Cooking San Francisco

Spiced Popcorn

 
 

We found this salty-sweet gem of a recipe on Goop.com and we refer to it as poor man's (or busy woman's) caramel corn. It's no more difficult than popping corn on the stove top, and much less sticky and temperamental than caramel corn. This buttery fusion of popcorn and cinnamon has Fall written all over it and is certain be hit at a movie night or Halloween party.

Kids will love this, but by all means do not let your young children help you make it. You have hot oil and melted sugar to contend with and proper execution requires your complete attention for 5 to 7 minutes. Better to make this snack when they are out of the house and surprise them with it when they come home.

A few notes about stovetop popping: It's not complicated, per se, but achieving the right heat balance that doesn't burn the sugar or the already popped corn, yet allows all the kernels to pop, is more art than science. The trick is to shake the pot (a la Jiffy Pop) while the corn is popping and to listen carefully for the end of the popping. To make one batch we used a 3 quart covered, stainless steel saucepan. You can double the recipe and pop the corn in a larger stock pot, just make sure the kernels are only one layer deep in the bottom of the pot.

1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil (we've been using grapeseed oil lately for various reasons, be          sure to buy food grade, expeller-pressed)
1/2 cup corn kernels
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

 1. Melt butter gently in a heavy-bottomed metal pot over medium low heat (you don't want it to burn). Once it's melted, add the oil, corn kernels and sugar, stirring to make sure all ingredients are well combined.

2. Turn the heat up a smidge (on our gas stove it's between medium and medium low). Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook until you to hear the kernels begin to pop, about 3 minutes.

3. Once the kernels are popping rapidly, grab two potholders, lift the pot slightly off the burner and shake the pot. (This keeps the kernels and other ingredients from burning. You can even take the pot off the burner for a few seconds to moderate the heat.)

4. As soon as you hear the kernels stop popping, remove the pot from the heat, take off the lid and dump the popcorn into a waiting bowl. Dust the popcorn with the salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and toss with a wooden spoon until popcorn is coated.

Makes about 15 handfuls

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

 
 

Banana Blueberry Muffins

 

If I am ever so fortunate to harvest one cup of garden blueberries at once (kids and birds seem to be getting the first crack at them), I will use them to make a batch these sweet-scented muffins. With the copious amount of fruit, whole-wheat flour and skim milk we feel comfortable calling them “healthy.” These stay moist for a few days and are perfect for a morning or afternoon snack. They also travel well and will be making an appearance in my kids' lunchboxes in a few short weeks.

If you don't have whole-wheat pastry flour you can substitute more all-purpose flour, or any other appropriate grain flour you have on hand. We used an antique cast iron muffin pan that yielded fifteen muffins, but you should come close to twelve in a standard muffin tin.

-Daphne

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large ripe or overripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup skim milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup fresh organic blueberries
2  tablespoons raw sugar (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour a standard 12-muffin tin (or fill with cupcake liners) and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; whisk to blend. Make a well in center and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, combine bananas, milk, egg and vanilla. Gently fold blueberries into banana mixture. Pour batter into center of dry ingredients and fold together until combined.  Do not over mix.

4. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle each muffin with raw sugar, if using. Bake for 20 to 25 or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Strawberry Mango Kebabs

 

We recently paired some beautiful organic strawberries with fresh mango and locally baked cranberry orange tea bread to make this toothsome, fruity snack. The skewers are not really necessary but provide an attractive presentation when serving the kebabs to guests or children. The Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze works beautifully if you are in the baking mood.

Because we love the decadent combination of juicy fresh strawberries, rich creme fraiche and lightly crunchy brown sugar, we decided to fashion a healthy but still luxurious combination of greek yogurt and toasted almonds as an accompaniment. You can buy whole raw almonds and grind them in a food processor until the almond pieces until are a bit larger than course corn meal. (Keep grinding and you'll get almond butter!)  Trader Joe's sells an Almond Meal in the nut section that also works in this recipe.

1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup of greek yogurt (we like 2% fat)
1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar
4 large mint leaves, finely chopped

4 wooden skewers
12 ripe strawberries
1 mango
3 slices of quick bread or tea cake

1. In a small frying pan, toast the ground almonds over medium heat until they start to turn brown and become fragrant. Place in a small bowl and set aside to cool.

2. Combine yogurt, honey and mint in a small bowl and set aside.

3. Douse the strawberries with fresh water and set aside in a colander to dry off. Peel and cut mango into 2 inch chunks. Slice the quick bread into 2 inch cubes

4. Thread the fruit and quick bread on the skewers in alternating order.  Put skewers on a serving plate and serve with yogurt and toasted almonds.

Makes 4 kebabs (though this depends on the size of your skewers)

Total Time: 15 min

 

 
  

  

Pumpkin Tea Cake

 
 
One of San Francisco's local treasures is the Tartine Bakery and Café. It's located in the 18th street/Mission neighborhood, also home to other culinary hot spots Delphina Restaurant  and Bi-Rite Market and Creamery . While the fabulous Tartine Cookbook provides us with many recipes that are perfect for holiday gift giving, we picked these two because they are easy, quick, and packed with flavor: sweet and spicy Pumpkin Tea Cake and savory Spiced Cocktail Nuts.

