andwich bread, as we all know, is readily available and dirt cheap at any store. So why bother to go through the trouble of making it at home? Well, first of all, if you’re big on soups, salads, and sandwiches as I am, you know that often times it’s the bread that makes a great meal. And no doubt is the taste and texture of homemade sandwich bread better – the crust is so good you’ll want to cut it all of and eat it by itself. Finally, there’s the sense of accomplishment. How often do you get to slice your own, freshly baked bread?

Everyone has their opinion on what sandwich bread should be like, but what I was looking for was a soft, tender, light sandwich bread, one where you can make a sandwich and not feel full after three bites. I finally found it, after experimenting with several other recipes. What I noticed was that sandwich breads that had the airy, light, almost melt-in-your-mouth quality I was looking for are richer in ingredients than your average sandwich loaf. As in, more fat – more butter, milk, or eggs. This recipe has all of that, including potato flour, which helps create a tender crumb. It’s called the Pain de Mie, which also goes by the name Pullmans Loaf.

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Recipe from King Arthur Flour (also at end of post)

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hestnuts and purple yams are some of those things that look and sound unappealing until you actually try it. I had nothing planned this cold weekend so I thought I would stay inside and bake to warm the house up. The thing I like about chestnuts and yams is that they’re so delicious by themselves, and don’t require any preparation other than washing and turning on the oven.

You’re probably wondering what on earth a purple yam is. Yams are – well, that sweet mushy stuff you have next to the turkey on Thanksgiving. Purple yams are the same thing, but with a slightly different taste and entirely different color. I can’t actually tell you the difference in taste between the two because I don’t remember the last time I had a regular yam – I’ve been eating purple yams since my mom introduced me to them.

Purple yams aren’t as popular here as they are in Asian countries. “In the Philippines it is known as ube (or ubi) and is used as an ingredient in many sweet desserts. In Vietnam, it is called khoai m? and is used mainly as an ingredient for soup. In India, it is known as ratalu or violet yam. In Hawaii it is known as uhi.” (Wikipedia). Wikipedia doesn’t list it, but it’s also popular in Japanese sweets, which is what I’m most familiar with. It’s called “Beni-imo” in Japan. My mom makes tempura with it, which is simply incredible.

Purple yams in some countries is what strawberry is to us. It’s a common flavor used in cakes, pastries, shakes, cookies, ice cream and anything else with sugar in it. But what’s great about it is that it’s high in nutritional value, tastes rich but is low in fat, AND the bright purple color can be used as natural food coloring.

The photo on the left is a Filipino version of the French “Mont Blanc” pastry. (Source: Flickr) Ah, inspiration. But baked by themselves, they’re sweet and creamy on the inside – but the best part is the caramelized crunchy skin on the outside. YUM.

As for chestnuts, this is my first time making them in the oven. (I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a convenient open fire.) They didn’t turn out so well. Some were good, but most came out crumbly – and that woodsy peel refuses to come off! I’ve boiled them in the past and that turned out better. If anyone has any suggestions – please leave a comment below.

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o hell with decorative pumpkins. They’re for eating, not for displaying on the coffee table until the rot around Christmas. I love cooking pumpkin. I love the smell of it in the house, and it’s mild, sweet flavor. Using a real pumpkin is more effort than opening up a can of it, but I think there’s a difference in the end. And it’s nice to know that the pumpkin you’re eating hasn’t been sitting on the shelf for who knows how long.

So I decided to try microwaving the pumpkin, instead of going the traditional route of roasting the pumpkin in the oven, just to take some of the work out of the lengthy pumpkin puree+cake making process (but I included all three ways of making pumpkin puree below). It was also a way for me to avoid spiking my utilities bill. 7 minutes per pound of pumpkin uses less time and energy than an hour and half in the oven (although I used much less than this). My pumpkin was 8lbs. I cut it into four section and microwaved each section for 8 minutes – about 4 minutes per pound instead of 7. It turned out great. The only downside was I didn’t get to dance around to the oven-baked pumpkin smell in the kitchen.

As for the cake, it couldn’t have turned out better. It was soft on the inside, and had a nice crunchy sugar crust on the top. My 8lb sugar pumpkin made 3 cakes! I ended up giving one to my neighbor, one to my friend as a housewarming gift, and kept one for myself for breakfast this week. I can only find two downsides: 1) It uses a lot of oil. Not exactly the most healthy thing to eat. 2) After all the thanksgiving-y, christmas-y spices are added, you can’t taste much of the pumpkin. I think I’m going to make pumpkin bread next time, sans spices.

Anyway, enjoy making the cake, or just looking at the pictures. And maybe try microwaved pumpkin sometime.

