Category: Food & Wine

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the secret of life is butter

the perfect honey cake
whether Greek, Egyptian or Turkish it is all wonderful

For those who know, I had a bit too much fun over the holidays. My daughters and I cooked and baked and celebrated the season to the point that I have had to … it’s called ‘dieting.’ Usually, this sort of activity makes me a tad bit grumpy, but I have found ways to amuse myself in exploring some of the recipes for things that I haven’t had time to make myself.

Desserts are wonderful things to research while dieting and I have two that — although similar in appearance — are distinctively different and wonderful in their own ways. The Greek Honey cake is marvelous with a cup of coffee as is the Egyptian Basboosa! Although they are similar in appearance, their construction is different. The Egyptians often use semolina, nuts and rosewater while the Greeks have honey and cinnamon. Both include ample amounts of butter! Isn’t butter the secret of life?

This brings me to the story of how we almost lost ‘butter’ and those foods that I have no interest in ever recreating : Fruitcake and  Stollen (German Fruitcake). I am convinced that all the fruitcake that has ever been made is still circulating in the mail systems around the world constantly being received and re-mailed to the unsuspecting! However, fruitcake did have a positive spot in history. I mention this because in Europe until Pope Innocent VII decreed in 1490 what was called ‘the butterbrief”… butter could not be used. It was because of the Saxony Germans who wanted to use butter in their ‘Stollen’ that butter become ‘legal’.

Anyway, I am waiting until I can make a honey cake!

Roger

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another day on the central coast

laguna lake

I confess that I love Saturdays as this is the day for Farmer’s Market near where we live. This provides a nice 2 mile walk one way, a walk back stopping at a wonderful little coffee shop to sit in overstuffed chairs and watch the tourists. To keep us from being too ‘bad’, Laura brings a couple of small snacks to enjoy during coffee time.

Saturday Farmer's Market in west San Luis Obispo
Saturday Farmer's Market in west San Luis Obispo

Not all is perfect in little San Luis as the local downtown business association is making a power grab to wrest control of the market from the Farmers.

You can let Mayor Dave know how you feel:

dromero@slocity.org

save the farmers!

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everyone needs a fat friend?

You could say that I have had three lives. I grew up in the ‘middle of the pack’ as a child always a bit wirey priding myself on my ability to sprint and jump. As I got older, I grew to be on the tall side  (6-04) and found sports more in sync with my new body type. My third life was a struggle to stop growing out since I already stopped growing up…. this is a constant battle.

Recently, I ran into an old friend I haven’t seen since grad school and he commented typically on how much we had changed and that he jokingly always thought of me as his ‘fat friend.’ He moaned about how much bigger he was than me today. He then pried my secrets of weight reduction (Jenny Craig) but — I confess — I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I actually felt too heavy after the holidays and I was in the process of taking off the excess Christmas cheer.

So, the moral is that I don’t think everyone needs a fat friend to make them feel better, but slim friends ( or ex-fat friends) help make the transition back to normality easier. My guess that the next time I see him he will be as I remembered him… and without all his medication.

Roger

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bake a cherry pie for national pie day

I am sure that the words ‘trifle’, ‘flummery’ and ‘whipped syllabubs’ pass smoothly from your lips… but do you know what they are? These can be found in a wonderful new book entitled the  ‘City Tavern cookbook’ that recreates many of the standard dishes found in colonial America. What is surprising is not the fusion of French, German and English cooking, but the variety of spices that might be unexpected in this time and place, such as ‘curry.’ ( check out page 179 for a ‘West Indies Curried lamb that is as extraordinary as it is tempting)

Much wisdom can be found in this cookbook, here is a quote from President John Adams on the after effects of an imported table wine:

“I drank Madeira at a great rate and found no inconvenience in it!”

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Madison and Adams were all fond of apples and cherries and their recipes and those of others close to them are very intriguing. The recipe for a ‘buttered apple pie’ ) not included in this wonderful book is similar to my own… the apples are sliced and pre-baked.

What better way to celebrate NATIONAL PIE DAY than to recreate one of these wonderful pies. I have known Laura for over 40 years and until today did not know that she loved cherry pie… all these years I would enjoy them alone thinking she preferred an alternative which was also prepared. Tomorrow I will make Laura a cherry pie.

I will say that the bread pudding recipe was a bit boring but the anise biscotti sounded delicious!

Happy National Pie Day 23rd November 2010!

Roger Freberg

PS. CLICK here or on the picture of the pies for my recipe page