reading and thinking about food
There's always a next dish to think about
One of the dishes I tried in Guixot one day and absolutely loved was the pistachio and Turkish spices burger. The big pistachios and the spices gave them a terrific flavour. I was eating and thinking: “wow, this makes me so happy”. So I tried […]
The Official Flag of the Holy Republic of Saturday, this is what this super quick cheesecake should be called. This is a quick to make, delicious and healthy desert. No baking required.
Movie night? Popcorn? Why not try this absolutely amazing popcorn recipe from Edd Kimber, The Boy Who Bakes? Edd suggests popping the corn (sic!) then pouring on top a caramel made with sugar, butter and salt, then adding the melted dark chocolate and cutting the […]
The last breakfast around the world took us to the UK. We had sunny fried eggs, sausages, mushrooms, bacon and white peas. I am sure a true British will find many flaws in this arrangement, but we found it delightful 🙂 And very energizing. There […]
I didn’t even know you could make lettuce soup until I found myself with a big bunch of curly lettuce on it’s way to waste. This is an easy, tasty, lazy soup that you can make in less than half an hour. For 2 portions, […]
Making your own bread is easy. It´s a beautiful process, that can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Because I like simplicity, I also tend to simplify all my recipes and leave room for experimenting in a conscious way.
To make a loaf of bread you need
Start by mixing the sugar with the warm water, then dissolve the fresh yeast. Wait for 10 minutes until it forms a bit of foam on top. In a bowl, add the flour and salt and mix well, then pour in the warm water and yeast. Knead until you have incorporated all the flour.
Then, on a clean surface, add a bit of olive oil, add some on the bread and start kneading. The more you knead, the more layers and holes you´ll have in your bread because the yeast will mix well with the flower and it will make it raise. You can knead from 5 minutes (if you´re really lazy) to 10 (makes a nice medium fluffy, bread) or until you start sweating a little bit (Grandma dixit!). Then put it back in the bowl, cover it with a clean towel and let it rest from 1 to 2 hours.
Some people swear by plastic wrap, but a towel works just fine and you can reuse it as many times as you want. Hmm, here´s a crazy idea, why not have a special ¨the bread is rising, don´t disturb¨ tea towel? Ok, let´s focus…
When the dough has doubled it size, start warming up your oven to high heat.
You can bake your bread in a mold or make round buns, you can hide little pieces of cheese, crunchy bacon, anchovies, olives or whatever you want. There is no limit, really, just try things that sound good to you.
Bake it at high heat, in the middle of the oven for at least 30 hour (buns) to one hour (loaf), checking it after the first 30 minutes every 10 minutes or so. It´s done when the toothpick you push through the middle of your bread comes out clean and dry.
When warm, try a bit with butter and salt.
Enjoy the bread you´ve made!
Today I had an idea of illustrating all my recipes and binding them into a book. This could work, as I am a visual learner and I’ve always been amazed how much easier it is for me to remember things that I’ve seen written or […]
We had some salty hard cheese left over the other day and we wanted to make a some quick-bake buns to go with the sunny day outside so we mixed the crushed cheese with a fork, added some fresh cheese and corn flour and a […]
This is an easy and delicious recipe that’s great to employ when you want to save those forgotten, overripe bananas.
What we really like about this banana bread, is how soft it is and how well it preserves for up to a week (depending on your own eating habits:)
You could change this recipe up in several ways: you could cover the loaf in sugar icing or chocolate or swap the sugar for honey.
You will need:
This recipe is quick to prepare so I’d advise you to turn your oven on before starting to mix your ingredients, to make sure you have the perfect temperature(170 degrees Celsius, or 330 Fahrenheit) when you’re done.
Firstly, mash the bananas with a blender or a fork, until a smooth puree is formed. In another bowl, mix together, until soft and foamy, the sugar, salt and oil or butter.
Once your mixture is soft and airy, add the smashed bananas and the eggs and mix well, until homogeneous. Add the walnuts (you can use any kind of nuts you want) or raisins. To change the mix of flavours you could add in a bit of orange peel, but be careful not to put too much, as you’ll lose the soft, comforting flavour of the banana.
Mix the baking powder into the flour, the pour into your existing mixture. Pour the mixture into a bread pan, that’s been previously dresses in baking paper.
Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked in the middle and enjoy!
