(mom and me)

I know I am a little late with this. Mother’s Day has come and gone for this year. But I have had some things on my mind. For the past month or so, when it comes to blogging, I have been standing on my soapbox, discussing issues related to food, that are close to my heart – body image, omnivorism, homesteading, food sovereignty… But I am back to recipes now, and even though I made this for Mom on Mother’s day, this would be a great menu for any Sunday brunch and why not have one this weekend?

Baked Homegrown Eggs with Local Mushrooms, Goat Cheese and White Truffle Oil
Local Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Local Maple Sausage Patties
Grain-free Coffee Cake
Homemade Yogurt and Berries with Maple
Fresh Brewed Coffee with Local Cream
Pear Bellini

I was blessed this Mother’s Day to have my mom in my company. See, she lives in Florida, and with us in Vermont, it isn’t easy to get together to celebrate all the special days in the year. But this year she decided to come to visit us for Mother’s Day and I wanted it to be special and memorable. I searched all around for a local place doing the typical nice Mother’s Day Brunch buffet, but was disappointed with the offerings. I was lamenting this on facebook, and someone suggested I make brunch myself, and that is exactly what I ended up doing. It ended up being great!

(Grain-Free Coffee Cake from The Spunky Coconut)

I recently purchased a copy of The Spunky Coconut Grain-Free Baked Goods and Desserts: Gluten Free, Casein Free, and Often Egg Free (See all Healthy Diet Cooking Books) and I was really excited to try some baked goods. Kelly, the author, and The Spunky Coconut herself, uses a lot of white beans in the base of her baked goodies. Since I like to cook as grain free as possible, this really intrigued me. It has literally been YEARS, since I had a coffee cake, but I used to love them, so I decided to try Kelly’s grain free version. The cake was delicious and power-packed with nutrients– between the beans, the eggs and the nuts, it is full of good for you goodness, but not at the expense of flavor or texture – one of the biggest issues I have had with gluten-free baking. The only thing I would change about the recipe is to cut the amount of nuts. It was a bit too crunchy, where we would have preferred cakey.

(Baked Homegrown Eggs with Local Mushrooms, Goat Cheese and White Truffle Oil)

The other main dish I prepared was a baked egg dish with eggs from our sweet hens, chanterelle and local oyster mushrooms, fresh chives from the garden and local goat cheese, all drizzled with the last of the white truffle oil we got in Italy, while with Roberto’s mom. It seemed a fitting way to honor her in the meal, even if she couldn’t be with us to share it.

We also had roasted potatoes, maple sausage from Applecheek Farm delicious locally roasted brewed coffee from Barista’s Beans, and homemade yogurt with local blueberries and currants (both harvested last year and frozen for winter eating), drizzled with local maple syrup and to top it all off, pear bellini (sparkling wine/champagne and pear nectar).

(Farmchic Tablescape)

It was an elegant (for us!) and casual brunch all at once and we had a lot of good laughs and enjoyable conversation all together. We had flowers on the table and fresh linens, which is about as fancy as we get here on the homestead!

Grain-Free Coffee Cake from The Spunky Coconut

Set oven to 325 F

Add to food processor:
2 cups of room temperature cooked beans – navy or great Northern.
6 eggs
¾ tsp vanilla liquid stevia *
1 tsp vanilla extract*
1/3 cup honey*
*I didn’t have the liquid stevia, so instead I just used a little extra honey with the vanilla extract
Puree well

Add:
¼ cup coconut oil, liquefied
1/3 cup coconut flour
½ tsp sea salt
¾ cup baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
Puree well, pour batter into a greased 9×13 pan

Crumble Topping:
Puree:
3 cups walnuts (I used soaked almonds, since I am allergic to walnuts, and next time I think I will use @2 cups instead)
2 TBS ghee or coconut oil
½ cup coconut sugar
1 TBS cinnamon
Spread the crumble over the top of the batter. Using a fork or knife, really swirl the topping into the batter, and pat the topping down. Bake for about 25 minutes. Great hot, or cold from the refrigerator, store in the fridge.

Baked Homegrown Eggs with Local Mushrooms, Goat Cheese and White Truffle Oil

INGREDIENTS:
2 large fresh oyster mushrooms
A palm full of reconstituted dried chanterelle mushrooms
2 TBS butter
2 TBS fresh chives
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
5 large fresh eggs
¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
Salt & pepper
1 TBS white truffle oil

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium sized cast iron skillet sauté the mushrooms with the butter. Add one TBS of the chives. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on the bottom of a silicon round cake pan. Scramble eggs in a separate bowl with salt and pepper, add the sautéed mushrooms and chives to the eggs and then pour into the cake pan and sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the egg is cooked and drizzle with the truffle oil.

