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The name of this cocktail makes it sound more lethal than it really is. Porch Sitter might be a better title for it. It’s a fruity, zingy ice-cold drink for summer, and it’s a perfect excuse to sit down and put your feet up for a minute or two. I did some searching on the name Porch Crawler and learned it’s a common name for highly alcoholic drinks with some sweetness and fruit. This one just has a little rum, not a mix of different spirits, but it does have fruit. I had every intention of making this at some point last summer after cutting the page from the April 2011 issue of Food and Wine, but the weeks flew by and cherry season was over before I knew it. So this year, it had to happen. Fresh, pitted cherries are muddled with mint leaves and a halved serrano chile. When you taste it, you don’t really notice the chile at first since the fruit and mint get all the initial attention. Then, you realize there’s something else going on here. It’s just a hint of heat to make things interesting. Stem and pit a handful of cherries, and place them in a cocktail shaker. Add a few mint leaves and a halved serrano chile. You can remove the seeds from the chile if you’d like to make it milder. Muddle those ingredients in the shaker, and then add some ice. Next, add rum, lemon juice, and simple syrup, and shake until cold. Strain the cocktail into a glass with ice, and top with club soda. 
I suppose it’s possible you could end up needing to crawl if you consumed enough of these, but I’ll still argue it could use a better name. I wouldn’t change anything else about it though. And, I still have time to make a few more before cherries disappear for this year. 
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I live in a place where people have serious opinions about chili. Proper Texas chili should have meat and chiles and not much else. And, here I am, a devotee of vegetarian chili. Blasphemy, I know. My preferred chili has lots of beans, some tomatoes, there might even be some chunks of eggplant or zucchini, possibly fresh corn kernels, and of course chiles. Years ago, I tinkered with ingredients over and over in an attempt to create the ultimate vegetarian chili. I eventually got it to a point where I really liked it, but no one else did. So, I was excited to try the Smoky Chipotle Black Bean Chili from The Fresh and Green Table
. It’s one of those recipes with a dauntingly long ingredient list, but eleven of those ingredients are dry spices so it's not really so scary. It also comes with two suggestions for salsas to serve on top. There’s a Roasted Winter Vegetable topping and a Summer Vegetable Salsa which is what I used. It’s also suggested that the chili be served with a white rice pilaf, and some ideas for garnishes are crumbled goat cheese, sour cream, pepitas, and lime wedges. This is a good, thick chili with many layers of flavor and just enough heat. Let me run through the list of those eleven spices: ground ancho chile, ground coriander, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, paprika, brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa, ground chipotle powder, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, salt. Additional flavor came from red wine, chopped cilantro, and chipotles in adobo sauce. All of those ingredients were measured and set aside before cooking began. To start the chili, butter was melted and olive oil was added to a pot over medium heat. Chopped onion, bell pepper, and some salt were added. After the onions were lightly browned, minced garlic and chopped jalapeno were added. Next came the mix of dry spices followed by a mix of red wine, cilantro, chopped canned chipotles, and tomato paste. The vegetables and spices were cooked, and the bottom of the pan was scraped, and then a mixture of canned tomatoes and water was added. I also added some chunks of summer squash just because I had some. After stirring everything together and scraping the bottom of the pan again, the soup was simmered for about 20 minutes. Then, canned black beans that had been rinsed and drained were added. Last, more cilantro was added. While the chili was simmering away, I cooked some rice with minced onion and added chopped cilantro. Also, I prepped the Summer Vegetable Salsa made with halved cherry tomatoes, avocado chunks, chopped zucchini, fresh corn kernels, sliced radish, and cilantro. The vegetables were tossed with a mix of olive oil, orange juice, lime juice, honey, and salt. I served the chili on white rice pilaf with the salsa on top and garnished it with sour cream, crumbled goat cheese, and sliced jalapeno. 
The mix of spices used here is exactly what my previous attempts at vegetarian chili needed. In the finished dish, it’s hard to pick out the cocoa powder or any one of the other spices or even the red wine specifically, but all of those flavors came together beautifully. This might not be Texas chili, but this is definitely my kind of chili. 
