I Leave Them with Cookies and Milk

Today I leave for France where I will be teaching a 4-day food styling and photography workshop in the dream-like background of the Dordogne region.

Our workshop will be held at this amazing manoir. Can you guys believe this place? I cannot wait to swim in this pool. The weather is expected to be beautiful. We couldn't ask for better conditions.

However, this is the first time I will be traveling without my babies. It will feel strange not to have them with me. "I want to come with you amatxu" Jon said to me this morning when I drove him to school. He will be quite the traveler one day.



My parents are here taking care of the children while I'm away and C. works.

I baked lots of goodies for them this week. Chocolate and apple muffins, rice and coconut milk puddings with sauteed apples, red currant shortbreads, and multigrain chocolate and hazelnut cookies with a touch of sea salt. I left some of the cookie dough in the freezer for this next week, in case there are unexpected cravings. Are cravings ever unexpected anyway?

I promised them they could have cookies and milk everyday after school. It caused quite the excitement.



So I am off for now.

I will be back in a few days hopefully with photos from our workshop, Dordogne, and from a day in Paris.

Be good and see you soon!

Multigrain Chocolate and Hazelnut Cookies

Makes 20 cookies

2 oz (55 g) hazelnuts
8 Tbs (110 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 g) natural cane sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, room temperature
3/4 cup (105 g) superfine brown rice flour
1/4 cup (35 g) teff flour
1/4 cup (35 g) quinoa flour
1/4 cup (35 g) amaranth flour
1/4 cup (30 g) tapioca starch
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 oz (85 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped (or mini chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Bake the hazelnuts for 7 minutes. Remove them from oven and transfer them to a clean kitchen towel. Rub the hazelnuts against the towel to remove their skins. Let them cool and roughly chop them. Reserve.

In the bowl of a stand mixer on medium high speed, mix the butter, brown sugar, and natural cane sugar with the paddle attachment until light, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and egg and mix until combined.

Whisk together the superfine brown rice flour, teff flour, quinoa flour, amaranth flour, tapioca starch, salt, and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture. Mix on medium speed until dough comes together. Add the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate. Mix to combine.

Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment and roll into a log that is approximately 2 inches in diameter and 13 inches long. Chill the cookie dough for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350F (180C).

Cut the cookie dough into 1/2 inch disks. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicon mat. Space them 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Remove from oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before picking them up.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

The dough can also be frozen tightly wrapped for up to 3 months.

continue for recipes...

What We Crave on a Rainy Day

Even though I love to travel and explore, I am really a homebody inside. I like to be home, gather my friends around me, and cook for them in the warmth of my kitchen. It is especially true these days as my parents are with us once again for a few weeks. It is crowded, noisy with children craving their attention, but most of all, joyous.

My parents really are the best house guests ever - my kids' faces say it all.



"Did you already make a list?" my mom asked over the phone as she was getting ready to board the plane. She knows I always have a grocery list - of course I do! I am always cooking and shopping for food. "I am craving soups" I told her a few hours later. She had just deplaned and I was already sharing my cravings for food. She agreed. I knew then we would be lots of soups.

We loaded up on celery root, fennel, sweet potatoes, different varieties of winter squash, legumes (we are making my favorite garbanzo and cabbage soup this week), apples, pears, and all things autumn on our first visit to the market.



The rainy weather for the past few days has been the perfect excuse to stay home and cook. Even the kids love to help out in the kitchen as Miren's new favorite activity is to whisk eggs for me. We let her sit on the kitchen counter while she beats the eggs for waffles and muffins, and Jon carefully stirs the soup. My mom guides them through the process. They seem to listen to her more than they listen to me. It makes me smile.



We cooked a celery root, fennel, and sweet potato soup that we served with almond and parsley pesto. It is one of my new favorites. I can never get enough of celery root.

Also caramelized onion, fennel, and purple potato tarts in a buckwheat crust. So delicious. This buckwheat crust recipe is from the book so I cannot share it with you just yet, but do make these tarts with whatever other crust you like. I beg you -- make them. You will thank me. So easy and so good.