How good does that sound? Unfortunately I did not serve these items together, but I wish I had! They would have been perfect together. I have been meaning to post the cake recipe for over a month now. I made it for my cousin Michelle’s birthday. She is a well known chocoholic, and so I knew I wanted to make a super chocolate birthday cake for her to celebrate! Sweets for the sweet!

The recipe was based on one from Peanut Butter and Julie’s Blog (thanks Julie!).

The recipe calls for melting chocolate in hot strong coffee! What a revelation! This was a perfect way to really up the ante and flavor profile of the cake. I used nothing below 75% cacao chocolate and I substituted extra virgin coconut oil and blood orange salt to add to the underlying flavor as well . I made a 9-inch round cake and layered the cake with leftover cream cheese icing that I had frozen when I made too much for the wedding cake and then topped it with crushed hazelnuts. It was totally a success! I am not much of a chocolate lover, but I really loved this cake. I reduced the amount of sugar from 3 CUPS to 3/4′s of a cup – resulting in a deep chocolate flavor without an overly sweet taste.

As for the ice cream, I mentioned in my last post that I have switched over almost exclusively to goats milk. My friend Judy at No Fear Entertaining told me a long time ago that she had made an awesome chocolate pudding using goats milk, so it inspired me to try goats milk in my desserts. Normally when making ice cream, I don’t put eggs in the base as a shortcut and time saver. But this time I decided I really wanted a creamy custard, so I used both goats milk and cream, as well as eggs. I added a bit of crushed cardamom pods while the vanilla bean was steeping in the milk/cream. It added a really rice flavor and I think enhanced the vanilla flavor of the ice cream. The consistency was good, but it was very rich. I think next time, I will skip the cream and just go with the eggs and goats milk.

Recipes below the cut…

Decadent Chocolate Cake

Makes one 9-10 inch layer cake

INGREDIENTS:

pat of butter for greasing pan

1 1/2 cups hot strong coffee (I made espresso)

1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate (nothing below 75% cacao)

3 large organic eggs

3/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

3/4 cup pure cane sugar

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups Dutch processed cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

1 teaspoon salt (I used blood orange infused)

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 300F degrees. Grease cake pans with butter.

Mix the hot coffee with the chopped chocolate, stirring occasionally until the mixture is smooth.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), beat the eggs until they are slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Slowly add the coconut oil, and mix at medium speed for 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar, mixing until well combined. Slowly add the buttermilk, coffee mixture, and vanilla, and mix until blended.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter in three additions on low speed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean, 55-65 minutes. Cool for 15 in the pans, and then carefully invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Frost the layers as desired, decorate, and serve!

Goats Milk Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/3 cups whole goats milk

2 1/3 cup organic heavy cream

1 whole vanilla bean

1 cardamom pod crushed

3 large organic eggs

½ cup pure cane sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

METHOD:

Combine milk and cream into a medium saucepan. Using a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the blunt egde to scrape out the seeds. Crush the cardomom pod. Stir vanilla seeds and pod, and the crushed cardamom into the milk/cream mixture. Bring mixture to a slow boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about a half an hour, stirring occasionally.

Combine eggs and sugar into a medium bowl. Use hand mixer and beat until the mixture is thick, smooth and pale yellow, about 2 minutes.

Remove the vanilla bean pod from the milk/cream mixture and discard. Measure 1 cup of the hot liquid. With hand mixer on low speed slowly pour the milk/cream into the eggs/sugar. When combined, pour mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk/cream and stir to combine. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and covers the back of a spoon.

Transfer to a large glass bowl. Stir in vanilla extract, cover and chill completely.

Pour chilled custard into the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturers directions!

My Kitty is Famous!

I sent her picture in to my good friend Lisa’s blog, Lisabeeen, where she features a Coffee Critter of the day.

Moo was today’s Coffee Critter and she was featured on the front page of FoodCandy!

Check it out!

Every year, right around the holidays, I turn a year older (don’t I look so much older and wiser here snapping this poor green bean?!). Since most of my family has migrated to Florida over the past 10 years, we now make a point to celebrate birthdays together. Since my birthday is in December, right around the holidays, I usually save my family party for a time when most of my relatives are here – from Florida and from out of state. So in between Christmas and New Years and MOVING, we put this shindig on – nothing is getting in the way of a party with good food. So this year we celebrated my birthday on January 1st – New Year’s Day. Per tradition, the birthday person, (in this case, me) gets to choose the menu. The weather has turned a bit cold here in The Sunshine State and so I was after more hearty fare.

