Spherification, Gelification and Foams, oh my!!

Several years ago I was watching a show on Food Network about foods of the future. It was burned into my mind that day... A chef wanted people to "taste light", so he melted sugar and blew it by hand into the shape of a lightbulb. He "served" it with orange oil, which was spritzed into the air as patrons broke the delicate sugar bulb and dissolved it on their tongues.

Another chef wanted to reinvent the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He made a sphere of peanut butter and froze it in liquid nitrogen. At this point, he liquified the jelly and dipped the frozen peanut butter into the jelly to coat completely. The peanut butter was still so cold that it froze the coating of jelly. He added several more layers of the jelly before setting it aside.  He wanted to get the essense of bread without the same texture, so he made a "soup" out of the bread and plated that first. He then added the pb&j sphere to the plate, and by then the jelly had melted and made a gelatinous shell around the peanut butter.

Why all the effort? And how is this all done? The culinary community a terribly competitive world, so it makes sense that chefs are looking for ways to set themselves apart from others.

More like a prolonged chemistry experiment, molecular gastronomy uses such chemicals as calcium lactate gluconate, xanthan and sodium alginate. Chefs rely on the "cooking" properties of mixing said chemicals in a water bath and work their "cooking" magic on the ingredients, creating spheres with a gummy outer shell and a liquid interior or turning liquids into solid spheres such as spherical yogurt or spherical "olives" made from olive juice. As this is considered fine dining, the portions are small, usually served on Chinese soup spoons. These recipes can take over 24hrs, it can be time-consuming to set up the water bath.

Photo credit: http://www.molecularrecipes.com/spherification/
Visit site to view recipes!

Molecular gastronomy completely challenges how we view food. I found a recipe for "ice cream", only it's served hot. As it cools, it begins to melt. It's more like a custard or pudding from what I read, but it's called ice cream because as it comes closer to room temperature, it melts, just as ice cream would.

So when I saw a preview for a show on Syfy for a show called Marcel's Quantum Kitchen, which was ALL about a chef who does special events tailored around a molecular gastronomy menu, I was thrilled! It's a total chemistry experiment, and it's so inspiring to see people use their imaginations (and science) to turn our traditional notions of food on its bum. It's on in FIVE minutes. Can't wait!

Visiting Nature

So often we get bombarded by daily life--skyscrapers, cell phones, laptops, traffic. Wake up, sit at the computer for 8 hours (or 9 in my case) and go home, only to have to look forward to the same thing the next day. We get so caught up in our own little technology bubbles that we, on occasion, need to just burst that bubble and relax for a minute! I find it amusing that while at one point in time (and not even that long ago) most of a person's work was done outdoors, tending to the fields or livestock, we now seek the outdoors as a means to escape the monotony and boredom, to detox from daily life.

It is for this reason a couple weeks ago that, when my co-workers invited me to join them in going to the Botanic Gardens in Encinitas, I thought it would be a lovely idea. We hopped in the car and drove to Encinitas. The drive alone is picturesque, as you drive up the 5 there's an amazing ocean view to the west that always makes me want someone else to drive so I can stare out the window, especially as the afternoon sun draws closer to the horizon.

We arrived at around 1030 to the delicate fragrance of cookies and pineapple. Why it smelled like that I have no clue, but it was a beautiful aroma of sweet florals wafting through the air. With more than 4 acres of gardens to explore, we decided to start at one end and work our way around the circle.

We began close to the gift shop and wound our way through the New Zealand, Central American, Canary Islands and Australian Gardens. Each garden has plants native to its appellation, various blooms and plants for as far as the eye can see.

The Children's Garden was my favorite, I think. They had a very interesting plant whose name I no longer recall, with beautiful drop blossoms and quarter-sized spheres with a curious texture.

Farther up the path are beautiful hibiscus flowers. Not only are they enticing to look at in their simplicity, I love hibiscus for tea on a cool cloudy day like today, or iced with some sugar for an agua fresca, to beat the hot summer sun-- and once upon a time, I even found candied hibiscus at Trader Joe's, which was delicious.

Walking past the waterfall in the Tropical Rain Forest, one may cross a bridge to an overlook. Of this, I wish I would have taken a picture. Looking down from the gazebo is all of Encinitas, newly built dream houses with white picket fences. Sigh, maybe someday. Looking outward, to the west, is the most picturesque ocean view. Light breeze, warm sun. On the edge, the very edge of the horizon, the eye makes out a large ship, moving along the waters shimmering from the afternoon sun...

