My Extracts

Pour some vodka on it!

That's the new motto at my house.

It started with a homemade vanilla - fun to do, handy.

And while vanilla beans are spendy, in the end you get way more bang for your buck doing it this way than buying those little 2 oz vanilla bottles from the store for $7 a pop.

I HAVE FOUR CUPS OF VANILLA IN MY PANTRY RIGHT NOW!

Quelle richesse.

Of course, if you can make vanilla extract then it stands to reason you can make other extracts.

Almond extract!

This one takes a little longer to age, supposedly about 3 months to really acquire that amandine fragrance.

But it's getting cloudy already, and it's a good start.

And now it's really gone too far, because that third one is lilac extract.

That's right, I picked some (unsprayed) lilac flowers from a bush.  Soaked them to get rid of the bugs.  Stuck them in a jar.

And poured some vodka on it.

The color has changed from, well, lilac, to a sort of copper.  The smell is pretty extraordinary.

Future vodka goals: Mint extract.  Cocoa bean.  Rose!  Hazelnut?

Sky's the limit, people!

Extracts

Pour some vodka on it.  Cap, put in dark place.  Leave until smells like the thing you are trying to extract.

Wedding Cake

Spring weddings are always risky.

Rain?  No rain?  Is it good luck or just ironic?

The flowers, though.

The nice thing about making wedding cakes is that you get to go to the PARTY.  Yes, those are cream puff kebabs.

I only accept payment in cream puff kebabs.

Lavender Rolls

I have been dreaming of these since December, and the time was finally ripe.

You could grind up the lavender if you wanted, it might look prettier.

I didn't mind the little flowers scattered in the dough, though.  I could use more little flowers scattered in things, actually.

Just in general.

The taste was perfect, not too strong and not too subtle.

Just use it the same way you would use cinnamon.

I thought about dying the frosting purple.  Maybe I should have.

I used mascarpone cheese in the frosting instead of cream cheese.  I don't like the tang of cream cheese frosting.  Mascarpone brought that cheesy smoothness without the tang.

If I ever have any kind of food shop, these will be the specialty.

Lavender Rolls
Recipe adapted from Averie Cooks
Makes 12

Rolls:
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast (one packet)
pinch salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted
3 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk

Filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4-6 teaspoons lavender flowers

Mascarpone Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
6 ounces mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Combine 4 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, yeast, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Warm buttermilk to 100F on stove.  Add melted butter, eggs, and buttermilk to dry ingredients and beat on medium-low for about 1 minute, until combined.

Switch to the dough hook and run for 10-12 minutes (15 - 18 minutes by hand).  If more flour is needed, add remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough clears the side of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.  It's okay for this dough to be sticky.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in a warm, draft-free place to rise for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.

Prepare your pan, this can be a jellyroll pan or ordinary 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  Line with foil or a silpat and set aside (if using foil, grease with butter).

After dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured surface and roll into a 16 x 12 inch rectangle.

Spread butter for filling over the dough, in chunks or fully spread out, depending on softness of the butter.  Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of sugar, then with lavender flowers.

Roll your rectangle up into a big dough log.  Slice into 12 slices.  The best way to do this is with dental floss, but don't use the mint flavored kind unless you want minty lavender (hmm).  If you don't have unflavored floss around, use a sharp knife to avoid squishing the dough as much as possible.

Place slices on prepared pan and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until the rolls have doubled in size about 1 1/2 hours (rolls can also be refrigerated before this second rise for up to 16 hours, bringing to room temperature and continuing with rise the next day).

Bake at 350F for 22 - 25 minutes or until lightly golden on top.  Cool slightly (or don't), spread with mascarpone frosting, and eat.

For frosting:
Blend cheese and butter on medium speed, about 1 minute.  Add the vanilla and 3 cups confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add remaining cup of sugar to taste, based on desired frosting consistency.

Blood Orange Marmalade

What are your thoughts on marmalade?

I really am on a bitter kick lately, although wait be fair!  This is only just a little, teensy weensy bit bitter.

The peel is softened overnight, soaked in water and juice to lose most of its bite.

Most of it...not all.

Strawberry jam it ain't, is all I'm saying.

But friends and neighbors if you put this junk on a bakery-fresh English muffin you picked up while jogging (jogging with muffins in hands is an acceptable way to add strength-training to your cardio regime)...

