Baking Club! Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

So, we've done it. We started a baking club! Well, ok I started a baking club, but what is a club without members? It's just me baking up a storm in my kitchen - attempting to find reasons for a dessert celebration.... without further ado, here are our members:

Nicole - Chicago

Emily - San Francisco

Sarah - Norfolk

Eric - Norfolk

Elisa - San Francisco

and me - San Francisco

What is this club you ask? Well, we are baking "something" once a month and for now posting them on my blog - until we find a better way to do this! And we find a name for ourselves (suggestions welcome). For now we are the Baking Club. If you want to join send me a message! Each month one member will choose a recipe, then we take a picture, write a blurb and post them here. I am very excited to see the variety that this experimental club provides. I also love the idea that we are all connected by baking especially since we are spread coast to coast.

This month's recipe was chosen by Nicole (Chicago) whom I have known since college. She is known by many as the Pie Queen and has a knack for crafts, sewing projects, and flower arranging as well as some other lovely characteristics. She picked Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread from Paula Dean as our first recipe.

Nicole

This recipe was my suggestion (courtesy of Paula Deen), as our CSA was providing us with so much zucchini, I was about to turn green. I was looking for any new ways to use it up. The recipe went together well, although I was a little surprised at the order in which the elements were added. I think this might be my first time to make anything that the chocolate chips were not the very last ingredient. The batter was very colorful, though. I may have overmixed a tiny bit and didn't get quite as much rise as I had hoped. I made one loaf, because I only have one loaf pan, and made the rest into muffins. I also didn't garnish with whipped cream and zucchini ribbons - this would have been lovely, especially as a little frosting for the muffins. But, I used up all my zucchini in the bread and hadn't the energy for whipped cream! Husband approved, and I concur. The colorful batter translates into tasty flavor combinations! If I make this again (which lets hope is a while, I'm all zucchini-ed out) I think I will add some butter or cream to the batter. After all, butter is my signature ingredient (and I thought it was Paula's, too...)

Emily

Since I lack loaf pans—I really ought to buy some loaf pans—I decided to make chocolate chip zucchini muffins. I made a few simple alterations to the original recipe: whole wheat flour for some of the all-purpose flour; no nuts; touch more chocolate (who doesn’t want more chocolate?). Thanks to my friends Angela and Justin who just bought a house with a lovely orange tree in the back yard. (Your orange yielded a great juicy zest!)

I give this recipe a B-. I think the search for a staple zucchini bread recipe continues… They were a tiny bit on the dry side, and the muffin (sans chocolate chip) lacked real flavor, sweetness, character. That said, if I were to try this one again, I would use olive oil instead of canola, add 1/2 a cup of brown sugar, bump up the spices, cut back on the orange zest, and leave out the chocolate chips.

‘Course, there aren’t any left, so it must have been ok…

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins (Altered Recipe)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 eggs

2 cups white sugar

1 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups grated zucchini

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon orange zest

Directions

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin(s).

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, pecans, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool 2-3 minutes in pan. Remove muffins from pans and cool completely.

Yields 1 ½ dozen muffins.

Elisa

Nutmeg at my mother’s house did not come from a tin, but rather from seeds that were grated to release just the right amount called for by the recipe. Back then, I thought more about the funny look of the seed than about the taste…until a friend mentioned she didn’t care for the spice. I realized then that I didn’t care for it either. I also don’t care for orange zest. So when I read the ingredients for the Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread, I was naturally suspicious.

The ingredients for this recipe are interesting. Zucchini has such a mild taste. Paired with chocolate, orange zest and nutmeg, its flavor is lost. I love chocolate anything. Add nuts, and I am happy. Orange zest and nutmeg take that joy away. I would make this bread again but I would omit the zest and nutmeg. I would have enjoyed the bread more without these two ingredients. I am also not convinced about the combination of chocolate, nuts, and zucchini. It strikes me as deceptive. A sneaky way to add vegetables to one’s diet. I would be interested in a savory bread that allowed the zucchini taste to come through.

