Daily Loaf

Gears grinding down. Head and heart heavy. I took stock of my life and wasn’t thrilled with what I saw: broke (or damn near close to it), ailing family members, loveless (yet again), spinning wheels at work and school (if it wasn’t a glass ceiling I had hit it may as well have been concrete, for all its crushing power).

I called off work, sick with what could have been H1N1 and thought, “damn… is this all there really is?”

2 days later, I emerged from my Baudelaire-ian ennui, and found my life-force returning. Spirits lifting, glass-half-full, I gave thanks for the good health I’ve grown so used to enjoying, and reminded myself that as long as my creative nature is churning, there’s butter to be made.

Day 1 out of “Le Funk,” I did what always seems to set my heart and mind at peace: cooked and cleaned. Somewhere inside this MMA-badass-wannabe is a dainty, domestic ‘lil thang, quite content to putter around the house dusting, mopping, and chopping.

I made some Pumpkin Pudding.
Now you can, too… Read the rest of this entry »

Wanderer of ages.

There was a time when I dragged my car across the country, life in back pocket, convinced the next great thing lay under one of those rocks out there.

My adventures took me far and wide, hemmed in only by this country’s borders and the limits of my own imagination.

At the ripe old age of twenty-two, I ended up in Berkeley, CA, home of everything both weird and ridiculously normal at the same time. Buddhism, yoga, homeless people having acid flashbacks in the now-decrepit and dangerous People’s Park, the crown jewels of San Francisco Bay Area wealth glittering with haunting illusion high in the Berkeley hills. The Ashby Flea Market, a hodge-podge of booths with knick-knacks for sale, set up every weekend at the local BART (or subway) station.

I looked forward to Sundays, when I’d get off work from my collectivist restaurant job in time to enjoy a delicious cassava pone sweet treat in the just setting sun.

Read the rest of this entry »

Polenta. Peasant food of Gods. “Grits with a college education,” as one wise customer put it.

Thickly ground cornmeal, originating in husk of sweet yellow or white corn, dried, grounded, pounded, whisked and cooked, preferrably over a double boiler, 5 parts to 1, water to cornmeal.

PHASE 1:

A porridge like pot of mush appears. There is no better way to state it. Polenta, in this state, is soft, warm, nourishing, and good. Add butter, olive oil, grated parmiggiano-reggiano (perhaps a pecorino romano instead) heck, you can use the powder-fine grated parm in the green grocery store bottle; it will taste good. Serve in bowls as appetizer, side dish, minced parsley on top. This soft polenta is easy on the eyes on a cold, winter day.

PHASE 2:

Instead of eating your mush, Read the rest of this entry »

I get paid to decorate cakes. Or, rather, I get paid to teach other people how to decorate cakes.

A sweet deal, no pun intended. Helping others do what I love is a real hoot, and this summer’s class really churned out some nice ones.

Cake decorating is simple:

You need desire. You need drive. You must be able to focus. And your short term memory must be somewhat intact.

If you have all of the above, you’re good to go. Find yourself a book, a teacher, the necessary equipment, and get started. What you don’t already know, you’ll learn along the way.

You can start with this, the basic white cake recipe for the cakes we decorate in my class. Read the rest of this entry »

Berbere, Awaze, Mitmita. Spicy words denoting super-spicy flavor. Combine with beef for stove-top success. Host to an Addis native (Addis Ababa, capital city of culture-rich African nation, Ethiopia), I was recently schooled in the ways of preparing Ethiopian-style sauteed meat, or tibs.

Tibs is a fun and easy dish that capitalizes on the magnificence of berbere, a 20-ingredient spice blend, and onions, both found throughout Ethiopian cookery.

My love affair with Ethiopian food began in Berkeley, CA, host to numerous fabulous Ethiopian restaurants. When I moved back to my home state of Florida, I brought a little of that Ethiopian flavor with me, adapting traditional recipes and tastes to fit the “can’t quite take the heat” Gainesville populace. My friendship with Fitsame — my guest — came about as a result of a book I published, Ethiopian-inspired Cooking, a compendium of vegetarian recipes, as well as other publishing interests we both shared.

When she announced a trip to the States this year, I knew I was in for a traditional Ethiopian cooking treat. Yes, we made sourdough Injera flatbread from tef flour. Yes, we dipped into platters of lentils, shuro and potato salad. And yes, we practiced the tradition of feeding a guest three times (so as not to make an enemy, but a friend) by placing a small bit of rolled food into their mouth.

But it was with tibs that I received my proper Ethiopian cooking lesson.

ETHIOPIAN BEEF TIBS

Beef (about 1 pound, free range/organic steak if you can get it, any cut will do)
1 large onion
1 green bell pepper
Berbere spice blend (buy online, at local international grocer, or make a substitute with 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon ginger powder, 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, 1 teaspoon dry basil, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon ground clove all mixed in a bowl together)

Cube beef into small cubes, about 1/2 inch square. Marinate meat for a few hours in awaze sauce (1 tablespoon berbere, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon red wine). This is my modification — Fitsame cooked the beef dry in the pan, then added seasoning, but I think this would be a nice addition.

Saute onion, sliced or diced, in enough vegetable oil to cover; tradition is to use 1/2 cup of water, adding more as needed until onion is soft. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes.

Lower heat, add beef and thinly sliced or diced bell pepper, turning regularly, until cooked through, about another 10 minutes. If cooking dry beef, cook in separate pan first, then add to onions and bell pepper. If using marinated beef, go ahead and add to already sauteed onions with bell pepper.

Season again with 1 tablespoon berbere and a splash of red wine. Saute another 5 minutes until liquid from wine cooks out.

Garnish with some fresh sprigs of rosemary and a side dish of awaze sauce for dipping.