This pumpkin tea cake (also known as a “quick bread”) is simply the best we've ever tasted, and we've tried a lot over the years. We think this has to do with the copious amounts of our favorite holiday spice trio, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. The oil and pumpkin puree (organic canned works perfectly) keep the cake moist.

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon  baking soda
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons   ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg, freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon  ground cloves
1 cup plus 2 tablespoon pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs

2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into a mixing bowl and set aside.

3. In another mixing bowl, beat together the pumpkin puree, oil, sugar, and salt on medium speed in a stand mixer or by hand with a whisk,  until well mixed.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until incorporated before adding the next egg.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

4. On low speed, (if using a mixer) add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 5 to 10 seconds to make a smooth batter.  Be careful not to over-mix the batter, as doing so will result in a tough crumb for the cake. The batter should have consistency of a thick puree.

5.  Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the surface with an offset spatula.  Sprinkle evenly with the pepitas and then the sugar.  Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

6. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, and then invert onto the rack, turn right side up, and let cool completely.  Serve the cake at room temperature.  It will keep, well wrapped, at room temperature for 4 days or in the refrigerator for about 1 week.

Serves 6-8

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 Minutes

 

Fruit and Nut Platter

This is less a recipe than a presentation idea from our Easy Thanksgiving Appetizers post. We purchase a few different kinds of fresh and dried fruits and nuts then arrange them decoratively on a wooden cutting board or platter. In this version we used dried apricots, cranberries, apples and bananas, as well as spiced pecans and Marcona almonds. You can throw in some small fresh fruit in for good measure. Satsuma oranges, tangerines, Seckel pears and grapes are delicious and in season.

Strawberry and Brown Sugar Yogurt Pops

We finished off our tasty Sonoma weekend meal with cool and not-too-sweet yogurt pops. We tried two different recipes with two different fruits and two different types of yogurt. As you might expect, the strawberry pop using greek yogurt and a higher dairy to fruit ratio produced a pop that was thicker and creamier than the fruitier peach pops (click here to see the recipe). Our tasters loved both versions and you can easy substitute different types of fruit in either recipe. Raspberries, blackberries, cherries or nectarines would work especially well.

1/2 pound strawberries, hulled and halved
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups thick greek yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment: 8 frozen pop molds or 8 paper cups and 8 wooden popsicle sticks

Mash strawberries in a large bowl with a potato masher or a fork. Add sugar and lemon juice and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a 12-inch nonstick skillet and bring to boil over medium heat, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a blender combine yogurt, milk and vanilla.  Pour into a large spouted bowl, like an 8 cup liquid measure, and pour cooled strawberry mixture on top and stir to combine. Pour into popsicle molds or paper cups, making sure to leave at least _ inch clearance at the top to account for the expansion of the yogurt mixture as it freezes. Put molds in the freezer for 30 minutes. Insert popsicle sticks, then freeze until firm, about 12-24 hours.

Makes approximately 8 popsicles (quantity will vary according to the size of your popsicle molds or paper cups)

Prep Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 12-24 hr

 

 

 

 

Peach Yogurt Pops

Take advantage of peach season with this very simple and refreshing alternative to store-purchased frozen yogurt popsicles. We used leftover peaches from our Grilled Peaches with Pecorino and Prosciutto appetizer served during our Sonoma weekend dinner.

3 ripe peaches (about 1 pound), peeled and chopped
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt

Equipment: 8 frozen pop molds or 8 paper cups, and 8 wooden popsicle sticks

Purée all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into popsicle molds or paper cups, making sure to leave at least 1/2 inch clearance at the top to account for the expansion of the yogurt mixture as it freezes. Put molds in the freezer for 30 minutes. Insert popsicle sticks, then freeze until firm, about 12-24 hours.

Makes approximately 8 pops (quantity will vary according to the size of your popsicle molds or paper cups)

Prep Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 12-24 hrs

 

Honeyed Oranges

We found this very simple recipe in The Jungle Effect written by San Francisco doctor, Daphne Miller. We are particularly thrilled with this one since it takes 5 minutes to prepare and our children readily accept this dish as "dessert." There are so few ingredients that it's important to use juicy, in-season oranges and good-quality honey. We're still seeing blood oranges and other varietals at the local supermarkets, so now is a perfect time!

By the way, The Jungle Effect is a must-read for anyone who is interested in the relationship between food and health. Dr. Miller has traveled the world to study indigenous diets and her book reads much more like a travelogue than a dry medical book.

4 navel or blood oranges, seedless (or seeds removed)
Cinnamon
Honey, good quality

1. Remove peel and pith from oranges with a paring knife and cut into slices or sections.

2. Sprinkle with cinnamon to taste and drizzle with honey.

Variations: This is also great with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes