sweet – morestomach

birthday | checkerboard pâte sablée

Published on December 12, 2017December 10, 2017 by Lan | MoreStomach4 Comments

it snowed for the first time on saturday.
we finally turned on our heat,
over-bundling of winter layers wasn’t cutting it.
life has been specially sweet lately,
and i am grateful.
forty looks good,
and i am reminded,
often,
that though the days blur sometimes,
that there’s more disappointment than
enough fingers to count them,
it can be balanced with kindness,
thoughtful friends,
mindfulness,
and
cookies.

thanks for visiting, friends. ❤

Checkerboard Pâte Sablée
adapted from baking obsession, sadly now defunct, with slight improvement from previous attempts at assembly and photography

Makes about 8 dozens

5 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 sticks of butter, at room temperature (i use green valley organics)
2 cups sugar
1 TBL vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

sift dried ingredients in bowl. set aside.

in a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light + fluffy. beat in eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla extract. add in the flour mixture and combine.

divide the dough in half.

in the mixing bowl mix the cocoa powder in.

last, divide both halves into half again. you’re going to end up with 4 quarters: 2 vanillas and 2 chocolates. wrap individually in plastic and fridge for up to a day.

when ready, take 2 quarters of different flavors out & allow to soften for about 15-20 minutes. btwn parchment papers roll out a quarter dough into 1/2″ thick rectangles, measuring 12×5″. repeat for other quarter.

using some sharp object, knife, dough scraper (preferred tool) or pizza cutter, cut out a nine 1/2″ wide stripes.

being gentle, but not precious about it, form two checkerboard logs switching btwn the chocolate and vanilla strips. press gently so that the strips will adhere to each other, try not to smooch them. you’re aiming for cubed logs, roll the logs from side to size for sharp, right angle quarters. ~~good luck with that.~~ wrap in plastic wrap and fridge, until firm. (*note: logs can be frozen at this point, as long as well wrapped).

repeat with remaining two quarter doughs.

when ready, preheat oven 350F.

prepare baking sheet with parchment paper (very important!)

using a sharp knife, slice the logs into 1/4″ thick slices. place on prepared baking sheet, but leave about an inch space btwn cookies.

bake for about 12 minutes, don’t go more than that though, cus you want the color contrasts to be pronounced. as the cookie cools, it will firm up. cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes then transfer on wire rack. if you don’t parchment your baking sheet, don’t let the cookies cool directly on the pan, cus you’ll be scraping that shit off.

will keep, well wrapped, in fridge for awhiles. in fact, i had it on the counter, not so very well wrapped for a week and they were fine.

BAM!

4 years ago: peppermint chocolate ice cream
3 years ago: gingerbread cake
2 years ago: chocolate espresso dacquoise
1 year ago: kefir biscuits

dark molasses pear bread

Published on October 16, 2017October 15, 2017 by Lan | MoreStomach10 Comments

a little over a month ago,
while going about my business on a thing called Work,
a work much entrenched in judging resumes,
i realized that i needed to work on mine.
it had been a rather disappointing summer,
career-wise,
and rather than harp about it,
i decided to do something about it.

tl;dr; i applied for a job,
i started said job last week.

happy autumn,friends.

dark molasses pear bread
adapted from epicurious

*note: i’ve been sitting on this recipe for years, playing around with ingredients, adding and subtracting here and there, following the recipe exactly to not at all. it’s delicious with tea, or an after dinner treat.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 2 TBL olive oil
1/4 cup coffee
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (actually, i don’t pack it in too hard, sweetness level up to you)
1/2 cup molasses
3 large eggs
1/4 cup grated peeled ginger, or if you’re lazy, minced as fine as you can manage
1 Bosc pear, diced
sprinkle of cocoa powder, about 1/4 – 1/2 a tsp

preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. grease loaf pan, set aside.

mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a small mixing bowl, set aside

add the coffee with olive oil, set aside.

using a stand mixer, beat the brown sugar with molasses. add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well. throw in the dry mixture until just combined. next add in the liquid with ginger.

pour into prepared loaf pan.

in bowl, add the pear pieces, sprinkle with cocoa powder. scatter the pieces over the batter. (the cocoa powder should help a little from keeping the pieces from sinking to the bottom of the pan. it works sometimes.)

bake for 35-40 minutes. cool.

serve sliced with a spot of tea.