Top it with clotted cream, which is like butter but creamier and without the salt.  Like if whipped cream and butter had a baby...

And then dollop on this bittersweet madness, you will just go to food heaven.

You will, I promise.

Sort out your affairs, because it will be the end.

Blood Orange Marmalade
adapted from the love website Food in Jars

1 lb blood oranges (4-5 medium sized fruits)
2 1/2 cups white sugar

Wash oranges well.  Trim away ends and slice in half.  Core with very sharp knife, removing white inside.  Pluck out any seeds you see.  Keep ends and cores for now.

Halve oranges and slice them very thin, about 1/8 inch thickness.  Keep slices together in shape and cut again, quartering the orange.  You should have little triangles of orange.

Bundle up seeds and cores in cheesecloth and tie tightly.  Place chopped oranges and cheesecloth bundle in a medium bowl.  Cover with about 3 cups of water, chill overnight.

Discard cheesecloth bundle.  Combine remaining fruit and water with white sugar in a medium saucepan.  Bring marmalade mix to a simmer and cook until reduced by more than half and sugar thermometer reads 220.  When it is finished, pour into prepared jars.  Wipe rims and put on lids, turning them to 'fingertip tightness'.

Submerge jars in boiling water bath for 10 minutes,*  Leave to dry and seal overnight.

*!arning, read up on canning here if this is your first attempt.  I can't take responsibility for anybody's botulism!  But really, it's pretty easy once you know the rules.  The botulism-destroying rules.

African Peanut Soup

It's gonna get hearty up in here.

Rice!  Beans!  Sweet potatoes!

Time to get some meat on those bones.

Time to fill some empty bellies!

Is this soup actually African?  I have no idea.

But I tell you what it is:  a tasty combination of textures.  And aromas.

Lately I've been having a lot of smoothies.  Like, for breakfast and stuff.

And soups too.  Pureed squash, sweet potatoes, carrots.  A lot of orange stuff.  Nutritious, but doesn't stick with you.

A hearty, bean-y soup was just what I needed.

And the peanut butter gives it this sort of, mmm, creaminess?  And the little crunchy peanuts...

Well, you get what I'm saying.

Good soup.

African Peanut Soup

The original recipe also included 2 cups of cooked chicken.  Add it with the broth, after sauteing the vegetables, for a non-vegetarian version.

1 1/2 cups cubed peeled sweet potato (about 3 small or 2 medium)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced red pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 cup bottled salsa (I actually used black bean dip, which was great)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add sweet potato, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalepeno.  Saute for 5 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, except peanut butter; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add peanut butter, stirring with a whisk, and cook for 2 more minutes.  Serve hot.

Cheddar Cheese Cupcakes

Oh man, get out of here January!  You are the freaking worst!

I thought I told you not to come back here.

Every year it's the same.  At the beginning of the month I'm all delusional in a post-holiday glow, certain that this will be the year, THIS will be the one year I can finally stand January.

My hopes start to fade some time after my birthday (a bright spot!) and continue to die until, at the end of the month, I'm this ragged, grumpy, squint-eyed curmudgeon shaking my fist at the sun because it had the audacity to set before 4:00 pm.  Why did you bother rising at all.

Yes that is a toddler hand reaching for the goods.

Potato chips and Doctor Who are all I have to get through it (and YES I've already seen them all....lea'mealone).

February is only three days away.  I know it is.  It's so close.  But I'm going to die of cold and dark before I get there, I know it, passed out on the track with my fingers clawing desperately but hopelessly toward the finish line.

It's right about now that my mom, having read my blog, calls and asks "Anna are you taking your Vitamin D?"

NO.  I'm not.  It's too far away from my couch nest.  Ask me again in February.

Cheddar Cheese Cupcakes (recipe borrowed from Adora's Box)
Getting crazy in here y'all!  CHEDDAR.  CHEESE.  CUPCAKES.  Please be brave and try these.  It took my husband several days of eying them suspiciously before he put one in his mouth and you know what?  He loved them.  They are soft, white, creamy and rich.  The cheddar taste isn't strong, it just adds the slightest salty nuance to an otherwise sweet, milky experience.  They are more like milk cupcakes, really, with sweetened condensed milk playing a low-key but crucial role (have you had sweetened condensed milk?  Like, omg).  These.  Are.  Awesome.

