Baking…meditative or stress inducing?
Episode 9: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….Baking, baking and more baking with Vindi from MyLoveofBaking.com
Baking, it’s my Mount Everest. It’s something that is a really good challenge for me and that I adore doing but sometimes I can get on the struggle bus with it and full disclosure, this might come as a shock but I have never climbed Mount Everest. Just thought you should know. But I know together we can do this! I love the smell of baked goods in my home. It’s cozy, it’s comforting and can be very nostalgic.
Some Baking Must Have’s, Do’s and Don'ts that we talked about:
Oven thermometer, like this one, is a quick and easy kitchen gadget that can make all the difference with how well your baked goods come out!
Kitchen Scale, love these! Use mine every day.
The right baking vessels for the right project
Baking substitutions do’s and don’ts….
Don’t, just don’t substitute anything, unless it’s vanilla bean paste for vanilla, then yes do that!
And don’t forget to check your baking soda and baking powder expiration dates. If it’s close to being expired, toss it.
Here’s a link to an article from Bon Appetit that explains a few more do’s and don’ts.
Honestly you can try your own substitutions but it might be a trial and error which if you are into, then that’s awesome! You can R and D, research and develop, your own baking recipes and adapt them for your dietary needs. Or you can check out a few of these food blogs that do a great job of creating gluten free, nut free or vegan. Love and lemons, cookies and Kate, No Gluten, No Problem and Minimalist Baker.
Vindi, our baking expert/guru/goddess’s, can be found here and her instagram is @myloveofbaking and this is her Youtube channel. She has an amazing amount of recipes that explain, in detail, the how’s and why’s of what she’s baking. As Vindi’s says in our interview, READ THE WHOLE POST! Don’t just skip to the recipe as she has troubleshot a lot ahead of time for you and includes all that information. If you are interested in being a better baker and want to take a virtual class, check out her baking classes! I know I will be signing up for one this spring. Flour is important and she has done an amazing amount of research on her blog in this post. She loves the flour from this mill near her in Washington State and this one as well.
If you want to get into making some “fancy” designs in your bread you’ll need a bread lame like this one.
Pro Tip: Let your starter come to room temperature before you feed it!
Who wants to join me in trying to make her croissant recipe?!? Let’s do it together!
We briefly chatted about her newest food adventure, making homemade kombucha. If you want to try your hand at kombucha you can check out this recipe from NY Times and if you’re in Florida go to the Born and Bread Bakery in Florida and tag us both in your food adventure!
Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!
Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!
If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!
xoxo
Beth
Dear Sri Lanka, I love you!
Episode 8: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….All things Sri Lanka, our guide, the one, the only Samantha Fore from Tuktuklex!
Oh god do I love learning about new food. It’s the dead of winter, we are all still in a massive worldwide pandemic and I live in New England. The cold, the snow, the being inside constantly is getting real old real quick. I am craving sunshine, warmth, friends and vacation time. So when I have these cravings I make a huge effort to eat food that would be found in a warm area and FaceTime as many people as I can so I don’t fall down into a deep dark pit of despair. Sri Lankan food checks that box for me.
To me it’s like Indian, Caribbean and island cuisines had a baby and it’s Sri Lankan cuisine. It’s big on bold flavors, fish, coconut and yet it still has an almost delicate flavor as well. It’s magical!
To get started with Sri Lankan cooking you need to get your hands on some spices!! I bought everything I could get my hands on but to get started you need coriander seed, black mustard seed, cumin seed, Sri Lankan black pepper, Sri Lankan sweet cinnamon, Sri Lankan curry powder (it’s special) and some fresh curry leaves. We recommend Spicewalla, Diaspora Co., Burlap and Barrel or Curio Spices (in Mass). We both recommend knowing where your spices are coming from and try to buy them from companies who support paying fair wages to their farmers, it’s processed properly and it’s coming directly from the farmers.
