Sopa de Flor de Calabaza (Squash Blossom Soup)

First, I want to say thank you to all of you guys that check my site or get my newsletter regularly – even when there is a bit of a lull. You guys are truly what keep me coming back, inspiring me to share my recipes and thoughts on cultural foods. With the weather turning a bit cool here in NYC, I’ve been on a soup-making kick as of late. It just feels right – that warm comfort – and I’ve been experimenting like crazy: lentils with coconut, a kicked up chicken and barley soup, no-cream squash and apple.

This is a recipe straight from Exotic Table – inspired by a traditional Mexican soup. Squash blossoms are the delicate, edible flowers of the zucchini plant and can often be found at the farmers’ market. The traditional, Mexican version of this soup purées the squash blossoms right in, but I think they are more beautiful left whole, to finish the soup. With the corn, potatoes, and squash, this soup is silky and rich without any cream, but a dollop of crème fraiche at the end really brings the flavor together. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into a small dice

1 medium butternut squash, cut into a small dice

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups chicken stock

A small bunch of thyme

1 fresh or dried bay leaf

tiny pinch saffron (optional)

3 ears of corn, kernels removed and scraped for juice

8-10 large squash blossoms

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Crème fraîche, for garnish

Procedure

In a soup pot, heat the unsalted butter over medium-low. Add the onions and jalapeno and sauté for 4 to 6 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the potatoes, squash and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add in the stock, thyme, bay leaf and saffron and bring up to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.

Now, add in the corn kernels and any juice from the corn and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes until all of the vegetables are tender.

Remove the thyme bunch and the bay leaf, and purée the soup in a blender, working in batches. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I like the squash blossoms to be slightly raw, so I put 2 of them in each bowl along with a dollop of crème fraiche and pour the hot soup right over. The soup wilts them just enough.

Corn with Green Chili Butter and Toasted Coconut

I mentioned a few weeks back that I would be posting one recipe a month from Exotic Table leading up to the cookbook release, and here is another fun one just in time for Labor Day, barbecuing, and glorious, end-of-summer cookin’: my corn with green chili butter and toasted coconut.

The story behind this one is that I grew up eating this rich corn curry—pieces of corn on the cob simmered in a delicious stew with coconut, green chilies, and cilantro. When summer comes around and corn is in season, I’m not usually in the mood for stews, so I came up with this recipe to satisfy my cravings—buttery, grilled corn with sweetness, heat, and the crunch of toasted coconut.

Think of it like Mexican street corn…but East African-style! This is deliciously simple and will add the perfect spice to your everyday grilled corn. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

6 ears of corn

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon honey

1 serrano chili, finely minced, seeds and ribs removed

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

3 tablespoons unsweetened dessicated coconut, toasted

salt, to finish

Preheat the oven to 400°F or preheat the grill. Roast/grill corn in the husks for 25 minutes. Remove the husks and any remaining silk.

In a small bowl, combine butter, salt, honey, serrano chili, and cilantro.

Liberally spread chili butter on corn and sprinkle with the toasted coconut. Finish with a bit of salt and serve.

Jamaican Ackee & Saltfish

Recently, a friend of mine from Jamaica who happens to be an incredible cook gave me an impromptu cooking lesson. She showed me how to make Ackee and Saltfish, Jamaica’s national dish, and, although I didn’t write down exact measurements (given the impromptu nature of it all!), I wanted to share the experience with you guys and at least give you the building blocks…

First, let’s talk about ackee – it’s Jamaica’s national fruit, though it’s not really sweet and, in this dish, cooks up like a vegetable. Ackee starts out closed and green (and is actually poisonous in this state), and then it matures to red-orange and splits open to reveal black seeds and white-cream flesh (which is perfectly safe to eat). Obviously, finding the fresh fruit here in the States is pretty tough, but you can sometimes find it canned or frozen.

The second part of the dish is the saltfish, which is dried, salted cod. The cod can be soaked for a few hours to reduce its level of salt or used as is – a quick poach and flaked up, it’s ready for the dish. Ackee and saltfish is really a sauté, and, in our version, we started with some bacon, and then added sliced onions and peppers, a minced, killer Scotch Bonnet pepper, chopped tomato, and sliced scallions. We threw in the flaked saltfish and then carefully folded in the ackee and some fresh thyme.

