Coconut Fairy Cakes

Last year my dear friend Sabeena and I would spend hours making fairy cakes of various flavors and colors and shapes out of sand at the park. For her 3rd birthday I decided to make as close as I could to edible fairy cakes- these are what I came up with. Although they are lacking the iridescent sparkles, the periwinkle filling and the rose petal glitter of true fairy cakes, she (and I think everyone else) loved them.

If you wanted to, I'm sure you could experiment with using partially whole-grain flour and less sugar- but once in a while I think it's better to just go for the whole sugar bomb and throw the rest out the window! These cupcakes are made with refined sugar and white flour, and I'm a firm believer that food feeds us on various levels and sometimes our soul needs a little white flour and coconut cream to be healthy!

A friend of mine who is an Ayurvedic doctor once said something that has stuck with me ever since:

"Anything can be medicine and anything can be poison- you just have to know what you need in any specific moment". So while I usually write about food that is healthy in the traditional sense, I couldn't resist sharing this wonderful recipe with you.

I used a recipe from the April 2009 issue of Bon Appetit. I rarely follow recipes exactly, but this one I did, and I was so happy with the results, I recommend doing the same. The cupcakes get their creaminess and intense coconut flavor from coconut milk which you reduce down and mix into the cake batter and the frosting.

INGREDIENTS:

2 13-14 oz cans of organic, unsweetened coconut milk

2 cups flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/3 cups sugar

3 large eggs

seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup reduced coconut milk (made with canned coconut milk above)

seeds from one split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sweetened, flaked coconut, lightly toasted (be careful not to burn!)

First reduce the coconut milk. (This will be used in both the frosting and the cupcakes themselves.) Bring the coconut milk to a boil in a large, deep saucepan over medium-high heat. The milk will boil up high in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring occasionally, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the heat; cool completely. (This can be done up to 2 days ahead and stored in the fridge.)

Center rack in oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Line 18 1/3 cup muffin tins with paper liners.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer (or egg beater or whisk- I hardly ever use electric mixers) beat butter in a large bowl until smooth. Add the sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Beat in the vanilla seeds or extract and remaining egg. Add half of the flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Add 1 cup reduced, cooled coconut milk, mix just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Divide batter among muffin cups.

Bake until tops spring back when gently touched- about 20 minutes. Transfer pans to a rack and cool 10 minutes, and then remove cupcakes from the pans and cool completely on rack.

For the frosting:

Using a mixer or egg beater, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, 1/3 cup reduced coconut milk, seeds from the vanilla bean and salt. Beat on medium-low speed until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.

Top cooled cupcakes with 2 tablespoons of frosting using a small spatula and leaving a slight border on the sides of the cupcake. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut.

Violet and Wild Green Salad

Recently, I woke up craving greens. I was out at my boyfriend Nathan's house on the Klamath river- far away from any grocery store, and we didn't have a vegetable in the house. Fortunately, he lives next door to the Pierce Family Farm- a farm that grows, among other things, the worlds BEST carrots.

To satisfy my craving, Nathan and I decided to

walk over to the Pierce's in search of vegetables. However, we didn't make it past the front yard before I had more than a salad's worth of greens for a salad. Inspired by the herbalism class I am taking, I had picked a huge handful of edible greens. His yard was filled with dandelions, chickweed, and yellow dock. Under his big chestnut I found the ground absolutely blanketed in violets! Their adorable little faces looked up at me imploringly and I set about picking the leaves and flowers.

We continued on to the Pierce's and found Pat- the farmer, outside bagging carrots-and cleaning up after returning from the farmer's market in Arcata. He sent us out to pick whatever we wanted. We wandered among rows of vegetables growing in the rich soil just above the river. We returned with a basket full of kale, parsnips, carrots, parsley, beets. Pat threw some kiwis from last fall in our basket before we left. We got back to the house laden with our bounty, but what I was most excited about were the wild greens I had gathered in Nathan's yard!

You can easily gather wild greens at this time of year. Wild greens are generally higher in minerals and vitamins than cultivated greens and they are tastier- probably largely because gathering them is so satisfying!

Here are a few of the common ones that you can eat in salads. Be sure that you have identified the correct plant before gathering and make sure you are gathering from a place that has clean soil and isn't near roads or other possible pollutants.