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/3 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
225 grams butter, room temperature (that's almost a stick, the number of grams will be on the label)
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup grated mature cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin pan with papers.  Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (up to 1 minute) after each addition.  Add in the cream cheese, condensed milk and vanilla and beat 1 more minute.

Add in the flour mixture and blend gently in until combined.

Fill your muffin pan, filling each about 2/3 full.  Top each cupcake with 1 tablespoon of grated cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean.

Sweet Potato Cottage Cheese Blintzes and a Boutique Academia Giveaway

Mmm blintzes!

It's like a crepe sandwich.  A pancake burrito.

I love trough foods.  You know what I mean...things you can just throw whatever leftovers you have hanging around into and suddenly they're delicious.

Quiche, pasta, fried rice.  And blintzes!

My grandma used to make blintzes with cream cheese.  That is a good memory

These are filled with a sweet potato/cottage cheese mixture that cooks up sweet and hearty and lovely.  The kind of food that makes you feel good after eating.  Like a Russian farmer.  In a movie.

And bonus!  My baby loved them.

He's a picky one, is he.  But wait, there's more!

My friend Maile over at Boutique Academia has authorized me to give away one (one!) of her gorgeous necklaces.

Boutique Academia is a collection of jewelry that celebrates and aestheticizes the sciences.  Thus, here is the cellular makeup of sucrose, or sugar.

Pretty appropriate round these parts, eh?  And you wondered what this had to do with food.

Plus, I just love beautiful things and the creative people that make them.  Here are some more of Maile's amazing things.  Can you figure out what they all are?

Here's a hint - bottom left corner are the cells of a rose petal.  Valentine's is coming!

To participate in the giveaway, do one of the following three things:

1.  Become a follower of this here blog, Icy Violet's Kitchen, and leave a comment here.  If you are already a follower, just say so in the comment.
2.  Head over to Boutique Academia and check out Maile's stuff!  I told you Valentine's is coming!  Come back over here and tell us in a comment what your favorite thing in the shop was.
3.  Like Boutique Academia on Facebook, and come back over here and leave a comment saying so.

There, that'll do nicely.  The giveaway will close Wednesday, January 23rd at 8 pm Pacific Time.  The winner will be announced next Thursday night!  Good luck I hope you win!

Sweet Potato Blintzes with Cottage Cheese (borrowed and adapted, with love, from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

wrappers:
1 1/2 cups milk
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

filling:
4 medium sweet potatoes
2 cups cottage cheese
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt

topping:
raspberry jam (or any other kind)
plain yogurt or sour cream

In a blender, combine all the wrapper ingredients and blend until smooth.  Pour the batter into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour or up to 2 days.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Bake the sweet potatoes for about 40 minutes, until soft.  Let them cool in their skins.  Once they're cool, peel them and mash with a fork.

Preheat a medium skillet or crepe pan over medium-high heat.  Once it's heated, brush lightly with melted butter or oil and pour 1/4 cup batter into the skillet, swirling it until it evenly coats the bottom.  Cook, undisturbed, until the bottom is golden and the top is set, about 2 minutes.  No need to flip them.  Transfer the wrapper to a paper-towel-covered plate, cooked side down.  Continue with remaining batter.

Once sweet potato puree is cool, stir in the cottage cheese, egg yolks, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Once wrappers are all cooked, you're ready to make blintzes.  Put a slightly heaped 1/4 cup of filling in the center of each wrapper, and fold it up like a burrito.  Opposite ends together, then pull the end of the crepe nearest to you up over the filling and roll to completely enclose it.  Like an eggroll.  Repeat with remaining blintzes and filling (I had extra filling...it's okay, more blintzes!).  Reheat your skillet over medium heat and brush again with butter or oil.  Cook the blintzes, seam side down, until golden brown and crisp - about 5 minutes on each side.

Serve topped with a dollop of jam and a dollop of yogurt.

Red Velvet Cake Batter Popcorn

 
I'm losing it, you guys.

I think that Salty Sweet Caramel Corn at Halloween time turned a screw loose in my head, because I've had popcorn on the brain ever since.

And what with the holidays and all, it's a race to the top of sweets mountain and I think I'm in the lead.

And now what monstrosity has my mad baker's laboratory churned out?

Red Velvet Cake Batter Popcorn.

You guys, it tastes like a cake, and a little bit like frosting, and all poured onto slightly salty popcorn.

It's crumbly, and can easily be molded into festive-type popcorn balls.