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This summer, Slow Food Austin organized a series of cooking classes for kids between the ages of seven and twelve. I volunteer as a board member of Slow Food Austin and helped with the classes. This was the first time we’d done this, and we had no idea of what to expect. We weren’t sure if the kids would be enthusiastic or bored or what the parents would think. As it happened, the classes could not have gone better. The Young Chefs, as we called them, were excited about food and learning to cook, and the parents assured us the classes were informative and fun. It was great to watch kids interact and talk about food. A couple of the students compared notes about food and travel while discussing what they’d each eaten when they visited New Orleans. I was amazed at this food enthusiast kind of talk among seven year olds. Then, we couldn’t believe it when a little boy declared he was going to sell his Nintendo DS so he could buy a Le Creuset pot just like the ones we used in the classes. These were kids after my own heart. Since everyone who helped with the classes needed to arrive early for set-up, I made it a habit to bring along something for breakfast. For the last class, I had some late season Texas blueberries to use, and I found this Blueberry-Pecan Loaf Cake in Maida Heatter's Cakes. Unlike a dense and buttery pound cake, this one is lighter and filled with berries, nuts, and citrus. The fresh berries were washed and spread on a towel to dry. Once dry, they were tossed with a little flour. The rest of the flour was sifted with salt, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. This cake batter included only one egg and two tablespoons of butter. Those were mixed with orange juice, and the dry ingredients were added. Last, orange zest and toasted, chopped pecans were folded into the batter. Maida offers a great tip by having you spread one-quarter of the batter in a prepared loaf pan and then folding the blueberries into the remaining batter. That way, there’s less chance of the blueberries sinking to the bottom. The remainder of the batter with the blueberries was then poured over the thin layer in the pan. The loaf cake baked for a little over an hour. Another good tip was to remove the loaf cake from the pan after it had cooled for ten minutes to prevent it from steaming in the pan which would cause a wet bottom crust. 
Don’t get me wrong, I do love a buttery pound cake. But, that’s just not what this was. This was laden with juicy blueberries and crunchy nuts and smelled lovely from the orange juice and zest. I had to add an orange and confectioners’ sugar glaze because I can’t help myself, but it wasn't even required. The slices of this loaf cake made a great, grab-and-go breakfast the morning of the last Young Chef class. Maybe we’ve started future chefs or food bloggers on their way, but definitely we’ve gotten a group of kids to talk about food and think about how to prepare meals at home. 
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I like eggplant and have liked it for a long time, but I don’t think I really got what eggplant is all about until a few years ago. I used to saute it or roast it or puree the cooked flesh, and ya, it was good. But, eggplant can be better than just good. The wonders of eggplant have been best described by Nigel Slater in Tender Vol. 1. If only that book had been available back when I first started cooking eggplant, I would have had a better understanding of the vegetable from the beginning. I highly recommend it for anyone in need of vegetable understanding or inspiration. First, he uses the term aubergine for eggplant which is so much prettier sounding, and I wish it would take off here in the States. Then, he fondly mentions the different varieties and their shapes, sizes, and colors. He writes of the ivory ones: “their pale skins blushed with lilac or rose as if someone had taken an artist’s brush to them.” He goes on to poetically discuss cooking aubergines: “The aubergine is at its most sensuous in a haze of olive oil and garlic, onion and sultanas, pine kernels, yoghurt and fresh mint. The fragrance is beguiling, sumptuous, heady. The flesh of Solanum melongena loves the muskier spices such as cumin and saffron, the piercing sharpness of pomegranate seeds, the faintest breath of rosewater. But nothing does quite so much for it as being grilled over charcoal. Smoke seeps into the spongy flesh, lending a note of intrigue and exposing an altogether darker undertone.” Now, that’s what eggplant is about. When a nice, big aubergine appeared in our CSA box, it was most certainly going to be cooked over charcoal. There are eighteen recipes for aubergines in this section of the book, and every one of them sounds lovely. I was already determined to grill mine, and creamed feta sounded perfect with it. The aubergine was cut into thick slices which were sprinkled with salt and left to stand for up to an hour. Nigel does mention that salting isn’t really necessary to remove bitterness in the varieties of aubergine that are common these days, but salting does tighten up the surface of the cut pieces. After being salted, rinsed, and dried, the pieces absorb less oil. The slices were brushed with olive oil and then grilled for a few minutes per side until completely tender and just slightly charred in spots. The creamed feta was a mix of sheep’s yogurt, crumbled feta, and chopped parsley and mint. To serve, the grilled aubergine slices were drizzled with olive oil and topped with the creamed feta. I added a pinch or two of crushed red pepper for garnish. 