Ackee can be boiled ahead of time or added into the sauté – it cooks up very quickly. It turns from a white to an egg-yellow when cooked and can crumble easily (so be ginger with it). We fried up some dumplings to go with the creamy, buttery ackee (the tradition), though rice, green bananas, yams or even fried breadfruit also go really well with it.

This is truly a breakfast (or brunch) of champions! Creamy, spicy, and deeply flavorful and beautiful paired with the crispy, fried dumplings. Thank you, May, for the ackee and saltfish tutorial!

Cookies and Milk (not that kind…)

So a bunch of my girlfriends had babies this year, and all of them are nursing in lieu of using formula. As a mom, I know tips and tricks are always really helpful, so I thought I would create this recipe as a gift to all my fellow mommies out there. It’s a cookie loaded with incredibly healthy and natural ingredients like wheat germ and flax that taste amazing (and also happen to help boost supply for nursing moms)…

Another girlfriend of mine introduced me to lactation cookies, and I just thought why spend on a biweekly order when you can make ahead and freeze as much as you want! Galactagogues are foods, herbs, etc. that help promote lactation – these cookies have oats, flax, and brewer’s yeast, all of which are great at boosting your milk supply. Brewer’s yeast is not to be confused with regular old, active dry yeast used in baking. This type of yeast is the kind that’s used in beer-making, is rich in minerals, protein, and B vitamins, and can be found in powder form at the health food store.

Otherwise, these cookies taste great and are fine for the whole family to eat (without milk-producing consequences!). I love chocolate and dried fruit in mine, but you can play around with the add-ons because the recipe is pretty forgiving. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 2 dozen cookies (size-dependent)

1 ¼ cup oats

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup wheat germ

¼ cup ground flax seed

3 tablespoons brewers yeast

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup vegetable shortening

1/3 cup white sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ¼ cup dark chocolate chunks or chips

¾ cup dried cranberries or cherries

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

In a bowl, mix together oats, flour, wheat germ, flax, brewer’s yeast, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer using a paddle attachment, cream together butter, shortening and both sugars. Add the egg and vanilla extracts. Add oat mixture and mix until almost completely incorporated. It should mostly be sticking to the paddle at this point. Scrape down, add in chips and dried fruit and mix for another 15 to 20 seconds until uniform.

At this point, I like to turn the cookie dough out onto plastic wrap, form into a cylinder, and freeze for about 10 minutes. This makes it easier to cut into even sized, round cookies. Conversely, you can just drop rounded spoonfuls a few inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes depending on how chewy or crunchy or what size you made the cookies. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Cover for My Cookbook, Exotic Table

Cover for my Cookbook, Exotic Table

At long last! I have been working on this cookbook for some time now, and we are reaching the final stages. I am beyond excited and can’t wait to share all of the delicious recipes and tips with you guys. In the meantime, I thought I would share the cover, and isn’t it apropros? Me adding a dash of something special to put a signature twist on a dish…

The book will be available for pre-order from Amazon sometime in July, so I’ll update you all then. The release date will be some time in October – perfect to start planning Thanksgivings, holidays, and family dinners!

Thanks for all of your support through the years to make this dream become a possibility!

Pomegranate-Mint Arnold Palmers

Now that the weather has officially turned here in NYC and the heat is on, I’ve been craving iced non-alcholic drinks on the regular to cool me down. Specifically, I’ve been nursing an addiction to Arnold Palmers, that half iced tea, half lemonade concoction that’s also referred to as Half and Half. They are ridiculously thirst quenching and have just enough caffeine that I don’t miss my coffee.