You need a mortar and pestle, toast your spices in a dry pan until they just start to smell beautiful and then grind them yourself by hand. It’s life changing and really takes no time to do. Make sure you add some pink Himalayan sea salt or whatever salt you like when you’re grinding them in your mortar and pestle. It helps break them down a little more and makes it all come together.
When the tomatoes are in season in your area please make Sam’s Roasted Curry Tomato Pie from Food and Wine. Or maybe you want to make her okra from Taste of the South magazine or this Shrimp Curry that Sam did for Southern Living is 10000% what I am making for dinner tonight. Did I mention I LOVE her!?
Sam’s website and company, tuktuklex and her instagram our all must follows. She hinted that Spicewalla will be rereleasing her Fried Chicken Spice blend so make sure you keep your eyes out for it or you can just try to befriend my friend, Shari, who did get her hands on some but will not share so good luck. She also just mentioned that she may be doing a pop up in NYC later this spring. She is also apart of “Brown in the South” a collaborative dinner put on by a handful of chefs in the south of India and Sri Lanka decent. They put a pause on the dinners because of the pandemic but will be back in full force sooner than later so keep an eye out for that. Oh and check out her episode on Somewhere South with Vivian Howard!
To get some of your Sri Lankan tea biscuits check out this online store.
Check out the podcast instagram page because we need to name Sam’s giraffe in Sam’s kitchen. Shoot me an email or DM with your name.
Sam is working very closely with the LEE Initiative, who is doing AWESOME things for the industry and please check them out and do more for the people in the industry who need your help the most.
And to fact check myself it’s the 20th Century Cookbook by Michelle Polzine, not 21st.
Go forth and cook some amazing food!!
Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!
If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!
xoxo
Beth
Soup Dumplings, “Little Bundles of Joy”
It all begins with an idea.
So here we are, episode one of many! I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….
Soup Dumplings, Xiaolongbao. This is a great recipe and food blog for a fun soup dumpling adventure! https://thewoksoflife.com/steamed-shanghai-soup-dumplings-xiaolongbao/ and https://redhousespice.com/xiao-long-bao-soup-dumplings/. I used both to figure out how to make the dough and fill them. The Red House Spice blog was what I followed for the dough and thought they did a great job of explaining it.
One of the tricks I did do when making these was to use a pre made ginger, garlic pork sausage. Just keep in mind if you do go this route make sure the sausage is not cooked ahead of time, it needs to be raw. I used that and then just added a few things to the mix to kick it up a notch. It cut down on the prep time and worked great! I picked up some pork bones from our CSA to make the broth but any local butcher shop would have them and they are cheap!
Chicken Tikka Masala, Cheryl from 40aprons does a great job explaining her method and recipe in this post, https://40aprons.com/restaurant-style-chicken-tikka-masala-paleo-whole30/. I have made it and can say it’s a great recipe to try. Once you get the proper ingredients and take the time to make it you won’t regret it!
Beans, Beans and More Beans, these gooey brownie bites will satisfy any sweet tooth craving and great for those looking to cut out refined sugar in the new year, https://minimalistbaker.com/refined-sugar-free-black-bean-brownies/ as well as her white bean and thyme pot pies with vegan pastry, https://minimalistbaker.com/thyme-white-bean-pot-pies/ . I suggested using puff pastry in the show as well for another alternative. I would just lay the thawed out puff pastry right on top of the pot pie (mini or one big one) and bake it all together. Super easy and just a different take on a traditional pot pie.
To use those lentils, here’s the Vegan Sloppy Joe recipe from Padma, http://padmalakshmi.com/recipe/vegan-sloppy-joes/ . As I mentioned to make them less spicy for any kiddos out there or folks who are just not into spice I would omit the crushed red pepper and if you are vegan you would just want to sub out the Worcester Sauce as it has anchovies in it.
To find Mike Doyle’s podcasts, This was the Scene, a podcast about the late 90’s and early 2000’s, https://thiswasthescene.com and Your Daily Bred, a podcast/comic, https://yourdailybred.com as well as his animation company, Drive 80, https://www.drive80.com.
Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!
If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!
xoxo
Beth