Mediterranean Wraps

These easy-to-make Mediterranean wraps are perfect for Spring! My favorite way to fix up lunch is to make-do with what we already have in the kitchen and pantry. It’s a great way for me to avoid food waste, and makes prep-time quicker. In general, I like to cook simply. My husband is the intricate chef. I am the basic farmer. I just recently posted these wraps on my Instagram stories, and I received a lot of positive feedback and recipe requests. So I thought I’d share this Mediterranean wrap recipe.

To be honest, there is no official tried and true recipe because wraps really depend on what I’ve got from the week before. It’s such a laissez-faire conglomeration of food items that I debated whether writing this post was useful at all. Despite being a hodge-podge of random items, the ‘recipe’ ended up tasting good so I decided it’s worth noting here.

It just so happens that we had left-over quinoa from when we ate salmon. I also had left-over spring greens from when we made a salad. Mikey whipped up his hummus from scratch for the ‘sauce’. Any store-bought hummus or online basic hummus recipe will do. And we chopped up some cucumber and tomatoes. I topped the stack with sauerkraut and feta cheese … for good measure.

Mediterranean Wraps

Ingredients:

Your favorite hummus
Cooked quinoa, drizzled with olive oil and lemon (or a Greek vinaigrette)
Spring mix of greens
Chopped cucumber
Chopped tomatoes
Pickled red onion
Sauerkraut
Feta Cheese
Flour tortillas (burrito size)

The Process:

All you have to do is layer on the ingredients in the order they are listed above. I like to cover the majority of the tortilla with hummus, leaving only an-inch of hummus-free border around the perimeter. I do quinoa : spring mix : cucumber : tomato: red onion : sauerkraut in a 2 : 2 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 ratio. Feta cheese is quite liberal, although Mike prefers to skip that. Then roll it all up in as neat of a burrito as you can, and cut in half.

Whether this classifies as Mediterranean wraps is still up in the air. All I know is that it’s good and healthy. You can always prepare these ahead of time, for the perfect grab-and-go lunch or treat.

The plate is the Side Plate in Morel from East Fork Pottery. I absolutely adore this brand and we use their dishes every day. They are sturdy, dependable, and oh-so-humbly cute. This is my affiliate link. As always, thanks for supporting the brand.

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Valentine’s Day Devil’s Food Chocolate Layer Cake

This post is in partnership with KitchenAid and Le Creuset. Both companies have agreed to partner with the blog as I document my baking adventures. This particular recipe was modified from the book Tartine by Elisabeth Prueitt. Instead of homemade caramel, I used store bought La Lechera, and there’s no shame in that. I learned how to bake bread with Tartine and own three Tartine books. This edition goes through different pastries and cakes and I would highly recommend it to bakers who prefer making sweet delicacies over hearty loaves of bread.

I have been wanting to make this Devil’s Food Chocolate Layer Cake for a while. Something about the elegance and simplicity of this cake really drew my attention to it. It stands alone well with cake crumbs coating the exterior, or for icing lovers out there, perhaps a thicker layer of chocolate ganache would do. It is rich without being overly sweet, romantic without being exaggeratedly extravagant. The definition of delectable!

If you are looking for something to do this COVID Valentine’s Day, why not gather your loved ones and work together on baking this cake? If you’ve got little ones without the patience to sit through the steps of icing and layering a cake, the cake itself tastes like a good batch of brownies and this recipe makes two batches worth when using square 8″ x 8″ pans like these gorgeous ruby red Le Creuset pans. (Right now, if you spend $200, you will receive two free heart ramekins for the Valentine holiday.) You can skip the caramel and whip up the chocolate ganache in minutes, icing the top of your brownies with chocolate. One for you, one for the kids. It’s perfect.

The original recipe calls for homemade caramel but for the sake of time, I simply bought a can of La Lechera. The chocolate ganache was easy to make and I used Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate chips and heavy cream. Any bittersweet chocolate works in this recipe. Lastly, I had market flowers that were due to wilt, which I cut and placed into the cake. I like to cover the stems with parchment paper so as not to mar the cake.

