Brownie Buttons - Tuesdays with Dorie

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen selected Brownie Buttons on page 106 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

They came out really short and squat (kinda like me).

A little bit of orange zest in the batter gave it a good chocolate and orange flavor. Those two flavors make a great couple. Dorie suggests a white chocolate dippy topping, but I opted for some powdered sugar.

Thanks Jayma for a great pick! Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Classic Banana Bundt Cake - Tuesdays with Dorie

Whoo hoo!! It's my turn to pick a recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie! Awesomeness in a blogger-nerdy-baker happiness sort of way. Know what I mean?!

As you may know, I'm a huge Bundt fan. Huge. I think I've made over 10 Bundts on this blog. The American-made Nordic Ware Bundt was trademarked in 1950 and is, in my book, an engineering marvel!

Although some people just don't understand this, I love cake but don't care for frosting. And the Bundt? It's perfect. Even if you put a thick glaze on it, the ratio of cake to frosting is just right. And sometimes, it doesn't need any frosting or glaze at all. Yes, the Bundt rocks. Big time. Let's all just take moment to salute the awesomeness of the Bundt. Thanks.

This recipe, on page 190 of Dorie Greenspan's book: Baking: From My Home to Yours is from her friend Ellen Einstein who owns Sweet Sixteenth Bakery in Nashville.

And you know what? Holy smokes!! This is delicious!

I made mine with sour cream, but you can also use plain yogurt. Dorie suggests a lemon glaze but I skipped that in favor of a simple dusting of powdered sugar. I'm sure chocolate chips and walnuts would be nice additions too.

Nordic Ware says there are 60 million Bundt pans in America. We need to get everyone to make this cake!

Thank you everyone for baking along with me this week! I'm excited to see how you liked it and your variations. And if you couldn't make it this time, I hope you try it out in the future. It's such a pleasure to be part of this group! Bake on TWDers! :) - mary the food librarian

Classic Banana Bundt Cake
Page 190, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Ingredients: Makes 1 Bundt Cake (14 servings)

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
About 4 very ripe bananas, mashed (you should have 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9- to 10-inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. (If you use a silicone Bundt pan there’s no need to butter it.) Don’t place the pan on a baking sheet - you want the oven’s heat to circulate through the Bundt’s inner tube.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (don’t be disturbed when the batter curdles), all the sour cream and then the rest of the flour mixture. Scrape the batter into the pan, rap the pan on the counter to debubble the batter and smooth the top.

Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after about 30 minutes - if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool to room temperature.

If you've got the time, wrap the cooled cake in plastic and allow it to sit on the counter overnight before serving - it's better the next day.

Optional Lemony White Icing:
Sift 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar into a bowl and squeeze in enough fresh lemon juice (start with 2 teaspoons and add more by drops) to make an icing thin enough to drizzle down the Bundt's curves.

Half batch or muffins:
If you want 1/2 the recipe and make muffins, Dorie Greenspan wrote it up herself on this 2008 entry on Serious Eats: Banana Cake Big and Small. She added some chocolate to this one. Yield 12 muffins, bake 28-32 minutes

Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes and Pasta

Oh, summer tomatoes rock.

I picked these up at my local farmer's market. They were $3.50/pound and I love getting a few in each color and flavor. Aren't they sooooo purdy?! There isn't much of a recipe here...I guess I just want to show off these pretty things!

Tonight's dinner was super simple...whole wheat pasta, olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, basil, salt & pepper.

I was a little crazy and skinned the tomatoes. A quick 1 minute blanch in boiling water made the skins easy to remove.

Cook pasta. Let drain. Heat good olive oil in a pan and add sliced garlic. Let cook for a bit and add the tomatoes and pasta. Coat and let heat through. Add the basil and some salt & pepper, and yum, yum, yum.

Have a great week! I'm excited because I got to pick this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe! Classic Banana Bundt Cake! Awesome.

Welcome Caden Matthew!

It's Baby #3 of my 5 1/2 pregger friends!

Racheal and Lee had a beautiful baby boy! If you remember, I went to WDC and spent a week with Racheal in May while she was on modified bed rest.

A few months before her 26 hours of labor and a C-section.

Caden Mattew
Born July 25, 2009, 5:11 am
7 pounds, 8 ounces and 22 inches long

Congratulations Racheal and Lee (and big kitty brothers: Jake, Elwood, and Samuel)!!! I can't wait to meet you Caden!!

Mickey Mouse Cinnamon-Oat Pancakes (Everyday Food)

Guess where I'm going today?

