Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One-Hundred Seventy-Five (Terrific Truffles-But Stop Already)

Stop Already!  The kids have been obsessed this holiday season with baking.  My girth does not appreciate it.

On Saturday evening we picked up Spencer at the airport after he returned from Duluth, MN.  He and his cousin Charlie served as human couriers each way to help Grandma travel safely between their homes in NYC and Duluth, MN.  It's an incredible right of passage to have these teenage boys become the guardian over their 87 year old grandmother as she travels to visit her kids and grandkids.

In less than a decade, the roles of child and grandma, have morphed into something neither the grandchildren nor the grandparent could have imagined.  Besides adoring these boys, Grandma used to bathe, babysit, read and sing to them.

Now, what seems as nothing more than in a blink of an eye, the little boys have transformed into young men, aware, caring, and capable of taking on the role as guardian to help Grandma safely maneuver her trips through the Big Blue Sky.  And Grandma has transformed from a fierce individual ready to take on any travel itinerary to a fragile sometimes disoriented woman in her prime, who understands love, but sometimes loses track of the daily flow. Despite some confusion as she bustles through busy LaGuardia, Grandma has a certain calmness knowing that there is a trusting young man by her side to help her along her journey.

On the ride home from the airport, I mentioned that I planned on doing some baking.  Spencer chimed in somewhat disappointed.  "Mom, you plan to use the kitchen?"  I answered, "Yes, why?"  "Umm, well, I was planning to make truffles.  It's in the cookbook from the Duluth Grill where Auntie Carol works.  She got me the cookbook."

Both Tim and I smiled, "Truffles?"   What I wanted to say was "Stop Already!"  All this decadent food is, well, too decadent.  But, what could I say?  "The kitchen is yours kid."  As Grandma trusts him to courier her through her travels, I trust him to take on another challenge in the kitchen.

It was a two day and very messy project.  But the outcome was nothing less than devilish.  Here is a lovely photo.  We can't provide the recipe here, but suggest you buy the Duluth Grill Cookbook for this recipe and many more from the award winning restaurant.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One Hundred Seventy-Five (Carrot Cupcakes for Argument Sake)

The Joy of Parenting brought to you by the The Joy of Baking website.

We have been admonishing our ten-year old for too much computer time.   She reminded us that if we did more activities with her in someway, she might not be on the computer as much.   She suggested that she might spend less time on the computer if she were allowed to have some independence baking like her bigger brother has.

We reminded her that she often argues so much that we end up not doing an activity.

She disagreed.

So, her dad suggested that they make bread pudding at the suggestion of her mom.  (Dad is infinitely more patient than Mom is).

And, the kid thought the baking was a good idea, but the bread pudding was a bad idea.

So, after extensive negotiations, her dad agreed to help her make carrot cupcakes.

Dad then suggested walnuts, and the kids reminded him that nuts are optional in the recipe.  She vetoed that option.

And so goes the conversation.

And we must say that the 10 year-old carrot cupcake advocate won her case.  The confections were absolutely delicious.

This recipe is adopted from The Joy of Baking website, but modified to use spelt instead of wheat, butter instead of oil, bourbon vanilla extract instead of regular vanilla extract, and organic evaporated cane juice instead of white sugar.

For argument sake, we think the modifications make a better cupcake.

Well said, counselor.

Carrot Cupcakes: 1 cup organic white spelt flour 1/3 cup organic whole spelt flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) 2 large eggs 2/3 cup organic evaporated cane juice 2/3 cup butter softened 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract - (we used bourbon vanilla) 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce 1 1/3 cups finely grated raw carrots  Cream Cheese Frosting: 1/4 cup butter, room temperature 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 2 1/4 cups  confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract l Carrot Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. In a medium cupcake pan,  line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Fold in the chopped walnuts (if desired.  Olivia chose not to use nuts). In another large bowl whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Then whisk in the sugar, butter, and vanilla extract until slightly thickened. Fold in the applesauce and grated carrots.  Then fold this mixture into the flour mixture until incorporated. Evenly fill the 12 muffin cups with the batter and bake 20 - 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, and let cool completely before frosting. Frosting:  In a separate beat the butter and cream cheese until very smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated and smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add more confectioners sugar if needed. Pipe the frosting on the top of each cupcake. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate the cupcakes until serving time. Can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One-Hundred Seventy-Four:(On Kids, College and Cakes)

Well, arriving home last night couldn’t have been any cuter. 

