Yogurt Bowl

Sometimes yogurt is what you have to eat. What's always in your lunch box. The modern day PB&J. Like sensible shoes, long underwear, and that moisturizing face mask you wear on Sunday nights, it is good for you but no matter what the commercial tries to tell you, it is never sexy. Well, that's what I thought until I met this recipe, the Beyonce of Yogurt Bowls. First off let's just talk about the quinoa crisps, tastes like Rice Crispies looks like shiny Millet, yes you want it's phone number. Then, wait, was that bee pollen you saw? Adding brilliant dusty bursts of chroma to your already golden honey pools? Yes it was. Wait a minute Ms. Pomegranate Juice, I know your next, you'll get your limelight. Sunflower seeds, not taking a second row seat this time, come in to add a sustaining, hearty crunch and texture. But the Prima Ballerina who floats in and out of the scene on gossamer wings to steal the show, is the sprinkling of torn and crumbled dried rose petals. Used sparingly, these fuschia beauties add a subtle floral note that together with the sweetness of the honey, make all the flavors sing in chorus and elevate this bowl of yogurt to Beyonce status. 

YOGURT BOWL

— from Near and Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel by Heidi Swanson (Ten Speed Press, 2015)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons fresh pomegranate juice
• a drizzle of honey
• a big dollop of Greek-style yogurt
• a handful of puffed quinoa cereal
• a sprinkling of toasted sunflower seeds
• whole pomegranate seeds of fresh or dried rose petals
• a bit of bee pollen (optional)

METHOD

In a bowl, swirl the pomegranate juice and honey into the yogurt just a bit, sprinkle with the cereal and sunflower seeds, then finish with the pomegranate seeds or rose petals and bee pollen (if you are using).

Notes from Leslie

• Spread the dollop of thick Greek yogurt around the base of a shallow wide mouth bowl, making sure to create generous ravines and valleys for the lovely toppings to glide over and pool into.
• I used both pomegranate seeds and a few dried crumbled rose petals cause if you've got it, why not flaunt it?

Red Lentil Hummus

Boring. Ubiquitous. Hum drum ole Hummus. So often it is a shelf stable, pre-packaged, been in this container for 3 months already rendition that is in front of us. Is it even possible to remember a time when hummus had some soul, when it brought delight, and on occasion even a little revelation? 

I can admit to having known a few hummuses (or is it hummi?) of such repute, little mini show stoppers in their own right. They are: 1. My sister’s Pickled Red Beet Hummus with it's brilliant magenta glow  2. My college roommate's mom's Classic Lebanese Hummus topped with a fruity olive oil and browned pine nuts - never met a smoother, silkier hummus - and 3. The newest entry to the list, Heidi Swanson’s Red Lentil Hummus.  Definitely worth getting the food processor out of the cabinet for folks.

The red lentils add an unexpected and enchanting earthy note to the blend that, combined with the ribbon of toasted sesame oil threaded through, provide a nutty, rich, nuanced flavor that is altogether quite addicting.

RED LENTIL HUMMUS

— Adapted from Near and Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel by Heidi Swanson (Ten Speed Press, 2015)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ½ cups cooked red lentils (see Note)
• 2 medium cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2/3 cup tahini
• ¾ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 2 to 3 tablespoons whey, kefir, or warm milk
• 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds
• Extra-virgin olive oil (a good amount), toasted sesame oil (a few drops), minced chives, and/or chive blossoms, to serve

METHOD (Adapted)

Start by blending the cooked lentils and garlic together in the bowl of a food processor for at least a minute, then add the lemon juice, tahini, and sea salt. Blend for another minute.  Add a splash of the whey a bit at a time and keep blending until the hummus is smooth, creamy, and aerated. Adjust the seasoning until it is to your liking, adding more salt or lemon juice as needed. To serve, top with the black sesame seeds, a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, olive oil, and chives and chive blossoms.

NOTE: To cook the lentils, take 1 ½ cups dried red lentils, rinse them well, and put in a saucepan with 1 ¾ cups water. Cover, simmer, and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes.

LESLIE’S NOTE:

·      I reverse the quantities of toasted sesame oil and olive oil here because I love toasted sesame oil.

Buttermilk Cakes

Buttermilk Cakes made with Rye flour from Heidi Swanson's Near and Far cookbook.

I have to admit, I didn't quite know what to expect when I read this recipe. It starts off with "2 cups rye flour..." RYE FLOUR y'all! In a cake? Ok. That made me curious. Let's see what these little cakes have got. Since I was going for it, I decided to jump in with both feet and try her suggestion for an entirely whole grain batter that calls for whole wheat pastry flour in place of the all purpose. Turns out these beauties have a rustic, delicate crumb slightly reminiscent of cornbread, a light tang from the buttermilk, and a soft note of vanilla running through it all that, well, pretty much puts a bow on it.

Pouring the icing over each of these little cakes, making all kinds of drizzly sugary patterns, well I don't have to tell you. You know it was fun.

BUTTERMILK CAKES

— adapted from Near and Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel by Heidi Swanson (Ten Speed Press, 2015)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups rye flour
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons aluminum free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups natural cane sugar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature

BUTTERMILK GLAZE

• 1 1/2 cups organic confectioners' sugar
• 3 to 4 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

METHOD (ABRIDGED)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour several small- to medium-size cake pans. You can use whatever variety of pans you prefer, just be sure to only fill the pans 2/3 of the way full of batter.

