Let's go to the grocery store!

I'm a self-admitted grocery store junkie. Hitting up 2-3 markets on a given shopping day isn't outside my comfort zone and I can endlessly trail the aisles at interesting or new stores for hours. Why? I think it's my inquisitive nature, born out of my desire to learn about the cultural implications of modern food purchasing. NOT! It's because I love delicious food in pretty packaging!

So when my friend Fritz (yes, that's his name, amazing right?) recommended I visit Super King Market in the far outer reaches of Los Angeles (I think they call it Burbank?), I just had to try it. Was I in for a show!

The best thing about non-traditional supermarkets that cater to ethnic populations is just how much of their traditional cultures are inflected into the stores. Crazy old Korean ladies bumping into you constantly as you grab their prized head of cabbage. Stubborn Armenian women that just dare you to move their cart out of the already-congested produce section. I could go on. I could also show you the bruises on my elbows.

Super King was other-worldly in its representation of ethnic cultures doing what they do best - picking, haggling and hoarding their favorite foods. The buzz of people in the produce section was incredible; you could barely move your cart, let alone alone walk through some of the sections. People were grabbing the sale fruits and vegetables like the megaquake is on the calendar and this was their last shot at filling the pantry!

Needless to say, very fun experience. I eventually abandoned my cart in an empty section and proceeded to make runs back and forth with my goods...always with an eye on my stuff...Yeah, I see you little old Persian lady with the kerchief. Keep your hands off my eggplant!

The store had a great selection of produce you don't see at traditional markets (hello, garbanzo beans in their shell, where have you been all my life! Good for fueling my obsession!) and some great fetas from Greece and France, as well as my new favorite discovery: Menaesh.

Menaesh is a flat bread covered in a paste of thyme, oregano, vegetable oil, sesame seeds and lemon juice (though the lemon juice wasn't listed on the package, you could definitely taste it). I am at a loss in finding anything more about it online but this is how it was spelled on the package, fresh from the bakery.

From the little information I could find online (and comparing it to what I tasted) I'm pretty sure the topping is actually Za'atar (zaatar), a mixture of sumac, sesame seed and herbs frequently used in the Middle East and Mediterranean areas. It was delicious!

Baking Day!

Yesterday was quite the marathon baking day! Three loaves, all with similar bases and different  fruit/vegetable add-ins. At Cherryvale Farms, we have a commitment to delivering delicious, easy to make mixes that are also healthy, hence your addition of a fresh fruit or vegetable.

In the case of our "Everything But The...Zucchini / Apple Cinnamon / Carrot Raisin" bread mixes, the main add-in is the fresh ingredients you yourself supply. No gummy, rubberized, dried-out fruit or veggie bits in our mixes! No! You're in charge of making the mixes wholesome for your family - we just provide the vehicle to do that. To learn more about what I'm talking about, check out this link for a NY Daily News story on fake blueberries in processed foods. Those little blueberries you thought you were eating in your breakfast cereal or muffin may not be blueberries at all! They might be oil, dyes and gums made to look like blueberries. Ew! I don't know about you, but that grosses me out.

Here's a look at my "Everything But The" Carrot Raisin Bread, Apple Cinnamon Bread and Zucchini Bread (from left to right). Some more fine-tuning and we'll be well on our way to packaging. YAY.

Banana Bread

So I'm baking again these days. Lots of baking. Baking for the good of mankind! Well, maybe not all of mankind. Maybe just me, my boyfriend and his co-workers. Regardless, I'm making a difference in the world, one baked good at a time!

I'm still experimenting with Banana Bread, this time non-vegan for the more traditional mass market. At Cherryvale Farms we believe in organic, wholesome living. That means better quality foods and reducing our intake or refined sugars and flours. Notice I say reducing. We don't believe you have to remove traditional ingredients for the sake of health. Sometimes you just need to know where to pick and choose.

