Figsinmybelly

>The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good:
Frolicking in the rose gardens of Berkeley and smelling pretty flowers like Fragrant Rhododendrons. They smell like fresh melon! Mmm.

The Bad:
My camera broke. I have been borrowing cameras from friends. This stinks.

The Ugly:
My car got broken into. Parked in the EMPLOYEE parking lot of a successful Berkeley restaurant. Radio stolen. Air conditioning control system stolen. At least they had the decency to leave my bright pink sunglasses. Hmph!

The Good:
This cornbread. Yes, this is really the best ever cornbread! The secret? Browned butter—my new favorite ingredient in baked goods! I will post the recipe shortly.

The Bad:
Overeating- you know that feeling when you eat and then you just keep eating and then 30 minutes later you are so full that your stomach wants so badly to expand but is stuffed to the brim? Yah. Awful feeling. This is happening a lot lately. Come on, stomach. Toughen up, will ya?

The Ugly:
I have to move tomorrow. Just the thought of carrying heavy bags and living out of a suitcase makes me cringe.

The Good:
Fourth of July barbecues and special dinners with friends. There’s nothing like a good, hearty meal and some cheap alcohol!

More Good:
Weekend trips #1—SF mission district. Bi-rite ice creamery. Delfina pizzeria. Tartine bakery. Dolores park. Noe valley homes. Hipster shops. Dog-eared books.

Bite-Rite. Go there. Go there and wait in line. Do it. Drool over the menu. Sample the flavors—coffee toffee (really strong coffee flavor!), brown sugar with ginger caramel swirl, strawberry balsamic, burnt caramel, crème fraiche…It really is good to the last lick.

The cones are not as good as the ‘homemade with chocolate on the bottom’ cones from Ici ice cream in Berkeley. But hey, its summer and summer means ice cream shall be eaten. Go to Bi-rite. Eat your ice cream in Dolores Park. Read a story out load to friends. Flare your nostrils and smell the fresh “herb.” Lay on the grass and bask in the glory of San Francisco!

Tartine Bakery. Go for breakfast and order a cappuccino and a pastry–I recommend the morning bun or the famous bread pudding. Go for lunch and order the Croque Monsieur, an open faced sandwich consisting of thick country bread, layers of cheeses and herbs, topped off with seasonal veggies!

Weekend trips #2—Kayaking along the Russian river. Sunshine. Trees. River. Calm waters. Jumping off of large rocks into the water! Road tripping! Good friends. Right in the heart of Sonoma county…the Russian River is nestled in a quaint little town, surrounded by green trees, vineyards, and cute “mom and pop” shops! Rent a kayak and take the day to drift along the 5 mile river path.

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Categories bread, fruit, Good Eats, ice cream

Presenting…Crumb-tastic, Make Me Weak in the Knees, Bursting with Glory BLUEBERRY MUFFINS!

3 Aug

Oh Berkeley…how I love thee…

I am currently sitting at an outdoor café next to a woman who is feeding her large colorful bird while simultaneously typing on her laptop and drinking coffee…

Last week I received an anonymous love note from the man at the carwash. He called me “princess!”…

Yesterday I was reading Julia Child’s My Life in France when a man approached me and proceeded to tell me about how he is not only the “KING of the Macarena dance” but that he is also a self proclaimed “vegequarian” (equivalent of a pescetarian—one who mainly eats vegetarian but also eats fish and other fishy products)…

I attempted to go to the Berkeley Kite Festival last weekend but turned around once I saw that I had to pay 10 dollars to park to see a bunch of kites flying in the sky…

More importantly…

I baked these blueberry muffins yesterday and have already eaten 4 of them in the past 20 hours! I had to have one fresh out of the oven. Then I ate another one a few hours later for dessert. This morning I had one for breakfast, but I couldn’t eat just one, so then I ate another one right after!

By golly, these precious treats are the best blueberry muffins I have ever tasted! Hands down.

Now friends, this is really a surprise to me because I am the queen of making disappointing blueberry muffins. They usually come out too chewy and grainy…too small…too ugly…not enough blueberry…bleh

These muffins, however, are just golden! They are PACKED with fresh bursting blueberries!

The tops are puffed to perfection and overflowing with crumb topping goodness!

I think I spent a good 30 minutes just scraping the leftover bits from the muffin tin and eating them! The browned butter in these muffins really kicks it up a notch, too!