By grilling over high heat, the texture of the slices was barely crisp and charred from the grates on the surface and completely yielding inside. A little smoky flavor is indeed a fabulous quality in an aubergine dish, and it paired well with the herby, tangy, savory creamed feta. Now, I’m wondering if I really know all the other vegetables out there as well as I should. 
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When I saw this cheesecake at Serious Eats the other day, it was a stop-what-you’re-doing moment. There was no thinking that I might have to try this someday, or I’ll have to remember this next summer. No, this was one of those times when I just immediately started writing a shopping list. There are bourbon-roasted peaches here for goodness sake. Those couldn’t be anything but great. And, not only do those bourbon-roasted peaches crown the top, there are also some baked into the cheesecake. I now think my challenge with all the peaches I encounter during future summers will be to do something with them other than roast them with bourbon. So, the peaches were marvelous, the crust was made with graham cracker crumbs and finely chopped pecans, and the cheesecake was lightened with egg whites that had been whipped with vanilla seeds from two pods. In other words, every part of the dessert was delightfully flavorful. It makes a tall, stately cheesecake in a nine-inch pan, so I was happy we could share it with some friends who were in town for a visit. You begin by roasting the peaches. Half of them were sliced and placed on one sheet pan, and the other half were chopped into chunks and placed on a second sheet pan. Melted butter, bourbon, and salt were combined, and the mix was drizzled over the peaches on both pans. Brown sugar was then sprinkled on both sets of peaches, and they were roasted for about 20 minutes. The chopped peaches oozed more liquid while roasting, so I left that pan in the oven for a few extra minutes so the liquid would thicken a bit. The goal was for the liquid to become syrupy. Next, the crust was made and pressed into a springform pan. In case you’re wondering, for two and a quarter cups of graham cracker crumbs, you’ll need eight and a half to nine ounces of crackers. The crust baked for about fifteen minutes and was left to cool. To start the filling, egg whites were whipped with vanilla seeds scraped from pods, and sugar was slowly added. When, egg whites need to be added to another mixture, I usually whip them in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer. That way, I can use the stand mixer for the other part of the recipe and fold in the whipped egg whites without stopping to wash the bowl or attachments. Cream cheese, egg yolks, and flour were mixed until light, and cream was incorporated. The chopped, roasted peaches were added to the cream cheese mixture, and I wasn’t sure how much of the syrup should have been added with them. I scraped all of the syrup in with the peaches, but next time I wouldn’t do that. I think my cheesecake ended up with a little too much liquid in the mix, required extra baking time, and was on the soft side in the center. After adding the chopped peaches, the whipped egg whites were folded into the mixture. The cheesecake baked for about 90 minutes, and I left mine in the oven for ten minutes extra until there was just a little wobble in the middle. After cooling to room temperature and then chilling for several hours, it was served with the sliced, roasted peaches on top. 
I think I used some of the very last Texas peaches for this dessert, and it was a fitting way to end the season. If you don’t have an occasion to bake an entire, big cheesecake but can still get some fresh peaches, you should definitely roast them with bourbon and brown sugar. Use them to top some vanilla ice cream, pound cake, pancakes, or breakfast cereal. You’ll probably think of other uses too.
