Double delicious

I am stuffed. Full of smiles that make your cheeks ache, and endless hugs--the solid kind that last long enough to synchronize breathing--of laughter, of touches, of love. And then there was the potluck table, groaning under the weight of multiple and tasty savories and sweets, all washed down with wine produced by one of ourown, followed by s'mores at the fire pit late into the evening, and a hearty brunch the next day.

It was a reunion, of family of a sort: 30-some odd years ago, we were young theatre students, so sure of ourselves and so incredibly unsure of ourselves, trying on new personas and discovering who we might turn out to be. Some still work in the industry, many do not, but all agree that they use their degree (or near degree) every day of their life. And all have turned into lovely people I am just tickled to be able to count as friends.

With all the missteps and misunderstandings of our youth behind us, we could truly appreciate and enjoy each other, and we did so joyfully as we devoured the food and each others' tales. And so I offer you these special cookies from a very special  place--my heart.

Giant Toffee Chocolate Cookies

makes about 18

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup butter

1 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tbl vanilla extract
8 oz. chocolate-covered toffee, coarsely chopped
1 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Melt chocolate and butter together in a double boiler set over simmering water until smooth. Remove from water and cool mixture to lukewarm.

Using an electric mixer or food processor, beat sugar and eggs together until thick. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, then toffee and nuts. Chill batter until firm, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto sheets, spacing 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake just until tops are dry and cracked but cookies are still soft to the touch, about 15 minutes. If baked cookies are misshapen from escaping toffee, use a spatula to coax the still-hot cookies back into shape. Cool on baking sheets. Share with friends.

For Anna, Carrie and Lorelei

I have made this dish many times; certainly for the legendary couscous party well-known to our friends. It has attended two Bat Miztvah celebrations, and numerous school potlucks. There's always some in my freezer. It is, not surprisingly, the most requested recipe from my repertoire (other than jam!).

********

 Chicken Tagine

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz. Apricot sauce (puréed apricots or peaches)

¼ c up Creamy peanut or cashew butter
1/3 c Orange juice
1/3 c Dry sherry
2 T Balsamic vinegar
2 T Lime juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 t salt
2 t Curry powder
½ t Cinnamon
½ t Cardamom
½ t Ground cumin
1 lb. Chicken

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a large ovenproof dish, combine preserves, peanut butter, orange juice, sherry, vinegar, lime juice, garlic, salt, and seasonings. Cut the chicken in large bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken pieces to the marinade and coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees and bake the chicken and marinade uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve over the prepared couscous. Share with friends. 

Jack Sprat

We both grew up with the nursery rhyme, "Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean. And so between the two of them, they licked the platter clean." In our early days as a couple it became clear that Darling Husband and I were like Jack and his dear spouse, but it was the salty/sweet divide. He adored sweets; I craved salty. He bought milk chocolate; I bought dark. He would snack on candies; I would munch on cheezy crackers. It has been a good match.

Over time, I have come to appreciate the sweet, and he the salty. Salted caramels covered in dark chocolate, cardamom saffron cake, and chicken mole satisfied us both. It has been a long journey, but there are now days when I will slip raisins in my purse, and he will opt for almonds.

But one food we have always agreed on is cheese: he might levitate toward a sweet fresh rambol with dessert wine, and I will aim for the stinky chèvre with a flinty sauvignon blanc, but we both spread it on baguettes and sip from each others' glasses.

With dairy off the menu for so many years, and resolve to not buy supermarket junk pumped full of chemicals in boxes, it has been difficult to satisfy my cravings. It has been a long time coming, but I have finally broken the snack barrier, concocting a recipe that satisfies my salty-cheesy cravings without compromising diet or boundaries. Even my sweet-toothed spouse agrees.

Cheezy crackers

• 8 oz Daiya cheese substitute (extra-sharp cheddar cheese works too, if you eat dairy), shredded
• ½ stick unsalted margarine or butter, at room temperature
• 1 c GF flour (I use a mix of brown rice flour and tapioca starch; wheat flour works too)
• 2 T ice water
• 1 t kosher salt

In a food processor, pulse the cheese, butter until soft and combined. Add the flour and mix on low speed (the dough will be dry and pebbly). Slowly add the water and continue to mix as the dough forms a ball.

Pat the dough into a disk, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets.

Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each into a very thin (1/8 inch or less) 10 x 12-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with salt. Using a fluted pastry cutter, cut the rectangles into 1-inch squares, then transfer to the baking sheets. Use the tip of a chopstick to punch a hole into the center of each square.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until puffed and browning at the edges. Watch carefully, as the high fat content of the crackers makes it a fine line between deliciously crispy and burnt. Immediately move the crackers to racks to cool.

Delicious with cold hard cider and a good book on a warm afternoon.

Indulgence

As any parent knows, the ultimate indulgence is time. Luxury is something we sip rather than gulp, little stolen moments rather than long stretches. And even more so, as this mother stares down the barrel of nine weeks of summer vacation.

It seemed odd that I would shop alone once the kids were in school last September, but I soon grew used to the meditative escape, the leisurely browse. Granted, my kids are well past grabbing things off the shelf (yes, toddler mother, I understand why your cart is in the middle of the aisle), but they do disrupt the calm: they actually started punching each other in the cracker section last week.

Other than the requisite violence inherent in parenting boys, I also buy more food when they shop with me. Little One, a spring baby, loves all the little berries of spring and summer; my fall boy is drawn to the bags of crisp apples, and grumpy that I won't buy from things shipped from the southern hemisphere. We buy a big clam-shell of strawberries from California. Even though they're not local, at least the fruit in our patch has set, and we did see some local (but not organic) at the farmers market the day before.

On the way home, we stop by the library: Little One staggers under a stack of Hardy Boys and thicker books. I head to the magazine section. A little of this, a little of that, and I have my own thick stack to dip into and sip.

That evening, Darling Husband also partakes of my paper indulgence, and as we sit, exclaims, "eww!" "What?" I say. "Here's a recipe for chocolate mousse with strawberries and balsamic vinegar!" I smile and explain that the vinegar is a good foil, much like vanilla for chocolate, deepening the flavor.

So as I eye those strawberries that evening, I have it--nothing so involved as mousse, no, just a little indulgence.

Chocolate and Strawberry pots de crème
Serves 4

• 1/2 c strawberries
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 oz. semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped (I used Theo's 74%)
• 1 t cocoa powder
• Splash of balsamic vinegar

Wash and hull the strawberries, chop them into bite-sized bits and place them into the bottoms of four espresso cups. Set aside two pretty ones for garnish, cut in half lengthwise.

In a saucepan, heat the cream until it boils, then stir in the chocolate and cocoa powder until smooth. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and stir it in. Gently pour the mixture over the strawberries, using a spoon to push down any berries that float to the surface. Chill in refrigerator 1-2 hours.

Just before serving, garnish with strawberry half.

Yellow bowl

For many years, we have used a rotation diet in our household to help us balance between foods that act as allergens and eating what most people call "normally." A rotation gives us the chance to have lasagna and ice cream cones--but not every day. And the knowledge gained from learning to think and cook a different way makes it possible to adjust our diet to the stresses and illness that ebb and flow through our days.

Over the years, the rotation was honed to the rhythm of our lives: a lighter breakfast for those early dismissal days, wheat and diary allowed on Sundays when we were all home for tea and cake. Loads of spaghetti (spelt pasta with sheep's milk romano) on Wednesday, golden waffles on Sunday morning. When we were sick, we could use dairy substitutes even on "dairy" days; when traveling, we can choose the days to "blow the diet." The goal is to maintain our health in the long-term, and the method was not to deprive ourselves of things we loved to eat every single day of every week, of every month, for years or forever.

We bought the waffle iron six years ago, at a school auction. It was a whim, and we have used it almost every Sunday since then. There are exceptions: muffins when there were fresh blueberries; buttery hot cross buns for Easter morning, pancakes when camping. Over the years, we found a waffle mix we liked a lot, and it was sheer luck that it was based on a rice flour.

During our first weeks on the Emerald Isle, I acquired a few items that I knew we would need: a drying rack (two actually, since jeans and towels take two days to dry), a printer/scanner/copier (the scanner part to be paperless, and the printer part because paperless is still a distant dream), a good sized stockpot (pasta in teenage-sized portions), and a yellow mixing bowl. I couldn't bring the waffle iron with because of the voltage thing, but I figured I could still make pancakes from scratch.

