Instead of going to Paris to play music, I had a staycation for two weeks. It was a wonderfully lazy stretch of time filled with writing, violin, baking and gardening... I started a writing project where I revisit a travel memory by making a dish from the region - so far I've done El Salvador, Mexico & Wuhan!
In my garden...
Shiso is sprouting, auto-regenerating from the year before. How interesting that it was a purple shiso plant, but the new leaves are green.
This winter I've really enjoyed so much lettuce from my own garden, and picking my own snow peas for salad.
My dad grew these loquats. There was a loquat tree in our old family home in Shanghai, and eating these takes me straight back to my childhood.
On the baking front... I had plenty of time to bake whimsical things!
Baguettes are my latest obsession...
Getting a crisp outer and a soft interior with an open crumb is quite tricky - shaping baguettes is heaps of fun!
I had some pumpkin leftover so pureed it and put it into a spelt loaf in the shape of a pumpkin. It's easy enough to shape with kitchen string, and the bread rose well around the string forming the pumpkin shape!
I've never been much into baking sweets (I'm really a bread baker at heart), but making these eclairs were really fun. The choux pastry was much easier than I expected, and I had a lot of fun filling them and dipping them in chocolate. Of course the best part was eating them as I went along...
This was a birthday "cake" that I made for my friend's daughter's 10th birthday, using a cinnamon scroll dough layered with apple. I made this once in May and this time it was much easier to assemble.
Onto Food and Music...
oh my that eggplant dish sounds delicious. love all your breads and eclairs etc. that pumpkin loaf looks so pretty. i am not much of a bread baker; the overnight dough in the fridge is as good as it gets for me! keep well. thanks for joining in.
ReplyDeletecheers
sherry
Thanks for hosting Sherry, it's a great joy to us to participate. I mostly bake plain loaves too, just had more time this year to try out different things :)
DeleteYour sweet bakes look really wonderful, as do the breads. Best of all: the music. Every month I wish I could join you to hear you play.
ReplyDeletebe safe... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Thanks for that nice thought Mae, one day I'm sure I'll be online somewhere!
DeleteWhoah I thought those baguettes were bought and then I saw your pumpkin bread! OMG. So professional!
ReplyDeleteThanks Helen! Baguettes are such fun and you never know how they will work out! I'd love to become a professional sourdough baker :)
DeleteYour musical cooking and eating adventures are a delight. Very clever to shape that pumpkin loaf with kitchen string, too! Thank you for your verbally and visually -- not to mention musically again -- soul-satisfying IMK post. Take care, xo.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Kim, I wonder too what I can make with kitchen string next time :)
DeleteWow, wow wow. love year edible greens. and the breads, amazing, esp the pumpkin one. you are a wondrous baker.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement! Baking is a great joy esp in winter when the house is filled with warmth and great aromas
DeleteThe eggplant dish sounds delicious, they make a similar dish with the narrow Japanese eggplants at my favorite restaurant (now closed because of the virus). I have tried twice to grow shiso, both were failures as they didn't germinate. Are there any tricks?
ReplyDeleteHi Liz I have never grown them before and my friend gave me the first shiso plant last summer, so it's a learning experience! It seems to be growing well with minimal attention. Let's see how it turns out!
DeleteI love the look of your miso eggplant dish, and would love the specific recipe, as I have eggplant growing and am always looking for something interesting too do with them.I also love that you combine your cooking and eating with your love of music.How do I subscribe to your blog?Stay well, Pauline
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