By the time I realize I am still entranced by the ocean view, we've meandered to the Fruit Garden. Banana trees abound. Citrus trees have maturing fruit, tempting visitors to disregard the "DO NOT PICK FRUIT". It wasn't until now that I understood Adam and Eve's temptation!! What a shame that some of those perfect lemons and cara cara oranges with their deliciously pink flesh were on the floor.

On our way to the Herb Garden we found ourselves in the Desert Garden. Another lovely ocean view, but I chose to focus on the garden, which to my surprise had succulents mixed in with these:

And finally, walking through the Bamboo Garden, we saw many species of bamboo. My favorite was a two-toned bamboo with deep yellow stripes against the bright green shoots. Walking through one can also see the sculptures donated by local artists which reflect the tone of each garden. But the plants speak for themselves.

On the way out, I noticed that the Botanic Garden also has events on a regular basis, like a Chocolate Festival (in May, I'd love to go!) and a Lady Bug Day (my favorite insect). Visiting the Botanic Gardens set me right as rain. The relaxed pace at which we toured the gardens allowed me to literally stop and smell the flowers. Sometimes that's all we need to get us ready to go back to the real world.... Now where's my cell phone??

Beer Cuisine, Part Deux

Ohhhhh kay, I just got word of what my friend has planned for the tasting party. He was definitely busy, he's got 5 (count 'em, FIVE!) brews to be sampled. He sent me a description of each one, which I shall paraphrase. Aaaaand the ideas are rollin'! These are all PRELIMINARY ideas!! No passing judgments on my brainstorm session!

1. English Mild Ale -- ~3.5% ABV, dark english ale
Light-bodied, light to medium brown in color, lower carbonation
Very low hop flavor, but should be spicy and earthy hops with slight fruitiness. Very subtle chocolately/nutty taste, slight molasses flavor from brown sugar. Expected to be a very light fruity ale with enough dark malt backbone to make it interesting.
MY THOUGHTS: When I read spicy/earthy my mind immediately ventured into the cinnamon (spice) and oatmeal (earth) realm of desserts. The fruitiness kinda throws me off right now. When I hear fruitiness I usually think citrus but it doesn't sound like that's the case here. The molasses and nutty tones still make me think something simple (yet delicious) with oatmeal (maybe with a dash of cocoa infused in the dough/batter, etc.) may complement this brew. I still need to think about this some more, as I think even the texture of the cookie should contribute to the tasting experience.

2. German 'Altbier' Ale -- ~5% ABV
Color is copper to very light brown, with some red hues, high carbonation
Clean finish, 'grainy' German malts, spicy hop bitterness, lighter body with a very dry finish. Like a refreshing light German lager, but with a bit more color and flavor.  Flavor is slight bready and toasty, fine spicy/floral aroma.
MY THOUGHTS: Bready and toasty popped out at me, initial thoughts are of a sweet bread of some sort to bring those flavors out. Maybe something with toasted almonds or pecans... The spicy and floral can be added with some creativity... Maybe eclairs with a filling infused with toasted nuts... I'll need to ask what kind of floral tones we're dealing with...
3. English Extra Special Bitter (ESB) -- ~5.5% ABV
Clear orange/copper appearance with minimal head
Bready-tasting malts, and earthy hops, moderate fruitiness. Slightly caramel-sweet finish, but not overly sweet. Similar to #1, but higher alcohol content, more earthy hoppiness, lighter color and flavor. Bready, biscuity flavor on the finish.
MY THOUGHTS: Biscuity flavor draws my mind to shortbread cookies or biscotti, not a lot of sweetness to those cookies, which would complement the beer. If I were to make the cookies out of brown sugar vice white sugar it may bring out more of the caramel tones in the beer.

4. American Brown Ale -- ~5.5%
Dark Brown color, Medium body and medium to high carbonation
Nutty/chocolately, caramel malts, flavor typical of brown ales. Fair amount of citrus, tastes a bit like a dark, more-richly flavored Pale Ale.
MY THOUGHTS: Chocolate and orange. Somehow. But not a strong, uber sweet chocolate, maybe bittersweet chocolate at most.