I chose an Armenian Vegetable Stew, called Kharn Panchareghen, out of one of my favorite cookbooks called Secrets of Cooking: Armenian/Lebanese/Persian which is an Armenian, Lebanese and Persian cookbook, written by the sister of one of my mom’s friends. The stew was delicious. I added some Kalamata olives, dried prunes and about a ¼ TBS of ground cinnamon to the original recipe. I also opted for canned plum tomatoes as opposed to fresh, as tomatoes are out of season right now and not very flavorful. It was rich in flavor and the secret touches of sweetness really intrigued the palate. We served the stew with Rice Pilaf, Naan bread and Greek Salad.

Then there was the question of the cake. Now this next picture looks kinda weird, but don’t be scared…there is a story, rest assured.

I am not normally a chocolate person, usually opting for spice cake or carrot cake on my birthday, but I saw Giada make chocolate espresso brownies recently. I LOVE espresso. My mom had given me a bundt cake pan shaped like a giant octopus (I know I am weird, I love octopi) and so a plan for chocolate chip espresso bundt cake with an espresso glaze came to life. My mom wanted to decorate the cake all in waves and pretty icing, but since I am not partial to icing, I requested just a glaze. Hence a pretty much unadorned Octopus cake. But it was good.

Now for the recipe:

Armenian Vegetable Stew
Kharn Panchareghen

INGREDIENTS:

1lb of cubed lamb or beef
1 sm can of tomato paste
1 cup water
3 medium red skinned potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ lb of fresh string beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 zucchinis, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 carrots, cut into 1-inch squares
6 scallions – bulbs and greens, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large onions, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 sm can of plum tomatoes and their juice
1 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
salt & pepper to taste
¼ TBS ground cinnamon
½ cup chopped dried prunes
¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives
¼ cup shiraz
juice of one lemon

METHOD:

Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add 3 TBS olive oil. Add meat to pan and brown on all sides. Once meat is browned, add to it the can of tomato paste mixed with 1 cup of water. Let simmer over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes. In the meantime prep all your veggies. Preheat oven to 400 F.
In a large hot skillet with 3 TBS of olive oil, brown potatoes on all sides. Transfer potatoes to stock pot with the meat. Repeat this process with all the veggies. Add water to the meat mixture if things begin to dry up. Once all the veggies have been added, add the plum tomatoes with their juices, salt and pepper the stew to taste, then add the cinnamon olives and prunes. Pour the shiraz into the skillet and scrape up any bits. Pour into the stew pot.

Place lid on the stew pot and place in 400 F oven for 1 1/2 hours. After the first 45 minutes check stew for liquid. Add another ½ cup water if it is too dry. Before serving, pour juice of one lemon over stew and mix well.

Serve with Rice pilaf, cheese and olives. Serves 6 (can be easily doubled. In my case the doubled recipe served 11 with lots of leftovers – Trust The Leftover Queen – you WANT leftovers!). So for all intents and purposes you could feed an army with this!

The Cake

The cake is essentially one box of dark chocolate cake mix, one box of Ghiradelli brownie mix and one box of Ghiradelli chocolate chip muffin mix. I gotta tell you Ghiradelli makes some fine bake mixes, so don’t knock it. Don’t be afraid to use them and doctor them up to your liking, Mom followed the package directions, but omitted the oil from one of the packages. She mixed this all together in a stand mixer with 3 TBS ground espresso.

The espresso glaze was made from 5 TBS of brewed espresso and powdered sugar with a little ground espresso mixed in for good measure.

This made one decorative bundt and one round cake. We slapped some melted chocolate in between the layers for glue. Yum!

Happy Yule Everyone!

Yule is a celebration of the Winter Solstice. It marks the longest night of the year and celebrates the re-birth of the sun and longer days to come after the darkness of winter. Christmas was transplanted onto winter solstice some 1,600 years ago, centuries before the English language emerged from its Germanic roots. The tradition of burning a Yule log is to celebrate light itself and the lightening of the days thereafter. Personal faults, mistakes and bad choices are burned in the flame so everyone’s New Year can start with a clean slate. You never burn the entire log, you save a piece for next year to start the next Yule Log. Traditionally on the eve of the Winter Solstice, at midnight, you turn off all your lights or candle lights and everyone takes a moment to sit in the dark and reflect on the darkness, then at 12:01 everyone lights their own candles, turns on all the lights and gives thanks to the sun and its life sustaining power.

I kinda got guilted into this month’s challenge. I have been so busy baking holiday cookies, Roberto and I are in the process of moving and I have been finishing up some projects that I really forgot about the challenge until Wednesday, when I realized I hadn’t even looked at the challenge for this month. I was planning to bow out of it, until I saw it was a Yule Log and since I actually celebrate the holiday of Yule (Winter Solstice), I figured I really had no excuse NOT to step up to the plate. So I scrambled all day on Thursday – my only day that did not have every second scheduled and I made my Yule Log.