This cake is super easy to make. With the help of a Kitchen Aid mixer, I was able to mix the cake within ten minutes. It cooks for forty five minutes, during which I was washing dishes and prepping the chocolate ganache. I would recommend waiting until the cake has cooled completely before assembling the layers. I let it cook in their pans for half an hour prior to removing the cake from their molds. Then I place it in the fridge to help firm up the cake prior to icing. Meanwhile, the cake tops are tossed into the oven to dry out. After I assemble the layers, I throw the cake in the freezer for thirty minutes prior to icing the exterior, just to make sure it is set and the layers don’t move around. The most fun part is getting the cake crumbs on the sides of the cake. I found that the original recommendation to tilt the cake isn’t the best, after all my work nearly sliding off the stand and into the sink. I prefer to take a spoon and chuck the crumbs on the sides of the cake, creating a beautiful mess, but nothing my Dyson can’t handle.

If you are looking to this cake as a romantic gesture, I would pair with a glass of red wine and some roses on the side. Candy heart messages optional. It’s going to be a winner, I promise. Other cake recipes this way.

Related Posts:

Ingredients

1.25 cups All Purpose Flour
0.5 cups Spelt flour
4.5 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1.25 cups cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
2.25 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1.25 cups buttermilk
20 oz Ghirardelli’s bittersweet chocolate chips
3 cups heavy cream
1/2 can of La Lechera caramel (about 3/4 cup)

The Process

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spray two 9″ cake pans with coconut oil spray or butter them and lightly flour so the cakes do not stick. An alternative is to line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper to make removing of the cake rounds easier.
Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Attach the paddle attachment to your Kitchen Aid stand mixer and beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and creamy.
Add the sugar a little at a time, continuing to beat on the same speed until light in color and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, waiting until full incorportaion before adding the next egg. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition with a rubber spatula.
With the Kitchen Aid mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 equal batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. In other words, add 1/3 of the flour mixture, then half of the buttermilk, followed by 1/3 of the flour mixture, the rest of the buttermilk, and finishing with the rest of the flour mixture.
Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with the rubber spatula, then mix again for another few seconds. This ensures full incorporation.
Divide the cake batter evenly between the two pans and bake until the top springs back (about 45 minutes).
Cool cakes completely in the pans on wire racks.
When the cakes are cool, turn them out by inverting the pans. Turn cakes right side up on the wire pans with the mounds on top. Use a serrated knife to cut off the mounded tops (leaving behind two flat rounds) and stick the tops on a sheet tray back into the oven at 250 degrees F. Let them bake for about 45 minutes to an hour to dry them out. These will turn into your crumb coat.
As for the two cake rounds, I stick them into the fridge sitting on wire racks for 10 minutes to completely cool.
Meanwhile, I make the ganache by placing the chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl. I heat the heavy cream in a saucepan until it comes to just under a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate into the bowl. Do not stir right away. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes until the chocolate is partially melted. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth and shiny. Open the can of La Lechera, as we will assemble the cake layers next.
Remove the cake from the fridge. Use the serrated knife to cut each round in half, resulting in four rounds. Place one round on a plate or cake stand. Spread 3 tablespoons of caramel over the cake, followed by a 1/4 inch thick layer of chocolate ganache. Place the second round on top of the chocolate. Repeat the process until you place the fourth round of cake on top.
Place the newly assembled cake into the freezer for 15 minutes to set the icing. You can also refrigerate the cake until firm for 1-2 hours if you need more time. If you are letting the cake set in the fridge, I would cover the chocolate ganache with plastic wrap to prevent it from air exposure. Keep that out at room temperature.
Meanwhile, the cake tops should be nice and toasty. Remove them from the oven and place in a food processor. Run the food processor until the cake tops are broken up into tiny crumb pieces. Strain the crumbs through a medium-mesh sieve. You don’t want a fine mesh, otherwise your crumbs won’t go through. Set aside the bowl of sifted crumbs for later.
Remove the cake from the freezer (or fridge) and ice the outside with chocolate ganache using an off-set spatula. If decorating with came crumbs, you only need a thin layer. If you prefer to do just the icing, I would double the icing.
After the cake is iced on the top and sides, sprinkle cake crumbs over the top of the cake. The original instruction says to tilt the cake left and right to let the crumbs fall over the edges but that didn’t work too well for me. I had to take a spoon and fling the crumbs at the sides of the cake instead. You can try either, just be careful not to tilt too much lest the cake starts to slip off the plate!
I decorated the top of the cake with flowers from the Farmer’s Market, but this cake is seriously just as beautiful without any decorations at all. If you wish, you can place a dollop of left-over chocolate ganache in a glob at the center of the cake and stick two Sweetheart candy messages on there, calling it a day.

