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Mar 11

Workshop recap: Bowen Appétit goes Gothic (krapfen, hippocras, and illuminated manuscripts)

Here’s a little change of pace for you – a brief Bowen Appétit history lesson: In 1440, European bakers established the pastrymakers’ guild. Until that point, pastries and pies were under the control of the guild that pertained to the filling – for instance, a pigeon pie would fall under the poultry guild – but the creation of this guild allowed pâtissiers to produce both sweet and savory items and to control a much broader swath of commercial activity.

Krapfen

As any modern baker would tell you, the importance of this historical event cannot be underestimated.

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Mar 8

Strawberry cake, a fixation

I can get a little fixated on things sometimes. I’ll be the first to admit it. But together with a growing sense that it’s “no big deal” to churn out another batch of cookies or another shaker of cocktail or, in this case, another layer cake, that tendency to fixate means that sometimes I’m making a sizable volume of something in order to make sure I know how I like it best.

Strawberry_cake

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Mar 5

Weekend links, March 5

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Friday afternoon at The Getty. LA is kind of pretty sometimes, I admit. 

All I want lately is roasted vegetables. (And cake, and bourbon. But let’s focus on the roasted veggies …) Here are some good ideas for changing up the roasted veggie game.

Permaculture urban food forest. Four things I love, even better together. Way to go, Seattle.

Speaking of cake and bourbon, here’s a cake that should just be called Bowen Temptation Cake.

A social history of white bread, written by our cousin’s professor at Whitman. (Speaking of which – Professor of Food Politics? Almost makes me want to get a PhD. Almost …)

It’s a super busy week ahead, including two little catering jobs, three teaching nights, and a daylong workshop on Saturday. And more posts to write! Lots of fun stuff coming up, including a lovely pink cake, some sweet-tart little citrus-coconut tartlets, and a recap of the fantastic Medieval desserts (yes, for real) workshop we did at The Getty on Friday. Stay tuned!

Mar 3

Winter cocktail: Kumquat-mint daquiri

We just spent five lovely days with our dear friends and their beautiful son. We cooked together, we took walks, we had a fire in the backyard, we drank wine, we listened to music, we went to the zoo, and we enjoyed what seems to be our yearly retreats together – full of important conversation and the making of plans and a wonderful, grounding connection with each other. I loved spending time with their toddler, my godson. He’s the first child with whom I’ve ever had a substantial relationship, and it’s amazing to see the world through his 17-month-old eyes.

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Sticky_buns

Baby_orang

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Feb 27

Weekend links, Feb. 27

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Pizza dough ready to rise, Friday evening.

I’m a little preoccupied today by the presence of an adorable 17-month-old, but I still have a few things to pass along.

You should probably look at these ridiculously beautiful photographs of fireflies.

This cake has been on my “to make” list for a while, and I’m excited to make it today for a potluck at Brett’s office tomorrow. Also, yes – I apologize for posting this since it’s probably not strawberry season for most of you. We are super lucky to have strawberries at the farmer’s market about 11 months out of the year, and that is something I try not to take for granted.

Experimenting today also with a slightly Mexican-inspired version of my favorite banana cream pie. Cinnamon-infused and agave-sweetened pastry cream, cajeta instead of caramel sauce, cinnamon whipped cream, and Mexican red bananas. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Now back to pretending this remote control is a telephone and giving airplane rides through the living room. Have a great week!

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