I am fully aware that it has been actual YEARS since the last time I blogged, but, life came at me fast. In the past two years I’ve dedicated myself way more fully to my day job (co-director and teacher at a Montessori school). I was pregnant and then found out at 20 weeks we had lost the baby. I lost my dad to a heart attack. And now, I’m pregnant again, at the end of my second trimester, due this summer. I wrote another cookbook, which will be out this summer. And of course Everett has continued to grow and change and be his weird intense amazing self. It’s been… a lot.

I’ve also struggled with how people’s interactions with blogs changed. There’s a lot of “ugh story skip to the recipe.” Which… I get. But I did this thing for free for a lot of years, and the story telling was a part I loved, and a part that let me have genuine connections with people. For a while, at least. But I get it, the internet changed, instagram killed blogs, etc.

AS IT WERE. I am back because I have something to share that needed a more permanent home than my instagram stories. Along with the rest of the world stuck at home, I decided to try my hand at sourdough. Since I have celiac disease this would have to be, of course, gluten free. I read every gf sour dough recipe I could find and was overwhelmed by all the speciality flours. I’m still working from home full time, plus parenting, I don’t have time for 5 flours. Then! I happened upon a King Arthur Flours recipe for a gf starter using their measure for measure flour. This is my favorite gf flour, so I decided to give it a whirl.

It is now important to note that KA does not have a gf sourdough recipe to go with it. I decided to see if I could wing it with a rough understanding of wet/dry ratios gleaned from recipes with too many flours and tried my hand at a gluten free sourdough using KA measure for measure flour. AND IT WORKED. Y’all it is light, fluffy, has a great crumb, tastes good, and is seriously magic. It’s so good that if someone served it to me in a restaurant I would think they messed up and it was regular bread.

I decided this recipe was worth sharing since I honestly couldn’t find a gf sourdough recipe that was low maintenance and the world deserves one. Here it is, folks, the first recipe on B&S in two years. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Sourdough Bread

Starter:

• 1 cup King Arthur Gluten Free Measure-for-Measure flour (this is the only recipe I have tested this with, I cannot ensure that it will work with other flours).
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water

Starter Directions:

• Day 1: Mix together flour and water until fully incorporated. Cover lightly with a towel and then put in a warm, dark place in your kitchen.
• Day 2-4: Divide your starter in half and discard half (or make it into pancakes!). Add 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water to your starter and mix to incorporate, making sure to get all the clumps of flour. Cover loosely and keep on your counter.
• Day 5: By day 5 your starter should be doubling in size and getting nice and fluffy. This might take an extra day or two in winter if your kitchen is cold. This is when it’s ready to make bread! Divide your starter in half, setting half aside for your bread recipe (below). Feed the remaining starter as normal (1 cup flour + 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp water). Transfer to a jar with the lid on loosely and store in the fridge.
• Note: By day 5 my starter was kind of dry. I added an extra 1/3 cup water, a little at a time, until it was more of a paste than a dough.

Two Sourdough Boules:

• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 3 cups water, divided
• 4 cups King Arthur GF 1-1 flour, divided
• 1/4 cup xanthum gum
• 1 tablespoon sea salt

Sourdough Directions:

1. The night before you want to make you bread combine 1 cup of starter, 1 cup water, and 1 cup flour in a bowl. Mix well to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. In the morning combine your starter mix with remaining flour, water, xanthum gum, and salt in a stand mixer. Mixing with a dough hook, mix on medium speed until a dough ball has formed. If you don’t have a mixer mix with a wooden spoon to form a ball. Gluten free flour does NOT need to be kneaded/worked like wheat dough.
3. Flour a work surface and divide the dough into two balls. Gently work each ball into a sphere, handling it delicately as you can overwork gf flour. Place each sphere in a bowl and cover with a damp towel.
4. Allow to rise for 4-6 hours in a warm place in your kitchen.
5. Heat your oven to 475F. Place a cast iron Dutch oven in the oven to warm. Roll out a 12″ sheet of parchment paper and lightly flour the bottom. Place one boule on the parchment and dust with flour. Cut a slit across the top of the boule to allow the bread to expand.
6. When the oven is preheated take the Dutch oven out. Using the parchment paper to move it, transfer the dough to the Dutch oven. Add an ice cube to the DO (outside the parchment) and quickly put the lid on. Transfer the DO back to the oven, lidded. Bake for 1 hour.
7. After an hour remove the lid and bake an additional 5 minutes.
8. Transfer your bread to a rack to cool. Cool for at least one hour before slicing (important!).
9. Repeat the baking process with the second boule.