It was a disaster from the beginning. First, I did not have cake flour, so I had to use all-purpose. Second, I did not have instant espresso powder, so I had to use regular espresso and then there was the issue of the butter cream. It was watery, so I decided to add some heavy cream to give it body and it was way in the back of my fridge, and apparently a little frozen and then I had chunky butter cream, which all had to be thrown away. So I was left with little choice beyond making espresso whipped cream instead, which turned out great! It looks more like a birch tree.

Then my peaks didn’t hold with the meringue and I had to finagle a way to make the mushrooms form correctly. But I am happy with the result, it tastes great and I think it looks very cute! I really hope the people will enjoy it at the party I am bringing it to today!

So if you want to make your own Yule Log next year, here is the recipe!

Yule Log
(from Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri and The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Dessert)
Daring Bakers Challenge #14: December 2007

Hosts: Daring Baker Founders Ivonne (Cream Puffs in Venice) and Lisa (La Mia Cucina)
Recipe Quantity: Serves 12

Cake should be stored in a cool, dry place. Leftovers should be refrigerated

Challenge Requirements:

A genoise cake using the recipe below
A coffee buttercream frosting using the recipe below (Note: For those of you that have an aversion to coffee, you can use another flavour for your buttercream, however, the buttercream must be dark in colour. We don’t want any white or cream-coloured Yule Logs!
Meringue or Marzipan mushrooms using the recipes below

Allowed Modifications:

1. Your genoise must be made using the recipe provided; however, it can be flavoured however you wish. Make it chocolate, add nuts, douse it in liquor, throw in some citrus or just leave it plain. It’s entirely up to you how you flavour it. Substitutions for health reasons are allowed but you must let us know.

2. While the outside of your Yule Log must be frosted with the coffee buttercream using the recipe provided here, you are free to fill the recipe however you choose. Fill it with fruit, jam, melted chocolate, pudding, whipped cream, or another frosting of your choice. You have complete freedom when it comes to the FILLING. Substitutions for health reasons are allowed but you must let us know.

3. At the very least, besides the coffee buttercream, you must decorate your log with mushrooms. We have provided a recipe for meringue mushrooms and marzipan mushrooms. You can choose one or the other or you can try both. But you must try at least one type of mushroom.

4. You have complete freedom, besides the mushrooms, to decorate your logs however you wish.

5. You have complete freedom to make your logs in whatever shape you like (mini logs, one huge log, an upright log, etc.)

6. High altitude modifications are allowed as long as you stay “true” to the recipe.

7. Conversion for certain dietary restrictions like gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan etc. is allowed.

8. Recipe ingredient exception allowed only if allergy or an ingredient not available or cost prohibitive in your region.

Additional Information about Challenge:
If you are not going to use the coffee buttercream to fill your log, be sure to have the filling ready once the genoise comes out of the oven. If you do fill your Yule Log with fruit or with soemthing other than buttercream, please note that you may not be able to freeze the Log because the filling may not last.

Recipes:

Plain Genoise:

3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
Pinch of salt
3/4 C of sugar (use only 1/3 C)
1/2 C cake flour
1/4 C cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter 1 10×15 inch jelly roll pan and line with parchment, then butter again on top of the parchment.

Bring a saucepan of water to a simmer.

Whisk the eggs, yolks, salt, and sugar together in a heatproof bowl like the bowl of a stand mixer. Place over the simmering saucepan of water and whisk until the mixture is about 100 degrees. It should feel lukewarm.

Whip on medium high speed until the egg mixture is light yellow, thick and foamy, and tripled in volume. It should fall off the whisk in ribbons that slowly dissolve.

While the eggs are whipping, sift together the cake flour and cornstarch.

Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Fold this in, then sift another 1/3 of the flour in, fold, and repeat.

Scrape the batter into the jelly roll pan and smooth the top. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, or until the cake springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream.

Coffee Buttercream:
4 large egg whites
1 C sugar
3 sticks (1 1/2 C) unsalted butter, room temp, softened
2 Tbsp instant espresso powder
2 Tbsp rum or brandy
1 oz melted dark chocolate

Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot.

Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.

Filling and frosting the log:
Turn the cake out of the pan onto a clean sheet of parchment and peel away the parchment on the bottom. Spread with filling. Roll the cake into a tight cylinder. Refrigerate for several hours.

Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end. Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top. Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump. Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark.

Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.

Meringue Mushrooms:

3 large egg whites, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup (3-1/2 ounces/105 g.) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (1-1/3 ounces/40 g.) icing sugar
Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a small (no. 6) plain tip. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Continue until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks. Sift the icing sugar over the whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold in until well blended.