BAM!

4 years ago: carrot bread
3 years ago: three bean chili
2 years ago: apparently i didn’t do shit.
1 year ago: lemongrass chicken & rice soup

anniversary | blueberry slab pie

Published on September 28, 2017September 27, 2017 by Lan | MoreStomach11 Comments

this post was created in partnership with Green Valley Organics.

yesterday: i loved you.
today: i love you.
tomorrow: i will love you.
all wishes, 11:11, eyelashes, blowing out birthday candles,
they revolve around you:
your health
your happiness
your safety
sometimes i say it out loud,
other times i yell it out,
and more often than not,
i act it out
and show it to you,
because i love you so.

blueberries are your favorite,
and you are my favorite,
so i stashed freshly plucked blueberries
in the freezer,
for this occasion.

happy anniversary sweet beloved,
i love you.

this post is sponsored by green valley organics. all thoughts and opinions are my own. the first time i discovered this product, i damn near cried. dairy can be in my diet again without any adverse impact. basically, they’re making my dairy dreams come true. thanks so much for supporting the sponsors that keep morestomachblog up+running, toot-free.

blueberry slab pie
makes 1 slab pie, for two hungry lovers

*note: our wedding favors were homemade blueberry-lemon jam that we had picked. this pie has the same flavor profile. it’s nice on its own, but with some vanilla ice cream, it’s divine.

pie dough:
2 cups AP flour
healthy pinch salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
10 TBL butter, frozen and cut into small pieces. i use green valley organics
1 container (8oz) cream cheese, frozen and cut into small pieces. i use green valley organics
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
3-4 tsp ice cold vodka

filling:
3 cups blueberries, i used frozen, picked from hybridoma farms
1/2 cup sugar
2 TBL cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
1 lemon, zested and juiced, plus more zest from another lemon but that’s optional
1 egg, lightly beaten
healthy sprinkle of sugar

to make dough:
in a food processor, add the flour, salt, baking powder, butter and cream cheese. pulse until the mixture is mealy. while pulsing, add the cold liquids until the dough forms. dump the mixture onto a plastic wrap, wrap tightly and fridge for at least 30 minutes.

when ready, divide the dough in two. wrap one of the halves and put in fridge. on a very lightly floured piece of parchment, on a clean surface, roll the dough out as thin and evenly as you can, try not to cry. you’re aiming for 12×12″ square. place parchment on baking sheet, and fridge.

repeat the rolling out steps with other half of dough. again fridge it.

meanwhile, preheat oven to 400F.

in a bowl mix together the frozen berries, add the zest, sugar and juice of lemon. mix it well. now add in the cornstarch to sop up most of the liquid.

crack an egg into a small bowl, whisk real quick and set aside.

from the fridge take out the ugliest sheet of rolled dough. that’ll be the base. very carefully spoon out the berries onto the dough. aim to keep about 1/2″ border around the edge. the berries had started to thaw so it was a tad juicy so i was careful with only spooning the berries and not the juice.

grab the other rolled dough layer. if you’re fancy, cut out designs to vent. very carefully transfer the dough over top the berries and seal the edges by pinching the two layers together, or using a fork to pleat them together.

brush the top with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar

bake for 40-45 minutes, turning about half way. i did have to foil it part way through, and then taking off the foil the last 5 minutes.

cool pie before cutting.

serve as is or with ice cream.