I came home slightly grumpy after a $300+ eye doctor bill because of some crazy astigmatism that I have – making the cost of the appointment and the contact lenses about a gazillion times more expensive than that for the normal far-sighted folks.

But, as I walked into the apartment, there was laughter and wafts of baking chocolate and perhaps an essence of alcohol?

This was truly a sight for sore eyes. 

My two oldest were in the kitchen baking together.  Emma wanted one of Spencer’s famous (at least in our household) cakes to bring back to college.  Spencer will use any excuse to make a cake, but this excuse was a good one, because he loves his big (albeit 6 inches shorter) sister.

What kind of cake for the college kids?  Well, of course it has to have chocolate, and maybe a little liquor.   Voila!  A spelt chocolate Kahlua cake.   

Tim, being the good dad and cautionary fellow he is, warned Emma not to give the cake to any of the drivers on the trek back to school.  I assured Tim that when baked, the liquor is baked off and so the cake would not be truly intoxicating, except maybe for its delicious taste.  Still, we got the assurance that the kids would not “eat and drive”.

Now, I was lucky to try the frosting, but the kids simply would not let me break into the cake to try it, so we will have to hear comments from the college kids way up North on how they rate it.

SPELT CHOCOLATE KAHLUA CAKE (adapted from cdkitchen.com and modified to be mostly organic, all natural, and without regular wheat)

INGREDIENTS:

Kahlua Chocolate Spelt Cake

3 eggs, separated

3/4 cup organic sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup light brown sugar packed

2 1/4 cups organic spelt flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 cup strong cold brewed coffee

3/4 cup Kahlua

Kahlua Frosting   (this was not the typical way Spencer likes to make frostings.  He usually does butter cream on the stove top, but he took the confectioners sugar short cut in order to make it in time for his sister’s departure to college)

6 tablespoons butter

1 pound of sifted powdered sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons Kahlua

3 tablespoons hot coffee

DIRECTIONS:

Kahlua Chocolate Spelt Cake

Butter and flour 2 9” cake pans

(it is best to put fitted parchment paper on bottom of the buttered pan)

Preheat oven 350 F.

In a medium bowl, beat egg whites till frothy; then beat in sugar until stiff peaks forms. Set aside.

In a larger bowl (or in the KitchenAid Mixer if you have one), cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda together. Add to creamed mixture alternately with coffee and Kahlua; blend well. Fold egg whites into batter.

Pour into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until done. Cool 10 minutes. Invert on wire rack.  Remove from pans. Cool before frosting.

Kahlua Frosting

In a large bowl, cream 6 Tbsp butter and a pound of confectioner’s sugar. Add 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, 3 Tbsp Kahlua and 2-3 Tbsp hot coffee; beat until smooth.

Gently frost.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One-Hundred Seventy-Three (On Birthdays and Giving Thanks and Complicated "007" Cakes)

"007 Cake"

Happy Birthday, Tim!

My husband was blessed with being born during the Season of Giving, so every seven years or so, this year being one of them, Tim's birthday falls on Thanksgiving.

Spencer gets quite revved during holidays because they provide a great excuse to make great cakes.  A double holiday leads to double the reason to make a doubly good cake.

We dubbed this cake "the 007" given the timeliness of the newest James Bond flick, and because of all of the gadgets that were used to create it.  But, as an afterthought,  we realized that this "the 007" was also appropriately dubbed for this Double Occasion: Thanksgiving with our crew of 5 and Tim's 52nd.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE SPELT CAKE - renamed the DOUBLE OCCASION "007" CAKE

CAVEAT:
This is at least a two person job (another double).  No person (especially a 14 or 15 year old) should be expected to make this alone.  Spencer spent approximately 5 hours making this incredibly delicious and rich concoction of layers of chocolate, butter, sugar, coconut, and pecans.  I spent about 6 hours following him around and cleaning up every bowl, gadget and pan it took to create this Double Occasion cake.