In the summer, I love to make a different pitcher of something every few days and leave it in the fridge. That way, when friends stop by I have the perfect, impromptu, non-alcoholic drink to serve that also works as a base for a cocktail (splash of vodka, anyone?) if the mood permits…

Of course, such a basic drink deserves a little twist, and I dressed mine up with pomegranate (2 ways!) and a touch of mint. I added a bit of pomegranate juice, but I also used pomegranate molasses to sweeten the drink. I’ve mentioned pomegranate, and other fruit, molasses in the past, and though the term molasses may call to mind a super sweet sugar byproduct, fruit molasses are actually quite healthy. They are just the cooked down version of the fresh juice, and I prefer using this as a natural sweetener here than anything else. You may want it to be a bit sweeter, so feel free to toss in a bit of agave or simple syrup if you need and enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 1 big pitcher

4 English Breakfast tea bags

½ cup lemon juice

1 cup pomegranate juice

7-8 tbsps pomegranate molasses

additional simple syrup or agave, to taste

mint, for garnish

Procedure

Bring 8 cups of water up to a boil. Add tea bags and let steep 4 to 6 minutes. Remove tea bags and cool completely in the fridge.

Transfer cooled tea to a pitcher and add the lemon and pomegranate juices along with the pomegranate molasses. Taste and add simple syrup or agave to taste, if desired.

To serve, muddle a bit of mint in the glass before adding ice and pour the Arnold Palmer right over.

Peruvian Purple Corn

The other day I stumbled across some Peruvian purple corn in a local, ethnic market and had to share it with you guys. I nabbed a big stash of it, since it’s dried and will last for a minute in my pantry. Peruvian purple corn is a variety grown in the Andes and is used to make a popular drink called chicha morada and a dessert called mazamorra morada, both of which I had in Peru a few years back.

I’ll start with the fact that there are a bunch of studies that show that purple corn has incredible health benefits. Rich in antioxidants and with anti-inflammatory properties, it’s thought to treat everything from high blood pressure to obesity. Doesn’t it always seem like foods some cultures have been consuming for years for its health properties we are just discovering?

Now, mazamorra morada is a sweet corn pudding, thickened with potato or cornstarch and scented with spices like cinnamon and clove. But my favorite way to use this is chicha morada, which is a great warm or cold weather drink. It’s extremely easy to make, and you really don’t need much of a recipe. You basically want to steep the dried corn in water with a few sticks of cinnamon, some allspice berries, a few cloves, a bit of apple or quince, maybe some dried cherries, and pineapple rind. Let that simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, sweeten with sugar or honey, add a bit of (key) lime juice and that’s it!

It’s served cold, and in many places, chopped fruit is added at the end, much like sangria. A big secret is to let it stand in the fridge for a few days. That fermented taste is signature to a great chicha morada. Enjoy!

My Breakfast Clafoutis

Lately, I’ve been craving desserts on a daily basis, and so in an effort not to get too crazy, I’ve been searching out healthier alternatives to satisfy my sweet tooth. I made these as a fast and healthy weeknight dessert, but the leftovers quickly became my morning snack over the following days. And why not? Eggs, milk, fruit and almonds? Perfect breakfast food!

These are decently healthier than the last version of clafoutis I posted with Amarena cherries and dark chocolate…which are delicious! But, here, I used lowfat milk instead of heavy cream and made them gluten free with the addition of almond flour in lieu of all-purpose. Everything (except the berries) gets whirred in a blender before a short rest period, so these are super quick to make and can’t be easier for clean up.

I don’t put a ton of sugar in these since I have them for breakfast, so you may need to sweeten them up a bit more if you like it on the sweet side or finish with a bit of powdered sugar or an extra drizzle of honey. If you are using peak season berries, they should be plenty sweet – I use frozen berries in the off-season months myself. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 6 6-ounce ramekins

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk, lowfat or otherwise

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tsps almond extract

¼ cup honey or light brown sugar

¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup almond flour

1 ½ cups berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries or some combination)

cooking spray, for greasing

powdered sugar, for garnish (optional)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a blender, blend together eggs, milk, extracts, honey and salt. Add flour and blend for 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides and blend for another 10 to 15 seconds until flour is incorporated and there are no lumps. Rest batter in the refrigerator for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to overnight.

Grease the ramekins, and place on a large baking sheet. Place ¼ cup of mixed berries in each ramekin and top with an even amount of batter in each.

Transfer baking sheet into the oven and bake for 23-25 minutes until lightly browned, raised and the custard is set. Remove and let cool slightly before serving. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Banyuls, My New Obsession

In cooking for my cookbook, I went through a slew of different ingredients and techniques, played a lot, and intensely focused on flavor for my dishes. I had used fortified sweet wines like Port and Sherry in the past, but Banyuls was a new experiment for me, and I had to share with you guys. It’s a wine from the southeastern portion of France, called Banyuls-sur-Mer, very close to Spain, and it adds ridiculous flavor and depth to sauces, stews and marinades.