For dessert, chocolate and pistachio cakes. We also made fig and red currant custard with hazelnuts. This one is sweet and really silky. Both are adaptations of recipes from the book. Believe me, I am recipe testing every chance I get.



My mom and I will continue with our obsession to cook. We cannot help ourselves. Are you the same way?

Oh and yes... I am still waiting for autumn to arrive. Sooner than later, please.

Celery Root, Fennel, and Sweet Potato Soup with Almond Parsley Pesto

Almond and Parsley Pesto

1 clove garlic
1/4 cup blanched almonds
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
3 Tbs grated Idiazabal cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil

In the food processor, finely chop the garlic and almonds. Add the parsley and chop until it turns into a chunky paste. Add the Idiazabal and salt and process until combined. Drizzle in the olive oil while processing until it turns into a thick paste. Reserve.

Celery Root, Fennel and Sweet Potato Soup

serves 4 to 6

2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 medium fennel bulb, diced
2 medium celery roots, peeled and diced
2 japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 russet potato, peeled and diced
3 sprigs thyme
1 quart chicken stock
salt and pepper

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and fennel. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the celery root, sweet potato, potato, thyme, and chicken stock. Bring liquid to a boil over medium high heat, reduce heat to medium low, cover the pot, and cook for 15 minutes until vegetables are tender. Puree in a blender. Add water if soup is too chunky. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the soup with the almond and parsley pesto.


Purple Potato and Caramelized Fennel Tarts

makes six 4-inch tartlets or one 9-inch tart

1 batch of your favorite savory tart dough (see this or this)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
3/4 tsp salt, plus more for topping
1/2 tsp black pepper, plus more for topping
2 sprigs thyme
1 lb (450g) small purple potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (with a mandoline)
Sprouts or microgreens, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400F (200C).

Roll your tart dough to 1/4 to 1/8" thickness. Fill your tart pans with the dough. Chill the dough while preparing the filling.

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and fennel. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook the vegetables until tender and slightly caramelized, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Fill the tarts with the caramelized onion and fennel mixture. Top with the purple potatoes slices overlapping.

Bake the tarts for 40 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy and the crust is cooked. Sprinkle potatoes with a bit of salt and pepper and serve with some sprouts or microgreens. Serve warm or at room temperature.

continue for recipes...

Where the Apple Trees Are

There are those things in our lives that we take for granted. Things that surround us and we barely notice as we walk by. We go on with our lives and as we grow older and move away, we feel this void. We cannot pinpoint what it is, but we feel anxious as though something is missing. A void and a longing.

For me that feeling comes back every late summer and into autumn when I dream of the apple trees of my childhood.



I grew up surrounded by natural beauty. Raw, tangled, mossy, glistening natural beauty. River streams lined with beech and hazelnut trees, fig trees on the side of the road, blackberry bushes poking through the schoolyard fence, wild apple trees that belong to no one and to everyone -- treasures everywhere.

I never really appreciated this until I moved away and realized that not many have experienced such wilderness around them. Today, living in Florida, I feel all these elements are a luxury in life and so hard to come by.



"You cannot imagine how much I miss seeing these trees" I mentioned to my dad as we were driving around the countryside. I sat on the passenger seat while Miren napped in the back. "I know exactly where to take you" my dad replied. Five minutes later we pulled into Uxarte Sagardotegia right outside of town. It is an old farmhouse turned cider-house and restaurant. The owner's wife was actually my kindergarten teacher so we know the family well. Their property is filled with different varieties of apple, pears, and hazelnut trees. All the cider is pressed right on their property from the apples in their backyard. It is remarkable.

Late August is the month of pink apples. Row after row of trees with red apples glistening in the afternoon sun -- such a beautiful sight. The Reinetas, which are actually my favorite baking variety, come a bit later in September, but they were already ripening.

