use real butter

Recipe: pumpkin tea cake

In December, I go through the process of reviewing my photographs from the entire year. I do this to gather a compilation for our New Year’s greeting card, but the exercise is a great way to take a jog down (short-term) memory lane. I’ve been cranking out a digital photo card for the past seven years such that I don’t feel I’m ready for the new year until I’ve summarized the one that is coming to a close. Reflection is good and this time spent pondering the last twelve months means I am psyched and ready for 2012. Please visit our Year in Photos for 2011.

happy new year from me to you

Back in October, Celia, who runs Star Acre Farms had come to the Denver Botanic Gardens cooking workshop that I taught with Manisha, Todd, and Diane. She gifted us several gorgeous heirloom squashes from her farm after the class had ended. One of the pumpkins I chose was this beauty:

a winter luxury pumpkin

Thoughts of what to make with this special pumpkin ran in the background of my mind for several weeks. It wasn’t until I was in California, meeting up with Lisa, when she put the idea in my head. We were talking about Tartine and how we love the bakery and how we both have the cookbook. Lisa asked if I had tried their pumpkin tea cake before. No. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she ordered me to make this pumpkin tea cake. There is a reason her blog is called Lisa Is Bossy (I love her!).

flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, pumpkin, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, eggs

mix the dry ingredients

I was mentally ready to use the heirloom pumpkin for this tea cake when I read that pumpkin purée from scratch tends to be watery and not as good as canned pumpkin. Huh… Luckily, I had some canned organic pumpkin purée in the cupboard. I guess it’s good that I buy groceries at random for no reason – at least it was this time.

combine the pumpkin, oil, sugar, salt

beat the eggs in one at a time

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: chinese char siu bao (barbecue pork buns)

Fork. Stick it to me. I am done. Done with the frenzied holiday baking schedule! And just in case you might be racking your brain for a few ideas, I wanted to share some of the other items we tucked into the gift bags for Jeremy’s wonderful staff. Supporting local businesses is pretty easy if you live in Boulder. We make a point of going to Savory Spice Shop on Pearl Street for creative and beautiful gifts. This store is perfect if you are looking for a variety of little items which you can taste to help you decide. They have something to suit cooks, non-cooks, and unknowns. You can also mail-order from them.

cute little jars of two kinds of cheese sprinkles

Just a few blocks east, we stopped by Atlas Purveyors so Jeremy could grab a latte (shopping makes him drowsy like… instantly) and pick a loose tea from their impressive selection. He went with the Carrington Blend of black tea, lemongrass, orange peel, eucalyptus, and wildflowers.

citrus and floral

Of course, we had to drop a mini bar of Chocolove into each bag. They’re local, make terrific chocolates, have love poems inside the wrappers, and are all around Boulderlicious.

A few weeks ago I made a double batch of char siu pork and I’m sure some of you knew where that double batch was headed (I mean, besides mah belleh). I love char siu pork, but what I really, truly, deeply love are the steamed Chinese barbecue pork buns, char siu bao.

the revered bao

I made one filling, but tried two different doughs because I didn’t care for the first dough. The first dough was cakey and sweeter than I’m used to, although it could very well be my elevation. The second dough was spot on to what I was looking for – a yeast-based dough that is delicate, elastic, fluffy, and less sweet. Let’s start with the filling.

it’s a lot of stuff, but comes together lickity split

dice the char siu pork

everything diced, measured, and ready to go

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: chocolate crackles (cookies)

Hey! Did you catch the lunar eclipse Saturday morning? I spent all day Friday watching the weather reports online as well as out my door. I had every intention of waking up early to watch the eclipse, but it goes without saying that if I could shoot the moon, I would. Toward evening there were blobbish clouds overhead and mildly gusty winds. Where I live, 55 mph is what we start to call “windy”, but 25 mph gusts are generally mild conditions… except when you want to photograph a lunar eclipse. I got my gear ready and tried to get to bed before midnight.

full moon

My alarm went off at 4am and I quietly bundled up in layers, tip-toeing around in the dark. I popped my contacts in, told Kaweah to go back to her bed (she didn’t, she waited at the door until Jeremy woke up), and stepped outside the bedroom. On the deck it was in the teens. To my delight, the clouds had moved out and the wind had periods of calm between gusts. I could live with that. Due to my location on the planet, the moon would set before I could witness it reach totality. Due to my local geography, the moon dropped below the Continental Divide before that! But, you make the most of what you get. It’s a beautiful phenomenon to witness regardless.

composite of the lunar eclipse

pink rays of sunrise on james peak not long after moonset

Back in August 2007, I attempted my first capture of a lunar eclipse. I totally didn’t know what I was doing, but we all have to start someplace or else we can’t ever expect to get anywhere. And it’s sooooo cool!

august 2007 total lunar eclipse composite

I can’t say I know all that much now, just that I have screwed up sufficiently in the past to have learned what not to do today. Every time I shoot, it’s a learning experience. I must thank my friends at Pro Photo Rental for the use of their lovely 200-400mm f4 Nikkor lens. Sometimes size DOES matter…

can you have a crush on a lens? because i think i do

It’s crunch time over here which means all manner of cookies and confections are marching their way through my kitchen. Each year I try to add one new recipe because I like variety and it keeps me on my toes. Jeremy reminded me that people who are gifted cookies once a year generally don’t get upset if you have some repeats. In fact, he said, his administrative staff request the lemon-ginger cookies each year. I waved him off and said I had a new recipe in mind to try and that it should be easy.

let’s get crackin’

In case you are looking for ideas, here are links to some of the goodies I like to gift this time of year (I tend not to make French macarons over the holidays because they don’t ship easily and have a rather finite shelf life):

cookies:
almond crunch cookies
chinese almond cookies
coconut macaroons
cranberry oatmeal cookies
espresso chocolate chip shortbreads
lemon ginger cookies
lime meltaways
macadamia shortbreads
mexican wedding cookies
pistachio sandies
raspberry cream cheese cookies
snickerdoodles

brownies, bars, cakes, quick breads:
chocolate chip banana bread
cream cheese brownies
friands
macadamia nut chocolate chip blondies
rice crispy treats (with sprinkles)
zucchini nut bread

candies:
candied lemon slices
chocolate truffles
macadamia nut orange brittle
orangettes
pepita brittle
peppermint bark
vanilla bean caramels

boozy infusions and other goodies:
buddha’s hand citron vodka
membrillo (quince paste)
pear liqueur
sugar plums
homemade vanilla extract

And here’s the newest addition to the repertoire… chocolate crackles.

sugars, cocoa, eggs, butter, chocolate chips, milk, vanilla, flour, salt, baking powder

mix the dry ingredients

**Jump for more butter**