One Iced-and-Gingered Man, Please.

The classic white Christmas waited until the last possible moment (Christmas Day itself) to finally made an appearance. Though inches of the chilly white stuff isn't required for decorating a batch of the crunchy and spicy cookie, it added a lovely atmosphere. Dark molasses creates a gorgeous rich cookie color that makes creamy white royal icing the perfect medium to dabble in. Self proclaimed icing artist aside, I felt these little masterpieces turned out just pretty enough to eat.

 Gingerbread seemed to scream"holiday break" and with the fluffy white stuff falling from the sky it seemed the perfect afternoon activity. I phoned a good friend my high school to make her way up for a good chit chat. Gingerbread decorating fosters a good backdrop for catching up on past memories. Chatting about future plans, we iced the afternoon away (and had our fair share of munching on the mistakes).  Thin and crispy, these little men cause much less drama than the combined (less than savory) real life dates myself and Ms. K have experienced as of late. I'll take a snowed-in chat with a friend with a cookie...or several, please.

Roast. Sugar and Spice. Puree. Spread. Spread on Everything.

Stretching out the last bit of fall constitutes taking advantage of a trip to the orchard for some apples, and some winter squashes - Jonathon and butternuts to be precise. The Jonathons have another destination, but that squash was going to meet its end in the form of pumpkin butter. And it's about as good as it sounds.  Found on food52, I could barely wait for Friday to come to make it. Crank up your oven, and roast that squash until tender, resisting the urge to eat it hot and steaming straight from the pan with a spoon.  (That can come later, but this squash has a delightful chance to become something better...Shocking, I know.)   Scoop out the flesh and add more than enough cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and brown sugar, and butter for good measure.  Roast again-this recipe really tests your patience. In between reading assignments and writing that big senior paper, be sure to stir that mix every few minutes or so and evenly distribute the caramel color that deepens as time goes by.  Whirl through the food processor and fill a big quart sized mason jar with this spread.  As good as it was on a spoon, a hot-from-the-oven bagel (slathered with the stuff) was a better vehicle.

Note- this is also delicious stirred into oatmeal, shmeared on toast, and I anticipate, nearly anything else. Quintessentially fall, this packs handsomely and was much appreciated by fellow foodie friends...the bit that I was willing to share.                                                                                        

Cheerio, She's London Bound

Goodbyes are such a bother. How to bid adieu to your roommate, concert companion, fellow Beatles enthusiast, and fashionista sister?  18 months is a terribly long time to be away on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but 18 months serving in London, England has to be second best to spending time with her sisters, right?  Today was farewell for Sister S., and was it tough.  Perhaps rougher knowing that she will miss the alt-J concert to hit Salt Lake a month after she leaves, but maybe that isn't the reason we were all tearful.  Though its sad to see her go, I'm thrilled to doodle her letters and hear of her adventures and various culinary escapades (she is rather picky when it comes to food). But most of all, I can't wait to see her next spring...In London, of course.  Why wouldn't this be a good excuse to visit Big Ben?

Front and Center, is that lucky sister missionary, missed dearly by sisters on the right and left, and "cousin" bookends

Smitten With Shashuka

Shashuka. It's breakfast, brunch, lunch, supper, dinner, and delicious.  Just like a chocolate molten lava cake, it's always Shashuka time.  Love for Middle Eastern fare has followed me home from Israel and pervaded my Provo kitchen. Any dish that includes a runny egg is one I'm a sucker for.

I'm also infatuated with Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbooks, especially the recent "Jerusalem" publication  Gorgeous photos aside, how is it not fun to flip through the pages and exclaim, "I know you! You DO have good falafel"? Though I have yet to undertake many of the tasty selections found in the pages of that work of art, Shashuka is one I'm smitten with. As stated before, I've eaten it at most hours of the day and feel like it's an appropriate item to nosh on for any meal.  Roommates were skeptical but supportive, then moved to astounded post tasting.  Served with some hot pita (that didn't quite pocket, but had a nice chew) made a light supper, as well as fantastic update to my breakfast routine. 

To serve as a main course, I upped the spice and cumin and served the dish with labneh, which is trendy for delicious-with-anything-Middle-Eastern-spiced-yogurt.  Labneh made an appearance on last week's supper, arugula salad with chorizo toast (and runny poached egg...duh).   Top with parsley and try not to eat the whole pan because it is also delicious for breakfast. 

A Most Americana Evening

An All-American Celebration

Summer brings late nights and good lemonade. A birthday party attended this past week certainly encapsulated the essentials of the season. Tucked away in the corner of a park, a checkered tablecloth set the table for 8 was festooned with bistro lights as well as triangle paper banners. Needless to say, the scene was Pinterest worthy. Dress code demanded red, white and navy, and plates were piled with rotisserie chicken, potato salad, biscuits and baked beans. Mason jars were adorned with blue and white striped paper straws and filled herb infused lemonades.  Paper lanterns provided some light as the sun set, but not enough to douse the shine of candles on the apple pie, or the sparklers that followed dessert. Set after a long day of class and spent with good friends certainly allowed the event the title of"A Most Americana Start to Summer". 