Note: This cake is best served at room temperature. Let it sit on the counter as you prep the rest of dinner. You can also serve this with berries and red wine. To store, keep covered and in a cool place for up to four days. Refrigeration will dry out the cake.

I hope you all have a lovely Valentine’s Day.

Oatmeal Rye Chocolate Chip Walnut Everything Bagel Mix Cookie

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We were traveling up the coast of California in early December when I had a lightbulb cookie recipe idea. It was a Thursday morning and we were leaving Los Osos, CA heading to Big Sur National Park. Before our departure, we decided to stop by a bakery to pick up croissants. We came across a house in the middle of a residential neighborhood with two parking spots in the driveway. There was a sign that read, “Pagnol Baywood at 3rd Street Bakery”.

Immediately, I had an affinity for the spot. It was a home whose downstairs floor was completely transformed to a tiny bakery. The owner lived upstairs. It was exactly what I had envisioned for us when I opened my bakery a year and a half ago. Plus, the name of the bakery was creepily very similar to what I almost named Aero Bakery. We live on 3rd St., in downtown Santa Ana and a runner-up name was 3rd Street Bakery. To have come across Pagnol was like seeing a mirror of the life I had dreamt up a year ago.

It was a dewy, foggy morning and the outdoor bistro tables were drenched so we decided to get our croissants to go. We had made coffee earlier that morning in the AirBNB (yes, we travel with our own pour over set-up and here’s a good one we tried recently and liked), so sitting in the car would put us close to our liquid gold. I walked up to the window (a half-opened wooden door to the front of the house) and asked for the menu. And that’s when I heard, for the first time ever, a croissant dipped in everything bagel mix on a baker’s menu. As Mike and I sat in the car and ate our croissants, we could not deny that it defeats our favorite croissant to date (La Lune’s in Melbourne, Australia). But this post isn’t about the croissant. I thought to myself, “What if I incorporated Everything Bagel Mix into a earthy dark chocolate cookie?!?!”

It sounds like madness, but I am a huge lover of adding sea salt to every baked good I make. If you’ve been reading my posts awhile, you may recall that I prefer savory breakfast items over sweet ones anyway. But even a dessert cookie could do with a bit of umami.

With only two days away until Christmas Eve, I am posting this Rye Chocolate Chip Walnut Oatmeal Cookie with Everything Bagel Seasoning for all the parents out there looking for a simple, quick, and delicious recipe to fuel Santa on his merry way.

Important note: These cookies need to be hand-mixed. As much as I love my Kitchen Aid Mixer, I have found that using one whips the dough too much, resulting in a more runny and less “full” cookie. I know that throwing it into the electric mixing stand makes it easier, but I would highly recommend putting in the effort to hand mix with a fork.

Ingredients:

1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs, beaten and at room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup rye flour
3 cups whole rolled oats
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Everything Bagel Seasoning Mix
Chopped Walnuts

The Process:

Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl and mix until creaming.
Add the next four ingredients and mix until just combined.
Stir in the flour, oats, and chocolate chips.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour or until the dough is chilled and firm. (I make this recipe in large batches and store cookie dough in the fridge, making cookies as needed throughout the week. If you are busy on Christmas Eve, you can always prepare this dough a day ahead and bake them off in the evening).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius).
Line baking sheets with parchment paper
Use a 2 tbsp ice cream scoop and scoop out balls of cookie dough, placing them 1 inch apart. Press the dough down gently with the palm of your hand.
Sprinkle the tops of the dough with Everything Bagel Seasoning Mix.
Take walnut pieces (I like to use walnut halves) and press them gently into the tops of the cookies. I typically use 2 walnuts per cookie, because I love them so.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating and alternating the sheets halfway through baking time.
Remove the baking sheets from the oven when the edges of the cookie start to brown. Rap the sheet trays sharply on the counter, to help flatten the cookie a bit more. I learned this trick working as the midnight baker for Rye Goods.
Cool the cookies for 5 minutes.
Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack and cool completely for 30 minutes.
Serve or store in an air-tight container (a tupperware would do) for up to a few days.

