August 2007 Archives

There was a moment when I was making this that my heart sank, "Oh, no. I can't deal with a baking failure today. I'll blow it all out of proportion." Because I am not on an even keel today, and I know it. I thought baking something might make me feel more relaxed, but I forgot that things can go wrong.

But the emotional funhouse was all worth it when I opened the oven door and this browned beauty smiled back at me. I had set out to make Mark Bittman's blueberry cobbler, substituting 4 cups of peaches for the blueberries and using cornmeal for half the flour. What I ended up with was like a peach upside down cornmeal cake that was light on the cake and super-heavy on the fruit. The cornmeal topping covered the fruit and had a crust crunchy with cornmeal and sugar.

Four cups peeled, diced peaches (I used UFOs) tossed with 1/4 cup sugar in the baking dish. Mix 1/4 cup each flour and cornmeal in a bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt. Cut in 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold, unsalted butter. Then mix in 1/2 cup sugar because you forgot to add it with the flour. Use a spoon to mix in 1 egg and a dash of vanilla. (This is the point at which I panicked. It did not look like biscuit dough, but rather a spotty, lumpy yellow mush.) Drop over the fruit in tablespoonfuls and don't spread it. The baking will do that, 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

So this is my appeal. Andrea has proposed a grow-your-own-athon and invited her readers to cook something that uses homegrown ingredients and write about it before August 29th. She's given those of us with brown thumbs a loophole, too, saying that if we don't grow anything, we can get something from a friend.

So now I have to find a friend out there who grows something. Not easy to do when we're all apartment-bound, but I have hopes that Kelly's growing some herbs or Terry still has a few figs.

Anyone? Anyone in the area have something to offer?

I've been getting stuff from the CSA every week, so I feel like an entry would embrace the spirit of the law if not the letter. But it is a fun challenge to try to track down something.

So, let's see, what was on the menu last week? My brother, Chris, and his wife, Jeanna, were visiting us, so they influenced our food choices quite a bit.

Uh-Oh, Tomato (chicken cacciatore)
A Little Different (pork chops, broccoli and pasta)
Presto (linguine with shrimp and pesto)
What Do We Have? (taco-ish salad)
Take a Dip (French dip sandwiches)

So, let's see, what was on the menu last week? My brother, Chris, and his wife, Jeanna, were visiting us, so they influenced our food choices quite a bit.

Uh-Oh, Tomato (chicken cacciatore)
A Little Different (pork chops, broccoli and pasta)
Presto (linguine with shrimp and pesto)
What Do We Have? (taco-ish salad)
Take a Dip (French dip sandwiches)

What happens to your zucchini muffins when you halve a recipe that calls for 3 eggs, but instead of 1 1/2 you use 2? Nothing too terrible, if you're lucky. I thought that extra half-egg might do something wonky to my muffins, but they turned out just fine, moist and fluffy. "They" always warn against messing with baking recipes, and I do believe that you do so at your own peril. But it can turn out just fine. I've also become a very cavalier flour measurer since finding out how varied the actual weight of flour can be when you use a volume (like a cup) measure. I figure, if there's variation built into the system, I can be less careful, not more. Does that make sense?

These were made from this recipe over at 101 Cookbooks. She does some very funky things with hers, and I tried out one of them, the poppy seeds, with great success. The gentle crunch was at first a mystery, until I remembered I added them. I omitted the ginger, lemon peel and curry powder, so ended up with a zucchini-walnut-poppy seed muffin. (Oh, and clearly I used a 12-cup muffin tin instead of 2 loaf pans and halved the recipe.) I just love 101 Cookbooks because she makes it clear how much you can fiddle with a recipe. Now, the egg thing was a risk, but things like spices and add-ons like nuts or chocolate chips (which I have also used in this recipe) are fair game.