Summer Baking

Even baking affectionadoes do not like to be stuck in the kitchen during a hot day. It's no fun to have the kitchen turn into a sauna as cakes or cookies bake in a hot oven. It's time to turn to summer goodies that only need the fridge and microwave.

One of the easiest, fun and delicious summer cakes is one made out of ice cream. Some, like myself, were daunted by it. Would it be as good as a DairyQueen or Friendly' s? There's no need to worry. The hardest part is crushing the crumbs and microwaving the butter to make the crust and middle.
.Start with a good hard cookie or snap. Many go for Oreos, mostly for the flavor. I prefer Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers, They're a rich dark chocolate that have the perfect crumble. As for ice cream, here's where you can customize it to suit tastes. Try one layer of s fruit ice cream  like cherry ,or strawberry and the second  layer can be chocolate. Or go with vanilla. Coffee ice cream works well with both chocolate and vanilla.As for icing use a chocolate hard shell. Pour on top and let drip down the sides. Fancier decorations  come from a can of whipped cream and a spoonful of sprinkles.You can also make ice cream  cup cakes but when doing this , use a silicon mold. You could use a regular cupcake tin and papers, however the last may be hard to peel away when you want to eat them.

Layered  trifles, usually reserved for fall and winter can be interpreted for summer. This is the season  for a variety of fruits . Take advantage of the bounty. a fruit trifle is an easy make, Use store bought lady fingers for the base layer, and alternate the fruit with Cool Whip. If you're ambitious you can make your own whipped cream using whole cream, with either granulated or confectioner's sugar and a tiny splash of vanilla extract. As for fruit - go wild! Try strawberries and peaches or nectarines and blackberries. You can also create an all berry one using strawberries, blackberries , and blueberries. Ice box cakes are another hot weather favorite.One is the famed zebra cake made with Nabisco's chocolate wafers and Cool Whip.A variation of this is making a triangle shaped one ,instead of where you line up the wafers.There is also the graham cracker icebox variation where the crackers are layered in a cake pan with fruit, pudding and whipped cream.Vanilla pudding is the usual filler but to liven  it up - sub in pistachio or butterscotch pudding.If choosing the last, add a layer of salted caramel topping on top of the graham crackers for decadence.

It's summer. Don't heat up the kitchen by baking. Create tasty sweets that only require your fridge and microwave .

Hi Mountain Bacon Seasoning Making Bacon Better

Can bacon be improved? Are we not happy with the salty , smokey flavor? Surprisingly it seems we're not. That's where Hi Mountain Seasonings comes in with their latest creation  - flavor sprinkles for those strips in three exciting flavors.

Hi Mountain Seasonings is devoted to improving meat. They're more known for beef jerkies - which are amazing  - and marinades. Carnivores can also buy  the company's curing and smoking equipment such as aromatic cans to have highly flavored cuts. They came out with burger seasonings and it made sense that they should create one for bacon.I decided to try it, to amp up the flavor  of vegan soy bacon.

As you can see vegan bacon does leave a lot to be desired. The plus side is that's it not super soaked in its' own fat and  it is healthy for you. There are three flavors are Black Pepper & Brown Sugar, Sticky Bun and Pineapple Sriracha.

It's just liberally sprinkling on the flavorings and microwaving for two minutes.

The Sticky Bun flavor was sweet and full of vanilla. I can see it topping a French toast strata. As for the brown sugar and pepper, it would be great if you were serving pancakes or griddle cakes, with the strips on top. As for the pineapple blended with sriracha , think appetizers where the flavored bacon is wrapped around pineapple or mango chunks.If you're into snacking a bowl of bacon - as decadent as that sounds - then sprinkle the flavorings over it - or mix it with popcorn - for real movie time treat.

Can bacon be improved? Yes!Dash some Hi Mountain Bacon Seasonings on it for a new spin on a classic favorite.

Tasting The Trends

After writing about avocado toast yesterday, I had to try it.I had all the ingredients and it was an intriguing recipe. I was also curious about the taste,especially on toasted bread.

