Blogs That Are Stealing All of My Free Time

It is quite possible that I spend too much time on the Internet for my own good. Here are some of the baking blogs I've been reading for the last few weeks, making me not as productive as I could be. Gosh darnit, stop putting out so much amazing, quality food-related content, people!

1. Teeny Pies: This girl is worlds of cool. She's basically my hero right now. It's her goal to travel around to become a pie apprentice at dozens of famous shops around the country. She's calling it her "tour of pie", and I am going along for the ride. Her first stop is High Five in Seattle. Mini pies, big pies, pie pops, all vintage-inspired. Those are my kind of people.

2. Chocolate-Covered Katie: Low-fat vegan desserts like Four-Minute Coconut Macaroons.I will eat these foreverrr.

Photo and recipe on Chocolate-Covered Katie

3. Southern Lady Cooks: I'm pretty sure the name says it all. These recipes remind me of back home and my family and the holiday.

4. Some Kitchen Stories: a photographer and a writer have paired up for beautiful recipes and great stories. Each recipe comes with a tiny intro that sets the tone for what's to come. So original, you have to love it.

Honey-Scented Fig Granola on SKS

Share the love and check out these awesome blogs!

What's In the Works

I haven't been updating because it has finally occurred to me that I really need to turn my baking into a legitimate "thing" before I begin my real journey. After several weeks of introspection, I realized that I often sabotage my own efforts to be successful. This cannot continue. I need to re-focus and prioritize so my life is not one failed effort after another.

Case A: I dream of going to grad school to get my PhD in American Literature. Yet I am too afraid to look at applications or even begin to do anything besides take my general GRE. The thought of googling "Emory Literature grad school application" gives me the hives. 

Case B: I thought of a brilliant idea at work, but the very idea of executing said idea sent me into a flurry of "No, that won't work"s. I imagine all the ways things could go wrong, and then I just sit still.

Case C: I am unhappy at work, but also afraid of all the possibilities outside of my office. Or the lack thereof, however you want to look at it. 

But, basically, I realized that my lack of blogging was me telling myself that I wasn't worth my own success, and I really need to stop doing that. I have so much unrealized potential, and I need an outlet for all of my creative energy. 

So before I begin blogging again, I want to let you know that I have been hard at work trying to make my dreams a reality. Here is a taste of what is in the oven:

The Speakeasy as Pie Event. Here is the flyer with all the details, designed by my friend Marie with my photograph. 

My electronic business card:

Improving my recipes, and finding the beauty of this bad boy: The Bourbon Apple Pie (so southern it kills me)

...More to come soon, I promise! I just need some time to re-focus. If you follow my other blog, you know that it is almost my birthday, and my birthday is a time of great reflection and re-organizing for me. 

One Day, Ten Varieties of Mini Pies

This wasn't even the messy part

Today I baked 10 varieties of mini pies. It took me about 9 hours total, not including the extra time I took to go for a run in the middle and to bake a batch of peanut butter cookies for a sick friend and an order I am shipping off to Los Angeles in the morning.

Why did I make 10 varietes of miniature pies? Who the hell does something like that? Is that what you're asking? Well, I had an order of two dozen mini pies today, and I wanted to showcase all my best work. The list went as follows:

1. Banana Cream Pie (so. effing. cute. the layers! the wafers fit perfectly! the whipped cream!)
2. Peanut Butter Cream Pie (the essence of comfort food)
3. Blueberry Lemon Curd Pie
4. Pecan Pie with Sorghum
5. Date-Pecan Pie
6. Apple-Pear Pie
7. Strawberry Mint Pie
8. Blackberry-Nectarine Crumble-Topped Pie
9. Lemon Chess Pie (oh, of course!)
10. Peaches and Cream Pie (my favorite... it tastes like peaches on homemade ice cream)

Now I'm sipping on a lemonade with fresh mint in my bed, saying goodbye to this exhausting day

Hello, Monday. You always arrive too soon.

Southern Church Cookbooks and Hummingbird Cake Inspiration

I spent Sunday relaxing and baking with my mom. She brought out her old dusty church cookbooks from the 1970's and we sifted through the stained and torn pages to find the best recipes for some mini pecan pies I was making (three varieties, which I will be posting about very soon). My mom warned me that you had to take the recipes "with a grain of salt" because they're written like the person is talking to a friend. So you have to know when something sounds a little funny, or how hot to preheat the oven since the author assumes you know, or when you should probably cut the sugar in half because you're using that much sorghum molasses. 