I'm heading to Disneyland today to renew my Annual Pass. The Annual Pass rocks for a Southern California girl as you can go for just a few hours and just hang out. I've gone to DLand just to exercise and, well, negate all that with a corn dog (they have a crazy good corn dog).

This recipe for Cinnamon-Oat Pancakes is from Everyday Food of the Martha empire. You blitz half the old-fashioned oats in the food processor for a bit before adding the wet ingredients and whole oats.

I halved the recipe and really messed up! I was supposed to put 1/2 Tablespoon or 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, but used 1 1/2 T baking powder! I was wondering why the batter was all bubbly and exploding on me. It was an early morning chemical process lesson.

Even though it went all crazy, I liked the pancakes. I added blueberries to some of them. Next time, I'm going to sub some of the white flour for whole wheat flour, and throw in some chocolate chips. Oh yeah, and read the instructions!

Off to the Blue Bayou!

Recipe: Cinnamon-Oat Pancakes from Everyday Food

Welcome Oliver & Simon!

My friend's twins! Welcome Simon and Oliver!

Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby

This season, I have 5 1/2 pregnant friends! (Sunshine was having twins so I counted her as 1 1/2). There should all have 5 boys and 1 girl. Turns out that four of them are librarians too! No, I'm not telling you what happens in the stacks... ;)

And finally...the delivery season has begun!

First up, Sunshine and her precious, beautiful baby boys!

Congratulations to Sunshine, Clay and big sister Beatrice on the arrival of Simon and Oliver. They just increased the population of Duluth, Minnesota!

July 22, 2009
Simon Francis: 5 pounds, 3 ounces...18 inches
Oliver Amos: 7 pounds, 1 ounce...19.3 inches

No, that isn't a typo. Oliver is 7+ pounds and Simon is 5+ pounds. Sunshine had them in less than 3 hours, naturally, no drugs and went home with her boys three days later! Sunshine is an amazing mom, librarian and swimmer...but who knew she's great at delivery too!

(photos from Sunshine)

Welcome to the world cuties! See more on Sunshine's website: South of the Border (the Canadian border...) Congratulations Sunshine, Clay and big sis Bea! Can't wait to see you all!

Red and Golden Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

I love the concept of the CSA box. Pay your local farmer for a share of their harvest, and get fresh fruits and veggies throughout the year.

There aren't many in my area, and my local farmers market is so full of items that I haven't gotten one yet. Besides, I have my own CSA.

It's my Dad CSA.

My dad "farms" the entire backyard and side of my parent's house. My dad's family were farmers in the Imperial Valley and central California before they were sent to internment camps in Jerome, Arkansas and Gila River, Arizona during WWII. After the war, the family settled in Los Angeles and my grandfather was a gardener. There were lots of Japanese American gardeners back in the day, see this book: Green Makers: JA Gardeners in Southern California. Anyway, even though my dad became a mechanic, he always grew veggies in the backyard.

This season, he is growing lots of tomatoes, Japanese cucumbers, red beets, golden beets, string beans, lettuce, mustard greens, and shishito peppers.

My dad usually grows red beets, but I love the golden beet. I think they are sweeter and they don't stain your fingers!! So...I just happened to give my dad some golden beet seeds for his birthday! :) Thus, my own Dad CSA box of freshness!

I steamed the beets for 30 minutes, let cool completely and peeled. I stick my hand in a plastic baggie when peeling the red beets. I drizzled some olive oil and red wine vinegar on top along with goat cheese and pepita seeds. The beets are so sweet!

Thanks Dad!

Vanilla Ice Cream - Tuesdays with Dorie

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Lynne of Cafe LynnyLu decided on Vanilla Ice Cream on page 428 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. Lynne's blog is sooo pretty!

I've never made vanilla ice cream! Thanks Lynne for picking this recipe...it's perfect for this hot summer!

This vanilla ice cream has heavy cream, whole milk, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. I used vanilla paste to get those nifty little vanilla bean specks.

I made an ice cream sandwich with two Ginger Spice Cookies. Yum! These remind me of the ice cream sandwiches at Diddy Reese in Westwood. It's a landmark at UCLA. Cookies for $.25 and ice cream sandwiches with Dreyer's ice cream for a buck (prices have gone up, but only a little). It's 100% sweetness.

Have some summer fun with this delicious vanilla ice cream! And be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Recipe:
Page 428 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours
or...Vanilla Ice Cream on Cafe LynnyLu

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 - Buddhist Obon: Eating my way through festival food

Welcome to the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple's 50th Annual Obon Festival!

