A Hot And Busy Day

Volunteers Scarlett and Isla Blue helped in the hot kitchen today.

I need to thank all of the Wednesday Community Volunteers who came in to work today. It was a very busy day, we served 379 meal during our two hour service, and with the temperature outside being in the high 90's, it was extra hot and uncomfortable in the kitchen and dishwashing room. Thank you wonderful volunteers for pushing through!

Our poor guests were hot too. When we opened our doors at 11 a.m., there was a long line through the courtyard of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, going all the way out to the sidewalk on NW 19th Avenue.  Everyone was anxious to be able to come inside, eat and cool off. And, I'm pretty positive they especially liked the cold lemonade we served. 

Longtime regular volunteer Ann who has been helping since 2008 was constantly busy mixing and pouring lemonade into pitchers and she was diligent about putting ice in all of the batches so it would be nice and cold for our guests. Small details like adding ice, make a big difference and it's what we are all about at the Wednesday Community Meal — We strive to do our best to treat others the way we would want to be treated.

Most of the guests today got entrees of roasted turkey breast and gravy with sides of green beans, watermelon and rice that we tossed with sauteed kale and chard. Adding the veggies to the rice was a good way to utilize the fresh chard and kale that we gleaned form Spring Hill Organic Farm and also a good way to sneakily improve the diets of our guests.

Today's entree —  The watermelon was gleaned from The Oregon Food Bank and the rice is from Good Samaritan Hospital.

Gleaning from New Seasons Market this past Monday. All of the desserts we served today came from our haul from the newly opened store on NW Raleigh.

Stay Cool And Make Truffles

Chocolate truffles are easy to make and don't heat up the kitchen!

Don't get me wrong, I love and always will love baking — it's just that heating up the oven isn't quite as appealing in an 85-degree kitchen without air conditioning.

Good thing there is still a way to stay cool while whipping up some killer sweet treats. Homemade truffles are a great summer dessert alternative because you can use a microwave to heat the heavy cream for the ganache and you can get creative with the use of different flavorings and coatings.

For my recent batch of truffles, I added espresso powder to a dark chocolate ganache and rolled them in three different coatings — toasted walnuts, toasted coconut and dark cocoa powder.

Another option is to coat the truffles in melted chocolate and sprinkle the tops with nuts, candied fruit, colorful sugars, crushed espresso beans or fine sea salt...just about anything works.

The only hard rule is that if you want to add a flavoring the ganache, be certain to use alcohol-based extracts, not water-based, or your chocolate will seize. Flavorful alcohols like Kahlua, Amaretto, Grand Marnier and Kirsch work really well.

Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Truffles 
1 pound of chocolate, chopped or in chip form (My favorite is dark chocolate but milk or a combination of dark and milk also works.)
1 cup of heavy cream
alcohol based flavoring or 1 tablespoon espresso powder, optional

Place the chocolate in a mixing bowl.

Heat the cream in the microwave in 30-second intervals until it is simmering, stirring between intervals. Watch the cream closely so that it doesn't boil over. In my microwave the cream was simmering in just 90 seconds.

Pour the simmering cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. This is the time if you choose, to add flavorings to the ganache, just make sure the flavoring is alcohol-based. Water and chocolate do not mix! Set the mixture aside to cool until it's firm and scoopable. This takes about 1 hour. You can put the mixture in the fridge to speed the process.

When it's ready, scoop portions of the ganache onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. I used a 1-inch ball scoop for the task. Place the scoops of ganache in the refrigerator on a parchement lined sheetpan to chill for 20 to 30 minutes to firm them up enough so that you can use your hands to roll them into balls.

The scoops of ganache before chilling.

After the chilling, the scoops of ganache were easy to roll into balls.

After rolling the truffles into balls, roll them in the coating of your choice or dip them into melted chocolate.  I chose to roll them dark cocoa powder, chopped toasted walnuts and shredded coconut.

Rolling a truffle in chopped walnuts. You have to work quickly and get the truffle back into the fridge as soon as possible. Once chilled, place the truffles in candy papers and keep them stored in the refrigerator  until you are ready to serve.

A Cookie As Good As It Looks

When it comes to taste, fancy decorated cookies unfortunately have a bad reputation.

"I love how your cookies look but I honestly didn't expect them to taste delicious too," is what I hear time and time again when I serve my creations.

There is good reason for the skepticism, because in all honestly,  most decorated cookies don't taste that great. They are often thin, dry, flavorless and over-iced, sometimes with more sickly sweet icing than cookie. And although they look pretty, I absolutely abhor cookies topped with gumpaste and fondant decorations. Ugh. It's like eating straight up sugar with an artificial aftertaste.

Because of the negative preconception of fancy cookies, I always offer samples when I sell my creations and surprise people when they discover that a decorated cookie can taste as good as it looks.

