General Reference/Tutorial

Berbere Spice Mix

I was making a jar of one of my staples — Berbere Spice — so I thought that codifying the “recipe” would be good. What is Berbere Spice? It is an Ethiopian spice mixture, a mix of sweet and savory spices. I’ve seen a number of different configurations of the spice, but the main components involve some heat (chiles, pepper cayenne) and some sweet flavors (cinnamon, clove, cardamom and nutmeg). Toss it with vegetables before roasting, use it as a dry rub on pork or poultry before grilling. You can even add it to fruit or yogurt with a touch of honey; maybe pie? [grin]

Oh, and you’ll be surprised at how “every day” the ingredients are … you might actually have a vast majority of them in the pantry. Having the whole spices and toasting/grinding them yourself is preferable, but if you just have ground (and no spice mill) just mix together the ground that you have.
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4. June 2015
Dinner

Bacon Wrapped Spinach and Pesto Meatloaf Roulade

I’ve been meaning to make this recipe for a while, and since it got cold out again I figured that I could just revert to cold weather food again for a day. The recipe is almost a combination lasagna (with ricotta and such) and meatloaf, then all rolled up and sliced. I served it with wild rice and a tomato-y sauce, but you could also serve it truly Italian with pasta, or go the other way with a brown sauce or glaze.
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3. June 2015
Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Strawberry Lime Mini-Cupcakes

It’s a cold and rainy day in Boston today, which isn’t reflected in these cupcakes at all. They just scream summer. I should have waited to make them after I went PYO Strawberry picking later this month, but I figured that it was a good way to usher in June … even if the weather isn’t cooperating!
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1. June 2015
Desserts, Sweet Snacks

“Midnight at Kezar Lake” Pie (Blueberry Blackberry Mint)

I am “up to Camp”, as one says in New England-ish, this weekend. So I am packing up Ludwig (yes, my car is named Ludwig van Volkswagon) and headed north from the steamy city. New England, after our brutal winter, skipped spring altogether and it’s been summertime hot for the good part of a week. No complaints, though I do have to put in my air conditioners soon, lest I have to stop baking in the heat. And never one to arrive empty handed, here is the pie I made.

This pie title and idea with the “stars” is based on a pie that I saw somewhere on the intertubes called Midnight in Paris Pie. Of course, they don’t really have pies in French desserts (tarts, yes … pies, not so much) and it was just someone using the cut out stars to decorate a “plain” blueberry pie. I went for the berry combo to make it a little “darker” and then added the mint. You don’t actually taste the mint too much but it does have a nice freshening effect.

I officially declare it summer then, eh? [grin]
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29. May 2015
Breads, Breakfast/Brunch

Spiced Maple and Brown Sugar Pull Apart Bread

If you are a frequent visitor of my website, you will have noticed that lately I have been into making these “crazy breads” aka “pull-apart breads”. While really no different than any other sweet breads for breakfast, I think that they are visually pleasing and actually, I like the texture as there are some bits that are crunchy and some that are soft. This one went a little overboard on the “going crazy” part though and over-ran the pan. All’s well that ends well though and it was no worse for wear.
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29. May 2015