Who's in the Kitchen?

Recently, Mom was having a conversation with her mother. The topic was a common one for this family - food. On hearing about all the food that comes out of our kitchen, Grandma shook her head. She was probably thinking, "Is your kitchen ever empty?" The answer is, rarely. But unless you think that I am the one who dominates that room of delights, let me try to prove otherwise. Why, as I type, my sister, Hannah, forms Chinese steamed buns - a topic for another blog post. A loaf of bread my oldest sister prepared also bakes in the bread maker, and my Mom busies herself with dinner preparations.

I even have pictures to prove it. One day a week or two ago, Hannah donned her apron and took over the kitchen. Soon tantalizing aromas wafted to our noses. While potato-onion soup simmered on the stove, the ovens were being filled with an experiment. Corn sticks.

What are corn sticks? They are simple corn bread batter baked into special cast iron molds in the shape of a corn cob. Here Hannah is filling up a mold.

Corn sticks in the oven getting nice and puffy. Just a couple more minutes and they will be just right.

Dumping out pan #3 - well, trying to. Unfortunately Hannah learned the hard way that the pans aren't seasoned well enough and have to be sprayed with oil every time they are filled. These sticks ended up looking more like the cobs Mom has already de-corned with our corn creamer.

But these came out perfectly. Sweet and slightly buttery corn sticks - crisp on the outside, tender on the inside. We ate like kings!

Belated: tardy; too late

Fresh-from-the-tree apples, Mom's birthday, and October are long gone, yet these pictures remain on my computer waiting to be posted. Yes, this is belated.


Chocolate curls and real apple tea light holders. It was Mom's birthday and I was in the mood to do something creative. Besides, I needed something to distract from my amateur job with the frosting.

The chocolate didn't stay curled long with all that heat!

A fun little project. All that is needed are apples, tea lights, a knife, and flames of course.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Playing With Pita

I've been known to say, "I was made for the kitchen." Maybe that is the reason that even during the time I set aside for vacation from baking people's orders this Christmas season, I somehow couldn't stay out of the kitchen.

One day I decided it was time to try making falafel pita. Everything was going to be from scratch, even down to the tahini to make a garlicky sauce.

First to be made was the tahini and tahini sauce. Since our freezer contains a surplus of sesame seeds from bread experiments, I went on a hunt for sesame recipes. Thus tahini, a paste made from grinding, you guessed it, sesame seeds. I felt like a pro smashing and mincing garlic, tasting, and altering the sauce recipe.

I made the falafel right before the meal. Normally deep fried in patties or small balls, this yummy bean and spice mixture makes a great meat substitute. My recipe came from a health magazine, so I simply fried it in an oiled pan. Talking to my well traveled cousin, I found out that this food is commonly served in Egypt.

Though the falafel and tahini sauce were both easy and enjoyable to make, the most fun, hands down, was the pita. Knowing pita has a bad reputation among home bakers for being flat and uncooperative, I searched my favorite blog for some tips. Sure enough, they had the answer. The secret - baking on a cooling rack!

Here we go. Flat-as-a-pancake dough going into the oven.

Three minutes later: Flying saucers!

Falafel pita with tahini sauce and all the fixings.

Ready to take a bite?