We walked around amongst the trees. Miren who had just woken up jumped out of the car and ran towards the field. She knew exactly what to do and didn't waste any time. She sat on the grass surrounded by apples -- she smiled like a kid in a candy store.



That same evening we visited my uncle Javi. The sun was setting and his sheep were out in the pasture for one last feeding. All the little cousins had gathered that afternoon. While they played, I took a walk alone to the apple orchard -- almost storybook scenery. Pink apple trees in the middle of a sea of dandelions, wild mint, and other wildflowers. "I could live right here -- in this same spot" I thought to myself.

I picked some apples for us. I had ideas of what to make with them, of course. I wait for this moment all year long. Back at my parents, I baked a roasted apple and prune cake with yogurt and olive oil -- a slight variation of this one. My brother Jokin was craving our childhood cake and how could I say no, right? the cake was gone that same night.



Since we returned back to Florida, I have been obsessed with apples. Impossible to find the heirloom varieties that we had back home, but still very excited about them as they are the first fruit of autumn.

I cooked a carrot and apple soup flavored with cumin, coriander, and piment d'Espelette I brought back from our trip.

Also a shaved fennel, apple, watercress, and hazelnut salad with scallops and a simple vinaigrette flavored with hazelnut oil.

But of course, what I was excited about was what I was going to make for dessert. I baked an apple cake from my upcoming book, which is great every time. Also from the book a clafoutis, and my latest obsession, roasted apple and brown butter madeleines.



I roasted the apples in a little bit of butter, sugar, and vanilla beans until tender and then pureed it into thick applesauce. This goes into the madeleine batter along with brown butter and hazelnut flour.

I baked them in batches so we could enjoy them warm out of the oven with a little dusting of powdered sugar. I cannot wait until I make my next batch.



Carrot and Apple Soup with Cumin and Coriander

Serves 4 to 6

2 tbs olive oil
1 large shallot, peeled and minced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 lb (450 g) carrots, peeled and diced
2 Gala apples, peeled, cored and diced
3 sprigs thyme leaves
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/8 to 1/4 tsp piment d'Espelette
2 3/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

In a stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the apple, thyme, salt, cumin, coriander and piment d'Espelette. Stir and cook for 1 minute.

Add the chicken stock, bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, cover the pot, and cook for 15 minutes ot until the vegetables are tender. Puree with a blender. Add coconut milk and adjust seasoning if needed.

Brown Butter and Roasted Apple Madeleines

Makes 20 large madeleines

Roasted Apples

3 small Gala apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
1 tbs natural cane sugar
1 tab unsalted butter

Combine all ingredients in a baking dish. Bake at 400F for 20 to 25 minutes until the apples are soft and slightly caramelized. Puree them in the food processor.

Brown Butter and Roasted Apple Madeleines

7 tbs (100 g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (70 g) superfine brown rice flour
1/4 cup (35 g) quinoa flour
1/4 cup (25 g) hazelnut flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp xanthan gum (optional. makes the madeleines keep more of their volume when baked)
2 eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs (125 g) natural cane sugar
1/2 cup (140 g) roasted apple puree

Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat until milk solids start to brown. Strain through a fine sieve and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together the superfine brown rice flour, quinoa flour, hazelnut flour, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the eggs and sugar on high speed for 5 minutes until light and thick. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Add the brown butter and roasted apple puree and mix until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap making sure the plastic touches the batter. This will ensure no skim forms on top.

Chill the batter for 2 hours. Spoon the batter into greased madeleine pan. Chill this pan again while we preheat the oven.

Preheat oven to 425F. Bake madeleines for 12 to 15 minutes. Do not open the oven during the first 10 minutes.

Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.

continue for recipes...

My Spring 2012 Food Styling & Photography Workshop at The Makerie, and Some Other News

I have always wanted to be a part of our a group of artists and artisans. I still dream about the day where I will have a studio space that I can share with others and where creativity can flow. I want to feel inspired. So when Ali from The Makerie reached out to me to see if I would be interested in teaching a food styling and photography, I jumped on the idea.

