fresh lime chiffon cake

This was my second attempt at making this cake. The first was over 1 year ago for Abe's birthday...and I failed miserably. My cake was about 3 inches thick, dense, and had this really weird spongy texture. I'm kind of embarrassed now as I'm reliving it...only because I still served it up at this really nice restaurant and to good friends who ate it obligingly (sorry guys!).

Anyways, the first time I tried this cake (made by my baking guru, Karena), I savored each delicious bite.... then greedily took the leftovers home to eat for breakfast the next day. The delicious memory paired with round cake pans I scored on sale at Sur La Table, inspired me to give it another try. Yes, it was quite dramatic. I followed the directions to the T and used a KitchenAid mixer this time (instead of a hand mixer) to whip the egg whites into a fluffy cloud mass with stiff peaks. Big difference.

Cakes came out perfect. Light, fluffy, fresh, not overly sweet. Balance was restored. Wounds healed, baking cajones slightly given back, etc. etc. It's a nice divergence from the usual chocolate or vanilla cake, not to mention it's from Cooking Light (so don't feel too bad for cutting yourself a big ass slice). Labor of love? Yes. Worth it? Definitely.

To make the filling, combine:
1 teaspoon finely grated lime rind
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.  


Ingredients:  
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon cake flour
2 cups sifted cake flour (7 1/2 ounces)
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon finely grated lime rind
1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
3 egg yolks
8 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Garnish (optional):
Fresh mint sprigs 
Fresh blueberries 
Lime wedges

To prepare:
1) First prepare cake pans. Coat the bottom of your 8" round cake pans with cooking spray (no need to spray the sides). Line the bottoms with wax paper and dust with a little bit of flour. This whole process helps the cakes pop out of the pan when they are finished baking.

2) Lightly spoon 2 cups cake flour into measuring cups and level off with a knife. Sift into a large bowl and combine with 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk ingredients until combined. 

3) In  a separate medium bowl, combine oil, 1/3 cup lime juice, 3 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon rind, lemon extract, and egg yolks; stir to combine. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and mix until smooth.

4) Now for the fluffy egg whites. Beat egg whites in a stand mixer on high until foamy. Add cream of tartar until soft peaks form, then add the rest of the 1/4 cup of sugar one spoon at a time, until stiff peaks form. Gently stir in 1/4 of the fluffy egg whites into the flour mixture; gently fold in the rest.

5) Divide cake batter in thirds and pour into prepared pans. You can break any air pockets by cutting through the batter with a knife. Bake at 325° for 20 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool cakes in pans for about 10 minutes; then remove from pans, remove wax paper, and then cool completely on a wire rack.
 
To assemble the cake, place 1 cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Spread generously with lime filling (about half). Repeat step, topping it off with the third cake layer.  Spread with frosting--I used this recipe, omitted the chocolate, and added 2 tablespoons of lime juice, which really adds a nice light freshness. 
Garnish with mint, blueberries, lime wedges, or leave as is.

couscous with mint & fruit

I'm venturing out! In my attempt to increase my cooking vernacular, I cooked with three ingredients I've never used before. (go me). Shallots, mint, and this peculiar orange fruit, known as a loquat. Have you guys tried this before? It looks like a longer apricot, but tastes like a sweet, subtle pear/mango/something or other...

Anyways, you can use a loquat, but if you can't find it, I'm confident whatever in season fruit (apricot, plum, pluot, etc.) you decide to use will taste fancy and delicious.



First make the dressing:

Combine shallots, rice vinegar,

honey, and oil. Stir to combine. Then add mint and garlic salt. Set aside. 

Other ingredients: 

4 ½ cups water
¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
2 teaspoons salt
3 1/3 cups dry Couscous (2-10 ounce packages)
½ cup Dried Currants or Golden raisins
½ cup chopped dried plumcots, apricots, plums, apples,

or kumquats

1 bunch green onion (trimmed and thinly sliced)
Extra mint for garnish
1 cup pistachios and almonds (or other favorite nuts)
4 fresh loquats, plumcots or red flesh plums (chopped)

To taste...

Garlic salt to taste

White pepper (or freshly ground black pepper)

Lemon juice from 1-2 lemons 

To prepare:

1) In a large saucepan, combine water, oil, cumin and salt.
Bring to a boil on high heat. Turn off heat and stir in Couscous. Cover and let sit for about 5 minutes. Add in dried fruit and raisins then fluff with a fork.

2) Toss dressing with couscous, then mix in green onions. Add in lemon juice, pepper, and more garlic powder, and salt if needed.

3) Toss in nuts and fresh fruit. Garnish with chopped mint and fresh sprigs.

4) Top with a some protein (or mix in some garbanzo beans!) to make it a complete meal or bring

to your next summer picnic.

Kinda messy...but worth it. 

Makes about 12 cups. Recipe courtesy Cathy Thomas from Melissa’s Everyday Cookingwith Organic Produce via the Great Park.

places

Well before this started looking like a food blog, I originally started 3 letter words to share travels, photos, stories and eats with friends, explore different cultures and the like. Recipe posts will continue, but a little more focus never hurts. :)

 Creative decor/illuminated bottles | Seoul, Korea

 Sunrise | Chicago, IL

Monet's Gardens--like real life versions of his paintings | Giverny, France

 Neon transportation | Bangkok, Thailand --photo by James

Pretty glass flowers (?)/Ceilings at Bellagio Hotel | Las Vegas, NV

Broccoli Cornbread

Last year, my coworker friends and I started a tradition to celebrate birthdays. We exhausted some of the usual lunch spots so began holding Iron Chef challenges to celebrate the birthday honoree(s).  It was a slow start, but our food eventually graduated from store bought items to more elaborate dishes (e.g.: prosciutto wrapped stuffed dates, smoked tri-tip, authentic Filipino food, chorizo sliders...).  It's been a fun way to get out of the restaurant rut and learn new recipes. Did I mention there is a giant golden whisk trophy involved? It's kind of awesome. Anyways, this Cottage Cheese + Broccoli Cornbread won it for the cheese category. It's super savory and I really like the onions and broccoli mixed with the course corn meal texture. Don’t be thrown off by the name or seemingly out of place ingredients. It won for good reason--well done Rob. :)

You'll need: 
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cottage cheese, drained
1 teaspoon salt
1-8oz. package of corn muffin mix (I used 1 cup of Bob's Red Mill Cornbread & Muffin Mix)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1-10 oz. package of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed & drained (about 1 1/2 cups)


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 8x8 pan.I've made these into muffins before. They tend to stick to the paper a bit, so I recommend making it in a baking pan, or greasing the muffin pan and doing it without the paper liners. 
1) Cook onions on medium low heat over oil, until translucent. Remove from heat and let cool.

2) Stir eggs, cheese, salt together till combined. Add corn muffin mix, butter, broccoli, and cooled onions.
3) Pour mixture into baking dish and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown.
4) Let stand for 5 minutes before removing pan. 

saving berries

 
I grew my first strawberry. Just barely though. I'm hiding the bulk of this pot, which at one point flourished with promising green strawberry leaves. Only this guy made it and sprouted flowers. I guess only the strong survive in my garden. I still love you little strawberry!
Speaking of berries, I just learned a method to keep your berries fresh a little longer. Just mix one part vinegar (white or apple cider) to ten parts water. Swoosh the berries in the mixture, drain, and store in the fridge. Apparently, the vinegar kills any spores that cause your berries to grow white fuzz. Raspberries will keep for about a week and strawberries for 2.