CHICKWEED:

Chickweed grows all over- even in unsuspected places. It is a true weed, but it is very nutritious and

delicious. It has a very mild, sweet flavor and can be cooked, although I prefer it raw. It is very high in copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, silicon and zinc. It is high in calcium, chlorophyll, phosphorus, potassium, Vitamin A and C.

Identifying chickweed:

It grows in thick clumps- at this time of year it probably won't be flowering- but when it does it has small white flowers. The entire plant can be eaten. Once you learn to identify it, you will see it everywhere.

The best way to identify it is by the small, oval leaves and white flowers. The plant has a distinguishing small line of hairs on one side of the stalk. For more details check out this video I found online -http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Identify-a-Chickweed-172493628

DANDELION:

I discovered yesterday at my herbalism class when we harvested dandelion to make tinctures, that what I have been eating several plants throughout the years that I thought were all dandelion, but aren't- Fortunately, they are all edible, although don't all contain the same nutritious properties that dandelion does.

Because of its bitter nature dandelion is very good for digestion and liver function.

Dandelion greens are high in vitamin A in the form of antioxidant carotenoid and vitamin C.

They also contain calcium and potassium. The root can also be dug and eaten raw or cooked into a tea- the root is very good for the skin, for the liver and for digestion as well.

Identifying dandelion: Dandelion grows profusely in yards and can be identified by a few, key features. It grows from the base- all of the leaves come out from the base. It is a rosette of green, toothed leaves that point back towards the center

.

Dandelions also only have one flowering stalk at a time. The leaves and the root can be eaten.

MINER'S LETTUCE:

Miner's lettuce is also known as winter purslane, spring beauty or Indian lettuce but is most commonly called miner's lettuce after the California gold rush miners who ate it to prevent scurvy. It tastes mildly salty and has a nice thick crunch. It usually grows in shaded areas and is only around in the spring time or early summer.

Identifying miner's

lettuce: Miner's lettuce is one of the easiest wild greens to identify. At the top of its slender stalks are round saucer-shaped leaves that completely encircle the stems, appearing to be one circular leaf. Small white flowers grow above the leaves. Oblong-shaped leaves grow near the base of the plant.

Wild greens are best in the spring. They are cleansing and refreshing to the system- are great for the skin, the liver and digestion. Enjoy!

Sophia's Candied Citrus Peel

My dear friend Sophia always makes candied citrus peel each year at around this time- and when we lived near each other I always looked forward to getting a little bag of the bejeweled bounty at Christmas.

This year she is in Mexico, but since I was craving candied orange

peel, I resigned myself to making it on my own. Sophia is an amazing cook that has always attempted and succeeded at making things I find completely daunting, so I was a little surprised to discover how easy it was to create something I value as much as gold!

Candied citrus peel is so appealing because it combines two opposing flavors- bitter and sweet. I like to candy mandarin, orange and lemon peel. I chop candied orange peel and add it to breads and cookies and scones. I add candied lemon peel to chutney and sauces or even fruit salads. Candied grapefruit peel can also be done, although I know one year Sophia made it and the pith was so thick that it was bitter and didn't last as long because of the higher moisture content- I would suggest boiling it a couple extra times before candying it. I've never tried candied lime peel- but it would probably be delicious as well. Candied citrus peel makes a beautiful gift and be sure to include the recipe, because once you get used to having candied citrus peel around you become pretty dependent!

Place a rack on a rimmed backing sheet. Several2 parts sugar to 1 part water- enough to cover the peels. To make mandarin tea simply add a tablespoon or so of dry peels to a tea pot and add boiling water. You can add black tea as well if you wish. For a more medicinal tea you can boil the peels for ten minutes or so or add some dried licorice root.

Thai Cabbage Salad

I took a break from the thesis yesterday evening and went to an amazing gathering of women. It was so nice to be around women in a celebratory space. Before getting massaged and hennaed we shared food. I brought this salad and the ladies loved it and asked for the recipe. We enjoyed it with mashed yams, brown rice, and a lovely quiche. The salad was a bright, fresh accompaniment.

Cabbage salads (or slaws) are so easy they almost beg you to improvise. This one I made in about 15 minutes with just what I had in my fridge. The trick is to use a sharp knife or a vegetable planer because you need to slice everything really thinly so the marinade softens the cabbage and the flavors blend. I was seduced by the kumquats at the market the other day but wasn't exactly sure how I was going to use them. This salad perfectly highlighted their jewel nature.

