Category Archives: Food for Thought

Celebrating Julia Child with My Life in France

8 Replies

Today is Julia Child’s birthday; she would have been ninety-nine years old. This year also marks the fiftieth anniversary of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Julia Child taught people so much through her cookbooks and television shows; she constantly inspired. I bought her autobiography My Life in France about two years ago and I loved reading it as well as looking at her artist husband Paul’s photographs, which greatly adds to the reading experience and charm (especially their own holiday cards and that were depicted in Julie and Julia).

My Life in France covers the period from when Julia first went to Paris, France, tagging along with her husband who had been offered a job to run the Visual Presentation Department for the United States Information Service (USIS) in Paris. Determined to be a better cook – years later, Paul would tell an interview that “Her first attempts were not altogether successful”; growing up, she had had “zero interest in the stove” and was not encouraged to cook – she enrolled herself at Le Cordon Bleu and the rest is considered history.

Click after the jump for more images and info.

Continue reading →

About these ads

Slice ‘n’ Bake Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies (GFCF)

10 Replies

I hadn’t really planned to post these cookies until I was on Apartment Therapy/Kitchn and saw, to my astonishment, shortbread cookies that looked like the chocolate chip cookies I made with Carrie’s (Ginger Lemon Girl) recipe. It was an entirely different recipe but the texture looked just the same as these gluten-free cookies. When I adopted Carrie and made her chocolate chip cookies, you may recall this:

I doubled the recipe once and my measurements must have been a little off, as I ended up with a dough that was pliable and suitable for rolling for cut-out cookies. (It must be said, though, that I often eyeball some ingredients such as honey and sometimes my sense of a particular measurement can be a little more or less than the actual measurement.) I rolled the dough into logs and chilled them in the freezer for about 15 minutes, before slicing and baking in the oven for the same amount of time. What resulted was a cookie with a delicate and soft, sandy shortbread-like crumb. They puffed a bit, but did not spread since there was no baking powder used, I imagine. The cookie itself was mildly sweet; most of the sweetness came from the chocolate chips. No xanthum gum was used. I replicated it again, that time writing down the measurements (in weights) and they’re beautiful.

I’ve made those cookies again and again. I love that I can freeze the logs of dough so that there’s always something whenever someone needs their chocolate chip cookie fixing or just wants to munch on a cookie with substance. I had a log of cookie dough in the freezer for up to two weeks and they were still good. I’m sure it could have lasted even longer, perhaps a month.

The first time I doubled that recipe, I used cup measurements but I don’t generally fill the cup all the way to the top, sometimes I don’t even level it. I like and prefer preciseness to a scientific degree, though I won’t deny that I can be romantic and intuitive as well: a pinch of this, adding something until I feel it’s the right amount. I usually use a spoon to measure the flour into the cup, gently shake it to slightly level it off and it’s generally just short of the very top; it’s not packed – not exactly a scant cup but it isn’t what Fannie Farmer would call level either. I don’t sweep.

Anyway, I was able to replicate it again,  remembering how full I measured the cup. Now I know that a visual memory of how full the cup looked is not an entirely accurate picture since it doesn’t account precisely how much flour could be in the cup but it’s good enough for me. After spooning the flour into the cup, I’d measure it on the scale, write down the number of grams, and proceed with the next.

Now every time I’ve made these cookies with the weight measurements, it’s been the same cookie: same consistency, same texture, every time.

Continue reading →

In Perspective: 2010 + Top Ten of the Year

8 Replies

(top to bottom) 1. poached egg on toast (scd & gfcf) 2. apple cobbler (gfcf) 3. flourless apple pancakes (scd & gfcf) 4. honey sweetened marshmallows (scd & gfcf) 5. flourless peanut butter or almond butter chocolate chip cookies (gfcf) 6. banana tarte tatin, or banana upside down puffed pancake (gfcf) 7. roasted bell pepper egg in the basket (scd & gfcf) 8. gluten-free puff pastry (gf) 9. peach melba spoom (scd & gfcf) 10. new orleans style shrimp (scd & gfcf)

A New Year is on our doorstep. Tomorrow it is 2011. I’ll be taking that day off in blogland, but first I’m taking this moment now to reflect upon this year, appreciating all the good things which includes you, Dear Readers, and all my blogging friends who have made my blogging journey that more of an adventure. Truth be told, I’m feeling slightly nostalgic. Last year at this time, I was having camera issues (the camera was on its way out) and I was posting nearly every day.

I’ve grown from that awkward moment of just staggering out a paragraph or two about the recipe, sometimes barely so – sometimes not sure what to say – before launching into the recipe to writing fluidly and knowing what to say, or at least most of the time. There are still days when I’ll stare at the blank screen and not do anything, or I’ll type out a whole lot of fluff for the sake of flexing my muscles before I delete it all; days when I just want to post the recipe without further commentary but somehow find a way to still say something.

This year I hosted a blog event. I’ve made friends. I feel like I keep on repeating myself, but it has been – and continues to be – a whirlwind of an adventure. For the longest time I didn’t share much about myself or insert my character because I thought that the focus should be more on the food and less about me, but I’ve learned that part of what makes food blogs – and any blog, whatever its area – fun to read is the personality and voice behind all those words, as well as fun to write. My primary focus is still the food, though I am learning to being open and sharing more about myself in the process.

Now, for my Top Ten. Since I couldn’t really get into picking my top ten (or twelve) cookbooks of 2010, simply because I didn’t read that many cookbooks actually published this year, I’m opting for what I do know. This year, my criteria for my Top Ten are if it’s a favourite with family and friends and if I’d make it again. Next year, if I do this again, maybe I’ll go with stats or hey! more fun: I’ll have you all vote for the top ten favourites. How’s that sound?

Continue reading →