BALI BREAKFAST

Hello from Bali! We made it after a grueling forty one ( yes 41!) hours of travel. The air is warm and soft. Pounding rain lulls us to sleep in our open bungalow. Roosters wake us early. I am not typically a morning person, but the dreamy mist that colors the Bali mornings fully rewards the early riser. And the breakfasts aren't too shabby either!

There is beauty everywhere. Offering of fresh flowers, rice, and incense are found at every door step and even perched in trees.

Intricate woodcarvings adorn even the most insignificant railing. Women and men alike wear ornate batik  sarongs. And the food.... not only is it fresh and yummy, it's gorgeous. Every morning Wayan or Made brings us a simple fruit salad with yogurt. In typical Balinese fashion, the fruit is cut into various lovely shapes and layered into a colorful sculpture. Each plate is topped with a charming handwoven cover.

I often eat fruit and yogurt at home, but I never take the time to beautify the slices of fruit. This first post from the road is less of an intricate recipe than a fresh approach towards a simple breakfast.


INGREDIENTS

• 3 kinds of seasonal fresh fruit (here in Bali we are eating papaya, banana, and pineapple) cut into festive shapes and layered 
• 1 generous scoop of plain yogurt
• optional: if the fruit itself isn't sweet enough, top with a drizzle of honey or a sprinkling of coconut sugar (one of my new favorite ingredients thanks to Bali)

Along with happily writing, photographing, and eating for Yummy Supper, I will keep a simple photo journal of our travels. If you want to peek, check out ....

316 Pacific Days


-E

BROWN SUGAR CARAMEL CORN WITH FLEUR DE SEL

I'll fess up - these really are like Cracker Jacks. Maybe I just needed a little taste of Americana before our departure tomorrow.  Next stop - Bali!

This recipe was born from a serious jonze for caramel. Ever since I discovered how easy it is to do Homemade Caramel Sauce, we have been making it at least once a month. (And yes with this new habit, our waistlines have expanded.) Recently, we were in Sea Ranch with Rach and Justin when the craving for caramel kicked in. We were in a borrowed kitchen, with no Internet, no recipes, and no white sugar. Hmmmm.... we did have my memory (not always so good), brown sugar, butter, and cream so I got to work. We ended up with a rich and decadent brown sugar caramel that we drizzled over whiskey gelato. Gotta love being isolated from technology, while still being able to buy artisinal whiskey gelato at the local store!

We used the leftover sauce to make caramel corn for the kids and it was a huge success. Once I got home, I read up on caramel corn and found that brown sugar is a pretty standard ingredient. Who knew?

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup popcorn kernels (approximately 5 quarts popped corn)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• generous pinch of fleur de sel
• 1 1/2 cups roasted salted peanuts

First pop your popcorn using whatever technique suits you. The kids always love using this old-fashioned popper.  I use a little canola oil in the popper along with a cup of corn. Here's Lilah at work...

When popcorn is done. Set aside.

Kids had to munch a bit on the plain popcorn.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH GREEN OLIVES AND PRESERVED LEMON

Brian at Riverdog Farm had a request for me: "More chicken and duck recipes please." I think this may be the first request I've had and of course I had to oblige. So here is my second poultry recipe in just a few weeks. At our house, we do eat a lot of chicken, and occasionally duck, quail, or guinea hen. Usually Paul does his Fire Alarm Chicken a la Judy Rogers or he tosses a smaller bird on the grill. But I am always looking for ways to mix things up, so here we go....

I am drawn to Moroccan food, but never cook it myself.  A few months ago, my neighbor Rich loaned me two gorgeous Moroccan cookbooks. I drooled over the photos and found lots of tempting recipes. The Preserved Meyer Lemon recipe that I shared back in May came from Modern Moroccan by Ghillie Basan; we have been enjoying our stash of delicious preserved lemons ever since - cavalierly tossing a few into a roast chicken, or making that scrumptious A16 recipe for Halibut.

I have been remiss in returning Rich's cookbooks because I want to make so many of the recipes. Next Friday we leave for our year of travel and I really can't justify keeping the books any longer. Here's one recipe I had to try before we say goodbye to our kitchen for a year.

We served this succulent chicken over a buttery quinoa pilaf that soaked up the chicken's yummy, lemony sauce.


INGREDIENTS
from Modern Moroccan by Ghillie Basan - a truly inspiring cookbook that sadly seems to be out of print

• 3 pound chicken
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• small bunch of fresh oregano, finely chopped (Basan's recipe calls for cilantro instead)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, grated
• pinch of saffron threads
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger (we used fresh grated ginger instead)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 cup cracked green olives
• 2 preserved lemons, rinsed and cut into strips

Rub the cavity of the chicken with garlic, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt.

Mix olive oil, grated onion, saffron, ginger, and pepper on the chicken's skin. Place chicken in a tagine or large flameproof casserole ( I used my trusty Le Creuset dutch oven). Pour the marinating juices over the top, cover, and let the bird marinate for 30 minutes.

TARTINE'S GOUGERES

San Francisco's Tartine bakery is amazing. More often than not, this Guerrero Street institution has customers lined out the door for the copious and tempting baked goods.

When I had to stop eating wheat two years ago, my pilgrimages to Tartine were forced to end. Recently, my friend Sarah, who is an fantastic cook, loaned me her copy of the Tartine cookbook. I devoured it with my eyes. The photographs by France Ruffenach are stunning and totally capture the Tartine experience. My kids, P,  and I started drooling and bookmarking page after page of recipes to attempt at home. Before long almost every page and every photo had been chosen. Where to start with this irresistible book?

Gougeres..."the perfect combination of a crusty, caramelized outside and a soft eggy inside."


INGREDIENTS
from Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson's Tartine cookbook

• 1 1/4 cup non-fat milk (non-fat is crucial to the success of this recipe)
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour ( GF folks, I used Pamela's Bread and Flour Mix)
• 5 large eggs
• 3/4 cup grated Gruyere
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced

for topping:

• 1 large egg
• 1 pinch salt
• grated Gruyere for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grate cheese and set aside.