I'm thrilled that Foodbuzz selected my proposal for this month's Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24, a unique monthly food blogging event covering 24 meals on 24 blogs in 24 hours. My proposal: Eating my way through festival food! Come along!

Obon Festivals are an annual Japanese Buddhist tradition, honoring the departed spirits of one's ancestors. My friend describes it as the Buddhist Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead.

Buddhist temples and churches have Obon Festivals in the summer to celebrate their heritage, religion and family connections. Obons are known for unique and yummy foods prepared by church members. Like most children, I remember eating my way through festivals. While my friends have memories of hot dogs and corn dogs at the county fair, I remember rice, noodles, and the wonder of dango.

Even though I wasn't raised Buddhist, my family would attend the local Buddhist Obon festival. The chance to win a goldfish or glass cup in the dime toss (I'll tell you that story later), and eat some comfort food draws families from all faiths.

Used with permission, Estelle Ishigo, Obon, 1942 - 1945, Japanese American National Museum (94.195.10F)

This pencil drawing by Estelle Ishigo was made during WWII in the Heart Mountain, Wyoming internment camp. That is how far back and important these festivals are to the Japanese American community.

Six friends, all who have never been to an Obon Festival, joined me at the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple in downtown Los Angeles (Little Tokyo). Founded in 1904, the Los Angeles Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple is a member of the Shinshu Otani-ha denomination with its headquarters in Kyoto, Japan. This year, they celebrated their 50th Obon Festival!

Recently, I made somen noodles. These cold noodles are perfect on a hot summer day!

Always on the menu...beef and chicken teriyaki plates.

Tamales with chili and tacos. The obon food reflects the character and culture of the Japanese American and Los Angeles communities. Remember, my family used to make mochi AND tamales during the holidays! Chili Rice is also a favorite Obon dish (a staple in Hawaii). Why have cornbread when you can put chili over a hot bowl of rice? :)

Chirashi sushi is sushi rice (rice mixed with a sugar & rice vinegar syrup) with egg, kamaboko (fish cake), shitake mushrooms, and age (fried tofu). It is a must at Obon festivals!

Spam musubi. Spam, rice, seaweed and sauce.

Japanese confectioneries. These manju cakes are filled with sweetened beans, and handmade by temple members.

Shave ice is a delicious summer treat. They were sold out of my favorite: kintoki...Shave ice with "an" or sweet red beans. If you see that, try it!

Oh yes. The Dango. The draw of the food booths! The Okinawan Dango is a fried cake-like donut. I've been spending this summer doing the Obon circuit seeking dangos! :) See below for my mom's dango recipe.

This was a new one for me! The Dango Dog. Hot dog dipped in dango batter. A sweeter corn dog! They were also making Oreo dangos but they were sold out.

We found some great, inexpensive produce at the farmer's market at the festival. Nothing like Japanese pumpkin (kabocha) and tomatillos! The festival also had a bake sale, flower and plant sale and white elephant/bazaar area.

The night always ends with the Bon Odori dance, a circular folk dance performed by temple members, friends and visitors. Some members dress in yukatas (cotton kimono).

Here is a slide show of Bon Odori photos:

Three Taiko drum groups performed during the festival. And we played a couple games of Bingo!

Whew! That was a lot of food and fun. Thanks for coming along on our eating tour!

Whatever your faith, I hope you take time this summer to spend time with family and honor your family members who came before you. Give them a some thanks...and perhaps a little dango.

There are a million different Okinawa Dango recipes out there...believe me, I'm made it my mission to try all of them. Variations include: thick crust, density, size, sprinkling of powdered sugar, and the addition of cinnamon flavor. I want to share my mom's with you. My mom came to Los Angeles on a student visa in the late 1960's. She arrived with very few possessions, very little English and big dreams.

Okinawan Dangos (originally published in this December 2007 post)
Mix together in large bowl: 3 c flour, 1 T baking powder, 1 c sugar, 1/2 t salt

Beat together in small bowl or measuring glass: 5 eggs, 1/4 c milk, 1 t vanilla

Mix the dry and wet batches together by hand (with a wooden spoon or spatula) until dough forms. Do not overmix. Heat a wok or deep-fryer with vegetable or canola oil. Form dough into small balls with your hands or with an ice cream scoop/cookie dough disher before dropping into the oil. Fry until golden brown. Makes 36 dangos.


The amazing thing about Obon festivals is that they only occur once a year, and most of the city doesn't even know about it. If you are in Southern California and Nevada, there are still some Obon Festivals to attend this summer! You can find a calendar here.

Thanks to the good people at FoodBuzz and VISA Signature for this great opportunity!
Be sure to check out all the other 23 bloggers in this event!