First I started with the bread.Toasted Italian drizzled with olive oil was the best bet for this this breakfast turned dinner.

IT was cut in half  and I drizzled the oil on top.It went into the toaster oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.Meanwhile I cut up the avocadoes.

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Coarsely chop the avocadoes, add some olive oil to make it workable.

Then one sliced and diced tomato.

I used a potato masher to mash them together.Avocado topping has to be coarser and C hunker than guacamole.

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It was spooned on the hot toast.

How was it. It's an interesting departure from guacamole which I like better.I think the mash  and the bread  were at war with each other flavorwise. It must be  intense when the avocado and an egg are combined. I think any toasted bread is better with tomato not a cousin of guacamole.Still it's what trending.

An Aussie Breakfast

The latest passion for New York foodies is breakfast - and not just any breakfast . what the Aussies eat down under to wake up is becoming an obsession, Why?Probably because there's more healthy ingredients as opposed to the usual Manhattanite breakfast.

Julia Moskin wrote about this latest trend in Wednesday's New York Times Food section., Let's face it our breakfasts are usually fast, brown, greasy and starchy. They're also not picture perfect - not good for this Instagram age.Australian cafes throughout the city. Australians prefer healthy starters made with fresh , all natural ingredients that do take a while to make and cook,  another reason is that their breakfasts can last up into the late afternoon. There's time to create elaborate dishes and then photograph them.One of the trendiest early morning recipes was avocado toast, made first in 1993 at the famed Bill's in Melbourne. It's now taken hold here in the city. It's an easy make., with toasted sourdough slices topped with slightly mashed avocado halves.Poached or fried eggs can top it, but home chefs can also use thinly sliced pickled red onions or pickled chiles.( to be honest it would make a good brunch or lunch dish too)You could also serve with another Down Under dish, folded eggs. According to Ms. Moskin they're folded eggs but is a hybrid between an omelet and scrambled.

It wasn't always this way. In the Eighties and Nineties Australia had the reputation of a culinary backwater, influenced  heavily by British . The typical diet consisted of meat pies. sausage rolls, canned veggies and chocolate bars.As with our revolution theirs upended a formal Eurocentric
fine dining scene. Locally  fresh home grown food was embraced and the country's immigrant food traditions.. People started to eat slow risen sourdough and whole grained breads. Mediterranean cheese such as feta, halloumi and pecorino.Multi talented chefs such as Tetsuya Wakada, Kylie Kwong and David Thompson brought Asian flavors to the forefront. The philosophy behind it is more eating than cooking.The flavors are natural; the ingredients fresh  which has a lot to do with the finished dish's flavor.It's evident in the other recipe given - a breakfast salad. It consists of marinated feta cheese, avocadoes, sliced hard boiled eggs.cucumbers  and alfalfa sprouts topping romaine lettuce. Herbs such as basil, chives, cilantro and mint are added. Everything is simply dressed with just olive oil. Again this would make a nice brunch or lunch plate.

The Aussie breakfast is fast becoming the New York breakfast .It's healthy and delicious , full of good green ingredients.It ' not only perfect for Instagram, it;s perfect for the hungry New Yorker.

My Own No Passport Required

It is hard not to like Chef Marcus Samuelsson ' s new show No Passport Required.  The hour long show features the famed chef cooking and eating exotic food in - various cities , US cities.He has tried sa moon in the heavily Arab Detroit, enjoyed a Cajun influenced Tet in the Vietnamese section of New Orleans and made mole and carnitas  in Chicago's Mexican Back of the Yards neighborhood.I decided to have my own No Passport Required  and we t to the Middle Eastern neighborhood in Paterson , New Jersey.It was a culinary v stay cation for me.