NOTES:

• A few people have tested this recipe and said it’s not quite finished baking. I suspect my oven runs hot, so if yours runs on the cooler/drafty side try the break at 500. The crust should be a dark golden brown.
• Be very careful when handling the dough after the rise. The xanthum gum works to build the bubbles/rise and if you knock it down transferring it to the Dutch oven, it won’t have time to re-rise and will be dense.

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Sharing my favorite foods with Everett is a joy that shifts and evolves as he ages through each season. His gusto for beets last winter was matched by his unbridled love of lentils this winter. I can’t wait to take him strawberry picking for the first time, to watch him eat his first hot donut from Brit’s, to teach him all the ways that we can make magic in the kitchen together. I very much look forward to the day when he makes me dinner for the first time, though of course as recompense for what we’re currently experiencing I will lay on the floor and yell “NINNER PLEASE” repeatedly until he is done.

One of my big rules surrounding my toddler and food is the avoidance of sugar near bedtime. This is, of course, strictly selfish as I am trying to close the door on parenting at no later than 7.30pm each night. Sugar anytime after 5 complicates my plan and I’m just not in the business of making things harder on myself (if I know how to avoid it). Because I’m not a totally mean mom I am a big supporter of breakfast or lunch time dessert, and find brunch to be the ideal time to offer my kid a dose of something wonderful (and crazy making).

Everett devoured this strawberry cake with enthusiasm, smiling and laughing and occasionally shouting STRAWBERRY CAKE while he licked his fingers. It made me smile too. Crisp in all the places it touched the skillet, sweet because of the berries and just the right mount of spongey. This cake was lovely, the perfect treat for a spring brunch.

Strawberry Skillet Cake

3/4 cups sugar

1 stick salted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups flour

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

3/4 cup Greek yogurt

1lb fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer. Add in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the butter 1/3 at a time, alternating with yogurt. Mix well as you combine ingredients.

Add strawberries and fold in by hand. Grease a 10″ skillet and gently transfer the batter to the skillet. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through and browned.

Make this gluten free: 

• Using a measure for measure flour (we used King Arthur brand), substitute flour for gluten free flour.
• Increase the amount of yogurt to 1 cup.

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I have big plans for the garden at our new house, but haven’t yet broken ground. But my dreams! They’re big! I’m thinking of building the beds in the front yard, since that gets the best consistent light. I want tomatoes, so many tomatoes, and peppers, garlic, and kale, and (of course) asparagus. I want a garden we can rotate throughout the seasons, something that can provide food for our table and a little peace for my mind.

Tonight’s dinner was borne of my spring fantasies. Spring has finally, gleefully sprung here in Wilmington. That azaleas have painted the town shades of pink, the dogwoods are in full bloom, and everything is coated in a thin layer of yellow pollen. The local farmer’s market opened this past weekend and with it came the first crops of berries and asparagus. The berries were gone the instant Everett got his hands on them but the asparagus made it’s way into dinner, lightly steamed with lemon and served over parmesan grits with buttery mushrooms and steak charred in a hot skillet.

Parmesan Grits with Asparagus & Charred Steak

grits:

2 cups stone ground yellow grits

6 cups water

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp sea salt

3 cups porcini mushrooms

3 tbsps butter

1 lb flat iron or skirt steak

1 bunch asparagus

2 lemons

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus a bit for sprinkling on top

Begin by making your grits. Combine grits, water, salt, and butter in a pot. Bring to a boil, stir well, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the grits are thick. Stir in parmesan and the juice from 1 lemon.

Clean and slice mushrooms and toss them in a pan with 1 tbsp butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes. Set aside.

Keep the skillet hot and add another tbsp of butter. Place the steak in the hot skillet and top with a bit of sea salt. Cook 5 minutes on each side and then allow to rest for 5 minutes.