Browned Butter Fresh Blueberry Muffins

adapted from JoytheBaker

makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:
7 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup milk (I used nonfat)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh blueberries (I ended up only using 1 ½ cups because I ate the other ½ cup in the process!! Oops!)

For the Topping:
3 Tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into little cubes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease a muffin tin or line it with paper or foil liners.

2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Keep an eye on the butter. Melt and cook down the butter until little brown bits appear in the pan. The crackling will subside and butter will begin to brown fairly quickly after that. Keep a close eye. Remove from heat.

3. Whisk milk, egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Slowly add the brown butter and stir to combine (careful not to cook the eggs).

4. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk and butter mixture all at one and stir gently to combine.

5. Gently but thoroughly fold in the blueberries and divide the batter among muffin cups and spread evenly (I used an ice cream scoop to plop the batter in the muffin cups!).

6. To make the topping: combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the cups.

7. Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.

8. Mmm mmm good!

Comments 2 Comments
Categories breakfast, fruit, muffins/scones

>Bada BING Bada Bang—Cherry Clafoutis

29 Jul

>
Clafoutis (the “s” is silent).
Pronounced kla-foo-TEE.
It took me about 10 times before I sufficiently remembered how to say this correctly.

The name comes from the verb clafir, meaning “to fill up” as in to fill up the batter with cherries.

I bought a huge bag of cherries on sale for 99 cents! A few days later, I still had tons of cherries. Bada BING bada bang–time to make BING cherry clafoutis! (Pun very much intended). The cherries taste excellent after being baked!

A clafoutis is typically a French dessert, but as you already know, I am all about a hearty breakfast and I say, why not have dessert for breakfast?! The clafoutis is mostly fruit, and the batter is just flour, milk, and eggs with a touch of sugar.

Here is how it all went down for me:
1. Wake up at 9 am. Jump out of bed and head straight for the kitchen.
2. Whip up the batter, throw it all together, pop the clafoutis in the oven.
3. Head upstairs and get dressed.
4. Take the clafoutis out of the oven, enjoy a nice big slice.
5. 10 am. Off to work, feelin’ good!

Bada BING bada bang—Cherry Clafoutis
Adapted from JoyofBaking.com

½ cup all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons granulated white sugar

¾ cup milk (I used nonfat because it is what I had on-hand)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

roughly 2 cups of fresh cherries (I did not pit them)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons (or less) of granulated white sugar

Directions:
• Preheat the oven to 425° F. Wash the cherries, remove the stems. I keep the pits in for two reasons:

#1 It is easier and…
#2 The pits give the clafoutis a subtle almond flavor when baked.

(NOTE: If you have a cherry pitter or feel like getting your fingers stained with red cherry juice, feel free to pit your heart out!)

• In your food processor or blender place the flour, salt, eggs, 2 tablespoons sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Process for about 45 – 60 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Once the batter is completely smooth, let it rest while you prepare the fruit. (Feel free to do this all by hand with a whisk or fork. I took the lazy way out this time!)

• In a large 9- inch heavy nonstick ovenproof skillet melt the butter over medium heat making sure the melted butter coats the bottom and sides of the pan. When the butter is bubbling, add the cherries, and cook until the cherries have softened a bit and are coated with butter (2 – 3 minutes).

• Sprinkle the cherries with the sugar and cook until the sugar has dissolved and turns into a syrup (1 – 2 minutes).

• Pour the batter over the cherries and bake for about 20 minutes or until the clafoutis is puffed, set, and golden brown around the edges. Do not open the oven door until the end of the baking time or it may collapse.

• Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar, crème fraiche, yogurt, or whipped cream.

Serves about 4.

Comments 3 Comments
Categories breakfast, fruit

Café Fanny: Start the Day Off Right!

28 Jul

Ah…poached eggs and café au lait in bowls!

The first time I ever tried a poached egg was at this quaint little café. Cooked on the outside, runny on the inside. Garnished with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs. Placed atop thick slices of toasted acme brand bread.

I have yet to poach an egg at home that tastes as good as the poached egg at Café Fanny.

There’s nothing like dining outside on wooden tables, with a big bowl of velvety coffee sitting next to me. I have a thing for holding a mug filled with hot liquid—it is just so comforting. The orange juice is pressed to order.

The homemade granola is famous and will leave you satisfied for hours. And the buckwheat crepes? So perfect and simple, with plain yogurt and berries.

The whole motto of this café is to evoke an ideal reality where life and work are inseparable and the daily pace leaves time for afternoon leisure. Eating together nourishes the spirit as well as the body.