I had read that Ireland, like many northern European nations, has a fairly high rate of celiac sprue, so I was expecting that gluten free products would be relatively easy to find. There are three different types of GF flour made by Odlums (the Irish equivalent of Pillsbury) in the supermarket, but they contain egg albumen as a binder, which means I can't use them. Luckily, the health food store in town had a little bag of rice-based bread flour, and the Internet had several GF pancake recipes to choose from.

The first pancakes out of the pan were pale and flavorless. I added some salt and sugar, and they started to taste better, especially when slathered with jam and yogurt. But they were still pale, and I knew I was in trouble when Number One used the term gelatinous when referring to them the second weekend.

So yesterday in Tesco, I bought what they call a sandwich pan. It looks a bit like a shallow pie pan, almost like a cake pan. What it does hold nicely is scones. Before kids, I had perfected buttery oat scones; this morning, my yellow bowl served to mix up some GF scones laced with chunks of green apples from the neighbor's tree. It may be that waffles will have to wait until we're home again.

Oatey Scones (GF)

1 3/4 c GF flour mix (I used Doves Farm White Bread mix, a base of white rice flour with potato starch, tapioca starch, and xantham gum)
1/4 t salt
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/4 c butter
2 T sugar
2 T brown sugar
1/4 c porridge oats
1/4 c apples, chopped
1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 c (soy) yogurt
3/4 c (soy) milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Cut in the butter. Mix in liquids as gently as possible. Dough should be moist & slightly sticky so add more if necessary, a little at a time.
Turn mixture into buttered pan, shape roughly, score in quarters (or eighths) with a floured knife. Bake 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with more butter and jam.

Autumn wind

The autumn wind blows open the gate,
St. Michael, for you we wait.
We follow you, show us the way,
With joy we greet this autumn day!
Good morning! good morning!

Just as I was ready to tuck in my computer for the night, I heard it. Plink, plunk on the new shed roof. Yes, the rain is finally here. And tomorrow’s Michaelmas festival? No worry, for it is merely autumn rains, torrential, then clearing enough to let a few sunbeams sneak through before it starts again. We think rain boots are an important part of any school event, and the children will slay the dragon come rain or come shine.

A smile breaks out as I look out the kitchen window this morning: everything is washed clean, the valley on the neighbor’s roof is brimming with leaves from their big-leaf maple, and our garden has a light dusting of golden cedar needles. The cedar tree smiles back at me, waving its handfuls of needles turned color but not yet dropped. We know we will mulch the flower beds together, he and I. I am content with life, warm in my home, the beauty around me, and the love in my life.

We will eat as a community today, one of the few chances we have to break bread as one. First grade will supply the bread: baskets brimming with little rolls, big rolls, crusty and soft, homemade and store-bought, and one mom will surely bring her excellent gluten free ones. To me has fallen the task of making salad dressing, as I balked when asked to purchase some. A double batch of Number One’s first teacher’s dressing will be our contribution.

Place in a jar with a lid

1½ cups extra virgin olive oil
1 cup lemon juice

Add ½-1 tsp each of the following (to taste):

Chopped parsley
Crushed garlic
Chopped onion
Celery salt
Salt & pepper

Shake to blend and serve.

All things Irish and chocolate

‘Tis the season to run around madly, trying to get everything done before we leave—nothing major, just a remodel and the taxes. And then there are the 1001 items to tick off our list, answering questions like, “where can I get a SIM card for my mobile phone?” “Where’s the nearest off-license?” and my personal favorite, “where will we buy our food?”

I took some time today with a map, trying to figure out just where we’re staying (and how to get there from the airport), and discovered it’s just two stops up the tram line from the Dundrum Shopping Centre, which, I learn from their Website, is open extra hours for St. Patrick’s Day. I also note, with some disappointment, that I can eat at McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, or (gasp!) TGIFriday’s, after stimulating the economy at The Body Shop, Tommy Hilfiger or even Build-a-Bear. When I can’t go any further, I can always grab a mocha at Starbuck’s.

But all is not American here: the anchor stores are Tesco and Marks & Spencers, along with one I’ve never visited before called Harvey Nichols. While Tesco and M&S are UK ‘imports,’ they do well with providing local produce and products (see my musings about flown food); however, The upscale Irish store’s marketing copy focuses on the local.

