Sourdough Waffles, Without Conflict

There is an art to living with another human.  It is a delicate dance of neuroses.  A safari of previously hidden late night eating habits, secret cigarette stashes, and video games, exhumed. The migration of two people into one space inevitably unearths certain questions.

How many bottles of mezcal can be comfortably housed in one 500-square-foot apartment?

Does one find the practice of yoga in the living room charming or repulsive?

Is it acceptable to leave a trail of breadcrumbs in the jar of mayonnaise?  (It is not.)

Can a meal of beer or ladyfingers or cheese be consumed for dinner without judgment? 

Must one wear pants while doing so?

Where does our loose change go?  Does it get combined into a repurposed tin? Become stacked side by side in arranged identical piles?  Get tossed in the trash to avoid the discussion altogether?

The answers to such questions—minus the mayo contamination, which is unforgivable—are a barometer of insanity.  Best to know if your lunacy matches up before buying bed frames together.

All this to say Brett officially moved in today. (!)  While we don’t have all our personal peccadillos unpacked just yet, we typically agree on matters that matter.  And we are a solid match when it comes to breakfast.

So waffles are a safe bet.

We have a semi-regular weekend routine wherein Brett cooks the softest scrambled eggs in the slowest and loveliest of ways with the care and craft one might take to build a bird’s nest.  If we have cheddar cheese on hand, shreds of it get swirled into the eggs during their final moments in the pan.

Meanwhile, I press three waffles using batter prepped the previous night.  The first waffle always sticks a bit—which typically causes cursing as I prod it out of the iron using a fork, with the patience of a kindergartener.   (Ample greasing and preheating usually prevents this problem.)

If we are feeling fancy there is also bacon or hollandaise to be had, or maple syrup if I am too fragile or tired to deal with egg yolks or pork grease.

The waffles puff up like Belgians, offering crispy exteriors and fluffy insides with a slight tang. Like most things worth waiting for they require some forethought and, unfortunately, some sourdough starter—which necessitates tracking down a human that has some.  Or, perhaps, make your own.  

It is worth it.  These are waffles of finest quality. And they are highly unlikely to cause any cohabitation conflicts.  Unless it is about who gets the last one.

Sourdough Waffles

Ingredients:

1 cup (200 grams) sourdough starter (not fed)

½ cup (55 grams) all-purpose flour

½ cup (60 grams) whole wheat flour

1 cup whole milk

1 tbsp sugar

1 egg

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

2 tbsp olive or canola oil

Instructions:

The night before

In a large bowl, mix the starter, flours, milk, and sugar until well combined; cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight (ideally 10 to 20 hours ahead, see note below).

The day of

To the starter mixture, add the egg, salt, baking soda, and oil; stir to combine. 

To make the waffles, heat your waffle iron.  (Cooking instructions may vary slightly depending on the type you are using.  I have a Nordic Ware stovetop Belgian waffle maker and after greasing it with canola oil, I preheat each side a few minutes on the stovetop, flipping halfway through.)

Once the iron is preheated, pour in about 1/3 of your batter (or roughly 2/3 cup).  Close the iron and cook until the waffle is golden brown on both sides.  (If you are using a stovetop iron you’ll want to flip it after a few minutes to cook both sides evenly.)

Repeat with remaining batter.

Makes three 6-inch square waffles

Notes:

-The whole wheat adds a nice nuttiness and I’d definitely encourage it.  The milk type can be swapped depending on your preference.

-Because the sourdough mixture rests in the fridge overnight, it benefits from being left on the countertop an hour or so to let the microbes warm up; this helps the waffles rise better. (But this is a living product and may need some individual tweaking.)

-They are best eaten the day of, but leftovers will keep a day or two in the fridge and can also be frozen.

Magically Delicious

Thirty-four was my scary age. 

The time at which, I was once told, my fertility would drop swiftly, like an Oldsmobile sailing off a cliff.  The time at which being unmarried and without a mortgage would place a searing spotlight on me as an adult fraud.  The time at which I would be guaranteed to die a grim death alone, perhaps eaten by pet canaries.

This, of course, is ludicrous.

I am not alone.  Plus most of my friends are now my scary age.  Which makes my impending situation less frightening. Strength in numbers.

But on the days my consciousness is dialed up, I can detect certain vicissitudes.

I notice that bodily things are starting to shift down, and spread.

I notice that my memory is not as elastic as it once was.  I find myself searching for words like chamomile and amuse-bouche.  This can no longer be correlated with prior gin ingestion, either.

I notice that my friends with children have all vacated the city.  Some days it feels like an emotional fallout shelter—where cultivated adult relationships are unreachable due to nuclear war caused by the whims of toddlers and unaffordable housing. 

