Category: Uncategorized

one of the first things i did was to pick a cornmeal.  sounds difficult doesn’t it?  well if you are me and you have 4 different ones to choose from (not including the cornmeal masa) it can be.  my selection was brinsers best roasted yellow cornmeal.  it is a golden yellow color with a slightly toasted flavor.

to make the soaker, boiling water is added to the cornmeal and it is allowed to sit out overnight.  now you can see the color difference that the roasting adds, can you imagine the flavor?

ten minutes of kneading and now we wait…90 minutes later, loaves are ready to proof!

not having to make a pie each week has left me searching for something to do.  who wants to clean the house or do laundry?  me neither!!!  so i jumped at the chance to participate in a community pick recipe test on food52.com.  my choice was the greek style zucchini pancakes.  zucchini is one of my favorite things from the garden and i miss it now that winter has arrived.  luckily, my herbs were still growing and i had plenty of mint, parsley and chinese leeks.  the recipe calls for chives but chinese leeks are so similar in appearance and while they have a hint of garlic in the flavor, they are a great substitution.

mint on the left, leeks in the middle and flat parsley on the right.  with the cold temperatures, these herbs are still producing and are not sending out flowers.  we also have some oregano, thyme, sage and rosemary out there too.

the directions called for grating the zucchini, placing it in a colander lined with cheesecloth and then salting it to draw out the moisture.  when i did this, i could hear a sizzling/bubbling noise and it was amazing how much liquid i was able to squeeze out.  i was skeptical that what started out as nearly 5 cups of grated zucchini would eventually end up as two cups but it did.  just look at all of that green juice!

to save time, i used a small portions scoop-#50 to be exact.  it helped me get a consistent size and the recipe stated i would get 24 small pancakes and i got exactly that-24.  my old paella pan gets a frequent work out and it was perfect for frying these pancakes.

Makes 12-3 inch pancakes, or 24 bite sized pancakes

2 pounds green zucchini, 2 cups aftergrating and squeezing as much moisture as possible
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons chives, minced
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh curly parsley, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest(finely zested)
4 tablespoons crumbled Greek feta
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
olive oil for frying pancakes

using the large holes on a box grater, shred the zucchini. line a colander with cheese cloth and put the zucchini in the colander. sprinkle about a tablespoon of salt and toss the zucchini. try to extract as much liquid as you can from the shredded zucchini. pick up the cheesecloth and wring as much more as you can until you feel the zucchini is pretty dry. add the herbs, pepper flakes and zest and mix.  add the flour and baking powder and eggs and mix.  pour a very thin layer of olive oil into a frying pan and heat over medium high heat. using a tablespoon, scoop a heaping spoonful into the pan and flatten the top a little.  this should make a 3 inch patty. repeat until the pan is full.  fry until a nice brown and flip and cook the other side.  for bite sized appetizers, use a teaspoon.  set aside on paper towels and finish the rest of the pancakes.

serve alone or with your favorite yogurt (Greek, of course). The sauce should be very simple, like just with some lemon zest or chives, because there are so many flavors going on in the pancakes.

actually, no where and everywhere all at the same time.  the explanation-my house was broken into and one of the things taken was my computer.  that said, i have been a little lost and out of sorts-slightly pathetic, don’t you think?  never thought i would miss that thing as much as i did when it was suddenly gone.  word to the wise (strange word for describing thieves, no?) don’t try that again-i won’t give this one up without a fight!!!

so, even though i was disconnected, i still managed to bake some pies.  look for some photos and recipes to be posted soon.  a preview of those recipes:  honey chess, shoo fly, blueberry with crunchy almond topping and butterscotch pies!  may the power of the pie be with you and keep your computer safe…

i’m mourning the loss of a true friend.  we have been through so many triumphs and tragedies together and i am completely lost without him.  poor, poor mr. kenmore; he was my only oven and he died this weekend.  we wrote two books together and in the process tested more recipes than i can recall.  for hours on end, he heated through and through and he did so much more than just baking pies and cakes.  he cooked many, many loaves of bread, meatloaves, lasagnas as well as roasting chickens, turkeys and at least one goose.  how can i go on without my mr. kenmore?  unfortunately, as far as baking goes, i can’t go on until i get him replaced.

mr. kenmore’s coil exploded

so what exactly happened?  it went like this:  preheat oven to 300.  as i whipped up batch #2 of my chocolate pavlova pie hearts, i saw a bright flash in the room which was followed by a sizzling noise.  i turned to see what caused the flash behind me and saw a bright light coming through the window of the oven door.  it was so bright that it reminded me of a welder’s torch!  the coil had a hot spot and it blew and it was in danger of starting a fire.  with a yell of four letter words and cry for help, my husband came running with the fire extinguisher.  luckily, once we turned off the oven and unplugged it from the wall, all danger subsided and reality set in-no pie this week…we made the decision to replace rather than repair because we have already had it repaired once-a stove coil did the same thing not long ago and it also required new wiring where it had blown the connection.  we have had this oven for going on 8 years and decided that with the workout it gets from two professional chefs, we would just replace it and hope for the best.

since it was valentine’s day, i decided on a few things; chocolate, hearts and red berries.  with that in mind, i set about making chocolate pavlova.  here is a close up of the unbaked meringue heart-the first batch made it through before mr. kenmore bit the dust.

the meringues after they baked were too thin and a little more dense than i hoped for.  after adjusting the recipe, i was attempting to make the second batch when it all went to hell in a hand basket.

after all, it is a recent tradition to make a dinner for valentine’s day and we had three girls to serve so i made lemonade with the lemons or more accurately, pavlova with the meringues.  topped with strawberries and whipped cream, they were tasty.  i am not posting a recipe this week because i am not done with this one.  look for me to post this again as soon as i am back in production.  i wanted to have a sauce ot accompany the dessert and this was not the presentation i hoped for.

so how did i spend the afternoon that i normally use to make a pie?  with the rest of the girls:

believe it or not, we are urban beekeepers and we took advantage of the warm sunny day to go into the hive and check on the rest of our girls.

here is a close up of the activity on the front porch.  they were out foraging for nectar.  believe it or not, there are some flowers out there, mainly what most people call weeds but to us beekeepers, they are beneficial plants since they provide the only nectar at this time of year.  so, before you think about that golf course lawn that you’ve always wanted, think about the bees and just let the lawn go-you will feed the bees and help save a stream in the process and save yourself a whole lot of money.