While the steak is resting, trim the asparagus and place in a stainless steel pan with 1/2 cup water and the juice of 1 lemon, over medium heat. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, until the asparagus is bright green and tender.

Serve the grits piled high with sliced steak, mushrooms, and asparagus. Top with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of parmesan.

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This winter I’ve been trying to be more thoughtful in my weekday meal prep. I realized that I was not eating lunch/scrounging for lunch/going out for lunch way more often than I was being thoughtful about what I was eating. So for the past few months I’ve been sticking to a strict ritual of food prep on Sunday afternoon so that I have lunches parceled out for the whole week before I even have to drag myself out of bed Monday morning.

I like my roasted cabbage prepared pretty simply with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. There’s a fine line between perfectly roasted and burnt (I live on that line), and the if you hit it just right the cabbage is sweet and crunchy with just a tang of vinegar. It’s a treat, whether or not it’s St. Patrick’s Day.

Roasted Cabbage

1 head cabbage

3-4 tbsp olive oil

2-3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Halve and slice your cabbage into thin (1/4″) strips. Heat oven to 375F and spread cabbage out on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until browned.

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Even more immediately my youngest sister, Genevieve, has elected to immigrate to Ireland. She’s engaged to a nice Irish lad and has absolutely no plans to ever move back stateside. And, while I miss her desperately, I’m not too sad to have a reason to visit Ireland and somewhere to stay in Dublin. Plus, when Everett and his cousin Iris are old enough I’ll be ready to ship them off to Auntie Gen & Uncle Naoise Camp across the ocean. Based on the amount of colcannon that Ev ate last night I have a feeling he’ll fit right in.

Colcannon

4 russet potatoes

1/2 cup whole milk

3 cups of shredded kale

1 white onion, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 tbsp butter

Salt & pepper to taste

Pinch of nutmeg

Clean and boil your potatoes, skin on. Sauté chopped white onion and garlic in 1 tbsp butter. Once onions have browned (3-4 minutes) add kale to the pan, stirring frequently until wilted.

Using a mixer or a large bowl and a strong forearm mash potatoes with 2 tbsp butter, milk, and spices. Add in kale and onion mixture and fresh green onions. Transfer to your serving dish.

Make a well in the top and add the remaining 2 tbsp butter, allowing it to melt into your hot potatoes!

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A few years ago my Uncle Ted and Aunt Ann taught me how to make my great grandmother Flossie’s pound cake. While we were together, talking about food, my Uncle Ted told me about one of his favorite family recipes, a Caudell family favorite- sauerkraut & dumplings.

Flossie was from St Pauls, North Carolina, and her family was the blend of Scots-Irish and English that was typical of the Southern piedmont. While Ted wasn’t sure of the origins of the recipe it appears as though somewhere along the line a twist of German inspiration made its way into the family recipe book. Sauerkraut & dumplings is as straight forward as it sounds. The sauerkraut is made quickly on the stove with caraway seeds and apple cider vinegar and topped with light and fluffy dumplings. The combination is wonderful- the tangy vinegar and the salty dumpling, the crunch of the cabbage and the lightness of the dough. I understand why it’s a beloved family recipe that has been passed down through generations.

Sauerkraut & Dumplings

sauerkraut:

1 head cabbage, shredded

2 cups apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp caraway seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne pepper

dumplings:

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg, beaten

1 cup sifted flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Combine half of your shredded cabbage and your vinegar in a large skillet. Simmer for 10 minutes, and stir in the remaining cabbage and the spices. Simmer over medium low, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes.

Mix your dumpling ingredients together. Spoon onto the hot sauerkraut and cover. Cook, leaving covered, for 30 minutes, long enough for the dumplings to set. Serve hot.

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I vacillate between the New Year compulsion to eat like a caveman and hit the gym every day (why we do that to ourselves during winter I’ll never understand) and the hibernation mode approach of eating only foods made with heavy cream and hiding under a heated blanket.

For those moments, the hibernation moments, pot pie is ideal. There is something to be said for comfort foods in times like this, and the combination of creamy meat and vegetables with hot flakey biscuits is deeply comforting to body and soul. It feels slightly disingenuous to post this today because I spent the morning drinking coffee on my back deck in 60 degree loveliness, but since my instagram feed is still full of pictures of snow, I’ll assume that some of you probably really need this today. So for you, friends, remember that winter will end. Spring is coming. The jonquils will bloom and the birds will sing and we’ll all forget the days of bitter cold.