I make these cookies a day ahead all the time! I love to eat them fresh, so I will bake 4 each day for the house. Also, this recipe makes about 36 cookies, so don’t be afraid to cut it in half, which we also do.

I know it sounds like a lot going on, but in my opinion, it’s a well balanced cookie. You can always substitute walnuts with pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, or pistachios. If you want to make it extremely festive, why not through all of them on there! Santa won’t mind.

Cheddar and Herb Scones

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When it comes to breakfast items, I am one who favors savory treats over sweets. That is why these Cheddar and Herb Scones are a staple in our household! I am already a big fan of scones in general for their simple and quick process. As much as I love my Kitchen Aid Mixer, scones are one of the few baked goods that I make by hand, without any electric gadgets. There is something very meditative about the sifting of flours, the pinching of cold butter bits in between my fingers, and the kneading of shaggy dough with my hands.

My favorite time to whip up these beauties is in the early morning hours, between rising and making coffee. It helps ease me into my day. Rote motions work subconsciously as my body wakes with every memorized movement. The oven pre-heats, warming the cold kitchen cement floors while I prepare the dough. The scones bake for 18 minutes exactly while I wash the dishes I used and boil water in my Fellow kettle. I make my pour-over coffee with my Chemex, the sound of coffee drips melding in with the smell of cheese. I pour my coffee into my favorite East Fork mug just as the oven beeps. It is a routine that I have mastered and re-mastered.

Scones also get bonus points for their versatility. I like to play with different types of flours as well as toppings. I had previously published my favorite Rye Strawberry and Thyme Scone recipe here. Alternative additions in our household include Blueberry and Lemon, or Caramelized Onion and Bacon. This Cheddar and Herb Scone Recipe is a modification of all those recipes. Once you have a good scone recipe down, you can’t really go wrong with the experimentation.

I hope you enjoy this as much as me and the housemates do!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup dark rye flour
1/3 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup einkorn flour
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
3 tbsp. sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1/2 cup fresh herbs (I like a mix of chives, thyme, and rosemary).
1.5 cups Mexican cheese, shredded
2 large eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream plus additional for brushing
Smoked Maldon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Useful Baking Tools

A mixing bowl or two Measuring Cups
A whisk
A fork
A bench scraper (or a knife works)
A knife
A marble pastry slab, or a clean countertop to roll dough out on
Baking Tray
Parchment Paper
A pastry brush

The Process:

Preheat the oven to 400 F with a rack in the center.
Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Add the butter pieces and with thumb and pointy finger, flatten the butter, pinching floury bits into it, Tara Jensen style. Alternatively, you can use two knives to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles small peas.
Stir in the cheese and herbs.
Whisk the eggs together in a separate bowl. Add heavy cream and vanilla to the egg mixture and whisk again until well mixed.
Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture with a fork, mixing until just combined. I l liken the end result to one big, shaggy mess.
Lightly dust a clean work surface (I use my marble pastry slab from Crate and Barrel which I use for all my baking needs, but a wooden surface works well too), with flour. Turn the dough onto this surface and knead until just combined.
Shape the dough into a square (6 inch x 6 inch). Cut the dough into four 3-inch squares using a bench scraper (my favorite is by Ateco but something like this would do, too), then cut the smaller squares into triangles.
Arrange the scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with heavy cream using a pastry brush. Sprinkle the tops generously with Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Depending on the flavor profile you are aiming for, you can favor one topping over another.
Bake for 16-18 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Transfer the scones to a rack and cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

This recipe was modified from Kinfolk Table, by far my favorite published recipe book for its unassuming simplicity and charm. If you can, support local and small bookstores such as Lido Village Bookstore, one of my SoCal faves.

Italian Pasta Salad

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Over the summer, we spent a weekend in Colorado and met up with a dear friend (our accountant, actually, who of course I became dear friends with) and his wife who was also a dental school classmate of mine. It was the first time we saw friends since the stay-at-home mandate and it was our first sign of normalcy, an indication that things would eventually be okay.

