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. 

Lunch Box Chronicles Day One-Hundred Sixty-Nine (Of storms, neighbors, and sweet things to eat). Guest Blog from Courtney Young.

This is a Guest Blogpost from one of my favorite NYC finds: Courtney Young - professional dancer, wonderful mother, accomplished baker, loyal neighbor, and one hell of a Spelt Right bagel demo-er!

"The hurricane is coming to New York City.  The subway is stopped, shops are shuttered and city slickers are staying sheltered.  I love this kind of day.  Normally life is rush here, hurry there, off to work, time for school. .  . A day like today when the city is literally shut down allows me to stay in my apartment, enjoy my family at a relaxed pace and accomplish some of the to-do’s I have at home.  The list of course is quite long - everything from design, create and install curtains in our bedroom to painting a kitchen wall with chalkboard paint so that the kids and I have a spot for daily inspiration, to baking graham crackers in autumnal shapes.  

Today, I don’t have the supplies I need for curtains or painting so the graham crackers win.  I’ve wanted to make them since I was at a girl’s weekend over the summer with my sister and friends in Minnesota.  One of the woman, Stacy May, casually mentioned that she makes her children graham crackers.  I must admit, I figuratively rolled my eyes as she handed me a copy of the recipe.  Who has time to make graham crackers?  The thought never once occurred to me.  Aren’t the store bought ones perfectly acceptable?  Then the competitive New Yorker in me kicked in and I figured if Stacy May in Minnesota could do it then Courtney Young in New York could do it better.  I would certainly be a superior mother if I could navigate the confusing world of the city pre-k admissions process AND make homemade graham crackers.  I had to improve upon them though. 

Lucky for me, several months earlier, Beth George, owner and creator of Spelt Right Baking, moved into my neighborhood.   Since then I’ve been enjoying her breads, bagels and pizza dough and have suspected that my family’s health is better off for them.  As of late, I’ve even been assisting Beth at demos at Whole Foods and telling customers about the benefits of the Spelt Right Baking Co. My zeal for this ancient grain has been growing.  Spelt Graham Crackers it is! 

So at 9:30am on hurricane day with Blythe (age 15 months) in the Ergo Carrier on my back and William (age 3) as my very enthusiastic helper we took the graham cracker to the next level.  The process is incredibly easy. William loved operating the big Kitchen Aid mixer and cutting out the pumpkin, turkey and leaf shapes.  Blythe was delighted to sample the dough. All of us including daddy, Scott, enjoyed eating them.  Beth and her family even gave them an enthusiastic Spelt Right approved thumbs up.  Her only suggestion was to add two tablespoons of molasses next time in order to keep them moist.  Great advice.  I’ll try it."

Here is the recipe. . .

2½ Cups Organic Spelt Flour

½ Cup Dark Organic Brown Sugar

½ tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Baking Soda

½ Cup Butter, chilled and cubed

¼ Cup Honey

¼ Cup Water

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.    In a food processor or mixer combine the first 6 ingredients.

3.    Add cubed and chilled butter and pulse/mix until it resembles coarse meal.

4.    Add honey and water and continue to mix until it all combines.

5.    Remove and shape dough into a flat disk and place between two pieces of parchment paper.

6.    Roll dough out until ¼ inch thick.  Cut into crackers or shapes.

7.    Place cookies on a Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes (less time for smaller shapes).

8.    Cool and serve

Beth’s daughter Olivia suggested we make homemade marshmallows, melt chocolate and make S’mores.  Great idea.  Might have to save that for the next hurricane though. 

PS:  Thank you William for the modeling!!

Lunch Box Chronicle Day One Hundred Sixty-Eight (In the Shadow of the Storm, Make, Bake, Eat Cookies)

This day is beyond surreal.  One of the largest natural disasters is about to hit NYC, and I'm waiting impatiently in my apartment for all hell to break loose.  All public transportation is closed - no subways, no buses, no rail service.  All flights are cancelled.  The threatened eleven foot water surges have caused the closure of the tunnels.  More than a quarter of a million people have been ordered to evacuate from their NYC homes.  

The talking heads on the t.v. are murmuring non-stop, holding on to swaying trees, sopping themselves, repeating to us again and again The Obvious.  This storm is going to be Big.  Bigger than Big.  How-to-survive messages from friends and family who are out-of-state and out-of-country are appearing on my Facebook, in my email, and through texts.  

All kids are home from school - indefinitely.  The apartment building has become a refuge for all the children, huddled together, roaming the halls and apartments as if the world belongs to them; playing make believe, and showing the adults that a hurricane is nothing but a chance for all kids to just be kids.

Somehow, this close living, the quick stop with neighbors to share goodies, the endless play of the kids in the building, the Super making storm preparations, all make this impending event seem less lonely, more communal, and perhaps safer.   But, what do I know?  It is only the shadow of the storm that has reached us thus far.

So, I retreat to doing what I do best in these situations - cooking, baking, and writing.   Here is a recipe to offer a little bit of calm before the storm.   

Whole Grain Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookies.

1 cup (2 sticks) of butter - REAL BUTTER softened

1 and 1/2 cups organic cane sugar (this stuff has sooo much flavor)

2 TBL pure molasses

1/2 teaspoon baking SODA

2 eggs

1 teaspoon REAL VANILLA 

1 1/2 cups organic whole spelt flour

1 cup organic white (sifted) spelt flour

12 ounces mini semi sweet Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth.  Add sugar and  molasses.  Keep beating until smooth, add in eggs and vanilla.  Keep mixing.  In separate smaller bowl, mix together spelt flours and baking soda.    Beat flour mixture into butter mixture, slowly adding in the flour.  Stir in chocolate pieces.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake in 375 oven for about 10 minutes.  Because these are spelt, they tend to flatten out.  Done when edges are slightly brown.  Transfer to a wire rack for cooling.