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see original recipe from the book Tartine

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I hail from the city of San Jose, California, which other than being home to one million people and the birthplace of all things tech, has nothing that remarkable about it compared to it’s San Francisco neighbor. EXCEPT. For the best. Falafel. Drive in. Ever.

5 stars and 929 reviews on Yelp can’t be wrong. It was even featured on an episode of Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri. Nestled between a run down neighborhood and a luxury shopping mall, it’s easy to miss. Falafel Drive-In is a restaurant food-shack that almost always has a line snaking around the building from the order window that’s well worth the wait for out-of-this-world falafel sandwiches.

Wait, where was I going with this? Oh yeah. So since I moved away from San Jose and from my beloved Falafel Drive-In, I’ve been on a hunt to find delicious falafel sandwiches elsewhere in the Bay Area. There are some good ones here and there, but so far, none compare to the greatness of the Falafel Drive-In. So, I decided to make my own. Still not quite as good, but much better than some of the other ones I’ve had. And better yet, it’s baked instead of deep-fried (fried vegetables and sweets are every vegetarian’s weakness), which means I can let myself have falafel sandwiches whenever I want now. Enjoy!

(Images from Washington Times and CityVoter)

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Recipe from ChowVegan »

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Martha gets it right sometimes. She made lime squares with pistachio graham cracker crust. Lime squares. Pistachio graham cracker crust. Genius.

This is what I think happens when a key lime pie and a lemon bar gets married – they make lime square babies. It’s creamy and tangy like key lime pie, but has the thick, crunchy crust from a lemon bar. It’s simple to make, delicious, and incredibly refreshing. Martha, I have to hand it to you. This really is a “good thing”.

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Recipe from Martha Stewart »

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I admit, I used to buy pesto. Yes, this kind of pesto. It was basically flavored oil – greasy, dingy brown, and bland. I only had so much time and money while I was going to design school, so I would grab some dried pasta and a jar of pesto off the shelf and call it dinner. Little did I know it was so easy to make!

Fresh, garlicky, basil pesto is in a whole other category of it’s own, and it rocks my world. It does because it’s flexible, convenient, and it makes a meal…I’ve put it on pizza, pasta, baked potatoes, sandwiches, salads…you name it, I’ve probably had it.

And really, that jar of pesto off the shelf isn’t a whole lot of pesto, if you’re pesto-obsessed like I am. So make yourself a huge jar of pesto, pair it with something simple, and you have yourself a dinner. Or lunch. Or breakfast.

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From Simply Recipes’s Fresh Basil Pesto

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I haven’t updated in so long! Yes, I broke my two-posts-a-week habit. I decided to move to another city, and so began the hectic schedule of events – packing, selling, cleaning, unpacking. And I’m still unpacking the last few boxes (sigh). We moved into an old 1920s house in Burlingame – I’ll have photos to show later. Great area, friendly neighbors, a cool detached garage/workshop, and finally, a backyard for bunny to play in.

Anyway, I haven’t had the time to cook, let alone find the time to eat between work and moving. But once I did, I went all out and baked a strawberry tart – the kind you find at fancy French cafes, with a rich crust, creamy pastry filling, and fresh fruit topping.

What makes this even better (yes, it’s possible) is the amazing glaze that goes on top of it all. Most bakeries use a clear gelatin glaze, which is beautiful but tasteless. This recipe has a baslamic-strawberry glaze, made from the juice extracted from the same strawberries that are on the tart….brilliant.

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I received a party invitation from my friend Brian Haslanger, for Bad Movie night. What a great idea for a get-together! The invitation read:

Prepare yourselves for Bad Movie Night: Disaster Edition. We’ll hang out at my house, drink refreshing beverages, and watch two terrible films. The general plot for these movies: One scientist saw it coming and nobody listened. Now we are all doomed.

Our choices: (one line synposes written by Brian)

• The Core: The core of the Earth stops spinning.
• Daylight: Sylvester Stallone is a taxi driver/EMT stuck in a tunnel collapse.
• The Day After Tomorrow: The next ice age happens overnight.
• Poseidon: Cruise ship turns upside down.
• Armageddon: Asteroid will smash into Earth unless Bruce Willis can dig a hole.
• Volcano: Tommy Lee Jones is a geologist.
• Twister: Bill Paxton chases tornados.
• Firestorm: Howie Long (the football guy) is a firefighter. There is a prison break at some point.

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One of my favorite things to do in the summer is make Vietnamese Summer Rolls. They’re refreshing, healthy, and have lots of flavor. And best of all – it requires very little cooking! The last thing I want to do on a hot day is turn on the stove. And if you don’t like shrimp, try sliced steak or shredded chicken.

I warn you though, these do need to be made fresh. The rice paper becomes hard after a few hours, and the vegetables lose their crunch. If you’re making this for a party, I suggest preparing the vegetables and sauce beforehand, and assembling them right before serving.

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