Financiers for a Quiet Day...

Obviously, judging from the above (and previous) photo(s), I would never succeed as a food photographer. Let me assure you these little cookies look much better in real life, than on this dreadful digicam photo. I can also assure you that they taste yummy, as I've finally made peace with my silicone molds. Earlier on, when I had written about how surprisingly well this silicone baking stuff performed, I really was happy with the cooking performance, but not so much with the total appearance of finish products. Therefore, the space age silicone did perform well, but to a fault. Inside, my little cookies, the batter baked evenly and consistently. Outside, also, but with the exception of the very middle of the bottoms, which would be somewhat wavy. I tried all sorts of solutions, from varying oven temperatures to batter ingredients, but finally, the only successful remedy was the use of a pastry bag to fill each mold to insure even and full coverage on bottoms...Result? Success! Now my little financiers both look and taste wonderful!!!

Until we meet for coffee,
Julie

Spring painting: from Easter eggs to whitewashed walls...

Asparagus seems to be the choice vegetable for welcoming the arrival of Spring. Everyone seems to be doing something with asparagus, myself included. I had intended to bake some scrumptious and sweet treat today, but instead, I found myself baking a cheesy asparagus tart to celebrate these warmer days.

Because of the fact that I have made so much of the arrival of Spring lately, and because we have been influenced by our equally industrious friends, Daniel and I have decided to add some color to our plain, white walls for a Spring project. Not in all rooms, but in one or two. This may seem like nothing worthy of note, but trust me, we are not the two most colorful persons on Earth. We are very much Winter people. We have happily surrounded ourselves in darker neutrals and earthtones. And it's not that we've become necessarily unhappy with the lack of color, we've simply decided to add some subtle shades here and there.

It will be like adding various spices to enhance the flavor of the dish. Perhaps an asparagus green. Now, how's that for welcoming Spring?

Until we meet for coffee,
Julie

As I again wrestle with plastic wrap, or why I prefer aluminum foil.

I often wonder, 'am I the only one among us experiencing a love-hate relationship with plastic wrap?' Why is the serated edge of the box often sharp enough to scrape skin from my knuckles and scratch lines in my wrists, but rarely sharp enough to rip the plastic cleanly from the box??? Can I really be the only one who struggles with this blatantly stubborn defiance from a supposed consistently dependable friend in the kitchen? Just a personal curiosity on my part...

Until we meet for coffee,
Julie

Seeking Solace in the Kitchen

As reflected in my previous entry, domestic bliss has not been the state of household affairs this week. In fact, this entire week has been nothing, if not mediocre. Today, I've resorted to seeking solace in my kitchen. Dinner is again, comfort foods, in the form of meatloaf, chicken spanaki paupiettes, and the last of the leftover wild mushroom and bacon bread pudding.

My nighttime reading has been from one of my favorite books, The Vogue Book of Menus and Recipes (c.1964). This distraction cheered me immensely and I have chosen some new old dishes for future presentation. And so Thursday progresses. Regarding the remainder of the evening, while online, searching for assorted sauces and vinaigrettes, and various items of general culinary interest, I visited one of my favorite recent blog discoveries:
Baking for Britain. This is an absolutely lovely blog from Anna, a very talented baker and writer in London, whose posts are so inspiring that I was immediately motivated to bake some yummy custard tarts. (Well, this is partly due to her influence and partly because I regularly watch episodes ofAs Time Goes By, since I own the complete series set, and Lionel is always seeking solace in his beloved custard tarts.)

Therefore, the end result was a small batch of mini custard tarts (heavy on the nutmeg). Yes, I know, more comfort food. But did I find the solace for which I was searching? Yes, I did.

Until we meet for coffee,
Julie

A Particularly Mellow Day in March

Hopefully, everyone enjoyed last week's happy distraction from my usual entries, with the inclusion of the short vintage film, "This is Coffee!" Personally, I absolutely love it! I must confess to watching it often, while having my daily coffee. I had briefly considered posting one short film each week, but decided against it, for fear of saturation. Although I still intend to post more cool video in future, I'll leave it to random impulse, rather than any specifically scheduled times.

