December 2021 posts

 
Thursday, 30 December 2021
Holiday Essentials
summary: keeping Christmas traditions; Christmas Pudding (aka "plum pudding"); Christmases Past; the wonders of flambéeing; while feasting, please remember the hungry

November 2021 posts

 

Wild Hällakakor (Swedish Flatbread)

Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Wildness from the North of Sweden (BBB November 2021)
summary: recipe for Wild Hällakakor; I shouldn't be so quick to judge; taste and try first; kuskavel or randkavel: do I really need yet another implement in the kitchen? (and, what kind of rolling pin???); ...improvisations; meat tenderizers aren’t just for meat; information about Bread Baking Babes;
 

October 2021 posts

 
Monday, 18 October 2021
changing our mindsets (WFD 2021)
summary: Taking our heads out of the sand; better late than never; remembering the hungry; take action; sharing; World Food Day(s) 2021; a photoless not-Friday post;
 

Wild Rustic Pumpkin-Shaped Bread

Sunday, 17 October 2021
Shape-shifting with String (BBB October 2021)
summary: recipe for Wild Pumpkin-shaped bread; made with butternut squash instead of pumpkin; pepitas; nigella and its many different names; fun with string; no idea of time any more; into the rabbit warren once more; late again; information about Bread Baking Babes; 

September 2021 posts

 
Wednesday, 29 September 2021
Still Living Wildly – and not just in September
summary: pitas; pizza; bread book reading since last September; very brief bread book reviews of a year of reading; an entry for Sourdough September 2021: Life's sweeter with sourdough!;

Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Revisiting Flash-fried Cherry Tomatoes
summary: we have cherry tomatoes galore thanks to our neighbours; tomato sandwiches are great; flash-fried tomatoes are equally great; happily, the back lane garden is flourishing; reminder about when to pick tomatoes

Wool Roll Bread

Monday, 16 August 2021
Wild Wool Roll Bread (BBB September 2021)
summary: recipe for Wild Wool Roll Bread; Nailed it; chickpeas to the rescue; Blablablabla; information about Bread Baking Babes;  

Friday, 10 September 2021
Summer Squash with Bacon (bookmarked)
summary: Katie's (Thyme for Cooking) Summer Squash with Bacon; bookmarked recipe; who knew that other summer squashes were so fabulous? ...maybe we should try growing this kind instead of zucchini; bounty from the neighbours, including the sweetest corn;

Tuesday, 7 September 2021
Grapes aren't just for pie...
summary: Coronation grapes are in season; grape sauce is wonderful on grilled chicken; local carrots and corn; garden herbs galore; nasturtiums are finally blooming;

Monday, 6 September 2021
Wordless Not-Wednesday: Pieeeeee!
summary: Mmmmm, grape pie; Coronation grapes make the best pie; we know it's time to buy them when the baskets at the market are swarming with wasps; a Wordless Not-Wednesday post;

August 2021 posts

 
Thursday, 26 August 2021
We cannot stop making pita!
summary: recipe for wild pita; baking on the barbecue; storing pita in the – eeeeek!! – fridge; rejuvenating it in the toaster;

Sunday, 22 August 2021
Pickled Peppers
summary: pickled peppers; hot hot hot – but really good; importance of actually reading books that have been given to us; another terrific idea from Barbara Tropp; another brief review of the "China Moon Cookbook";

Naan Sangak (Persian Pebble Bread)

Monday, 16 August 2021
BBBabes are Baking on Hot Stones (BBB August 2021)
summary: of course we're still going wild; revisiting wild Naan Sangak (Persian Pebble Bread); baking on the barbecue; a Bread Baking Babes (BBB) project;

Saturday, 14 August 2021
Wordless Not-Wednesday: pickled ginger
summary: inspiration: China Moon Pickled Ginger, p.8, China Moon Cookbook by Barbara Tropp; what a great cookbook! good idea to actually read it – too bad it took us so long to get to it; Ginger Pickle is really easy; Ginger Pickle is really really good; a Wordless Not-Wednesday post;

Wednesday, 11 August 2021
Have you changed the way you butterfly chicken yet?
summary: recipe for Isan-style marinade; still re-reading past issues of SAVEUR magazine (when each SAVEUR magazine was still sensational from cover to cover); finding new -to us- ideas and new – to us – books to read; very brief review of 'The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen' by Jacques Pépin; why doesn't everyone butterfly chicken the Isan way?

