to set up a more comfortable, greener home in our new place.
Until then, I will be scanning Craigslist each day for the best postings and coming home each night to vent my creativity in a spontaneous dinner concoction. This means, of course, that my baking run is most likely over :) On to light spring vegetables and delicate fruits, presented as purely and simply to showcase their natural beauty.

This recipe is my last from the oven for a while. Its flavors and textures are a perfect balance for a savory meal, and it will definitely make an appearance come autumn. Autumn, when I will once again see the swirling fallen leaves from a student's perspective. I can't wait.
Cheddar Corn Bread
(Adapted from Gluten Free Baking Classics)
1 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup brown rice flour
2/9 cup potato starch flour (no, that's not a typo, the recipe calls for 1 cup "mix" which is 2 cups brown rice flour, 2/3 cups potato starch flour, 1/3 cup tapioca flour, so I divided it by three)
1/9 cup tapioca flour
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup milk minus 1 Tablespoon
1 large egg, well beaten
3/4 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Pinch or two of red pepper flakes

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease muffin pan (makes 9) or 8" round cake pan.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, mix wet ingredients, then add to dry and stir gently to combine. Do not over-mix. Stir in cheddar cheese and pepper flakes.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake about 25 minutes (pan) or 20 minutes (muffins). Remove from pan and serve immediately.

This is best warm and fresh, but leftovers can be sliced thinly and grilled with melted cheese or fried egg for a delicious brunch treat. We liked melting additional cheddar cheese inside, and served it with grilled BBQ tempeh and collard greens. I hope it brings you comfort too!

Gobbled up banana bread

Inspired by Gluten-Free Girl's awesome post about a recent dinner party with her friends, I decided to try a loaf of her sweet and cakey banana bread to see what everyone was raving about. It was absolutely the best banana bread I've ever eaten, and was the perfect snack for our impromptu road trip to Baltimore to check out grad schools (more on that later). Banana bread is the perfect disguise for the often light and crumbly gluten free flours because of its dense, moist texture and lush banana flavor. This is definitely a make-again, a nice gift for the holidays or for a little dinner party. Thank you Gluten Free Girl!
The gooey extra large Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips are my favorite, and the candied ginger adds an unexpected and spicy kick to the confection. I was out of the teff flour, so I improvised with brown rice and ground flax seeds. I don't think it compromised the integrity of the dish, so to speak.

Famous Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds (for texture and Omega-3s)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3 large bananas)
1/4 cup yogurt (I used fat free vanilla and it was fine)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup crystallized ginger

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a loaf pan. Melt the butter on low heat. Set it aside to cool.
2. Sift together the flours and add xanthan gum, sugar, baking soda, and spices in a large bowl. Mix well.
3. Mix together the mashed bananas, eggs, yogurt, butter, and extract in a large bowl until just combined. Now sift the dry ingredients into the wet, avoid over-mixing. Stir in chocolate chips and candied ginger pieces (I chopped mine to 1/4" bits). Smooth out the top of the loaf.
4. Bake about 45 minutes, or until knife inserted comes out clean and the top is golden. Let set 10 minutes before removing from pan, then cool before slicing. As GF Girl notes, it's pretty hard to wait.

Parchment Paper and Martha

There's something so clean, crisp, and correct about parchment paper. Its smooth waxy surface and the satisfying crunch it makes when torn are so inviting. While aluminum foil feels crass, plastic wrap trashy, and wax paper excessive, parchment paper is just...right. I didn't understand its uses and merits until I began really baking and following cookbooks several years ago. A meltdown (painful pun intended) with a batch of chocolate chip cookies and some wax paper was my wake-up call. Overnight, I became parchment paper's biggest advocate.

This month's Martha Stewart Living has a delicious recipe for coconut macaroons--featuring, of course, parchment paper--which just seemed right for this blustery nigh-on-spring Saturday afternoon. The crisp exterior and chewy insides of these little morsels are both light and indulgent. I made a double batch to bring to a friend's birthday party, wrapped in a brown paper box with dotted tissue paper.
I am huge fan of Martha Stewart, although I know many love to hate on her, but I really admire her sensibility, creativity, and vast knowledge of all things domestic. She's also incredibly outspoken and doesn't take any b.s. And she knows her cookies. Trust me, these are incredible! The crunch from the almond pieces and the little spots of coarse sea salt add a refined texture to this simple dessert. I highly recommend them, just in time for Passover, and they are super simple to make.

Martha's Coconut Macaroons
(makes 16)
2/3 cup sugar
2 egg whites
2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract (my addition)
Pinch coarse sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the egg whites and sugar in a large bowl until well combined.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well.
4. Form into 2 Tbsp-sized mounds (you can really pack it together in your hands) and place 8 on each cookie sheet.
5. Bake about 15 minutes until golden on the bottoms and sides.
6. Cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheets and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Spring is here!

We had a small gathering last weekend in honor of this miraculous season. Crisp asparagus, spicy spinach-garlic pesto, delicate baby greens straight from (someone’s) garden. Tulips and irises graced our table and set the perfect backdrop for dessert: carrot cake. Because what is more springy than carrot cake? Can you believe this decadent, delicious dessert is totally gluten-free? I brought the leftovers to work where it was devoured in less than an hour (at 10:00 in the morning). No one knew it was GF and all plates were cleaned. I think it’s the combination of brown rice flour and walnuts and carrots that gives this dense cake the substance often lacking in GF baked goods. And lemony cream cheese frosting doesn’t hurt either.