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When I heard that Marcus Samuelsson was coming to teach a class at Central Market Cooking School last month, I didn’t even ask about the menu. I knew it would be a great class regardless of what was prepared. He was passing through Austin as part of the tour for his beautifully written memoir, Yes, Chef. I attended the class with a media pass, and a copy of the book was included. The menu for the class was actually a selection of dishes that represented different points in Samuelsson’s life. To start, he talked about his upbringing in Sweden, the prevalence of fish, and all the ways it was prepared. He shared tips for curing salmon mentioning that it can be partially cured and then grilled, or it can even be frozen after being fully cured. He spoke about texture and how it affects our experience of flavors. The first dish was gravlax served on a slice of pumpernickel with crunchy, pickled fennel, some fresh lettuce, cooked potato, crispy salmon skin, and purple mustard. It was a pretty mix of colors on the plate that tasted as good as it looked. The purple mustard made with red wine and port is something I look forward to recreating at home. 
Next, he talked about his career and his vision for a more socially responsible restaurant that would attract people from all walks of life rather than solely catering to those who could afford a fine dining experience. After working in several high-end restaurants both in Europe and New York, in 2010, he opened Red Rooster in Harlem. He intended to include fried chicken on the menu, and he wanted to create a version that expressed his culinary point of view. That became his coconut fried chicken. The version prepared in the class was seared chicken that was then stewed in coconut milk with garlic, chiles, and lime. After being cooked through, the chicken was allowed to cool, dipped in egg white, rolled in panko breadcrumbs, and fried until golden and crisp. It was served with collard greens that had also been cooked with coconut milk. Coming back to the importance of texture in any dish, quickly blanched bok choy was added to the simmered collard greens so there would be variety in the feel of the vegetable. 
The last dish of the evening looked to Ethiopia where Samuelsson was born. It was a lamb hash with potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beets topped with a fried egg. The hash was seasoned with bebere which is a mix of ground fenugreek seeds, dried chile powder, paprika, salt, ginger, onion powder, cardamom, nutmeg, garlic powder, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. The book, Yes, Chef, begins with a moving description of Samuelsson’s mother and how he doesn’t remember her face. Although he doesn’t know what his mother looked like, he does know how she cooked. He knows she used berbere as did everyone in Ethiopia. He writes: “For me, my mother is berbere...” The berbere tinted the cooking oil a nice, reddish orange and gave the dish spicy depth. I’m thinking of recreating a vegetarian version of the hash, and I’m thinking of adding berbere to all kinds of other dishes too. The class brought food memories to life through dishes elevated with a chef’s experience. For the whole story, I highly recommend the book Yes, Chef. 
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The IACP award-winning cookbook Memories of Philippine Kitchens was revised, updated, and re-released earlier this year, and I received a review copy. After years of reading all sorts of food books and publications, I know a little about most kinds of food, but I had somehow managed to never really learn about Filipino food. Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan set out to document native Filipino foods and family histories by asking friends and family about their food memories. The foods of the Philippines have been influenced by China, Spain, Mexico, surrounding Southeast Asian cultures, and the United States, and from one region to another, the traditions are very different. In fact, the authors’ own food memories vary since Besa was born in Manila and Dorotan grew up in Irosin. In researching the book, they traveled to different regions seeking specific ingredients and home cooks still making traditional dishes. Upon returning to Irosin, they learned that Dorotan’s favorite dessert was no longer made because the knowledge of making it wasn’t passed down to the current generation. That struck a chord. It was a good reminder of how important it is to record our favorite dishes. It also made it clear how important this book is as a record of Filipino foods. Because the Philippines are an archipelago made up of more than seven thousand islands, it’s no surprise that seafood figures prominently in traditional dishes. I wanted to try a seafood dish from the book that would be new to me but that I could also make properly without having to substitute items for any difficult to locate ingredients. Ukoy was a perfect fit. The shrimp fritters are made with a rice flour batter, and there’s an interesting frying technique involved that I couldn’t wait to try. First, the batter was mixed with rice flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and an egg. It was refrigerated while the other ingredients were prepped. Napa cabbage, carrots, snowpeas, and leeks were julienned. Bean sprouts were cleaned and left to dry, and shrimp was peeled, deveined, and chopped. The vegetables and shrimp were combined with some fish sauce, black pepper, and the batter. A little extra all-purpose flour was sprinkled over the mixture and stirred in to prevent it from being too wet. Oil had been heated in a Dutch oven, and everything was ready for frying. Because the ukoy could easily spread apart and disintegrate in the hot oil, Dorotan developed a technique to prevent that. The idea came from the traditional way of cooking plantain slices on a cacao leaf. Here, a banana leaf was cut into four-inch squares, the ukoy batter was placed on the squares and then carefully lowered into the oil with a spider. After about one minute, the banana leaf square was removed, and the fritter was left to fry for a couple of additional minutes. The fritters were served with a dipping sauce of vinegar, sliced garlic, and chopped chiles. 