My eagerness to build a healthier banana bread is, in many ways, dedicated to Moms like my friend Catherine. She has a 13-month old baby and is concerned about the amount of sugar in kids foods. I too feel strongly about the amount of sugar we put into our family's bodies.

I have been researching a lot about the sugar substitute Stevia and I'm at a loss to figure out why the heck we didn't start using this sooner! South American cultures have been using the Stevia plant as a natural sweetener for over 400 years and yet we're just getting on the band wagon! Stevia has all the sweetness we look for in our processed goods without any calories and limited impact on the environment. I honestly had no idea. Consider me converted.

Using 2/3 white flour and 1/3 whole wheat flour, my version also ensures your family will get more whole grains. Take a look at the final results.

Low-Sugar / Semi-Whole Wheat Banana Bread 
(i.e. pretty darn good for you Banana Bread)

Email me if you'd like the recipe.

Banana Bread

Oh that traditional baked goodie you devoured as a child at the breakfast table! So sweet and delicious and made the whole house smell like sunshine. Where did those days go? Why isn't anyone baking me delicious sunshiny goodies on a Sunday morn? I feel so neglected. Pout.

One of my favorite Banana Bread recipes is actually not traditional at all: it's vegan. Why vegan, you ask? I have no idea. Sometimes I like to pretend I'm vegan. And covered in tattoos. And can ride a motorcycle. Because all those things seem to go together.

I love that this recipe features no refined sugars and almost no fat. Very healthy. Sort of. If you want to up the nutrition value of this bread even more, sub half the white flour for whole wheat flour. Add an extra tablespoon or two of applesauce to compensate for the denseness whole wheat flour usually adds. 

Vegan Banana Bread

2 ripe bananas (the browner, the better!)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup sweetener - maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) 

Set oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bread loaf pan with vegetable oil. 

Sift your dry ingredients, set aside.

Blend your wet ingredients in a large bowl. If you want a really fine banana bread (no banana chunks) you can blend in a food processor.

Slowly blend in your dry to wet. Fold in 1/2 cup of nuts of your choice if you like. Pour mixture into pan and place in oven.

Bake for 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before slicing. Though you and I both know that never happens.

I made a loaf of this bread the other night and decided to up the wow factor by "frying" pieces in a mixture of fresh squeezed orange juice and honey in a pan. The sugar from the honey crisps up the edges of the bread and adds a bit more sweetness. Top with fresh berries or whip cream and some toasted nuts. Yum.

Bread - from scratch!

Bread. We eat it pretty much every day but yet few of us will ever attempt to make it ourselves. As such a staple to our diet, why rely on the grocery store or bakery to provide this earthen goodness? Make it yourself!

I'm going to show you an amazingly simple recipe for bread. It will change your life. Like holy-in-the-water change your life. Not only will the result be delicious but you'll forever be able to brag to your friends that you are a "baker."

The bread recipe below is the "No Knead" method popularized by Mark Bittman, which he adapted from Jim Lahey at Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC. This was back in 2006. Being a little slow to the scene, I just starting baking this recipe last year. But I'll never go back. Maybe 20 minutes of active time and a dutch oven (enamel pot with a lid) is all you need and you'll have delicious, crusty bread right from your oven.

At the par-baked stage

Finished product

Try the basic method first and then dive into all of the glorious variations. There are even versions that don't require a dutch oven.

The Original Recipe

Multi-Grain Bread

Make it a Sandwich Loaf!

No Dutch Oven? Try these alternatives

Now go to the store, buy some bread flour and, shortly thereafter, you'll have amazing bread you're friends will swear came from La Brea Bakery. You'll glow with doughy astonishment. :)

Cranberry Orange Bread

One of the things I love about the holiday season is the absurd amount of baked goods that seem to circulate in my life. Cookies, cakes, breads and every variety of sweet thing imaginable. So, of course, I would be out of the loop if I didn't contribute to this flurry of baking myself!