Scoop the mixture into the bag. On one baking sheet, pipe 48 stems, each ½ inch (12 mm.) wide at the base and tapering off to a point at the top, ¾ inch (2 cm.) tall, and spaced about ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. On the other sheet, pipe 48 mounds for the tops, each about 1-1/4 inches (3 cm.) wide and ¾ inch (2 cm.) high, also spaced ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. Dust with cocoa. Reserve the remaining meringue.

Bake until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper, 50-55 minutes. Set the pans on the counter and turn the mounds flat side up. With the tip of a knife, carefully make a small hole in the flat side of each mound. Pipe small dabs of the remaining meringue into the holes and insert the stems tip first. Return to the oven until completely dry, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool completely on the sheets.

Garnish your Yule Log with the mushrooms.

Marzipan Mushrooms:

8 ounces almond paste
2 cups icing sugar
3 to 5 tablespoons light corn syrup
Cocoa powder

To make the marzipan combine the almond paste and 1 cup of the icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on low speed until sugar is almost absorbed.

Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar and mix until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

Add half the corn syrup, then continue mixing until a bit of the marzipan holds together when squeezed, adding additional corn syrup a little at a time, as necessary: the marzipan in the bowl will still appear crumbly.

Transfer the marzipan to a work surface and knead until smooth.

Roll one-third of the marzipan into a 6 inches long cylinder and cut into 1-inch lengths.

Roll half the lengths into balls. Press the remaining cylindrical lengths (stems) into the balls (caps) to make mushrooms.

Smudge with cocoa powder.

I recieved this lovely little package from my friend Cris at From Our Home To Yours. Cris blogs from Brazil and she knows how much I love coffee, so one day she told me that she’d send me some coffee from Brazil someday. Well it arrived here the day before my birthday! Which was perfect! Not only did it include the delicious coffee, but also a beautiful kitchen towel that her mom made and a beautiful ornament made by the Native people of Brazil. This little gift was so thoughtful and really touched my heart!

Not only do Cris and I share the love of food, but we are also both former AFSers. We were both exchange students through the same program years ago. She went to Maryland, in the US (My home state) and I went to Norway. The internet sure can be a small world!

Feliz Natal to you Cris and all your family! Thank you for being so sweet.

Everyone who reads my blogs knows that my passion for coffee is deep and strong.

I just love the complexity of different beans and blends. I love the originality of coffees from all different regions of the world. They are all so unique. Some are rich and smooth and chocolately; others taste of berries or citrus; some are earthy giving off flavors like tobacco, bitter, earthy and verdant. Coffee is like wine in a sense. There are rituals involved in the making of, the preparation of and the aging of. There are connoisseurs who spend years perfecting blends and roasting methods or traveling the world in search of the perfect bean. It is all so fascinating. Coffee may not grow in New England climates, but I believe the soul of coffee is in New England. People in New England know what to do with their coffee, to bring it to the next level. Everywhere you go in New England you can find excellent coffee. Even gas stations serve up Green Mountain Coffee and McDonalds has Newman’s Own Organic Coffee. But the real unique ways of preparing coffee are found in the local coffee shop in those picturesque towns in Vermont or Massachusetts. No matter how small the town is, you can always find a local coffee joint. There are Starbucks to be found of course, but people generally prefer their local coffee place. There is excellent competition between coffee houses which for the consumer means there is great coffee to be had around every corner.

That was one of my major goals of our recent trip to New England. I wanted to go back to all my favorite coffee joints and boy was it ever a treat!

Jenn’s Top 5 Coffee Joints in New England:

Lisabeeen

Now you have all heard me sing the praises of Lisabeeen coffee. Lisa is an artisan of coffee roasting. She is constantly trying different blends and perfecting her art of coffee roasting. Since I am fortunate enough to be very close friends with this amazing woman, I know she is a perfectionist in general, meaning this coffee obsession of hers reaps the benefits. Roberto and I were able to spend a few days with her and her partner Nicki, one of my closest friends at their home in Bennington, Vermont where she showed us her artistry.

Last summer Lisa built a roaster from a gas grill. She lovingly roasts each batch to order and the result is something you just cannot get anywhere else, period.

It is the only coffee that needs absolutely nothing in it, unless you like a little steamed milk. The flavors are distinct and delicious. Not only that, but when she makes a latte for you (her specialty of the house) she pours the most ingenious coffee art – see the kitty!

She has won several competitions. So please do yourself a favor and contact her so you can get your own delicious hand roasted beans! Also if you are in Bennington and enjoy punk, check her blog for dates that her and Nicki’s band BITCH KITTY might be playing.

