I've found a fantastic source for heirloom seeds. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is dedicated to preserving heirloom vegetables and flowers. They have a beautiful catalog, with full-color photos and descriptions of their many varieties of vegetables and flowers.
To view their website, use this link:
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
They are out of the print version of their catalog, but you can download the catalog for free. It requires Adobe Acrobat to view:
Baker Creek Catalog - .pdf version
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The Chocoholic's Cake
The flourless chocolate souffle' cake is the chocolate lover's dream. Unlike the "death by chocolate" cake, this dessert isn't sickenly sweet, and the emphasis is on intense dark chocolate flavor. I've seen several different versions of the flourless chocolate cake, but the recipe that follows is my favorite. It was given to me by my niece, Ashley, who is a pastry chef, and shares my love of dark, dark chocolate. This is a perfect dessert for Valentine's Day!
Flourless Chocolate Cake
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, sliced
2 tbsp. vanilla
6 large eggs, divided
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
Glaze:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. honey
1. In a double boiler, melt 8 oz. chocolate. Add butter and stir until completely melted. Cool. Stir in vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar.
3. In a third bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 2 tbsp. of sugar, and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
4. Add chocolate mixture to egg yolk mixture. Stir well.
5. Fold in egg whites to chocolate and egg yolk mixture, 1/3 at a time. Be careful not to overmix or deflate egg whites.
6. Pour batter into a greased springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Cool in pan for about 30 minutes before removing it.
7. To make the glaze, heat the heavy cream in a large saucepan until bubbles form around the edges. Add honey. Remove from heat. Add 4 oz. of chocolate and stir until completely melted. Pour over cooled cake.
Flourless Chocolate Cake
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, sliced
2 tbsp. vanilla
6 large eggs, divided
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
Glaze:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. honey
1. In a double boiler, melt 8 oz. chocolate. Add butter and stir until completely melted. Cool. Stir in vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar.
3. In a third bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 2 tbsp. of sugar, and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
4. Add chocolate mixture to egg yolk mixture. Stir well.
5. Fold in egg whites to chocolate and egg yolk mixture, 1/3 at a time. Be careful not to overmix or deflate egg whites.
6. Pour batter into a greased springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Cool in pan for about 30 minutes before removing it.
7. To make the glaze, heat the heavy cream in a large saucepan until bubbles form around the edges. Add honey. Remove from heat. Add 4 oz. of chocolate and stir until completely melted. Pour over cooled cake.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Interesting article
This year's cold snap has definitely left me with the winter blues. My only ray of hope came in the form of a seed catalog! I love looking through it, dreaming of warm summer days in my garden.
The following link is to an op/ed article from The New York Times. The author has some interesting proposals. I agree with a lot of what he suggests, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with his proposal to give the FDA even more power over our food. The recent passage of the new food safety bill may actually prove more harmful to small farmers than many realize. While the large corporations, who tend to be the source of most food-borne illnesses, find ways to get around safety laws, the small and less powerful farmers get the squeeze. Anyway, the article is definitely worth taking the time to read.
A Food Manifesto for the Future
The following link is to an op/ed article from The New York Times. The author has some interesting proposals. I agree with a lot of what he suggests, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with his proposal to give the FDA even more power over our food. The recent passage of the new food safety bill may actually prove more harmful to small farmers than many realize. While the large corporations, who tend to be the source of most food-borne illnesses, find ways to get around safety laws, the small and less powerful farmers get the squeeze. Anyway, the article is definitely worth taking the time to read.
A Food Manifesto for the Future
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