I have a friend whom I love dearly. There were times when I wondered how we became friends, and stayed friends, because we are just so… different.

I’m a planner, she’s spontaneous.

I’m formal, she’s casual.

I’m kinda strict, she’s more laid-back.

I remember details, she doesn’t care much about that stuff.

I love to bake, she doesn’t.

When I teach a baking class, she talks about play dates. (But she did come to the class!)

I’m a drill sergeant, she’s… What’s the opposite of drill sergeant?

There’s more, but you got the picture, no?!

These differences used to drive me nuts. We had a few misunderstandings in the past. Sometimes I took it personally and even got upset although I know she didn’t do anything intentionally.

It’s been about 4 years since we first met.

Looking back, I realize how much influence this friendship had/has on me. It sure made me change.

It wasn’t easy, I struggled, (I still do), and I can be a little stubborn, but I do like a challenge (Isn’t that a nicer way to put it than saying “stubborn”?) and I don’t give up on good people easily.

I have loosened up a bit.

I relaxed a bit.

I don’t feel like I need to be perfect with everyone, everywhere, all the time anymore. Phew, how tiring is being perfect all the time, right?!

I even allow myself to be late from time to time (But only with people who are late themselves, since arriving on time is not important to them.)

I’m not so tense before guests arrive, I don’t care as much anymore if everything is in shipshape and ready on time (as long as I am dressed appropriately enough).

I work hard on being more spontaneous… Oh, now there’s a little contradiction right there in that phrase, isn’t it?! Hmm, well, that one might take a while…

We spent some time at her house this past week. The kids played, we talked, she baked!, we had dinner. I love that although she dislikes baking, she made a cake. From scratch! And I love how my kids feel free to ask her for a snack or a drink, even open the fridge and take food out without asking for permission and it makes her happy. She likes it that way. I don’t know a lot of people who are like that. She’s special.

Every time I ask her to join me when I’m baking, she becomes terrified. When I suggest making whipped cream together, she heads to the door, recalling there’s an errand she need to do. She keeps insisting making those cakes where you dump all the ingredients together and mix them with a spoon.

You just cannot dump everything into a bowl and hope for a fluffy cake. There is one tiny thing that makes a whole lot of difference between a heavy cake and a fluffy cake. (Are you with me?) It’s 5 minutes of beating or whisking, butter with sugar or eggs and sugar. That’s all, my friend, and dear readers. So, I challenge you, do it, beat it, or whisk it.

There’s noting better than home-made cakes and cookies to make the house smell great. And a fluffy cake is even better.

Some house keeping:

1. Valentine’s Day: Send me a photo with something red if you would like to participate, and get some link love to your blog, by Wednesday, to be included in a Valentine’s Day post.

2. Cake collection. Linda from The boreka diary made this awesome chocolate espresso cake that has a rich, dark, intense chocolate flavor, and wanted to share it with me and you.

Easy maple nut’s cake

This is a recipe from my aunt Ettie. She probably got it from a neighbor who cut it out of some shiny women’s magazine. I got the ingredients’ list from her with very general instructions. I added a few details for those who need them – I need them too. But really, this is really easy. Just beat it.

For a 9.5 inch (24 cm) cake pan

For the cake:
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
200 ml sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup oil (canola)
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cup self-rising flour
For the topping:
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 handful walnuts, chopped (lightly toasted for 5-7 minutes in a 350 F oven)
1-2 handful chocolate chips, or chunks, optional
3-4 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Grease a 9.5 inch springform pan cake.

Beat the eggs and sugar for 5 minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

Lower the mixer speed to low, add each ingredient slowly. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Spread the toppings on top of the batter, besides the maple.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Take the cake out of the oven and while it is hot, drizzle the maple syrup on top. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then release from the pan and let cool to room temperature.

The batter should be thick with a beautiful cream color

I put the spray inside the pan so I won’t forget to grease the pan.

I spray the pan on the dishwasher cover so it won’t make a mess around.

Categories : A cake for the weekend, Cakes, Dessert, Recipes

Routines.

Just by saying this word a need to inhale deeply emerges as if an invisible cigarette was stuck in my mouth. (Yes, I used to be a smoker. I don’t miss it.)

How do you feel, what do you think, when this word, “routine”, pops up?

For me, that depends. Some days, “routine” makes me light and happy, some days “routine” makes me heavy and tired.

It’s the sort of experience you can describe as “can’t live with it, can’t live without it”, you know what I mean?

It’s like traveling, only you travel at the same place, at the same pace, all the time. Wouldn’t it drive you nuts?