 This get-together certainly set the tone for all the following summer get togethers that may or may not occur this season, but I am most certainly inspired to get into the summer season. So far so good-with one fantastic party under my belt, a lovely day at the Farmer's Market, I'm well on my way to enjoying the season's spoils.  Note-Brian's Macaroon's are the best I've ever had and an evening listening to some local talent at the Provo Rooftop concert series is a great place to eat the whole box. All in all, it certainly seems to make the days in the office worth it.


Mint Limeade in hand, and a darling box of Mac's, we rocked the opening
morning of the Provo Farmer's Market.

The Dough Experiment

In my culinary explorations, I've been timid with making doughs.  My mom is a fantastic cook and her dinner rolls are coveted at any sort of neighborhood get together or family dinner.  Raspberry cinnamon rules barely have time to cool in our house-fluffy, doughy, and deliciously spice ridden swirls culminate to the perfect rolled center. However, after botching the infamous roll recipe the first time I tried, I have always been hesitant. The science of it is intimidating.  Density, taste and texture depends on precise measurements, kneading time, yeast performance, even weather. Yet, being between jobs and only having on 2-day-week class to occupy my time, I thought it was high time to dive into the realm of yeast, rising, punching, rolling, and baking.  Explorations started with a flatbread, but results were more cracker like than pillowy.  Next, I toyed around with a solid pizza dough recipe. I cook dinner for a group of friends on Fridays, and thought that several differently topped pies would be an excellent Friday supper.   Mostly, I was just looking for some justification for my dough trials and my roommates are good sports.

Fresh Mozzarella and Basil-Friend Voted Favorite

Four pies were delightfully consumed that Friday and the pizzas got progressively better.  The initial pie was a bit too doughy and pale, but the balsamic reduced caramelized onions paired well with rosemary and ricotta.  The next was a rosemary-red potato pie, which still needed  a bit more cooking time.  I do suppose impatience can also be a factor in the perfection of your pizza dough-I was a tad eager to pull them out of the oven.  Pie #3 was an enormous hit-lightly spooned tomato sauce with lots of fresh mozzarella, then topped with basil after being pulled out of the scorching oven. The cornmeal coating on the pizza pan gave good texture, as did a slightly longer baking time.  But the dough was still chewy after that crunch yielded.  Success demanding a repeat, and pizza #4 was an exact replica. I've since played around with pita bread, missing that Middle Eastern staple here in the States.  The dough didn't quite puff into the characteristic pocket, but no where near inhibited it being toasted and topped with honey, cinnamon sugar, raspberry preserves, peanut butter, butter or nutella.  The latest batch didn't even make it past a breakfast item. I think I'll tackle the beautiful bagel next after the success of the Friday pizza night.  For those pies were great- and photographed beautifully.   

à cuire: (Fr) To Bake

Coconut Cranberry Granola Bars

 It's been a spell since my latest post.  College life doesn't nearly produce as many interesting tales as a stay in Jerusalem does.  Not to say that these past months have been dull-not in the least.  Spring has arrived and with that comes much more to time to experiment in the kitchen. It also means I'm a few more months closer to graduating.  Graduating college. Just 2 semesters left.  Seems like a day that would never really come.  After high school, college was a natural step, but after college opens a box of ambiguity.  However, that box for me is looking more and more like a box of chocolates...I don't quite yet know what my post undergraduate plans will be, but I know that they will involve food and travel.  And most definitely chocolate.

I'm staying down in college central this summer which has it's pros and cons. Luckily, my campus has free copies of the New York Times available to students-I read it voraciously. I am sure to snag the Wednesday edition without fail and hoard the food/dining sections in my desk drawers.  It's been a classically Utah spring lately which means the weather flirts between sunshine and storms.  One particularly breezy Monday demanded some serious culinary investigation. The product of that Monday's adventures are pictured above.  Seems silly to purchase granola bars when they are a delight to make and photograph too well, right? Next experiment must include chocolate and peanut butter, with some cinnamon.


My last post hinted at Christmas festivities.  Gift giving this year resulted in the possession of the most beautiful cookbook.  Jerusalem: The Cookbook captures quite brilliantly the beauty of the city through food. That's really all I'm asking for out of life-exploration through food, family, friends and funds for travel.  Naturally when the Times had recent culinary coverage of Middle Eastern cuisine, I had to crack open the pages and test out a few recipes myself.  This cardamom chicken with basmati rice and herbed yogurt sauce was delectable and tasted better than photographed.  Nicely chosen, Ottolenghi and Tamimi.

Friends made in the Middle East have remained friends.  We mostly connect over food-sharing stories and recent finds in Provo.  One friend in particular is quite the culinary accomplice and we had a lovely time recreating Levain Bakery dark chocolate-walnut-chipped-cookies.  Unfortunately for the roommates, spare cookies were savored secretly.  I handled the half dozen share quite nicely on my own.  Yours truly, Emily Ruth: independent college student, cookie munching, Times hoarding, cookbook reading delight.