my oma didn’t particularly like cooking or baking, but she sure was good at it. in germany 3:00 is “coffee hour,” when germans everywhere eat a small meal that consists of coffee and sweet baked things. i love germany… the cakes tend to be less rich and less sweet than what we think of as cake here. they are typically dense and slightly dry. fruit is common. depending on the season, oma would make crumb cake, apple cake, plum cake, chocolate marble cake, cheese cake, and poppy seed cake, to name a few. plumb cake and cheese cake were my favorites. this time of year i start thinking about plums and was so excited to see italian prune plums at the farmers market this week. after consulting with my mom, who inherited oma’s 1940’s ‘how to be a german housewife” cookbook, i was able to bring back all the sensory memories of my dear sweet oma. the cake is just as good as i remember.
i bring you now the authentic, superior, recipe for german plum cake:

Oma’s plum cake

60-70 italian prune plums (2-3 lbs)
75-100grams butter (4 oz)
100 g sugar (1/2 cup)
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
375 g flour (3 cups)
4 tsp baking powder (dr oetker if you can find it)
1/8 -1/4 Liter milk (½ -1 cup)

cream the butter and sugar. Add egg & mix. Mix dry ingredients separately and then Gradually add to butter/egg mixture alternating with the milk. add enough milk that the batter “tears off the spoon when you lift it” like a thick muffin batter. use a wet spatula to spread into a buttered pan: a jelly roll pan, or small lasagna pan.
prep the plums by “cutting along their bum” as oma instructed me. remove the pit but do not cut them all the way in half. butterfly the plums and arrange them like little soldiers, almost standing on end overlapping with skin side down in the batter. you want to cram as many plums in as possible.

bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the top with sugar after it comes out of the oven. serve with coffee at 3:00pm sharp.
photo soon.

i just got back from a blissful day at oak glen. i would tell you all about it but i have a test in the morning so i really should be studying. for now i just want to tell you that the picnic was awesome. we had forbidden rice salad, gluten free savory cottage cheese almond muffins, and green beans. the menu was rounded out by ample fudge samples and apples. i highly recommend you try both recipes asap. if it’s not too late for a fall picnic where you live, so much the better.

summer has arrived in joshua tree. it’s hot and a bit humid, which means our swamp cooler is more of a placebo than climate control. in weather like this, only a handful of foods are appealing; salad, jello (not real jello, i make it out of juice), Hefeweizen, watermelon, ice cream, and of course okonomiyaki- savory japanese pancakes. i hear okonomiyaki are popular bar food in japan. something to eat while you drink beer. they are really easy to make, don’t require heating up the house, and can be made with whatever vegetables you have on hand. i usually make mine with shredded cabbage, grated carrots, zucchini, chopped spinach and slivered onions. bean sprouts are an obvious, but i rarely have them around.
they are especially good with the okonomiyaki sauce and sweet japanese mayonnaise -both of which can be purchased at an asian food store. since i don’t live near an asian food store, i make my own sauce out of dashi, mayonnaise, wortishire sauce, tamari, agave and ketchup. it sounds horrible, but it’s really good.
to make the pancakes:
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup dashi, vegtable broth, or water
2 cups or more shredded or grated vegetables
okonomiyaki sauce and mayo for garnish
fry in a bit of oil and flip when golden.

if you need more inspiration, check out some of the cool you-tube videos like this one:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeUHy0A1GF0]

harriet recommended the book ‘baking with julia’, based on a pbs series hosted by one of my favorites, julia child. i got the book from the library and proceeded to spin myself into a frenzy of sorts brought on by page after page of gorgeous photographs featuring the most awe and drool inspiring baked goods. an outsider may have thought i was reading a shocking political expose of the largest proportions, based on my exclamations of “oh my –!” and “are you freeking kidding me?!” but no, it was a cook book. my reaction is hard to describe, part of it was sheer disbelief that anyone would go to the lengths described in the directions, stuff like: “beat the dough vigorously for at least 30 minutes” “work very quickly as even the heat of your hands can set the dough rising again” “chill your marble pastry slab with a bag of ice before you begin” recipes that commonly take 48 hours to complete.) part of it was an intense longing to pull something that looked like these photos out of my own oven. and it was all mixed with some frustration at the amount of white sugar and white flour that each recipe was based on (meaning it was unlikely that i would pull an identical version out of my own oven.)
once i recovered myself a bit, i realized this book could serve as inspiration and jumping board to create my own versions of these insane recipes. versions that perhaps contain whole grain flours and alternatives to refined sugar. maybe even some protein?
my first try was sticky buns. julia’s version calls for the base to be a brioche dough. this fact alone was hard for me to get over. a brioche dough for sticky buns- who does she think she is? the notion is out of control. brioche is that french yeasted thing somewhere between challah and a croissant. very rich, airy, not too soft, not too sweet. it’s made with a long fermentation and 3/4 of a pound of butter. you see them as buns with perfect little top knots in french bakeries. don’t get me wrong, i love brioche, but brioche is plenty rich and decadent all on it’s own. to turn it into sticky buns is just so over the top, i apparently still can’t get over it.
i decided to make these for the supper club on sunday but neglected to notice that brioche dough must ferment in the fridge overnight before being baked. so i compromised and used a challah dough as a base. challah is also rich in butter and eggs, but is much closer to bread than pastry.  
i also omitted all refined sugar by using a bit of agave in the dough and honey for the caramel topping. throw in a bit of freshly milled whole wheat and flavorgirl has triumphed once again.
here’s my version of the recipe:

flavorgirls ultimate sticky buns

note: this makes a lot. you can halve the recipe or just be really popular by having lots for everyone.