I’m ambiguous about routines. I know them from both sides. They have a comforting effect. They promise safety. You know where you’re going and what lies ahead…On the other hand, routines can be gray and boring and drive me crazy. They can make me fantasize about running away as far as I can and living a more adventurous life. But I stay. Because, I know. I know that no matter where I go, they will follow. Maybe in a different shape or form, but they will follow.

That’s what life is all about, isn’t it? We all need some sort of routine. It has the power to make us feel cozy and warm like a safety blanket, but a blanket can also choke you as well in your sleep.

About 15 years ago, when my life seemed to be in chaos, I craved for a routine. For something fixed in my life. I tried to adopt little habits, like eating the same salad for dinner, or a yogurt for an afternoon snack, whatever it was, just as long as I have a routine where I can find myself doing the same thing at the same time at the same place each day. Something I can expect and look forward to. A sure thing I can rely on. None of those little habits lasted more than 3-4 days. I ended up adopting a street cat.

Routine is a commitment. Whether you like or not. It can be an anchor when everything around is stormy. It makes you accountable to do something for yourself or for someone else. It is there, waiting for you. Like a pet. Like a child. Like a spouse. Like home.

So, you might as well choose your routines and make yours happy and colorful ones.

Like our morning routines, which go like this;

I wake up, wash my face, brush my teeth, (most of times) comb my hair, then I go to the kitchen. I turn the lights on, open the faucet and let water run for a few seconds while I take the milk out of the fridge. The same thought runs in my head, I always hope the kids will still be sleeping so I could have a few minutes of quietness to make each one’s drink. I pray to be able to take my first sip of hot (instant) coffee before the kids jump out of bed and start their non-stop chatter. They are so energetic.

Each of us has their own preference for a morning drink. I use the same cups to make warm chocolate milk for the little one but my boy changes his mind about his drink every day – he’s not a routine kind of guy, I guess – I make tea for the husb, and coffee for me (unless I’m sick, a non-routine, then it’s tea).

While waiting for the water to boil, I clear the dishwasher from ah, the dishes, we used for last night’s dinner. I open the fridge once again and take a peek, starting to plan the day’s lunch boxes. Then the guys come to the kitchen for breakfast.

I used to declare myself a non breakfast maker. Even to guests. Although I felt rude and inhospitable, I’d say I only make lunches and dinners but not breakfasts, each person is on their own. But here I am, each morning, standing in my PJ, making breakfasts and packing lunch boxes. The children ask for this or that. They command me. But I do encourage independency whenever possible. I feel like a helicopter in the kitchen. My head starts spinning and I need to sit for a minute.

After breakfast they fiiiiinnally leave.

Now, wouldn’t this drive you crazy?

Yes. And, no.

Because, just before they walk out the door I get kisses and hugs and it makes all this craziness worthwhile. Priceless.

It makes me fall crazy in love with my family.

We hug and kiss each other each and every morning, at the same time, at the same place, almost in the same way, every day.

It’s our morning routine.

(PS – This is a “Happy” post but I can’t even keep up with the title. I get bored after a while…)

Categories : Family, Happy

Yesterday morning I woke up and felt like making pancakes. I only make pancakes a handful of times a year, but after my Poffertjes experience, I got into the mood.

With the hunger challenge on my mind, I could not stop thinking about the ease with which such a craving is an impulse and not a decision. It was something I wanted and could do without thinking about it twice, unlike when I took the previous hunger challenge and we had a tight budget of $110 for the four of us to stretch during 5 days. Back then we just didn’t have enough money left or any food items in the pantry to make pancakes, and I’m not even fantasizing about maple syrup, blueberries, raspberries, or chocolate.

As a parent, a mother, I cherish every moment that I am able to feed my family, my children, and not having them worry about food.

I can cook and bake with my children anytime I want to or they want to

My children have the freedom of choice to be picky about food

I don’t think I need to tell you about people who are hungry and poor. You know it’s out there. You’ve heard it before. But, for the sake of the children… (sorry, I know, it’s a “cheap” trick), let’s give a little. $7 is a lot for someone who has to rely on food stamps.

There are many things you and I can do, whatever works best for you, like:

* Plan a food drive with your school, neighborhood, or after-school group.

 *Donate the free items from “buy one, get one free” grocery store campaigns.

 *Grow a vegetable garden with your family and donate extra vegetables to a local soup kitchen. Check out this for more details: Gardening for the Greater Good.