Ingredients (adapted from AllRecipes.com but revised significantly to meet our spelt and all natural requirements)

CAKE:
1/2 cup water
4 ounces German sweet chocolate
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups organic cane sugar
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1 cup milk (need to make into buttermilk with lemon)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon
2 1/2 cups organic white spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 egg whites

 FROSTING:
1 cup organic cane sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 1/3 cups flaked organic coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions (REVISED 11/24/12)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 
2. Grease and flour 3 - 9 inch round pans. 
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, make the buttermilk by mixing the milk and fresh lemon.  Set aside until curdles. (About 5 minutes)
5.  In a small saucepan, heat water and 4 ounces chocolate until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
6. In a large bowl (or KitchenAid Mixer), cream 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 4 egg yolks one at a time. Blend in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated.
7. In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Then, fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain.
8. Pour into 3 - 9 inch round baking pans, which have been greased with butter.  Best also to cover bottom with parchment paper cut to fit the baking pan.
9.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto wire rack.
10. To make the Filling: In a saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, evaporated milk, 1/2 cup butter, and 3 egg yolks. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool until thick enough to spread.
11. Spread filling between layers and on top of cake. In a small saucepan,

ENJOY - and then go for a 30 block walk (twice!) in order to work off some of the double calories gained from this double treat.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One-Hundred Seventy-Two (Spelt Crumb Cake to Carry Your Worries Away)

Yesterday I thought I would never escape my doldrums. I was more tired than I remember being in years.  My only option was to nap.  Finally, I had escaped into a dreamy bliss of not knowing where I was or having a care in the world. 

Nearly three hours later, I woke to the joyous sounds of Emma arriving home from college.  “PARENTS!! I AM HOME! NEW YORK, I AM HERE!”  

And, then everyone barged in on my pillowly bliss.  “HELLO MADJA” proclaimed Emma.  Then, Olivia and her pal Ying, showed up like little chirping birds.  “We’re hungry! We’re hungry!” Then Spencer chimed in waiting for that moment for me to wake.  “Mom, it’s time to make a cake!!!” Then, Tim came in with some hot chocolate.  

So, I got up, tucked away my worries and proceeded to the kitchen.  While I made meatballs, Spencer tried out his “new” KitchenAid (thanks to a friend) and made the best spelt crumb cake ever!

SPELT CRUMB CAKE

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2  cups organic white spelt flour

1 cup organic whole spelt flour

1 and 1/2 cups organic evaporated cane juice (organic sugar)

2.5 TBL organic molasses

2/3 cup BUTTER

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon all spice

2 beaten eggs

1 and 1/3 cups of milk with 1-2TBL freshly squeezed lemon juice (let sit for at least 5 minutes)

1 cup chopped walnuts

A cake to carry your worries away

Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish. Set aside.

In a medium bowl. combine flour, sugar, and molasses.  Cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.  Set aside 3/4 of a cup for topping.

Stir in baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and all spice into remaining crumb mixture.

In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk and lemon.  Add wet mixture to dry and mix together.  Pour batter into prepared baking dish.  

(If you have a KitchenAid, first mix the dry ingredients on low, and then add the wet ingredients and mix on medium until ingredients are all mixed together)

Combine nuts with reserved crumb mixture.  Mix together in crumb form and then sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

ENJOY!!!  Savor each piece with your family and friends, tuck your worries away, and be sure to save a piece for friends. 

Lunch Box Chronicles, Day One-Hundred Seventy One (On Being a Flexitarian - Vegetables with Chicken)

flex·i·tar·i·an noun \ˌflek-sə-ˈter-ē-ən\

Definition of FLEXITARIAN  (
source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flexitarian )

: one whose normally meatless diet occasionally includes meat or fish

— flexitarian adjective

Origin of FLEXITARIAN

flexible + vegetarian

First Known Use: 1998

This recipe is dedicated to my formerly vegetarian, now flexitarian friend.   We both aspire to be completely meat free in our diets, but sometimes we just need a little comfort food – both for our bodies and our souls.

Baked Chicken with Vegetables, or in Flexitarain Lingo: Baked Vegetables Accented by Chicken. (adapted from A Taste of Lebanon by Mary Salloum)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 green peppers, de-seeded and sliced in rounds

2 large tomatoes sliced in rounds (field tomatoes are great for this)

2 large onions sliced in rounds
2 large zucchini sliced in rounds

1 large leek sliced in rounds

4 potatoes sliced in rounds

1 chicken cut up, or two-three bone-in breast of chicken

1-2 teaspoons of salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1 tsp dried basil

4-5 cloves of garlic (crushed with salt)

1/2 bunch of fresh parsley (destemmed and chopped)

Set oven at 400F.  Wash and dry chicken (I do this by cleaning with salt and then rinsing – taught to me by my mother and grandmother).  Place all vegetables and chicken in roasting pan.  Add oil and all remaining ingredients.  Coat vegetables and chicken with oil, herbs, and spices.  Cover roasting pan.  Bake for 1 hour or until chicken is tender.

