M.F.K. Fisher: Kasha

What I like about Fisher's thoughts on Kasha (aka Buckwheat groats) is that she says "It can be bought most easily, at least in Western America, from 'health food stores.'" There were already health food stores in 1942?

Well, I didn't have to take off for Whole Foods or Sprouts, I was able to find buckwheat next to the oatmeal under the "organic" label at my HEB, however it was only available in a bag, not in bulk. I followed the directions, but there was overflow and a boiling mess to clean up. It fluffed up nicely though, despite my inattention.

It was indeed nutty, as Fisher said it would be, and I liked it well enough but can't think of what to serve it with to round out a meal. Fisher suggest meat or fowl and combining it with mushrooms. I can't imagine the look on my husband's face if I served him steak and a pile of buckwheat. (I just had progress getting him to agree to quinoa if it is spicy. I've been searching for spicy quinoa recipes for days ... .) I am intrigued with the mushroom idea for my own lunch. Maybe next week. In the meantime, I'll be searching for recipes using buckwheat since I have about three more cups to use up--and a cooked serving is a 1/4 cup.

M.F.K. Fisher: J is for Juvenile Applesauce

In An Alphabet for Gourmets, Fisher takes a different approach than other gastronomic volumes in going through alphabet. It's not "A is for Apple, B is for Borscht" (page 575 in TAOE) but rather "A is for dining Alone, E is for Exquisite, F is for Family, I is for Innocence." Sometimes basic, sometimes deeper, but always with thought-provoking thoughts on her topic and usually with recipes, sometimes crazy ones.

That said, there are not any good recipes in The Art of Eating which begin with J. So I turned to J is for Juvenile where Fisher describes feeding her daughter and discusses her mother's applesauce. So that is why I chose to make applesauce for my son for my J recipe.

It was easy, peel Rome apples, boil, let cool, then puree. I should note that Fisher says applesauce should be lumpy and "never, never, never pureed." I am feeding a 6-month old. I pureed it. I also did not add the pat of butter that made the applesauce prepared by Fisher's mother "the best applesauce I have ever eaten."

For myself, I did add some vanilla and cinnamon. Next time I eat it--which will be soon since I have so much now, including a jar of organic applesauce--I will add brown sugar and cinnamon. The time after that, maybe some lemon zest. If I have lemons.

M.F.K. Fisher: All I could find was Fish in Lime

I is for Fish in Lime. That's three Is. So it works for my alphabet. Fisher does not have many recipes that start with I in The Art of Eating. Instant rice and riz a l'Imperatrice (which seems to be rice pudding and requires 16 eggs, red currant jelly, and a Bauvarian cream mold.) So I found an obscure sentence about baking fish in lime juice on page 225. Almost at the same time, Yumsugar reposted a recipe for Lime Steamed Salmon, which I baked, after digging out my steamer basket and finding it to be tiny.

It was OK. Honestly, it deserved better salmon and more salt than I used. I might try it again, in my tiny steamer basket. It was a nice break from the very brave seafood Jambalaya I made Monday and will be eating until Tuesday. Not that my husband is complaining, it was good, though time consuming, and called for two heads of garlic and some of the fish tastes funny. Also, now that I think of it, I should start questioning the fishmonger and demand better quality.

Grandma's Burnt Sugar Cake: Syrup Experiement #1

Per my mother's request, I am attempting to recreate my grandmother's Burnt Sugar Cake. Today seemed like a good day to start as I have been hiding inside and letting an Arctic Blast attack Texas.

Hiding in my house means that when I discovered I was out of butter for the cake part, I decided to forget about putting on shoes, coat on myself and my 6-month old and going to the store. Instead, I decided to practice the burning sugar syrup part and worry about the cake later. (I can't think about that now. I'll think about that tomorrow.)

Grandma's instructions (in the entirety)
Burn in a skillet: 1/2 C. Sugar
Then add: 1/2 C. water
Cook to a syrup, but don't cook too long.

GAAAAAAAAAAA!!! What temperature is the skillet? How long will it take the sugar to burn? Mom said something about a cast iron skillet--do I need one? Don't cook too long? How long is too long?

What I learned today: it doesn't take long for the sugar to burn. It's scary to add water to burning sugar. In fact, I ran across the kitchen when it started to splatter and sputter unkindly at me. According to this blog, I probably stirred it too much and took it off the heat too soon, because I didn't end up with syrup, but with brown simple syrup.

M.F.K. Fisher: Gingerbread

G is for Gingerbread.

In How to Cook a Wolf, Fisher says her mother's recipe for Gingerbread "... is the best recipe for gingerbread ever devised." Reminder, How to Cook a Wolf was published in 1942. Edith's Gingerbread is a basic gingerbread recipe with one exception: boiling water. I've made a few different versions of cakey gingerbread and never seen boiling water. She notes that the batter will seem "much too thin to make a cake." She's right. It seemed very thin and watery. In the book, it says to bake for 20 minutes. When I looked at my cake after that time, it was wiggling and was much more solid after 11 more minutes.

Fisher describes the gingerbread as springy. It is indeed springy. However, I have another recipe which does not contain shortening and has more molasses that I like better. So, I probably would not make this again. However, my husband thinks it was pretty good, but then he seems to like baked goods with shortening (trans fats) in them.