Ian Finn, former cafe manager, cookbook author, cooking instructor and food maverick, dishes up a whole lotta amazing recipes here.

She was a smokin’ hot babe. Er… dish.
Savory egg filling. Legs a mile long. A real hot potato.
Er … filled with potato.
And herbs, cheese. A melt in your mouth kind of beauty.
She got me fueled up for the day, and we had that long, slow burn that just sticks with you.
I never went hungry when she was around.
I’m not the jealous type, either. But when she was on my plate … I finished every last bite. No point in sharing a dish this good.
Quiche? Not for a real man. But frittata?
Well, I’m no sexpert, but Rome could give Paris a run for its money romance-wise. And this Italian dish? Frittata? Always the way I want to start my day… Read the rest of this entry »

We keeps it cool.
Summer says “hot.”
Some like it hot.
We like it hot.
Summer says “fun.”
Fun in the sun.

For max fun in the sun, you want a meal that will keep you on the run.

Quinoa Tabouli. Read the rest of this entry »

Enter the Dragon.

So you want to be a culinary ninja? Ah, little-san, then you must learn “The Art of the Appetizer.”

Garlic? Yes.

Olive Oil? Ah… now you are learning…

Artichoke Hearts? “Wa-sah!”

Clearly, my white crane cooking is no longer a match for your stand-up game.

You have learned well. Now, you are ready to defend yourself, feed others, and present at the table in the Most High Hall at the Temple Palace. You prepare a rich appetizer dip with skill, and well-synched voice-over. There is nothing more I can teach you. Except maybe for this: Read the rest of this entry »

Who says old-fashioned cake decorating with the most wildly decorated concoctions of today?

Not I. Buttercream basics, provided you have a ten dollar cake decorating kit, can go a long way toward producing an awesomely decorated cake. Read the rest of this entry »

The author furiously at work decorating cakes for class

 With the rise of all-things-cooking has come a slew of television shows, celebrity chefs, designer cookbooks, and yes, that one-time silly-frillyness formerly relegated to weddings and 3rd grade birthday parties: cake decorating. The cake decorating movement, in line with the new consciousness about cooking (see: slow food, organic food, food competitions, gourmet food, Top Chef, and more), is breaking boundaries and setting new artistic standards as the general public gets excited about everything food-related. Programs such as The Food Network’s Ace of Cakes highlight the possibilities (due in large parts to the liberal use of rolled icing, or fondant) that cake bakers, caterers, and decorators have these days. And possibilities are in abundance! The imagination is truly the only limiting factor as cakes take the shape of buildings, airplanes, dirt-bike racing courses, designer purses, and more. Read the rest of this entry »

Grandpa Schleifer cooked like a real man. Auto mechanic, Polish immigrant, World War II veteran, speaker of seven languages, John Wayne fan… he was a hard-boiled New Yorker, who brought a gentle touch to all of his tough-guy activities.

And man, could he cook. As a young boy, I always got excited when this strong-armed, tire-changing, don’t-mess-with-my-friends-or-family tough guy, put on his apron and announced that potato-nick, kugel, and beef brisket would be on the table shortly. I knew I would eat well that day.

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Looking for a quick pick-me-up on a flatteningly hot Florida day? Why not combine the best of both worlds: cold and caffeinated?

Sure, you could go to your neighborhood coffee shop and enjoy a nice, iced beverage. I do that all the time. The drinks are good, the barista’s friendly (or entertainingly sullen), the view beats my own back yard at times, and $3 is cheap rent to pay for a space where I can enjoy hours of people-watching, studying, or chatting amiably with friends.

But sometimes ya don’t feel like going out or have a very good reason to stay in (see: girlfriend, couch, movie rental, hot summer day). In those cases, it would behoove you to prepare a smashingly brilliant coffee drink at home. Read the rest of this entry »

Fondant, or rolled icing, is largely responsible for the “can-do” in the wild world of cake decorating. No longer limited to a whipped, or fluffy buttercream frosting, cake decorators now use a rolled icing similar to regular flour dough, which can be kneaded, colored, formed, and pressed onto a cake which has had a light layer of buttercream frosting added to it for flavor and adhesion.

While fondant’s silky smooth surface looks great, the taste gets mixed reviews. Keep in mind that while loaded with sugar, this gum-stabilized product will stay “edible” when properly sealed at room temperature for years. If fresher is better, fondant will not be winning any taste competitions soon. But it looks fabulous and has created endless possibilities for cake afficionados. What follows are some fondant tips for the just-getting-started cake decorator.  Read the rest of this entry »

What you don’t know about espresso will kill you.

Well, perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But it kills me to hear people pronounce “espresso,” “expresso.” And most people don’t have the first clue as to what actually goes in to the making of a decent cup of espresso. Odd, given both the Latin and Italian taste for a short, sweet, stiff shot of this beloved, dark brew, and how popular espresso products have become both here and abroad.

So what exactly goes in to the making of a cup of hot espresso? Read the rest of this entry »

These days, we hear more and more about Green. Green energy, green power, green cars, green cleaners, “the greening of corporate America,” and more. All well and good, lest smog, brackish waters, and short-term thinking consume us all.

But let’s not forget that original pioneer of Green: the leafy variety, otherwise known as “a heapin’ mess ‘o greens,” cooked and served right up on your dinner plate.

For years, a cultural divide seemed to keep the nutritionally powerful field greens, such as kale, collards, mustards, turnips and the like, far from the plate of the average American. At times heralded, at times degraded, these nutritional power-punchers were thought of as soul food, and soul food only. Mainstream white culture, when it wasn’t cooking broccoli and zucchini-squash to death, would stick with its tender spinach and include little else, thank you very much. Enter the locavore movement.

Recipe and more after the break: Read the rest of this entry »