Sift the flours, baking powder and salt together and set aside. In another bowl stir together the buttermilk and vanilla, set aside. 

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. This should be a well mixed soft, fluffy batter. Carefully stir in 1/3 of the dry ingredients and then 1/3 of the buttermilk. Continue until you've incorporated all the wet and dry ingredients. You only want this to be just barely mixed so be careful not to overmix the batter.

Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or the tops spring back. Smaller cakes will be done sooner than larger ones. Set on a cooling rack to cool slightly before removing the cakes from the pans.

Meanwhile, stir together the glaze ingredients, whisking until nice and smooth. Drizzle over the tops of the cooled cakes, allowing a bit of extra glaze to run down the sides. Store out on the counter or if they won't be all eaten on the first day, in an airtight container.

Savory Popovers

Popovers from Heidi Swanson's Near and Far cookbook. Secret bonus inside the batter...freshly cracked black pepper and sesame seeds!

Popovers, for me, have an allure similar to that of soufflés, or the fireworks show on the 4th of July, or Michael Jackson doing The Moonwalk. A good amount of work, much anticipation, and maybe even the planets, all come together so that we may experience this short-lived but very glorious moment of sensory pleasure. The secret about popovers that I hesitate to reveal is that, unlike the Moonwalk, they don’t take hours of technically rigorous training to master. Popovers are actually pretty easy to make. Whisk up a bunch of eggs, add some warm milk, mix in the dry ingredients, pour the batter into a pre-greased pre-heated pan, put it all in the oven, and wait. The most difficult part of making them is probably denying the urge to open the oven door to check the height of the slowly rising beauties.

Once ready, they are a blank slate, well a steaming, egg-y, temptingly hollow blank slate, screaming to be filled with Jam! or Honey! or Butter! I can never seem to remember to wait for them to cool down before ripping open one of those golden crusted steam chambers and I inevitably end up burning my mouth or fingers, or on those days when I’ve completely forgotten I’m an adult, both.

But, as much as I love them, I’ve always had a twinge of guilt making popovers. Do they have any redeeming nutritional qualities on their own? Wait, stop! Do not even attempt to answer that question. No one wants to know the answer to that. Ear muffs everyone! But when I read Heidi’s recipe for Popovers I knew she had wiped away my last line of defense, I’d no longer be able to resist making these regularly. She had deftly resolved my only moral qualm against popovers by adding a sprinkling of millet and some whole-wheat pastry flour. Let the games begin.

POPOVERS

— adapted from Near and Far: Recipes Inspired by Home and Travel by Heidi Swanson (Ten Speed Press, 2015)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups whole milk

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour

• 1 1/4 teaspoons fine-grain sea salt

• 3/4 teaspoon non-aluminum baking powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

• 5 eggs, at room temperature

• 1/4 cup raw millet or sesame seeds

METHOD (ABRIDGED) 

Preheating the oven to 425 degrees, with a rack in the low center. Butter your pans and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Feel free to use muffin tins if you do not have popover pans or timbales.

Warm the milk and butter until it is warm but not hotter than 115 degrees. Remove from heat and set a side. Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) together and stir in the black pepper.

Using an electric mixer whisk the eggs on medium high speed for several minutes. Slow the speed and pour in the milk mixture. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat for an additional minute. If your bowl does not have a pouring spout transfer to a pitcher.

Preheat the buttered popover pans in the oven for a few minutes, not more than 3, and then remove from the oven. Be careful not to let heat escape from the oven when you are taking these in and out. Fill each 2/3 of the way full with the batter and sprinkle with the millet or sesame seeds. Put the filled pans back in the oven and turn down the heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven.

The trick here is not to open the oven while the popovers are baking. Peek through the window if you can and let them bake for as long as you can stand it. The goal is golden crusts that have risen about 2 inches out of the pans.

Notes from Leslie

• I have one popover pan with 6 wells. This recipe would easily fill 2 of these pans. I ended up using 4 additional ramekins to make use of the extra batter.

• Don’t be a dingbat like me and put your buttered pan in the oven for 10 minutes instead of the prescribed 3. I’ll kill the suspense for you. The butter burns and you have to start over. Not fun.

• Her recipe calls for a topping of a few tablespoons millet or sesame seeds, offering a welcomed textural garnish. Given that my constitution is 50% curiosity, I therefore needed to know what both options tasted like, so I did a 50-50 split. Half the batch got sesame, half millet.

• While it doesn’t sound like a lot, 3 TBSP of seeds went pretty far, and in some cases seemed to weigh down the top of the popover. Next time I will try a smaller quantity of toppings to see if I can get more of that coveted height.

• At 30 minutes mine were very, very brown. About a smidge from burnt. Next time I’ll check in at 25 minutes and tomorrow I’ll be checking my oven’s temperature gauge.

• Diving into this my first-ever savory popover I was instantly struck with visions of future batches… Everything Popovers with Onion, Garlic, Sesame, and Poppy Seeds. Toad in the Hole Popovers with a tear of thick country ham bobbing about. A few shreds of Asiago or Gruyere flecked with fresh Rosemary.