the honey eater » summer

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naomi — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:03:16 +0000

the waterfalls at Martin Brod

I finally returned to our little Brooklyn apartment early Friday morning. Even though I’d been away for a full month I didn’t feel ready to come back to the heat and swelter and frenetic pace of New York. From the moment my feet hit the ground in Dublin I began to slow down, each day of my vacation anxieties, petty worries and stress just slipped away. By the time I left Stockholm I thought I could not be more relaxed. Then I went to Bosnia. There were rivers and waterfalls (slap in Bosnian) and long meandering days spent doing nothing much at all. There was fresh fish and lots of cevapicici. Every morning we had hot kifle (a Bosnian croissant)from the bakery spread with homemade pekmez od šljiva (a sort of plum butter). We saw friends and drank coffee and picked blackberries and figs by the side of the road for an afternoon snack. It was a perfect antidote to New York and and the pressures of grad school. I miss the kifle (I’m sourcing recipes and will be making them soon) and the Jamnica iced tea (which is not good in a foodie way but good in an it-tastes-like-jello way). I miss the rivers and the waterfalls and the cows chilling by the side of the road. I miss the prices. I miss the language (which I speak very very badly) and the hum of the cicadas. I miss the fake pyramids. I miss the slow pace of life. I miss buying peaches for $1.30/kilo. I’ll definitely be going back, hopefully next year. I think you should go too, you would love it.

Amir has our camera and all the photos on it so when he’s back (next week) I’ll begin to post a travelogue of sorts. I also have five or so rolls of film from the European leg of my trip to process and I’ll show you those once they’re developed.

Peach Pie

naomi — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:06:09 +0000

At the moment, I’m far away from home, in Stockholm to be exact. The days are long and constantly shift between clouds and blinding sunlight; you’re never quite sure if it’s going to rain or if you’re going to get a sunburn from minute to minute. I’ve been gone for nearly a week and still have another three weeks of traveling ahead of me. I can’t remember when I took a trip that was so long and so relaxing. Vacations like this make being an adult a whole lot of fun.

Because we’re gone so long (I’ll be away for a month in total) we decided to sublet our apartment. This meant that before we left we had to make some headway into the stocks of food cluttering up the refrigerator. Frozen muffins were defrosted, soups were eaten, and a big pot of vegetables was mixed up. I also had a single pie crust that I had to use, leftover from making these. The Saturday before we left I saw piles of beautiful peaches at the market and couldn’t resist buying a bag (or two) to help me use up that extra crust.

I may have mentioned it before, but I love having some pie crust at the ready, it means you can whip up a pie or tart in no time at all and everyone thinks you’re some kind of magic (and who’s to say that you aren’t?). Sunday morning, while Amir was still asleep, I rolled out my crust, peeled and sliced my peaches, tossed them with some sugar and flour and then threw it all in the oven. As I crawled back into bed, less than an hour later, Amir asked me what I had been up to and I said, oh so casually “there’s a peach pie in the oven.” The expression on his face said it all: some kind of magic. Eating peach pie for breakfast is pretty magical, even if you make it yourself (maybe especially when you make it yourself). We ate nearly half the pie that morning.

Peach pie

I was fairly conservative buying fruit because we were leaving and only bought 10 peaches. The pie was good, if a little thin. I’m upping the number of peaches because I believe a pie overflowing with fruit is always best.

I prefer to pre-bake my pie crust just a little so that the bottom gets nice and crispy. If you’re feeling lazy (as I often am) you don’t have to bother.

1 single pie crust

12-16 peaches
3/4 cup brown sugar, very lightly packed
4 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp or so ground nutmeg
dash of vanilla (optional)
milk or water for brushing (optional)
coarse sugar (optional)

Roll out pie crust and place in a buttered 9″ pie dish. Place pie dish in freezer. Gather up the scraps of dough and place them in the freezer as well.

Preheat oven to 425-degrees F.

Peel peaches, if desired, by cutting an “x” in the bottom and placing them in boiling water for about 30 seconds and then transferring the peaches to an ice bath. You can also leave them fuzzy. Slice the peaches about 1/2-1/4″ thick and place in a bowl. Stir in the sugar, flour, nutmeg and vanilla (if using). Set aside.

Your pie crust should be nice and chilled now, line it with aluminum foil, then place your pie weights in the foil and put the crust in the oven. Pre-bake for about 10 minutes, then take out the weights and let bake for another 5. Your crust should be white and might start to brown just a little. Don’t worry if it shrinks a little, that’s normal. If there are cracks, patch them up with some of your scraps, it helps keep the juices from flowing outside the crust and sticking to the bottom of the pan.

