Vintage Glory!

It is easily overlooked that what is now called vintage was once brand new.

Tony Visconti

I think I've mentioned a few times my great love affair with vintage doodads (don't you just love that word?) and this doesn't cease when it comes to my kitchen.

One day, I dream of having a 1950's inspired kitchen, with raised counter tops just like Julia Child had because I happen to be a bit taller than the standard counter accommodates. I want a lovely old Libra cast iron scales. My mam has these and I adore them so much, sure they aren't as accurate as the modern digital ones but isn't that some of the charm?

I also dream of a gorgeous 6 burner stove, oh how I'd bake the hell out of one of those babies!

If this were a 6 burner I would be in heaven!

Even the aprons I adore, I personally think they looked better and covered better, after all - isn't that their purpose anyway?

Obviously this kitchen of mine is still a dream, for now at least, but I do have some cute little knick knacks already stashed away waiting for the day when we have our very own place and I can go nuts in the kitchen! For an example (and one I'm very proud of) of my knick knacks, here's my salt and pepper shakers...well not my actual ones, but I have the exact same set :)

Aren't they adorable?

I know, I know, I'm making you all jealous so I won't put any more examples up or tell you how devilishly difficult it was to source them or the good deal I got on them when I did find them...Ok! You bent my arm! It was £15! How good was that?!

Anyway, I digress, my main point of this article is to ask if I should post more vintage recipes on here? What do you guys think? And also to tell you I have started another blog Vintage Daub to get some of my addiction out of my system. I hope that you go check it out and look out for the vintage kitchen paraphernalia reviews and tips!

Happy Baking!

Related articles

• WIAW 11.28.12 [Inspiration from Julia] (lifesabowl.com)
• Vintage ventures 3 (themuseumgirl.com)
• On Classics Of The Kitchen (alwaysyum.wordpress.com)
• Country Roads Christmas (cubbyholes.wordpress.com)
• vintage ornaments, love. (abiteast.typepad.com)

Pizza and pudding update

As you (hopefully) read on Friday, I was in the throws of creating pizza and a pudding. The latter of which turned out to be babka. I adore baking babka - the steps you have to take, the patience involved, timing is crucial, and last but not least...the smell, that wonderful warm, childhood memories, sweet but delicate smell that emits from the oven after about 15-20 minutes of it going in.
As for the pizza - it came out, thankfully, just as expected and on time, I have posted photos of it here to inspire and make you hungry! Hey, don't hate the cook, hate the desire ;) It's a simple recipe that can be adapted to suit anyones tastes or even if you have people who have allergies, this recipe works very well for them too. Although it is made with wheat flour so isn't applicable for coeliac suffers.
Here's the recipe for the pizza :
For the Base:
500g (and a little more) strong bread flour
25g fresh yeast
260ml water
15g salt

40ml olive oil
Mixed dry Italian herbs
Garlic powder
For the topping:
Tomato puree (use as much as you need to cover your pizza, or to taste)
Fresh garlic
Fresh onion
olive oil
Peeled plum tomatoes
Salt
Black Pepper
Mixed herbs
Method : 
1. In a bowl mix together 200g of the flour with the yeast, then add 160ml of the water and mix. Cover and set aside for 2 hours to rise.

2. Now mix in the remaining flour and water,adding the salt and olive oil. I sometimes find, depending on the brand of flour I'm using (or the country in which you live in), the dough mix remains a little too sticky at this point. If you find this too, just add some more flour before adding the herbs and knead in.
3. Now, take your garlic powder and mixed Italian herbs and sprinkle them around the edge (so in between the dough and the bowl) of your mix, and knead them in. This creates a lovely, fragrant and tasty base once cooked).

4. Set the dough aside in its mixing bowl to double in size.

4. Preheat the oven to 220ºC

5. Roll out the dough into a large circle and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Note : This also works in a square shape and I regularly bake my pizza on my oven tray (you know, the ones you get with your oven).