* Donate to Yes We Can! Project.  United Way is trying to raise $10,000 to help fund a project to rent out space at a local cannery. At this cannery space, they will be able to preserve fresh food (like vegetables and fruits) that normally would go bad and get thrown away (what a waste of good food), and then distribute them to food banks. Renting out space in the cannery will result in 10,000 – 14,000 additional cans of food per week for local emergency food providers. It’s a great project that will help tons of families, will save food, and will help people eat healthier!

***

To read my previous hunger challenge posts:

January 2010:

United Way’s Hunger Challenge 2010: Freedom to choose

Hunger challenge 2010 – Giving

Hunger challenge 2010 – Hungry, not only for food

April 2009:

Lots of planning… and cakes

Hunger challenge – Budget, groceries, and menu

Hunger Action Week – 1st day & grocery shopping

Hunger Action Week and thoughts of empty fridges

Hunger Action Week – This is what’s left

Hunger Action Week – Days 3-4-5

Hunger Action Week – the end

Categories : Food events

I find it a difficult to write about hunger when it comes to my own personal story. I remember being hungry too but no, we were not poor. So I believe… Although my father was nowhere in sight ’cause he was living on a different planet (OK, not planet, continent), my mother had a good job as a computer programmer years before they started invading our lives. I assume she earned a nice salary and money wasn’t the issue. The real issue was little energy and a lack of interest in setting foot in the kitchen, going to the grocery store, cooking food, stocking the fridge and the pantry. My mother worked long hours and spending time in the kitchen or home making were never her passion.

As a child, I didn’t like to eat much. Almost every day, I came back home from school with hardly touched food in my lunchbox. I usually threw it in a garbage can on my way home so my mother will not get upset about me not eating my lunch. By the time I was in high school, I stepped into the kitchen and cooked every weekend. On weekdays, I was responsible for preparing my own lunchbox which meant I didn’t make any. Was I a lazy teenager? Most days I didn’t eat anything before 2 PM or later. I remember sending hungry looks at the boys who took big, thick, generous sandwiches that their mommies made for them out of their backpacks, or devouring a home-made lunch at my best friend’s house, and shoplifting food from the grocery store near my high school during recess. There were no cafeterias in the schools I went to and I didn’t have money to pay for food anyway. Sometimes I stole money out of my mother’s purse, if I thought she will not notice, and bought half a loaf of bread stuffed with whatever while a stolen chocolate milk hid in my pocket. With the stolen money I also bought snacks which I secretly kept in my desk’s drawer, just in case there won’t be any food at home. I might have been hungry, but it wasn’t only for food.

Big jump to the present…

Not throwing away food and using leftovers makes me terribly happy and proud. I feel so resourceful and smart, like yesterday when I used old, but still good, cheeses I had in the fridge to bake savory cheese “cookies”and a fancier Mac and cheese. (More recipe and leftover ideas can be found here: Leftovers)

We do splurge from time to time with more expansive food, but mostly I cook simple meals with basic ingredients that don’t cost much. I think this is what my children prefer and it saves me time that I can spend with them instead of in the kitchen. I invited my son to cook the Mac and cheese with me but he didn’t feel like it. So, it’s best to make it quick and simple and then go play.

Other money saving tips I learned:

* Non-star, humble, food ingredients like cabbage, zucchini, kale, chicken liver, cost less and they are delicious and nutritious.

* Growing a few herb plants which cost $2-$3 each saves a lot of dough and add a lot of flavor to simple dishes. A package of fresh herb costs about $3 and it dies fast unlike a potted plant you can use for a few good months, even years. It’s beautiful too. Make sure to read Willi’s post Gardening for Food Security!

* Portion size. We calculate 4 oz. of protein/meat (beef, lamb, pork, and fish) per adult. A 6 oz. portion is considered very generous here. It is healthier and… better for the environment.

* Stretching ground meat with breadcrumbs, like they used to do in the old days, will make 1 pound of meat transformed into a meatloaf or meatballs good enough for 8 servings!

What food-money saving tips do you keep in your pocket?

***

Here are a few examples of pretty inexpensive recipes and more tips that I have previously posted:

Magical Lentil Soup, Peas and tarragon soup. More soups here, Soups

Simplest vegetable salad, Crunchy cabbage salad. More salads here, Salads

Breadcrumbly Pumpkin Ravioli, Leftovers Creamy Orecchiette with Roasted Vegetables, Chicken, and Leafy Greens. More pasta recipes here, Pasta

Chicken is relatively inexpensive. Last year when I took the challenge on a budget I even managed to buy organic chicken. Breasts cost more, but legs and liver cost less. I’ve got a lot of recipes for chicken (click Chicken.) A few of my favorites and cost-effective are Chicken soup, Crispy chicken legs, Amazing, but simple, Chicken Wrap, Chicken Liver with Cinnamon and Apples… Ah, the list is long. We love chicken.

