Winter recipes - Pear Cakelets and Roast Garlic Spread

- I finished the rest of

that book

. It was witty and cheerfully philosophical, all the way to the end. I would recommend it.

- I am doing quite well at the eating-at-home department, even if I seem to be making a disproportionate amount of sweet stuff in the name of cleaning the pantry... such as the cakes above.

- I have a hoarse voice from an extremely loud and completely out-of-tune rendition of Backstreet Boys hits at karaoke. And, no it isn't quite as sexy as Phoebe singing Smelly Cat...

On the topic of which, btw, there is some contention on the pronunciation of the word 'karaoke'. My Japanese memories makes me say KARA-OH-KAY while I am constantly

corrected

(!!!)

by my American and British friends to say CAREE-OKEE. So, lets settle this once and for all. It's Japanese and I am right.. Next!

- Rihanna can be quite the squatter in your mind. I am on a continuous loop of

this song

and I can't seem to get away from it! And, believe you me, I have tried but can't stop myself from bawling that I am beautiful, like diamonds in the sky... sigh

- I am still working on getting the perfect look for the house. I think shabby chic is so yesterday.. I am going full-on rustic. And, throwing in a bit of what I think is ultra-cool new age, my

shtyle

.

-

These chairs

are just stunning! I can only wonder what other gems the person who donated them has in their house...

- Apple TV is awesome-est Apple (or any other tech) product. I am not a geek, so you can believe me.

- I got myself a black board to jot down to-dos. It makes me feel organized. I actually have gotten more things done since. The thing is hard to ignore.

- I am now reading

this book

. If you

love Paris, like me

.. I mean really love, like you want to live there, love, go, get it now.

- I am still using

Instagram

. Mostly, it is inertia. Lessly, it is that I don't care about the privacy battles. I don't want to stress about any more legalities than I absolutely need to.

- I signed up for the

CSA

again this year. Going seasonal is the best thing I have done. Feels like I belong to the #fairtrade camp. I may even start a #occupyseasonal. #justsaying

- Isn't

this

super cool?! Now, I have no excuse to NOT grow some stuff, even in my tiny apartment. Hurray!

Pear, Spelt Sour Milk Cakelets

(This recipe makes eight 2-inch cakelets. If you don't have little pie molds like I used, you can use cupcake trays and half fill each.

I use the sour milk that I make using cultures. This comes out a lot more tangier or as I like to call it, a lot more attitude, than buttermilk. If you like a sour-sweet taste, the best replacement for the sour milk is kefir.)

3/4 cup spelt flour

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup homemade sour milk or buttermilk or kefir

2 ripe Seckel pears, quartered

2 T butter, melted

2 T golden syrup

1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together the dry ingredients and whisk together the wet ones. For easier mixing, melt the butter and syrup together till runny and then pour into the buttermilk. Finally, add the yolks. Fold dry into wet. Spoon the batter into little cake molds or half fill cupcake liners. Gently press in pear quarters, one in each mold. Bake for about 20 minutes until slightly risen and golden on top. Cool on rack and serve.

Rosemary and Chili Garlic Spread

(adapted from

Salted Lemons

)

4 bulbs of garlic

3 sprigs of rosemary

2 mild, dry chillies

1 lemon, juiced, and skin retained

4 T olive oil

4 T bread crumbs or cake crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

Cut the tops of the garlic bulbs and place then in a baking pan that snugly fits them. Tuck in the rosemary sprigs and whole dried chilies. Drizzle half the lemon juice and a teaspoon of olive oil. Tuck in one half of squeezed lemon into the pan. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes until the garlic cloves are really soft to touch.

Squeeze out the cloves. In a food processor, pulse the roasted garlic the remaining ingredients and one crushed chili pepper into a smooth paste.

Serve with

these crackers

or fresh bread.

When you (think) are losing control.....

Have a cup of coffee and do something that makes you happy(ier)...



I bake...



Raisin and Almond Scones

200 g flour
2 T sugar
1 tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking powder
2 T raisins
1.5 T chopped almonds (or any nut)
60 g cold butter, cubed
140 g buttermilk
1 yolk + 1 T cream for egg wash



Sift together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together. Cut into the mixture the cold butter until they are no more than the size of peas. Stir in the raisins and nuts and mix well. Add the buttermilk and mix for form a dough.

On a floured surface knead just a bit to make into a non-sticky dough ball. Pat the dough out with your palms to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut out scones and place on a greased baking sheet. Brush egg wash over the scones.

Bake at 375F for 12-15 minutes until golden brown on top. Cool on rack. Serve warm with butter and jam or in this case a cup of strong coffee!