BAM!

previous anniversary sweetness:
chocolate tahini cake + rosemary infused buttercream – dairy free
6″ chocolate cake – vegan
meringue roulade with shaved chocolate and salty-sweet peanuts – dairy free

summer kefir scones – 2 ways

Published on August 23, 2017August 22, 2017 by Lan | MoreStomach6 Comments

this post was created in partnership with Green Valley Organics.

during the work week
i’m an early bird,
typically up before the alarm dings.
it’s unusual indeed for it to go off,
and when it does happen,
it’s a sign i slept really well,
and the day can be considered a victory
before it even starts.

we attempted to view the eclipse on monday,
there we were,
dw & i with our shoddy recalled goggles
that we purchased weeks ago,
standing under a heavy blanket of grey clouds,
it was like Mordor,
and then right as 2:42pm was imminent
the clouds opened
and we were rained on.
not so victorious,
but hilarious regardless.

summer is winding down,
our zucchini stash is ridiculous
and every time i bite into a peach
i’m reminded that august is going away
and september is right behind it.
i’ve stashed a few peaches
and shredded zucchini in the freezer,
to make some breakfast scones in winter,
when it’s bleak and i require
some kind, any kind, of pick-me-up.
these summer scones:
victory indeed.

Lemon Zucchini Scones or Peach Lavender Scones
makes 8 each

1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (nix if making peach lavender scones)
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBL butter, cold and cubed
1/2 cup plain, whole milk kefir
3 TBL maple syrup
zest of one lemon (1 TBL dried lavender)
1 cup shredded zucchini, wringed/squeezed dry as much as possible (or cubed peach slices)

preheat the oven to 375°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

in a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

cut in the butter with a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

pour in the kefir and maple syrup. add in the zucchini and lemon zest. (or peaches and dried lavender)

dump the mixture onto lightly floured counter top. shape into a disk and cut into 8 segments.

transfer to prepared baking sheet. bake for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly golden.

cool on pan for a few minutes and then transfer to wire rack to fully cool.

cover well. i usually keep them in large pyrex container, in the fridge. when i’m ready to eat, i toast them just a smidge in the toaster oven for some added warmth and crunch.

BAM!

4 years ago: vietnamese pickled carrots & daikon
3 years ago: blueberry swirl muffins
2 years ago: summer salsa
1 year ago: homemade chocolate covered popsicles

pickled jalapenos

Published on August 9, 2017August 8, 2017 by Lan | MoreStomach2 Comments

i read a meme recently
that basically said
the month of August
is like a long Sunday night
for teachers/educators.
while i am not a teacher
this rings such truth for me.
i feel a sort of melancholy that
the summer is half over,
never mind that it’s over a month out.

summers of late
have me pickling,
which leaves our fridge littered
with random jars of experiments.
we tend to have purges
of the most random soured/salted/sweetened
vegs piled high on toast,
the essence of summer in messy, briny bites
during the dark of all other months
where temps don’t go further than 40F.

pickled jalapenos
adapted from gimme delicious food

*note: the first time we made this we deseeded the jalapenos and followed the recipe exactly. it was delicious, but the 2nd time we made this i only deseeded half the peppers and i used a rice vinegar instead, because we ran out of the white stuff. still delicious. it has a spice kick to it but that doesn’t deter me from snacking on them. they would be great chopped up and added to tuna or chicken salads, or topped on hot dogs.

1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic, smashed & rough chopped
3 TBL sugar
1 TBL salt
7-8 jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced, deseeded

wash and slice jalapeno peppers, aim for thin, but it’s up to you. you wanna be careful, the spiciness can stay on your finger tips for awhile, so don’t rub your eyes or other parts of your body. deseed if you want. set aside.

mix all the ingredients in a saucepan. bring to a boil and add the slices. mix it up, make sure all the slices are sufficiently dunked.

carefully transfer the contents of the saucepan to a mason jar. i used a quart jar.

allow to cool before lidding.

BAM!