The wine is made primarily from Grenache grapes, harvested in the fall during peak sweetness, and result in wines that range in color from blond to red (most common). It’s aged in oak barrels for at least 12 months. What makes a wine “fortified” is that a spirit is added during the wine making process. Here, alcohol is added to stop the fermentation process of the grapes, a process called mutage.

But really – how does it taste? For me, the flavor is reminiscent of baked stone fruits, with chocolate, caramel and even tobacco notes intermingling. It’s complex and sweet, and is the type of dessert wine you’d pair with a foie gras or a caramel tart. The vinegar made from the wine, Banyuls vinegar, is equally intriguing – a delicate, deeply flavored concoction that falls somewhere between a balsamic and sherry vinegar.

Chicken or pork recipes that call for a bit of deglazing with wine are beautiful with Banyuls – I used it in a chicken and biscuits recipe in my cookbook where the stew had meaty mushrooms in it. It’s delicious to marinate steaks and to poach fruit for a chutney or even a dessert – think: Banyuls poached figs with ice cream (yum!). Let me know if you’ve ever cooked with it and what you made!

Our Global Kitchen @ The American Museum of Natural History

Recently, a friend suggested I check out an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History called Our Global Kitchen, and it could not have been more up my alley. I stood in front of each piece of the exhibit for silly amounts of time, greedily absorbing as much as I could. For anyone interested in food – farming practices, what local means to different cultures, how trade has shaped cuisine, the science of taste, connectivity between food and heritage – this is an extremely informative and fun exhibit that I highly recommend and may end up checking out again!

This exhibit literally walks you through so many details on the history and evolution of food – it’s amazing. The initial portion details how farming practices have changed, evolved to fit while simultaneously shaping our food needs. I was amazed at how chicken and eggs have increased production for our demand.

This is a global exhibit, so getting to see how farming works in other places around the world is fascinating. Though I am a huge fan of Gotham Greens in BK!

You walk through a typical Aztec market and see how ingredients, like chocolate, were used then (savoury not sweet!).

A look at how Kublai Khan ate shows how Mongol rule created a unifying force and a true blend of foods. Is it fusion? Can you call it that?

What’s interesting is that I lightly touch on a few of these points in my cookbook, in terms of how I see food now and evolving in our much younger country. I think history will repeat itself with all of the ethnicities in America contributing to a rich food culture. What do you think?

Happy New Years + Shots from a Jamaican Market

Happy New Year to you all! Between the cookbook deadline, holidays and travel, I have been a bit MIA, but I wanted to wish you all a very happy and healthy 2013. AND I wanted to share some pretty cool shots from an open-air market I visited in Jamaica. This is a true local spot and gave me a great snapshot of what’s traditionally used in real Jamaican cooking.

This is fresh sorrel used to make a delicious, tart drink. You also may know this as hibiscus, if you’ve ever had the tea. I’ve always seen it in dried form, so good to know what it looks like fresh!

Talking that talk!

This is a major part of the cuisine, the national fruit of Jamaica, ackee. It’s often eaten with saltfish and related to the lychee and longan actually. Unripe, it can be toxic.

A little spice shopping – here is fresh nutmeg with its wrapper, mace.

The ubiquitous scotch bonnet pepper! I love it, but that heat is deadly. I was shocked by how much went into Jerk seasoning – such a key flavor.

White Sapote

I stumbled across this fruit at my local grocer, and the produce guy was so convincing of this fruit’s deliciousness that I had to pick up a few. It’s called white sapote, a member of the citrus family that comes from Central America and Mexico. It’s somewhere between a peach and an apricot in size and has a soft, fleshy pulp similar to an avocado with multiple pits.

The fruit starts off green and firm and ripens to a yellow color. This can happen pretty quickly, so if you leave it out to ripen, watch it so it doesn’t go over. When ripe, unlike other citrus, there is no acidity. It’s sweet and custard-y with notes of vanilla, pear and banana – if there is any tinge of bitter, it’s still unripe (I learned this the hard way!). It’s unlike any other fruit except possible the custard apple or cherimoya, which also have a sweet, custard-like texture.