I notice that some places I love have vacated as well.  Like the shockingly recently departure of River Gods, a bar that offered equally good beef and vegetable-based burgers; poured decent beers; and hung things like mermaids or witches or stars from ceiling, depending on the season.  I have had multiple friends live near River Gods.  They have since moved too.

But there are new homes of old friends to visit. There are new friends too. There are new restaurants and new recipes, like this frozen negroni I recently stumbled across. Because I am nearing thirty-four and still alive and enthusiastically capable of drinking something alcoholic made in a blender. 

I also recently found a recipe for cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookies from Momofuku Milk Bar that I thought might distract my aging corpse.  Except Corn Flakes were a common breakfast option growing up and I felt compelled to bake with the type of cereal that I was never allowed to eat as a child.  Because I am securely an adult and can do such things.

The result is a cookie with not one, but two forms of marshmallows.  It is a sweet dessert, for sure, but also salty and chewy and thereby addictive to any human with taste buds and a childhood rooted in the mid-twentieth century or beyond.

I mean, what kind of person is not, at least slightly, intrigued by such a cookie?  (No one I want to know.)  Or so I thought. 

Through some research I learned Lucky Charms are more or less glorified Cherrios (another Gelsomin sanctioned childhood breakfast) with added marshmallows.  These confections are officially known as marbits and were originally based on circus peanuts.  Circus peanuts!  Which I hate.

So there you have it, another story about getting older. More or less a collection of the truths we sell, stories mixed with the circus peanuts of youth and the Lucky Charms of adulthood. It is probably best not to take your marbits too seriously.  As Anne Lamott once wrote “the truth is we are all terminal on this bus.”

So I guess the new truth is that thirty-three plus is not a scary prospect at all, if you stay curious and adaptive. In fact, given some recent evidence, it’s magically delicious.

Toasted Lucky Charms Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies

Inspired by Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi

Ingredients:

for the toasted Lucky Charms crunch

100 grams (¼ cup plus 3 tbsp) butter

125 grams (3¾ cups) separated Lucky Charms oat cereal (without marshmallows)

30 grams (¼ cup plus 2 tbsp) dry milk powder (see notes)

20 grams (1½ tbsp) sugar

3 grams (¾ tsp) kosher salt

for the cookie batter

225 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

250 grams (1¼ cups) sugar

150 grams (2/3 packed cup) light brown sugar

1 egg

2 grams (½ tsp) vanilla extract

240 grams (1½ to 2 cups) all-purpose flour (see notes)

2 grams (½ tsp) baking powder

1½ grams (¼ tsp) baking soda

5 grams (1¼ tsp) salt

230 grams (all the recipe, or about 3 cups) toasted Lucky Charms crunch (see instructions)

100 grams (1 cup of ¼-inch pieces) dark chocolate (see notes)

30 grams (about ¾ cup) mini marshmallows

45 grams (about 1½ cups) separated Lucky Charms marshmallows (marbits)

Instructions:

To make the toasted Lucky Charms crunch

Set the oven to 275 degrees.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter on medium to medium-low heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until it starts to caramelize and smell nutty (about 5 to 7 minutes).

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, place the separated Lucky Charms oat cereal and crush it with the end of a rolling pin until it is one-quarter of the original size (it is okay if pieces vary slightly in size). Add the milk powder, sugar, and salt and mix to combine. Pour in the butter and toss to coat (the mixture will get moist but not enough to clump together).

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spread the cereal mixture on the paper.  Bake for 30 or 40 minutes or until fragrant and slightly toasted in color. Let cool. (This can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container.)

To make the cookies

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the softened butter, sugar, and brown sugar; cream together with a paddle attachment on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes.  With a spatula, scrape down the sides and then add the egg and vanilla and beat for about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the sifted dry goods and mix until the dough just comes together.  Remove the bowl from the stand and, with a spatula, add in the Lucky Charms crunch, chocolate, and both types of marshmallows; mixing until just incorporated.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and portion out heaping ¼ cup size scoops (about 50 to 60 grams each). Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate (ideally overnight but for a minimum of one hour).

When you are ready to bake, set the oven to 375 degrees.  Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and arrange the scoops of cookie dough four inches apart. (Two sheet pans can be prepared and baked at a time.)  Bake for about 18 minutes or until the cookies brown along the edges and the centers are no longer pale and doughy.

Cool the cookies on the sheet pans.  (They will harden as they cool, forming crisp edges and soft middles.)  Transfer to a plate or container.  Repeat until all the cookie dough has been baked off.

Makes about 20 cookies

Notes:

-I like Meyenberg goat milk powder.