Beef cost more but you can stretch this Pasta Bolognese recipe into 10 servings! (Other beef recipes under Beef)

A whole dinner of Pork schnitzel, potato-yam mash, roasted cauliflower will cost only $4-$5 per serving.

1 lb. of boneless leg of lamb is enough for 4 adults. With one skewer per person, I make dinner for the whole family. My lamb recipes are under Lamb. They are all my favorites, but if I had to pick only a few, I’d say go for the Marinated Lamb Kebabs with Cilantro and Honey or the Mexican inspired lamb wrap I made foe the challenge.

Fish and seafood cost more…but making a French Onion Quiche or Shakshuka does not.

During the previous hunger challenge I made Pear Clafouti with pears that refused to ripen.This brings us to cakes, cookies, and other desserts. I never tried to calculate the costs of baked goods. The prices, of course, vary from store to store. Flour and sugar are pretty basic and stretch a long way to making many goods. 12 eggs are $3.5 give and take, butter – $2 +/-, sour cream – $1.5, heavy cream – $1, chocolate chips – $2… I assume you can make a cake on a $6-$7 which is good to make 10-12 happy. Maybe not what’s on your mind when you’re dealing with a tight budget, but if you get a chance to breath, it’s a little treat. It costs less than store bought and it tastes a lot better and fresher. Sour Cream Coffee Cake uses pretty basic ingredients as well as Honey vanilla pound cake and you can even make this chocolate cake.

Categories : Family, Food events

Everyone I know has a fridge full of food. A full pantry. A full freezer.

I go to friends houses, take the kids on play dates… Every home I’ve been to has plenty of food.

The generous hosts will offer a cup of coffee or tea and ask if I wanted anything to eat, give the children a snack, fruit, yogurt, and/or a cookie. They open their homes and they open their fridge and kitchen cabinets.

Every now and then we invite each other over for lunch or dinner, or maybe we go out to a restaurant for a weekend brunch.

My children are invited to birthday parties. There is always a lot of food there, pizza, juice, treats, cake, and goodie bags.

My girl friends like to go meet at coffee shops. We buy a latte and a pastry.

We go on date nights, game nights, mommy nights, book club nights… All these gatherings have food.

I take the children grocery shopping with me. They always ask for a doughnut, or a fruit salad, and vanilla or chocolate milk.

Sometimes they get a special treat, we go to the ice cream shop.

There’s so much food around us.

We take it for granted.

If we had to live on $7 a day or food stamps, all this food will not be available. But it’s not just the food. All these places and social interactions might not be available either.

I suppose, when there isn’t enough food, it’s not only about being hungry, it’s also about being more isolated, and lonely…

***

Read what other blogger write about the hunger challenge:

Eat. Write. Now

Dianasaur dishes

Gluten free girl and the chef

Savory sweet life

Foodista

Eric Rivera’s cooking

Cook local

United Way blog

*** 

Give money to the Response for Basic Needs. Your gift will increase support for local food banks by helping a local cannery save fresh foods that might otherwise perish. The newly canned food will be distributed to local food banks, reducing their need to purchase such items.

If you want to know more, check out United Way’s hunger fact sheet.

***

There are many other ways to help. A few of the ones I find to be the easiest are:

* Each time there’s a food drive at a school or work place, give something. There are always a few food items you have that will be happy to see a new home.

* Each time you receive a plastic bag in your mailing box announcing a food drive, put a few food items in it.

* Each time you get a postcard in the mail saying a truck is going to be in your neighborhood to pick up stuff, search around your home, your garage. There must be some things in good use that you don’t need anymore. Put at least one bag on the curbside.

* Each time you see at a (grocery) store that they are raising money for a good cause, give a little. Anything helps.

People can eat on as little as $7 a day that you give.

Categories : Food events

$74.94 is what I spent at the grocery store, pretty much on a whim. A few chocolate bars and heavy cream for a cake, 2 loaves of freshly baked bread, coffee, fruits and vegetables, deli meat, and a few other things. For $7 a day per person, or $22 a day for a family of four, a $74.94 purchase is very close to what such family gets to spend on four days’ worth of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, when using food stamps. What I bought would have hardly been enough for us to eat for 4 days. I’d probably have to leave behind the chocolate and cream and buy chicken instead and put the $4.99 organic blueberries back in exchange for something more substantial. I wouldn’t have the freedom to buy whatever I wanted.

