Zucchini Blossoms Filled with Cashews

Each time I see these pretty flowers I become aware of the abundance of produce we have available and how crazy it is to eat the bud before it turns into a zucchini. Then some one explained to me that before the production sets on selling the vegetable they use the early days to sell the flowers as well, they will soon grow them into vegetables as well! I hope it is true. They have a nutty flavor and are great in salads without frying them in excess oil.

Everyone I spoke to about this great recipe asked my where I managed to find these flowers at this time of year, and I had to admit it was at a special market for gastronomy, so don't give up, and PIN it in case you don't find any right now, and try to make it as soon as they are available in all stores! They are also Raw Vegan and can be served for those who love this kind of healthy approach on food.

You Need:

12 Zucchini flowers
alfalfa sprouts
lemon juice
olive oil
coarse sea salt

1 fresh zucchini, mixed with
salt,
1 tbsp olive oil,
chili,
1 tsp lemon juice ,
1 tbsp miso paste and
a little soy milk (or oat milk or heavy cream if you like)

Filling:

3 cups soaked cashew nuts ( soak in water for 3-4 hours)
1 tbsp garlic paste or 1 tsp fresh garlic 
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
salt

This is an easy and a really impressive salad for guests, just by the looks of it. Usually chefs fill the flower and fry them, but I thought they would be much prettier if enjoyed raw. The filling is made entirely in the blender and then squeezed into the flower with the aid of a decorating bag. Done! Prepare the filling days ahead and refrigerate to save time.

I set them on a bed of zucchini puree, also made in your blender, sprinkle your alfalfa sprouts all over the plate and place your flowers on it, drizzle with olive oil, cashew nuts and coarse salt. 

Dirty French

Lately, I've been loving surprises. And when I say surprises I'm not referring to birthday party surprises (my friends tried to throw me a surprise birthday party and I completely ruined it by falling asleep on the couch and refusing to go to dinner), but I'm talking about surprising flavor combinations and interesting fusion restaurants. It also helps that I love the name of this restaurant, Dirty French. While they probably wouldn't describe themselves as your typical fusion restaurant, I loved the global influences like Indian and Vietnamese combined with classic, French cuisine. When they started us off with some naan bread to share, I instantly knew this place would be a keeper. Other great dishes included Banh Mi sandwiches with foie gras and duck confit and spicy tuna tartare with salty crepes.

What are your favorite fusion cuisines?

Find them in the heart of the Lower East Side:

 

Sunday Snapshots - Financial District

I rarely ever make my way down to Financial District, but I really love the little old streets around Delmonico's restaurant, especially in the late afternoon when all the lights turn on. I'm currently in Austria on my skiing vacation, but I haven't had much time to take pictures as of yet and I wanted to share these ones I took on one of my walks last week. You can follow along on current adventures on instagram as always!

Wishing you all a lovely and restful weekend!

Coconut Lemon Cake

These Persian Buttercups are the most beautiful roses. They are so delicate and mesmerizing, with a subtle fragrance and their leaves feel like silk. 
When I look outside my window I can barely see the next house, it is snowing and the wind was so strong that in no time everything was white and one cannot even see anything down the street . Driving is insane and stopping the car a "lasting" experience ... better stay home, cosy and safe and enjoy a tropical cake with coconut and lemon icing. This recipe is from Monika, a friend from church, and I just adapted it for us. It is really easy and quickly made, you can leave the lemon icing away if you prefer, but it adds a great deal to the taste.

You Need:

250 gr plain yoghurt 3,6%
160 gr | 3/4 cups caster sugar
3 organic eggs
1/8 of a liter | 8 tbsp vegetable oil
100 gr | 1 cup dried coconut flakes
100 gr | 2/3  bread crumbs ( You can use the gluten free of course)
peel of one organic lemon ( just the yellow, the white is bitter)
1 tbsp baking powder
salt, vanilla, a dash of rum( optional)

ICING:
2 tbsp juice from a lemon
1 cup icing sugar

Mix all ingredients one by one and pour into a small, buttered form. I used a round one, but you can also use a loaf pan form. Bake at 180°C | 360 °F for 40 minutes or until a chopstick comes out clean when you test the cake. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

The icing is very simple, just stir until all lumps are dissolved and drizzle it over the cake in any direction, just as you like it. I used a piping bag and cut a bigger opening with my scissors. The icing should have a fairly sticky texture, in case it tourney out to liquid, add more icing sugar. Then the result will be a perfect white decoration on your cake and a sour sweet sensation on the tongue.