Sarah & Eric - The Dynamic Baking Duo

The dynamic baking duo, commonly known as Sarah and Eric, gave up watching definitely legal downloaded episodes of True Blood and a live Royals game respectively to tackle the chocolate chip zucchini bread. The consensus is that it was worth it for the process but not necessarily for the end product. We had grand plans for this little Paula Dean recipe. We started by using half applesauce half olive oil to reduce the fat with the intention of upping that fat factor with a butter, cinnamon, brown sugar crumble. However, seeing how much sugar went into the batter we opted to 86 the buttery crumble. We also left out the pecans due to Eric's general distaste for all kinds of nuts (that's what she said). The other favorite part of the process was the smell while baking. It smelled exactly like mulled cider! The mulled cider smell also made us wonder how it would taste with apples. However, the end result was just ok. There seemed to be too many components. All that we tasted was chocolate and orange, and the zucchini seemed completely unnecessary (imagine that in a Paula Dean recipe). Overall, it is a moist bread with pretty mainstream flavors but our vote is less orange and/or chocolate and more brown sugar crumble.

The Lovely Lady Baker

I had the lovely opportunity to hear some of the comments about this bread before I made it so I was not expecting much. It seems to be a general consensus the the bread was mediocre - surprising that Paula Dean can do mediocre. I feel like this recipe could be the start of a really great zucchini bread. I did make a few changes to the original based on some research I did... The first research required me tasting a muffin from the coffee shop - which used walnuts not pecans. The second bit of research I did came by accident while reading the blurbs that everyone sent, and the last was just me rummaging around on the internet looking for some interesting zucchini bread recipes to compare this one to. I find the latter part most fun. I try to visit fellow blogger sites and usually get a lot of good ideas.

This recipe seemed to have way too much sugar for my taste and also a lot of oil. I cut the sugar back to 1 1/3 C and used 2/3 C olive oil instead of Canola. I increased the cinnamon to 1 tsp and used some fancy organic bulk chocolate chips. I kept the zucchini amount the same and shredded it fairly large - skins on. Since most people said the orange was a bit overpowering I only zested about a third of my orange into the mix. I made 4 mini loaves and added the rest to my regular size loaf pan. I should have reduced the baking time by at least 5 minutes but you forget these things when multitasking. They turned out super cute! I only added the nuts to the tops of the loaves and scattered approximately 1 T per loaf. I prefer nuts and quick bread this way. They get really crispy and delicious and it produces a nice texture. We ate this for breakfast and it seems fine as a breakfast dish (I'll definitely never serve it with whipped cream and zucchini ribbons). I think the only things I might do differently next time are nix the orange, add 1 C more shredded zucchini, maybe use some melted butter, and really go overboard by adding coco powder to the dry ingredients. yum!

THANKS EVERYONE FOR PARTICIPATING IN OUR FIRST CHALLENGE!

If you were completely inspired reading this post and want to join our club, send me an email. flourbakery at gmail dot com. Anyone is welcome and trust me no experience needed! Happy Baking!

Daring Bakers - Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole of Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the food network.

I admit I cheated completely on this one. I am usually not a procrastinator when it comes to baking, but I guess I just wasn't as excited about the challenge this time. I'm not a huge fan of either cookie. I don't care for marshmallows and I don't enjoy the texture of the Milano cookies. I chose to do just one recipe - the Mallows - as they are referred and ended up cheating in the end. I purchased some marshmallows from a local Candy Shop and supplemented with some from the grocery store. I know we were supposed to make the marshmallow (but the recipe says its ok to cheat!) I just didn't have time! I would like to try making them another time because I hear that marshmallows from scratch are much better than any you can buy in the store. I'll need a good reason for it though.

The cookie dough is fairly simple - basic cut out dough with cinnamon. I used a small round cookie cutter and thought it would be cute with a square marshmallow. I also threw in a few star shapes which ended up looking like little turtles and turned some into sandwiches. The taste was not so amazing that I would want to make them again. Marshmallows alone possibly....

Hopefully the August Challenge will be more appealing to me!