So far, this has been a relatively uneventful week in the kitchen. Other than my Ladyfingers, earlier in the week, there has been no extraordinary excitement. Only the ordinary dinners and some much needed comfort food in the form of my favorite Wild Mushroom and Bacon Bread Pudding. Otherwise, as I said, nothing too interesting is going on in my little corner of the culinary world. It's not that I am necessarily uninspired this week, it's more of a question of motivation. This week seems to be a week left to routine familiarity, rather than elaborate experimentation. However, today has been busy with grocery lists, cookbooks, and recipes (although it remains common knowledge that it is nearly impossible for me to follow any specific recipe). Perhaps, "mellow," would be the adjective of choice for this week.

Ah, but the week isn't over yet, is it? After all, it's only Wednesday...

Until we meet for coffee,
Julie

Happy Monday!

My morning baking has resulted in a batch of Ladyfingers, some of which I've already eaten for breakfast! Granted, these are not the prettiest Ladyfingers ever photographed, but I was working with a Ziploc as my pastry bag, so please forgive the lack of esthetic appeal. (No, I've still not managed to pick up a proper pastry bag yet. Soon. Soon.) Still, I thought I would share, because although this will never be the cover photo for a fancy gourmet food mag, these little cookies are truly very tasty!

Until we meet for coffee,
Julie

Another Pleasant Surprise

This weekend, I received a delightful treat from my mother in law! She sent me some of her old cookbooks, including a group of wonderful vintage cookbooks, with copyright dates ranging from c.1952 to c.1976. And yes, I've already selected several recipes to try out very soon. I'm especially excited about James Beard's, "Dacquoise with Mocha Butter Cream," "Lemon Meringue Tarts" from Good Housekeeping's Party Pie Book, and the "Versailles Chocolate Torte" from Betty Crocker's Cake and Frosting Mix Cookbook. As I've previously written, my mother in law is very generous and supportive, and I am extremely grateful.

Until we meet for coffee,
Julie

"This is Coffee!" (c.1961)

Provence, or maybe Paris

Today has been reminiscent of relaxing days spent in France. Okay, I've never been to France, but today was certainly reminiscent of high school French class, Hemingway novels, and Julia's cookbooks. This morning began with baking Financiers in my new molds. Having previously amended and combined several basic recipes to create a, "Julie version," I decided to attempt baking them in my new silicone molds. Since I have always used conventional baking pans, I was admittedly skeptical of this flexible, atomic-kitchen-of-the-future space age substance, but to my surprise, the molds actually worked very well. And now that I'm no longer skeptical, I will, of course, be baking many more Financiers. The French ambience continued throughout the day, as my lunch was yummy French Onion Soup, while listening to the valse musette sounds of Baguette Quartette, and later, dinner included a scrumptious, savory Wild Mushroom and Bacon Bread Pudding.

This past weekend, my friend, Jennifer, came to visit and we did a whole lot of intentional nothing. It was great. We lounged around the house and ate a lot of food (since cooking remains to be my most recent obsession), spent hours drinking coffee and reading books at Barnes and Noble and deliberately wasting time hanging out. But is it really wasting time, when having a relaxing afternoon with a friend? It is most definitely not time wasted at all.

As mentioned in previous posts from last week, I have found myself becoming more industrious as warmer weather approaches. This is partly due to the warmer temperatures and partly due to a renewed sense of domestic purpose. My exercise routine has become happily habitual, I've made plans to plant a small two-or-three row vegetable garden, I have some small decorative projects planned for around the house, and I continue to pursue new cuisines in my kitchen. Also, I'm feeling much better physically, than in months past, which I attribute to healthier eating, increased exercise, and the removal of several previous stressors. Still, I must thank my friend, Heather, for providing me with XS ENERGY DRINK, which I've been drinking for years, but in conjunction with my recently healthier lifestyle, they seem to be even more effective. (When you visit Heather's site, the password is team.)

Now that my day is coming to an end, I will have a cafe au lait and wonder where my next culinary destination will be.

Until we meet for coffee,
Julie

Madeleines and Mozart

Last night was an evening for Madeleines and Mozart. Yes, I know, "Again with the Madeleines?!" Once more, I apologize for this apparently infinite obsession with these lovely little tea cakes, but I felt compelled to bake more. Now, after several batches baked, I believe the present compulsion has subsided (at least for the moment). And while my Madeleine will always be special, I must now pursue some other blissful pastry.