I went through a lot of the really gooey recipes, asking my mom, "Have you ever baked a banana cake?", "Have you ever baked sweet potato pie for the holidays?" and so on. She said yes to everything, until I got to, "Have you ever made a Hummingbird Cake?" 

Her response? "No, those are so sweet you can't taste anything but the sugar!" 

So, naturally, my next mission, probably for my mom's birthday, is to make a hummingbird cake that doesn't wipe you out from sugar overdose. So, sorry Paula Deen (1 3/4 cup sugar!), I won't be using your recipe. I'll be modifying one of the ones from my mom's old cookbooks. Maybe we'll even bake it together. Wouldn't that just be so sweet? You wouldn't even need a quarter of the sugar. 

Photo and recipe inspiration by Two Tiny Kitchens

Last Week in Food (Vegan Edition)

Roasted Eggplant and Tomatoes on Pita with Fresh Basil
I basically just threw some eggplant and tomatoes on a baking sheet with some salt and olive oil, put those in to bake for about 30 minutes, then put them on pita and toasted the whole thing. It was lovely and healthy, but also filling.

El Metate Avocado Burrito
So this isn't on the menu at El Metate, but I got a regular burrito and asked them to replace the meat with avocado, which they did (at no charge!). Then I got it inside of a whole wheat tortilla. I ate half for lunch and half for dinner, and indulged in some raw radishes, which are my favorite thing of the moment. Me wants mooore.

Miscellaneous 
I also had the pleasure of trying a new restaurant (Zazie), eating Ethiopian food at Ethiopian Cafe on Valencia, having a summery Pimm's Cup at Straits, and eating peanut-roasted tofu with kale and eggplant. That's right, I got hella vitamins over the last few days.

Crystal Springs Run
And this has nothing to do with food, but I decided to go for a run at lunch yesterday, and I ran into this view. I was much more productive the rest of the day as a result.

Now I'm off to spend some time with friends and brainstorm for my pie order next week. Have a wonderful Friday surrounded by friends and vegetables, because both are very important for your health.

Foraged Blackberry-Nectarine Crumble

Last week, Marie and I foraged for some blackberries in the giant bushes at the bottom entrance to Bernal Heights Park. We collected enough for a crumble-for-two and plenty of jam to save for later. I'd say it was quite an accomplishment. 

The nectarines were purchased from my local farmer's market. I couldn't resist mixing the tart-sweetness of the nectarines with the tartness of the berries. It was a winning combination, as you can see from our progress and annihilation of the entire thing in one sitting. We only meant to have a piece, really!

This was the final product, topped with oatmeal, butter, brown sugar, and all the good things in life

Going...

....Going in our bellies...

Yep, all gone! Sorry 'bout it. 

Blackberry-Nectarine Crumble

Ingredients

Filling:

1 cup blackberries, rinsed

1/2 nectarine, sliced in 1/3-inch pieces

dash of cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

juice from half a lemon

1/4 cup flour

2 tbsp sugar

Crumble:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

butter, for topping

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Set aside the fruit in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together all the other filling ingredients. Then pour over the fruit and mix until combined. Pour all into a small casserole dish, whatever size you have handy that you think would fit (vague, I know, but this recipe is meant to be personalized). 

2. Mix together all the ingredients for the crumble in a separate bowl, then pack the crumble down on top of the fruit. Place in the oven to cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until the top is brown (I like to place the dish on top of a baking pan for easy cleanup). 

3. Eat warm from the oven. You will not regret it. 

That Chicken Tortilla Sandwich

My roommate and I made a hyper-local sandwich, which is a pretty ridiculous thing to claim. It was totally unintentional, and I suppose that makes it even more of a parody of San Francisco foodie culture. It was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had in my life though, so no judgies. I'll embrace my own absurdity after I'm done digesting.

Ingredients for the dream sandwich: 

- Acme bread from Good Life in Bernal Heights

- Jalapeno Chutney from the Alemany Farmer's Market

- Tortilla made with fresh eggs from Marie's microfarm, Little B

- Chicken from Avedano's

- Foraged mushrooms

- Pea shoots from Berkeley Bowl

Yeah, I kind of wanted to hit us too. Then I ate the sandwich and shut up. 

It all started with a layer of jalapeno mustard, fresh Spanish tortilla, and some barbecued chicken

But then Maria went ahead and threw on some wilted pea greens and mushrooms

We had to press it down a bit to keep it all together on that wonderful, fresh, lightly toasted bread

And, of course, we had it with some sauvignon blanc

Completely glorious