Day 002 Sydney

I did well the first 2 days in Sydney. I was very mentally awake. What happens to your physical body on a 14 hour time difference is out of your control. It was raining and gray, so first priority in the morning was buying umbrellas. Afterwards off to Blacktown to love on some marsupials, reptiles, and birds. Australia really has great wildlife even if half of it (spiders, snakes, crocs, dingos, stingers, jellies, etc.) will kill you.

Koalas are like little furry people

I pet the kangaroo after it grabs the food I was feeding it away.

Wallabys are miles cuter than kangaroos, this one followed us around.

Wiped after an afternoon of cuddling marsupials we headed to the Rocks towards Sydney Central. Lord Nelsons is the oldest pub in Sydney, and brews its own beer. Most beers in Australia are watery, but the beer at Lord Nelsons is excellent.

Pure drinks, food and rugby at Lord Nelsons in Sydney

Lord Nelsons beer list

Ketchup is called tomato sauce. Never mind because sweet chili is the new ketchup. Its bright pink with little chili bits floating in it. A bit like sweet an sour sauce. Not at all spicy. It comes with fries, chips, wedges along side sour cream. Sour cream is unbelievably luscious here. Thicker and with less tang than Americas sour cream. I could eat it by the spoonful, or just apply it to my thighs as they say in my family.

Potato wedges with sweet chili and sour cream at Lord Nelsons, top notch pub fare

We tried reading the paper and playing pass and play Scrabble while digesting plate of wedges and a few pints of beer. Not a bad way to pass a Sunday afternoon unless World Cup Rugby is on. It was. Until I learn the rules, rugby is just a violent beastly man on man in shorty shorts sport.

After a few hours a walk, train ride, and stop at the bottle shop for white wine we sat down for seafood at Garfish in Kirribilli. Its BYOB. Its chilly but they have lovely covered outdoor seating with area heaters. Pacific oysters are plump with a clean ocean flavor. Again they come with sweet chili, like most things in Australia.

Snapper pie with broccoli rabe

Garfish serves an elegant list of regular dishes including snapper fish pie, fish and chips, salt and pepper squid, and a few more. The highlight is the specials hauled daily from the ocean. I had the famed Australia favorite barramundi. A thick moist flavorful piece of fish that practically melts in your mouth. Served on a comforting and familiar bed of peas and potatoes I cant imagine a better meal.

Barramundi on buttered peas and potatoes

For dessert, or do they say pudding, we had caramel ice cream on a Belgian waffle. Indulgent. Rolling off our chairs, we made our way down to the waterfront for the best view in Sydney. Sydneys harbor is full of nooks, crannies, and beaches, but only this view includes the Opera House and bridge. It was nearly 50 degrees by now, and jet lag attacks after 8 pm, so off to bed. No Sydney night life for me. Food, koala, and coffee.

Ditmas Park CSA Week 6

Big stuff in week 6 from the Ditmas Park CSA

Its the week of the callaloo bigger than a raccoon/medium sized dog. Callaloo bigger than a small child. Callaloo big enough to curl up in bed with, not like its gonna keep you warm. This bunch of callaloo is so big I tell you it takes up the entire bottom shelf of my fridge hiding the tupperware containers in a forest of leaves. Not to mention a large head of cabbage, thats also pretty big.

Ditmas Park CSA Week 6

1 enormous head of callaloo
1 bunch of basil
1 head of cabbage
1 red onion
1 white onion
2 cucumbers
2 zucchinis
2 heas of garlic
1 yellow squash
1 bag of yellow wax beans
8 medium tomatoes
11 red sweet peppers
6 eggs

Tomato Soup

Really this red and really better than can soup from a can

I was sick earlier this month eating bread and soup for 7-10 days. Campbells Tomato soup became dinner on more than one occasion. The soup has a nostalgic but salty sodium and tinny flavor. I discovered this weekend that it doesnt take much to make a soup that blows Campbells lingering memory out of the way in 30-45 minutes. I also discovered the line between tomato soup, tomato sauce and bbq sauce can be a tricky one to walk. I used canned tomatoes, with summer a distant memory. You could easily roast fresh tomatoes if your climate or season allows.

Tomato Soup

1 red pepper

1 large onion, chopped

2 tblsp vegetable oil

36-38 oz canned crushed tomatoes (one big and one normal sized cans)

12 oz vegetable or chicken broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp sriracha

1/2 tsp smoky Hungarian paprika

1 tsp sugar

4 drops liquid smoke (optional)

2 tblsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Core and de-seed red pepper. Wrap in foil and roast in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until cooked. Remove from oven, and let rest for 10 minutes. Remove skin, and chop. Meanwhile saute onion in oil until translucent in a large stock pot. Add roasted pepper, canned tomatoes, broth, spices, and sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Puree in batches in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return pureed soup to pot and liquid smoke, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir, and its done. Serve with grilled cheese, bread, or whatever comforts.