Last year I took the hunger challenge and blogged about it for a week. The week ended, the challenge was over, I was relieved. But it felt like an unfinished business. I’ve been thinking about it a lot in the past year. There were some loose ends. This is why this year I’m going to blog about the hunger challenge again but without budgeting $110 for food for the whole week. I felt like such a phony doing it then because even though we only ate what I bought, or had at home but calculated into the budget, it felt like a game we play. We still had our well-stocked pantry, fridge, and freezer and they made me feel safe and secure throughout the week. When the 2 shelves I have allocated in the fridge for the challenge food got emptier and emptier, I knew that in 1-2 days it will be over. Hopefully, for good. I was able to keep the challenge and eat the same good food the way I planned to. For a week.

I don’t want to “play” again. I can choose not to. Unlike 855,000 people in Washington state alone who are needing food stamps, according to The Seattle Times. They have no choice.

I don’t pretend to understand how or why people got to that spot where they need food stamps. I’m sure everyone has their own story. Going back in time to last April when the challenge launched, my approach was this line of thought:

- Ever since I left home I always spent money on food without thinking too much about it. Food was always one of my biggest expenses. (I’ve been that way starting at age 16 when I worked as a waitress in a cafe, later as a student working 3-4 temp jobs at a time, so… I’ve got issues… I’m a gatherer, a collector of food.)

- I like to shop at specialty food stores and farmer markets. These places are not cheap.

- I make it a point to buy local, organic, sustainable, seasonal, fair trade, and fresh food. It costs more. (I see it as my ongoing donation to support the farmers who try to do it right.)

But! Once faced with a strict budget, I asked myself: if my life situation changed and money for food was tight, would I be able to shop, cook, and eat the same way? Could I maintain this food life style? Or will reality hit me in the face and I will be forced to make dramatic changes?

To be able to eat within the challenge’s rules, I spent a lot of time on formulating a plan which, surprisingly, worked. However, it consumed many hours of my time. I can only imagine how exhausting this would have been if I had to do this every week for months or years. Not to mention the stress and fear that my family might be hungry with no food in sight. Especially the children. How do you explain to young children there’s no more food? I sometimes talk to my 6 years old about hunger – for example, when there are food drives at his school – but kids, kids who don’t live like this cannot comprehend it. Their young brains protect them from accepting that such a thing is possible.

Because of this fear, I had to plan a menu ahead, I calculated the costs ahead, wrote a detailed groceries list, and went to the store with a small calculator in my pocket. I am an ahead- planner but more than that, I didn’t want to to go to the store and cause a traffic jam at the cashier’s line in case I went over budget, needing to take things out of the bags and leave them behind. I thought I’d be embarrassed.

We’re going to eat this week with costs in mind. Yesterday’s lunch was filling and satisfying. Good enough to keep us full until dinner. We made grilled lamb tortilla wraps, estimated cost $3-$3.50 each. With 2 little children, one at a very picky eating stage, we had leftovers; 1 lamb skewer, 1/2 avocado, corn, and beans.

I wonder, do children who know what hunger is exercise their freedom to be picky eaters?

***

Mexican inspired grilled lamb tortilla wraps

Makes 4 adult servings

1 lb. leg of lamb, cut to cubes, seasoned with salt, pepper, a splash of olive oil. Chopped rosemary and balsamic vinegar – optional. Grilled.
1/2 bag frozen corn, cooked in the microwave with salt and pepper
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained. Sauté in olive oil with 1 minced garlic clove and 1/4 onion, small chopped. Season with salt and pepper
Avocado
Cilantro
1/2 cup sour cream
4 flour tortillas, warmed

***

For dinner, French toasts. Estimated cost $1.1 per person. A modest meal, not because we couldn’t afford something else but because we chose to.

4 slices Challa bread soaked in a mix of 3 eggs, milk, and salt beaten together. Sauté in butter over medium heat on both sides until golden.
1/2 small watermelon, cut to cubes/slices
Greek Yogurt

Categories : Food events, Lamb, Main dishes/entrées, Recipes

There was hardly any time to take photos as my husband and kids came back home and got all curious about what I was making in the kitchen.

Poffertjes.

The first time I ate poffertjes was back in 1989. I’ll help you out, that’s 21 years ago! Gosh, I sure grew up since. But in the past twenty-one years I could not forget those tiny sort-of-like pancake puffs, very generously dusted with powdered sugar and bathed in melted butter, that I have seen only in Holland. If you must, they also sell them with a “side” of whipped cream and strawberries. Need I say more? I was much skinnier back then, and 21 years younger, and I burnt a lot of calories walking in those pre-car years, so I could eat them with no limits, which is exactly what I did.