Biscuit Topped Chicken Pot Pie

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 cups peas

2 garlic cloves

3 tbsp butter

5 medium sized carrots

10-12 cremini mushrooms

1 yellow onion

1 sweet potato

2 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp smoked paprika

for biscuits:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 stick butter

Pinch of salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

Begin by prepping all of your vegetables. Clean and chop your carrots, onions, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes. Mince your garlic.

Melt butter in skillet. Chop chicken thighs and brown in skillet over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, paprika, onion, and garlic and continue to cook. After 2-3 minutes stir in carrots and sweet potatoes, taking care to coat with butter. After 3-4 minutes stir in heavy cream, milk, mushrooms, and peas. Reduce heat to a simmer.

Heat oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Cube butter and cut in with your hands, working the butter and flour together until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Stir in buttermilk. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and pat into a rectangle. Fold onto itself once and then pat flat. Repeat this 3-4 times.

Stir the simmering mixture and then begin cutting your dough into biscuit rounds. Space evenly on top of filling. To cover a 12″ skillet you’ll need 12 biscuits.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Make this gluten free:

Use a measure for measure gluten free all purpose flour. If necessary increase the amount of buttermilk by 1/4-1/2 cup until the dough comes together easily.

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This winter in my house has definitely been a chili winter. We may only be a month in to the season, but we’ve eaten chili no less than five times. And while I make it in five quart batches instead of forty, it is still being devoured with gusto. In fact, it appears as though Everett is a chili fiend. He can easily put away two adult sized portions, asking for more long after Dan and I are full.

I vary the ingredients a little each time (Ev’s enthusiasm for it has lead me to include some veggies I wouldn’t normally put in chili) but the basic framework stays the same- five (or more!) varieties of beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, garlic, and lots of spice. Simmered, low and slow, for as many hours as it takes for your house to smell cozy. Served with sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, cilantro, and hot sauce. It may seem silly for me to sit in my coastal Carolina kitchen and complain about the cold weather but honestly, I’m frozen solid and counting my blessings that I’ve got a pot of chili simmering on the stove.

Five Bean Chili

1 yellow onion

4 garlic cloves

1 tbsp olive oil

1 6oz can tomato paste

1 102oz can diced tomatoes

1lb ground beef (or pork, or turkey)

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 28oz can black beans

1 28oz can kidney beans

1 28oz can red beans

1 28oz can garbanzo beans

1 28oz can great northern beans

2 cups water

2 cups corn kernels

2 large carrots

1 red bell pepper

toppings (optional):

Sour cream

Hot sauce

Cilantro

Grated cheddar cheese

Chives

Mince onion and garlic and combine in Dutch oven with olive oil. Cook over medium heat until onions have begun to soften. Mix in tomato paste and stir well to coat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes while the paste browns. Add meat to the pan and stir well to combine. Add spices and cook for 4-5 minutes until the meat has browned.

Add the beans and their juices, one can at a time, stirring well as you add. Next add diced tomatoes, corn, and water. Stir well. Chop carrot and bell pepper and add to the pot. Allow the pot to come to a low boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.

Cover partially with lid and simmer for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste test and adjust salt and spices as needed. Serve hot with all your favorite chili toppings.

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We celebrated (a night early) with a potluck with friends, popping bottles of bubbly wine and feasting on the bounty of root vegetables. It’s one of my favorite nights of the holiday season, particularly because we always mark it with a small, low key dinner. It feels right to mark the occasion, to toast the changing of the seasons and the shifts as the earth makes its slow rotation around the sun.

This year I decided to try my hand at a fancy buche de noel, a yule log cake. A thin, almost flour-less cake layered with hazelnut mousse and rolled on itself, topped with more mousse and then decorated to look like a yule log. It’s above and beyond the effort I usually put into the appearance of cakes but Everett took a particularly long and agreeable nap yesterday, so I decided to challenge myself.

Probably because it’s mostly mousse, the end result was fantastic. Chocolatey and rich and soft and light and heavenly. And, amazingly, very easy. The hardest part of the whole process was picking holly from my yard in the rain.