Read up and enjoy! It’s simpler than the long ingredients list makes it seem. However, starting with the best, freshest organic produce and dairy really "puts the pants on it," as my mom says. Look how healthy these free range organic eggs are, so richly colored. I remember when we had white, uniform Eggland's Best eggs with the red stamp on them. I hate to think the lives those chickens lived. These eggs look like they came from my grandmother's farm.
Carrot Cake – makes 2 layers from Gluten Free Baking Classics, by Annalise Roberts—my new favorite cookbook for all things previously forbidden
2 cups brown rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 ½ tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups canola oil
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups peeled, grated carrots (about 6 medium carrots)
Check out the vibrancy of my juicy organic carrots!
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line two 9” round pans with parchment and lightly oil.
2. Combine dry ingredients, flour through nutmeg, in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and oil about 1 minute. Add vanilla and mix well.
4. Add dry to wet and beat on medium about 4 minutes. Fold in carrots, coconut, and walnuts.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake about 40 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool on rack for 10 minutes (in the pans). Use a knife to separate from pans and flip layers onto rack to finish cooling (peel off parchment).
7. DO NOT frost warm layers, as the icing will ooze and run all over the place. It’s delicious but not so pretty. Once it’s completely cooled, place bottom layer on a cake stand and frost its top. Then lay the second layer on top and frost the top and sides. Sprinkle an additional 1/2 cup toasted coconut flakes (spread in a pan and baked 3 minutes at 350) over the top and sides. Cream Cheese frosting
The real reason we all eat carrot cake. I made mine with a Meyer lemon and it was heavenly, fit for a queen.
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup low fat cream cheese, also room temp
3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 lemon, zested and juiced

1. Beat butter and cream cheese in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in sugar at low speed until blended, then add vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. I immediately frosted my cake, but I think it would have been easier if I had chilled the icing so it stayed put between the layers. Be sure to add lots of icing to the middle, as that really makes the look of each slice. This is both very sweet and fairly tart, so balance the flavors to taste.
The cake has a beautiful moistness and a satisfying crunch from the walnuts and coconut. I would definitely make it again, but might do only one layer since two was far more cake than Alex and I could manage in the 3-4 days it keeps in the fridge. It would be a lovely brunch piece or dessert for a baby shower or daytime event. I would like to try it in mini cake pans for individual servings, since it avoids the messy slicing process. It’s not crumbly, like traditional GF desserts though. I think I just need a cake server :)

A Classic New York Birthday

For my big 2-5, Alex treated me to a full day of NYC tourists' delights, in honor of our final months in this historic city.

He started us off with a cozy champagne brunch at home (featuring my favorite GF waffles) and mimosas, while I opened presents and revealed the days' itinerary (it had been a surprise. When Alex asked what I wanted for my birthday, I asked for "a day of fun.")

We bundled up for the frigid February gusts and rode up to Central Park for a horse-drawn carriage ride. I know, it's kinda cheesy, but it's the kind of thing you really have to try once and embrace for the experience. And I loved it.
Alex knows that my head is often in the clouds--dreaming of magical lands and times past--so he led me through the park to Belvedere Castle, a wonderful "medieval" structure designed early in the Park's history. We wandered through the airy rooms to several rooftops and balconies canopied with stone carvings and impish sculptures before winding our way down the stairs to the pond below.
We played tourist and helped others take photos, exchanging cameras at scenic locations. The crisp air and hints of spring, along with the (finally!) muffled noises from the city were so transportative, we could have been in an Old World forest. It was perfect.
Of course, all that walking and fighting the chill made us pretty hungry, so we headed downtown to a famous gluten-free restaurant I'd been dying to try, Risotteria. As the name implies, they speicalize in Italian foods, and almost everything can be made gluten free. Imagine my delight when, after almost a year of abstention, I could indulge in breadsticks, pizza, and cake! It was a memorable meal, made more delightful by the fact that I could order anything on the menu and not worry, and I didn't have to ask the server a million questions about ingredients (they are very up-front about vegetarian ingredients too). Charming, delicious, relaxing...everything a restaurant experience should be.
I was grinning all over at this point, and we still had more birthday to celebrate. We dashed Uptown to catch Chicago on Broadway, in all its Fosse splendor, and danced in our seats throughout the production. While the night drew to a close, Alex had two more surprises for me: a (very generous) trip to see the Martha Stewart Show (air date 3/13/09-- you can pick us out in the audience shots at the beginning-- I'm wearing a bright turquoise dress and black wrap) and tickets to the top of the Empire State Building! I'm breathless just from writing it all down.

My favorite birthdays are the ones that last the longest, and Alex did an amazing job of packing my day full of beautiful things, as well as giving us more to look forward to in the Ides of March. My family and friends also filled my house with love (several bountiful bouquets), cards, gifts, and a general outpouring of joy that really makes the day so memorable. So thank you to everyone for their birthday wishes! I have a good feeling about this one.

(photos coming soon)