Californian whole grain bread

Today, I felt the urge to MAKE something. Usually I bake something sweet, and lately have taken up machine sewing (although since coming back from my holidays I haven't sewn much -no time!). But I have eaten too much cake this week, and don't have any fabric suited to the new season, apart from some uninspiring dark denim. So I turned to bread, because nothing beats a fresh slice with some good butter.
I remembered a wholesome and tasty loaf I baked from this book a while ago. And I also happened to have all the ingredients on hand, being a bit of a hoarder, some of them had to go soon, already past their sell-by date.

I thought this recipe was interesting enough to share with you and revive this blog, so here goes :

2 cups warm water
2 packages instant yeast (I used a package destined to 500g flour)
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 tbsps vegetable oil
1/2 c. nonfat dry milk
1/2 c. toasted sunflower seeds
1/2 c. toasted wheat germ
2,5 tsp salt
4-5 c. wholewheat flour

Dissolve the yeast in the water and let stand for a bit, before adding all the other ingredients up to the flour, then 2 cups of it. Mix well, then add as much flour as necessary to obtain a "manageable" dough. Knead for a minute then let stand for 10. Knead again for about 10 minutes, less if using a mixer, adding more flour if necessary. Put in an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in size. Knock air out and shape into one big, or two smaller, loaves. Cover and let rise to the top of the pans. Bake at 350°C/175°C until browned and hollow-sounding. Cool on rack.


I was a bit distracted so added the salt and oil as an afterthought, but it doesn't seem to alter the taste. Also, I used date molasses, which is the reduced and syrupy -molasses- or treacle-like- juice of dates, because that's all I had. I guess honey would be OK too.


This is a bread on the sweet side, ideal for toast or sandwiches, and think of the health benefits with all that good stuff in it! Baking this will make you feel like a cool Californian hippie chick.

Microwave chocolate dwarf loaf

Dear Reader,
I have let you down. Seriously, I haven't posted in over two months, where has the time gone?
Anyway, it hasn't been too exciting, or perhaps I haven't had much energy to cook and write. I have fed the other blog a little (it's easier in French I guess), but I have fed myself well (a little too well probably).

Anyway, I offer you this recipe for a microwave chocolate cake, just because it's dead easy and super quick to whip up, even if a three-year-old is helping. It's not mine, it's from the other Julie, the stick insect one, a pretty, popular, pretty popular thin TV cook. -do you hear the envy in my italics?-

It's done the rounds on French blogs, because we don't cook much with our microwaves, let alone bake with them, and this cake is surprisingly good, considering. It won't rise, and only fills half a standard loaf pan, but it's dense, intense and impossible to resist.

It's called "black cake", yes in English, but I'd call it pavé or fondant, because it's firm but tender.

Here goes :

150g dark chocolate
125g butter (I used 100g veggie margarine)
125g sugar
50g flour
3 tbsps Malibu (I used rum and grape juice)
3 eggs

Melt the chocolate and butter, then add the other ingredients one after the other, mixing well in between. Pour into a prepared pyrex or silicon loaf pan. Microwave on high (750 or 900) for 3 mins. Rest for 5 mins. Repeat for 3 mins then leave it in for 5 more mins. Take out and cool in the pan on a rack. Eat warm or cold.


I hope you make it and enjoy it and don't forget me until my next post,

yours yummily,
Julie xox

Leon's Superfood salad

Leon, in case you don't know, is a healthy fast food chain for people who like their food. A bit like Ottolenghi, I suppose, but with more of a generous nuance -and cheaper-, since their motto is also "better food for most people" or something alike. I have never had the privilege to set foot in one of their outlets, having not been in London at all for the past two years, but a visit there is definitely on my list were I to be travelling in those parts again.

So, they have published a cookbook, and the foodie brain behind the whole venture is Allegra McEvedy, who seems like a generous, funny character, and whose humour shines through the pages. The book is huge, and divided in two sub-books, one about ingredients, with lots of interesting info and trivia about the whole spectrum of food (including a seasonal chart and a cheese map of Europe), and one about recipes, not just those of the Leon signature dishes, but also "family" recipes, handed down by members of the Leon team. There's a wide variety of dishes, from pumpkin falafel to gluten-free brownies (with ground almonds), soups, salads, stews, meat and veggie dishes, cocktails, etc. etc. All focus on rather fuss-free methods and healthyish ingredients.

It's a beautiful, fun book, very colourful and warm, with tons of photos and illustrations, plus a page of Leon retro stickers. It makes you wish to be part of the Leon family... or at least be a regular at their restaurants. And it also makes you want to cook, which is probably the most important.

I have made the chicken with couscous, and it was delicious and rather easy. Today I present you the superfood salad. You'll find three versions of it in the book, namely the Leon Original Superfood salad, the Rainbow Superfood salad and the Chicken (or salmon) Superfood salad.

I have used the recipes as a guideline. I won't give you the exact recipe, because I think you can pick and choose and use whatever is most convenient, but here's the main ingredient list for the Original one :

quinoa
broccoli (still a bit crunchy)
peas
cucumber
feta (I used halloumi, and grilled it in cubes in a pan)
toasted seeds (sesame and sunflowers, I had no pumpkin seeds)
avocado
alfalfa sprouts, parsley and mint (left those out)

I also used baby spinach, which is included in the chicken salad. The dressing is a simple affair of salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil.

