It started with an innocent trip to Costco. In July. Which meant there were enticing summer fruits beckoning to me as I strolled with my big, empty cart, shopping alone at 8:15pm, which is the absolute best (or worst??) time to shop at Costco. I sauntered over to say hello to the sweet produce.
They seduced me.
I drove home with strawberries, blueberries, a watermelon, bananas, and white peaches. All Costco-sized, of course. White peaches are one of Ben’s favorites, and I couldn’t wait to dig in! They’re also my friend Kim’s favorite, so I justified the purchase by telling myself she’d probably take half of them. Even so, I started to feel burdened by all the ripe fruit we would have to consume in the next week. I was comforted with the knowledge that summer fruits were going to be amazing right now, so this was the time to GO BIG OR GO HOME.
When we got home, I sliced one of those soft, juicy peaches open and… it was yellow inside.
They were not white peaches.
And then the strawberries weren’t sweet.
And then the watermelon wasn’t as amazing as last time.
What a bust!
What was I going to do with two pounds of mediocre strawberries, two pounds of blueberries, a ginormous meh watermelon, pounds of bananas, and 10 juicy, ripe YELLOW peaches?!
So I sat down with my fun new journal and decided on the fate of my disappointing purchases. Soon I had visions of fruit tarts, ice creams, juices, and galettes dancing in my mind. I had go-to recipes for almost all of them, so it was just a matter of remembering to run the blender before the kids went down for a nap, and sticking the ice cream bowl into the freezer so it would be ready to churn ice cream. No problem.
My first go at galettes
Except for the galette. I had never actually made a galette before, but had been itching to try since I had a slice of my friend Lauren’s nectarine galette recently. Everything I read about galettes promised me that they were the more relaxed, rustic cousin to pies. They didn’t require a pie tin and the fillings had minimal fuss. Just roll out the crust, pile fruit on top, and fold the edges over. This would be a snap to throw together, right?
Lauren happily shared her recipe with me, but as I skimmed it, I was immediately overwhelmed by the paragraphs of instructions. I like to keep my recipes short and sweet, and this didn’t feel like the more relaxed, rustic version of anything. There were ~13 ingredients on the list, which was about 8 more than I was hoping for. So I went to see what my baking hero Dorie had to say about it, and then researched a whole bunch of other recipes online, and here is what I learned:
- Your favorite go-to pie crust will do. Yayyy Trader Joe’s!
- You can go many routes on the filling, including using marmalade or jam, making a custard to pour in, creating a cornstarch/sugar mixture, or simply sprinkling some sugar on top. I went with the last one.
- If you have juicy fruits (like peaches), you need something to soak up the juiciness or it will soak through your crust. You can line the bottom with a layer of bread crumbs (unseasoned), graham cracker crumbs (as Dorie did), pulverized amaretti cookies, or a mixture of ground almonds and sugar. I went with the last one.
- You can brush the folded crust with egg wash or butter. I dislike touching raw eggs, so I used butter.
- It is nice to sprinkle some crunchy sugar (like raw turbinado sugar) on the folded edges for a little crunch. Regular white sugar will do in a pinch.
- There are a whole bunch of cooking temperatures and times (some with various times and temperatures within one recipe!), but I personally think a hotter oven will give you a crisper crust. So I went with that.
- One recipe said to preheat the pan (pizza stone, if you have one) in the lower third of the oven while the oven is getting to temperature. I am guessing this is to keep the top of the crust from burning and also keeping the bottom of the galette crisp and less soggy. I followed that advice.
- Smaller galettes can be delicious. The first time I made this recipe, I made two smaller galettes. The second time, I tried one big galette. I liked the smaller ones much more. They were easier to handle and didn’t get as soggy in the middle (though I did add more peach slices to fill it in more, so maybe that was more to blame). I also personally prefer the higher crust to fruit ratio of the smaller galettes.
One of the reasons a galette really appeals to me is the idea that it’s supposed to be very simple. Also, the fruit I was using was actually good, so I didn’t want to mask that with custards or jams or lots of sugar. So, with simplicity as my guiding principle, I started with my favorite store-bought pie dough (thank you Trader Joe’s!).