In the meantime, roll out the scraps of pie crust and cut out circles (or whatever shapes you prefer).

When the pie crust is ready, take it out of the oven, and using a slotted spoon (or your [very clean] hands) transfer the peach filling to the pie crust. Decorate with your scraps, brush with milk or water and then sprinkle with coarse sugar (totally optional). Cover the edges of your pie crust with a pie shield or aluminum foil. Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the peaches are tender and the filling in bubbling. Serve warm with whipped cream or mascarpone cheese.

*This tea towel of Swedish endearments was given to me by my aunt and uncle shortly after they moved to Sweden. It is my favorite dish towel and only gets used for the most important of tasks, like wrapping still-warm pies.

Banana Pudding

naomi — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:14:18 +0000

Once upon a time, I worked in an office and made money. It’s true, it happened. One day, a swarm of consultants descended upon us and made us take the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator test. When we got the results, (I’m an INTP) I was described as a “mad-scientist”, often distracted with many projects going at the same time. Me? Distracted? Never!

I often feel a bit mad, but rarely like a scientist, except when I’m making caramel. When I make caramel I feel like an alchemist turning base elements into pure gold. That’s certainly what you get when you make the banana caramel that flavors this pudding, pure molten sweet delicious gold.

You don’t have to make the banana pudding, if you go just as far as making the caramel you will be more than happy. It’s delicious mixed into plain yogurt, or blended with milk and frozen into a banana sherbet. I would imagine that it’s also very good sandwiched between a two shortbread or some chocolate cookies. However, if you do make the pudding, oh if you do! it is manna from heaven. I like mine layered with homemade shortbread but do with it what you will. I challenge you not to eat it all in one go.

Banana pudding
Stolen, blatantly, from Francis Lam

If you have never made caramel before, go to Francis Lam’s original recipe for a more thorough description of the process.

For the caramel:

2 very ripe bananas, pureed until they’re the consistency of pancake batter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Stir together the sugar and water and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and wait for it to caramelize. Watch it closely and when it starts to turn nice and golden, take it off the heat. It will continue to cook a little. Stir in the pureed bananas, it will probably bubble up like crazy, it’s okay, keep stirring and soon you will have the magical elixir of life, banana caramel. Let it cool and then put it in the fridge, you will have more than you need for the pudding, but you will have no trouble eating it all.

For the pudding:

1-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more for whipping
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 eggs
6 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup banana caramel
1-2 bananas
shortbread cookies (or whatever cookies you have on hand)

Mix a few tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a large saucepan, make sure all the cornstarch dissolves, set aside.

Heat up the rest of the milk and the cream in a medium saucepan until small bubbles start to form around the edge but the milk is not boiling. While your milk heats up whisk the eggs, sugar and salt into the milk-cornstarch mixture.

Slowly whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture.

Set the pan over medium-low heat and stir constantly, adding the butter a piece at a time. The mixture will begin to thicken and eventually will feel like pudding (if it lumps a little just whisk the lumps out). Once it reaching pudding consistency turn the heat to low and let it cook for another minute or so.

Pour the pudding through a mesh strainer into a bowl. Stir in the banana caramel and the vanilla. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the pudding’s surface, let cool completely before putting it in the fridge.

When your pudding is cool, try not to eat it all straight from the bowl. You can make one big pudding or (as I like to do) make several individual puddings in little glass dishes. You’ll want to crush some of your cookies and press them into the bottom of your dish. Then you’ll spoon in some of the pudding. Add a layer of cookies and a layer of sliced banana, then more pudding. More cookies, more banana, more pudding. Deck with whipped cream and crushed cookies. Let sit in the fridge for about four hours, to let the cookies soften and the flavors meld. Enjoy!

Off off and away

naomi — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:00:28 +0000

My grandmother preparing to race a plane across the country saying goodbye to my aunt, dad and uncle.

Yesterday I boarded a plane, and about 5 1/2 hours later I landed in Dublin. I’ll be gone for the next month or so but will try to keep up posting here in the meantime. I’ve got lost of tasty things and pretty projects to tell you about. I am once again sans digital camera so there will be no photos until Amir and I (and our Nikon D50) are reunited in Zadar. I’ll be shooting with film on our trusty analog Nikon and hopefully on Amir’s little Minox if I can ever get the roll of film in there to rewind.

I’m off to go explore more of Dublin, where I’ll be until Sunday. Then I’m off to Stockholm to visit with some family, then London to see an old friend and once-upon-a-time-roommate. Finally I’ll fly down to Zadar where Amir will pick me up and take me to his beautiful hometown of Bihać. We’ll travel to Sarajevo and maybe to this little town of Lukomir, which is so remote that the war never reached it. We will definitely be viewing some waterfalls and spending ample time on the beach. If we have time we might even visit Tito’s cave.

