Homemade Bagels and English Soccer

There’s tradition in our house to wake up early Saturday mornings and watch English soccer accompanied by mimosas and bacon in some form. So, in honor of the start of the season, this past Saturday we made homemade NY style bagels. For my boyfriend who is from the Northeast and has spent several years in New York, good bagels are something he misses dearly. He claims that there is something in the water up there that makes NY bagels superior to all others. But I was bound and determined to prove otherwise.

We started the night before and utilized a technique called retarding the dough. Retarding the dough allows the dough to rise at a slower pace in the refrigerator overnight and allows one more sleeping time in the morning! We mixed the simple ingredients of flour, yeast, sugar, salt and warm water together and let it go to work in the fridge (some recipes call for barley malt syrup).

The next morning all we had to do is form the dough into the donut shape form, boil them, and pop them in the oven for about 20 minutes. Boiling them before baking them gives them that classic chewy bagel texture. And just like that you have homemade bagels!

We took it a step further and made them into bagel egg sandwiches . . . sneaking in pancetta to make them extra decadent. This is Saturday morning brunch after all so indulgence is required!

Everyone grab some champagne (orange juice is optional) and cheers to weekend brunch at home, and cheers to English soccer!       

Bar Lamar

So I may have a slight love affair with Whole Foods Market. Not only am I in love with the company itself and their quest to provide natural and organic products to the public, but I am also in love with their prepared foods section- not to mention they have the world's greatest sandwich, but that story is for another time and another post. 

I'm fortunate to live in Austin, TX, home to the Whole Foods headquarters. If you've never been to the Whole Foods headquarters, I must say it's quite the experience. It so much more than a grocery store. First off, the mere size of the the store is impressive and possibly overwhelming. You could easily kill a couple hours just meandering through the aisles. But you could also stop in for a message or enjoy a rooftop movie in the summer and ice skating during the holidays, and of course this being the live music capital, you could stop in for live music on a Thursday evening. 


Tonight however, I discovered the Whole Foods wine bar, Bar Lamar. It's the perfect environment to enjoy a pint or glass with friends. And if you're feeling munchie they offer cheese plates, all at reasonable price. Or make it a full on dinner experience, and grab something from the prepared food section to enjoy while you sip on your drink.

Bottom line, I love it because it's fun and simple and something a little different to help liven up a weekday night. 

Italian Bliss

This time last month I found myself trekking through the cliff side towns of Italy’s Cinque Terre region. Surrounded by lemon trees, spectacular views of the Mediterranean and pizza like none other I’d tasted before, I found myself experiencing bliss on a new level.

My sightseeing was most definitely supplemented by lots of eating. . . or realistically my sightseeing was planed around my eating . I indulged in all the Italian cuisine had to offer:  Cappuccino, gelato, pizza, prosciutto, Aperol spritz, carbonara, etc. I even learned to love anchovies! It’s amazing how delicious they can taste fresh dressed with a little lemon juice and olive oil instead of having to choke them down after they’ve been sitting in a jar of salt and oil. While I fully enjoyed these decadent bites, it was the simple meal of a roasted veggie sandwich that stands out in my memory.

One of the days I felt a bit under the weather. I allowed myself to sleep in that morning in hopes of rejuvenating my body. Unfortunately, I slept through breakfast and found myself in the awkward in between period of breakfast and lunch. I was too late to even order a cappuccino (because everyone knows that it’s taboo to drink cappuccino after 11:00am). With the combination of me feeling puny and me being the type of person who needs to eat breakfast, I was starting to go into panic mode. Finally, I stumbled upon a café that I assumed was open because there were two old local Italian men sipping on espresso and exchanging banter with one another. I sat myself down, opened the menu, pointed to a picture of this delicious looking sandwich (at that point those salty jarred anchovies would’ve looked delicious to me) and partook in this wonderfully simple roasted veggie sandwich. Each bite was more and more heavenly. This is why I love Italian cuisine. They have created some of the most classic and delicious dishes out of such simple ingredients. Caprese salad, melon and prosciutto, spaghetti and meatballs- all are delicious and yet simple.

My return to the States was a rough adjustment after such paradise. I found myself needing that morning cappuccino, and needing that afternoon gelato break. So, in an attempt to bring some Italy to my life back in the states I proceeded to replicate the roasted veggie sandwich from that day. A simple meal to satisfy a simple need.  

                                   

   

                                     

                   
      

A trip to the West African Coast . . . even if it’s just for an hour

This time of year I always get a bit nostalgic for my summer spent in East Africa. I miss the warm African sun that would beat down on me as I would drink my morning coffee, the sound of a small child calling out to me “mzungu! mzungu!”, and the fragrant and sometimes foul smells of the market.

While my memory has a tendency to romanticize my East African experience, depicting my food experiences as a paradise where there was an abundance of mango trees and every morning I could go out under the shade of the tree and pick one fresh off the branch for my breakfast. In reality, the Ugandan cuisine is anything but that. It is a diet of heavy starches such as posho (cooked maiz meal with hot water), matoke (plantains) and beans, lacking any spice or flavor enhancer, and most likely lacking in much nutritional value. Meat was a rarity, but when it was available, it most always came via a goat (recall one of my previous posts: Tin Can Tony).