It was absolutely delicious and made me feel full and virtuous. I particularly liked the fact that the toasted seeds make the quinoa taste crunchier and more flavourful, a good idea to retain for future use. I have made a lot of quinoa salads in the past summer with quinoa as the main player but here, it's just another component, which is just as well.

If you're interested, they have a website where you can find their menu. Most of the dishes on that menu are in the book, though not all. There are also many recipes to be found on the guardian homepage, where Allegra is a columnist.

Now I'm a crockpotter too!

Well, not exactly, because my slow-cooker is a Breville, not a Crockpot brand name.

After hearing from my friends how useful and time-saving a slow-cooker (SC) is, I decided after some consideration to go out and buy one. Around these parts, SC aren't very popular. If you want to slow-cook something (mijoter), you use a cocotte, that is, a Le Creuset. But with globalization and all that, it is possible to buy one, whether online or in town. (For people in Luxembourg, there is one in Auchan, Darty will order one for you, but the very helpful and friendly people at the Singer shop on Avenue Monterey have 3 different models to choose from, like, now.)

I chose my Breville because it wasn't absolutely huge (4.3 liters). It's kind of pretty too, in an understated way. OK, not pretty, but not a disgrace to the kitchen either.

Anyway, it has three settings, low for keeping warm, medium and high. It isn't automatic but since I hardly ever leave the house for long stretches of time, it doesn't matter much.

For inspiration, I browse the very instructive Crockpot Lady's blog, and the web in general.

But so far, I must say I have only made my own recipes, and they turned out fine. I made a leek, chicken and barley combo as soon as I cracked open the SC. Later, I made my beef stew with chorizo, and it was fantastically tender, with lots of flavour. Today, I made a chicken tagine, perhaps the mother of all tagines, chicken with preserved lemon and olives. It was delicious.

I realize now, as I've read elsewhere, that cooking everything slowly and with the lid on improves both the flavour and the texture of the meat. It becomes very tender and the flavours deepen, as if you'd left the stew overnight to reheat on the next day, but without having to wait that long. Also, it's a real bonus to be able to use those five minutes in the day when no one truly needs your attention to assemble the meal in the pot, then leave the SC to work its magic while you are otherwise engaged.
If you don't brown the meat beforehand, the food might look a bit bland, but if you're as tired/lazy as I am, it's the easiest option (you might even add the meat still frozen but it prolongs the cooking time). With this tagine, it doesn't show because of the spices.

Chicken M'Chermel

500g fresh boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 red onion, chopped
1 fat garlic clove, chopped
1/2 tsp ground ginger (or use freshly grated)
1 tsp paprika (smoked or not)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 cup water
1 cup pitted green olives
2 tiny preserved lemons, skin only, chopped
optional : fresh coriander and parsley

Cut the chicken thighs in three, removing any excess fat. Put them in the pot with the spices, onions and garlic and mix everything with your hands. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Pour the water, cover with the lid and set on medium. Cook for 4-6 hours. In the meantime, pour some hot water over the olives and lemon skin, leave for a minute then drain. An hour before you want to eat, add those to the dish and mix well. Serve with the freshly chopped herbs over couscous.

Notes: I use beldi preserved lemons, they're tiny with super fine skin but quite pungent. If you have homemade preserved lemons, use the skin of half a normal-sized one.
I didn't have any coriander because while the coriander in its pot was staring at me from a rack in the shop that morning, I was trying to eavesdrop on two supermarket employees gossiping and so it didn't strike me that I could have a use for it...

If you have any slow-cooker tips or recipes to share, please leave a comment!

Christmas '09 - a retrospective

The Xmas Eve afternoon table, with mulled cider in our Xmas market mugs (I have an obsession for them, and funnily, each one I have reminds me of a different time in my life).


Gingerbread house -my first, with some online help from my friend Maria;-)



Nigella's rugelach, uncharacteristically (for me that is) baked on the first day of Hannukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights



Nigella's "Incredibly Easy Chocolate Fruit Cake", the chocolate Xmas cake fom her latest book (but a 98% reprint from Feast) I used Triple Sec (a generic Cointreau/Grand Marnier) in place of coffee liqueur.


Carving the Xmas capon (a capon is a male chicken that has been castrated, turning into a Ware chicken with a lot of fat, hence a great bird to roast with succulent moist flesh) I used a meat thermometer as well as stuffing between skin and breasts to ensure juicy breasts (omg, this is verging on food porn)


Stuffing on the side, the Anglo way, this is not the traditional French way (stuffing is just a ball of meaty filling stuffed, not an integral part of the meal usually). This would be more like a terrine for us, though we did eat it hot. It was chestnut/pork inspired by a BBC Good Food mag recipe.



The full plate. I made a Madeira and mustard gravy (also from BBCGF). You can see the drumstick flesh falling apart. Mmmmhhh


The bûche, I made it using my own recipe, but was a bit too speedy with the filling and rolling so it ended up very flat, with filling oozing out of its ends. It was curd cheese/ crème de marrons with a choc ganache on top. Light on the butter and cream but fresh and tasty. But flat...