5. Strong American Amber with Honey and Spruce -- ~8%
Very deep red color, Medium to full body, high carbonation, big creamy lasting head.
Strong hoppy red ale with piney/sprucey/honey flavor, balanced by loads of sweet caramel malts. Could be a wild card.
MY THOUGHTS: Honey and caramel, check. The pine... Hmmm. I am very intrigued and I think he's right that this could definitely turn out to be a wild card. It's a bold pairing but I like the sense of adventure. Something with pine nuts maybe? There's a bacon-y smokiness about pine nuts, which stimulates my imagination as to how it'd taste when mixed with caramel or molasses flavors. I think my dessert will be just as adventuresome as this brew.

Initial thoughts aside, I don't want to just whip up a batch of cookies for each beer. I'd like to think along the lines of cookies, bread, pastries, ice cream, maybe even a tiramisu type dish if I could get the flavor combinations right. I want to find balances of texture as well as flavor, I don't want the same cookie-cutter (pun intended) line up. So for this I will need to brainstorm more. And that quite possibly may entail experimentation. I can't wait.

Beer Cuisine

Yesterday at a Friday afternoon happy hour with co-workers, one of my co-workers divulged that he had a couple of batches of home brews which will be ready for tasting soon. He mentioned that he would like to have a tasting party in a few weeks. He asked me if I might be able to make some desserts which would complement his brews.

So I got to thinking, what is my favorite thing in this whole entire world--combinations!!! A firm believer in the "two heads are better than one" school of thought--everything gets better when it has a partner in crime. The added complexity and completion from the marriage of two things (keep it simple!!)--anything from color combinations (hello orange and navy blue!) that please the eye to food (mmm peanut butter and chocolate) to finding awesome desserts that pair with varying flavors of beer--an intriguing challenge. I am soooo excited!

Not being able to drink wine puts me in a difficult position--I'd like to be educated about pairing food with alcoholic beverages, but because of my allergy I cannot partake in the countless weekend courses pairing wines with cheese, chocolate, and entrees. I know there are courses out there for pairing with beer, but I think my unbiased ignorance will make it fun; I get free reign to play with flavor combinations so long as I know what to expect from the beers that my friend is making. Even then, there are no set rules for pairing, it's a "to each his own" sort of realm to experiment. So that I shall do.

After a 5 minute browsing sesh I found that pairing beer is much like selecting a diamond. Only with beer, there're only three C's, not four. :)

The 3 C's to keep in mind:
- Cut
- Complement
- Contrast

Before learning that, I just thought I'd complement the beers. Because I don't know what exactly to expect from the beers (I don't quite know what we'll be tasting yet), I am at this point hesitant to offer a dessert that the beer will cut or contrast. That being said, I know like with magnets, opposites most certainly attract, so I will keep that in mind but venture on the side of caution.

When I think of lighter beers like lagers and light ales, my mind immediately goes into brainstorm mode. I think poultry, grilled veggies, barbeque, summer, thirst-quenching. Usually simpler than most beers, they can be enjoyed in larger quantity (within responsible limits, of course) and upon further thought, maybe I do want a dessert that will contrast with a lager or light ale, should my friend happen to have us sample such a brew.

When I think of wheat beers I think of bread, citrus, coriander, spice, pumpkin, banana, fruit, vanilla even. Wheat beers are my favorite. I can drink them with most of what I eat because they're light enough to be served with seafood, chicken, veggies, and have enough going on to keep drinking it with a light dessert.

Amber ales--not as hoppy as the stronger (my less favorite) bitter India pale ales, more malty and generally more complex than it's aforementioned sisters. I think of caramels, burnt sugar perhaps, sweetness, but still with a linger of hops. I'm struggling with this one. Do I want to pair it with caramel flavors? Would it just meld in with the beer's flavor and get lost? My goal is to find a balance, one way or the other, such that neither beer nor dessert be overwhelmed by the other. Requires more thought...

Bitter ales--these probably being my least favorite of all beers, I'm not usually a huge fan of hoppy brews. They seem unfinished to my palate. But, never one to snub most food or beverage without judging them for myself (well, there may be exceptions), I shall attempt my best shot at brainstorming. Because of their strong nature, I want to find something that will stand up to the hops, without being rich in the chocolaty sense. I might have to sample a bitter ale just to get a better grasp on this one...

Porters, stouts--my second favorite. I think smoky flavors, mesquite, chocolate, creamy, oatmeal, Irish cream, strong and robust flavors that you can find underlying in the beers themselves. I also think of hearty fruits that pair well with chocolate like raspberries and blackberries. This is probably going to be the easiest class of beer to pair.


