food

Flashback Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Ganache

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chocolate zucchini cakeI like a nice surprise. Especially, when it involves food. Even better when it’s dessert. And a chocolate dessert at that.

Now I wish that I could say that this actual cake was presented to me as a surprise and I got to eat it. Not quite. But I did get the next best thing. A surprise tweet!

Five years ago on the old blog, I gave away a festival bundt cake after having won a set of three Nordic Ware Bundt pans from Courtney. I didn’t need to keep all three. Edi was the lucky winner.

I hadn’t thought much about the pan since. Out of the blue this week, Edi showed me a picture of the Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Ganache that she baked! Thanks to a comment below by Candelaria, Edi is sharing how she made it, so we can all try.

I’ve made the cake twice and it turned out great both times. I’ve never put nuts in it. The first time had no frosting. I’ve made no other alterations to the recipe.

I used Ghiradelli chocolate chips. I could not find out how many ounces were in the bag, but it’s the typical size bag. I used those leftover after measuring out what I needed to make the ganache frosting.

I only made half the recipe.  I used half and half and a little butter, a little vanilla extract. Enjoy!

So nice to see that the pan has found a happy home and is being used! Now I have been reminded that I haven’t used the pan that I kept!

By the end of this year, this must be remedied! There hasn’t been much baking here and I think it’s time to create some new recipes. Stay tuned!

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Photo Credit: Edi

{You Pick Six} An Interview with News Reporter: Susan Tran

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News Reporter Susan TranMost of us in the Boston area have probably watched Susan Tran reporting with 7News on WHDH. Now she reports news at NBC10Boston.

She also was the emcee for All Aboard The Arc! this past May and helped spread the word about disability acceptance and inclusion.

But did you know that she’s a serious foodie too? If you follow her on Twitter and Instagram, in addition to the news, you’ll often catch a glimpse of what she’s eating.

Just recently, she was shopping at Boston Public Market for some fresh fish and pastrami. Not only did she share pictures of the food, but she ran into our very own Senator Warren and got a selfie! How cool is that?

So now, let’s turn the tables for the sixth part of the interview series, You Pick Six.

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What is a favorite snack?
I love Cape Cod Chips with Heluva Good dip. I would eat an entire bag of chips if you let me so I only have it on vacation.

What brings you peace every day?
When my husband brings me my first cup of coffee and I get to say good morning to my pup Margaret. Those two moments remind me of what’s good in my life.

What inspires you?
I’m inspired by all the good in the world. For every awful person I encounter in the world through work or life there are always dozens more who are kind, thoughtful and generous.

What is a favorite cookbook?
Cook’s Illustrated – Best Recipes.

How did food become an important part of your life?
Food always meant family and friends to me. My parents worked 7 days a week but we always had dinner together. My husband is Italian-Irish-German, food is how he shows his affection. Some of my fondest memories with family and friends have happened around a dinner table.

Tell me about your book.
I wrote a long format story while I was in between jobs to occupy myself. It was good at the time. I tried to get it published but I didn’t have any takers. When I read it now, 6 years later, I think it’s crap and I’m glad nothing ever came of it. Some day I’ll look upon it as a failure I will glean lessons from.

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Thank you so much for participating Susan!

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Photo credit: Trung Dang

Apples 2 Apples: Spencer + Mutsu

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applesNot only do I love the board game, but over the past few years, I’ve found my love for apples increasing.

Back in 2009, I blogged an apple taste test, Macoun v. Braebern. They were both good, but I chose the Braebern and it was my apple of choice for several years, even though I ate, cooked and baked with other apples too.

A couple of years later, I attended TECHmunch in Boston and heard Amy Traverso speaking as part of a panel discussion. This may have been the first time that I learned about her book,The Apple Lover’s Cookbook. I planned to get it right away, but didn’t and now find myself thinking that this book is becoming a necessity.

There are so many different types of apples and this is supposed to be a very good season here in New England. I want to learn more about apples and of course eat them too. Chronicle, a local lifestyle television program, recently had a wonderful show all about apples.

They mentioned some urban orchards that allow apple picking and talked about the Roxbury Russett, which originated in the Roxbury section of Boston, where I was born. My parents, who grew up in Roxbury, talk about how when they were young, they could just randomly pick apples and other fruits on trees that were around the city.

When my brother and I were little, my parents would take us apple picking in the fall. By then we had moved out of the city to the suburbs. My father loved taking us on long drives and we’d go all over New England. We’d get fresh apple cider and my mom would make apple sauce, apple pie and buckwheat pancakes with apples. Just the memory of the scent of apples cooking, usually with cinnamon, makes me smile.

When I was at the farmers market at Dewey Square last week, I saw so many new to me varieties of apples. I decided to try the Spencer and Mutsu. Below are descriptions of both from the New England Apple Association’s blog.

Ripening in mid- to late September, Spencer is a conical apple, nearly solid red-pink in color, with green highlights. Its flesh is crisp, juicy, and more sweet than tart, though less sweet than its Golden Delicious parent (Spencer’s other parent — surprise! — is McIntosh). Spencer is an all-purpose apple, especially good in pies and sauce. It does not have a lengthy storage life.

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They make outstanding sauce and cider. Also known as Crispin, Mutsus have a sweet, light flavor when cooked, and hold their shape well. An excellent dessert apple, they are also especially good in salads.

