You might think that because I have turned in the manuscript for my upcoming cookbook on food swapping that I would be more relaxed. But you would be wrong. I am trying to take advantage of this lull while I await my editors’ feedback to work on the proposal for my second cookbook, an idea about which I feel particularly passionate. I know that the next two years or so will be consumed with finishing and promoting the food swapping book so I fear that if I do not get this proposal done now, it won’t ever get done.
That being said, I am cooking quite a bit and enjoying spending time in my kitchen without the pressure of having to test specific recipes. Just last night, for dinner I made these Chicken Tinga Tostadas, which are an old family favorite.
Last week, inspired by Passover, I checked out Alice Medrich’s new cookbook Flavor Flours: A New Way to Bake with Teff, Sorghum, Other Whole and Ancient Grains, Nuts, and Non-Wheat Flours from the library. As the title suggests, this book provides dozens of recipes for baked goods of all kinds using flours other than wheat not only as a service to those eschewing gluten but also because these alternative flours bring new tastes and flavors that are worth exploring.
Apparently, one of the flours that Medrich uses, teff — a species of grass native to Ethiopia and the basis for that country’s national bread, spongy, fermented injera — is kosher for Passover. I had heard of teff because I am crazy about Ethiopian food — DC, my hometown, has the country’s best Ethiopian food, in my view, because of its large Ethiopian ex-pat community — but had never worked with it before.
I spied a cake recipe in the book called The New Chocolate Génoise that called for teff flour and did not require a leavening agent, such as baking powder, so it seemed therefore to be Pesadich. I made it for dessert during the week of Passover as a treat for my husband, the only one of us who truly keeps Passover. Not one to care for gluten-free baked goods in general, I was stunned by how delicious the chocolate cake made with teff flour was.
Since then, I have also made the book’s recipe for Bittersweet Teff Brownies and they were equally delicious. I can tell right now what I will be serving for dessert at next year’s Passover Seder: teff cake and brownies for everybody! Teff flour is easy to find at good grocery stores and is a nutritional powerhouse: ground from the whole grain, teff flour contains calcium, protein, vitamin C, fiber and iron. So, I highly recommend that you pick some teff flour up and take a look at this wonderful new cookbook which of course deals with much more than just teff flour. Next on my list to play with is buckwheat flour. (Buckwheat contains neither buck nor wheat. Discuss.)
I was also inspired by this month’s Bon Appétit, which has a raft of recipes using lamb. I have already stated my belief that Americans undervalue lamb as a protein. What I have found is that ground lamb has a milder taste than lamb chops or leg of lamb. And for that reason, it is a great way to serve lamb to those who are not overly fond of its strong taste. This week for dinner, I made Chile-Cumin Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt and Cucumber. What a great recipe! It is a little involved because you have to make a sauce using dried chiles, but that part can be done in advance. The meatball mixture can also be prepared in advance. And if you do that, the final dish is a snap to put together. My husband and I really enjoyed it. Alas, I have no pictures of the finished dish but it looked just like the picture in the magazine, I assure you.
What are you cooking this month?