Making a delicious decorated cookie isn't hard, it just takes good recipes and consideration. Here are my best tips for making a delicious tasting decorated cookie:

*Most important is having a good cookie recipe.  My favorite tried and true recipe contains all-butter, not too much sugar and a good dose of vanilla and pure almond extract. Click here for the recipe.

*When I roll out cookie dough, I aim for 1/4 inch in thickness. I want to be sure to end up with a product that's more cookie than royal icing, 3:1 is ideal.

Quarter-inch thick cookies ready to be baked.

*If I want to make a cookie with an intricate layered design, I go the double-decker route by topping a base cookie with another cookie. It's essential to have more cookie than icing!

For these Gardenia cookies, I went the double-decker route and added layer of "cookie petals" to keep the flower design from being all icing and making the cookie too sweet.

*As for the royal icing, powdered sugar is a necessary ingredient so I cut the sweetness with some tablespoons of lemon juice. The addition makes a world of difference and compliments the vanilla almond flavor of the cookie. Click here for my royal icing recipe.

*Remember that less is sometimes more. I've learned from experience that it's very easy to take a cookie into the realm of being overdecorated. Practice restraint with your decorating because simple is often what's most beautiful.

Colorful dot cookies are simple and beautiful!

Here are some of my favorite designs but most importantly, these are also great tasting cookies!

A South Of The Border Feast

Volunteers Justine and Rusti with today's lunch.

Guests at today's Wednesday Community Meal enjoyed homemade shredded pork and chicken enchiladas served with a side of chips, salsa and cold watermelon.

We made the enchiladas casserole-style using ingredients donated by the just-opened New Season's Market on NW Raleigh and ingredients purchased by Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Thank you New Season's for partnering with us to help feed the hungry in our community!

In addition to shredded pork and roasted chicken, they were filled with rice, black beans, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, carrot, kale, tomato and cheese. They were tasty, healthy and a hit in the dining room.

Roasted chicken for the enchiladas. We seasoned it with garlic, chili powder, cumin and Kosher salt.

Getting ready to mix the enchilada filling made with rice, shredded pork, roasted chicken, mushrooms, zucchini, black beans, tomatoes, kale, carrot, onion, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and Kosher salt.

mmm.... homemade enchiladas!

Also a big hit, was the cold watermelon that our wonderful volunteer gleaners found at The Oregon Food Bank.  The watermelon was crisp, sweet and cooling, a real treat on a hot day.

In addition to the entree, everyone was offered soup, salad and dessert. The salads were especially nice and were made with a mix of lettuces, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, olives, homemade croutons and Parmesan cheese. Some of the tomatoes in the salads were even home-grown and just-picked thanks to Dan, our volunteer coffee barista, who kindly shares his garden's bounty.

Today's gorgeous salads were made by volunteers John and Leah.

We served 265 meals today.

Putting In Long Hours

Today's hard working kitchen crew included Sierra, Ian, John, Suzanne and Zane.

By the time lunch is served at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral's Wednesday Community Meal, a group of volunteers have already put in nearly four hours of work,  preparing the food, setting up and washing dishes. By the end of the meal service and cleanup, a handful of volunteers have worked more than seven straight hours. 

It definitely takes a strong team of dedicated volunteers to pull off the everyone is welcome free meal each week and I'm grateful for every single one of our volunteers. It's work but it's joyful work because we are feeding nice people and hopefully making a difference in their lives.

One kind guest came up to the kitchen window after the service today and said, "Hi, I've been enjoying this meal for years and I thought it was about time that I said thanks."

We served 277 meals today. Most of the guests got oven-roasted turkey and gravy over rice and then we moved on to serving fritatta filled with zucchini, potatoes and sweet peppers and finally sauteed chicken over quinoa. Everyone who joined us was also offered soup, salad and dessert.

A roasted turkey meal.

The last guests we served today got sauteed chicken over quinoa.

Mini Pistachio Macarons

There are two thoughts on making pistachio macarons.

One is to make the macaron shells with ground pistachios in addition to making a pistachio filling. And the other is to keep the shells classic almond and just add a flavorful pistachio filling. My preference is the latter. 

I feel that the flavor of the almond shells is neutral enough to not muddle the taste of a rich pistachio filling and I prefer sticking with my tried and true recipe for macaron shells because then I have some reassurance they'll turn out. Macaron ingredients are not cheap and I don't want to risk having them wasted.

The secret ingredient of these Mini Pistachio Macarons is the decadent filling, made with toasted and ground pistachios, pure pistachio extract, unsalted butter, powdered sugar and a pinch of sea salt. The result is rich, lightly sweet and very pistachio-y. It's just perfect!

Two necessary ingredients for a great pistachio filling.