The banana leaf frying technique worked perfectly to keep each fritter intact. I’ll remember that next time I plan to fry something that doesn’t hold together well. Of course the fritters were crispy and crunchy and everything you’d expect from something fried, but they were also fresh-tasting from the vegetables and shrimp with added flavor from fish sauce. I love learning about places through food, and this book provided an incredible tour of the Philippines. UkoyRecipe reprinted with publisher's permission from Memories of Philippine Kitchens.Makes about 12 fritters 1/2 banana leaf, thawed if frozen Batter: 3/4 cup rice flour 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 large egg Filling: 1 cup julienned Napa cabbage 1 cup julienned carrots 1 cup julienned snowpeas 1 cup julienned leeks (white parts only) 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts 1 cup chopped peeled and deveined shrimp 2 teaspoons fish sauce 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour Canola oil, for frying Rice vinegar with sliced garlic and chopped chiles to taste, for serving 1. Using a damp towel, wipe the banana leaf clean on both sides. Cut out 4-inch squares from the banana leaf. Set aside on a baking sheet. Brush one side lightly with oil. 2. To make the batter, sift the rice flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, beat the egg with 3/4 cup water, then stir this into the dry ingredients, to form a thick but smooth batter. Refrigerate the batter for 30 minutes to 1 hour. 3. Fill a deep saucepan or wok with 3 inches canola oil and warm over medium heat until the temperature is between 350° F and 365° F. 4. While the oil is heating, prepare the filling: Combine the cabbage, carrots, snowpeas, leeks, bean sprouts, shrimp, fish sauce, and pepper in a large bowl. Stir the batter and pour just enough into the filling to coat the ingredients. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons over the mixture and toss to firm it up if necessary (it should not be too wet). 5. Put about 1/3 cup of the filling on the oiled side of each banana-leaf square. Place a square on a spider and lower it into the oil. Fry until the fritter is set (about 1 minute), lift from the oil, and remove the banana leaf. Continue frying for another minute until the fritter is lightly browned. Flip and brown the other side until crisp, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Lift out of the oil with the spider and place on a paper towel–lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat until all the filling is fried. Serve hot with the vinegar dipping sauce. 
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Labor Day supposedly marks the end of summer, but the end of our summer’s heat is nowhere in sight. I’m really not complaining since this summer has been so much less intense than last year, but at this point in the season, no matter how relatively mild the year may be, it’s still been hot for many, many days in a row. So, as I was going through old recipe files the other day, something that understandably caught my attention was an old article about chilled noodle salads. Nice, cold, crisp salads are always welcome on hot days, but don’t chilled noodles make a salad seem even colder? Maybe they retain their coldness longer than vegetables do, or maybe I’m just imagining that. Either way, I was convinced that chilled noodles and vegetables was the way to go for a few late summer meals. That article I found in the files was just a starting point. From there, I went on to look up noodle salads in a few books and eventually found the recipe that I worked from for this dish in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The cooked and cooled noodles were mixed with a rice vinegar dressing made with ginger and chopped chiles, and then I served it as a composed salad with the vegetables arranged on top. The changes I made to the original were only out of convenience. Rice noodles were easier to find than mung bean noodles, and I had some arame which I used instead of buying the suggested dulse. The skinny rice noodles were covered with boiling water and left to soften which only takes a couple of minutes. Then, they were drained, rinsed under cold water, and transferred to a big mixing bowl. By immediately tossing the noodles with some dressing, they’re less likely to stick together in a big clump. The dressing was made with rice vinegar, vegetable oil, a little sesame oil, a scan teaspoon of sugar, a big pinch of salt, grated fresh ginger, and finely chopped serrano chiles. I added some chopped peanuts and cilantro leaves to the noodles before tossing with the dressing, and then the bowl was refrigerated while the vegetables were prepped. The dried arame was soaked in cold water for a few minutes until soft, and carrots, cucumber, red bell pepper, and another chile were julienned. Green onions were sliced on a diagonal, and the salad was ready to be composed. A trick I learned from Martha Stewart years ago is to separately dress each item of a composed salad. So, after noodles were placed in bowls for serving, each type of vegetable was tossed in a bowl with a little of the dressing before being placed on top of the noodles. Last, more cilantro and crushed peanuts were used for garnish. 