Mt. Joe To Go

New England has a wonderful tradition of coffee shacks. Little tiny huts along major roadways that you can just drive up to and get a delicious cup o joe or an amazing coffee creation for very little. There used to be a little shack near where I used to work called Northern Lights that had delicious maple lattes. It has since changed hands, but I am happy to see that it remains a coffee shack. There was another in Jacksonville, VT that Roberto passed everyday to go to work. It was painted bright orange and there was an older gentleman behind the counter that had all the local gossip and imported bagels from New York City where his daughter lived.
There is a new place on Rte. 141 between Easthampton and Holyoke, MA on the mountain called Mountain Joe To Go. My friend Diana told me about it when she picked us up from the airport with one of their mango smoothies in hand. That very day, I had to check it out and I got a frozen Kona Mocha that became my new favorite thing! Makes me want to bring the coffee shack tradition to Florida!

Shelburne Coffee Roasters

I used to pass Shelburne Coffee Roasters everyday on my way to work from our house in Vermont to my job in Mass. It was halfway and a great way to break up my hour commute. It has a large seating area in the back, but the front end is always packed! They have at least 8 thermoses of coffee set up for self serve and you can get a cup for only $1. They roast their own coffee and have very unique flavors and blends. I am not a fan of flavored coffee usually (unless it is hazelnut) but they have some wonderful ones! During this trip I tried a Chestnut coffee which tasted just like the essence of a roasted chestnut. I also had a Maple Caffee – coffee of my choice, served with steamed milk and pure maple syrup. Delicious. They also bake tarts, muffins. Scones and coffee cakes daily. The ambience is just great.

Esselon Café

This café had just opened a few months before we moved to Florida. It was right by my office, so I had lunch there frequently. They have some of the freshest and simple delicious food I have ever tasted (more of that in another post). But they also have great coffee drinks – cappuccinos to be exact. Like many coffee houses in New England every one comes with coffee art. Nice touch.

Little Italy

We had the wonderful chance to go to Little Italy in Boston while we were away. I will be writing an article about it on my TravelCloseup blog. But the beauty of it in the coffee sense was that every few steps there was a coffee place or Bar as they call it in Italy where you can enjoy the real Italian espresso. But it is bitter so be prepared!

This Daring Bakers challenge proves that I am still a New Englander at heart. With this Daring Bakers challenge and fall here (I can feel it even if I can’t see it here in Florida), my mind was brought back to those wonderful autumn days in New England. Days filled eating products made with sweet, local, maple goodness, pastries enjoyed with Maple Lattes or very often a warming cup of steaming hot Chai Tea. I have been yearning for the tastes of fall and I guess I am feeling inspired since it is only a few weeks until Roberto and I head to New England to visit family and friends during our most favorite season of the year. So this pastry is an ode to Autumn in New England.

In this challenge: Cinnamon Buns and or Sticky Buns we were allowed certain modifications, like changing around the spices. I have always enjoyed cinnamon buns over the years, but it is not a treat I often allow myself to indulge. Therefore, I decided since I am being forced to make them for this challenge, I might as well do them up in total Jenn fashion.

I love Cardamom, so I knew that I wanted this to be the focal spice in my cinnamon buns. See anything wrong with that statement: Cardamom as the focal point for Cinnamon buns? So clearly I needed to add cinnamon to the spice mix – it is afterall in the NAME of the pastry! Anyway, this being fall and with me already in the Chai Tea/ New England mindset I thought if I add a bit of ginger then I am really doing all the spices that go into Chai. What goes so well with Chai in my mind? Maple. So a plan came together straight from my New England Soul: adding pure VT maple syrup to my fondant glaze and topping the buns with toasted almond slices. I hope you enjoy these!

Cinnamon and Sticky Buns
(from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice)
Daring Bakers Challenge #10: September 2007
Host: Marce (Pip in the City)

Allowed Modifications:
• You can mix up the spices to your liking. Meaning you don´t have to use cinnamon if you don´t like it. I´m thinking you could use ginger, allspice, cardamom, etc. (Personally, I´m going to leave the sticky buns as they are and mix up spices in the cinnamon buns)
• You can do both cinnamon and sticky buns or choose one.
• You don´t have to use nuts for the sticky buns if you are allergic or you don´t like nuts.
• You don´t have to use raisins for the sticky buns, and you can substitute the raisins for any other dried fruit you like and think would work with the other flavors.
• Recipe ingredient exception allowed only if allergy or an ingredient not available or cost prohibitive in your region

Days to Make: One (1)
Active/Resting/Baking Time: 15 minutes to mix, 3 1/2 hours fermentation/shaping/proofing, 20 – 40 minutes to bake
Recipe Quantity: Eight(1) – twelve (12) large rolls or twelve (12) – sixteen (16) small rolls