Suffice it to say I am in high spirits and very excited about the many adventures coming my way!

Blueberry Apricot Mini Pies

naomi — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:01:40 +0000

I’m in L.A. for a few days, visiting with my family and relishing the heavenly west coast weather. Cool and grey, it would probably be infuriating if I lived here and were wishing for summer and the beach, but it’s pure bliss coming from the inferno that New York has been this past week. As has been noted by more than one blogger, the east coast (and the midwest) has been suffering from quite a heat wave. It hit 103 on Monday and I steadfastly refused to turn on the oven despite my desire to make summer pies. On Tuesday, I caved.

I just couldn’t help it: I had apricots sitting in a basket on my windowsill, fresh blueberries left over from making soda, and a pie crust languishing in the fridge, before I knew it the oven was on. My handy thermometer told me it was over 95 degrees in our kitchen and I banished Amir, shaking his head at my foolhardiness, to the air conditioned living room/bedroom to save one of us from baking along with our desserts.

Let me tell you, dear readers, it was worth it. For dessert that night we each enjoyed our own little pie with a dollop of whipped cream, the fruit sweet and tart and surrounded by a flaky, buttery crust, a perfect ending to a smoldering day. Even Amir conceded that my baking had been a good idea after all, despite the fact that he thought I was suicidal at the time.

The next morning, while I put off packing, we ate the remaining blueberry apricot pies with a dollop of mascarpone on top; I would brave the most extraordinary weather for such an exemplary breakfast.

Blueberry Apricot Mini Pies

Blueberries and apricots are one of my favorite combinations and the moment apricots were in the market I whipped up the beta version of these pies. That was a few weeks ago but I didn’t measure anything and we ate them so quickly I didn’t have a chance to take any pictures. I made them again, measuring cups and camera in hand, just for you (because we didn’t enjoy them in the slightest).

For the pie crust*:

2-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
14 tbsp cold butter
4 tbsp leaf lard
4-6 tbsp cold water

Whisk together the flour and salt. Using your hands, mix the butter and lard into the flour until the mixture forms pieces the size of large peas. Still using your hands, mix in the water, 1 tbsp at a time, until the mixture is moistened and just holds together.

Pour the dough onto the counter and push it away from you with the palm of your hand. Form the dough into two disks, wrap in wax paper and place in the refrigerator to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Butter four 1-cup ovenproof dishes. Roll out the dough, place it in your dishes, and place them in the freezer. Preheat oven to 425-degrees.

For the filling:

8 apricots, sliced into eighths
1/2 pint blueberries
1/2 cup sugar (I used demerara sugar, but you can use whatever kind you like)
1 tbsp instant tapioca

Mix together all the ingredients, set aside.

Place pie crusts on a baking sheet and pre-bake for about 8-10 minutes, until the dough begins to color slightly (you can skip this step if you’re feeling lazy, I sometimes do). In the meantime, roll out the top crust and cut into whatever decorative shape you like.

Fill pie shells with filling and cover with top crust.

Bake 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

Serve at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream or mascarpone.

*You will only need 1/2 this amount but it is always good to have extra pie crust on hand, so just toss it in the freezer until you’re ready to use it.

You can also substitute butter for the leaf lard.

Roasted Vegetables with Toasted Pine Nuts, Parmesan and Lemon

naomi — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:08:02 +0000

This is currently my favorite way to cook vegetables: tossed in olive oil, dusted with salt and pepper and then roasted with some pine nuts just until tender. Once they come out of the oven they are coated in lemon juice and sprinkled with parmesan (grated works better but shaved parmesan looks prettier, don’t you think?). That’s it, that’s the recipe, it is simplicity itself. The roasting brings out the sweetness and earthiness of the vegetables, which is complimented nicely by the pine nuts, tangy lemon, and salty cheese.

This “recipe” was inspired by a green bean salad I used to eat at the City Bakery, before I went off to grad school and lost all traces of my sanity (and my money). I made it with asparagus in the spring because that is what we had; I’m currently making it with green beans, and sometimes potatoes. Use whatever strikes your fancy: cauliflower takes well to roasting as does broccoli. It is good both hot and cold, and left in the pot nine days old (or am I thinking of pease porridge?), either way, make it, eat it, and be happy.