This dough is perfect as well for cupcakes and great if you have kids over, then I recommend to leave the rum away, of course.

Spot Dessert Bar

Last Sunday, the lovely Keen , invited me and a few others along to taste Spot Dessert Bar's menu, along with their new Valentine's day specials. I was completely floored by the kindness of our hosts and the quality of the aesthetic and taste of the dessert tapas, making me regret not having eaten here more often in the past year (to be fair, the lines are always long, and now I understand why). Personally, I love a meal made up of sweets only, so a dessert tapas bar is right up my alley. My favorites were the Oreo macarons and the Love Fondue (chiffon cake encased in white chocolate and raspberry mouse, pictured above), as well as the Green Tea Lava Cake.

Green Tea Chocolate covered strawberries with pocky and oreo crumbs.

Golden french toast with vanilla ice cream and strawberries. 

Green tea chocolate lava cake. 

Find them here: 

 

Zucchini Pine-nut Salad

Well I should be making dinner, but who will blame me for sitting right here to write the recipe for this post, comfortably in my chair and enjoying these photos. I love them I hope you do too. At my son's school we had Teacher Appreciation Lunch this week and every parent had to bring in a dish according to the last name initial so we were down for "Savory". 

I had way too many ideas and I am so glad it was not "Sweet", because it is much harder to be healthy with sweet than with savory. So when I went shopping and saw these beautiful organic zucchinis I grabbed a load and while picking the nicest I realized I must have inspired another lady who in fear of probably getting none, stared at me with a rather unfriendly smile. I left 6 zucchini and headed over to the scale with 3 kilograms  ... that makes 15 zucchinis, or more .... then she took the rest! Good for her and I hope she made something yummy, sharing is civil I suppose ...

Here is one more challenge after fighting for your lot: most ingredients are a no go if it comes to school: walnuts, hazelnuts, gluten, histamine, ... you name it they will not be able to eat it ...

So I hope they liked my salad, as probably the greenest and healthiest on that buffet table.
I made it the day ahead and added the dressing and toppings before school in the morning.  

You Need:

1,5 kg organic zucchini for a party of 8
some olive oil

3 tbsp lime juice and
1 tip of the knife of grated peel from the lime
3 tbsp organic olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp agave sirup or maple sirup
salt, fresh pepper

3 sprigs of fresh basil
3/4 cups pine nuts
lots of parmesan shavings

Cut the washed zucchini length wise and then in 4 mm think slices. Quickly stir fry over high heat in a little bit of olive oil, batch by batch. Too many in the pan will make them soggy. If they turn dark every here and there that is pretty I think, but be careful you need them to be very crisp. That is why high heat and quick turning is best. Let them cool completely and mix the dressing. Mix well and pour it over the zucchini, let marinate for a bit and sprinkle the pine nuts, basil leaves and parmesan shavings with a little extra olive oil over the salad for decoration. Some extra fresh pepper! 

I love freshly baked hot ciabatta with olives or herbs with a salad so fresh and green and lemony. Maybe at the next summer party with a tender white fish from the grill - oh ya !

Cannelés - French Custard Cakes from Bordeaux

A recipe known since the 1700s and back then strictly regulated in terms of how many bakeries were allowed to produce this sensational type of pastry, it is now again hyped and can be bought in french pastries in batches of 8 or 12. The outer crust is crisp due to the caramelizing of the sugar the centre soft and flavorful. Best for snack with champagne, served along with tea or wine either white or red, and even found on breakfast menus. I fell in love it while visiting Sophie and we went to Maison Kaiser on 3rd Avenue between 74th and 75th Street last fall. The history of this recipe inspired me for the food photography. A little hard to tell since back then none took photos and it took a long time until they would take photos of food ....
I adopted the recipe from many I researched on the internet. There are even videos that show the full procedure like the one of Bruno Albouze. I loved in particular the pretty copper molds they had ! but mine work just as fine and won't topple over ....

The funniest thing is to watch the cannelés grow out of their molds and some might even stay up as if they had outgrown their shoes.

The best advice is fresh eggs and long resting for the dough. Everything else is pretty easy. Oh and of course a really good rum! makes all the difference !