I was during a trip to Holland with my father to visit his sister and her family who still live there. It was one of the best trips of my life. We got there in the summer – already a good start since it’s pretty cold in Holland right now, see below? (These are photos my aunt took from the plane on her way to sunny Thailand) – everything was beautiful, new, different, and exciting.

We visited a few towns, Amsterdam (Fries drenched in mayonnaise was the most common street food and I loved it. Forget about ketchup. Mayo is the best!), Den Hagg, Rotterdam (Where we went to a night club and I received a lot of attention form the Dutch boys, who tried to guess whether I am Italian, French, or Spanish and approached me speaking those languages), Delft (Where we had poffertjes again, this time with whipped cream and strawberries. There were lots of bees fighting to have some too. Luckily, we didn’t get stung), and Bergen op zoom (Beautiful train ride, visiting relatives, then a bike ride, and a lovely market. Oh, and the first time I had mashed potatoes with bacon bits in it! It was love at first bite! I can’t forget that either.)

I’ve never seen such a flat land before, and so green, with so much water! Lots and lots of water, bikes, cows, grass, cheese, gorgeous brick houses, red brick paved streets, beautiful people. Here are a few photos I scanned from that trip, taken a long long time ago:

Me and my father on a touristic boat tour

Me in a mini-Holland

I used lipstick back then…

and my aunt Rachel wanted to put more makeup on me… but then she got busy… She loves to shop, dress up, and tan!

Pigeons. (Blech. They’re like rats with wings. I really didn’t want to stand there.) But see the building in the background!

Bike ride near Bergen op zoom. I’m not very good on a bike. Thank goodness this land is flat!

You know what these are

Cows, cows everywhere

A beautiful fishermen village

That trip was so wonderful that since then I automatically love anything Dutch and poffertjes (pronounced: poh-fer-tchuhs) will be forever in my mind. I did have poffertjes a few times in the past years but they were from a boxed mix and my husband was the one who burnt them, eeehh, made them, so it didn’t feel like the real thing. Fortunately, recently I got to virtually know Simone and her lovely blog Junglefrog cooking, and it turned out she is Dutch. (She also had a guest post about food photography and cameras, here). We exchanged a few comments and e-mails that turned into sharing recipes for poffertjes. Simone sent me a recipe that was titled “Oud Hollandse Poffertjes” and it immediately made me smile at the sound of the unfamiliar words and accent.

So finally today was my first time ever of making Poffertjes! It’s a historic day! A dream come true!

A little research on the internet revealed a few versions and we decided to try a recipe with eggs because it sounded richer than those without any. Simone said that buckwheat flour is traditional so we kept that and here’s a little photo she sent me showing her poffertjes pan:

I found that it takes some practice to make them right and you need to work fairly quickly. By the 4th batch I got better.

Of course, after the first batch I could no longer wait (the husb and kids were not at home yet) so I stopped the process and took a little taste break.

It wasn’t quite the taste that I remembered. It was good, I liked it, but the flavor was a bit sour, I think this might have been because of too much yeast (I’ll try to make it next time with smaller amount). I don’t know how buckwheat flour tastes. This was the first time I’ve had anything made with this flour so I think that maybe it added some of the sourness to the flavor as well. I believe the ones I had in Holland a million light years ago were made with regular/all-purpose flour so next time I’ll try to have more of that and less of the buckwheat. By the 4th batch though, the poffertjes tasted better, mellower, maybe because it had more time to sit and develop the flavors. I wonder what it would have tasted like if the batter was left to rise slowly in the fridge overnight.

For frying and portioning, first I used my smallest cookie scoop I have, then I tried pouring the batter from a cup, but I found that it worked best with a small teaspoon. This helped not overfilling the pan cavities which results in overflowing poffertjes.

I know there’s a special fork for turning the poffertjes in order to fry them on both sides but I don’t have one, so I used two heat-proof (silicon) spatulas. I also used a silicon brush to grease the hot pan with melted butter as well as the cooked poffertjes (instead of pouring a stream of melted butter on top. I know, it sounds better.)

If you don’t have a poffertjes pan, try adding teaspoonfuls of the batter to create the mini pancakes in a regular non-stick pan.

OK, ‘nough with technicalities, here’s the recipe:

Poffertjes

Makes 80-100 tiny pancakes

3dl (1 1/4 cups) milk
10g (2.5 teaspoons) dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
100 grams (3/4 cup; 3.5 oz.) all-purpose flour
150g (1 cup; 5.25 oz.) buckwheat flour
2 eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter, plus 4-5 tablespoons for frying
Powdered sugar
Whipped cream – optional
Fresh fruit – optional

Warm the milk in the microwave for about 40 seconds to 35 C (90-100 F) degrees.