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies) Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 10 min Inactive Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 10 min Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

• 3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour • 1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder • 3/8 teaspoon baking soda • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon • 12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter • 3 eggs, whisked together • Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows • Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

(this recipe yields a lot more than 2 doz. cookies! I only used half the dough and froze the other half since that is closer to the amount of chocolate you need to cover them all)

1. In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients. 2. On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy. 3. Add the eggs and mix until combine. 4. Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. 5. When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat. 6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 7. Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough. 8. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature. 9. Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours. 10. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat. 11. One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze. 12. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl. 13. Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Homemade marshmallows: • 1/4 cup water • 1/4 cup light corn syrup • 3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar • 1 tablespoon powdered gelatin • 2 tablespoons cold water • 2 egg whites , room temperature • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup, and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer. 2. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve. 3. Remove the syrup from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix. 4. Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites. 5. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff. 6. Transfer to a pastry bag.

Chocolate glaze: • 12 ounces semisweet chocolate • 2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

1. Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

Walnut Ice Cream + Tomato Sauce

Sounds gross doesn't it... ice cream and tomatoes. Same was my first reaction to the recipe and almost everyone I told about it, but it turned out amazing! I posted about heirloom tomatoes a couple of weeks ago and included some interesting tomato recipes I wanted to try for dessert - this being one of them. The recipe came from Oliveto, a local restaurant in the Bay area. Each summer they conjure up new desserts with tomatoes for the season depending on what the farms grow and how they are tasting. I was lucky enough to stumble across the recipes while searching for tomato desserts and definitely plan to make it again.

Two firsts for me with this recipe - first time to make ice cream and first time to make a caramel sauce. The ice cream was pretty simple. I think the most difficult part was tempering the eggs and adding them back to the heat to thicken, but doing this is not hard if you've done it before. The rest was simple. Steeping the walnuts and cream added a lovely aroma to the house and the ice cream machine did all the work! Not like your old fashioned hand crank operation. (Thanks Emily for letting me borrow it!) We tried the ice cream before it was hard and before adding the sauce and it was delicious. Nutty, toasty, with a really smooth texture.

I let it sit in the freezer for a couple of days until I could muster up the courage to make this tomato caramel sauce. It was probably the scariest thing I have ever cooked on the stove top. Just imagining the temperature of the bubbling sugar made me really nervous... deciphering whether or not the sauce was "tawny" enough in color... adding the tomato juice causing a small explosion of candy and liquid in the pan! whew! In the end it was good. I had no idea whether or not it would get thick so I left it in the pyrex and went out to dinner. We came home to find the sauce had thickened and retained its pretty reddish color. It smelled nice - and tomato-y and still I was nervous to drizzle it on top. My husband told me earlier in the week when we tasted the ice cream by itself that he did not want any tomato sauce to ruin good ice cream, but in the end I think he was convinced. A friend had stopped by that night for a little while so I had her join in the taste test. I think we were all really surprised how good it turned out. It had a really unique flavor that is quite hard to describe. The tomato sauce accentuated the nuttiness of the cream well - a perfect pairing. Now I just need to find another use for the leftover sauce!

This is definitely not an attempt to get something healthy into the diet by adding tomato (reading the ingredient list will convince you of this) - but if you find yourself with tons of tomatoes this summer give it a try - you might be as surprised as we were.

Walnut Ice Cream with Brandywine Caramel Sauce

Serves 6-8

The ice cream and sauce are very rich, so you will want small servings.

Ingredients:

The Ice cream

1 cup walnuts

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup + 6 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup powdered milk

1 cup whole milk

7 egg yolks

The sauce

1 small Brandywine tomato

1 cup sugar

Instructions: For the ice cream: Preheat oven to 325° (300° for convection oven). Place nuts on a pan, then toast until dark and golden, 15-20 minutes. Let cool, then grind until fine in a food processor.

In a saucepan, heat the cream and 1/2 cup sugar to just below the boiling point. Add the ground nuts and let steep at room temperature for at least an hour, or until a strong walnut flavor has permeated the cream. Pour through a coarse strainer into a large plastic bowl, then pour again through a fine-mesh strainer such as a chinois into another large plastic bowl.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, mix 6 tablespoons sugar with the powdered milk, and slowly add the whole milk, whisking constantly until the powdered milk is dissolved. Place over high heat until it's just below the boiling point.