6. Bake the dough base for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven.
7. Meanwhile, chop the fresh garlic and onion finely (leaving some nice onion rings for topping) and add it to the oil, puree, tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper in a saucepan and gently warm through on the hob.
8. Spread over your pizza, making sure to leave enough room on the edge so you can retrieve it from the oven without dirtying your oven mitts :)
9. Bake for a further 10-15 minutes, pull out just before the tomato mix starts changing colour.
10. Add your choice of toppings - cheese, onion, ham, pineapple, etc etc and return to the oven for about another 5-10 minutes, just until your topping is warmer thoroughly and cheese has melted.
Note : If you are having meat on top of your pizza that needs to be cooked, such as beef mince, chicken strips, pork cuts (yes, I have seen that) then please cook this prior to the oven stage. I probably don't need to specify this but just in case you're having 'one of those days' :)

So here's a couple of photos of my creation, I did a nice simple one on Friday.

The pizza in the tray, fresh from the oven 

Ready to eat, with pickles at the ready (of course) and cold cola - yum!

Now, onto the pudding! Babka wouldn't be babka for me unless it was chocolate inside, and in a loaf tin. Maybe that's because I'm a purest and being part Lithuanian probably doesn't help decrease that. My nan would probably hate me if I did my babka any other way. 

My recipe for this is sort of a combination of my own creation and one I was given...it seems to work out ok and I've had no complaints  I have to say this was my first time cooking babka here in Israel so I was a little nervous about the change in flour, humidity and yeast.
Here's a photo of the babka just before going into the oven -

All risen and looking pretty :)

Now, I have to say I forgot to take another photo after it'd come out of the oven so I do apologise for this but to try and make up for it, here's a photo of a slice of it (before I devour it).

Slices of chocolatey babka goodness

If you want a good babka recipe check out http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/153119#.ULY-GeTFWSo It's a really nice recipe (from the looks of it, I haven't baked it myself) and it's well guided too so if it's your first time making babka, it's a good place to start without feeling overwhelmed!

I hope you enjoyed the photos and this marks my first savoury recipe I have posted! 

Make sure you share your babka and/or pizza stories, I always love hearing from you guys,

Happy Baking

Worth checking out:

This is Pizza

Slice

Foy Update

Pizza Blogger

Shabbat Shalom people

So, today is Shabbat and I've decided (like I do most Fridays) to make dinner as it's one of the few nights I actually can spend totally with my other half.

I'm making pizza :) He loves pizza and says mine is the best so off to the kitchen I go. I thought it would be simple today, make the dough that I could do blindfolded and while it's rising I'll bake something for dessert...sounds simple enough, right?

Wrong! I got up, got washed, made myself a coffee, sorted out the cats (I don't think you need details), cleaned the carpet that one of my cats 'favourites' and washed the floor, then, just as I was putting my cleaning products back while thinking I'd have my coffee and start the process off, my attention gets turned to an almighty crash from the living room. My little boy cat Bali had knocked over not only my coffee but had managed to get it all over the side table, which dripped into the drawer of said table, down through that and onto the base and floor. Everything was soaked inside the drawer, including my glasses (yep, I'm a geeky girl), computer cables, my usb mouse, all the remote controls...everything. I was not pleased. Now I had to clean everything and wash that poxy floor again.

Needless to say, it's now done and everything is in front of my air con, trying to dry out...Bali on the other hand is sucking up to me by cuddling against my leg as I write this.

Now, back to that pizza...

I am thinking of sharing not just sweet baked goods on here but what about some of my savoury ones? Pies, pastries, bread and pizza like things....anyone interested?

Have a great Shabbat and great weekend people :)

Happy Baking!

 

Wedding stress!

In all of the wedding cake, hope is the sweetest of plums

Douglas Jerrold

Ok, so I know I've been gone for...well quite a long time now and I do sincerely apologise for that.

One of the main reasons for this is we are now in the full throws of planning our wedding! When I returned to Israel after my holiday back to the U.K. we started sorting everything out so some things were put on 'the back burner' as we say.

From running around to the venue, photographers, Rabbi, wedding dress shop and trying to organise our friends who are coming from abroad it's been pandemonium here!

Now we have most things sorted, I can get back to baking and writing my blog :)

I've decided not to go with a wedding cake, firstly it's not that common here and secondly, I'm getting one for the U.K wedding so I won't complain, not every girl can say she's getting two weddings :D

What are your thoughts on wedding cakes? And what are some of your favourites? How big is too big for you?