Cardamom Spice Vegan Pumpkin Bread

Ace Pumpkin Bread

The goal was to have this recipe up by Thanksgiving. Lets just say this recipe is good enough to make 365 days a year even though I missed my opportunity to get it up during prime gourd time. Ive been baking this recipe for 3 years. A wink and a nod to my vegan friends, who are always thankful for spiced baked bread.

I promise NO ONE will guess its vegan. Coconut milk, moist pumpkin, and flax are seamless replacement for the binding and flavor of butter and eggs. Cardamom and ginger give it unforgettable flavor. The recipes only rival is my lemon zucchini bread. I used my homemade pumpkin puree, which isnt any better then store bought. You can also use pureed butternut squash or yams, or a mixture. My favorite results were with half parsnip half yam puree. Pumpkin seeds are pretty on top, but fanned apple slices are a nice touch too. The recipe is based on the Post Punk Kitchens version.

Vegan Pumpkin Bread

2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tblsp molasses
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup coconut milk
(do not buy sweetened coconut milk often advertised for pina coladas)
1/4 cup ground flax meal
2 cups pumpkin puree
*16-20 cardamom pods
2 tsp ginger powdered
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I use 1 1/2 cups whole wheat and 2 cups unbleached white flour)

*Note: Cardamom pods can be found at Indian grocery stores or ordered online from spice stores. I dont suggest substituting less flavorful powdered cardamom. Instead increase ginger by 1/2 tsp.

Preheat oven to 350.

Lightly coat 2 bread pans with oil. Drop in 1-2 tablespoons of flour into a bread pan. Shake and knock around until all surfaces are coated. Shake excess flour into the second bread pan, and repeat.

Grandmas pans have turned out hundred of great loaves of bread

Smash open cardamom pods by crushing with the bottom of a heavy skillet. Separate shells from seeds. Carefully chop up cardamom seeds until medium-fine. They kind of pop and roll when you chop the hard seeds.

Fragrant

Meanwhile blend oil, sugar, and molasses for 1-2 minutes until combined with a standing or handheld mixer. Open the can of coconut milk and measure out 2/3 cups of the thick white cream. Leave the clear coconut water for another purpose. Add coconut to sugar along with pumpkin puree, flax, spices, salt, and baking soda. Mix another minute or more until blended. Add half of the flour and mix until mostly combined. Add remaining flour, and mix by hand. Be careful to mix as little as possible to prevent bread from getting tough.

Sugar and oil

Divide into 2 prepared loaf pans. Bake until a knife comes out clean 70-90 minutes. The bread will be golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning on to racks. Cool for another 20-30 minutes before serving. This bread freezes well wrapped in foil and placed in a ziplock. Eat one now, and save one for unexpected craving for pumpkin bread! I have those.

Cucumber Mint Vodka Watermelon

Watermelon man hole for vodka

I should have posted this a few days ago. Im worried youll see this post and want to make a big fat vodka watermelon for your Labor day picnic/bbq/yacht party. And you should want to but you need to act NOW. Thats right, if you are slightest bit interested in boozing up a watermelon turn off the computer, buy a watermelon and some vodka and come back.

Did you do it? Lets proceed. It is not common knowledge unless you have tried this or read lots of recipe comments that it can take up to FOUR DAYS for your watermelon to absorb vodka. There are million recipes that look simple, and you think will take 6 hours or overnight. Unless you know where to buy a "dry" watermelon it will take at least 2 full days for a great vodka watermelon to begin. A week would be awesome. You might not get invited back to the party if arent careful. Here are my real time instructions.

Cucumber Mint Vodka Watermelon

1 large watermelon
1/2 cucumber cut into spears, divided
1 handful of fresh mint leaves, divided
2 350 ml bottles of vodka

Youre going to be feeding your watermelon over the course of a few days, so first youll want to prepare the watermelon and space for it. Now look at your fridge and make sure that you can fit the watermelon with 6-7 inches head space for the vodka on a shelf. You may need to rearrange shelves. Place the watermelon on a plate to catch run off juice, and prevent it from sliding around. I also used an upside down coffee can lid to keep it snug.