In a small bowl, mix the yeast, sugar, and milk until dissolved.
Sift the flours together in a big mixing bowl. Make a little hole in the middle and pour the yeast mixture in it. Do not stir. Cover the hole with flour and let it rest for 15 minutes in a warm place.

Mix the yeast mixture and flour, then add the eggs, vanilla, salt, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter and mix until smooth. Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour in a warm place.

Put the poffertjes pan on the stovetop over medium-low to low heat and lightly grease the cavities with melted butter using a heat-proof (like silicon) brush. Fill the cavities only half-way with batter.
Cook over medium-low to low heat (adjust as needed) until the poffertjes are golden brown, then flip to the other side and cook to golden brown (They are ready to be flipped when tiny air bubbles appear on top and the bottom has set).

If the pan gets too hot, take it off the heat, grease with melted butter for the second batch and fill with more batter. Return to heat and continue the same way with the next batches.

Arrange the cooked poffertjes on a (warmed) plate, dust with powdered sugar and pour/brush melted butter on them before serving. Extras: Serve with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

Categories : Breakfast, Family, Recipes

It all started with a cupcake.

This cupcake.

After eating it, I was so happy that I started seeing pink, pink, pink everywhere I looked. Do you see everything in pink too or is it just me?

Seriously now. One thing led to another…

A new idea was born.

It started a few weeks ago when I was feeling blue. (Here’s that post.) It was one of those days, you know, when you wake up in the morning feeling drained and your energies are low… So I did this little exercise of walking around and observing what’s around me, the camera’s lens as my window to the world. I snapped some pics, then downloaded and examined them all. I found that it has lifted my spirit and put me back on track.

Last week I was supposed to meet a friend for coffee at a cupcake store. When I got there I found out they have no places to sit. No tables, no chairs. Only a stunning display of cupcakes. I left and called my friend to suggest another place to meet but I knew I will be back to buy some before I head back home. And so, that Friday, I did not bake a cake for the weekend! Instead I brought home lovely fluffy cupcakes in different frostings and flavors, securely packaged in their beautiful Tiffany-blue colored box. (Needless to say, I had to sample one to make sure it was good enough for my family.)

These gorgeous cupcakes made me start noticing pink things. Of course it’s not about the “things” it’s about what these things represent, their meaning and what they symbolize, right?! Like comfy fluffy fleece sweatshirts you change into when you get back home after work or running errands all day because all you want is to feel homey and snuggle in a soft blanket but it’s not time yet to go to bed ‘cause you still need to make dinner and do million other things, so you reach for the fleece and… mine is pink.

This one’s not mine. That’s where I draw the line, no hearts on my shirts!

And there are other pinks I notice. Like diaries with secrets and stories that will never be published

A little farewell gift I gave to my father after a trip we had about 10 years ago. I was still single then. We had good time together, took a few road trips and had fun. When it was time to go back home, I left it at his house where it sat on a bookshelf under his TV at the same spot I left it for years and now, after he died, it’s back with me at my home.

Lots of pink in kiddies’ stuff.

Kids can drive you nuts sometimes and make you tired in so many ways, but they are so cute and adorable, and unconditionally love you. Every day is a new beginning with little kids. You get a fresh start. There are lots of hearts involved.

on little PJs and blankets

But you’ll have to search hard to find anything pink in a boy’s room. Our society considers it a very unmanly color and doesn’t make pink boys’ stuff. But I didn’t give in. (There are some cute pink worms on the comforter cover too.) It was hard to find. Thank you, Ikea!

Of course, with little girls it’s easy to find pink. Pink, pink, pink is everywhere. Unlike with boys, with girls stuff it’s very difficult to avoid pink. Not that my little one is asking for it (yet?) as much as it is simply everywhere!

I used to intensely dislike pink. I couldn’t stand it for being what seemed to me to be so cheerful and…cute…. and so… optimistic… and fairy-tale like. And way too girly. As far as I was concerned, pink was a color of weakness and fluffiness. I considered myself too tough for that. An iron woman. Serious. And tough. Beyond cuteness and pinkness. I never even imagined using the word “cute”. But I’ve changed.

Now that I’m a mother I’ve changed my mind about pink.

It doesn’t mean that you will catch me walking around wearing pink. OK, maybe occasionally. I admit it, I own a pink T-shirt, and that cozy fleecy pink sweatshirt.

And I don’t feel so strongly against pink as I used to.

I have softened.

I now enjoy cute pink cupcakes without making any excuses.