This is an easy comfort meal.  Perfect with Spelt Right rosemary bread - toasted with EVOO.  The kind of food to enjoy after weathering a storm.

Lunch Box Chronicles Day One Hundred Seventy (Distant Observations from Close-By: Hurricane Sandy)

Distant Observations [of Hurricane Sandy] from Close-By (by Beth George)

October 29, 2012 – late night 

Cloistered in my living room on W. 187th and Cabrini watching the screen report on the unfathomable destruction wrought by Hurricane Sandy.  The reality of Mother Nature’s assault on my adopted City is brought to me via CNN. 

With a simple click of the remote all sense of chaos disappears, until it hits me that I cannot get off of this island.  All bridges, tunnels, and subways are closed.  Highways are flooded.  If you have not been ordered to evacuate,  official orders are to stay inside.   But, it is so peaceful in my apartment and on my street.  Perhaps, someone has made a mistake?

Came here seeking refuge in the vastness, anonymity, and opportunity of the Big Apple. Landed here in the Heights by chance.  The enclave of Hudson Heights within Washington Heights is among the cheapest of the safest neighborhoods in Manhattan.  Little did I realize that it was also among the safest when an unprecedented storm hits the City.

Being home to the fortress-like Monastery, known as the Cloisters, should have been a hint of the Heights protective nature.  It’s no surprise George Washington chose it as his headquarters during the Revolutionary War given its location perched above the Henry Hudson boasting the highest point in Manhattan. So I sit in my solid apartment fortress in the City of all Cities sheltered from the angering wind and rising waters watching the screen, wondering, and thinking, “Maybe I should pray tonight.”

October 30, 2012 – even later than the night before 

The Seal of NYC

While this neighborhood has been protected, the pain of the City permeates throughout its veins.   The wind has died down, the waters have started to recede, but the lives lost will never be forgotten, and destruction at every level – below, on and above ground  - is unthinkable.  What will happen? 

The subway system, the grand equalizer of this City, the way 5 million people – regardless of wealth, race or class commute throughout this extensive beehive of boroughs, and into neighboring NJ, is closed.  Many of its stations are under water.  How will the millions who make this City churn get from here to there while this 108 year old subway system is gasping for breath?

This City is so vast, so diverse.  Who could believe that so much destruction could happen in one place in one night? Enter Mother Nature, perhaps with Mankind messing her up a bit.

Solid little fortresses in Hudson Heights are protected from the wrath.  Grand high rises in Mid-Town are threatened by an errant storm-damaged crane teetering menacingly over Mid-Town.  Breezy Point Queens, a tight-knit coastal community, was devastated by raging fires leaving 80 homes (most recent count 110) burnt to the ground.  And, communities along the coast in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island are underwater.  Nearly a quarter of a million people are without power.  Cars are floating down Wall Street; Lower Manhattan virtually has been swallowed by the sea; the tunnels between Brooklyn and Manhattan are underwater; rail yards are under water; and the Battery has been battered.

But, it is the subways, the grand equalizers that are haunting me.  How in the world will they pump out the water and get these veins pumping again?  The words of Joe Loda, the MTA chief keep echoing in my ears “The worst disaster the mass transit has seen in 108 years it has been running.”

Yet still, I sit in my quiet little fortress in Upper Manhattan and I have seen none of this.

October 31, 2012 – wee hours of the morning

I should be asleep, but I can’t.  The screen reminds me that NYC is not the only place crying.  All of NJ has been declared a State of Emergency.  Governor Christie says it’s some of the worst damage he has ever seen.  Seaside, NJ has been buried by sand, reminiscent of the City of Pompeii, yet these homes instead of being locked in time will be washed out to sea.  Hoboken, our neighbor to the West, is under water, half of its residents trapped in their homes.  And, the list goes on.  And, next we hear from neighboring Connecticut – also underwater.  And the list goes on.

Yet still, I sit in my quiet little fortress in Upper Manhattan and I have seen none of this.

This bliss won’t last.  I will venture out, but in the meantime, I will do something that I do not do often.  I will pray.