Window

Find a Window. Open it...even if it is winter

and clean it.

I am talking Domestic 1950's clean.

Windex, Vinegar, Grapefruit, Geranium, Eucalyptus, Baking soda

CLEAN.

Because those 'dust balls' fall from your thoughts not from your heart.

And you got to get rid of them .

Otherwise they clump up and make you sneeze all day.

"Bless you!"

I promise you, they will come back and you can clean

and sneeze with them again another time.

There is a saying in the 'french' kitchen: Mise en place. Which roughly translates to 'have your mess in place... shit together... station clean and organized. I say, start with your window!

Summer on a Snow Day

"Hi Henry. Wanna come over and makes some vegan cakes?"

....Or not at all.

Vegan cupcakes soon turned into a trip the the wine shop. And you can't have wine with out cheese. And you can't have cheese without ham. And....so...My afternoon started with egg-replacers in mind and ended with panchetta in my soup and goat cheese on my bread. I guess reverse psychology works. My vegan intentions were not lost completely though... the cupcakes stayed vegan, as planned, everything else just got a little help from the un-kosher animal kingdom. The theme of the dinner was definitely warmth and lightness (hence the cherry tomatoes, lemon, and lavender). I wanted to taste some summer on this snowy day! But I stayed true to winter...roasting and stewing all afternoon...and taking still-lives of fruit sitting in their winter shadows like Bonnard paintings.

so...La MENU

Wine: (White) Champalou Vouvray 2008 it has a honey start and dry finish according to the people at the wine shop. Thomas Jefferson is quoted on the Bottle. "Good Wine is a Necessity of Life for Me" Thanks Jefferson! Finally a founding father who likes wine!

Cheese board: Home-ade Roasted balsamic cherry tomatoes with lavender and sage, goat cheese, ciabatta bread (Thank you Bedford Cheese Shop for the Cheese and Bread)

Soup: Corn chowder (adapted from Deb Madison) with crispy Pancetta and crispy purple potatoes on top (Thank you Union Square Market)

Dessert: Meyer-Lemon Lavender cupcakes (vegan)

I will give you the recipe for the Meyer-Lemon Lavender Cupcakes. My very own original recipe!! Try it out and tell me what you think. I am working on a frosting for it... otherwise it is more like a muffin!

First Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Have two bowls ready. One for wet ingredients and one for dry.

Combine Wet ingredients plus sugar and spices:

1/2 organic silken tofu (whipped in food processor for 2 seconds to get out lumps and bumps)

2/3 coconut oil (heated and infused with 1 1/2 Tablespoon of dried lavender florets)

2 heaping tablespoons of Tofutti Vegan sour-cream (I said vegan... not low fat!)

1 cup Fair-trade organic white sugar (non-bleached)

Zest of 1 Meyer Lemon and 2 tablespoons of juice) - feel free to reserve some juice to sprinkle on top

1 teaspoon ginger zest (for digestion)

2 teaspoons vanilla

Dry ingredients:

1 3/4 cup flour (you can use a mix of whole wheat and white -organic)

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

(maybe a little more lavender florets?)

sprinkle the tops with raw sugar- for a little extra crunch and sweetness.

Combine and bake for 30-35 minutes...makes 8 lovely lemon-lavender cup cakes

Note: Meyer Lemons are like lemons except NOT. AT. ALL. They are much sweeter and less sour and are more orange in color. That being said you can substitute them for lemons any time.

DO NOT OVERSTIR wet and dry ingredients. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients gently as if you are a five year old learning how to 'fold' for the first time.

Marginally,

Mollie

(special thanks to Henry O. and Chelsea for the pics and love)

Give your Onions a Savasana!

At the 'Kula Yoga Project', a yoga studio located on North 3rd in Williamsburg, you can sweat 'spirit' and literally taste it too at it's very own vegetarian cafe called 'The Shanti Shack.' I serendipitously stumble upon this gem of a yoga studio/cafe, as a suggestion from one of my favorite yoga teachers in Providence. I took my first class, which was a home-brew of 'Ashtanga' and 'Iyenger' with some thai massage assistance, and I immediately fell in love. But I would be lying if I said it was just the yoga that seduced me, it was definitely the aroma from Brownie's cooking that made me never want to leave.

Fresh Kaffir limes, lemon grass, ginger, roasted tomatoes finished with sherry vinegar...these are the scents that waft into the yoga studio, and permeate some robust sweetness into this dry and cold winter.

Brownie is the chef and owner of 'Shanti Shack,' former chef at Le Cirque, and graduate of the French Culinary institute (with honors). She is the real deal! It is clear that cooking is her dharma ( path) and she radiates brightness into every bite of her food. I am lucky enough to be her intern twice a week! And I can already feel my cooking spirit ripen with the mix of french vocabulary, and yogic visualizations. It is safe to say I am going to culinary school for free.

Some notes from the kitchen/words of wisdom from Brownie:

1) Tomatoes take on the taste of your fridge. Leave them on the counter.

2) Eggs do three things in baking: they bind, add moisture, and are a leavening agent

3) Ginger. Put it in everything it helps make your food more digestible!

4) The term 'sweating' you will sometimes see in recipes and wonder WTF. No more. Sweating means to sauté and steam at the same time. As Brownie describes it, 'sweating' is basically like Savasana (corpse pose at the end of the yoga class) because you are extracting the flavor from whatever you are 'sweating' just like how in Savasana you are distilling the sweetness of your practice.

How to 'sweat'? Put a pat of butter and 2-4 tbsp of olive oil in a sauce-pan and turn it on relatively high. (The olive oil keeps the butter from burning) then add whatever you want to 'sweat' (traditionally onions, carrots, celery) and hear a sizzle. Next turn the heat low and cover, don't stir... for maybe 7-10 minutes -till the ingredients are cooked from the inside out (onions will become translucent). Brownie says 'sweat' your onions, and it will help prevent indigestion!

Marginally,

Mollie