An odd title for this post, since in fact, I am at a terrible stage in life when bread has been banned. And I miss it dearly….
…but that title sort of conveys the suggestion that we all do something when we’re not doing what we’re known for doing…. When I’m not weaving, or knitting, or spinning I cook. (Cooking has been particularly challenging for me for the past 11 months while I’ve been attempting to eat a low glycemic diet). Cooking and baking is my default activity when I’m ‘stuck’ in anything in life. My ultimate cooking guru is Julia Child, whom I was fortunate enough to meet once, along with Jacques Pepin (!!!), for a day of cooking an entire dinner menu and eating the results! I own all her books and have read everyone of them!
Recently I have discovered food blogs! I know there must be millions of them out there, and many of them must be fairly mundane. I was lucky to stumble on a brilliant one, Orangette, and I get a real boost whenever there is a new post! Now I own this blogger’s book A Homemade Life and am enjoying her writing as well as the recipe at the end of each essay. Each day the temptation to get back to bread (and carbs!) gets stronger and stronger…
Molly Wizenberg's "Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cake with Glazed Oranges and Creme Fraiche"
This week I succumbed and made Molly’s “Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cake with Glazed Oranges and Creme Fraiche.” Oh my. Luckily I made it for a group so I managed to only eat one piece. It tasted like sunshine, brilliant and warmly comforting all at once. Everyone loved it! Thank you, Molly!
Last night I was reading about Dutch Baby Pancakes. In Molly’s words, “The method for making a Dutch Baby, I thought, is only marginally less awe inspiring than the method for making a human one.” Well, that certainly sparked my interest. After I saw the recipe I realized it is virtually the same as an old recipe I have from the mother of my childhood friend in Texas, which they’ve always called a “German pancake.” It is a simple technique that bakes into a magnificently light confection, puffed up like a souffle, that you top with lemon juice and confectioner’s sugar.
Unfortunately, Dutch Baby is not one of the recipes Molly has posted on her blog. I could give you mine, but this is not a cooking blog. (Hmmm….my fellow blogger and weaver, Bonnie Claith (aka Cally Booker) has posted recipes on hers…. but I shall refrain.) I’m certain Molly’s version is better than mine anyway, but I won’t find out any time soon since I’ve already transgressed enough in having the cake! You won’t find the cake on her blog either, but you will find “Bouchon au Thon” (and many other temptations!) which will be my lunch today. This is a recipe I can make without guilt since the only carb involved is a small bit of tomato paste! Molly says it’s “what France would taste like,” and I look forward to finding out about that!
Molly Wizenberg's "Bouchon au Thon"
Lunch will be served momentarily…..
…okay, so the only connection I can make to weaving is the valentine cloth I made years ago that I’ve placed under the cooling wrack… Please cut me some slack! And I didn’t have gruyere so I substituted fresh goat cheese….and I didn’t have fresh parsley so I used dried tarragon instead. Time to eat!