Place yolks in a large bowl. Add a ladleful of the hot milk mixture to the yolks and mix well. Add about a third of the hot milk to the bowl with the yolks and stir. Pour the contents of the bowl into the pot with the milk and cook for another 30 seconds or so, until the milk begins to steam.

Remove from heat and pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the walnut-infused cream. Cover and chill until completely cold, 3 hours or overnight.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

For the caramel sauce: Cut the tomato into large pieces and process in a blender or small food processor until smooth. Pass through a fine-mesh strainer. Measure out 1/2 cup puree; set aside any extra.

Combine 1/4 cup water and the sugar into a broad, heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir until sugar dissolves. Cook over high heat until the sugar is a tawny golden color. Turn off the heat and add the tomato puree. Do this carefully and step back in case of any of it splatters.

When the foaming eruption has subsided, stir the caramel mixture with a wire whisk, turning the flame back on if necessary, until all of the candy threads have melted into the caramel. Remove from heat and let cool. Taste for tomato flavor intensity and add any extra puree, if desired.

Serve the ice cream drizzled with the caramel sauce.

Maple Pecan Granola

I need to get in the habit of making this granola more often. I did really well for a while and we had home made granola for our yogurt and snacking pleasure... then I fell off the wagon. Time, time, time! Today I found some time to make granola and I used the fabulous recipe courtesy of my mother-in-law, and changed it slightly to reflect the title.

Previously, I made granola with pistachios, coconut, and almonds but needed a change this time. We like the pecan granola from Trader Joe's except that it is too sweet - so I created my own pecan granola. The recipe is a great base for whatever you might want to add. I substituted maple syrup for honey this time, used half wheat germ and half soy flour (the amounts I had on hand), and added pecans, dried cranberries, and currants. It turned out well, crunchy on the outside and a little chewy on the inside with a nice burst of dried fruit.

I should just schedule the next batch now...

Maple Pecan Granola

See Previous Post for Original Recipe

4 C rolled oats

2 C wheat flour

1 C soy flour or wheat germ

1 C all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 C canola oil

1 C maple syrup

1 C water

1 C chopped pecans

--after baking add--

3/4 C dried cranberries

1/4 C currants

Stir together dry ingredients. Add in liquids and mix well. Add nuts and spread onto two large rimmed sheet pans. Bake for 1 1/2 - 2 hours in a 250* oven stirring every 20 minutes. Since this granola is chunkier than the kind you get in the store I often break up the clumps while stirring to give a variety of sizes in the end. After it is finished baking add in your dried fruits and store in an airtight container. Recipe yields about 1 full gallon size ziplock bag (about 9-10 C).

Biscuits are Heavenly

I had not had a biscuit for a long time until I ate at a trendy little southern style restaurant here in San Francisco. Farmer Brown knows fried chicken and it is quite an indulgence every now and then. They recently opened a to-go window near my office which I finally tried this week. They serve a range of chicken lunch boxes and waffles and chicken + waffles, and they all come with what they call their "Angel Biscuits". One of my co-workers gobbled it up on the way back to our office repeatedly saying, "it's so good!" and it got me thinking... I haven't made biscuits since I have no idea and I have a lot of good recipes to try.... hmmm.

For dinner I made grilled chicken, roasted green beans and finished the meal off with a pretty little biscuit. I adapted 2 recipes to create what I find was a perfect accompaniment to a simple dinner. They came out well, though not as tall as I imagined, and were really tasty. They were nice and flakey, moist, and not too sweet for a dinner biscuit. They are also quick to pull together if you find you have no bread component for your meal.

Enjoy!

Biscuits

Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours (and a little insight from Paula Dean)

2 C flour

1 T baking powder

1 heaping tsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

8 T butter

3/4 C buttermilk

1/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 425* and center rack in oven. Whisk together dry ingredients and cut in butter until it resembles oatmeal and pea size pieces. Add milk and stir together with a fork. Knead once or twice in the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll to 1/2" thick and cut as many biscuits as possible with a 2" round. Gather the scraps and working the dough as little as possible pat into 1/2" thickness and cut again. (mine yielded 11) Lay cut biscuits on a silicone mat lined baking sheet (or freeze biscuits) and bake for 14-18 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

I made mine with buttermilk because I had it on hand. If you don't have it, just substitute for whole milk - or at least 2% - and don't add baking soda. They were delicious just plain and I they are a fine compliment to tea with jam and honey!

ps. roasting green beans is amazing!

