Fourth of July

Today is my last day in Nebraska. Tomorrow I begin my journey back home to California. Yesterday we drove over to a local farm and bought some grass-fed beef and fresh cream and milk for our holiday meal. We grilled hamburgers, baked homemade buns, and made burnt sugar ice cream. There was a side dish of corn, black bean, and tomato salad.

While we were grilling, the doorbell rang. It was one of the next-door neighbors, a Vietnamese family, bringing over some spring rolls and other treats, a nice addition to our meal.

Nebraskans really celebrate the Fourth, rain or shine. All week long there has been a continuous barrage of booming, and last night, the 3rd, there were constant fireworks until midnight. Some of the colorful displays were as good as any commercial displays.

Today it rained. However, just awhile ago, the skies cleared, so the whole street is going crazy with fireworks. I'm guessing it will increase and last until midnight.

The Vietnamese neighbors are joining in, too. They brought out at least 100 feet of a wide red ribbon and laid it in a U pattern in the middle of the street. They lit one end and there was about 10 minutes of constant flashing and popping. Everyone watched in awe, and neighbors from both ends of the street kept coming to see what was happening. When the show was finished, they cleaned up the remains of the ribbon.

I'll post photos when I return home and process all that I took on this trip.

Now, it's back to the action outside.

Happy 4th.

(I should add that the 3-month-old baby isn't really thrilled with all this racket!)

On travel

I'm off on travel for the next two weeks -- home to New Mexico for a wedding and lots of fun, then on to Nebraska to meet the newest grandchild.

All the food postings will have to wait until I'm back -- I just ran out of time to do everything.

Happy 4th a bit early!

TWD: Dressy Chocolate Loafcake

Saturday night I attended a solstice/birthday/Goddess party. It's an annual event held by a friend whose birthday happens around the summer solstice. It's for women only, women of all ages, from 7 to 90+.

Everyone brings some kind of food, and there are plenty of beverages of all kinds.

When the sun goes down, we build a big bonfire, then we toss in wreaths and garlands made from herbs, grasses, pine branches, or whatever is handy. Out with the old. It goes up in smoke.


Ready for the new year.


This year we went around the circle, saying our names and telling everyone what we had accomplished lately. That's always the interesting part. For some, just getting out of bed in the morning is an accomplishment; for others, it's a new job or a new relationship or the end of an existing relationship. We women are a hardy bunch, to be sure. I'm already looking forward to next summer.


In honor of the party and the hostess, I baked and shared this week's Tuesdays with Dorie special -- Dressy Chocolate Loafcake, selected by Amy of Amy Ruth Bakes. I only got a half a piece from the first slice, as it disappeared very quickly.


I didn't encounter any problems with preparation or baking. Well, one slight issue, perhaps. The cocoa was a bit obstinate. Even though it was mixed with the flour, it chose to fly all over the room when mixing so that I finally resorted to hand mixing. Little pockets of cocoa kept appearing, so that I greatly feared I was overmixing the batter. However, I finally won the battle, and the cake didn't seem the worse for wear, turning out just fine.

The next time I make it, I will incorporate the cocoa with the butter and sugar, before I add the flour.


Here's the montage.

Cooling cake, right-side up, in pan.



Cooling cake, upside down, out of pan.





First layer of cherry jam. Cake has been split into thirds.




Final assembly and luscious semisweet chocolate/sour cream frosting.




Inside view, after the first slice. The slices tended to slide apart at the cherry seams, so it was a bit tricky to plate.





This was the only piece I got, and I shared it with my mother.




It definitely was perfect for the party, a hit all the way around.



Some of the other TWD bakers had more adventures with this cake, so be sure and check out their comments.

Nuts to You: BBD 31 Anniversary Bread

It's hard to believe that Bread Baking Day is already three years old! Started by Zorra, each month brings a surprise challenge resulting in some delicious bread.


To celebrate the anniversary, Zorra asked us to bake a bread with nuts. Looking for something special, I searched my bread cookbooks and, with a few tweaks to the recipe, came up with a bread that offered a unique taste:

Curried Pistachio-Cashew Bread





It turned out to be an interesting bread, both in appearance and flavor, with the curry adding a subtle, spicy undertone and the nuts adding a lovely crunch.




I tested it both untoasted and toasted. Toasting really brings out the flavors, so that is what I would recommend.