Nearly forgot to add a slice of this fabulous cheesecake, the maple gleaming cheesecake of Nigella Christmas. It is truly luscious, creamy and delicious!


I baked stollen. One for giving and one for us. I have used the same recipe as last year (the modified version), just varying the nuts and fruit, as it's a success and quite a breeze to bake. Those are big boys using one batch each. I like them better this size, they stay fresh longer (though dried up stollen is fine dunked into a hot bevvy).

I hope you all had a nice Christmas/holiday.

Granola - a healthy breakfast

Long time no see, dear Reader. So many things have happened in the last few weeks, on a personal level and on a global level, that I won't bore you with details. Those of you that know me know, those of you that don't know me don't necessarily want to know. And so it is that I'll move on directly to the recipe. (Just let me say yay! for Obama's victory)

It is inspired by Nigella's latest granola recipe in Nigella Christmas, a book you know you want, even if you don't really need it. It is a Christmassy twist on her granola recipe from Feast. I made Andy Fairfield's granola (or was it Andy's Fairfield Granola???) and besides the fact that I nearly let it burn, I didn't like the cinnamonney undertones. So even if it is seasonal, I left it out here too. Then I proceeded to weigh the ingredients, but found that there were way too many sunflower and sesame seeds for my taste, so cut those down, then added some grated coconut, and instead of using honey, I used agave syrup and a little tub of baby pear and apple sauce (100g), all by eye, not really measuring, until the cereal became clumpy enough. I found out again that mine needed much less oven time so beware!


For the Feast granola recipe in metrics, click here to Not Quite Nigella's delightful blog, for imperial measurements, click here.

I used about :
225g rolled oats (the small type)
30 g sesame seeds
30g sunflower seeds
50 g golden caster sugar (or a bit more perhaps)
a large handful of unblanched chopped almonds
3 tbsp of coconut
a tsp Maldon salt flakes
100g of pear and apple sauce (unsweetened)
3-4 tbsp of agave syrup

Mix everything well, spread on baking sheet, bake for 20 mins in 170°C oven, mix and spread again, bake on for 15-20 mins and perhaps mix again, your granola should be golden brown all over, depending on your oven. But watch it well!
Let cool then add a handful of dried cranberries.

Layer with Greek-style yogurt, fresh fruit and enjoy!

Lunchbox treats

There's a lot of talk of the new Nigella Christmas book, and while I am deciding whether or not I want it too, I have pulled my other Nigella books off the shelves, at least those that contain Xmas recipes. There is enough in there for my own Xmas needs, as limited as they are, but of course, there's always space on the shelf for Nigella, whose books are so carefully made and make you yearn for her lifestyle, if not her life. Well, not really her life, with its truckload of tragedies, and certainly not her husband, egg-diet thin or not, those she can happily keep. But her beauty, wealth, creativity, her lavish table, etc. These are attractive assets.

Browsing through Nigella Express, I realized I hadn't used it nearly enough yet. It is the type of food I want to make these days, because I am a bit frazzled and have little energy yet want to eat good food. I happen to have a head of escarole, courtesy of my veg box, and I found a recipe to use it with pasta, the Italian way (the French eat "scarole" as a salad). But I also remembered these baby lunchbox treats.

Nigella passes them as healthyish because they contain rice malt syrup and sesame seeds. While I agree they are not overloaded with fat and white sugar, I can't vouch for the healthful benefits of rice krispies, which contain high fructose corn syrup... I usually don't buy rice krispies, but a few weeks ago, for Maya's birthday (which I still haven't blogged about), I tried my hand at marshmallow crispy squares (aka rice krispie treats) also to be found in N. Express. I think the only person who liked them was Oma, my mother-in-law. I ate a few because I didn't want them to go to waste, but wasn't too impressed. And now I have all those rice krispies left over. When I eat them with milk as a cereal, I feel hungry 30 minutes later. So I have to dispose of them one way or the other. Also I have a really old bottle of rice malt syrup from one of my health food store expeditions, and this recipe uses quite a lot of it, so it was perfect.

Nigella suggests donning latex gloves to shape these treats into balls but I just spooned them into tiny paper cups. These are good after a stay in the fridge, they take on a really crispy texture that pops in the mouth. They are not really a chocoholic's fix, but they do help if you're a bit hungry and need something sweet and with some grains (there is a bit of oats in them after all).





Recipe, adapted from Nigella Express

50g milk chocolate
150g rice malt syrup
55g butter
60g rice krispies
30g cornflakes (I used all rice krispies)
40g quick cooking oats
75g sesame seeds

Melt choc, butter and syrup in a pan over medium heat. Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. Shape into balls or spoon into paper cases and leave to set in the fridge for an hour.
N. says they can stay there for a week (preferably in a plastic container though). It made a ton but you'll find yourself popping 5 or 6 into your mouth in a row if you're not paying attention!


If you're new here, well first of all, welcome! Also, if you can read French you might be interested in my book, which I have talked about here and there already...