I didn’t make a fancy filling, but just sprinkled on a bit of sugar.
I generally followed the instructions from Smitten Kitchen that Lauren had sent me, with a few (simplifying) tweaks.
The final result was delicious!
It was simple but elegant and my friends each got seconds and I’m already trying to find another excuse to make it. Which means I need to write down how I made it so it will turn out good again. So here goes!
These soy-glazed chicken wings are a dish from Ben’s childhood that really live up to the memories. His mom makes it almost every time we go over for dinner, and it’s a tasty treat that is gobbled up in minutes every single time. Everybody loves it. For years, I kept asking her for her recipe and method, and she didn’t have a recipe, but insisted it was really simple- just simmer the down the wings in a soy sauce mixture with Chinese rock sugar. That was it.
I tried to recreate it a few times, following various recipes I found online for proportions, but always ended up with something that came out beige-ish and tasting like boiled chicken wings… with some soy sauce. They did not hit the spot. Last time we had dinner at her place, I asked again for her method, determined to figure this recipe out. She must have known I would ask, and smiled as she pulled out a bag of rock sugar she had set aside just for me.
How did she know I still hadn’t actually tried it with rock sugar? (I have like 25 lbs of white and brown sugar already at home- it’s hard to justify buying more haha). Well, she was right, and guys: IT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE. It had that extra special flavor and gave that extra syrupy sheen that was missing before.
But I didn’t know that until I went home and decided to just kind of wing it (har har) instead of using an online recipe. I made two other adjustments this time, increasing the amount of soy sauce and keeping the wings in one single layer in the pan. I used my potsticker method: pan-frying for a bit, then adding liquid (sauce instead of water though) and letting them simmer down until almost all the liquid evaporated. I guess that’s kind of like braising?
Anyway, they turned out AMAZING. The wings had a rich, glossy sauce and were finger-licking DELICIOUS. I am happy to say that we have a new easy weeknight go-to chicken recipe to add to the mix! Try these, and maybe you will, too!
I’ve always thought of bread as a labor intensive process, or at least a time consuming one. I remember early attempts of bread making that involved creating warm spaces, punching dough, kneading, and a lot of setting timers… only to be met with a lot of, “Meh, I can get a much better loaf for a lot less effort at the bakery.”
So I decided to leave the crusty bread loaves to the experts. I would stick to cookies and brownies in my bakery.
Then my friend Sandley shared an exciting find on her blog: Jim Lahey’s no-knead dough. As convincing as her bread story was, it was the photos that did me in. That, and this line: This bread has a wonderful crusty exterior, soft air-punctuated interior, and looks amazing.
Well, then.
Last year, she moved away (sniffles!) and left me with the rest of her instant yeast. There was a lot, so I decided to give the recipe a go, and I haven’t looked back since. Actually, I have looked back a lot. I have looked back at her blog and the recipe many times and decided it’s time to get this well-loved recipe onto MY blog for ease of use (and to share with all of you!). It is now a staple at our dinner table and is perfect for sopping up sauces or enjoying alongside a carby pasta dinner.
Some other things this recipe has going for it:
- It only required 4 basic ingredients: Flour, salt, yeast, and water.
- The only special equipment required is a dutch oven (though I guess this is a con if you don’t have one. Or an excuse to buy one? 😉 I have used this Lodge 7.5 qt for years and love it!).
- You can start it at night before going to bed and bake it the next evening for dinner.
- You don’t need a mixer or dough hooks, or wrists of steel for kneading. It’s a no-knead recipe!
- The kids love it. One loves the crusty outer parts, the other loves the soft and chewy insides. Ben and I love both- tasty, full of great texture, and delicious!