Personally, I think if you have an oversized, or too many tiered, wedding cake it not only looks presumptuous but also...is it really practical? Not just for the baker to get it to the venue but also for you to do that dream 'first cutting of the cake'. I plan to have a smaller designed cake and then a sheet cake of the same sponge flavour to be served to the guests...that way no one misses out, it saves you money, and also - it can cut it easily and even smash it into your partners face if you fancy! :)

*Update* My, now husband, did this to me, but I managed to run away and then to smear it on his face - Girls -1 Boys - 0!

Here's a link to one of my favourites - http://www.perfect-wedding-day.com/image-files/hawaiian-wedding-cakes-1.jpg

Now I promise to add more posts and content in the coming days. If there is anything you want me to focus on, drop me a line!

Happy Baking!!

I think careful cooking is love, don't you? The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who's close to you is about as nice a valentine as you can give.

Julia Child

Julia Child, one of a few chefs I truly aspire to be like. Not only was she strong-willed and talented, but she was also a regular person who loved food - just like you and me, and who decided to make her passion into a hobby which then turned into her profession...so far I have 2 of those down and am working on the third and final one ;)

I think it's safe to say she made a lot people (I won't say just women) really get back into cooking and truly think of what they're eating. I once heard someone say 'If it wasn't for her, I think american cuisine would consist of mash potato and hot dogs'. I can't remember who said this but I have to say I think they may be right.

As many of you probably know, today marks what would have been Julia Child 100th birthday. So in honour of this (and, let's face it, it's as good as any excuse to bake) I went into my kitchen hoping to be inspired to create something maybe Julia would have like.

This normally wouldn't have been as difficult as it was today...I open my cupboards only to realise I've nearly run out of caster sugar, vanilla extract and chocolate! Oh dear! I also didn't have many other options, basically all I had was flour (plain, whole wheat and self-raising), eggs, brown sugar, milk, home-made chocolate chunks (that were incredibly soft even after freezing - must rectify this in the next attempt!), canola oil and butter. Not very conducive to creativity. Still, in true Julia style, I didn't let this deter me.

I had initially planned to bake one of Julia's own amazing recipes but with this lack of ingredients that was definitely out.

So what else is left to do but try and make a basic recipe a little more fun?

I decided to make a basic biscuit/cookie recipe and add my home-made chocolate chunks. Deliciously simple, right? WRONG! Because of my chocolate chunks being slightly softer than commercially bought ones they didn't stand up to the test of the Israeli heat and humidity. Just taking some out of the freezer, putting them straight in my cookie dough and returning the rest to the freezer (and as mentioned before, our flat isn't big so all this takes place in about 6 steps/1 minute give or take a bit) made them melt...completely!!! I tried to quickly rescue any remaining solids and mix them in but unfortunately my chocolate chip cookie idea now became a chocolate marbled cookie mix.

C'est la vie as Julia might say. Chin up and carry on (or if you prefer "Chin up, boobs out, it's showtime!" in the words of another favourite of mine - Debbie Reynolds).

So it came to pass that my wonderful idea of giving Julia the birthday celebratory baked goods that she deserved ended up a poor woman's attempt at cookies that just look as boring as they taste. In my defence, they taste good...but for an everyday cookie - not for a celebration of such magnitude!

[caption id="attachment_401" align="aligncenter" width="300"] My sad attempt at honouring Julia today[/caption]

 

So, my final words are an apology, to Julia, for this embarrassing creation and to say Happy Birthday Julia, we all wish you were still with us guiding us through the maze that is cooking and baking but your wise words and legacy will forever be close to our hearts (and stomachs!).

So, in true Julia style I will close with simply saying - Bon Appetit!

 

P.S. If you would like to see a unique inside about Julia, head on over to Sheryl Julian’s dinners with Julia article on The Boston Globe's website, it's a good read.

Related articles

• Happy 100th Birthday, Julia Child! A Few Memorable Quotes (thekitchn.com)


• Happy 100th Birthday, Julia Child! 12 Restaurants Hosting Special Menus in Her Honor (bostinno.com)


• Julia Child Gets Auto-Tuned to Celebrate Her 100th Birthday (people.com)


• Recipe for Julia Child's Eggplant Pizzas (Tranches d'aubergine á l'italienne) (kalynskitchen.com)

The trouble with a baking addiction is...