Interestingly enough, the fruit was referred to in a Mexican dialect as “sleep sapote” because it has soporific (sleep-inducing) effects. Although the fruit is harmless, the seeds apparently contain narcotic compounds, so don’t eat them!

An Easy Thanksgiving Side: Cranberry Salsa

Thanksgiving is my favorite of favorites, and I’ve already gone on and on about how my sides turn into a total global mash up. I love the day and although I go a little prep crazy, I do try to sneak in at least a few, no-brainer, quick dishes to make my life (and any voluntary sous-chefs!) a little easier.

This is a fast, Mexican-inspired side using seasonal fresh cranberries – don’t worry you can use frozen if that’s what you got. I like to mix this up the night before and let all the flavors mingle (and the cranberries break down a bit). It’s really tasty and adds a bit of heat and piquant flavor to the meal….enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 6 to 8

3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, halved

½ red onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and ribbed, finely chopped

2 – 4 tbsps sugar

pinch of salt

½ tsp lime zest

juice of half a lime

small handful of cilantro, finely chopped

Procedure

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. Since different batches of cranberries can be sweeter than others, adjust the amount of sugar to your personal taste.

Refrigerate covered for at least a half hour to let the flavors marry. Serve chilled.

Finger Limes and a Superstorm

I am writing this one week since Hurricane Sandy took center stage in New York City – a sandy, watery, windy whirlwind leaving some of us lucky and merely power/internet/cell service-less and others devastated. The week was a suspension of normal life and while some of us have gone back to work, others are still dealing with the after effects of the storm.

I have to share ways to help. Edible Manhattan sums up some ways to eat for a good cause, and Gothamist does a fundraiser round up of its own. Huffington Post has an updated list of organizations that are helping and ways to get involved, and, of course, the Food Bank of New Yorkis a great way to start.

Now, on to a much less important but still very interesting discovery I had this week: finger limes. Although I’ve read about them for quite some time, I’ve never gotten an up close and personal look at them until recently. Finger limes are mainly grown in Australia, though there are a few growers in the U.S. selling them as well. They are indeed limes in the shape of fingers, but the quirkiness extends beyond that.

Crack open one of these little luscious fruits, and instead of traditional citrus pulp, there are tiny bubbles of citrus juiciness. Think: citrus caviar. The little balls burst in your mouth – it’s like nature’s original spherification (without the molecular gastronomy part). A girlfriend of mine described it as a burst of zesty freshness in her mouth!

The flavor to me is very much like the scent of kaffir lime – lemon-limey with grassy and floral notes. I love the texture and could easily see layering this on a tiradito or crudo dish or in lieu of caviar with crème fraiche for a quick, crostini appetizer. It would be gorgeous with desserts – I’m just hoping we see more of this in the markets, so I can make a recipe to share with you all!

Behind the Cookbook Cover

Recently, I shot the cover of my cookbook and I wanted to share with you guys some behind-the-scenes shots over the day. It was a loooong day and a great time! and I worked with an incredible photographer, Michael Creagh. The day was full of antics and outtakes, a make-me-laugh playlist, and plenty of goofing around. Check out some of the shots after the jump.

Food and set styling courtesy of Yvette

The scrutiny begins

How many cameras do I need

More scrutiny

It was freezing out, so all of us are getting psyched to brave the cold

The day could not have been possible without the help of all the friends that made it amazing, so thank you, thank you, thank you to Michael and Michael, Hawa, Yvette, and my hardcore, roller-wearing girl Yahaira. Can’t wait to show you guys the final pics

Half Manuscript Deadline and Playing with Ingredients

This week I have been a complete catastrophe! Half of my manuscript is due, and I am writing my booty off to make the deadline (broken finger and all). I spent the entire week cooking and writing….and revising and writing again! Being a stress basket aside, I did experiment a bit with some ingredients and wanted to share my findings with you all.

In this photo on the left is sumac, in its whole, dried berry form. I use sumac all the time in za’atar and have only really seen it already ground. I had some thoughts about using it whole but after biting into it I changed my mind. It has a small pit, not unlike a pomegranate, but much tougher since it’s dried. The flavor is incredible though – tart and floral, and I’m happy to grind it and keep it moving.