dough:
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1/2 cup tepid water
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup agave or other sweetener
1 stick butter cut into pieces
1 cup whole milk (don’t substitute with anything other than goats milk)
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 eggs
4 cups unbleached or bread flour
2 -2 1/2  cups whole wheat flour

topping:
2 sticks butter
1 cup honey
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

filling:
chopped nuts
ground cinnamon
cup honey
raisens or currants (optional)

mix yeast, water and honey, set aside
set milk and butter in a sauce pan and heat until butter is fully melted and milk is very warm. (but not over 110F)
add yeast mixture to milk mixture along with your sweetener, eggs and salt
transfer to a large bowl or standing mixer fitted with dough hook.
add flour 1/2 cup at a time mixing with a wooded spoon, then kneading with your hands. until the dough is smooth, soft and elastic, about ten minutes.
transfer dough to a buttered mixing bowl. brush the top of the dough with butter and cover with buttered plastic. (we like butter)
let rise in warm spot for 1 to 1/2 hours, until doubled in bulk.

get your pan(s) ready by pressing the butter into the bottom, then pouring the honey on top, followed by the nuts. i used my big roasting pan. you can use 2 smaller glass baking dishes or cake pans if you prefer. they can be round or not…

divide your dough in half and roll out one piece at a time as thin as you have the patience for. spread butter on, then sprinkle lots of cinnamon, drizzle some honey or sucanat, followed by your nuts and raisins if using.
carefully roll up your dough and slice, placing each slice in your butter-honeyed pan.
repeat with other half of dough.
cover and let rise for an hour.
bake at 350 for 40-50min
remove from oven and invert onto a serving plate or cookie sheet. let cool and devour with coffee or hot chocolate.

on sunday i met someone i hope to get to know very well. her name is harriet, or, the harriet to a lot of locals. that would be harriet of pappy and harriets pioneer town palace, the famous honkey tonk in pioneer town. i don’t know the whole story, but i know she and pappy owned the club and harriot was the cook, and both of them played and sang in the house band. she was (and still is) known for feeding and houseing anyone in need, taking in teens and being ‘grandma’ to many. after pappy died harriet sold the club to wonderful young hipsters from new york.
i met her because she started a pie company. that is, she makes pies and sells them. darlene wanted a pie (plus an excuse to see harriet) to feed the sound crew of the music festival.
the property where harriet lives with her daughter made me feel like i was transported to the most romanticized version of ‘olden days’ i could imagine. harriets kitchen is a beautifully renovated barn, with screen doors, antique furniture, shinny copper pots hanging from wrought iron racks, a five burner chrome gas stove and oven that made me so jealous, a big handmade wooden kitchen table with benches, an old woodstove and a bookshelf full of julia child, fannie farmer, and ‘the pastry queen’
harriot sat us down and immediately made us try her delicious blue cheese dressing by dipping fresh veggies into it while she told us about how she makes her pies.
“i don’t use any new recipes. i only do old fashioned pies. i like to taste the flavor of the fruit so i only use fresh fruit and not too much sugar.”
as many of you know one of my favorite things about being american is the tradition of pie. and i’ve been joyfully making and eating pie since i moved here. but, this pie, this apple pie of harriets lone star pies… it was the best, by far, the best pie i have ever tasted. i almost cried it was so good. harriet brings pie to a new level. i don’t know what her secrets are, but i hear by pledge to do everything i can to convince that woman to take me on as an apprentice.
before we left on sunday (before i had tasted the pie) i got a few tips on her crust. so last night with the taste of harriets apple pie still lingering on my tongue, i gave it a shot. i didn’t have her recipe, but i knew she used tapioca as a thickener and her pie tasted very bright with some nice lemon flavor. i was guessing she used the juice and the zest.
i’m not so into white sugar or crisco (both of which were used in the original pie) so i tried using sweeter apples (fuji and gala) instead of the traditional granny smith. i also sprinkled on a bit of sucanat for good measure. i used an all butter crust like i usually do, but i used a food processor this time and made sure everything stayed cold.
the results? the best pie i have ever made. not anywhere close to harriets pie, mind you, but a personal best for me. rich flaky crust, and excellent flavor and texture in the filling.
here’s how i did it:

maya’s apple pie inspired by harriet and mark bittman
i use all organic everything, which i think helps the flavor of crust and filling

combine in a bowl:
6 apples (a variety is good) peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons small pearl tapioca (not instant)
juice and zest of one lemon
4 T sucanat or sugar (more if you/your crowd has a sweet tooth)
pinch of salt

set aside

in food processor pulse:
2 1/4 cups flour
2 sticks cold unstalted butter, cut into cubes
pinch of salt
until the butter is in small bits no larger than peas
add:
3 T cold water
and pulse a few more times
gather dough into two balls and chill for 15 min. roll out on a floured board.
line your pan, fill ‘er up, mounding the apples in the center.
cover with top crust and cut pretty vents for the steam to escape
bake at 425 for 15 min, then turn the heat down to 350 and bake another 40-50 min, until nicely golden.

mmm mm!