July 2021 posts

 
Wednesday, 28 July 2021
Delving into the Archives: a festive July dinner featuring blueberries
summary: going through our photo archives; blueberries, blueberries, blueberries; on chicken; on ice cream; we do live well

Thursday, 22 July 2021
Greg's no-bake cheesecake with gingersnap crust
summary: recipe for our friend Greg's No-bake Cheese Cake on a crushed gingersnaps crust with wild blueberry topping; using gingersnaps instead of chocolate wafers is a great idea from Yasmin Khan; Yay for the Cheese Boutique; wild blueberries make the perfect topping; no better way to finish a festive July dinner;

Monday, 19 July 2021
Wordless Not-Wednesday: Dried Sour Red Cherries
summary: festive July dinner; oven-dried sour red cherries become sweet and intensely cherry-like – without any added sugar; to pit or not to pit (easier to not pit, and warn people to be careful); dried sour red sauce is fabulous on grilled chicken; local Asparagus, garden herbs, oven-roasted smashed potatoes, and chilled l’Orangerie rosé are the perfect accompaniments; little cat dishes are excellent receptacles for pits; a Wordless Not-Wednesday post;

plain cruffins

Saturday, 17 July 2021
Croissants are easy, but Cruffins are easier (BBB July 2021)
summary: recipe for Cruffins; it’s warm in the kitchen; the butter is soft; fooling around with measurements; rolling pins are wonderful; remembering and forgetting; late again; information about Bread Baking Babes;

Monday, 5 July 2021
White Bread and "Simon the Fiddler" (Novel Food No.42)
summary: revisiting bread-making using commercial yeast and white flour only; Ken Forkish's White Bread with Poolish; brief review of "Simon the Fiddler" by Paulette Jiles; Novel Food Event; sigh... late again; sneak peak at "The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen" by Jacques Pépin;

June 2021 posts

 
Saturday, 26 June 2021
Wordless Not-Wednesday: Best Falafel Dinner Ever
summary: best falafel dinner ever; many thanks again to Yasmin Khan for reminding us of the wonders of chickpeas, as well as her pickled avocados and her Persian beet/red cabbage/date salad; a Wordless Not-Wednesday post;

Not-Hungarian Almond Roll
(savoury poppy seed filling)

Tuesday, 22 June 2021
Rolling Rolling Rolling (BBB June 2021)
summary: recipe for Not-Gigi's Not-Quite-Hungarian Not-Exactly-Almond Roll, loosely based on the recipe for 'Gigi's Almond Roll' in a back issue of "Sunset Magazine"; if 'dios bejgli' is 'walnut roll' and 'makos bejgli' is 'poppy seed roll' in Hungarian, then is 'mandulás bejgli' the name for 'almond roll'?; commercial yeast vs. wild yeast; sweet or savoury? – that is the question – I vote for savoury; information about Bread Baking Babes;

Thursday, 3 June 2021
Got rock-hard avocados? What a pickle!
summary: a perfect resolution for rock hard avocados that refuse to ripen; pickled avocados, inspired by the recipe for 'Quick pickled avocados' on p.63 of "Zaitoun: Recipes from the Palestinian Kitchen"; in praise of Yasmin Khan;

May 2021 posts

 
Saturday, 29 May 2021
homemade sambal oelek is the way to go
summary: making changes to stroganoff; homemade sambal oelek is addictively delicious; egg noodles and poppy seeds;

Povitica (walnut date filling)

Monday, 17 May 2021
The Challenges of Povitica (BBB May 2021)
summary: recipe for eggless Povitica with walnut date filling; no sense of time any more; late again; information about Bread Baking Babes;

Sunday, 9 May 2021
Delving into the Archives: Pomegranate Chicken
summary: going through our photo archives; pomegranate chicken; pomegranate molasses; frozen pomegranate seeds are almost a reasonable substitute for fresh pomegranate – almost...; getting inspiration from TV; in praise of Yasmin Khan's lovely cookbook, "The Saffron Tales";

April 2021 Posts

 

Olive Oil Wreath (and Boule)

Friday, 16 April 2021
Wild Olive Oil Wreath (BBB April 2021)
summary: recipe for wild olive wreath based on a recipe in "Della Fattoria" by Kathleen Weber; playing with the calculator; Nailed it! ...arithmetic problems; spring has sprung; another quiet Easter; bunny holes galore; verbosity abounds; I lost my blue pencil; information about Bread Baking Babes;

Sunday, 4 April 2021
Wordless Not-Wednesday: Still?? Again?!
summary: yes, that's right, we're still staying at home; spring has sprung; avocado is sprouting its first leaves; the forsythia is just about bloom; comfort food; hoping for normalcy one day in the near future; Happy Easter!

March 2021 posts

 
Tuesday, 23 March 2021
Wordless Not-Wednesday: Clark's Bread
summary: m . . . m . . . M m m m ! ! J'adore chicken liver pâté with green pepper corns on Clark's Bread! It's perfect with lentil soup and salad (no photo of the soup and salad – we were too busy eating them).

Sunday, 21 March 2021
Not so wild today....
summary: using commercial yeast (!) for the first time in ages; celebrating spring; we ♥ the Cheese Boutique; Clark's bread; chicken livers are ideal for making pâté; where are those green peppercorns??