Mutsus are a late-season apple ranging in color from greenish to yellow, with an orange blush. Their firm, juicy flesh is creamy white to pale yellow. They can grow quite large (a pie made with Mutsus may require as few as three apples).

Mutsu has its origins in Japan, from a Golden Delicious crossed with an Indo, a Japanese seedling, in 1930. It was introduced in the United States in 1948.

I ate these apples raw and loved them both. There was no side-by-side comparison, so I can’t describe them that way, but they were sweet enough for me and super juicy.

The plan is to make Apples 2 Apples a continuing series of posts about apples, so we’ll see how it plays out. Plus, there may be a surprise announcement to come!

{You Pick Six} An Interview with Food Blogger: El from Fresh New England

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Image of woman holding a madeleine, from website Fresh New EnglandAs a lifelong New Englander and someone with a serious sweet tooth, finding El’s blog was like finding the holy grail.

First, take a look at her Instagram feed. See what I mean? Some of you may have been swept away for more than a few minutes. You’re probably hungry now too!

Her baking skills, photography and love for New England are self-evident. Plus, her writing is not only about food. She always has a takeaway message that will leave you thinking.

I can’t speak highly enough about El. So I’ll let her do the rest of the “talking” and share some thoughts with us for the fifth part of the interview series, You Pick Six.

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What is a favorite simple recipe to prepare at home?
It’s more of a snack but it can be eaten any time of the day. Lightly toast a big, thick slice of crusty bread, smear it with soft goat cheese and top with spreadable jam. It tastes best when you use good quality New England made ingredients.

What is a favorite quote?
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
-William Morris

What is a favorite food movie?
Babette’s Feast. It’s a Danish story that portrays the centrality and meaning of food in our lives. It explores the notions of bringing people together over a meal and creating a meal for the sake of the meal. It also has strong themes of selflessness and generosity, which are typically present when we make food for others.

What is a favorite cookbook?
I love Bo Friberg’s Professional Pastry Chef. It’s well-researched and well-written. It addresses the fact that most desserts are made up of core, classic components. If you can master the components, your dessert repertoire is only limited by your imagination.

What do you think that most people don’t understand about food?
That local food isn’t necessarily more expensive than supermarket food. I spent a day visiting and recording prices at supermarket chains, organic farms and regular farms in the Greater Boston area. Do you know what I found? Almost consistently, per pound, the food from local farms – including organic farms- was cheaper than the food from the chain stores. Add that to the fact that local food is more nutritious, saves our beautiful and historic New England landscape, and supports the local economy and it’s easy to see that buying local food is the way to go.

Tell me about what you’re working on now.
As you know, Fresh New England has always been a great place to find information about New England’s culinary treasures. Now there’s a brand new companion site called Fresh New England Eats. The site is beautiful, searchable and has geolocation built in so can find the best local food in New England no matter where you are or what you’re doing. There are already over a thousand businesses listed on the site and we’re just getting started. The food community is really excited about it.

Basically, I’m on a mission to unite the New England food system into a single digital space. We have some of the best local food in the world and it’s time to give it the recognition it deserves.

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Thank you so much for participating El!

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Photo of Lemon Madeleines Dipped in White Chocolate provided by El.

Nourish Your Soul: Free Samples at Copley Square Monday, September 28th!

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Nourish your soul nutrientsNourish your soul smoothiesnourish your soul juicesDo you like fresh and nutritious juices and smoothies? Well, you’re in luck!

Boston’s first cold-pressed juicing shop, Nourish Your Soul, is opening a third location upstairs at Healthworks Back Bay (441 Stuart Street, Boston) in the heart of Copley Square.

Joining South Boston (15 Channel Center Street, Boston) and West Medford (17 Playstead Road, Medford), the new Back Bay location will be Healthworks’ primary café and is open to the public.

Also, for the first time, Nourish Your Soul will offer breakfast and lunch items, in addition to cold-pressed juice, made-to-order smoothies, cold-brewed coffee and snacks.

Susan Cabana, the company’s founder, is also a health and wellness expert. Her personal story is quite compelling.

At age 37,  she was suddenly widowed and left alone to raise her three young daughters. Then she lost her job. She explains how she started to heal herself and founded her business along the way.

I started running and then found yoga. It was on my yoga mat when my teacher asked the question, “What would you do if you had no barriers or fears?”

In that moment, I knew I wanted to pursue a career of helping people heal themselves through a healthy lifestyle that includes food, movement, meditation, gratitude, and, of course, juice.

The biggest transformation in my life was adding one green juice a day. Nourish your Soul is more than just a juice & smoothie shop.  Each juice and smoothie we create heals and nourishes the body.

At Nourish Your Soul, we empower individuals to achieve optimal health and happiness one breath, moment, and sip at a time.

Most of us are trying to find ways to live happier and healthier lives. Yoga, meditation and eating healthy all resonate deeply with me. Nourish Your Soul sounds like a wonderful place to regroup, refresh and nourish yourself. I’m looking forward to trying many of their offerings. For people into cleanses, they have those too.

If you’d like to try some free samples, head over to the new location in Copley tomorrow 5pm – 7pm for their Grand Opening. Also, enter for a chance to win giveaways like cleanses and gym membership discounts!

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Photos courtesy of The Moxie Agency.