Remember popcorn balls?

Is it the 80's?

1880's!

I'm also into old-fashioned desserts this year.

Gingerbread houses are on the horizon, I am hoping.

Meantime, will somebody get me some kale?  I am drowning in sugar and try as I might, I just can't find a way to regret it.

Red Velvet Cake Batter Popcorn (recipe inspired by Tasty Kitchen)

12 oz melted white chocolate 
¼ cup cream cheese
1-1/4 cup white cake mix (I usually avoid mixes in my recipes but just go with it here)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons red food coloring
1/4 cup corn kernels
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put 1/4 cup corn kernels in a large pot with a tablespoon of olive oil over medium to medium high heat...they will heat up and start popping.  When popping lessens and stops it's done.  Measure out six cups and sprinkle it with 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler.  Add the cream cheese to the almond chocolate and stir until it is melted.

Add the cake mix, cocoa, and red food coloring to the chocolate mixture.  Pour the coating onto the popcorn and coat evenly.

Pour the popcorn out onto cookie sheets to cool/harden, or smoosh into popcorn balls.

Black Bean Burgers with Fresh Guacamole

 Pies.

Jams.

Pickles.

Quick, somebody make something out of a pumpkin!

Fall is creeping up on me.

I am not a vegetarian, but I play one on TV.  Er, in the summer.  Did you know that?

I'm coming up on the end of my term of veggie purity however, and none too soon, really.

(I'm not a very responsible vegetarian, tending to rely more on grilled cheese sandwiches and potato chips than lentils and beans)

These burgers were a lovely way to say sayonara until next summer.

Because the thing with ground beef is it doesn't have much taste, really.  Does it?

I mean, unless it is some good quality chuck.  Whiiiich I guess I don't use.  Ground beef scares me anyways.  Can't trust it.

Mash up your beans with some quinoa, charred onion and roasted corn.  Cumin and salt, cilantro, lime and chipotle and baby, you got it.

Some of the best burgers you've ever had.

My husband ate three, if that's any evidence (it is).

Meat season, see you soon!

Black Bean Burgers with Fresh Guacamole taken from Cupcakes and Kale Chips

For the burger patties:
1/2 c uncooked quinoa
1 small red onion, sliced 1/2 in. think, keeping the rings together
1 ear of fresh corn (or 2/3 c cooked corn)
6 cloves of garlic, very finely minced
Kosher salt
2 cans black beans (15.5 oz each), rinsed and drained
2 T tomato paste
1 large egg
1/4 c chopped cilantro
1 T minced chipotles in adobo
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 c oatmeal (not instant), ground into crumbs

For the yogurt sauce:
1/2 c fat free Greek yogurt
1 t minced chipotles in adobo + ½ teaspoon adobo sauce from the can
Juice of a lime
1 T chopped cilantro
1 T honey
1/4 t salt

For the guacamole:
2 avocados
juice of half of a lime
1 clove garlic
1 t minced chipotles in adobo
1/2 t cilantro
1/2 t kosher salt, or to taste

For assembling the burgers:
salt & pepper
lettuce
6-8 whole wheat rolls

Place the quinoa in a small pot and add 1 c of water.  Bring the water to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and cover.  Cook 10-15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and quinoa is cooked.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat a pan or grill to medium high, and grill the onion slices and ear of corn for about 10 minutes, or until softened, and there are some grill/char marks on both, flipping the onions once, and turning the corn occasionally.  Remove the corn and onion from the grill. Cut the corn from the cob and chop the onion, and set both aside.

Combine approximately 1½ cans of black beans, the onion, and garlic in a large bowl, and using a potato masher or fork, mash together until the mixture is combined and pasty.  Stir in the remaining beans, tomato paste, egg, corn, cilantro, chipotles, cumin, and salt.  Add the cooked quinoa and ground oats, and stir until evenly distributed.

Form the mixture into 6-8 equal patties, pressing the mixture together well.  Place the patties on a baking sheet, cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a few hours or overnight.

Preheat your grill or pan to medium high, and cook on a sheet of aluminum foil for about 10 minutes per side, or until browned and crispy.

For the yogurt sauce:

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, and stir until well combined.  Store in the refrigerator.

 

For the guacamole:

 Cut the avocados in half, remove the pit, and scrape the flesh into a bowl (or use a mortar & pestle of molcajete).  Squeeze the lime juice over the avocados to prevent browning.  Add the remaining ingredients, and mash together to desired consistency.  Store in the refrigerator.

