AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Tupelo Honey (Recipe: Honey Cake) DATE: 9/16/2009 10:19:00 AM ----- BODY:

My adopted blogger Katie from Eat this. favors honey in her cooking because it’s an unprocessed sugar source. And Tupelo honey, which is derived from bees buzzing around the Florida Tupelo trees, is considered to be one of the best in the world. She deftly describes its virtues here, so I won’t repeat. But suffice it to say, it’s delicate flavor is delightful.

Katie very graciously shared a few bottles with me. Of course, the first thing I had to make was honey cake. Though I typically only eat it at Rosh Hashanah, I love it year round.

Honey Cake
This recipe comes from Joan Nathan's Jewish Cooking in America. I modified the ingredients by using raisins instead of the recommended almonds. Also, I did not have a bundt pan so I used a 9-inch square pyrex dish. I baked it for the first 30 minutes at the recommended 350, and then an additional 40 minutes at 325.

3 ½ cups flour
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs, separated
1 tbs. lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup oil
1 cup honey
1 cup black coffee
½ cup raisins

1. Sift together flour, baking powder and soda, salt and cream of tarter into a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the sugar, cinnamon, egg yolks lemon juice and zest, honey, oil, coffee and raisins. Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry.

2. Whip the egg whites until stiff. Gently fold into batter. Pour into a greased 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Labels: adopt-a-blogger, desserts, honey, Jewish

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

PG DATE:9/16/2009 04:16:00 PM Happy holidays! I volunteered to take salad to a friend's for Rosh Hashanah...but now I'm thinking I should do dessert and make a honey cake instead. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:9/16/2009 05:06:00 PM I have such bad memories of honey cake. Every year my mother would send me one for the new year. The homemade ones had the shape and consistency of bricks, and the store-bought ones were not much better. I haven't been able to get near a honey cake for many years. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Katie DATE:9/16/2009 06:30:00 PM I'm glad you're enjoying the honey!! I've never had honey cake, and that needs to change. I had a piece of cake in Greece that was somewhat similar, but I'm sure that it didn't have raisins or coffee, and it was probably different in other ways, too. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

adele DATE:9/17/2009 10:09:00 AM Mmm. I was thinking that it might be nice to bake something for Rosh Hashanah - this looks good! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lori Lynn DATE:9/18/2009 08:19:00 PM L'Shana Tova Tikatevu!

I'm about to make Rosh Hashana dinner, with honey, of course. and now I am listening to Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey...Happy New Year. the cake looks great.

Lori Lynn ----- -------- AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Cooking with Katie DATE: 5/17/2009 10:18:00 AM ----- BODY:

Like most women, I vacillate between wanting to lose 20 pounds and being content with my weight. When I "adopted" Katie from Eat this, I excitedly looked through her recipes for new ideas to cook healthy. She cooks with a lot of whole grains, many that I know of, but don't typically cook. Maybe I can finally make realistic modifications to my diet and lose some weight.

Last night, I brought dinner to a friend. She prefers the style of Katie's cooking - lots of whole grains and mostly vegetarian -- so it seemed the perfect opportunity to make one of her recipes. Did I choose the healthy and beautiful looking Lentil Soup with Spinach? Or the Pinto bean, avocado, tomato and wheatberry salad? No. Of course, I opted for the Roasted Veggie and Cheese Pasta. The least healthy of all her delicious recipes.

And let me tell you, it was indeed delicious! I'll confess, I made a few adaptations... wanting to use what was in the fridge... I used fresh dug parsnips and carrots instead of the recommended peppers, zucchini and eggplant. And I added ramps instead of garlic and onions.

So, if you're craving virtuous and delicious recipes, check out Katie's blog. If you're looking for healthy twists on your favorite recipes, check out Katie's blog. You won't be disappointed.

And by the way, Katie is giving away jars of Tupelo Honey. Just leave a comment on her blog between now and Friday, May 22 to be entered to win. As if you need another reason to read her blog.

Labels: adopt-a-blogger, give-away, pasta, ramps

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Dewi DATE:5/17/2009 11:15:00 AM Oh, sounds like a delicious site to visit. I'll definitely check out her blog. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Katie DATE:5/17/2009 12:12:00 PM I love the idea of parsnips in this! I'll have to try it this way next time. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Heather DATE:5/17/2009 07:16:00 PM katie sounds like one cool chick! i'll check her out!

TOTALLY feel better about not knowing what RTKs were!! And I def agree about trying them in RKTs!! i'll bet it is delicious :) i just made s'mores bread. haven't tried it yet. hope it is good, though! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Reeni DATE:5/17/2009 07:23:00 PM The pasta sounds delicious!! I've been to Katie's site before, she has delicious and healthy recipes. I'll pay her another visit! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

noble pig DATE:5/18/2009 01:14:00 AM I wish I could get my hands on some ramps! This sounded delicious! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kathy DATE:5/19/2009 06:43:00 AM I checked out her site, and tried the lentil soup with carrots and fresh spinach and it was a hit! Thanks for the referral! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:5/19/2009 06:56:00 AM Elra -- cool!

Katie -- I really liked the sweetness it added to the dish.

Heather -- S'mores bread sounds awesome!

Reeni -- they are definitely getting rave reviews.

noble pig -- I'm surprised you can't get ramps in your area...

