vietnamese style pickled carrots

it's june and i am so glad. i love the warm hot months of summer. tho you wouldn't be able to tell by our activities lately, the farmer's market is a favorite weekend ritual, where we can take advantage of the fresh bounty only these next months will provide. what generally happens to me, what seems to wash over me, is a kind of sweet lethargy that renders me incapable of turning on the oven or stand at the stove cooking something for too long. instead, i prefer simple salads of sorrel, purslane or watercress, washed down with juice spritzers and maybe, just maybe, some homemade frozen treat.

last week i had it in my head to try a raw food diet -- a notion that lasted less than 48 hours. sure sure, a lovely kale pesto came of it, juice smoothies with bits of spinach laced in it were consumed, but when it came down to it, going 100% raw was too hard for me. what with a move, a meatball contest looming in the horizon i could not maintain the required energy and motivation to stick to it, which is a real shame. the choices in summer's bounty, the rainbow colors of produce are kinda sorta meant to be eaten just as they were intended -- raw, natural, simply. so where i failed in going completely raw, i will endeavor to meet halfway. it's not much, but it's something, something i hope will allow me to nourish our body, satisfy our cravings while still enjoying honest food.

these pickled carrots are humble: earthy and sweet, small in stature but bold in flavor. late friday night, i sat in the kitchen amid half packed boxes (of things that weren't even kitchen related) and peeled these, then sliced them. in a jar of vinegar + water + sugar they went, along with a few thai chilies, sealed the lids and into the back of the empty refrigerator they went. i didn't touch them for five days, until now. they're perfect for snacking on, or to add to a vietnamese bánh mì for a snappy crunch, followed by a lovely sour note that goes so well with meat.

the purpose of these, other than to make use of the 5lb organic carrots i'd purchased early in the week, is to pair them with the meatballs i'm entering into the contest on saturday. that is a whole other post i'm sure. stay tuned.

for the recipe, i tweaked white on rice's version. by tweak, i really mean i looked at the ingredient list and then put everything in a jar, shook it, then fridged it. on a serious note, buy fresh, buy organic, buy local, as the farmer's market stalls grow heavy with summer goodness, make use of them all.

raw kale pesto

oh hello there end of May, almost June.

i hope that you had a wonderful memorial day weekend, that we all remembered the men + women who have fallen.

dw + i officially packed up his little 3rd floor apartment, moved across town to my penthouse condo.

we're so grown up.

the heat is in full swing, we're making plans to pick berries, attend festivals, music concerts and visit with friends, local and regional.

we're also deciding between this or this.

i am glad for summer.

there is a possibility of planting a new tree.

csa bounty.

home improvement projects. {i apologize in advance, we will be documenting such diy tasks in this here space...}

the days look bright, sunny, cheerful and more importantly to me, fun -- with him by my side.

you can follow our daily adventures on instagram. i can't promise that the pictures will be great, but i can guarantee that i'll have off the wall, crack-filled commentary.

in the meantime, i'd like to share this raw kale pesto recipe. not so much a recipe, but more of an ingredient list that should give you the inspiration to make it. use the freshest ingredients possible, organic if you can help it. use leafy greens: kale, spinach, beet greens, sorrel, parsley and pair with red tomatoes fresh off the vine, or mix with roasted chicken, or simply slathered on a chunk of toasty bread. personally, i had to stop myself from eating it right from the processor.

raw kale pesto

1 bunch of kale, washed + de-stemmed

2 cloves of garlic

pine nuts, can be roasted but i didn't bother. no exact measurement, maybe a handful? up to you

olive oil, to loosen the mixture, drizzle slowly until desired consistency is reached

dash of cayenne pepper

juice of one lemon

salt/pepper to taste

in a food processor, add the kale and pulse until all has chopped down. squeeze lemon juice in, add in the pine nuts. pulse some more. slowly drizzle in olive oil. you might have to scrape down the sides to ensure everything gets mixed in there. season with salt/pepper and dash of ceyenne pepper.

wedding | Lemon Chiffon Cake + Raspberry Curd + Lemon Cream Cheese Butter Cream

as evidenced by the previous post, my dear friend nuria joined with her beloved jesse in matrimony recently. to celebrate the occasion, i made the cakes. it seemed right, you see. from the moment of nuria's arrival here in the US, i have made her a welcome cake, birthday cakes + treats, even a live angry birds game.

as she embarks on this new adventure, i wanted to create flavors that would mainly punctuate the milestones of their life together: sweet, but not cloyingly so, just saccharine enough that the everyday mundane still appears bright. richly tart, their lips puckered always ready for kisses. smooth, that the trials of any hardship would bypass them completely. there was also a chocolate cake, for variety, for safety, and mainly, for the deep depth of Love.

the Spring season is in swing, i can feel it in the air, i can taste in the produce and fruits. had there been time enough, i would've picked the raspberries myself, each fruit lovingly plucked for freshness, ripeness and jewel tone. before the summer fully sets in, go fruit picking, taste what the earth has given birth to this season. in the meantime, have some of this cake.

i will tell you, this lemon chiffon cake was a dream to make. weigh the ingredients carefully, use the freshest of eggs, buy organic lemons for their peel/zest and by all means, celebrate your life, your love and each other.