Making the Dough

Ingredients:

6 1/2 tablespoons (3.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 tablespoons (2.75 ounces) shortening or unsalted butter or margarine
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon lemon extract OR 1 teaspoon grated zest of 1 lemon
3 1/2 cups (16 ounces) unbleached bread or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast*
1 1/8 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk, at room temperature OR 3 tablespoons powdered milk (DMS) and 1 cup water
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (6 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar plus 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, or any other spices you want to use, cardamom, ginger, allspice, etc.)
White fondant glaze for cinnamon buns or caramel glaze for sticky buns (at the end of the recipe.)
Walnuts, pecans, or other nuts (for sticky buns.)
Raisins or other dried fruit, such as dried cranberries or dried cherries (for sticky buns, optional.)
*Instant yeast contains about 25% more living cells per spoonful than active dry yeast, regardless of the brand. Instant yeast is also called rapid-rise or fast-rising.

Step 1 – Making the Dough: Cream together the sugar, salt, and shortening or butter on medium-high speed in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a large metal spoon and mixing bowl and do it by hand).
Note: if you are using powdered milk, cream the milk with the sugar, and add the water with the flour and yeast. Whip in the egg and lemon extract/zest until smooth.

Then add the flour, yeast, and milk. Mix on low speed (or stir by hand) until the dough forms a ball.

Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes (or knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes), or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. You may have to add a little flour or water while mixing to achieve this texture. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Step 2 – Fermentation: Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

Step 3 – Form the Buns: Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter.
(A) Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the top with flour to keep it from sticking to the pin. Roll it into a rectangle about 2/3 inch thick and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long for larger buns, or 18 inches wide by 9 inches long for smaller buns. Don´t roll out the dough too thin, or the finished buns will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump.

(B)Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar (or in my case chai-spice sugar)over the surface of the dough and

(C) roll the dough up into a cigar-shaped log, creating a cinnamon-sugar spiral as you roll. With the seam side down, cut the dough into 8 to 12 pieces each about 1 3/4 inches thick for larger buns, or 12 to 16 pieces each 1 1/4 inch thick for smaller buns.)

Step 4 – Prepare the Buns for Proofing:
For cinnamon buns: line 1 or more sheet pans with baking parchment. Place the buns approximately 1/2 inch apart so that they aren´t touching but are close to one another.
For sticky buns: coat the bottom of 1 or more baking dishes or baking pans with sides at least 1 1/2 inches high with a 1/4 inch layer of the caramel glaze. Sprinkle on the nuts and raisins (if you are using raisins or dried fruit.) You do not need a lot of nuts and raisins, only a sprinkling. Lay the pieces of dough on top of the caramel glaze, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag.

Step 5 – Proof the Buns: Proof at room temperature for 75 to 90 minutes, or until the pieces have grown into one another and have nearly doubled in size. You may also retard the shaped buns in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, pulling the pans out of the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours before baking to allow the dough to proof.

Step 6 – Bake the Buns:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with the oven rack in the middle shelf for cinnamon buns but on the lowest shelf for sticky buns.
Bake the cinnamon buns for 20 to 30 minutes or the sticky buns 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. If you are baking sticky buns, remember that they are really upside down (regular cinnamon buns are baked right side up), so the heat has to penetrate through the pan and into the glaze to caramelize it. The tops will become the bottoms, so they may appear dark and done, but the real key is whether the underside is fully baked. It takes practice to know just when to pull the buns out of the oven.

Step 8 – Cool the buns:
For cinnamon buns, cool the buns in the pan for about 10 minutes and then streak white fondant glaze across the tops, while the buns are warm but not too hot. Remove the buns from the pans and place them on a cooling rack. Wait for at least 20 minutes before serving.
For the sticky buns, cool the buns in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove them by flipping them over into another pan. Carefully scoop any run-off glaze back over the buns with a spatula. Wait at least 20 minutes before serving.

Toppings for the Buns:
White fondant glaze for cinnamon buns
Cinnamon buns are usually topped with a thick white glaze called fondant. There are many ways to make fondant glaze, but here is a delicious and simple version, enlivened by the addition of citrus flavor, either lemon or orange. You can also substitute vanilla extract or rum extract, or simply make the glaze without any flavorings.

Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon or orange extract and 6 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.
When the buns have cooled but are still warm, streak the glaze over them by dipping the tines of a fork or a whisk into the glaze and waving the fork or whisk over the tops. Or, form the streaks by dipping your fingers in the glaze and letting it drip off as you wave them over the tops of the buns. (Remember to wear latex gloves.)