The contrast of crunchy vegetables and peanuts with squishy noodles was a good one, and the ginger and chiles offered pops of flavor. Icy cold, chilled noodles will be a great remedy to our ongoing heat until whenever summer really ends. 
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“Rustic” is such a handy word when it comes to describing food. My homemade sourdough baguettes are always “rustic” which means I’m sloppy about shaping the loaves, and when my pastry doesn’t turn out as perfectly as it could, all is well if the word “rustic” is added to its title. However, there are times when “rustic” isn’t a euphemism for messy. Sometimes, a thing is “rustic” because it’s simple, charming, or well-textured. This almond cake is that kind of rustic. When I saw it in the June issue of Food and Wine, it went directly into my to-try stack of recipes. I have a not-so-successful history with almond cakes, so I headed into this recipe with a little concern. In the past, almond cakes I’ve made have been dense, dry, and dull. Thankfully, there were a few tricks to making this cake that prevented all of that. The cake batter is made with polenta and minced rosemary which added interest in both the flavor and texture departments. Also, the eggs were whipped with sugar to a fluffy state, and folding the mixture into the dry ingredients lightened the batter. One last trick was the use of a sugar and lemon syrup that was poured over the warm cake and prevented it from becoming dry. Let me run through the details and the minor changes I made the original recipe. Skin-on, raw almonds were toasted, chopped, and ground in a food processor. I added some of the sugar to the almonds in the food processor to prevent them from forming a paste. The dry ingredients were combined, and I always sieve dry ingredients. I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose, and polenta, baking powder, and salt were also included. After sieving those, I added the ground almonds, minced rosemary, and lemon zest. In a stand mixer, the eggs were mixed with the remaining sugar using the whisk attachment for about ten minutes until tripled in volume. Then, creme fraiche and cooled, melted butter were added. The egg mixture was folded into the dry ingredients in three additions. For baking, an eleven-inch springform pan is suggested, but I used a ten-inch pan. The cake baked for 25 minutes while the syrup was made. Sugar, water, and lemon juice were boiled and reduced for five minutes, and then I added a sprig of rosemary to steep in the syrup as it cooled. When the hot cake was removed from the oven, the syrup, minus the rosemary sprig, was poured over the top, and it was left to cool completely. Once cool, it was glazed with a mix of confectioners’ sugar, creme fraiche, and lemon juice and topped with pieces of rosemary. 
I finally got over my losing streak with almond cakes. This is in no way light and fluffy like a chiffon, but it definitely wasn’t as dense as other almond cakes I’ve attempted. The sugar syrup worked like a charm in warding off a dry texture too. Next time, I might add a bit more minced rosemary to the batter since its flavor was very subtle, and those extra flecks of green will just make the cake even more “rustic” in a very good way. 