-For the flour, I went with the gram measurement (the book said 240 grams was 1½ cups but using my measuring cup it was closer to 2 cups).

-I used Wild Ophelia 70% dark chocolate laced with BBQ potato chips, because why not?

-Oh the picture?  We are celebrating a birthday of thirty-four, in the Boston Harbor.

Eat More Green Stuff

I recently had a conference call during which I learned a certain grocery store chain plans to offer a program to rate the contents of your shopping basket, much like your mother might if she combed through your crumpled receipts. 

I suspect many of us have an internal dialogue about what we eat that we turn up or down like a transistor radio. But perhaps some people hope to go home and review a computer printout of their food purchases like it is a naughty or nice list from the North Pole.

A program like this brings up many questions.  It so happens—for me—I only go to this particular grocer for two very specific things: turkey subs and hot dogs. At my most recent trip, I was also lured into buying some canned beer from their liquor store warehouse. 

So it is pretty clear my report card would not be one to post on the fridge.  

At a recent dinner at the Rosebud, I debated this idea with a good friend of mine over negronis and fried vegetables. It was the kind of conversation you can have with someone you have known for nearly two decades. She pointed out a way to scam the system by paying cash for your undesirables.  I had not even thought of this, but it was a fast reminder as to why we are still friends.

It is ultimately sad that we need a computer to help decide if what we are buying is “good.” But I get it.  Marketing is powerful, and confusing, and many people find food labels to be like hieroglyphics.

Plus we are very busy and easily distracted by cookies.

But the food choices we make are also very complex.  I shop at four different spots to get what I need—and reasons for this vary from nutrition and sustainability to emotion and taste.

All are valid. And hard to judge in isolation, whether you are a machine or a human.

Take the ingredients to make this ice cream.  Fresh mint and matcha tea might make Dr. Weil happy.  But flavonols in the tea may be blunted by the addition of dairy.  Not to mention the matcha food miles. Plus the mint is not actually even eaten.

The dark chocolate is 70% cocoa, but is that enough? (Probably not.)  But it was produced locally and this allows me to implicate an unsuspecting factory in Somerville, Massachusetts in the post-rationalization of my cravings. 

And swapping brown rice syrup in place of the corn variety seems better, but is it once you consider the arsenic risk? 

All this aside, no one eats ice cream for its health benefits.  The ingredients, however, do make a very satisfying iced dessert.  It is smooth, bright, and grassy, with slight bursts of bitter chocolate. I originally added the matcha for shallow reasons (namely to impart a light green hue).  But it also contributes a vegetal note that plays very well with the mint and dark chocolate.  A computer is not going to know this. At least not yet.

So here is a little secret.  A way to simplify things.  Eight out of ten of us do not eat enough fruit and vegetables. This is not a metric that makes people very healthy.  It turns out broccoli does not have a sexy marketing campaign, either. (Though it should.)

But if you aim to eat more plants maybe, just maybe, you might have a little bargaining room for ice cream every now and again too.

Matcha Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk, divided

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch

1½ ounces (3 tbsp) cream cheese, softened

1¼ cups heavy cream

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp brown rice syrup

pinch of salt

3 ounces fresh mint (including the stems) or about 3 cups lightly packed mint leaves (stems removed)

½ tsp matcha green tea powder

¼ tsp orange blossom water

2 ounces dark chocolate (preferably 70%), cut into small shards

Instructions:

In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp of the whole milk with the cornstarch.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth. 

In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining milk, heavy cream, sugar, brown rice syrup, and salt on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture boils.  When it reaches a slow rolling boil, continue to stir for 4 minutes more.

Meanwhile, roughly tear the mint leaves into small pieces.  Prepare a large bowl with ice and a little water and put a smaller bowl inside the larger bowl; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the matcha tea into the orange blossom water until a slurry forms; set aside.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and gradually add in the cornstarch mixture; return the pan back to medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until it thickens (this will take a few minutes). 

Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly whisk some of the hot liquid into the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the cream cheese mixture to the pan with the remaining liquid; add the torn mint and green matcha slurry and whisk to combine.

Pour the liquid into the prepared bowl on ice.  Let cool for about 30 minutes and then refrigerate, letting the mint steep for about 5 hours.  Strain out the mint and then return the milk mixture to the fridge (I prefer to let it chill overnight, but you can churn it once it is cold.)

When ready, churn the mixture in an ice cream machine for 20 to 25 minutes, or until it gets thick and creamy and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  At the very end of the churning, add in the chocolate shards while the machine is still running.  Pack the ice cream in an airtight container.  Cover with parchment paper cut to fit the container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

Makes about 1 quart

Notes:

-I luck out having Taza chocolate so close.  Luckily, you can also order it online.