On the left is hibiscus, and I have been on a full-on West Indian kick this week! Dried hibiscus is called sorrel there and used to make a tart soft drink of the same name, spiced with cinnamon and clove and usually served around the holidays. I played around with it for my dessert section of the book and am pumped about how it all came out.

I also cooked up some oxtail for a pasta dish and killer peas and rice. I have never used a recipe to make nor given much thought about how much of anything goes into these dishes. I’m on automatic when I cook them, so it’s really been interesting for me – translating my body’s memory of cooking into measurements and finite amounts. Does it taste the same? I don’t know!! I’m being crazy – they do….they came out full-flavored and I can’t wait until I see them in the book.

I’m throwing this photo in because I love the stuff and have been messing with it in all sorts of recipes. I’ll just say – you’ll never look at French dressing the same!

Tristar Strawberries and a Broken Finger

I’m going to start with the good news. Recently, a little European-style market called All Good Things opened up in the heart of Tribeca – think little cheese stand, my fave meat purveyor, incredibly fresh seafood and farmstand produce along with a little bar to eat your freshly opened oysters with a glass of wine.

Amongst the produce this weekend were some gorgeous Tristar Strawberries, and I hadn’t seen them before so I wanted to share with you guys too. They are miniature, super sweet with an intense strawberry flavor, and they fruit throughout the summer and even into the fall. Anyway, if you can get your hands on them, grab ‘em. These little guys are going into one of my recipes for the cookbook, an end of summer berry bread pudding of sorts….

As for the bad news, it’s all right in this photo. And, no that’s not an oversized bandaid (what most people think and then don’t give me the just sympathy!). It’s a cast on a broken finger…done, not during some dire cooking incident, but actually when I was playing football and trying to impress a little girl and teach her how to throw and catch. Yep.

Needless to say, trying to cook, not get the cast wet or completely coated in chocolate (which happened day 2 of having it on), and type when half of my manuscript for my cookbook is due in 2 weeks (ahhh!!) is turning out to be a tall order. The silver lining is I narrowly missed having to get surgery, which would have totally set me back – now, it’s just a lot of right hand compensation and some serious typos! Wish me luck as I cook (and write) on!

Cookbook War Stories Part 1: Musings on Chocolate Cake

Ok….I warned you guys I’d be talking about the trials and tribulations of writing this cookbook and with my half manuscript deadline creeping up in a few weeks, I’m starting to freak out a bit! I’ve been steadily chipping away at this cookbook: ticking off recipes, photos and writing on a daily basis. Recipe testing is just that – testing and sometimes you get it on the first or second try (woot!) and other times it takes a bit more. I’ve been working on a chocolate loaf cake recipe for about a month now (with my own special exotic twist, of course..) and it has literally been the bane of my existence!

It’s a loaf cake, and to me, a chocolate loaf cake has to be nothing less than moist, dense and ridiculously luscious. And I kid you not, I’ve tried umpteen iterations to get this recipe right. How delicate is this cake process?

Here are a few things I’ve learned:

- 1 cup of all-purpose flour is equal to 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour but none of this matters because all purpose is perfectly fine for a loaf cake.

- Crème fraiche is a far superior if not a completely fatty substitute for buttermilk in a recipe. It also might mean your cake doesn’t set in the same amount of time….

- Too much flour can make your cake crumbly. So can too much sugar or too much baking powder. So can not waiting long enough to unmold the dang thing because you are so desperate to take a bite of it.

- LOVE dark brown sugar over light brown. I’m not going back.

- Too much fat in your batter can make your cake sink in the middle. So can opening the oven door too early to baby your beautiful cake.

- Grease AND flour….

- You may slowly be driving your husband insane with these five little words: “How does this one taste?”

The perfecting of this recipe continues, but I’m so close I can literally taste it. It will be so worth it I promise you. Once or twice more and it has to be right!

As always, would love to hear your own cake war stories!

