Pudding vs Custard, which one is it?

The search for the perfect pudding recipe began with some eggs. Our neighbor gave us eggs from her friend's chickens...these are chickens that scramble around her backyard and eat kitchen scraps. So these are good eggs, and I wanted to do them justice. Pudding was the perfect answer.

Pudding recipes are hard to find. I checked all the regular sources, Alice Waters' Simple Food, Women's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery. None of the recipes were what I was looking, a very simple pudding of milk, eggs, and sugar. And so many were called custards.

Unclear as to what exactly the difference is between a pudding and a custard, I decided a custard was definitely not what I wanted. A custard is served in dainty little cups and pudding is served in bowls. Really, I think there isn't much difference.

The recipe I ended up with was from Fannie Farmer and was was just what I was looking for...eggs, milk, and sugar cooked on the stove with vanilla added at the end. (By the way it was called a custard.) In any case, pudding or not, the result was absolutely heavenly. Creamy and rich, and totally unlike any box pudding anyone has ever had.

Sublime. It doesn't even matter what it's called.

I love kimchi. A good friend from school is Korean and she often cooked delicious Korean food. The combinations were foreign and exciting always with complex flavors that filled the mouth and delighted the taste buds--a perfect blend of salty, sweet, and umami. And kimchi, of course is the ultimate in Korean foods. So I tried my hand at it. A few adjustments needed to be made based on ingredients available. Daikon radish for instance had to be replaced with regular red radishes. The adjustments decidedly did not work, the result looked like kimchi but tasted so potently like raw garlic that it was totally inedible--such a disappointment. I hope to try it again with the true ingredients and a better result.

Coco for Coconut Cake

One of the best parts of my job is that I can bake all these cakes I've been wanting to make. Most recently was the Ono Coconut Cake from Saveur.com.

It is spectacular to look at, the icing shiny and fluffy like marshmallow cream. In fact it basically it is marshmallow. I substituted honey for corn syrup, mostly because we didn't have corn syrup, but also because I'm not such a fan. While visually the icing was equally appealing, its honey flavor over-powered the coconut. The cake was delicious with a perfect balance between dense and light. Interestingly, its only far source was one can of coconut milk. Taking that into account I thought it could've had more coconut flavor.

I'm not sure I would make it again, even with a few minor changes and some corn syrup. Perhaps that's just because I hate the thought of using corn syrup.

Oatmeal as a Capitalist Statement

I love oatmeal. I eat it every morning with various toppings. My new favorite is raisins, pecans, sea salt and plain yogurt. (I am not making yogurt from a dairy down the road from us. The cows are pastured right behind it!)

Anyway, back to the oatmeal, the combination of toppings makes it creamy, rich, savory, and slightly sweet. A perfect way to welcome the day. Today over my oatmeal, I began a tirade on oatmeal as a protest against agribusiness. How cereals are processed with all kinds of things: hydrogenated oils and sugars that we don't need. Then the price is hiked up exorbitantly. Oatmeal, on the other hand is cheap, with no additives thus being more healthy.

I'm not sure that one bowl of oatmeal a day does much to combat our processed food system, but it sure is nice to dream...

The All-American Sandwich

I realized recently that since being permanently back in the States I have not had a proper sandwich. Instead of going out and getting one (which would ensure its properness), I instead decided to make it all from scratch. And this was my first mistake. Because as much as I try to cook conventionally, I always end up deviating from the recipe, trying to make it healthier and more unusual; the result is usually good, but never iconic.

And so happened with my All-American sandwich. And where did it fail? On all accounts. First was the fillers. No I didn't chose cheese, or meat, or lettuce, or tomato. The plan was this: white bean puree with roasted red peppers and spinach. Oh and homemade rolls. This was mistake number two.

For some reason I cannot make breads with white flour in them. Not even partly white flour. Despite all my knowledge on the textural and organoleptic impact of whole grain flours I cannot separate myself. And so I set out to make the all-American sandwich roll, with one hand tied behind my back: no white flour.

It was a cool spring day, perfect for opening the windows and letting the fresh air in. Instead I cranked up the kitchen heat to facilitate rising. And rise my rolls did, they turned out beautifully with all the chewiness and depth of flavor of whole wheat, decidedly un-American.

The sandwiches were lovely. Great combination of flavors, healthy, nutritious. Yet my craving left unsatiated... I might have to rely on a professional.

Fabulous Fennel

Having worked on Easter, our celebration came later. It was a delectable meal including smoked mountain trout from just down the road, roasted pearl red onions with grapes (a Gourmet recipe I highly recommend), sauteed asparagus, roasted new potatoes, and homemade rolls.

The best part of the meal, though, was the dessert. And I know I usually say that, but this time it is really true. For dessert we used another recipe from Gourmet: a Candied Fennel and Lemon Cake. Recently I have become fascinated with fennel; it's sugary-anise flavor is complex and utterly intriguing. Given my predilection toward fennel Gourmet's cake was a must-try. Despite many skeptics it was delicious. The cake had a slight cornmeal texture with body and bite, the lemon perfectly complimenting the candied fennel. This is a great cake.

A Taste of the Beginning

The night before my first day of work (my first day of work at my first salaried job!) to celebrate and relax we turned to one of the ultimate comfort foods: pizza. We spiffed it up with our own homemade crust. The crust is the "Expert Pizza Dough" recipe from Saveur. Having tried the recipe several times, I can say that it work wonderfully, minus the cake flour. Each time I've tried it with cake flour it hasn't risen properly. As was the case for this crust.

The toppings more than compensated for the crust. A couple hours beforehand I chopped onion and added it to ricotta cheese with some grated lemon zest, and let the mixture mellow. When it came time to make the pizza we added the normal sauce with spotted with spoonfuls of ricotta, then artichokes, a layer of spinach, and then mozzarella cheese. The resulting pizza had a perfect combination of sour and salt, all tempered by the cheeses. A delicious way to start anew.