My favorite stout, sweet and delish. Perfect with any dessert.

I have not had too much exposure to Bocks, of which I sampled one with my dad, who's favorite is Celebrator's Doppelbock. If I recall correctly it was rick, dark and hoppy. I prefer the maltiness of the stouts and porters. Maybe something with bitter chocolate would pair well?

And last but certainly not least (the IPA's were farther up the list!) the lambics. Oh Lambics, how I love thee. These are special brews because they are double-fermented and usually sweet. Some can be sour and fruity as well. I think of salads with vinaigrettes and fruity desserts with vanilla. Sour lambics are a bit more challenging to pair, but the tartness of cherries (in particular) currently come to mind.

Lindeman's Framboise, possibly the most popular lambic around

Sooo many beers, so many possibilities!!

I need a vacation!!

This week has been long! I mean yes, it is the same hourly duration as any other week, but perhaps it is life's daily stresses that make my mind scream "vacay!"!! Where my humble pocketbook dost not venture, my mind can...

Back in 2001 my uncle got married in Sonoma. I was in high school at the time, so I didn't enjoy Sonoma for most reasons that people head up north. That and I was not even remotely aware that I was allergic to wine. Anyways, the road trip alone with all my cousins was loads of fun. From accidentally flinging a tomato which landed on a fast food booth's glass divider, sliding down the glass leaving a trail of secret sauce as we filled the entire restaurant with roaring laughter--to classing it up with a trip on the Napa Valley Wine Train for the Rehearsal Dinner, it is to this day one of the most memorable road trips I have been on.

The Sonoma Mission Inn is where the wedding was held. Wherever the eyes roam is a new picture perfect for framing. Driving up the long driveway all you can see is a vast compound. You really can't tell what awaits until the valet opens your door and you step outside...

As teenagers who were somewhat restless after a couple hours of the evening's festivities, we decided to roam the grounds. We stumbled into the pool at dusk. The water looked so inviting, like the warmth would melt all the stresses and worries away.

We also walked around the corner where we saw the spa. Oh how I would love love love to get a massage from one of their masseuses and relax in a luxurious cabana outdoors! I can see myself relaxing there now... The ambiance of the afternoon light, the soothing scent of lavender massage oil, soft soothing music so far in the background you must be at complete peace to hear it. Muscles relaxing, tension letting go...

Being there then, I didn't appreciate all that I saw. But revisiting it in my mind, everything about the place, from the attention to interior design details, to the landscaping and architecture--everything-- entices guests to check their worries at the door. So to you, Sonoma Mission Inn, I leave my worries. You can have 'em.



The little plumeria that could (I hope)

I finally got around to going to the local hardware store and picked out a cute pot with a hole in the bottom. I proceeded to spend $7 on 5lbs of rocks which I think is kinda dumb since I could have just found some or something. Picked up some sand. Grabbed some soil. Ok, I think I got this. Maybe.

What you need to know about me is the reason I've been putting off planting my little plumeria is because I'm TERRIFIED. Over the course of the last couple years I've killed multiple orchid plants, a beautiful hydrangea which changed colors over the course of its blooming (I have yet to find another one that does that--it was a special hybrid that I found at Lowe's one day while I was on a mission to make my grandparents' anniversary invitations and I needed to press some green flowers to make the invites), countless herbs, and yes, even a few cacti!!!!!! I don't know what it is with me, but for some reason I have a very difficult time keeping plants alive. As we speak I have a bamboo shoot that is dying in a ceramic pot in my bathroom. You only have to let those things sit in water--how does it manage to die on me?!?!

Not wanting to bear all of the burden of this plant perhaps not taking root, I had the bf help me out. I figured if I had an accomplice it wouldn't be all my fault if the thing never decided to grow. So off we started. Poured rocks at the bottom. Added the mix of sand and dirt. Planted the stalk in the soil a third of the way in. Water generously, then again only when the soil is completely dry (ok well I have yet to do the last part, it's still wet).


Spartacus wanted to help too

I even took it inside after I planted it because over the weekend it was hailing. I did have enough common sense to know that a tropical plant probably wouldn't be too keen on being left outside in the freezing cold. That's just cruel.

Keeping my fingers crossed that it does well, takes root, and starts sprouting some leaves!