Here's the recipe:

Mini Pistachio Macarons
(makes 75 quarter-sized macarons)
180g ground almonds, sifted
270g powdered sugar, sifted
150g egg whites, aged 2 to 4 days in the fridge and then brought to room temperature
100g granulated sugar
moss green gel coloring

lemon yellow gel coloring

Line five heavy baking sheets with good quality parchment paper and set aside. Also, set aside two pastry bags for the piping of the macarons.

Sift together your ground almonds with the powdered sugar and set aside.

Whisk the egg whites (at room temperature) to glossy firm peaks adding the granulated sugar gradually in four parts.  Towards the end of mixing, add the gel colorings to achieve a deep pistachio green. The color of macarons lighten after baking so be sure to color the meringue more intensely than you want the macarons to turn out.

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites using a large rubber scraper.  Mix well. 

Fold the mixture with the rubber scraper by pulling down the sides and flipping the mixture over. Do this until you have a smooth mixture that falls like a “ribbon” off the scraper.

Transfer the mixture into the two piping bags. Use rubber bands to close the piping bags. Clip the tip of the bags, one at a time, and pipe small nickel sized rounds, leaving 1-inch of space between each because they spread as they set.

Piped macarons resting before baking.

Leave to set for about 30 minutes or until the top has formed a crust and is not sticky to the touch.

While they are setting, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. A convection oven is preferable. 

Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 8 to 11 minutes or until the cookie is firm, matte and doesn't wobble when touched.

Leave on the baking tray until cool then lift them all off the parchment carefully. You may need to use a thin knife to help lift them off.

Sort into pairs and fill with Pistachio Filling

Sorted macarons ready for some filling.

Pistachio Filling
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
pinch sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure pistachio extract
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup pistachio meats
moss gel coloring (optional)

Lay the pistachio meats on a parchment lined baking sheet and toast them in a 350-degree oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until toasted and golden brown.

Pistachio meats ready to be toasted.

Grind the pistachios in a food processor until they are a fine powder. Add the powdered sugar and pulse to combine.

The toasted pistachio meats in the food processor.

Grind the meats to a fine powder.

Add powdered sugar.

The pistachio mixture is ready to be whipped into the butter and enhanced with pistachio extract and sea salt.

Place the pistachio mixture in a mixing bowl with the butter, sea salt and pistachio extract. Whip on high speed until light and creamy. Tint with coloring if desired.

Transfer the mixture to a piping bag for the filling of the macarons.

The finished filling. I tinted it with a bit of moss green gel coloring.

Filled Mini Pistachio Macarons. Keep the macarons chilled until you are ready to serve them.

Five Ways To Use Seasonal Fruit

Whether you get your bounty from a tree in your own backyard or a deal at the farmer's market, here are a few ideas on how to utilize seasonal fruits. 

For us in Portland, Oregon, right now, it's nectarines, peaches and plums that are in season and I'm loving the deals.

Isn't it great that buying seasonal fruit means that you get the best prices on fruit that's at its peak both taste and nutrition wise? So stock up, freeze some and enjoy these delicious seasonal fruit treats.

 #1

Fruit Sauce: This is so easy to make and a good way to utilize a surplus of overripe fruit.

Pancakes topped with apricot sauce. All I did was mash up a cup of ripe apricots, add some sugar and simmer it over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Soft fruits like apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries and berries transform into a sauce so much faster than firmer fruits like apples.  It really takes no time at all and is so good.

Besides topping pancakes, enjoy the sauces as is or try them on waffles, toast, plain yogurt or ice cream.

#2

Individual Fruit Tarts: Top rounds of pie dough with diced fruit, sprinkle with a sugar topping and bake.

A thyme and ginger scented nectarine tart made with white and yellow nectarines. Click here for the recipe.

The nectarine tarts before baking.

An individual Rosemary Apple Tart. Click here for the recipe.

#3 

Mini Pie Triangles: These are made using phyllo dough and come together really fast making them perfect for last minute entertaining.

These Mini Pie Triangles are filled with apples and topped with a bit of cinnamon sugar. Click here for the recipe.

A Mini Apple Pie Triangle in progress. The secret to making these neat and tidy is cooking and cooling your fruit filling first before filling the phyllo dough. This way,  the juices are thickened and contained and won't run all over the place.

#4

Fruit Crumb Bars: Just about any fruit can be used to make these crowd pleasing and easy bar cookies.

A Rhubarb Berry Crumb Bar — Click here for the recipe.

The trick to making Fruit Crumb Bars easy to cut is to bake them in a pan lined with greased aluminum foil. That way you can lift the whole thing out of the pan after it's cooled and cut even-sized squares.

#5

Cobbler: This is always a hit at my house and a breeze to assemble, bake and serve.

Use whatever fruit is in season to make a delicious cobbler. I like to make cobbler for parties because it's easy to serve. I put out a stack of bowls and a quart of good vanilla ice cream next to the cobbler and say "help yourselves." Guests love it! Click here for the recipe.