They were hosting us in their lovely backyard and as I watched them wrangle their two kids, put one down for a nap, entertain a talkative other, turn on a grill, make burgers, grill hot dogs, and continue a constant flow of conversation, I thought to myself, “Man these people are super heroes!” Which, I suppose, all parents are.

But the thing that stood out to me the most was when we sat down for lunch, with the older one seated at the end in his floating high chair and the table set for five, my friend turns and pulls out this pre-made pasta salad and a bowl of already chopped fruit from the fridge to add to our awesome burger and hot dog feast. I remember thinking to myself, “Genius!”

I am all about pre-making meals when hosting gatherings but sometimes, in between wanting to impress guests and wanting to serve fresh food, I do forget that the simpler things are usually best. What amazed me most about our friends was that they weren’t running around trying to pick up toys from the floor. They weren’t trying to prevent their kids from running around in the yard. They weren’t concerned about the details of the table setting. They were concerned about whether we wanted another beer or how much ice cream serving is good enough. They focused on their guests alone and I think that when you have two kids and two dogs, you should get a medal for that type of stuff.

I’m sure this isn’t the exact same Italian pasta salad that she served, but that is another great thing about recipes such as these. You can make them on the fly with whatever ingredients you have in stock and they turn out just as great. This recipe is easily made in big batches and it actually tastes better after a day of being in the fridge, soaking up the dressing’s goodness. Plus it looks good in any container.

My parents recently hosted a BBQ themselves and I made a huge batch of this and saved half for us (which we ate with salmon a couple meals in a row) and brought half to the party. I can’t believe I wasn’t making this sooner. It was such a breeze.

Ingredients:

Rotini or Bow Tie Pasta (1 lb)
1 Cucumber
1 cup of small tomatoes
1 cup of pitted olives
Other additions/veggies you want to add. Examples include bell peppers, roasted eggplant, roasted squash, pickled carrots, and more.
Italian Dressing, to taste
Feta cheese to crumble on top
Black pepper, to taste.

The Process:

I think the process is rather self-explanatory but here it is in a nutshell.

Boil pasta according to the box instructions. Drain and shock in a bowl of cold water. If you skip shocking the pasta and toss the salad when it’s warm, the noodles will stick together and have a gummy consistency.
Cut cucumber, tomatoes, and olives into similar sized pieces. You want this pasta salad to be easy to eat, which means you want everything to be about the same size.
Mix pasta with fruit and veggies, toss with Italian Dressing, and top with Feta cheese and freshly crushed black pepper.

NOTE: You may notice that we have red onion in this pasta salad. Red onion has a pretty potent flavor and you don’t want to detract from the rest of the salad. If you do add red onion, you can soak it in the dressing prior to adding it in. I myself place cut red onions into a mason jar and soak for at least fifteen minutes so that the dressing pulls out some of the red onion’s harshness. It will also give the onion a sweeter, pickled taste. I toss both onion and dressing with the salad in step 3.

For those interested, the plates are side plates in Morel from East Fork Pottery and the coasters are Herringbone in Black from Fog Linen.

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Lemon Poppyseed Loaf

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I am not the type of person who cleverly come up with recipes on my own. Perusing recipe books, pastry displays at coffee shops, and farmer’s market stalls are really how I get most of my inspiration. I will usually come across a base recipe that sounds good, but will have qualms over a few of the ingredients or will find substitutions necessary. When it comes to baked goods, I will usually swap flours, fruits, and toppings. When it comes to meals, I will typically throw in what I already have in the pantry to reduce waste, and add complexities such as spices, peppers, hints of lime or lemon, even brown sugar.

This lemon poppyseed loaf, however, comes as close to the original recipe published in Tartine Book No. 3. Of course, it was my husband who made it and not I. He came across it last week after eating dinner, sitting at the table perusing through the pages to look for bread recipes. Ironically, this cake was what caught his eye.