Wild Green Tea & Marmalade Bread

Tuesday, 16 March 2021
Green Tea and Orange Bread is Wild (BBB March 2021)
summary: recipe for wild green tea and marmalade bread based on the recipe for 'green tea & orange loaf' in Eric Kayser's "The Larousse Book of Bread"; still staying at home... of course we are; miraculously on time; making substitutions, as usual; information about Bread Baking Babes;

Sunday, 14 March 2021
Taking Comfort with Chocolate and Caramel
summary: Π Day; chocolate caramel tart based on the recipe on p.104 in SAVEUR Magazine No. 119 (April 2009); yet more praise for back issues of SAVEUR; going a little stir-crazy;

Friday, 12 March 2021
Oh boy! We have another new toy!
summary: taking inspiration from TV; passatelli?! ...how NOT to use up old bread; you lose some – you win some; a potato ricer isn't just for potatoes; how much do they want for gadgets to make a 'cucina povera' dish??; best palak ever!; colour zones explained – sort of; that’s right: still staying at home;

February 2021 posts

Sunday, 21 February 2021
Photo-less not-Friday: what did we do before plastic was invented??
summary: we're shirking our responsibilities; reflections; still staying at home; reading, reading, reading, reading; bread cookbooks galore; why do we need all that plastic wrap? ...an entry for Photo-less Fridays;

Tuesday, 16 February 2021
Stamp! Stamp! Stamp! (BBB February 2021)
summary: an overly elaborate example of verbosity (how do you spell 'blue pencil'?); recipe for Naan (wild yeast) with Bread Stamp (Uighur-style bread), scissors, wooden skewers, fondue forks, cookie cutters, cake onion combs; still staying at home... coming up on a full year; lots of reading, including "Samarkand" by Caroline Eden and Eleanor Ford, and “A Blessing of Bread” by Maggie Glezer; rabbits have been very busy, but they are not very good at hiding their holes; fun choosing which recipe to use; we love this style of bread; information about Bread Baking Babes;

Uighur Nan [...] [T]he center of the bread is stamped with a nail-studded device known as a chekitch or a durtlik, depending on the language. The stamping prevents the center part of the bread from puffing up during baking.
 
– Naomi Duguid, Beyond the Great Wall

bread stamps (aka chekich, durtlik)

January 2021 posts

Sunday, 31 January 2021
Toasting in the New Year (BBBuddies January 2021)
summary: Toasted Oats bread a hit with almost everyone; Two (that's 2!!) - correction: make that 3; BBBuddies; January 2021 Bread Baking Buddies; BBBabes' Toasted Oats Bread gallery

Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Wordless Wednesday: more essentials for bread-making
summary: bread making essentials; inspired by reading "Samarkand: Recipes & Stories from Central Asia & The Caucasus" by Caroline Eden, I constructed a homemade bread stamp; then: T gave me not one, but two bread stamps; I'm so excited to retire the homemade stamp, because we have two bread stamps now!

Friday, 22 January 2021
ISO unsweetened 100% pomegranate juice
summary: importance of reading ingredients lists; advertising gimmicks; frustration at the grocery store; pomegranate 100% juice blend vs. pomegranate juice drink;

Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Wordless Wednesday: more essentials for bread-making
summary: bread making essentials; inspired by reading "Samarkand: Recipes & Stories from Central Asia & The Caucasus" by Caroline Eden, I constructed a homemade bread stamp; then: T gave me not one, but two bread stamps; I'm so excited to retire the homemade stamp, because we have two bread stamps now!

Saturday, 16 January 2021
Bread Baking Babes Toast the New Year – with Toasted Oats, that is....
summary: it's wild again; revisiting Toasted Oats Bread inspired by Casper André Ludd, Martin Ivar Hveem Fjeld, and Chad Robertson; and we're back into lockdown; panic and crankiness; making the best of things; a Bread Baking Babes (BBB) project;

Friday, 1 January 2021
Wordless Not-Wednesday: Happy 2021!
summary: New Year's Eve may have been quiet; best dinner ever; j'adore saffron; Bach's Chorale BWV190 with trumpets, strings, SATB choir, and timpani - first performed New Year's Day 1724.

 

Bach's Chorale BWV190 with trumpets, strings, SATB choir, and timpani
– first performed New Year's Day 1724

 

Dein Segen zu uns wende,
Gib Fried an allem Ende;
Gib unverfälscht im Lande
Dein seligmachend Wort.
Die Heuchler mach zuschanden
Hier und an allem Ort.
[Turn Your blessing upon us,
Give peace to every outcome,
Grant, uncorrupted, to our land,
Your sanctifying word.
Put the hypocrite to shame
Here and in every place!]

Melody: Jesu, nun sei gepreiset, Wittenberg 1591 (Zahn 8477a); Text: Jesu, nun sei gepreiset (verse 2), by Johannes Herman (1593); English Translation: Pamela Dellal