Just before Christmas, Walnut and I had a little doggie playdate with one of my favorite puppies, Gable. What playdate would be complete without some freshly baked holiday items? No playdate of mine!

That afternoon I baked a lovely cranberry orange bread, packed with fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh (not frozen or dried) cranberries. Dusted with a little powdered sugar, it was a lovely complement to the boozy eggnog I also brought over. Yes, you're allowed to bring booze to doggie playdates. Not sure if the same rule applies to children's playdates. I figure I have a few years before I need to worry about that.

Gable and Walnut enjoyed playing (feisty little ones!) while their respective mommies sipped the whiskey-spiked eggnog and this delicious, sugar dusted cranberry orange bread. A toast to the holidays indeed!

Still in the baking mood post-Christmas? Try this Cranberry Orange Bread recipe. 

Crispy Toasts!

As you know, I'm on a budget these days, so no more truffled cheese, blinis with caviar or full priced cocktails at over-priced LA bars for me! To deal with my utter culinary sadness (and empty belly) I've been seeking out my favorite food obsessions and figuring out how to make them at home on the cheap.

Challenge #1: Raincoast Crisps

Oh yes, you know these little devils. Beautiful packaging, all natural and lovingly tucked into a peek-a-boo box so you can see the deliciousness inside. Let's be honest, I'm obsessed. Like box-a-week obsessed. Like no-money-in-my-pocket-for-dinner-because-all-I-want-is-crisps obsessed. At anywhere from $6 - $9 a box, this obsession ain't cheap. Luckily I found an amazing recipe to recreate them at home!

From creating this recipe, I now realize why these are so expensive. They are quite laborious and time-consuming, even if most of the time is inactive. First you make the bread mix, chop and add in nuts / fruit / herbs, bake for 30 minutes, then cool, then freeze (oh really) then slice (painful, I'll explain) then toast, turn and toast again. Geez!

Crisp Add-Ins: pecans, sesame seeds, almond meal, rosemary and homemade raisins (from my dehydrator)

Slicing the frozen bread into crisps: not easy! The frozen bread is tough to slice through

Crisps laid out in rows on baking sheet, ready for the oven

Though these were a bit of work, the results are honestly so close to the original I'm never going back. The recipe I used called for pecans, rosemary, raisins and sesame seeds and truly mimicked the real (expensive) thing.

The final product

If you have some extra time (perhaps over the holidays when you won't have any desire to be away from the kitchen anyway) I highly recommend making these. Packed up in an airtight container they will last for weeks, if you don't eat all of them the second they come out of the oven.

I'm making some balsamic jelly (think gelée) to go with some goat cheese on these delightful crisps. I'll report back later on how the combo works out.

Roti Bread

I came across a really simple recipe for one of my favorite Indian foods, Roti bread, today and thought I'd give it a try. As an "Everything But The...Oil" recipe, it went to bat in the test kitchen to see if it was easy and delicious enough to be considered for our product line.

For some reason I always thought Roti would be a difficult bread to make but the recipe has only six ingredients, almost all of which most people keep in their kitchens already.

The recipe I used called for Garam Masala as the spice addition but I didn't have it on hand, so I substituted with some curry powder. The curry powder still produced delicious results and added a nice yellow color to the dough. 

The dough is a simple flour / water / oil mix and it needed a little resting time after mixing. Shaped into about 2" balls and then rolled out and oiled on each side, I tossed each one individually into an oiled pan and gently cooked them on each side for less than a minute.  Easy and fast, this is a shocking realization. Someone should obviously employ me in the ways of roti making full time.

The result was a fluffy yet crisp bread in a circle-like shape (hey, it was my first try, let's call me a roti maker in training) and it tasted nicely of curry. Check out the finished product below. I whipped up some curried yogurt dip with lemon and a little salt and pepper for dipping. Dinner is served! Maybe I'll throw in a vegetable and some protein...or maybe I'll just devour the whole plate full.

Want to know more about what Garam Masala really is? Read after the jump.