Sparkling Vanilla Lemonade

naomi — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:49:28 +0000

New York is hot and sticky in the summer, which means lots of drinks must be made and consumed. Summer got an early start here, hitting us with 90-degree temperatures at the end of April. While it was a bit of a drag to pull out the air conditioner so early, it also means that our summer drink season got an early kickoff. There have been iced teas, ades, aguas frescas, and homemade sodas. We have also brought out the juleps and the fizzes and the tonics. Glasses chill alongside the 8 lb bag of ice in our freezer.

Of all the drinks I’ve made this may be my favorite; it’s special. It has the tang of lemonade and the sweetness of vanilla ice cream. When you pour in sparkling water, the foam is flecked with vanilla beans. Even though turning on the oven is a punishable offense in this weather, this lemonade is worth it, if just for the smell that emanates through your apartment. It is not an everyday lemonade but you should brave the heat and make it at least once this summer. Once you have, add a shot of vodka or rum, you deserve it.

Sparkling Vanilla Lemonade
Adapted from Martha Stewart

I used organic lemons because I prefer them when I’m cooking something where the peel plays a big role like this lemonade. They were also on sale at the supermarket. Chances are you wont get all the seeds out of the lemons before popping them in the oven, just be careful when juicing them, or strain the juice, and you’ll be fine.

10 lemons, trimmed, halved and seeded
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 vanilla bean
sparkling water

Preheat oven to 375-degrees F.

Place lemons in a large baking dish (mine was 9″ x 13″), cut side up. Sprinkle with sugar, then add water. Split the vanilla bean and add the seeds to the dish, toss in the pod as well.

Roast for about 25 minutes, or until the edges of lemons begin to brown. Let cool.

Squeeze the juice and the pulp from the lemons into a blender (watch out for the seeds!). Take out the vanilla pod and pour the syrup from the baking dish into the blender as well. Puree then strain through a sieve into a pitcher.

To serve, fill a glass about 1/4 full with the lemon-vanilla mixture and fill the rest with sparkling water. Enjoy!

Blueberry Lemon Polenta Cake

naomi — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:31:33 +0000

I have been writing this blog for a whole year now. It started on a rainy New York day just like today. I talked about graham crackers and language, two of my favorite things in the world. It’s been a simple but monumental year, teaching, traveling, and almost finishing my Master’s degree (just one more month!). It’s been nice having this little piece of virtual space, a sort of mental garden. It’s been a place to write something other than academic papers, to try out new recipes, and experiment with photography. I have been so grateful to hear your voices in the comments. It’s been fun and I hope to be able to post more (and more regularly) in the coming year.

Today I have a lovely cake for us. Something simple, easy to throw together and delicious to eat. It all started with this post by Olga over at the Sassy Radish. I made the cake and loved it, tangy, sweet and studded with fruit – what is there not to love? But I cannot make anything without thinking about what I will do the next time and so while I was eating one cake I was dreaming up this one in my head. It was everything I hoped it would be: soft and yielding but slightly chewy from the polenta, full of toothsome blueberries and bright bursts of lemon, a perfectly simple, rustic cake.

Blueberry Lemon Polenta Cake
adapted from Gourmet Today

1/4 cup water
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup + 1/2 cup sugar
2 cups blueberries
grated zest of one lemon
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup polenta*
1-3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup whole milk
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Grease an 8″ square pan.

Stir together the water, cornstarch, lemon juice and 1/3 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Stir in the blueberries and bring to a simmer. Simmer about three minutes, stirring occasionally.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl.

Whisk together the milk, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Whisk in the flour mixture until just combined.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the blueberry mixture, and pour the remainder into the baking dish. Pour the batter over the fruit and spread the mixture evenly. Spoon the reserved fruit over the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

*I used polenta because it was what I had in my cupboard but feel free to use regular cornmeal.

Tomato and Corn Pie

naomi — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:15:20 +0000

I’ve been on a tomato kick recently. It’s the end of summer (actually summer pretty much exited stage left the moment September came into view) and I’m trying to cram as many fresh tomatoes into our diet as I can.

I first made this pie over a month ago, and while we loved it then, it was so juicy that the pie plate was flooded the moment you cut into it. It wasn’t a huge problem, we just drained it off and continued eating, enjoying the bright taste of the fresh tomatoes and corn.

I made it again last week and I roasted the tomatoes a little to get rid of some of the excess juice without losing any flavor. (I hate blanching tomatoes, I don’t know why, but it just feels inhumane to me). We took the pie over to our neighbors’ house and their twelve-year-old son asked for seconds. I think that’s a pretty solid recommendation for a dish that consists almost exclusively of vegetables (though the biscuit crust and heavy dose of cheese couldn’t have hurt).