No worries, the look is a bit frightening, they do look dark but remember the crust must be crips due to the caramelization of the sugar. Devine if you get one still warm!

You Need:

500g | 2 cups | 50cl whole milk
50g | 3.5 tbsp butter
1 vanilla bean or 3-4 tsp vanilla extract
100g | 3/4 cup +1 tbsp plain flour
250g | 2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp sea salt
2 large eggs (use really fresh eggs, they make a difference.)
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup rum, a really good one 
 

Heat the milk, butter, and vanilla bean (that you cut in half and scrape the seeds into the pot) over medium and bring to a boil, and with the help of a thermometer 85°C | 185°F. Remove from heat and let cool down while you get to the other ingredients.

Measure and then sift together the flour, powder sugar and salt.
Mix the eggs and yolks with a fork, don’t beat.

Temper the beaten eggs little by little with the warm milk-butter-vanilla mixture. This way the eggs will not cook and lump. Do not remove the vanilla bean. Pour the warm milk mixture into the bowl containing the dry ingredients, and gently stir together until well blended.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days, the longer the better. I know that sounds an awful lot but It is really worth the wait.

Strain the lumpy batter (over a fine-mesh strainer) into the large enough can, pressing the lumps through until you get a totally lump-free batter. Add the rum and stir until combined. Cover the container with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rest for 48 hours. If you can remember it, stir it once after 24 hours and put it back in the fridge to continue to rest.

Grease the special molds generously and fill with the batter 5 mm short oft the edge and bake at 220°C | 428°F for 25 minutes, then lower the heat to 190°C | 375°F for another 30 minutes. Let them cool 5 minutes and remove them from the mold, they come out easily, do not use a knife, you will most likely destroy your cannelés and the mold. Serve warm and enjoy the admiration.

New York Post Blizzard

Taken after the somewhat underwhelming New York Blizzard of 2015 "Juno".

Dance with me until the sun kisses the night Good-bye and I will show you new shores and greater things.

I saw you standing at the crossroad - no time to evaluate - when I promised to go with you anywhere you choose, anytime, for always .... You won't be alone and my light will shine upon your path.

I heard you well when you thought that all your past and present will be covered up by time so why do we both see you carrying such a heavy burden? Cant you see it is not time that heals but forgiveness?

Has there been ever a greater love, a better sacrifice, a stronger friend, a sweeter welcome and a more joyful You?

Bagel Secrets

I realize that the prospect of making bread can be quite frightening. However, as the title of this post implies I have a secret bagel recipe that will have you making bread in under an hour. Easy-peasy fresh bread. And the good news is that you can even use dried yeast instead of fresh yeast and your bagels will still turn out perfectly well. Did I mention that these are Montreal style bagels? Whenever I'm not in New York I always find myself missing my breakfast or lunch bagels, so when I'm home I just quickly whip up a batch of these and top them off with some sesame and some rock salt. Isn't it ironic that bagels are such a New York trademark these days, even though bagels were originally invented in Poland and known since the early 1600s?

I got this recipe from one of my favorite easy recipe cook books, and have linked to it at the end of the post! Also if you want to read a post on my favorite bagels in NYC, you can read about Black Seeds Bagels here.

Recipe

50 g sugar
525 ml water
42 g fresh yeast, or 2 packets of dried yeast
20 g salt
1 kg all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
Sesame, poppy seed, rock salt, garlic or any toppings you desire

First, stir together the water, sugar and yeast until fully disolved. Add the salt and the flour and place the mixture in a large bowl (now would be the time to use a kitchen aid if you have one) and knead your dough until smooth, or for about 10 minutes. Cover your bowl with a kitchen towel and place in a warm place to let the dough rise (I like to put mine in the oven at about 30-35°C to help the yeast do its magic).

Preheat your oven to 225°C and boil a big pot of water together with the tbsp of sugar. Form your bagels without using any extra flour by rolling sausages from the dough and attaching the ends. Leave them to rise another couple minutes on a baking sheet. Then place a couple bagels at a time in the simmering water. Once the bagels reach the surface of the water, you can remove them and put your toppings on them. It's important to add the toppings while the bagels are still wet and you can add a bit extra of the toppings, because some of it will probably fall off before you can eat it. Place the finished bagels on a baking sheet and in the oven for about 22 minutes or until golden. And there you go, fresh bread in no time.

Cynthia Barcomi's Backbuch (German Edition)

By Cynthia Barcomi

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