Instead of Kamut flour and pastry flour, we used einkorn flour, which I’ve had as a staple in the pantry since my fellow baker reported it as being his favorite bread flour, and all-purpose flour respectively. We did not use Kefir butter like the recipe asked, sticking with the more readily available unsalted butter during these barren times. I couldn’t justify splurging on such a frivolous ingredient as Kefir butter after the financial repercussions of COVID 19 (see how to battle those here in my recent post). This lemon poppyseed loaf (and all other home-baked goods thus far) has been the silver lining to this stay-at-home movement thus far.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup Einkorn flour
1/3 cup All Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Almond Meal
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cold but pliable
4 large free range eggs
2 T poppy seeds
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 2 lemons

The Process:

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the dry ingredients listed from sugar to salt.
Add the butter and, slowly increasing the speed to medium, mix until just combined.
Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each egg before moving on to the next.
Stop the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape along the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is included in the mix.
With the mixer on low, slowly add the poppy seeds, lemon juice and lemon zest.
Once combined, transfer the mixture into a tightly sealed container and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, preheat the oven to 350 F and take out the container to allow the batter to come to room temperature.
Spray coconut cooking spray into an 8.5 x 4 inch pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Transfer the batter into the pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, turning the pan halfway through.
Check for done-ness with a toothpick (hopefully if comes out clean!), adding a few additional minutes if the loaf isn’t ready.
Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes. If you invert it too soon, the loaf may not come out nicely. Use a knife and run it along the sides of the loaf. Invert the cake onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

We prefer to eat our slices with matcha lattes in the morning. We gave half of the loaf to our parents and kept half for ourselves. We love how the exterior of the loaf is a dark brown sugary glaze. This is my husband’s “favorite thing he ever baked”. For me, it’s a bit sweet, but I bet that increasing the almond meal and substituting a darker flour while reducing the amount of granulated sugar to less than a cup would really make this loaf sing.

Of course, I could never just leave the recipe be.

For those looking to discover the baker within, I highly recommend Tartine by Elizabeth Pruitt and Kinfolk Table. For a free way to learn how to cook, Skillshare has a few classes which you can access for two months FREE here.

The plates are by East Fork Pottery, my favorite place to find tablewares from the heart.

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Rye Strawberry Thyme Scones

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more. Strawberry season almost slipped past without my notice. Gone were the invitations to pick fruit from the farm, gone are the baskets of luscious berries that caught my eye at stands, gone are many more familiar indicators of seasons passing by. It wasn’t until a farmer’s market opened up in front of our door that I noticed and realized that strawberry season is here. Rye and strawberry is one of my favorite flour and fruit combinations. I’m mighty peculiar in that way. I’ve got buckwheat and blueberry pancakes and einkorn and tomato pizzas, things that go like jam and jelly in my book, and so too with rye and strawb.

These scones are perfect with a light cup of coffee in the mornings. My dad had a habit of dunking bread-like brekkies directly into his mug, but I prefer to bite into this pastry creating a crumby mess on the plate. I personally do not like very sweet pastries – so we added thyme into these scones which make them more savory than normal. Because of that, I can easily eat two to three without walking away feeling heavy. It takes minutes to prepare and these were fresh out of the oven before our room mate even walked upstairs. If sleeping in is more your thing, make then mid-afternoon for a little work-at-home tea break. This recipe was modified from Kinfolk Table, by far my favorite published recipe book for it’s unassuming simplicity and charm. If you can, support local and small bookstores such as Lido Village Bookstore, one of my SoCal faves.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups dark rye flour, freshly milled if possible
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
3 tbsp. sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 cup dices strawberries
2 large eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream plus additional for brushing
1/s tsp vanilla extract
Fresh or dried thyme

Useful Baking Tools

A mixing bowl or two Measuring Cups
A whisk
A fork
A bench scraper (or a knife works)
A knife
A marble pastry slab, or a clean countertop to roll dough out on
Baking Tray
Parchment Paper
A pastry brush

The Process:

Preheat the oven to 400 F with a rack in the center.
Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces and with thumb and pointy finger, flatten the butter, pinching floury bits into it. Alternatively, you can use two knives to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles small peas.
Stir in the strawberries.
Whisk the eggs together in a separate bowl. Add heavy cream and vanilla to the egg mixture and whisk again until well mixed.
Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture with a fork, mixing until just combined. I l liken the end result to one big, shaggy mess.
Lightly dust a clean work surface (I use a marble pastry slab, but a wooden surface works well too), with flour. Turn the dough onto this surface and knead until just combined.
Shape the dough into a square (6 inch x 6 inch). Cut the dough into four 3-inch squares, then cut the smaller squares into triangles.
Arrange the scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with heavy cream using a pastry brush. Sprinkle the tops generously with sugar and thyme. Depending on the flavor profile you are aiming for, you can favor one topping over another.
Bake for 16-18 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Transfer the scones to a rack and cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