Make sure you have room for this in your fridge

Take an old, but clean cap from a bottle of oil or similar. Press the cap down onto the top of the watermelon, where you plan to feed it, making an indentation. Now cut inside that indentation to make an opening. Using a spoon dig down and carve out some watermelon. 5-6 inches is good, or to the center of the watermelon. Turn the watermelon upside down and drain out some of the fluids too.

Fill the watermelon cavity half way with vodka from the first bottle of vodka. Slide half the cucumber spears and mint into the vodka bottle. Now for your big maneuver, carefully flip the vodka bottle into the watermelon. Place in the fridge and let sit for 1-2 days until absorbed. After the first bottle is absorbed, crack open the second and repeat the last set of steps. Some of the vodka may not absorb from the second bottle. It depends on the size and juiciness of your melon.

When its party time you can use the same cap from the first step as plug to keep all the juice in place! Smart! Or just cut it up and bring it in slices, but there really is nothing like a the show of carving the vodka watermelon in front of a hot and thirsty audience.

Prospect Farm Harvest Fest Soup Cook Off

Prospect Farm is a volunteer-run urban farm near my section of Brooklyn. We are almost finished with our first season, and Ive whipped together a little fundraiser to get the neighborhood together to celebrate. Saturday October 30th come out for games, music, food, tours and information, raffle, and the grand soup cook-off. Cook-Off contenders will ladle up their best soups for Brandon Maya and Joe Brancaccio to decide a winner.

To enter the cook-off email me at prospectfarmbk@gmail.com

Raffle includes prizes from Brancaccio Food Shop, Crossroads Cafe, The Double Windsor, The Great Green Store, Juice Box Wines, Oak and Iris Cafe, Levys Unique New York Tours, Namaste Yoga of Kensington, Sycamore Flowershop,Tally Ho Craft Beer, Third Root Community Health, Thistle Tavern.

Read more info about Prospect Farm here.

Callaloo Coconut Soup

Howdayado Callaloo Soup

Big bunches of callaloo have been inhabiting my vegetable drawer, a large part of my Ditmas Park CSA. I vaguely know what to do with callaloo. Stew, soup, steam? Its like spinach, with a little bit more iron, and perhaps a less tender. Callaloo has a pleasant mineral taste that really mellows in a soup. Im happy its here before its too hot to cook it down in a soup. Make sure to rinse it plenty of times to remove the grit that may be on it. Nothing worse than dirty grit callaloo stew.

Almost like spinach, but healthier

Callaloo Coconut Soup

1 large bunch callaloo (roughly 1 lb)
1 large onion, diced
2 tblsp vegetable oil
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 quart water
1 can coconut milk (unsweetened)
1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1 pinch red pepper
1 tblsp white wine vinegar
salt to taste

Separate leaves from callaloo stems. Rinse each individually in a large clear bowl. Rinse callaloo until water is clear to make sure all the grit is off. Meanwhile heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add onion with a large pinch of salt and cook until transparent. Chop callaloo stems down to 1/4 - 1/8" pieces. Add to onion and cook for about 10 minutes until soft. Add the callaloo leaves with about 1 cup of water to the pot. Stir and cook until softened. Add remaining ingredients: water, coconut milk, spices, and vinegar. Bring to a boil, and turn off heat. Transfer soup to a high speed blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Add salt to taste and serve.

Vegetable Hunting in Early Spring

I spent a solid 3 weeks consuming bread, cheese, meat, sugar, and dairy. Less of a craving, and more situational testing out recipes (scotch eggs, mac & cheese with bacon, shepards pie, mushroom pot pie, rolls, crackers, and more obscene baked goods Ill show you later) and cooking for a big dinner party. This week I decided to veg out at the Grand Army Plaza farmers market in Brooklyn. Its been a cold and wet spring in the New York City area, but you can still make a weeks meal from the goods at the market. Cheese, meat, yogurt, flours, grains, legumes, pickles, jam, bread, cookies, and doughnuts are popular 52 weeks a year at the market. Hard vegetables and and hardy leafy greens are out too. Here is some of the veggie porn for your viewing:


Mushrooms, as expensive as meat but hardy and full of minerals and fiber. Dont chop the character of these unique shrooms as an ingredient in other dishes. Saute them in butter or oil and let them stand on their own feet as a beautiful entree or side dish.

Spinach, cool weathers great irony, green gift for salads, layered in lasagna and pastas, soups, frittata, or simply steamed and tossed with sauteed garlic.

Potatoes are everywhere, parsnips are fewer found, but sunchokes (aka Jerusalem artichokes) are harder to find. Sunchokes with a smooth, nutty tuber taste can be lightly steamed and then sauteed in butter (really all farm fresh veggies are excellent this way), sliced and fried into chips, pickled, or roasted with other root vegetables like parsnips or carrot.

