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Butter the radish, pour the wine

Farmers' Market purchases

Madison’s Westside Community Market opened yesterday and it was an absolute success. I got there at 9:00 and Diana from DreamFarms was already out of eggs but she did have a tasty wedge of feta. At the information booth Vivien was dispensing hellos and news about the apple trees along with the delicious complimentary coffee that the market offers. Everywhere I looked farmers and shoppers were chatting and renewing friendships.

lunch

JenEhr Farm offered a bountiful spread of greens including a blend of mustard greens, bundles of a type of mustard green I’d not seen before, bunches of sorrel, and a lovely, light green leaf with a mild bok choy flavor. I bought some of each, including several bunches of French breakfast radishes.

french breakfast radish with butter and salt

A crusty, deeply flavorful whole wheat batard from Madison Sourdough Company brought it all together on a plate for a seasonal and local lunch. The sausage from Sunnyhill Acres, the feta from Dreamfarm, the radishes and greens from JenEhr a dab of butter here and there, some sea salt, and a glass of crisp white from France…well it was almost local but it was simple, full of flavor and probably one of the most satisfying meals ever. Like a big sigh…spring is here…it seems as though it’s safe to come out of my hole.

perfection

April 19, 2009 | Filed Under Local, Westside Community Market, bread, farmers market, food, quick and easy, soup, salad, sandwich | 9 Comments 

He ain’t pretty…but he’s my cake

ugly cake...but so tasty

In our family we start our birthday celebrations with the delightful Dexter in December and we run through them, one a month, with the exception of February, until we reach the end with the awesome Alex in April. Dexter always want’s a pecan pie and it never, ever is as good as the one I baked at thanksgiving. Dave too get’s pie…this year it was a blueberry galette, all tangy with blue fruit and crisp with buttery, sugary pastry.

My birthday in March is usually when the cake craving starts. This year Dexter suggested an ice cream cake from Culver’s. It was our hope that it would be similar to a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake in that it would include actual sheetcake sandwiching layers of ice cream and frosted with ice cream. But alas…it was a cruel hoax and was merely a block of ice cream drizzled with toppings. Totally not what I wanted. The next attempt at acquiring a cake was from Whole Foods were I purchased a lovely chocolate raspberry cake. It was a good cake but the frosting was overpowering; stiff and overly sweet with not enough chocolate flavor. This past week we celebrated Alex’s birthday and he too wanted pie, apple is his favorite. But I made a scheduling mistake and ended up not making the dough a day ahead of time like I should have, plus I measured wrong and used too much butter. It was a good pie but the crust was too buttery and it wouldn’t crisp up. That brings us to Sunday morning.

My cake craving had yet to be satisfied and I’d been daydreaming about a cake I used to make when I was a child; a chocolate cake known as the crazy cake. It involved cocoa, vinegar and baking soda and that’s about all I remembered…but who needs a memory when there’s google? I turned up several different versions and finally found one to settle on. Most recipes for this cake are similar…flour, cocoa, baking soda, sugar, vinegar, vegetable oil, vanilla, and water and always feature the instruction to mix the cake in the baking pan. This cake was popular during the WWII rationing because it requires no milk, butter, or eggs. Beyond that it’s a dead easy cake to make and it’s light, moist, tender and packed with chocolate flavor.

ugly cake...but so tasty

I’m sure there are some cake baking, cooling, and frosting skills that I could acquire if I were willing to put the time in. But I’m not. That’s why every single cake I make is ugly but delicious and this cake is no exception. The frosting is simple too and it’s the perfect topper for an old fashioned cake like this.

Old Fashion Chocolate Cake
Printer-friendly recipe

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons white vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups cold water

Preheat oven to 350° F. Makes 2 round cake layers

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cocoa, salt, and sugar. Make 3 holes in the flour mixture and add the vegetable oil to one, the vinegar to another, and the vanilla to the last. Pour the water over the top and stir the ingredients together until most of the lumps disappear. Note: I could never get all the lumps out).

Fill two round cake pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is springy and a tester inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack, then frost and serve.

Easy Peasy Chocolate Frosting

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
4 oz. butter, softened
Powder sugar
Milk (about 1/3 cup)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Add it to a mixing bowl along with the softened butter and whipp it with the whisk attachment. gradually add in sifted powder sugar until it stiffens up and starts to clump. Then add in just enough milk until you have a fluffy, light, spreadable consistency.

April 14, 2009 | Filed Under baking, cakes and tortes, chocolate, food, recipe | 11 Comments 

Eggs Benedict – with a twist

eggs benedict

I’m a morning person. During the week I’m up at 5:00, at the gym by 6:00, and at my desk by 8:00. I usually eat breakfast at work; oatmeal, or cereal…something healthy and quick. On the weekend I start out much slower but eventually, around 10:30 or so I decide to make something delicious for breakfast. Today I craved Eggs Benedict. The thing about EB is that making the hollandaise requires 4 ounces of butter and a lot of whisking and tempering the sauce so as not to overcook it. But since I’m still on my Tastes of Spain kick I thought I might be able to make a sauce with olive oil, it might be more like an aioli but it could have a hollandaise texture. A quick check on the interwebs confirmed that this is commonly done with great success and I also discovered the hollandaise in a blender technique which tosses the whisk and tempering worries right out the window.

eggs benedict

Eggs Benedict invites substitution and additions…rather than lame English muffins I used slices of baquette, brushed with garlic and olive oil and grilled on the griddle. Instead of Canadian bacon I used speck (smoked prosciutto).

The hollandaise is easy to put together. Put 3 egg yolks, a tablespoon of hot water, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt in the blender jar. Heat 4 ounces of extra-virgin olive oil in the microwave for one minute on high. Process the eggs on the lowest speed for 30 seconds or until well blended. With the motor running on low gradually dribble the olive oil into the blender…don’t try to speed this up, just go really slow and dribble the oil in as the motor runs and it’ll transform into a lovely velvety sauce. Once all the oil is added let the blender process it for 20 seconds more. Pour it over the baquette, speck,egg stack and garnish with some grilled asparagus. Serve immediately.

The olive oil hollandaise has a robust flavor and was easy to put together. It matches well with the speck and the richness of the poached eggs. The baquette was a bit tough but did add a good texture. Best of all this sophisticated looking, great tasting breakfast was ready in less than 10 minutes.

April 5, 2009 | Filed Under asparagus, bread, breakfast, eggs, cheese, dairy, food, pork, quick and easy, recipe | 12 Comments 

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