Frozen Lime Pie

Close to a year ago my group of friends started something we like to call "Family Dinner." My husband and I are the only ones with family close, so it gave us an excuse to get together and have a meal family style. Dinners usually surround a theme and we each take turns hosting. Last night we hosted Family Dinner with a Caribbean theme reminiscent of our sailing trip. We had Jerk Chicken, Jibarito Sandwiches, Caribbean Salad with Lime vinaigrette, rice and beans with coconut milk, and Lime Pie.

Dinner was very successful since most people liked everything each person brought. The pie recipe comes from the villa we stayed in after our sailing trip; a creation of one of the staff there. Les Chaudieres has to be one of the most beautiful places we have visited. Visit the link above for other recipes from the kitchen (and to inspire your next vacation). I made little changes to the recipe and even though the base followed instruction, my dessert came out a little lighter and smoother than when we ate it during vacation. This pie is so easy to make I hope you try it! Since it is made for the freezer it keeps well too - great for summer nights when you don't want to heat up the house too much (I only wish we had this problem in SF).

Frozen Lime Pie

Adapted from Les Chaudieres, St Lucia

Crust: 8 oz. ground ginger snaps or graham crackers (about 2 packages) 4 oz melted butter (1 stick)

1 tsp sugar

Filling:

1/4 cup fresh lime juice 2 teaspoons lime zest 1 tin sweetened condensed milk 1-2/3 cup whipping cream

splash of vanilla

For the crust, grind graham crackers in food processor, add sugar and melted butter. Stir with a fork and press into pie pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350* for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool. (Note: if you use a glass pan remember to reduce the heat by 25*)

For the filling, mix together lime juice and zest. In a large bowl, whip cream and condensed milk until stiff peaks form. Add vanilla. Fold in the juice/zest mix and spread evenly into the crust. Cover and freeze until frozen (at least 3 hours). Remove from freezer 10-15 minutes before serving. Garnish with lime zest.

A Scone A Day...

does not keep the doctor away... it only encourages physical activity.

I really like scones a lot in spite of their evil fat content. Lucky for me the scones I made don't have the extra fat from heavy cream (buttermilk instead). I have had the intention to make scones for a while now but they never seem to make it from thought to edible good! After my swim I was talking breakfast with my friend, Rebecca, and decided tonight would be a good night to make scones. I had no recipe in mind but found one that used up some ingredients I had on hand.

The scone is similar to a biscuit, except sweeter and usually has a fruit component or can be savory with cheeses. The Scone was nice and flakey and a little ugly with its bumps and lumps (I promise it is supposed to be this way). I added little chunks of banana to the basic dough before adding the liquid and the recipe suggests that prunes or apricots would be nice as well. Scones are pretty easy as long as you don't over mix them. Like any biscuit - Less is More. Hopefully you will have a chance to try them.

Oatmeal Nutmeg Scones

with Banana

1 egg

1/2 C buttermilk

1 2/3 C flour

1 1/3 C old fashioned oats

1/3 C sugar

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 stick + 2 T cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 400* and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter. Add 1/2 C chopped fruit (banana, diced prunes, dried apricot) then mix in the egg and buttermilk until the dough just comes together. Knead in the bowl gently! Turn it out on a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Pat the dough into a 5" round and cut into 6 pieces. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake 20-22 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes or room temperature.

The Tomato

No, not dessert... just something I am obsessing over since receiving our first few heirloom tomatoes of the summer. I remember a time in my life where I hated tomatoes, well most tomatoes. I would only eat the tomatoes from my Pock's garden. He had a fairly small garden in our backyard but every year he grew a tomato similar to the Early Girl. They were bright red and juicy and we couldn't wait to pick them. He would slice them up with salt and sometimes we would just stand at the kitchen counter and eat them. He is the one who instilled a love for fruit and salt that I just can't break to this day (grapefruit, cantaloupe, watermelon...).