Caramel glaze for sticky buns
Caramel glaze is essentially some combination of sugar and fat, cooked until it caramelizes. The trick is catching it just when the sugar melts and lightly caramelizes to a golden amber. Then it will cool to a soft, creamy caramel. If you wait too long and the glaze turns dark brown, it will cool to a hard, crack-your-teeth consistency. Most sticky bun glazes contain other ingredients to influence flavor and texture, such as corn syrup to keep the sugar from crystallizing and flavor extracts or oils, such as vanilla or lemon. This version makes the best sticky bun glaze of any I´ve tried. It was developed by my wife, Susan, for Brother Juniper´s Cafe in Forestville, California.
NOTE: you can substitute the corn syrup for any neutral flavor syrup, like cane syrup or gold syrup.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature.
2. Cream together for 2 minutes on high speed with the paddle attachment. Add 1/2 cup corn syrup and 1 teaspoon lemon, orange or vanilla extract. Continue to cream for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
3. Use as much of this as you need to cover the bottom of the pan with a 1/4-inch layer. Refrigerate and save any excess for future use; it will keep for months in a sealed container.
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This challenge really was great. I enjoyed working with the dough. I have an very old stand mixer that does not have a paddle. So I HAD to knead the dough by hand. It was good for me, it really was. I needed to get down with dough. It was not bad at all. This was a very smooth challenge for me and I am extremely pleased and encouraged with the results! Thanks Marce for coming up with this truly enjoyable challenge!

Now doesn’t that look heavenly? That beautiful cloud of frothed milk sitting on top of luscious, deep dark espresso. I mean who doesn’t love espresso coffee drinks?!?! Well then check this out – I made this at home, this morning and I have one every single morning just like this – unless I am having a Greek style coffee frappe, which is a whole other adoring post of its own! I have this great little stovetop espresso machine and it makes better espresso drinks than Starbucks and I can have one whenever I want for FREE.

I really do adore my caffettiera! I have always loved espresso drinks, whether they are lattes, cappuccinos, café au lait, café con leche, Cuban coffee, Turkish coffee, Greek coffee or just plain ‘ol espresso. I always wished I could make them at home, as I don’t have a disposable coffee spending account. So a few months ago Roberto bought me this little beauty, a Bialetti Moka Express, 6 Cup and my life has never been the same! Now I can make my own espresso drinks at home without the expense of a huge espresso machine that is too complicated for my brain in the morning, BEFORE I have had my coffee (seems counter-intuitive to me – give complicated machines to people to make coffee, that they NEED coffee to understand how to work the darn thing!)

This little wonder is so easy to use, that you won’t believe making espresso is so easy and inexpensive! These things are on the stovetops of nearly every person living in Italy as people in Italy are as addicted to coffee as I am and Italy IS the coffee capitol of the world! So if you are like me, and love espresso drinks but don’t have the money to go get one everyday or buy a big expensive machine, all you need is a little stovetop espresso maker and a good milk frother you are GOOD to go, in minutes without complicated pre-coffee technology!

Now for the frothy goodness. My mom bought each of us a Shin Bistro Milk Frother By Bodum and I use it every morning to top my espresso for the perfect Cafe con Latte. For all you health concious people, you will be happy to know that skim milk (I like using organic milk) froths the best in this particular frother. Again, simple technology, the pump, full of little holes, pushes air into the milk frothing it up to triple its original mass. I just throw it in the microwave for 30 seconds and pour it on top of my espresso and voila! Pure Coffee Perfection!

If you are into entertaining, your guests or even your family and friends will love being treated to a wonderful espresso drink. It really lends an air of sophistication to your parties and will certainly be appreciated! There will never be any doubt after that as to whether or not you are a foodie!

As for the coffee, I usually order it from Lisabeeen. She ships it right after she has roasted it and by the time it gets to your house, your beans are perfect and ready to be ground up and put in your new caffettiera!

The Coffee Frappe in Greece is often described as a way of life. The drink is so ubiquitous with the culture that you can almost not think of one without the other. This being the case, there are often as many opinions as people on what is the correct way to make it – sweet, bitter, light, dark, etc. My take on it, not being Greek and therefore not having any real stake in it, other than enjoying it, is that it is up to personal preference. I like mine light sweet and frothy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ teaspoon Nescafe instant coffee granules
1 ½ cups of cold water
Sugar
Milk
Ice Cubes

METHOD:

In a martini shaker (you can also use a blender) mix Nescafe, 5 tbs water and sugar.
Shake or blend for about 30 seconds or until you have not much liquid and mostly foam.
Pour into a tall glass and add ice cubes, remaining water and milk to taste. Swirl around.
Milk and sugar are to taste in this recipe depending on desired color and sweetness.
Enjoy!