Until we meet for coffee,
Julie

Springing Forward

Although it's not yet officially Spring, these past few days with warmer temperatures have inspired me to become much more domestically industrious than I have previously been on past colder days. I've managed to finally make some progress on that dreadful basement and I've increased my exercise sessions to daily (well, very nearly). Gratitude goes to Autumn for my continued physical activity, since she frequently calls to make sure that I'm exercising on a regular basis (and I grudgingly admit that it is working!).

Regarding Spring, my friend, Kerry, is busy planning her garden. I admire her for this act of agricultural courage. I must confess to being somewhat envious, since I have intended to do this for years, but have never managed to progress beyond mere contemplation. I wanted to at least try to actually plant one or two vegetables this year, but I'm having enough struggles with my container-herbs. I have other friends who are also successful gardeners and I am always curious as to how they manage to get out in their yards of wide open spaces, tending crops among neighbors. I am such a private person that the idea of having to make small talk, while weeding and watering, makes me shudder. Then again, perhaps it's about time I go out and meet some fellow residents of Suburbia...

Yesterday was another happy day spent with Bach in the kitchen, as I made a yummy batch of Baklava. Yes, it was ambitious and somewhat time consuming. Yes, phyllo dough is indeed, very fragile, but still friendly. And yes, it was most definitely an effort well rewarded (it is wonderfully rich and scrumptious!). On Tuesday night, I also made a very small batch of Truffles, equally successful, but already finished off by myself and Daniel.

Despite the indication that only treats are produced in my kitchen, I regularly plan and cook entire menus. But it's so much more fun to tell you about my baking, rather than my evening meals, however elaborate. This is somewhat contradictory to my personality, since anyone who has sat down to dine with me, knows that I always eat any and all, "real food," before even tasting my desserts. Yes, friends, I practice ritualistic eating. I always eat the meats first (meats take precedence over any other plated item), then the vegetables, breads, and finally, dessert. In my defense, I could discuss how that infamous eating right for your blood type book explains that my blood type thrives on red meats and requires them regularly. But while it is true about the blood type guidelines, that isn't the real reason for my ritual. No, it is much more comical in reality. The truth is, that if I were to meet my demise mid-meal, I want to make sure I've already eaten the meat and vegetables, since they are deemed more personally valuable to me, than the breads, desserts, etc. Absurd? Yes. But then, typical, "Julie Logic," usually is...

Until we meet for coffee,
Julie

Pleasant Surprises

This past week was more of the same, without much exception, until Saturday. Saturday was a day for surprises. Now, anyone who has known me for any length of time, knows that I normally loathe and detest surprises, but Saturday proved that sometimes surprises are good things! First, I was greeted with an unexpected showing of three vintage episodes of The French Chef on WTTW, so I spent some exciting time in Julia's kitchen. Then, later, I discovered a beautiful, (hand-fashioned) package from my friend, Kerry, on my doorstep! Inside, I found a pretty little card (also handcrafted) with a photo of her daughter, wearing a mini apron, oven mitt, and potholder set I had given to her, along with a very cool journal. Brilliant! I love it!

My time has continued to be spent mostly in the kitchen. I know I've said, repeatedly, that I'm going to get to work on sewing aprons. I've not given up on the idea, I've just become completely preoccupied with my culinary endeavors. This may seem odd, but sewing seems like a Spring/Summer activity. Still, at some point this year, I will sew some aprons and see how they do on Ebay. And about sewing, check out Leanne's new blog about sewing and such. She's busy, busy, busy, sewing and being wonderfully creative!

At the suggestion of Daniel, Autumn, Tammy, and others, I've decided to start adding images to accompany my weekly entries. Also, at their suggestion, I should become more industrious and submit entries more than once weekly. Therefore, in future, various products from the kitchen will periodically appear on the blog and I will attempt to submit entries at least twice weekly.

Speaking of Daniel, the other night, I caught him sneaking peeks into my cookbooks. I guess he really has become an official, "foodie." He's much more attentive to my grocery lists lately, as he attempts to guess what types of meals he is going to be presented with throughout each week. He's also more and more eager to taste various new foods. Just today, he was eating kiwi fruit, something he would never have previously considered eating, before converting to more epicurean ways.

This week, my culinary plans will include (in addition to Madeleines for my friend, Jennifer) Ladyfingers, Baklava, Truffles, and more Financiers. Otherwise, I may surprise myself and actually sew something. But for the moment, I am going to have some Tetley and determine what wonderful things to include in my new journal!

Until we meet for coffee,
Julie