The Imperfect Cook

I'm not what you would call a precise cook. I'm sort of a haphazard, imprecise cook who starts out with the best intentions to faithfully follow a recipe. But somehow, somewhere along the way I go astray. It could be something as simple as needing to substitute an ingredient because I don't have on hand the exact item the recipe requires. Or I get interrupted.

Interruptions happen a lot in the Nord Kitchen. Despite a house full of comfortable chairs and plenty of desks, there is always someone sitting at the kitchen table. They are either reading the newspaper, working on a project, doing homework, surfing the net with a wireless laptop or just talking.

Most of the time these interruptions tend to just slow down the cooking process with minimal impact on the final result. Only a delayed result. Generally, adjustments can be made fairly easily.


As I continue to work my way through Heidi Swanson's cookbook, Super Natural Cooking, I'm beginning to realize that her recipes need to be followed precisely with little room for substitutions. Its not that her cooking techniques require special attention but due to the uniqueness of her ingredients, special care is required on the combinations. My latest attempt was with her recipe for Raspberry Curd Swirl Cake. I didn't have raspberry curd, I had lemon curd. Since raspberries are out of season and she recommends using citrus curd in winter I thought I'd give it a try. I was out of pastry flour, so I used regular flour. Perhaps because it still is technically autumn and not yet winter or perhaps I wasn't precise enough in my measuring I'm not sure...but the first attempt was a disaster.

So far I have enjoyed her book and have learned new things about different types of flours, grains, natural sweeteners, spices and seasonings. The Chocolate Chip cookies using mesquite flour are unique and very good. She is a talented food photographer and graphic designer as evidenced by her wonderful pictures...both in the cookbook and on her website, 101Cookbooks.



Something about her recipes challenge me. Every recipe has required a couple of tries to get right. For my first try with the Swirl Cake, I wish I could blame the poor outcome on interruptions...but for once, no one was around. So, I blamed it on imprecision and tried again. The first attempt just fell apart and collapsed. The top edges burned and the center was uncooked. Those sections that were baked were too sweet. On my second attempt I adjusted the sugar, precisely measured the whole-wheat pastry flour and baking powder, used butter at precisely room temperature and used less curd. Result was much more favorable.

Although not as good looking as the one photographed in her book!!!!

Lemon Curd Swirl Cake

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups natural cane sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup lemon curd

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat again. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl once or twice during the process so you end up with a nice, even creamy blend. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla until evenly incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and gently fold in by hand just until barely blended; don't overmix.

Scoop half of the cake batter into the prepared pan. It will be pretty thick so you will need to spread around with the back of a spoon. Now spread about half of the curd over the batter, staying clear of the sides of the pan. Add the rest of the batter and smooth the top until level, then plop big spoonfuls of the remaining curd on top of the cake (again staying clear of the sides of the pan). Drag a butter knife through the curd to create a marbled effect.

Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until the cake bounces back a bit when lightly touched. Let cool in the pan. Slice and serve at room temperature.

Adapted from recipe found in Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson (2007)

It may be Fall, but there is still baseball

Although it feels very much like summer with both warm weather and baseball games continuing, the Fall season is very much here. Someone recently asked if I had any pumpkin recipes. Aside from the traditional pumpkin pie I couldn't think of anything until I saw the new cookbook by Patricia Wells. Her latest book, Vegetable Harvest is a delight. The recipes are unusual and straightforward with clear instructions, helpful hints in a "What I Learned" section along with Wine suggestions. Its the sort of cookbook I envision writing someday... a little introductory paragraph to set the mood for the recipe, listing of equipment needed then clearly outlined steps to prepare the dish.

Tonight we tried her Pumpkin and Sage Risotto which, although clearly written, was not immediately understood, to me. In my rush to get dinner started, I reached for the fresh thyme instead of the sage. None of which would have been apparent to anyone until I decided to photograph the dish with thyme instead of sage. My mind is most certainly on tomorrow's game and not tonight's dinner!!!

The risotto was wonderful, none the less.




PUMPKIN AND SAGE RISOTTO

For preparing the Pumpkin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, trimmed,peeled, and minced
Fine sea salt
2 cups 1/2 inch cubes of peeled pumpkin (can also use butternut squash)
8 leaves fresh sage
2 cups chicken stock

For preparing the Rice
about 5 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, peeled, halved
1 shallot, trimmed, peeled, minced
Fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups Italian Arborio rice
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the oil, shallot and salt. Cook covered, over low heat until soft but not browned, for about 3 - 4 minutes. Add the cubed pumpkin, half the sage and the 2 cups stock. Cover and simmer until the pumkin is cooked but still slightly firm, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the 5 cups stock and keep it simmering, at low heat, while you prepare the risotto.

3. In another large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the garlic, shallot, and salt. Cook, covered, over low heat until soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Remove and discard the garlic. Add the rice and stir until the rice is well coated.

4. When the rice becomes glistening and semitranslucent, add a ladleful of the stock. Cook, stirring constantly until the rice has absorbed most of the stock, 1 -2 minutes. Add another ladleful of the simmering stock and stir regularly until all the stock is absorbed. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. The rice should cook slowly and should always be covered with a veil of stock. Continue adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring frequently and tasting regularly, until the rice is almost tender but firm to the bite, about 17 minutes total. The risotto should have a creamy, porridgelike consistency.

5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cheese and the cooked, drained pumpkin. Taste for seasoning. Transfer the risotto to warmed soup bowls. Garnish remaining sage leaves or anyother herb you happen to have handy. Season with coarsely ground pepper. Serve immediately.
Adapted from Vegetable Harvest by Patricia Wells 2007

Final Days of Summer

As the days grow shorter and the nights grow cooler, it is time to make the last big push for canning tomatoes. After converting 20 lbs of tomatoes to 5 quarts of spaghetti sauce I also tried Sweet Vinegar's recipe for tomato soup. The sweetness of the fresh tomatoes is drawn out in cooking so you really don't need much addtional sugar. Take note of her revised recipe which reduced the sugar amount. My family loved the soup and only left me with 3 quarts to can ... but I look forward to having some on hand when the cold weather hits. Thanks Daniela for a great recipe.

One could get all the recipes one really needs by clicking through food blogs. 101 Cookbooks blogger, Heidi Swanson has a great blog and a great cookbook. This weekend I tried a number of her recipes from, Super Natural Cooking. Her Expresso Banana Muffins were a big hit for Saturday morning breakfast. Since I didn't have walnuts on hand, I substituted with chopped toasted almonds. A slightly different taste.
But my favorite recipe this weekend came from blogger site Figs Olives Wine. Her recipe for Thyme Roasted Chicken and Fingerling Potatoes with panfried tapenade was outstanding. Check out her site for the recipe and a picture of what the dish should look like. The best I could do was get a photo of the leftovers. My family is amused by my blogging, likes the recipe testing, but gets a bit impatient when they need to wait for me to take a picture of the dish. So, I'm afraid that I'm a cook for eaters, not lookers. I also can't decide if I prefer cooksbooks with or without pictures. It helps sometimes to see how the dish should look like, but often it is frustrating when your result does not match the book.

Final judge should be if it looks good enough to eat...and if it tastes good.