Musical Inspiration: A Culinary Playlist

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about inspiration. Cooking for me is a complete joy, but being creative with food also requires bringing together tastes, experiences, and thoughts from all over and continuing to be inspired on a daily basis. I’ve decided it’s really important to be an inspiration hog! Grab it whenever and wherever you can….One thing that is a must when I’m cooking is great music in the background – it allows me to zone out and just do my thing. And, oftentimes, it’s the thing I need to get my creative juices flowing. So with that, I thought I would share with you guys my current playlist – what I’m listening to when I’m working on recipes in the kitchen.

Here goes in no particular order…Now, I totally realize how eclectic this is, but my music, like my food, comes from all over, geographically and otherwise!

Electric Relaxation – A Tribe Called Quest

Samba Triste – Stan Getz

I Chase the Devil – Lee Scratch Perry

Dreamworld – Robin Thicke

What You Need – The Weeknd

Unthinkable – Alicia Keys

Glory Box – Portishead

Hometown Glory – Adele

You’re My Thrill – Amel Larrieux

The Sweetest Thing – Lauren Hill

Candela – Buena Vista Social Club

Water No Get Enemy – Fela Kuti

In The Closet – Michael Jackson

Lovesong – the Cure

Genevieve – Cymande

Cherish the Day – Sade

War/No More Trouble (Medley) – Bob Marley

Thinking of You – Frank Ocean

Upgrade U – Beyonce featuring Jay Z

Tanto Tempo – Bebel Gilberto

Enjoy!

Swiss Chard "Leaves"

Grape leaves have to be one of my all-time, favorite Middle Eastern snacks (and something I deemed impossible to make at home for many years). When I visited Turkey a few years back, I learned a nifty trick for how to make them using a more common green to the West, swiss chard. This would actually work with a number of different greens, but I do have to say the flavor of swiss chard works great – it’s mild and verdant and lets the flavor of the stuffing pop.

Grape leaves are often stuffed with ground meat and/or rice and flavored with mint and lemon. They are part of a group of stuffed vegetables made throughout the Middle East, Greece and Turkey called dolmas.

I kept these guys vegetarian – I feel like they are a bit more delicate that way. A few other things: in lieu of long-grain rice, I used a short-grain one, Egyptian rice, which is one of my favorites! It’s fluffy, rounder, has a great toothsome texture and absorbs flavor beautifully. Also, in lieu of steaming them the traditional way – I lay the leaves on top of stacked lemon slices and let the juice from the lemons steam and infuse them with even more flavor. These are not the most speedy hors d’oeuvres to make, but they are well worth it! And I guarantee by your 48th folding, you’ll be a lot faster…Enjoy!

Ingredients

24 Swiss chard leaves, washed and stems removed (approximately 3 bunches)

2 tbsps unsalted butter

1 small shallot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

½ tsp dried mint

¼ tsp ground allspice

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground black pepper

pinch chili flakes

pinch ground cloves

¾ cup Egyptian rice

1 cup vegetable stock or water

2 tbsps pine nuts, toasted

1 tbsp lemon juice

½ tsp lemon zest

2 tbsps chives and parley, finely chopped

3 or 4 lemons, cut into ½ inch rounds

olive oil

salt

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Bring a large pot of water up to a boil and prepare a large bowl with ice and water. Add enough salt to make the boiling water taste like the sea. Place the chard leaves in the boiling water for 60 seconds and then shock them in the ice bath. Let dry on paper towels.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes until shallots are translucent. Add spices and then the Egyptian rice and toast for about 1 minute. Add stock or water and bring up to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook partially covered for 15 minutes. Let cool slightly and add pine nuts, lemon juice, lemon zest and herbs. Season to taste, though note that the rice will not yet be fully cooked.

Cut chard leaves down the middle on either side of the seam. Place one leaf rib-side up, vertically in front of you. Add about 2 teaspoons of the rice mixture about an inch up the leaf. Start by rolling the end closest to you away from you to cover the rice. Tuck each side of the chard leaf in and roll the entire parcel. If the leaf is too long, you can cut the other end a bit short. Repeat until you’ve finished the chard leaves and rice mixture.

Layer lemons in a dutch oven or pot with ¼ cup of water. Layer the dolmas on top and drizzle them with a little olive oil. Cover and bake for 30-40 minutes until the rice is fully cooked.

Serve warm or cold.

Sign up to receive exclusive recipes, tips, updates and other goodies from Aliya!