 

For assembling the burgers:

1. Place a burger on a bun, top with the yogurt sauce, guacamole, and lettuce.

Tapioca Ice Cream

So I would like to be a real, live, grown-up food blogger someday, but before I can be that, there are a few things I need to get, be, and do.

First and foremost, I need a light for my photos. I know it. I could fake it a little last year when I lived in a warm, bright place by taking my food outside. But here in grey, rainy Oregon? Not a chance. In fact, here in grey, rainy Oregon I need two lights. One for my photos, and one for myself.

I would also like, although I do not NEED need, some cooking gadgets. You know, things like pasta makers and ice cream freezers (although lucky for me, you don't need one to make ice cream!). Stuff that makes making cool stuff easier. You know, like that kind of stuff.

But what I really need in order to be a real, grown-up food blogger, to be a real, grown-up cook, really, is to make up my own recipes.

Easier said than done. There are so many incredibly delicious things out there that people have already made! I could spend my whole life copying other people and eat well every single day. Did you know, for example, that this exists?

But hey, I can be creative too. And while I'm being creative, you know what sounds good? Tapioca ice cream.

So I made it. It was an experiment, and I totally made it. And it was fantastic! The little frog eyes got cooked with the cream and all stirred in with the ice cream. They gave the finished ice cream a really interesting texture. It did come out a little more vanilla-y than I'd have liked, I think more tapioca flavor would have been a good thing. Maybe next time I'll replace some of the cream with homemade tapioca pudding, rather than just adding the pearls.

So yes, cooking. It's a process. And so is blogging. And so is taking photos. And it's all worth doing.

We'll see what comes up next time on...Anna's experiments!

Tapioca Ice Cream

I used this basic vanilla ice cream recipe from the Food Network, and added 2 tablespoons of tapioca pearls to the mixture. Be sure they get plenty of time cooking in the pot!

Then I prepared it, ice-cream maker free, according to ice cream guru David Lebovitz's method.

And then my husband ate every bit of it (this step is optional).

Ruby Red Roasted Beet Soup

One last winter soup, with the last of the winter's root vegetables!

From the marketplace anyway, not from my personal store. Boy I miss my garden! Better luck for an apartment with a yard next year, right? Come on, university housing roulette. Mama needs crib space and a row of peas.

I found this soup on Cheeky Kitchen (I have really been plundering her recipe files lately, and I recommend them to anyone...) and I couldn't resist its bright red color and creamy thickness.

Besides, don't they say that the brightest colored fruits and vegetables have the most nutrients? Well, I am gestating a pint-sized human here, and nothing's brighter than beets.

The soup had a fascinating flavor, unlike anything I've had before. I've always been a fan of beets (well, since puberty anyways), but I've only ever had them raw (and canned, but that experience does not bear mentioning here). They are sweet and flavorful, like carrots but stronger, and of course they will dye your teeth and fingers for days. They also have just the slightest edge to them, a bite, maybe, not spicy, but something just a little...interesting. Rutabega-esque, perhaps (strokes chin thoughtfully).

This soup played up that sweet yet edgy flavor, accenting it with olive oil and onion. I found the yogurt/sour cream/creme fraiche swirl to be a must, otherwise it might have been too strong. But those with braver palates could go without!

So. I dedicate this soup to the end of winter. And despite all its lovely, rough, starchy, nutritious vegetables that look terrible on the outside and gorgeous on the inside, I'm glad to see the back end of it.

Ruby Red Roasted Beet Soup

4 red beets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small shallot, chopped
2 cups chicken or vegetable Stock
Fresh thyme
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 ounces of crumbled goat cheese or 1/4 cup of sour cream/plain yogurt/creme fraiche

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Clean beets and trim the greens from the bulbs. Slice the beets in half and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Clean the shallot similarly, slicing off the two ends of the shallot and removing any papery skin. Slice the shallot into fourths and place alongside beets. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle a bit of sea salt and pepper.

Roast in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the beets are soft and tender when poked with a fork.

Remove the beets from the oven and allow to cool slightly before scooping the soft flesh from the skin and placing into a blender. Add the roasted shallot, stock, and fresh thyme. Puree until smooth.

Transfer to a small pot, heat until steaming. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with crumbled goat cheese or sour cream.