Planting the first seeds

watching Pock garden

Some time in the past giant seed corporations like Monsanto took control and decided what we should eat. They funded genetic engineering for crops to withstand pests and drought, and found a way to patent their seeds' genes. There have been an outrageous number of lawsuits for farmers crops that have been contaminated by Monsanto who demands a technology fee for using their product (even when the product comes by air or bird poop). This concept is completely wrong. Plants are very smart and these engineers are taking a role that no one should. Plants evolve in certain climates to reach maximum growth under the conditions they are used to. Evolution. It's that simple. Unfortunately, big corporations have taken the region out of our food system. Fortunately, farmers (mostly smaller scale) have joined a movement against the Man and began collecting and sharing seeds like heirloom varieties.

The Slow Food Movement has strongly backed growing heirloom varietals of vegetables and even Turkeys and Chickens. The Seed Savers Exchange is a non profit dedicated to sharing rare seeds and have been around since the 70's. I like this idea very much, and hope to support it when I have a garden of my own. (First I need a balcony or south light). But the movement has sparked interest in consumers who are tired of the mushy pink hot house tomato. This tomato is the reason for my hatred. Thankfully, I live in a city with a strong support for local food with a great farmers market full of delicious tomatoes. Our first CSA box came a couple weeks ago with an assortment of heirlooms that were huge. I really enjoyed my walk through the farmers market last Saturday when I saw a tomato the size of my head, but lumpy and disproportionate. A man pointed it out to his daughter and she was completely confused. These tomatoes are slightly unpredictable. They are all very fun looking, fairy tale like even. Something that Alice should have eaten to increase in size. Some are striped, some multicolored, but they all surpass what my taste buds once knew as "tomato". Meaty flesh with little pockets of seeds scattered randomly throughout make each slice unique. I sliced one open before dinner and regretting that I had not taken a picture before, decided it was time. I had only planned on eating half and saving the rest for later and I did, but it was only about 10 minutes later. I think the tomato I ate was something like the Cherokee Purple but don't know for sure. All I know is that I am happy for summer and that summer brings tomatoes.

If you have a garden I encourage you to check out the link above for the Seed Saver Exchange instead of buying your seeds at garden super stores. Do your part to bring back the Heirloom! I wanted to add some recipes at the end here that I plan on attempting this summer with our tomatoes to break the general thought that tomatoes may only be used in savory dishes. If you try one before me I'd love to hear how it turned out!

Happy Baking.

Source of recipes SFGate

Oliveto, Oakland CA

Chef Paul Canales and Pastry Chef Jenny Raven

Mascarpone Budino with Sungold Tomato Compote

Makes 10-12

Ingredients:

For the budinos:

5 ounces softened cream cheese

1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

13 ounces mascarpone cheese

3 eggs

1 3/4 tablespoons lemon juice

Finely grated zest of 1 1/2 oranges

Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

For the compote:

5 1/2 cups Sungold tomatoes

3/4 cup sugar

1 lemon, halved, sliced paper thin and chopped, with peel

1 cup sultana raisins

Additional lemon juice and sugar, to taste

Instructions: Spray 10 to 12 six-ounce ramekins with oil and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.

In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until completely blended.

Add the mascarpone and beat until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl well. Add the lemon juice and orange and lemon zests. Pour into the prepared ramekins.

Preheat the oven to 325° (300° for a convection oven). Place the ramekins in a pan large and deep enough to fit all of them, such as a roasting pan, and pour in boiling hot water until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the budinos are set, 30-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the water bath. Remove from the water bath and chill thoroughly before inverting each ramekin onto a plate so that the budino comes out. Discard the parchment paper circles.

For the compote: Preheat the oven to 325°, or a convection oven 300°. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the tomatoes. Cut the remaining 4 cups in half lengthwise. Place them with their cut sides up on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and continue cooking until the tomatoes are dry but not brittle, 1-1 1/2 hours.

Place the reserved 1 1/2 cups tomatoes into a blender, and blend to make 1 cup thin puree.

Bring 1 cup of water along with the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar to a boil and add the lemon. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then add the roasted tomatoes and raisins. Cook until the mixture is bubbling fiercely, add the tomato puree, and cook another few minutes, stirring well with a heatproof spatula so that the bottom of the pan does not scorch.