So earlier this week when I found myself at the Austin food trailer, Cazamance, I was pleased to learn that it was co-owned by a Senegalese man and that yes, there was goat on the menu. Rooted in West African cuisine, Cazamance restaurant and café draws inspiration from its Austin community creating fusion dishes such as the goat and lamb casserole which combines traditional West African ingredients of tomatoes and onions with south of the border flavors such as poblano peppers. And, like any good Austin restaurant, Cazamance prides itself on using fresh local ingredients, including meat products! I can’t wait to try the Dakar lamb burger.

Cazamance’s lunch location on 1102 E. Cesar Chavez, is a beautiful oasis on the East Side with a warm and gracious owner/cook named Iba. It’s a calming space, surrounded by succulents and hues of the ocean. For a brief moment one truly does feel transported to the West African coast, and if you listen close enough you might even be able to hear in the distance the crash of waves. 

Comfort Food:

About two months ago my family lost our home in the Bastrop fires. While I can’t even begin to express the heartbreak and devastation such an event brings, I can say food basics became something I craved during this time. With the adrenalin rushing through my body during the first 72 hours, my body was constantly hungry. It’s interesting how your body handles stressed induced situations. My body was telling me to feed it, and not with just any food. I needed hearty soul warming comfort food. I sought out meatloaf and mashed potatoes, creamy tomato soup, and most surprisingly mugs of warm steamed milk- something I’ve always despised until this moment. With every bite of succulent gravy covered piece of meat, I was reassured that everything was going to be ok, and slowly it has.

One of my comfort food meals that I indulged in during the past two months was spicy meatballs with whipped sweet potatoes. I discovered this meatball recipe while I was in college and I must say it is always a crowd pleaser. Make them bite size for cocktail parties of larger for full entrée bliss. The original recipe calls for equal parts ground pork and ground beef, but I’m partial to using ground turkey in place of the ground beef. I promise it’s equally delicious! What makes this dish are the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Chipotle peppers are simply smoked or dried jalapeño peppers and they take these meatballs to the next level adding a smoky woodsy component and slow subtle burn.

Some might say meatballs and sweet potatoes are a strange combination, and honestly I was a bit worried myself, but I’m always looking for new and interesting dishes and therefore am always experimenting with ingredients. Carrying on with the spicy theme, I added red pepper flakes and about a tablespoon of the adobo sauce to the sweet potatoes. However, what I think made these whipped sweet potatoes just decadent was the fact that I used real heavy cream. Normally, when making mashed potatoes I try to err on the healthy side and use 2% milk, saving the heavy cream for special occasions only, but in the spirit of indulgence, I went full throttle and used heavy cream, making these exceptionally rich and creamy whipped potatoes.  

While it’s easy to dwell on all the things lost, like I’ve always said, what’s most important are the memories one creates and the people with whom you share those memories with. My family is lucky in the fact that we still have all of us at our table, where we can continue to dine together and create new memories.  

Julio’s Café

Julio’s has been a long time family favorite since my sister moved to Austin, TX ten years ago for school. Located in the historic Hyde Park neighborhood, there’s a quaint and inviting charm to this family run Mexican restaurant.

Within the past year, my family has experienced some exciting life changes that have one way or another relocated us all to the Austin area. It’s been about a decade since we’ve all been living in the same place, and while telephone calls, skype dates and holiday visits have kept us the close knit family we are, it’s a different family experience when living seven minutes from one another. For example, you can have weekly family dinners!

Julio’s has become my family’s new “kitchen table”. It seems we find ourselves meeting there at least once a week to gather over delicious fresh Mexican food and share in each other’s company as we unwind from our week. The small family owned establishment creates a comfortable and cozy environment allowing one to have a carefree food experience and enjoy in the moments with those around them.

One important thing to note about Julio’s is that it’s a cash only establishment. While this concept might sound crazy in this day in age, it’s definitely not hurting business. Often one can encounter a line out the door. The quality and freshness of their food represses any grumblings one might have about the cash only rule and more importantly keeps their clientele happy and simply wanting more. From their in-house rotisserie chicken to their verde sauce, and might I not forget their exceptional Mexican martinis, Julio’s is hands down the best Mexican food in Austin.  

Family Pizza Night:

“Dining with one’s friends and beloved family is certainly one of life’s primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal.” Julia Child

As much as I love food and the rhythm of a kitchen, my true love of food is rooted in who I share it with. This past week my family celebrated my dad’s birthday with a build your own pizza night. What I love about the concept of build your own pizza is that it gets everyone in the kitchen. Sure things might get a little chaotic and messy, but food cooked together tastes so much better than going it alone.

We had an unbelievable spread with enough toppings to cover each person’s specific pizza preference. From tomato sauce and pesto, to the classics of pepperoni and olives to the toppings that pushed the boundaries of pizza making such as figs, we had it all.

My new favorite pizza: spicy pineapple. Take your pineapple and sauté it with a dash of cayenne and red pepper flakes. Spread an even coat of tomato sauce on your dough, sprinkle mozzarella, throw a few pepperoni on if you so choose, and the next step is where the magic happens. Top the pizza off with your spicy pineapple and jalapeños. If you’re a lover of all things spicy then this is the pizza for you.

You know what’s funny about make your own pizza nights is that people’s true personalities come out through the ingredients they choose. What I love about the ability to personalize my own pizza is that it lets me be creative and come up with new and interesting combinations, whereas others will never stray from the classics, or there are those that will just throw every ingredient on the table on their pizza just hoping for the best.

SO what are you? Are you a tomato sauce kind of person or pesto all the way? A little secret, I was a NO sauce person when I was younger.

Sauce or no sauce, it’s the people at your table that matter. Sit down and share a slice tonight.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!