All in all, it was a wonderful celebration. I’m ready to close the door on 2017, and it feels good to be turning the corner into a new season. Happy Solstice, friends!

Solstice Yule Log Cake

cake:

6 eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder, plus 1 tbsp for dusting

1 tbsp all purpose flour

Pinch of salt

Butter for greasing

mousse:

7 oz bittersweet chocolate chips

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup chocolate hazelnut spread

1 tsp vanilla extract

topping:

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Handful of pomegranate seeds

Handful slivered almonds

Fresh holly leaves

Heat oven to 350F.

Grease a 10×15″ rimmed baking sheet and line with parchment paper. Whip together the eggs and sugar on high until they have thickened and doubled in volume. This takes approximately 3-5 minutes.

Mix together flour, cocoa, and salt and then fold into eggs. Carefully cut and fold, making sure to fully incorporate the dry ingredients. Pour gently onto the baking sheet and spread so it reaches the edges. Take care not to deflate. Bake for 15 minutes.

While the cake is baking, dust a second sheet of parchment with cocoa powder. When the cake is done allow it to cool for 5 minutes and then gently peel the edges of the cake away from the parchment. Flip the cake onto the second parchment paper and then, using a knife to help separate, peel the parchment off the cake. Cover with a towel and allow to cool.

Scald 1 1/4 cups of cream, removing from heat before it boils. Stir in chocolate chips and hazelnut spread, along with vanilla. Stir well, until the chocolate is melted and well incorporated. Whip remaining cream until stiff. Fold the ganache into the whipped cream, stirring until fully incorporated. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl!

Remove the towel from the cake and, using the parchment to help, roll the cake tightly on itself. Allow to sit, rolled, for 5 minutes, and then unroll it. Top the cake with a thick layer (1/4″) of mousse. Again using the parchment to guide, roll the cake onto itself. Have your serving platter ready and use the parchment to roll the cake directly onto your serving platter.

Cut a 3-4″ piece of the cake off at an angle, and position it on the side so it resembles a log. Use a pastry knife to spread the remaining mouse thickly over the cake. Then use a fork to add bark texture, and decorate as you’d like with holly leaves, pomegranate seeds, and almond slivers. Chill for 3-4 hours.

Directly before serving top with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Make this gluten free:

This is an easy one! Simply substitute measure for measure gluten free flour (I used King Arthur) and follow the recipe as written!

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A strong craving for freshly baked bread this weekend inspired me to adapt my classic banana bread recipe to compliment my bounty of persimmons. Brown sugar, buttermilk, raw pecans, and roasted persimmons combine to make a bread that is slightly sweet, chewy, and crisp around the edges. I’ve been eating it once slice at a time this week, toasted and smeared with a little salted butter.

There are two varieties of persimmons readily available in American grocery stores- Fuyu and Hachiya. Fuyu are lighter in color, a bit squat in shape, and beloved for their sweet, honeyed flavor when eaten fresh. Hachiya are darker in color, oblong in shape, and are best when eaten very ripe or roasted. All 100 counties of North Carolina are also home to a third variety of persimmon- the American persimmon. These persimmons (including the bountiful one in my neighbor’s yard) bare fruit that must be gathered from the ground when very ripe and boast a sweet, spicy flavor. Roasted persimmons have a sweet, mellow flavor that lends itself well to both dessert and savory dishes.

As we roll straight into the holidays and my desk fills higher and higher with sweets and candy, it’s nice to have a balance. Nothing beats a slice of hot buttered sweet bread with my morning cup of coffee and I’m so thankful that I have enough roasted persimmons in the freezer to see me through winter. It’s the little things, you know?

Persimmon & Pecan Bread

2 eggs

1 cup brown sugar

3 persimmons

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp salt

2 cups flour

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Butter to grease the pan

Heat oven to 425F. Chop persimmons into bite sized pieces. Roast for 20-25 minutes, or until they are soft and beginning to bubble. Reduce oven temperature to 400F.

Mix together all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Gently smash the persimmons with a fork and mix into batter. Grease a loaf pan or 8″ skillet and pour batter into the pan, taking care to evenly distribute the persimmons. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the bread is baked through (and a knife comes out clean).

Transfer to a rack to cool.

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