Bryton Taylor | A Food Literature Blog

How to: Smoked Salt

I went a bit bizerk with the grill. I honestly thought I was just making smoked salt. And then I realised I could bake on the grill, and just like that, door thrown wide open and imagination ran amuck.

But this is where it all started. Smoked salt.

A Mexican Feast; Watermelon & Tequila Mojitos, Chorizo Tacos, Black Bean Salsa, Spicy Peanuts, Mexican Pudding

I strongly believe dessert should always be your first course, hence why I offer to bake and cook. Taste testing is compulsary.

In saying that, the spiced roasted peanuts are way too hard not to eat. The watermelon and tequila mojitos go downly smoothly (and very quickly). And chorizo torillas will have everyone going back for seconds. But, hey, it's Cinco de Mayo, so no need to hold back. Celebrate and enjoy!

The Daring Cooks' April 2012 Challenge; Coffee Rubbed Lamb, with Rosemary, Parsnip and Goat's Cheese Puree

Up until this moment, I always believed a parsnip's best use was as a nose for a snowman.  

Parsnips rarely (if ever?) made an entrance at our family dinner table growing up. And when I finally got around to trying one last year, my reaction was the same as someone making me eat chalk.

But, as it turns out, with the right ingredients, even parsnip can taste amazing. The end result for The Daring Cooks' April 2012 Challenge, Create Your Own Recipe, was Coffee Rubbed Lamb with Rosemary, Parsnip and Goat's Cheese Puree.

Old Fashioned Hot Cross Buns with a Cointreau Twist

They ended up looking like paper fortune tellers that we used to make and play with as kids, but the taste of them were definitely hot cross buns. The recipe is based off on an old fashioned version found in our big old Chatelaine cookbook, and caught my eye for it's use of hot mashed potato.

Winnie the Pooh; T-I-double-guh-errrrr spells Tigger Bread (Dutch Crunch Bread) and Honey Roasted Vegetable Sandwich

Dutch Crunch bread

I first heard of dutch crunch bread in its other form, tiger bread, was when I saw it in Coles. Everytime I've seen it, it's had a Tigger sticker on, and, being the Disney fan I am, it just stuck in my head as Tigger bread.

Unfortunately when I gave up bread for a gluten free diet, Tigger bread was set aside as well. So when I saw that the Daring Bakers challenge (my first!) was tiger bread, my heart pitter pattered. I could now make a gluten free version!

'Tigger' bread aka Dutch Crunch bread

As I baked I couldn't help but chant under my breath, 'T-I-double- guh-errrrr'. And when the bread came out of the oven, it took everything not to stick my hands in the buns (known as tiger paws) and stick the 'tail' to my butt and bounce around the house.
Some people just never grow up.

Irish Penguin Cakepops

Another name for this is procrastination. I should've been studying. I should've been writing up a 3,000 word essay due this week. But no, I had an urge to make penguin cakepops yesterday. Little Irish penguins for St Patty's Day.

Irish Soda Bread

There's something so comforting about old fashioned food. Maybe it's just the ease of it. There's no fiddling and fluffing about. Just bam, few ingredients together, in the oven, and thirty minutes later, it's done.

Happy Groundhog Day

Punx and his brothers and sisters pop up today to let you know whether spring is coming, or whether they'll sleep another few weeks.

I love the names they have, check em out and what they predicted last year (taken from wikipedia)

Groundhog	Location
2010	Early spring[26]	Gus	Athens, Georgia
2010	Early spring[26]	Queen Charlotte	Charlotte, North Carolina
2010	Early Spring[27]	Octoraro Orphie	Quarryville, Pennsylvania
2010	Early Spring[28]	Sir Walter Wally	Raleigh, North Carolina
2010	Early spring[29]	Jimmy the Groundhog	Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
2010	Early spring[30]	General Beauregard Lee	Snellville, Georgia
2010	6 more weeks of winter[31]	Smith Lake Jake	Graysville, Alabama
2010	Early spring[32]	Staten Island Chuck	Staten Island (New York City)
2010	Early spring[33]	Woodstock Willie	Woodstock, Illinois
2010	6 more weeks of winter[34]	Wiarton Willie	Wiarton, Ontario
2010	6 more weeks of winter	Punxsutawney Phil	Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
2010	Early spring[35]	Uni	Myerstown, Pennsylvania
2010	6 more weeks of winter	Spanish Joe	Spanish, Ontario
2010	Early spring[36]	Dunkirk Dave	Dunkirk, New York
2010	Early Spring[37]	Buckeye Chuck	Marion, Ohio
2010	Early Spring[38]	Balzac Billy	Balzac, Alberta
2010	6 more weeks of winter	Shubenacadie Sam	Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia
2010	Early Spring[39]	French Creek Freddie	French Creek, West Virginia
2010	6 more weeks of winter[40]	Chuckles	Manchester, Connecticut
2010	6 more weeks of winter[41]	Woody	Howell, Michigan
2010	6 more weeks of winter[42]	Stormy Marmot

 

Look This Way- Check Out The Bikini Bar!!

No my blog hasn't suddenly been hacked with explicitness, something I came across a lot of, just trying to find one single recipe.

*head tilt*

'wow, that's ....tiny...

And that's definitely not the recipe!!!'

I came across the Bikini Bar/ Slice at the Bookcaffe, Swanbourne. Purely gluten free, simple ingredients and to die for, I searched high and low to replicate it. Please note, that while it is called a Bikini Bar, it's so not good for your bikini. And you won't be able to stop eating it. I'm warning you ahead of time.

 

 

Bikini Bar/ Slice

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

2 1/2 cups flaked coconut

2 cups chopped dates

2 cups chopped pecans (may also include almonds or nuts of choice)

1/4 cup finely chopped maraschino/glaced cherries

(optional) 1/4 cup meltable chocolate chips

Mix together sweetened condense milk. salt and vanilla. Stir in coconuts, dates, nuts and cherries. Line a baking dish with baking paper and spoon mixture into dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown at 350oF or 180oC. Let cool and remove from dish. You can melt the chocolate if you so wish and either spread it or drip it, depending on how much you want over the bar. Once cooled, cut into slices.

To Muddle is to Mojito

 

'My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita'

Ernest Hemingway may be specific where he drank his mojitos, but I'll take mine anywhere, thank you!

My summer cocktail of choice, I'm constantly on the look out for mojitos in other forms. Last summer, I was so focused on making a mojito cupcake that I made it in the middle of a 40oC day*. Dedication... or insanity? 

Either way, this summer I'm playing it smart, taking a cooler choice and making mojito ice cream.

 

I loosely based my recipe on Kenzie's Kitchen's recipe here. I say loosely since I've been avoiding using egg yolk so far. It definitely changes the texture, less smoother, but I feel less antsy over eating it.

My altered version is as follows:

1 cup milk (they call for whole, but I use skim)

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups thickened cream

1/2 - 1 cup fresh lime mint leaves

1 or 2 mint leaves, finely chopped (optional)

3 tbsp. lime juice

5 tbsp. rum

 

Mix the milk, sugar and cream over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add in the mint leaves (leaving one or two out for later) and leave on a low simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Strain into glass container and set in fridge to cool for several hours (I found 6 hours worked well). Make sure you cover with cling/glad/plastic wrap to keep the smells of your fridge from mixing in.

Mix in finely chopped mint leaves (optional but I found it gave it a bit more flavour). I *may* have added a bit more rum in at this point. Just a bit, mind you ;) 

Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions before placing in freezer for 6-8 hours.

 

*Mojito cupcake recipe originally posted on previous blog. Recipe and photos will be posted shortly.