This salad is the perfect spring time dish because it contains many pungent foods such as ginger, garlic and radish which all have compounds which render them powerful antibacterial and anti infectious agents. In interviewing people about cold and flu remedies, I have found several that call for cabbage. Cabbage is a good cold immunity enhancer because it contains a ton of vitamin C (more than oranges even). The outer leaves especially are rich in calcium. And it is also known throughout the world to beautify the skin!

Daikon radishes are good for the digestion and the lungs- which may be a bit sluggish and congested from winter. Daikon cleanses the blood, promotes energy circulation and increases the metabolic rate (therefore helping weight loss). Daikon is also known in Chinese medicine as a preventative for respiratory infections. The reason for this is that it opens up and cleanses the lungs.

Look for daikons that aren't too big, but are heavy for their size and firm. They should also be pure white and organic. Fresh daikon has a sweet taste but when it gets old, it can get pithy and overly spicy. Also, daikon usually arrives at grocery stores with the leaves attached, and grocers then remove them. You can request these and use them in soups- they're delicious and have all of the health properties of the daikon. Cooking a daikon is easy- although I usually eat it raw. There is no need to peel it and you can use it any way you would a carrot.

Burdock (also known as Gobo) is also in this salad. I eat a lot of burdock in the spring because it is one of the best foods to cool and cleanse the liver. It is also simply delicious- it has a lovely nutty, grounding flavor. It's also good for shedding extra weight accumulated from a winter's worth of heavy foods. Look for roots that aren't too rubbery; you want it fresh because when it gets old it gets difficult to peel.

I used an entire bunch of cilantro in this salad because I never feel like you can have too much cilantro and it goes bad fairly quickly. If I had some thai basil I might use that as well, or perhaps some mint.

RECIPE:

1/2 a green cabbage,

1/2 a red cabbage

4 green onions

1/2 a large daikon

12'' burdock root

about 15 or 20 kumquats

1 bunch cilantro

Dressing:

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste

1 inch ginger, grated

2 tbsps tamari

2 tbsps agave nectar

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp ume plum vinegar

1 meyer lemon (zest and juice)

3 tbsps olive oil

black pepper

6 calendula flowers for garnish

Thinly slice everything for the salad, or use a vegetable planer. For the burdock make sure to peel it first. I leave the cilantro leaves in tact but chop the stems.

Mix everthing in the sauce together well then spread over the salad. Mix well and top with the calendula flowers.

a note on my absence

I felt that I should account for my absence....I have been finishing my thesis and it is currently absorbing almost all of my energy. My thesis is exploring folk remedies and the way the body and healing are approached through various cultures- basically I'm collecting various healing recipes and then looking at what they reveal.
I'll post some here since it is cold season...


My thesis will be done at the end of April and I plan to resume 'blogging'- god I hate that word!
In the meantime, enjoy your kitchen.

Parsnip Celery Root and Apple Gratin

This recipe was inspired by a dish I had at Cornucopia, one of my favorite restaurants in Dublin. The restaurant is a sheltered, warm little hideaway just off Grafton Street and out of the cold bustle of Dublin. It is always packed with a line of people waiting to eat the delicious vegetarian and often vegan menu items, which change from moment to moment throughout the day, depending on what the cooks feel like making.
It was here, when I was 18, visiting Ireland with my mom that I first realized I wanted to have a restaurant.
I made this a couple weeks ago for an Irish party I had and it was definitely the hit of the night. Since then, I've made it a couple more times- The lovely thing about it is that it's very simple.
The cheese gets nice and crispy while the apples provide a sweet balance to the astringent celery root.

I have made this gratin with potatoes instead of the celery root, but I don't think it's quite as good- and celery root is very good for you- cooling and slightly cleansing (which you need to balance out all the butter and cheese!)

If you've never cooked celery root before, don't be intimidated by it's less than attractive appearance! The hairy, gnarled monster can be easily tamed with a good sharp knife. Celery root, which is also called 'celeriac', is available all winter long, as it keeps well.












Look for ones that are free of soft brown spots. Celery root can also be eaten raw- and is typically made into a salad called remoulade- with mayonnaise. It has been eaten in Europe for centuries (it was even mentioned in Homer's Odyssey!). It has tons of Vitamin C, potassium and phosphorus. Oh, and scrub it well before using- because there is often sand and dirt hiding in the roots!