Tomato and Corn Pie
Adapted from Gourmet

Some notes: While I like the effect of the roasted tomatoes, and the less watery pie they produced, I don’t think it’s entirely necessary. If you’re feeling lazy, or are in a rush, don’t worry about it.
I didn’t actually puree the corn, coarsely or otherwise, I just chopped it.
I added marjoram because I love it, it’s works as a nice counterpoint to basil, similar in flavor, but a little spicier.
I used Tumbleweed the fist time and a sharp English farmhouse cheddar the second time, both were delicious.
I would also like to note that the first time around this crust came out beautifully, was so easy to make. The second time I mistakenly added 3/4 cup- not 3/4 of a stick- of butter, making the dough impossible to roll out. It was still very tasty.

for the crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus 2 tsp melted
3/4 cup whole milk

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the milk until the mixture just comes together, form the dough into a ball.

Divide the dough in half, set one half aside to rest and roll out the other half into a 12″ circle (more or less). Fit the dough into a lightly-greased 9″ pie pan.

for the filling:

2 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1-3/4 pound beefsteak tomatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4″ thick, or sliced and roasted 10-15 minutes in a 350-degree oven
1-1/2 cups corn (from 2-3 ears), coarsely pureed in a food processor
2 tbsp finely chopped basil
1 tbsp finely chopped marjoram
1 tbsp finely chopped chives
7 oz coarsely grated sharp cheddar (1-3/4 cup)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Whisk together the mayonnaise and lemon juice.

Stir together the basil, marjoram, and chives.

Arrange half of the tomatoes on the bottom of the pie dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, half the corn mixture, and half the herb mixture.

Repeat with the rest of the tomatoes, corn, and herbs, then sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese.

Pour the lemon mayonnaise over the filling and then add the remaining cheese.

Roll out the remaining piece of dough and fit it over the filling folding the overhang under the edge of the bottom crust, pinching to seal.

Cut four steam vents in the top crust and brush with the 2 tsp of melted butter.

Bake pie until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling 30-35 minutes.

Tomatoes (and sauce)

naomi — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:31:47 +0000

Yesterday, at the farmers market, I went to visit the pickle man, to try the pickled green beans and he said it was nice to finally talk to me because “he sees me there every day.” It’s true, I am there all the time. I love it, I don’t love the crowds in Union Square, but I do love meandering through picking out perfect fruits and vegetables.

I’m usually there by myself, I prefer it that way, it allows me to move at my own pace and go back and forth as many times as I like. I’m very picky about whom I buy from. There are only two farmers I buy tomatoes from, Tim Stark, (I call him heirloom Tim in my mind) who has some of the most beautiful tomatoes in the market (his are the little cherries pictured above) and Leni’s farm who are there Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays and are usually at the southern end of the market (theirs are the striped plums in the wooden bowl).

As much as I love the idea of tomatoes, I hate eating them raw. Even really exceptional tomatoes are only okay in their natural state but once they’re cooked I can’t get enough of them.

I’ve been really into roasting tomatoes this summer. Roasting brings out the sweetness in tomatoes and turns them into an other-worldly dish. Earlier this summer I also made this wonderful tomato and corn pie. I’ve been meaning to tell you about it but wanted to make it again and roast the tomatoes first to get rid of some of the excess juiciness.

Most recently I made tomato sauce, because that’s what I do at the end of the summer. I usually blanch them quickly to remove the skins but decided this summer that I should (what do you think?) roast them. I was glad I did, the sauce was full-bodied and rich. We used it to make pizza with parmesan, mozzarella and arugula. We pat ourselves on the back for our mad pizza making skills and decided that I had to go and get another 5 pounds of those beautiful striped plum tomatoes and make some more sauce.

Tomato sauce á la Naomi

This is a very rustic tomato sauce. You could puree it to make it more marinara style. Or actually chop your tomatoes. I just peeled them and ripped them apart with my hands.

1 medium-sized onion
3 cloves garlic
3-4 pounds of the most beautiful, ripe, delicious, happy tomatoes you can find
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place tomatoes on baking sheet, place baking sheet in oven.

Roast tomatoes about 10-15 minutes, until their skin begins to crack, flipping them half-way through.

While the tomatoes cool, chop and dice your onion and garlic.

Place a medium-large pot over medium heat. Add oil and butter. Toss in the onion and let cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and let cook until the onion is translucent.

In the meantime, peel your tomatoes and rip them into smallish pieces. I removed some of the seeds, though not all.

Add the tomatoes to the onion mixture. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and let simmer 1-3 hours (I realize this is highly unspecific and not very helpful, cook it as long as you can, stirring and tasting, and stirring and tasting. I think I had mine going about 2 hours last night).