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I’ve still never visited the Baked bakery, but I’ve had a lot of fun baking from the owners’ books. Now, there’s a brand new one. Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients highlights Matt and Renato’s ten favorite ingredients with a chapter of recipes for each one. Those top ten ingredients are: Peanut Butter, Lemon and Lime, Caramel, Booze, Pumpkin, Malted Milk Powder, Cinnamon, Cheese, Chocolate, and Banana. They chose well. And, they’ve used those ingredients in tarts, cakes, cookies, muffins, milkshakes, pies, bars, buns, and breads. Everything in the book fits the Baked style of classic American treats made from scratch, and in some cases, given a new twist. I was sure the Caramel chapter would be my favorite with Caramel Coconut Cluster Bars and the Easy Candy Bar Tart, but then I got distracted by the Pumpkin chapter with the Pumpkin Almond Cake and Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. Then, there are Banana Mousse Parfaits and Honey Banana Poppy Seed Bread in the last chapter. I may need to throw a dessert party sometime soon. To jump in and start baking, I chose the Malted Madeleines from the Malted Milk Powder chapter. I wasn’t hosting a dessert party that day, and madeleines make a nice, small-sized treat. When cake sounds delicious, but you really just want something the size of a cookie, a madeleine is the way to go. Malted milk powder is also one of my favorite ingredients, but I don’t get enough opportunities to bake with it. The authors point out that the flavor is subtle and you might not notice it right away, but you’d miss the malt flavor if it wasn’t there. Luckily, I took a moment to read the recipe all the way through the day before I was going to bake these. The batter needs to rest for one hour after it’s mixed, so I knew to plan for that. Flour, malted milk powder, cocoa powder, and baking powder were sifted together and set aside. Then, in a stand mixer, eggs, sugar, and salt were whisked until frothy. The dry ingredients were then sifted onto the frothy egg mixture and folded in. The bowl was covered with a towel and left to sit for one hour. The oven was pre-heated, and the batter was given a quick stir before spooning it into the prepared madeleine pans. I’m never sure what three-quarters full should look like in madeleine cups and mine were probably over that level, but it worked out fine. They baked for about twelve minutes and were left to cool. Some additional cocoa powder and malted milk powder were stirred together and then sifted over the madeleines after removing them from the pans.
I have a feeling that from now on, I’ll be using a lot more malted milk powder. In any recipe that involves cocoa powder, you can add two or three tablespoons of malted milk powder and reduce the cocoa powder by the same amount. You’ll get a slightly softer edge to the cocoa flavor and faint maltiness, and with more malted milk powder sifted on top, your nose will get a hint of what’s to come from the malt aroma. I can’t wait to find out what tips I’ll learn about using all the other favorite ingredients in the book. 
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Can I first get a little bit gushy and thank you all firstly for taking your time to go into such detail into your favourite pouches. I now have a spreadsheet on the go to see if there is any pattern to all your suggestions. I'll let you know when I have worked out what it all means!
Secondly I was really overwhelmed by your kind and complimentary comments about my work. Honestly, your words make me feel all tearful. It is very easy working on your own most of the time to have a lack of confidence - it is for me anyway - and especially when I am self taught and trying to play amongst the big boys. So thank you, seriously thank you x.
Aside from the gushing we have a winner for the M is for Make generous Field Study giveaway and the winner is...
"mmm..difficult to choose but co-ordinates in plum is grabbing me."
So, Mrs L, congratulations, and off you go to choose your favourite 6!
Thank you all for entering and if you still haven't given me your opinion - and a little gushing - on my pouches, please do so here...
Have a great weekend x
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Thank you all so much for your valuable comments I really do appreciate it...but there can only be one winner...
Emma said..."they look great, and so professional! I love the scruffy daisies and the frozen berry colour line. In terms of the pouches, I like the make-up bag sized ones and the tiny coin purses. I agree with an earlier comment that the ones with pleats don't look quite as neat, but they are still lovely. I think my favourite colour is the pink, but all the berries are lovely. Best of luck with selling them :)..."Thank you, Emma, there will be some goodies sent over to you, so let me know your address!
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Being a supplier to other people's stores means my work travels around a fair bit.Sometime's I am lucky enough to get to see some of it in situ and I love that, because every place presents it differently.
Other times there isn't a hope in hell and have to rely on beautiful images to see what someone has turned my work into.This is one of those times...
Jiyeon has, what I can only assume to be, a beautiful store in South Korea no less.Jiyeon kindly sent me these stunning images of napkins she has made from my Scruffy Daisy fabrics.
It really is lovely to see where they get to and what they look like.Seeing them has cheered me up no end today!