I used an aged Shannon chedder on top, but gruyere would also be delicious!

Recipe:
Serves 6-8 people

4 large Parsnips
6 crisp, tart apples like fuji
1 large, or 2 smaller celery roots
8 cloves of garlic- peeled and sliced thinly
4 tablespoons kerrygold butter cut into teaspoon-sized pieces
1 cup thinly sliced cheese- such as Dubliner, Kerry Gold, aged Chedder, or Gruyere
1 cup bread crumbs (optional)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
fresh thyme- several tablespoons chopped, plus more for garnish
salt, pepper

Begin by boiling a large pot of water. While it is heating, begin peeling the celery root- and then slicing it in 1/4 inch slices. When the water boils, add the celery root. Boil for 7-10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the parsnips and slice them into 1/4 inch slices or rounds. Check the celery root- it should boil until just barely tender- but take it out with a slotted spoon before it's beginning to crumble- then do the same with the parsnips.
While the parsnips boil core and slice the apples.
Heat the oven to 350

With the par-boiled vegetables and the apples set aside, rub the inside of a large baking dish with a sliced clove of garlic- then butter the dish.
Layer the parsnips, celery root and apple- sprinkling garlic and parsley between the layers. When finished, top with the butter and the rest of the parsley and thyme. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then add the rest of the garlic.

Then layer the cheese on top. You should have enough to cover it entirely, if you don't, grate more.

Then top the entire thing with the breadcrumbs.

Bake in the oven for at least an hour, or until the cheese is slightly crispy on the edges and the smells overwhelming the kitchen can no longer be resisted!

Irish Brown Bread

After frolicking around Ireland for a few weeks, I've returned with renewed inspiration for the kitchen and a desire to infuse my meals with the hearty warmth that the Irish seem to just innately possess.

You'll have to forgive me because I'm more than slightly obsessed with Ireland, and this blog will surely reflect that for at least the next few weeks.

Throughout County Kerry, which is where I spent most of my time (and where I hope to move someday), I encountered fantastic food- little organic cafes, health food stores and of course pubs. Every meal was accompanied by cider, guinness or tea, and almost every meal included potatoes and brown bread, or soda bread, a staple in the Irish diet, which is as easy as it is nutritious and wonderfully satisfying.












It is made in various ways- but always contains buttermilk and baking soda which are the leavening agents (yeast doesn't do well in damp Ireland). It is made traditionally with oatmeal or graham flour, which is courser than regular whole wheat flour because it contains the germ and the bran of the wheat.

As with any simple recipe (or any recipe at all, for that matter), the quality of the ingredients is of utmost importance- flour goes rancid easily, and organic, yellow butter will add tremendous flavor, as well as the buttermilk, which, again, should be organic and non-homogenized. Baking soda as well, only keeps for about 6 months, and one should only use the non-aluminum kind as aluminum is very toxic.

Since graham flour is hard to find outside of Ireland, you can substitute a little less than one-half cup wheat bran for one-half cup all-purpose flour as well as 2 teaspoons wheat germ (which needs to be fresh and kept refrigerated, since it spoils easily).

Since the coarseness of the flour as well as the effectiveness of the baking soda will vary, you'll need to experiment and maybe make a couple batches before you get it just right, but fortunately it's incredibly simple.

RECIPE:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 3/4 cup Irish, quick cooking (non instant) oatmeal
  
• 1 cup whole-wheat graham flour (or 1/2 cup white plus almost half cup bran and a little germ)
  
• 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted kerrygold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 2/3 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

Whisk together the flours, oatmeal, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a large bowl. With a pastry blender or your fingertips, blend in butter until it resembles small peas. Add buttermilk all at once; stir with a fork until mixture holds together.

In the bowl, pat the dough into a dome-shaped loaf about 7 inches in diameter. Lift out dough; transfer to lined sheet.

Lightly dust top of loaf with flour. Cut a 3/4-inch-deep cross in top, reaching almost all the way to edges. This symbolizes the Celtic cross, which is said to bless the bread and those who eat it.

Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until a skewer inserted, comes out clean and it's nicely brown (about 1 hour and 20 minutes). Try to let it cool a bit before you slather it with big pats of kerrygold butter and devour it!

It freezes well and can be used later as a topping for apple crisps when sugar is added to it.