Mucenici is a traditional holiday in Romania and Moldova on the 9th of March; it celebrates spring and the new spring brings. The legend says that the Martyrs (The Mucenici) were soldiers drowned by the roman emperor Licinius and that the 8 shape symbolises the […]
My grandmother never bought noodles or pasta, it was simply not something you would buy. A mother and a daughter would meet and make fresh pasta together; sometimes it given as a gift, but never sold, never bought. Sometimes my grandmother would take a still-warm […]
One of the most important elements of good sushi is a good sushi rice, says Jiro in Jiro Dreams of Sushi. The rice should have the right temperature (body temperature), texture (not too sticky, not too watery, not to dry) and the right amount of vinegar, salt and sugar.
It’s easy to cook bad sushi rice. I’ve done it more than a couple of times. I try to skip steps, I hurry, I don’t take it seriously enough. One thing that I learned from JP (the photographer behind this blog) is that when it comes to sushi rice you have to take your time and enjoy.
It all starts with washing the rice. You can wash it 4, 5, 6, 7 times, as much as your rice needs until the water runs clear. Then let it rest in cold water for 45 minutes in the same quantity of water, as rice. Then pour into a saucepan, cover the rice and bring to boil on high heat. When it boils, turn the heat low and cook without lifting the lid for another 20 minutes. Turn the heat of, then let it rest for another 10 minutes.
In a bowl, prepare your sushi vinegar with salt and sugar. Prepare this to your taste, but start with the proportions of salt and sugar 1/2. One teaspoon should be more than enough for a 250 ml mug.
Put your rice into a glass bowl and start adding the vinegar,a little bit each time, then taste it, all this while fanning the rice to help it cool faster. The rice shouldn’t be hot when you start adding it to makis or nigiris.
Now you are ready to make sushi.
What’s nicer on a Sunday morning than the smell of freshly baked bread? And what if you could cut the preparation time by 80% by using baking powder instead of yeast and making small palm-filling easy bake buns? These cheesy buns are super easy to […]
“She wrote back!” I almost shouted to my fellow foodie Anna this morning over coffee. You see, a few weeks ago I had discovered the brilliant and talented Emilie Griottes, her Pantone tarts, her sugar snowed meringues and flavoured butters.
Emilie Griottes is a 26 year old Art Director and Foodie living in Paris. Her food styling skills and taste for irresistible eye candy are amazing.
I haven’t seen something this inspiring for some time now, so you can imagine my excitement this morning when Emilie emailed me with the answers to the few (shy) questions I’ve asked her.
Here is the mini-interview :
This Foodie: Who is Emilie Griottes and what does she do? 🙂
Emilie Griottes: “I am a French girl based in paris. I am artistic director, I’ve studied graphic design and I am passionate about cooking and photography!”
Your blog is delicious. You’re painting and illustrating with food. How did it all start?
“As I was doing graphic design, I always liked the relationship cooking and design. A combination of my passion and my profession! So I try to find colors and materials in each dish to make a living picture!”
We first taste a dish with the eye. Then come […] the flavorsÂ
How important is it for you for the food you make and photograph to be tasty?
“We first taste a dish with the eye. Then comes the taste in the mouth, the flavors .. I like the idea that it is disappointed by either one or the other. It must be beautiful to look AND good; its very important! If you are disappointed, the experience will not be as intense!”
Where do you get your ideas from?
“The ideas come from everywhere! A color in the street, a moment in the subway, mouthfeel for a dish. Everything is important! Every little detail of your daily life must be observed. I attach great importance to observation. And sometimes when I sleep I dream of ideas! It’s great! Unless I forget my dreams … ;)”
Every little detail of your daily life must be observed
Apart from Fricote, I saw you started a column in Holly Becker’s Decor8, where else can we find your work?
“I work more for French or American magazines and sites! I would soon be in several places and blogs, but it’s still top secret … ;)”
What cool things are you working on/planning at the moment?
“A little weekend in Stockholm is planned for late April, it’s my leitmotiv ! Otherwise I am preparing a buffet for a birthday, and especially I work for my little Etsy shop! It’s lots of work, I will sell small items for the office! I hope you’ll like it!”
If I like it? The world can’t have enough of Emilie Griottes nowadays so This Foodie is looking forward to seeing more and more of her work.