taste: saturday morning caramel apple waffles

we used caramel apple waffle and pancake mix from williams sonoma and followed the recipe on the tin which called for the basics:
butter, egg, and milk.
mix it all together (don't overmix) and get the batter in your waffle-maker.
when it's ready, your waffle-maker will somehow tell you it is -
whether with a little ding of a bell a la toaster, or in our case,
a little red light turned on above the words 'ready' on the gadget.
transfer the golden disc of deliciousness onto a plate.
optional: smidgen of butter, drizzle of maple syrup.
happy saturday!

(i had some over-easy eggs and pomegranate green tea with mine too!)

taste: sweet awesome rhubarb + turkish yogurt cake

so i found this recipe while
browsing one of the many blogs
that make me so hungry,
o pistachio ...
and i really want to make this now.
but alas, i don't have any rhubarb.
must find/buy some.
tomorrow.




turkish yogurt cake

4 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup superfine (caster) sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose (plain) flour
1 2/3 cup strained Greek-style yoghurt
grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
juice of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar to a thick, pale cream. Beat in the flour, then the yoghurt, lemon zest, and lemon juice until it is thoroughly blended. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the yoghurt mixture. Pour this into a round, nonstick baking tin (about 9 inches in diameter), greased with butter.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is brown. It will puff up like a soufflé and then subside. Turn out onto a serving plate, and serve warm or cold.

stewed rhubarb with ginger

3 cups rhubarb stalks (about 4 stalks), green leaves discarded, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/3 cup sugar
zest of one orange
2 tbsp minced candied ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. (This could easily be prepared on the stovetop - and in that way, I suppose, would be properly stewed - but if you're making it together with the yoghurt cake, it makes sense to cook them in the oven together.)

Combine the rhubarb, sugar, orange zest, vanilla and ginger in a lightly buttered baking pan and allow to macerate for 15 minutes. Cut the butter into small pieces and dot over the surface of the fruit. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft.

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recipe and images via o pistachio

taste: simple salads

for those of us who eat our greens religiously
and are always looking for new salads to make
(because plain mixed greens or caesar
just doesn't cut it some days;
not to mention how expensive it can get
when you buy it ready-made)
here are some awesome salad recipes
that are not only incredibly simple to make
but also won't piss off your tastebuds.

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image & recipes via nytimes

taste: ice cream cupcakes

i love cupcakes, ice cream, and martha stewart.
i am not great at baking, but most of the time, it turns out pretty good.
i can't wait to try and make these.
(mostly i think it's a genius excuse to eat cupcakes and gelato at once).


What you need:
(makes 4 dozen mini cupcakes)
1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp warm water
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk
14 cup + 1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

4 pints ice cream and gelato, slightly softened

What you do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini-muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a mixer bowl. Transfer bowl to mixer, and add egg, yolk, water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until mixture is well combined and smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Divide batter among liners, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks for 30 minutes. Invert cupcakes onto racks, and let cool completely. (Cupcakes can be stored for up to 3 days.)
4. using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop, press a scoop of ice cream or gelato on top of each cupcake.

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this morning, i got into a car accident.
i am ok.
our poor car is not.