I love croissants. I love chocolate croissants, I love almond croissants and I love chocolate-almond croissants. I love butter croissants, I love kouign amanns (which are made from the same laminated dough as croissants) and I love coffee and tea twice as much when it is paired with a good croissant. When the day is feeling long and I need a pick me up, one of my go-to treats is a fresh baked croissant from a local bakery. Something about those flaky, buttery layers just brings a smile to my face, my tummy, and yes- my heart.
Croissants might be one of my love languages (or maybe just one of my favorite gifts/acts of service to receive :)). When my friends go to Napa (Bouchon!) or SF (B. Patisserie!) or Marin (M.H. Bread and Butter!) and text if I want anything, I drop EVERYTHING to quickly text back as I try to remind myself that it’s probably rude to ask for a dozen croissants. Seriously. I’ll be like, “OOH BEN! JOYCE IS GOING TO BOUCHON TODAY-” and he knows that means I will be oblivious to the world around me for the next minute as I scurry to text back my request.
And when the yumminess is in my hands, I melt a little (a lot) and feel so so loved. THANKS GUYS. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. My suppliers <3. Sigh.
The original recipe with powdered sugar and almonds sprinkled on top.
Almost a year ago, my fellow croissant-loving friend Tiffany sent me a recipe to make almond croissants at home. I was a little skeptical of the recipe at first, but when I finally gave it a go a month ago, I was blown away! It was SO GOOD! WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO TRY IT?! I have since made them again and again, a dozen at a time, and found a delicious recipe that I know I will be looking up a lot in the future. So it definitely belongs here on my blog!
In the beginning…
It all started at Alinna’s house. She inspires me to try new things a lot, like CSAs, hosting friends more frequently for dinners, baking bread, co-op preschools, and Dorie Greenspan. This visit was no exception. They had us over for dinner, and on the menu: grilled pizzas. By the time we left, I was determined to learn how to make artisan pizza at home, too.
When this family does food, they do food, and their pizza was no exception. Their sourdough pizza dough recipe came straight out of The Cheese Board Collective and I wouldn’t be surprised if they grew the kale in their own yard. I mean, they already have chickens back there.
Ben liked the pizza so much I decided I was gonna learn how to do it. Pizza nights were gonna be a thing in our house. I would sit back and drink some wine while the pizza baked, and we would have something DELICIOUS at the end of it. So I asked Alinna my 131 questions, studied as she built her pizzas, and tried to figure out how I was going to replicate this without a grill in the backyard.
Long story short, after much research and many rounds of improving my oven version, I am ready to share my Friday Night Pizza routine with you!
It does not involve sourdough starter.
We eat this all the time. Everyone loves it. I enjoy roasted Brussels sprouts on their own, but this easy sauce definitely takes it up a notch and makes it something special! It was this dish that caused me to go and buy a vegetable book in the first place. If you’re in charge of veggies or looking for a good side dish to bring to the next gathering, try this one!! It won’t disappoint.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Orange Butter Sauce
From Fast, Fresh & Green by Susie Middleton
Ingredients
- 1 lb small Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest
- 2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts with the olive oil and 1/2 tsp of the salt. Arrange the sprouts in one layer, cut side down, on the parchment.
- Roast until brown and tender, 15-18 minutes. (The tops will be dark brown and crispy and the sprouts should feel tender when pierced with a paring knife.) Transfer the sprouts to a mixing bowl.
- Combine the balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, orange juice, and orange zest in a small saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat just until it’s hot (you will see a bit of steam), but not simmering. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cold butter, several pieces at a time, whisking constantly until the mixture is smooth and creamy. (Don’t reheat the mixture or the butter will break and the sauce won’t be creamy.) Pour the sauce over the sprouts and stir thoroughly but gently until most of the sauce has been absorbed. Transfer the sprouts and any remaining sauce to a serving platter or dinner plates.
Life’s been good.
Here’s what I’ve been up to lately:
- These chocolate chip cookies are amazing. They come out chewy, buttery, savory-salty in a great way, gooey, chocolatey, crisped up just right… possibly my new favorite, which I really didn’t think could happen.