The Makerie is a 2-day creative retreat in the beautiful town of Boulder, Colorado; right in the middle of the Colorado Rockies. Days are filled with morning yoga, hiking, creative workshops taught by some amazing women, and meals that offer the best of Colorado's cuisine.



The workshop will be April 20-21, 2012.

I will be teaching two food styling and photography workshops where I will walk you through my personal process of selecting ingredients, cooking, styling, and shooting. The workshop will be limited to 15 students each day and it is open to anyone who is interested in improving their skills. You can register and find more details here.



On another note, I also wanted to let you know about a story I wrote, styled, and photographed for the current issue of Living Without. Four delicious recipes for gluten and dairy free autumn soups. The magazine is on newsstands now.

Another one of my recipes, the rhubarb and pistachio crumble custard, was featured in the latest Williams-Sonoma cookbook called "Home Baked Comfort". The book features recipes from bakers across the country along with some other fellow bloggers. It is now for sale at Williams-Sonoma shops and will be available in all other bookstores in February 2012.



Hope you can join me at The Makerie!

continue for recipes...

The Last Days of Summer

I have always said that September is my spring.

As summer comes to an end, I feel a tremendous sense of beginning. Excited for new things to happen and the year to unfold.



We spent our last days in the Basque Country exploring. Little corners of the world that only my dad knows well. Remote villages, a river stream lined with fig trees, or a field filled with wildflowers where we spotted a few leftover poppies from spring. These are the places where my dad feels at ease and loves to share with us.



In the nature preserve of Pagoeta, we saw the first signs of autumn as maple trees were beginning to turn colors. The skies were bright blue and leaves burnt orange. Jon followed my dad's footsteps with a wooden stick in hand looking for mushrooms and picking wild strawberries. "Aitite, can you tell me the tales of fairies and mountain giants?" Jon asked. Stories that my dad tells to him at night, before bedtime. He listened in awe as we walked the forest.

We picked wild blackberries in Urkiola and ate them with yogurt panna cotta that I made for dessert.



During our visits, my parents' home becomes a gathering place. We sit tightly around their kitchen table, elbow to elbow, eating course after course. For one of our last meals, I cooked a risotto with russulas my dad had found and red kuri squash I brought back from our trip to Iparralde. "This is so good!" my brother shouted -- nothing makes me feel better.

For dessert, a simple galette with mirabelle plums, white nectarines, and red currants. It was gone in minutes.



We also picked apples, figs, and peaches from my uncle Javi's garden. We took a walk around the property with him as he talked about his passion for gardening and pastry, his day job. "This has been a strange growing season" he said "Tomatoes have not done well, yet chestnuts are already opening up". Indeed. All the chestnut trees were full of bright green, prickly cocoons. Some even open -- a sign of things to come.

Back at home I made a apple, prune, and yogurt cake, similar to this one. The last days of summer would not be the same without an apple cake.

No, they would not.



Red Kuri Squash and Wild Mushroom Risotto

Serves 4 to 6

4 to 5 cups chicken stock
2 Tbs olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 leek, washed and sliced
1/2 medium red kuri squash, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup thinly sliced wild mushrooms (we used the russulas we picked)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/4 cup txakoli or any dry white wine you like
1/2 cup finely grated Idiazabal or Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs finely chopped parsley

Begin by heating the chicken stock over medium heat. Keep it warm until ready to use.

In a stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and leek. Cook until soft but not browned, about 3 minutes.

Add the diced red kuri squash. Stir and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 3 minutes. Season with salt.

Add the rice and stir it well so all the oil and flavors coat the rice. Add the txakoli or dry white wine and cook for 30 seconds until alcohol evaporates. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and cook stirring constantly until liquid is absorbed. Then proceed by adding another 1/2 cup of stock. Continue to cook the risotto storring constantly and adding more stock as needed until rice is cooked al dente, about 18 minutes.

Off the heat, add the grated Idiazabal and parsley. Stir to combine and serve immediately.

continue for recipes...