***

Two more things:

1. This post was also submitted as a guest post on The Pink Apron blog. Kelly writes the The Pink Apron blog, which she considers a marriage of from-scratch techniques and modern flavors.  She loves looking for the stories behind the meal that make even the most ordinary of meals feel special. I love Kelly’s blog, go check it out.

2. I would like to turn these color themed “Happy” posts into a series with all the colors and I would like you to join me. Try it. Walk around, observe, reflect on the people and the things that make you happy. I find that it makes me slow down and notice what I might be ignoring or taking for granted, the many joys that life has to offer.

You can also join me by sending me a photo with the chosen color of the month and I will include it in my next post. (If you’re a blogger, I’ll add your link to the post).

Taking photos of pink things made me realize there are lots of hearts involved. Then I realized that next month is February which means… Valentine’s Day! So let’s make it red. Send me a photo with something red by Monday, 2/8, to be included in the next “Happy: Red” post. Will you join me? E-mail me to nurit AT familyfriendlyfood DOT com

Categories : Happy

Hey, you have noticed it’s been a while since I’ve posted a cake, right?! I’m really truly sorry about that. Cake means a lot to me. Cake is family and a home. I hope that by now it means a little to you too. If not a lot.

Maybe it’s time to bring the cake collection back to life. What is “the cake collection”? You can submit a recipe and photo/guest post a cake you made and get some link love. It can even be one that you have already posted on your blog. There’s nothing to lose, only win! Click here for more info. I’d love to see your cakes and it’ll be chance for me and the blog readers to get to know YOU.

So, without further delays… here it is… Ina Garten’s Honey Vanilla Pound Cake recipe. The recipe is from her “back to basics” cookbook. I will tell you more about it soon as I’ve been cooking my way through the book this week. It has lots of wonderful recipes. This is how I stumbled upon this cake which had a gorgeous of honey-sunnycolored cake.

It took 15 minutes to make!

A little note about the photography. Ever since this workshop I stopped using my tripod. Since Penny said she does not use one, which was music to my ears, I quit using mine. BUT, I guess my hands are not as stable as hers and I notice the recent photos are not so sharp. For example, the top photo was shot using a tripod and the one below was not. The last one, at the bottom of the post was shot with a tripod. You can see the difference? I can too. So from now on, I’m back to using it.

I really dislike, to say it gently, using the tripod. I feel it limits my freedom to move and shoot from different angles freely and quickly. I especially hate that mine is very inconvenient to shoot a lengthwise photo since it lacks that axis that moves the camera in different angles. I wasn’t aware of that when I bought it. So there’s a tip for you. Remember this when you buy yours! Mine only moves 2 ways; left-right and up-down, but when the camera is set lengthwise for a photo like the top one, it’s a pain to work with. Aarggggh. But as I can clearly see the difference in sharpness and quality, I admit, it is much better with a tripod.

Honey vanilla pound cake

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 cups sifted cake flour*
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees (180°C.) Grease the bottom of an 8½ x 4½ x 2½ inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, put the eggs, honey, vanilla and lemon zest but do not combine. With the mixer on medium low speed, add the egg mixture, one egg at a time, allowing each egg to become incorporated and scraping the bowl with a spatula before adding the next one.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. With the mixer on low speed, add it slowly to the batter until just combined.

Finish mixing the batter with a spatula and pour it into the prepared pan. Smooth the top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, turn out onto a baking rack, and cool completely.

* For cake flour substitute, click here.

Tags : cake, Honey, pound, recipe, vanilla
Categories : A cake for the weekend, Cakes, Food Photography, Recipes

“smush kidney beans with sour cream makes a rely good FANCY dinner with music like in a resturant with fruit all  urawnd the table.” My son typed that.

Translation: Smooshing kidney beans with sour cream makes a really good FANCY dinner with music like in a restaurant with fruit all around the table.

The other night, our boy, 6.5 years old, decided to be in charge of dinner. Yay for me! Not that I fool myself for one second that he will do this more often from now on. However, we were so thrilled about the initiative that we gave him complete freedom to do as he pleased. (As long as it’s safe.) Dinner was so awesome that I even invited him to write a guest post on the blog. He was excited about it at first but after 10-15 minutes of typing he lost interest. It’s hard work – typical 6 year-olds don’t want to work too hard. He is also a perfectionist from birth (it’s in his genes from both sides of the family) so typing was slow as wanted to type each and every word correctly. He claims he is “youth” now but I say, “You’re only “Youth” when you go snow tubing and the people there want to charge us extra money for your ticket.” Isn’t that so?!

Continue reading… »»

Tags : dinner, Family, kids
Categories : Family