- Good Old Fashioned Pancakes. They are really truly fluffy pancakes. I can’t think of how many times a pancake advertised itself as fluffy and came out disappointingly flat. This batter was unusually thick and, well, fluffy even when I dropped it on the pan, but nothing weird happened. Just satisfyingly fluffy and moist pancakes when they finished. I added banana slices to mine. Blueberries next time. Yum.
- Carving out some ME time. Like, I actually asked my husband for a day off, and he took a day off from work that very week so he could give me a real day off! I went shopping. Like, real shopping where you browse at your own pace, try on clothes, and wait in line to buy the things you decided you liked. Cannot remember the last time I had the luxury of time and space to do that! I also visited the great outdoors (for a whole 30 minutes…) and got a massage. Aw yeah.
- Getting swamped in preschool research again. I had actually already gone through all this in January and applied and enrolled and everything. Done. But now it’s July and my child has already changed and grown so much since then that I’m reevaluating our whole arrangement. Of course it’s the Bay Area, and it’s July… which means I am way behind the game now if I want to actually get into one of our top choices. We’ll see! 😛
- I actually tried one of those TasteMade recipes someone posted on Facebook and the pasta I made was SUPER TASTY! It’s super not good for you (Heavy cream? Sausage? Cheese?!), but doesn’t that just convince you that it really does taste great? It does. It’s like the other creamy carbonara-y penne dish I love, but even easier. So I’m posting the recipe here for me, so I won’t have to search for and then scroll down to the bottom of this page to find the recipe on my phone. I served it with Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Orange Butter Sauce (recipe coming soon!) and everybody was very, very happy with dinner last night. Yum.
It’s been a pretty mellow but sweet summer, and we are enjoying these warm California days. Happy weekend to ya :).
“More bwoccoli pweeaaasseee!!”
Did she just say what I thought she did?
I heaped more broccoli on her plate and she went for it.
A couple minutes later, again: “More bwooooccoli peeease!”
Husband and I exchanged a glance. Just earlier, she saw the dinner spread and had spontaneously made up a song about spaghetti and meatballs on the spot. Now, five minutes into dinner, she still hadn’t touched her spaghetti and meatballs. She was just eating more broccoli!
“Ben, I feel like I just earned a mom badge of some sort.”
The My-Kid-Asked-for-More-Vegetables one, I think. AKA the “More broccoli please!” badge:
I’ve served broccoli and cauliflower this style several times, and she always eats it up. But when she kept asking for more today, I knew I had to share the magic with you! The whole family loves enjoying broccoli and cauliflower this way. I’ve even made the sauce without the ginger and orange juice, and it was still quite good (but better with!). It’s perfect for a meal where you’re going to get your hands on your food anyway, and I’m pretty sure dipping sauces are one of the best kept secrets to getting toddlers to eat anything!
Try it out, and if your toddler asks for more broccoli at dinner, be sure to leave a comment here so I can send you a personalized .png badge ;).
Granola: Great on yogurt, with ice cream, or on its own as a snack.
Last week, I made some. Then I put some in a bag for my friend. A couple days later, she texted me:
“Really this is the best granola I have ever had… Makes me want to become a hippie and try my hand at it”
…Need I say more?
So here is the recipe in case you turn up the Beatles and make some groovy granola :].
I decided to cook Chinese food this week. My trip to the Asian market was definitely in my Zone of Proximal Development (i.e. a learning stretch for me!) since I decided to wing it with no game plan. I can wing it comfortably at places like Sprouts and Trader Joe’s, but Asian markets are another story.
This produced some anxiety that I haven’t felt about grocery shopping for about half a decade, but I think the stretch was good for me. I generally avoid Asian markets because I can’t speak Chinese very well, and they usually can’t speak English very well, and that makes for a frustrating combination… especially when I look so very Chinese. I can feel the judgment creeping in their voices as they stare intently at me and repeat themselves louder and louder, thinking: She looks Chinese. She knows some Chinese, so she must be Chinese. Why can’t she understand me? SMH.
Sometimes they really do shake their heads at me and look at their coworkers in disbelief. Not exactly a confidence booster.
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