Lemon Chiffon Cake + Raspberry Curd + Lemon Cream Cheese Butter Cream

adapted + inspired by Use Real Butter and Cake Central

i used 8X2" round cake pans and a 6X3" cake pan. i ended up with 3 8X2" cakes, cut horizontally. i used 5 layers

1 cup lemon zest simple syrup

2 cups raspberry curd

Lemon Cream Cheese Butter Cream

Lemon Chiffon Cake

14.5 oz cake flour, sifted

8.75 oz powdered sugar

6.75 oz whole milk

6 oz veg oil

3.25 oz eggs (equaled to about 2 1/2 eggs. i beat them first & then weighed...)

0.5 oz baking powder

13 oz egg whites (it came to about 10 large eggs, amount of eggs may vary...)

9.5 oz granulated sugar

3.5 oz lemon juice

preheat oven to 375F. grease pans with butter, also use parchment. (*note*: for the 6" pan i did not bother with parchment and it came out clean.) in a mixing bowl, whip egg whites + granulated sugar on high until medium peaks form. meanwhile, sift remaining dry ingredients in large bowl. mix in the eggs, oil & milk until incorporated. fold egg white peaks into batter gently. divide mixture into cake pans, bake for about 25 minutes.

the sides will pull from the pan cleanly. remove from pans and allow to cool completely on rack. cut rounds horizontally, as evenly as possible. i did end up with six layers, but one of the layers was all sorts of wonky so that was left out to nibble on, along with the 6" cake. end result was a five layer cake.

Lemon Zest Simple Syrup

1 TBL lemon zest

1 cup of water

2 cups sugar

heat water + sugar in sauce pan until sugar is dissolved. bring to a gentle boil. allow to cool. add in the zest.

Raspberry Curd

approx 3 cups of crushed/rough pureed raspberries, seeds included (this was leftover from the raspberry reduction that i used to color the butter cream for the chocolate cake)

1 scant cup sugar

2 oz butter

4 TBL cornstarch

splash of water

heat up raspberry puree and bring to a gentle simmer. stir sugar + butter. in a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water. you'll end up with a slurry paste. whisk into berry mixture, stir until thick. it'll take a few minutes. take off heat. allow to cool.

Lemon Cream Cheese Butter Cream

8oz cream cheese, room temp

4 sticks + 2 TBL unsalted butter, room temp

zest of about 6 organic lemons

lemon juice, as needed

2 lb + 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

i'm not gonna lie, i fudged a bit on the amount of powdered sugar and butter used... it's all about consistency people. use your best judgement.

beat the cream cheese + butter until fully incorporated. scrape down the sides of bowl often. in 1/2 pound increments, sift in powdered sugar + mix well. again, scrape down the sides of the bowl. add in half the lemon zest and if you need to loosen the mixture a smidge, add a teaspoon of lemon juice. you want the frosting to be fluffy. sift in remaining powdered sugar, mix, scrap, zest, mix, juice, scrape until reached desired consistency. my end result turned up smooth and airy, very lovely to spread. actually, it was a dream to use.

assembly:

brush all layers with simple syrup. i did the process twice.

spread the curd on layers, i went stingy, concerned it would make the spreading of the butter cream difficult. i won't make that mistake again.

choose the sturdiest of layers to be the base, browned-side down on serving plate. spread layer of curd first, and then butter cream on top, i did pipe a border along the edges & had a blob in the center, spreading it out with off-set spatula (which is your best friend in this step). place second layer on top. repeat until all layers are on. between layers, i would pipe in butter cream to fill in gaps, to even out any floppy sides. just make sure the layers are as lined up as possible. crumb coat along sides and top of cake.

walk away from cake for at least 30 minutes. or go to dinner for about 2 hours.

finish frosting sides & top, decorate as you wish.

the decoration design i chose came from here, complete with tutorial. i did not use a tip, i just snipped off the end of the piping bag to the size i wanted the circles to be. the key is making sure the frosting is nice & pliable/soft.

wedding: Nuria + Jesse

post of note:

love | nuria + jesse's engagement shoot

for the entire wedding extravaganza pix, go here.

photographer: Lan Pham || creative styling + direction: Lan Pham || location: the elm, hampden, baltimore, MD || dress: kasper || veil/headband + gloves: Claire's || shoes: aldo shoes, wagy || hair + make up: sister-in-law Lauren Krier || his attire: H&M, banana republic, & macy's || event coordinator: Sharon Price || celebrant: Jason Torpy of Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers || booze: the wine source || catering: tapas teatro

Nem Nuong Rolls ~ photo tutorial + giveaway

this is a photo laden post, a tutorial of sorts on how to prepare a summer roll. a recipe will not be included.

i've entered a meatball contest. it's next month, in Hunt Valley, MD at the Wine & Food Festival. i have two extra tix to give away. if you are planning to be in the area and/or live here already & want to join in on the craze, leave me a comment below. i'll enter you into the drawing. tix can be picked up at Will Call. deadline: May 18th at 4pm.

the meat in this roll is called nem nuong, a grilled pork sausage that is heavily flavored with lemongrass, scallions & garlic. i made these a few years ago, but i've since modified the recipe to hopefully appeal to the american palate.



no seriously, do not drown the rice papers. you want the rolls to have a slight chewiness to it, not break/tear in your hands before they even get to your mouth...







you really can have whatever vegetation you want. i grabbed these greens at the market but most of the time, i rarely put half these things in.









that's basically it. depending on how i feel, how i place in the contest, i'll post either the nem nuong recipe or figure something out.
either way, wish me luck!