I also used my bread machine for the kneading and rising segments, making this an easy bread to prepare. I combined pistachios and cashews, coarsely chopped, and added them towards the end of the second kneading stage. They were incorporated perfectly.




The next time around, I would make two braided loaves instead of just one, strictly for appearance not taste.


I'm sending this bread over to Zorra to celebrate BBD's anniversary.



Curried Pistachio-Cashew Bread

1 tablespoon yeast
4 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oat or bran flakes
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 large or extra-large egg
3/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soft butter
1/2 cup pistachios or cashews or both, coarsely chopped

Place all ingredients except the nuts into the bread machine container in the order listed. Select the manual bread setting. When the beeper sounds towards the end of the second kneading, add the nuts. Continue with the second rise, then remove dough and shape as desired.

Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes, or until browned. Make sure the internal temperature is around 190°F. Let cool on a rack. Slice, toast, butter, and enjoy.

TWD: Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Cinnamon is one of my most favorite spices. I don't use it sparingly. I buy it in large containers because it doesn't last long.

So I was thrilled to see the TWD recipe choice this week, selected by Susan of Food.Baby.


Except for the raisins.

Now, I like raisins in some things, but not in my cinnamon bread, and my daughter definitely doesn't like them. Usually, I substitute currants for the raisins, but I had barely had that thought enter my mind, when my daughter spoke up, saying, ". . . and don't you dare try to sneak in currants."

So much for that.



How about chocolate chips? I inquired. That idea met with approval.


So, with nary a second thought, the raisin swirl bread became chocolate chip swirl bread.


The dough was lovely. It rose beautifully.



It was satiny smooth when rolled out. I just kept petting it.



Clearly, I was so enraptured by the dough that I forgot to show the lovely cinnamon-cocoa-chip filling before rolling. Just imagine.

I smooshed the rolled dough into the pan for rising,



brushed it with butter before placing it in the oven,





and begrudgingly, let it cool before slicing.




When the loaf was sufficiently cooled, the slicing began.



My oh my! The texture/crumb was perfect, the chocolate was gooey, and the flavor was heavenly.




And, of course, the only way to eat it is to slowly unwrap it from the top, savoring each turn of the slice. Butter helps. But it disappeared before we could toast it. Next loaf.


This bread is super easy to make. Go to Susan's blog for the recipe, or, better yet, just go ahead and buy the book. What ever you do, make this bread!

Daring Cooks: Tricolor Vegetable Pâté

Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose a delicious pâté with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pâté recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

Each month, all the Daring Cooks look forward with anticipation to learn what kind of challenge we will encounter. For June, we were tasked with make a pâté, made from either liver or seafood or vegetables. Not knowing what my dining audience would prefer, I chose the vegetarian pâté.


It was a good choice.


First, there is a white bean layer,



followed by a red pepper-feta cheese layer,



then topped with a homemade basil/parsley pesto.




I halved the recipe, using a 6-inch cake pan. This was more than enough for two people. I would highly recommend doubling the pesto layer regardless. It was delicious, but too thin.



Along with the pâté, we also had to make some bread, bread of our choice. I made a baguette using a recipe from Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day. The basic recipe is quick, simple, and tastes fabulous. It went perfectly with the pâté, and the nice thing is, I have more dough in the fridge, ready to bake up and use with the remaining pâté.






All the layers had a good consistency and held together well. As requested, I refrigerated it overnight and put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes before unmolding. Even after two days, it is still fine. I only need to bake more bread, or toast some of my regular whole wheat bread, now, to finish it off.

I intend to keep this pâté in mind for the next party or potluck. It's the ideal appetizer. For the recipe, go to either the Daring Kitchen, Epicurious, or to one of the hostess's blogs.

Leftover Raspberries

After making the white chocolate raspberry brownies recently, I had quite a few berries leftover. To celebrate Memorial Day, I made some sangria, using raspberries, and thinly sliced blood oranges and apples.


Basically, I used a bottle of sparkling rose, added simple syrup to taste, then the fruit. I let the mixture stand for about an hour to blend the flavors. It was a refreshing complement to a grilled dinner on a holiday weekend.



This also was an opportunity to use my crystal pitcher that I acquired several years ago from a glass-blowing factory in eastern France. I was lucky enough to receive a one-on-one factory tour and wished I could have brought back more beautiful glassware.