It's an addiction... and addiction is something I should know something about.

Keith Richards

I am, totally, unequivocally, absolutely a baking addict. It started when I was pretty young and has just got stronger as time goes by.

I first started out, like most people, being taught how to bake by my mum. She used to bake so much! Cakes, pies, yorkshire puddings, biscuits, breads etc etc. Anything she could bake at home, she would. I love this about her and have carried it on, not only does it save you a lot of money (sometimes!) but also it tastes better and is so much fun.
When I first started I wasn't very good - no surprise there. It took me some time to get used to the baking terms and ingredients (and I'm still always learning) but I got the handle on it eventually. So I started trying more and more difficult recipes and that progressed into me starting to create my own recipes.

The thing about this addiction, like any other, is it can be debilitating. For instance, when you're not selling your creations (as I am currently unable to, not through lack of trying but location) you're spending money but not getting anything back. Sure you're making lovely biscuits and desserts but all you get out of that is holes in your teeth and a wider waistline every day.

The other thing is saturation - with this I mean you still love the process of baking, the weighing of ingredients, mixing, folding, sieving etc, but the end result loses more and more of the excitement it once held. You want the process without the outcome or the resulting food that needs to be eaten. Also, tied in with this part of the problem is saturating your friends and family...there's only so many people you see regularly enough to give your baked goods to and they can only enjoy them for so long too.

Today was hard for me to resist baking some more biscuits (my own recipe) as I'd baked peach cupcakes only last night...it's only because the peaches were turning bad....I promise that was the reason ;)

So what did I do instead? Sadly, the answer is nothing. I sat in front of my laptop and played silly Facebook games, talked to a couple of friends back in the UK and tried to waste the hours until I can go to sleep. It's not a great way to spend a day and half of me feels worse for doing it...as if sitting here and avoiding the kitchen has made me more unhealthy and lazy - totally guilt ridden.

It's still too early (and too hot) to go to sleep, so now what do I do? To that, I have no answer but I thought sharing this and the physical act of typing it might take up some time and bring a solution possibly.

The conclusion for this post is - I'm still working on it. I even got fed up with writing my recipe book, I love to type but sometimes there's nothing that'll satisfy you other than doing exactly what you want. Right now I can't do or have anything I want - food, baking and cigarettes - so needless to say, life is annoying lately.

Anyone else have a baking addiction? Or anything similar? How do you deal with it?

Happy baking to anyone able to bake today :)

A really depressing development

It's 2:17am here, I'm too hot to sleep and I'm trying to keep my mind off of wanting a cigarette or those nice biscuits I baked earlier that are sitting in the fridge.

So, what do you do in these times? Trawl the internet of course! After all, isn't that what it's for?

As I do so I keep returning to food and baking sites (I did try to be all organised and started looking into wedding prep but to no avail) along with some awesome blogs about these subjects and I realise a recurring, but utterly depressing theme - stealing of others stuff. Or should I say, people reporting when people's things have been stolen. Then I come across a recipe of mine which I posted a few weeks ago...on someone else's blog and they're claiming it to be theirs! Of course, this has upset me quite a bit, I created this recipe, I took the time, effort (and the calories to my hips) and used my knowledge to make it work and someone else goes and nicks it.

I've been warned a few times of putting up my creations, especially since I'm working on my own recipe book but I didn't want to listen or believe people could be so devilish.

I love making these new creations, and when I add them to this blog I love seeing the response I get from them...but this has really darkened the joy I find in it all. I have no other option than to protect myself feeling like this again, so I will be taking down all my own recipes from this blog and won't be sharing anymore (until I finish my recipe book).

I will, however, still be posting classic recipes that I use constantly (or ones I have tweaked) and recipes I try for the first time from other sources.

I hope you can all understand this decision, and still find my blog interesting and useful.

But let's not dwell on such dark things or pathetic people, let's look on the bright side - this is a very good reason for me to try out other classic recipes and post the results and mouth-watering photos here for you all to enjoy and recreate yourselves!

As always, happy baking...