baked falafel with kale, shallots, and sumac tahini sauce

the farm is entirely too far away from a grocery store. 

i probably have a really low tolerance for this since i've always lived within spitting distance of a grocery store, or at least a bodega. 

but i get it. it's a farm, we're supposed to grow our own food? we can't only eat sugar beets though. and what do we do while our chickies are still growing, and same for our rhubarb?

(should i learn how to can?)

...my produce section of choice, the super target, is about half an episode of prairie home companion away, which isn't so bad when prairie home companion is actually on, but when it isn't, going there is such a chore. even when i know that skyr and a casual stroll by the bakeware section await me at the other end.

so i've started to make a mental list of things that can be prepared with ingredients i usually have on hand. i discovered that falafel was one of those things when i was inspired by whitney's baked falafel recipe to make batches and batches of the stuff, each with their own variations. eventually i realized that you can basically grind up chickpeas with anything, add a lot cumin, some coriander, and have some type of falafel. 

so i made a recipe that has some simple ingredients that i pretty much always keep in the kitchen: kale, shallots, a butt ton of garlic, a simple can of chickpeas, and lots of spices. and i wrote about it for molly on the range! if you are more of a spinach or chard person than a kale person, or don't have shallots but do have some onions, you can for sure make those substitutions. you can serve these puppies with any type of salad, in a pita, or just eat them straight!

get the recipe here.

-yeh!

bacon and egg shengjian bao (pan-fried steamed buns)

it has been so deliciously cloudy around these parts. it rains almost every day and i love it. it's perfect sweatpants and hoodie weather and the clouds create some very yummy photo lighting as well as the perfect backdrop for practicing three places in new england. 

this weather is not so perfect for farming though. every other day, for a few weeks now, eggboy says we're gonna start planting soon! but then it rains and it rains and planting gets delayed and he puts on a frown until i remind him that now we have time to get caught up with game of thrones.

in other news: i have felt guilty about letting almost a year go by of not making steamed buns. living with a gluten-free eggboy has its downside because who will share my buns with me?!

but today i woke up and thought fuck that! it's my birthday month, i'm making steamed buns and i'm gonna eat them all.

so i made them and i filled them with bacon and eggs as a nod to my all time favorite birthday breakfast, the humble breakfast sandwich. and then i decided to just go all the way and make shengjian bao, which are basically steamed buns... and then you fry them! (side note: henry james was wrong when he said that "summer" and "afternoon" were the most beautiful words in the english language, because i'm pretty sure that "and then you fry them" are more beautiful, no?)

typically shengjian bao have some soup in them, but these ones just have eggs, bacon, scallions, and a wee bit (a lot a bit) of parmesan. good thing i'm wearing stretchy pants!

bacon and egg shengjian bao

makes approximately 18 buns

ingredients

for the buns:

2 1/4 tsp yeast

1/2 c + 1 tsp sugar

3/4 c warm water

3 c flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 c milk (cow or almond)

1/4 c vegetable shortening, melted

for the filling:

6 strips bacon

3 stalks scallions, chopped

6 large eggs

a bit of cheese, optional

salt + pepper

for serving:

soy sauce

black vinegar or rice vinegar

a pinch of crushed red pepper

clues

to make the buns, proof the yeast with the 1 teaspoon of sugar in the warm water.

in a large bowl, combine the flour, remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, and salt. pour in the milk, vegetable shortening, and yeast mixture, and mix to form a dough. knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. transfer to a clean bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise for 2 hours.

to make the filling, crisp up the bacon and chop it into 1/2-inch pieces. in the bacon fat or a little olive oil, cook the scallions for 3 minutes. beat the eggs with a splash of water and the bacon pieces. pour the eggs in the pan and scramble them, keeping them pretty wet. don't overcook them because they'll cook a bit more when the buns steam. add in cheese, if desired, and season with salt and pepper.

roll or pat out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out 3-4 inch circles. you could also pinch off small balls of dough and roll them out into circles. fill with 1-2 tablespoons of filling and pinch shut. place on a square of parchment paper and in a bamboo or metal steamer, a few inches apart. let rise for 30 more minutes.

steam over a large pot of boiling water for 10-15 minutes, until doubled in size and cooked through.

coat a pan with vegetable oil, set it over medium-high heat, and lightly fry the steamed buns for a few minutes on each side, until browned.

to make the dipping sauce, combine 1 part soy sauce with 1 part vinegar and a pinch of crushed red pepper.

eat them all yourself!!! or share them. 

-yeh!

friday links + a giveaway winner

i made my first foray into the worlds of baked donuts, donut muffins, and gluten free donuts all at the same time yesterday, thanks to ashley and her kickass donut (!!!) book. pictured are some mini donut muffins of the matcha and raspberry glazed variety. next i am going to try her everything bagel donuts. (i know!)  

we had this gnocchi for dinner the other night and it was the tops.

i want to eat all of the british sweets and giggle all day at that eton mess comic.

i've been assembling recipes to make once the little patch of rhubarb in my backyard is fully grown, and i can't hardly wait! i am going to make coffee cake and tarts and datschi and so much more, it's going to be a rhubarb party and only rue and people named barb are invited.

eggboy and i read this article about saturated fat and then went out for bunless burgers about it.

me in bread form is a finalist for food52's best scallion recipe!

an interview in which sarah copeland recommends befriending a farmer. hehe.

bang on a can on arthur: everything. 

while gathering my summer reading list, i was sad to read a not-so-good review of ruth reichl's novel but so very excited to read this one of molly wizenberg's new book!

omg hello kitty airline meals

what is that emoji called with the little red hearts as eyes? that is me when i look at this.

have a good weekend, everyone!!!

oh! and a giveaway winner!! the winner of last week's meat n nuts giveaway is... miss charity! yay, charity! please send me an email with your mailing address :) yeh.molly@gmail.com

-yeh!

chocolate cupcakes with matcha green tea frosting

this morning i got off the star ferry at hong kong island. i was with mum and stoop and we were winding our way through the walkways as i texted aziz to let him know we'd be there for the day. i couldn't hardly wait to take mum and stoop to eat sugar-coated pork buns and mini cakes at ms. b's cakery. we were gonna go to yardbird, i was gonna show them the escalator. it was going to be the best day ever!

and then suddenly god was singing, in his best taylor swift voice, "we (bam!) are never ever everrrr getting back togetherrrrrr!!!" 

and eggboy had one foot out the door on his way to pick up wheat seed.

and mumbles the penguin was giving me stuffed animal eye from his seat by the window, while beyond him the sun and the evergreens giggled in my direction.

and i was not in hong kong.

the worst, right?!

luckily there were chocolate cupcakes and a pound of unsalted butter on my counter.

...that softened that blow.

you know, we say we're an egg-centric household, but i think in my real dreams, cake is my ideal breakfast. and guess what? eez my birthday month! so i'm gonna have just that, with green tea frosting because i am so into green tea and its beautiful natural green color these days. 

chocolate cupcakes with matcha green tea frosting

makes 24 cupcakes

ingredients

1 batch of my favorite chocolate cupcakes

4 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3 c powdered sugar

2 tsp matcha green tea powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

clues

once cakes are baked and cooled, beat together the butter, sugar, matcha powder, and vanilla. taste and add more sugar and/or matcha if desired.

frost away! (i have been having so much fun practicing these frosting techniques)

enjoy for breakfast :)

-yeh!