Remove the compote from the heat and cool to room temperature. Add more sugar to taste, and, if needed, a squeeze of lemon. Spoon generously over each budino.

Tomato Sugarplums

Makes about 20

Ingredients:

4 cups Juliet tomatoes (can substitute Sungold cherry tomatoes or Romanitas; see Note)

1/4 cup sugar + about 1/4 cup more for cutting board

2 cups almonds

1/4 cup honey

2 teaspoons orange zest

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup confectioners' sugar

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 325°, or a convection oven to 300°.

Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Place them with their cut sides up on a rack set over a sheet pan. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, sprinkle with another 2 tablespoons sugar, and continue cooking until the tomatoes are dry but not brittle, about 1 1/2 hours for cherry tomatoes, about 2 1/2 hours for larger Juliet or Romanita tomatoes. It may take less time if you use a convection oven. Cool.

Meanwhile, toast the almonds in the oven until nicely browned, about 15-20 minutes. Cool and chop finely with a knife, or pulse in batches in a food processor to a very coarse grind.

When the tomatoes are cool, sprinkle a cutting board with 1/4 cup sugar and cover with the tomatoes. Carefully chop them quite finely, tossing with some of the sugar if they begin to stick to your knife.

In a large bowl, combine the honey, orange zest, cinnamon and ginger. Add the almonds and tomatoes and mix well.

Roll the mixture into 1/2-inch balls. Fill a bowl with the confectioners' sugar and drop the balls into it as you go. When you have almost covered the surface of the sugar with balls, toss to coat the balls well. Proceed until all balls are coated.

Place in an airtight container and let "ripen" several days in the refrigerator. Toss again in confectioners' sugar and bring to room temperature before serving.

Note: Romanita tomatoes are available at Berkeley Bowl and Monterey Market, both in Berkeley. Juliets are hard to find but may be in mixed baskets; inquire at farmers' markets or produce stores.

Walnut Ice Cream with Brandywine Caramel Sauce

Serves 6-8

The ice cream and sauce are very rich, so you will want small servings.

Ingredients:

The Ice cream

1 cup walnuts

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup + 6 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup powdered milk

1 cup whole milk

7 egg yolks

The sauce

1 small Brandywine tomato

1 cup sugar

Instructions: For the ice cream: Preheat oven to 325° (300° for convection oven). Place nuts on a pan, then toast until dark and golden, 15-20 minutes. Let cool, then grind until fine in a food processor.

In a saucepan, heat the cream and 1/2 cup sugar to just below the boiling point. Add the ground nuts and let steep at room temperature for at least an hour, or until a strong walnut flavor has permeated the cream. Pour through a coarse strainer into a large plastic bowl, then pour again through a fine-mesh strainer such as a chinois into another large plastic bowl.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, mix 6 tablespoons sugar with the powdered milk, and slowly add the whole milk, whisking constantly until the powdered milk is dissolved. Place over high heat until it's just below the boiling point.

Place yolks in a large bowl. Add a ladleful of the hot milk mixture to the yolks and mix well. Add about a third of the hot milk to the bowl with the yolks and stir. Pour the contents of the bowl into the pot with the milk and cook for another 30 seconds or so, until the milk begins to steam.

Remove from heat and pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into the walnut-infused cream. Cover and chill until completely cold, 3 hours or overnight.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

For the caramel sauce: Cut the tomato into large pieces and process in a blender or small food processor until smooth. Pass through a fine-mesh strainer. Measure out 1/2 cup puree; set aside any extra.

Combine 1/4 cup water and the sugar into a broad, heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir until sugar dissolves. Cook over high heat until the sugar is a tawny golden color. Turn off the heat and add the tomato puree. Do this carefully and step back in case of any of it splatters.

When the foaming eruption has subsided, stir the caramel mixture with a wire whisk, turning the flame back on if necessary, until all of the candy threads have melted into the caramel. Remove from heat and let cool. Taste for tomato flavor intensity and add any extra puree, if desired.

Serve the ice cream drizzled with the caramel sauce.