To wit: Harvey is featuring carrageen moss, traditionally used as a remedy for colds and flu, but that can also act as an alternative to gelatin for desserts and savoury dishes. Since I’m trying to fight off a cold on the eve of flying, I am sorely tempted. But then I read on, and my knees go weak: artisan chocolate bars created in Limerick, with “slightly left-field flavour combinations” such as Gin & Tonic, Sea Salt, Wild Flower, Lime & Black Pepper and Star Anise & Ginger. But wait, that’s not all: a chocolate truffle tribute to that very Irish cocktail, the Black Velvet (made from equal measures of champagne and Irish stout).

******

With chocolate on my mind, Number One Son reminded me that we needed to make a cake for Darling Husband’s birthday. Since we’ve both been trying to stick to very healthy fare before our departure (in anticipation of blowing the rotation diet in a huge way), I thought I would try the chocolate cardamom combination on a GF cake base. We took it with to the school community gathering this evening, and amazingly, there was some left, but only because the kids decamped to the carousel before we pulled the cake out of hiding!

Chocolate Cardmom Cake

1½ cups GF flour (Bob’s Red Mill, contains garbanzo flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, ‘sweet’ white sorghum flour and fava flour)
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process; I used Green & Black)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. xanthan gum
¾ tsp. salt
1¼ cup milk (cow, soy, rice, almond, etc.)
1/3 cup butter, margarine or shortening
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
½ tsp. ground cardamom

Preheat oven to 350°F; grease an 11”x7” pan, set aside. Blend all ingredients with food processor or mixer until thoroughly blended. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool, then garnish with melted chocolate, chopped smoked almonds and chopped hard toffee.

Ireland on my mind

With St. Patrick's day fast approaching, it's no surprise that the press is trying to find an Irish angle in their living sections. And it's of interest personally, as the Emerald Isle is our first destination--we'll be eating in County Dublin a short week from now.

Hard-hitting news purveyor CNN informs me that Guinness sales in Ireland are declining, as younger drinkers are favoring things that taste better (not bitter) and--get this--don't take two minutes to pour. Stout, that deep, creamy brew, must be poured slowly and allowed to settle for a minute or two before it can be drunk, and today's youth don't want to wait that long. Rural pubs are closing, offset by the opening of non-Irish Irish pubs elsewhere.

This isn't news to us, as sensible legislation banning things like driving drunk naturally changed people's drinking habits. Since no one with any amount of self-respect in Ireland would dream of drinking stout from a bottle or can, a half-pint at the pub is pretty much the limit. Since we're living on the Luas (light rail) line, we plan to take ample advantage of the smoke-free pubs to indulge in fine local brews on tap (Yes, I've tried stout, but still prefer some of the drier apple ciders, an incredible-tasting local product). Plus, I know that wherever I can find a supermarket, there will be an off-license, the Irish equivalent of a liquor store, nearby, and I'll be stocking up on some hard cider and Bailey's.

The San Francisco Chronicle, with its Alice Watersian perspective on all things food, takes a more upbeat look at Irish cuisine. Yup, it appears that young Irish chefs took their training in France and California and then reversed tradition and returned home to celebrate their local goodness. Gone is boiled beef and cabbage, replaced by scallop and cockle (alive, alive-o) risotto and pots de crème laced with Bailey's. As one chef cited note, "The sea is just minutes away, why use imported products when there are so many excellent traditional producers nearby?"

Oh, I am truly looking forward to the local bounty-there are no factory farms in Ireland, the cows really do graze on grass. The sea is just minutes away, and the dairy products are absolutely out of this world. We shall eat local; just as we will eat locally for St. Paddy's: 'grey' corned beef from Oregon, Savoy cabbage and fingerling potatoes from Washington. And maybe I'll try that pot de crème recipe to use up some eggs and Bailey's.

********
Bailey's Pots de Crème

Makes 8

Made with one of Ireland's famous spirits, Baileys Irish Cream, these take just minutes to prepare and make a tasty finish to any meal. Serve them with homemade shortbread cookies, if desired. Adapted from "Full On Irish," by Kevin Dundon (Epicure Press, 2005).

INGREDIENTS:

2 2/3 cups heavy cream

10 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

1/2 cup freshly brewed espresso

18 ounces mascarpone

5 tablespoons powdered sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

Instructions: Whip the cream in a bowl until soft peaks have formed. Place the Baileys Irish cream in a bowl with the espresso, mascarpone cheese and sugar. Beat until well combined, then fold in the cream. Divide among cups or ramekins of scant 1-cup size and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight before serving. Serve chilled.