Kathy -- That's next on my list. Glad you gave it high marks. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Melissa DATE:5/19/2009 05:49:00 PM Her site sounds great. Maybe I can find some tasty healthy stuff to make because Steve and I do need to lose some weight. Oh yeah. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

grace DATE:5/21/2009 06:21:00 AM come on now, we need our calcium too, and cheese is the perfect source for it. :) excellent use of ramps, too! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Introducing Katie from Eat this. DATE: 4/30/2009 04:54:00 PM ----- BODY:

I’ve officially crossed over from novice blogger to experienced blogger. This comes thanks to Kristen’s (of Dine and Dish) great program, “Adopt-a-Blogger”. Kristen founded this program to pair experienced bloggers with novice bloggers in a sort of mentoring program. I missed being a novice (though I had some wonderful mentoring from Lydia -- THANK YOU LYDIA!). And now I’m *experienced*.

So without further ado, let me introduce you to my adoptee: Katie from Eat This. She hails from a small town outside of East Lansing. She’s cooking up a storm of whole grain and natural foods while finishing up her PhD in neuroscience. I’m psyched to try some of her recipes because she’s cooking with interesting yet common ingredients, inspiring me to get out of my usual ruts. You know, things like venison, jicama and bulgur. Also, very cool -- she has a "cookbook of the month." Each month she cooks several recipes out of one cookbook... it's a great way to really delve into one particular style or theme. So check out her blog and say hello!

Honestly, I still feel like a novice blogger... just this week I'll celebrate my one year blogiversary. As I peruse Katie’s site, it looks like she’s figured out a lot of the technical things of blogging that I’m still working on (like widgets). Since I know that so many of you are more experienced blogging than me, I ask:

What advice would you offer the novice?
__________________________
I never posted these Vietnamese Spring Rolls that I made during my cooking class in Hanoi.

¼ pound ground pork
¼ pound peeled and deveined shrimp
1 small bundle of glass noodles
2 eggs
5 scallions
1 handful wood ear mushrooms
1 handful dried shiitake
½ carrot
½ kohlrabi
½ small onion
4 small shallots
4 garlic cloves
Handful cilantro
1 tsp fish sauce3
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tbs. oil
1 pack rice paper
Vegetable oil for frying

1. Soak Mushrooms in warm water for 15 minutes
2. Soften glass noodles in a bowl of hot water. When soft, drain and set aside
3. Remove woody stems from mushrooms, and slice thinly.
4. Chop onions, shallots, garlic, cilantro and scallions. Combine in a bowl with the mushrooms.
5. Chop shrimp finely, and add along with pork to above mix.
6. Cut glass noodles into short lengths and add to the mix along with bean sprouts and remaining ingredients (except rice paper and vegetable oil for frying).
7. Mix well and let rest for 10 minutes.
8. Dip each sheet of rice paper in hot water for 30 seconds. Place a spoonful of the mixture onto the paper. Tuck in the ends and roll into a tight cylinder. Continue until all the mix is used up.
9. To fry: heat about 2 cups of oil in a frying pan. When it’s hot, a chopstick will sizzle when placed in oil. Put spring rolls into the oil, seam side down. Fry until golden brown, turning continually with a low fire.

Labels: adopt-a-blogger, pork, vietnam

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Reeni DATE:4/30/2009 08:19:00 PM Those spring rolls are loaded with goodies! They look crispy and delicious. I don't know if I have any good advice. I've been blogging for under a year. It's been learn as I go. I will definitely check her out. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Katie DATE:4/30/2009 09:30:00 PM Thanks for the wonderful intro!! I didn't realize that Lydia adopted you - I love her blog. Also, those spring rolls look amazing! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Anonymous DATE:5/01/2009 06:28:00 AM I'm also part of the adopt a blogger! I'm a newbie :-) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) DATE:5/01/2009 07:35:00 AM Julia, I'm really proud of you for adopting Katie. I've adopted three bloggers in the past couple of years, and tried to give advice to many others, and I know you will enjoy the experience of mentoring as much as I have. My first piece of advice? Be yourself. Then, be a generous member of the blogging community. Everything else is a technicality. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:5/01/2009 05:50:00 PM Reeni and burpandslurp -- I had no idea you were also novices. You seem quite experienced. :)

Katie -- Lydia has just been a wonderful mentor, not an official "adopted."

Lydia -- Great advice as always. Thanks! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Claudia DATE:5/01/2009 06:55:00 PM Congrats on being an experienced blogger! I just finished one year and am learning every minute I spend on the computer. Lovely spring rolls - my hsband adores them and I've never made them. It may be time to try! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

PG DATE:5/02/2009 05:13:00 PM Wow..Vincent is bumping into a lot of blogs lately. (Can you tell I'm in a bad mood? Revising thesis...rather - avoiding revisions by commenting on blogs)

The whole idea of being an experienced blogger is awkward for me too. But, I'm sure you've gather some useful experience over the past year to share with a new bloggers.

Vietnamese spring rolls are weakness of mine. Growing up, one of my best friends was Vietnamese and all of her family events would include spring rolls. I miss those spring rolls. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:5/03/2009 07:56:00 AM Claudia -- What are some of the highlights of the things you've learned?

Psychgrad -- I can imagine revising a document over 100 pages long is quite a challenge! This recipe tastes like the real thing (unfortunately, not all recipes I've received abroad do), so definitely worth a try if you're feeling nostalgic. ----- --------