Apples are around most of the year too. Its a New Yorks specialty. Winesaps are my favorite orchard apple; crispy, tart with just a little sweetness. Perfect for eating raw. These winesaps reminded me of the kind I used to pick growing up in Ohio.

Radishes, turnips, kohlrabi, and daikon of all shapes, sizes with varying spicy flavors. These groundlings make awesome pickles, are great shredded or chopped into salads and slaws, sliced into discs for dip, or try a savory Asian daikon cake.

I also saw an abundance of carrots, squash, cabbage, leeks, onions, herbs, and ornamental flowers. Just a few stands had pea shoots. More of those plus ramps will be on their way soon. And oh I cant wait for my CSA to start up too.

Rainbow Cookies

Happy rainbow cookie will make you WORK

Rainbow cookies nearly defeated me. To make them requires almost 1 lb almond paste, 6 eggs, 2 lb of butter, lots of steps to make the batter, 3 rectangle pans to bake, many steps to assemble, and so much patience. Multiple steps means multiple ways to screw up, and once youve messed up a few steps youre going down a creek without a paddle. You can see the struggle in the photos, but I did not give up.

The cookies tasted fine, but not perfect. I found the recipe in the May 2o11 issue of Bon Appétit. You may also notice my cookies are yellow, red, and blue rather than the Italian reg, white, and green. I made the cookies to match my composting diagram for Prospect Farm. I brought the cookies to Compost for Brooklyns Block Party to highlight the layers of trench compost. Each cookie acted as a mini trench compost diagram. A cute idea that some appreciated, and had some asking is this made of dirt?

Rainbow Cookies
2 tblsp plus 2 cups unsalted butter, at room temp
6 large egg white
6 large egg yolks
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
12 oz almond paste (not marzipan), chopped
2 3/4 cups plus 1 tblsp flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red food coloring
1/2 tsp yellow food coloring
1 tsp blue food coloring
3/4 cup orange marmalade
4 oz bittersweet chocolate

Whip 6 egg whites until soft peaks form. Add 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until firm peaks form. Chill. Meanwhile line three 9 x 13 inch rectangular baking pans with foil, allowing foil to overhang length-wise. Grease foil and sides of the pans with 2 tablespoons of butter.

Add 1 cup of almond paste and sugar to a mixer and beat at medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium high and slowly add 2 cups of butter. Beat until fluffy. Add in yolks, one at a time until combine. Add salt and flour, being careful not to over mix. Fold egg whites in two additions by hand with a spatula. Lots of work, eh? Take a breather.

Uggh, I hate artificial colors, but its a tradition.
You can use green in place of blue to, so Italian.

Preheat oven to 350. Divide batter into 3 bowls. Add 1 color of food coloring to each bowl, and fold until evenly colored. Now youre ready to bake. Transfer each colored batter into one prepared pan. Spread evenly, and place in oven. Bake for 9-12 minutes. Rotate pans half way. Remove cakes from the oven when batter is just set.

Yellow layer will go up, over, and on top of the marmalade covered red layer

Meanwhile melt marmalade. The recipe suggests you strain the peel parts out, but I think its fine to leave it in. Brush half of the marmalade on top of the red layer. Lift the yellow layer up using the overhanging foil. Flip top-side-down over the red layer. Peel foil back. Brush the top of the yellow layer with remaining marmalade. Lift the blue layer up using the overhanging foil. Flip top-side-down over the yellow layer. Do not peel the top layer of foil. Place a cookie sheet on top of blue layer. Carefully flip all layers on to the cookie sheet. Place another cookie sheet over the red layer. Weight down with cans, and chill for 4 hours or up to one day. Congratulate yourself on completing the hardest part of making rainbow cookies. You are out of the woods.

Ready to chill? The layers are.

Melt the 4 oz of chocolate over in a double boiler (or a heat proof bowl such as stainless steel or tempered glass, over boiling water) or in a microwave. Whichever you prefer. Remove cake layers from fridge, and peel back top layer of foil. Brush half the chocolate over the red layer.

Take your time, and the results will line up neater then mine. Less trimming equals less waste.

Place uncovered in freezer for 15 minutes to harden the chocolate. Remove from freezer. Place wax paper on top of chocolate layer. Replace cookie sheet over waxed paper, and carefully flip so blue layer is now up. Peel back foil on the blue layer. Brush remaining chocolate over blue layer. Freezer, uncovered for another 15 minutes until hardened. Cut the cookie into 1/2 - 3/4 inch slices. Serve! Finally! I kept mine in an airtight freezer container until they were ready to be served.