Paterson has always attracted immigrants.When Alexander Hamilton (yes, that Alexander Hamilton)founded this city, he modeled it after the English industrial town of Manchester. Factories sprang up , using the Great Paterson Falls as its' power source.The silk and weaving industries sprang up,attracting the first wave of Syrian weavers.Now South Main Street not only has them but also Turks,Lebanese,and Palestinians  .The area is known as Little Istanbul or Little Ramallah.Go there and you feel like you're on the strèets of Istanbul
I went to Star Pide on the Main Street.Pide means bread in Turkish and they bake what's known as a Turkish pizza

We started with a salad and it was probably the best I've ever tasted.It was diced cucumbers, tomatoes, and onion.It was a simple dressing.Parsley was sprinkled all through it giving it a sprightly green flavor.They also place a dish of small yellow peppers and a spicy paprika  mix.

The Turkish pizza ,as it's known was flavorful with a crispy crust and laden with a generous amount of mozzarella.I also tried the ground beef topped with bacon crispy  pastrami.This was delicious with a generous helping of spiced beef.

The pastry shop across the street beckoned.It was a blend of American butter cookies and Middle Eastern treats.N albus Pastry and Sweet a is run by incredibly generous bakers who let us try a sweet cheese and shredded wheat called kanafah.They even brewed us a complimentary kettle of tea.I also tried kadaif, a honey soaked shredded wheat nest filled with pistachios and almonds.That was wonderful and even not too sweet thanks to the nuts used.Next time I'm going for the baklava.

Visiting Little Ramallah in Paterson was my  No Passport Required meal.Be adventurous.Visit the Culinary rich hoods where you live.It's a fun stay cation away from the ordinary.

Pan Con Tomato My Way

One of the best combos of the summer season is tomatoes with bread,especially with French or Italian. It is the perfect marriage. ,enhanced with olive oil and garlic.One version of this is pan con to mate from the Catalina area of Spain.

It was the subject of David Tanis' City Kitchen in today's New York Times Food section.Mr.Tanis had me at bread and tomatoes.As soon as I saw the pictures tomatoes on toasted slices I was hooked.
The original recipe was to use up stale bread hence the crunch.Mr.Tanis recommend huge slices of toasted sourdough bread.I used toasted Italian bread ,first rubbed with garlic.

A second batch really browned I cell and got crispy and crunchy.

Then it was taking a grater (I used my Mom's old Chef's Club from Macy  

It's then slicing vine ripes(mine came from Stop &Shop, but feel free to use the first harvest of the summer)

I  also added a glue of olive oil and the garlic that was rubbed on the bread.The last didn't work out so well.Next time I'll try a sprinkle of garlic powder.

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It,s then just spooned on the toasted bread 

Pan con tomato was delicious.I sprinkled a pinch of sea salt on it and gobbled it down.This is something I will make again. I might add tuna in olive oil or better yet anchovies! It is a perfect summery dinner  light enough for a hot night but sustaining  enough.

David Tanis, thanks for this new favorite.I will be making this tasty dish a lot  - as long as there are fresh tomatoes.

A Birthday Treat

It being my brother's birthday today,I decided to do the sisterly thing and make him a cake. (No, not the cookie above, that,s from the splendid Dixie Lee Bakery in Keansburg New Jersey) I had no desire of firing up the oven on a hot summer's day, so I went for the alternative a homemade ice cream cake.

I first bought a small silicone cake mold from Amazon. As for the ice cream my brother is a vegan so I bought Soy Good coconut milk ice cream in chocolate and mocha almond.

Non dairy ice cream doesn't melt as fast as regular dairy base so they were left out for twenty minues.The first layer was mocha. Then was the crunchy chocolate middle.

IT was grinding up Nabisco chocolate wafers

Then add in  a tablespoon of melted margarine e or butter.I went for I Can't Believe It's N not Butter.Mix quickly and spoon over the first layer.I should have given the crumb mix time to cool down.I didn,t.

Next came the chocolate layer and another layer of the crumbs.Again I used about ten crumbled wafers and more spread.It was then placed in the fridge overnight. 

 

The next day it was unmolded.

Hershey Hard Shell was poured over it to give it a glossy icing, then a crown of whipped cream.

This is the cross section.You can see the layers.

The chocolate was harder to work with yet both together worked.

Will I do this again. Yes. This was my recipe.It has to be adjusted and tweaked.

As for the taste - amazingly good!