These babies reheat real nicely in a toaster oven. I would store them in an air tight container on the counter for a few days. I reckon they won’t last long. For those wondering, these cake plates are from East Fork Pottery in Eggshell.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Banana Bread

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When I was operating my own humble little bakery, Aero, there was one item that sold out almost every day. The chocolate chip walnut banana bread. I didn’t really understand the hype around this one loaf, since deep in my heart I felt like the better items on the menu included loaves of sourdough, with or without additions, lovingly fermented over 24 to 72 hours. This banana loaf was quick to whip up, especially with my noble steed (a kitchen aid mixer that Mike got me for Christmas, five days before we were married), and since I associated love with labor, I just couldn’t for the life of me fathom why this was the loaf that flew off the shelves.

Now with the bakery closed and with many a person finding ample time on their undoubtedly well-washed hands, I’ve decided to share this recipe with the world so that they could continue to fill bellies and hearts while I take a personal hiatus and well-needed time to myself during this stay-at-home period, which I’ve decided to look at as a gift.

But first, a bit about this recipe. This is not some grandoise, elegant and eloquent thing that I’ve creatively concocted out of thin air. It is a very basic and simple traditional recipe that has been adapted through different generations. This loaf came from Mike’s grandmother, who is a wonderful baker born and raised in North Dakota and whose magic bars and thumb-print peanut butter cookies graced our wedding reception’s dessert table. The banana bread recipe was passed on to Mike’s sister who made her own personal modifications. And after our wedding, it was shared with me on a hot summer afternoon when she and I decided to get together and bake in her kitchen. When I originally made this recipe for the first time, it was on a low counter-top, and we used what left-over ingredients were at hand, following the recipe in a blasé kind of way. No disrespect to the original recipe but we had more healthy substitutions in mind. Instead of pouring the batter into a traditional loaf pan, we used miniature loaf pans to make four teensy-tiny loaves that any minimalist would drool over.

When my sister-in-law sent me a photo of her recipe card a few weeks later, I decided to modify it a tad further. I had, at the time, Kefir instead of the suggested buttermilk or yogurt. I also had Rye grain from the Tehachipi Project, so I decided on a whim to mill Rye using my Mockmill right before mixing and to throw it into the bowl at 100% baker’s percentage. What came out was a very flavorful, dark, caramelized loaf that had a stickiness to it and a very moist, tender inside. Over the few months that I continued to bake this for others, I have decided that I preferred the recipe without chocolate chips, although my patrons fell into the two camps fairly evenly. I will leave that decision up to you.

I personally enjoy this loaf a slice at a time with a glob of yogurt plopped on top, and granola or a seed mix strewn over it. On the side, I love having a light cup of Joe, preferably of an Ethiopian variety. This HHC cup of coffee particularly has notes of blueberry, cream, black tea and sugar. The beans come from Ecuador, which I highly recommend – I also recommend their Kenya bag with notes of lime. Currently, HHC has a promo : buy a bag of beans, get the second one at 50% off! Check out their Instagramto find out how.

What are some of your favorite ways to eat banana bread? As dessert with vanilla bean ice cream? On-the-go with crumbs on your car seat? Like a child, licking chocolate off your fingers? Please do share below.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups freshly milled rye flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup Kefir or Bulgarian probiotic yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips

The Process:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Using a KitchenAid, cream sugar and butter.
Mix in eggs
Add Kefir or yogurt and the vanilla.
Add in the bananas.
Add dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Fold in nuts and chocolate chips.
Spray cooking spray on the loaf pan and pour batter into it, using a spatula to flatten the top. You can choose to sprinkle whole and half-sized walnut pieces over the bread like I do, to give it texture as well as for appearances.
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the middle is cooked through, rotating at the halfway mark. You can check for doneness by sticking a toothpick or chopstick in the center of the bread.
Pull out of the oven and let rest in the pan for a few moments to slightly cool.
Invert out of the pan and cool completely on a drying rack.