Flavors of Diaspora

How to Be A Good Colleague in the Office Kitchen

It has happened to many of us: you walk into the kitchen in your office, hoping to warm up your leftovers (perhaps from one of my recipes, I hope). And there, piled on the kitchen counter, is the orange shock of powdered cheese from mac-and-cheese.

Kitchen inconsiderateness has struck again.

Coffee maker clipart, drink illustration — Drawing from Openverse

I am lucky enough to work in an office with colleagues who keep our shared kitchen quite clean and are generally “good kitchen buddies,” so I have been insulated from kitchen problems for the past few years. I cannot say the same about some other places I have worked. In addition, many friends, have shared horror stories with me about their office kitchens, especially in the post “return to office era.” Meanwhile, a few of my colleagues (who, I repeat, are doing great!) have noted that a list of common rules would actually be helpful.

So here is my attempt to write something on being a good co-worker when you share a sink, microwave, fridge, and maybe even toaster oven, coffee maker, or kettle with dozens of other people.

We all know some tried and true rules – don’t put fish in the microwave, don’t steal other people’s food, don’t set things on fire. But I think there are some basic rules that everyone should make an effort to follow – which are followed by fewer people than we care to admit.

green leafed plants — Photo by Marc Mueller on Pexels.com

So, to start you off on being a good kitchen co-sharer and co-worker, I have five rules that I suggest you follow.

Clean your mess. If you spill it, you clean it, now. If you see that something of yours went off, you toss it, now. It does not wait. It is not a later project. This is your responsibility. If you need help, by all means, get it, but in a shared space, you do not less your mess fester.
Monitor your stuff. It is your responsibility to make sure you do not have anything rotten in the fridge or cupboards, and it is your responsibility to make sure that when you put things away, you are not causing a risk for anyone else.
Be accountable. If you break something, own up to it! If you spill something, clean it up – and own up to it! Honesty is a very important principle in any shared space.

Beyond honesty, communal duty is also important. Make sure the duty to ensure the kitchen is clean rotates among different colleagues. Put it in writing, and make sure that folks check it, and take their turns. Kindly, professionally, but firmly dismiss excuses. For example, if someone is unsure how to clean the kitchen, you can always suggest they look up one of the many excellent guides available on the internet.

If you do have trouble, I suggest making a list of tasks. As patronizing as it may sound, a list will help people remember things that are often forgotten – especially tasks like descaling the coffee maker or cleaning the microwave.

Be prepared for some juicy excuses. I have now experienced more than one autistic person who has told me – someone who very much has autism – that their autism meant that they could not clean a shared space. With all honesty, the insistence of many fellow neurodivergent people on sloughing off all communal duty under the slogan of “but, brain” enrages me in a stapler-touching way. (Enjoy the ‘90s reference.) The answer to this is to find ways to make the duty as accessible as possible, not slough it off on other colleagues who might have their own access needs. I actually made an entire site about it.
Fix what you see, when you can. This is related to #1. If you see that someone else did a bad thing – say, leaving a spill uncleaned – you should fix it. Even if it is not your fault. Saying “not me” builds bad rapport – and also, heightens the risk for everyone. The longer a mess goes unaddressed, the more likely consequences – vermin, a slip and fall, or even a nasty smell – are. Of course, there is an exception here: do not try to fix things that you cannot fix – say, a completely fried toaster oven. That could get dangerous pretty quickly.
Wash your hands early and often. I have a gut feeling that many people get food poisoning in shared work kitchens because of all the flying bacteria and varied skills with food safety. You also never know who might have an allergy, and what your hands have picked up elsewhere in your office. A hand wash rarely hurts.

And lastly, in the spirit of #3: I am sure I missed something. What else would you add?

Ice Pops Are a Delight of Modernist Cooking

Shana tova! Here is one last post for 5784.

I have lately been very into ice pops – and for reference, my most recent birthday was my 33^rd, not my 5^th. You may know these as popsicles – which comes from the brand name Popsicle. I am especially fond of the mango Greek yogurt popsicles sold at Whole Foods. And while I have mostly been invested in making and eating ice pops, I do think that they are a really good example of why modern food is good, actually.

Green popsicle held by someone — Matcha yogurt popsicle (photo mine, October 2024)

Ice pops are a perfect example of modernist cooking – functionally, they were not even feasible until the late 19^th century. Why? Well, refrigeration and freezing as we know it only became widely available around then – and icehouses before that were pretty much the domain of the wealthy. (Some ancient practices like the Iranian yakhchal were available more widely in their regions.) Freezers were more common in commercial settings – like stores – well into the 20^th century; the majority of American homes did not have a refrigerator or freezer until the late 1930’s. Most people in much of the Global South still do not.

The history of ice pops closely tracks this history: frozen mass-market treats beyond ice cream became common in the late 19^th century, and popsicles were invented early in the 20^th century. In developing countries, popsicles often become popular first as commercial refrigeration becomes more common, then as more consumers have freezers at home.

Popsicles also reflect the availability of clean water and dairy. Often, the ingredients are not heated – and as a result, harmful bacteria get frozen in situ, still ready to wreak havoc on a digestive system. One reason we can have ice pops at all – and why they are still dangerous in many places – is because of access to water sanitation and pasteurization, beyond refrigeration.

Multicolored popsicles — Paletas (photo Arnold Gatilao/Wikimedia CC)

Every country seems to have a favorite ice pop. In Israel, watermelon popsicles are popular. Mexico has a whole family of paletas with flavors ranging from prickly pear to horchata. In Panama, my partner and I were able to try duros, stickless popsicles with the flavors of various tropical fruits like soursop and guava. (The passionfruit duros are spectacular.) Popsicles are big money in many countries too: Japanese consumers buy billions of yen worth of garigari-kun– soda-flavored ice pops – every year.

Popsicles are fun to make. They are also quick – I am always amazed at the speed at which a few ingredients transform into popsicles going in to freeze. A lot of ice pop recipes are out there, and many of them are quite good! I have sketched out, below, a method for making popsicles that I like, sweetened with honey and with the tang and weight of Greek yogurt. I hope you enjoy.

Make Your Own Ice Pops!

Here is a rough sketch of a popsicle recipe, with two varieties:

Set up

I have six ice pop molds, each of which has a 1/3 cup capacity. So, each of these recipes makes about two cups of filling. If you have bigger molds or more capacity, feel free to do math to increase the filling.

Always leave a little room in the mold for the popsicle to grow as it freezes.

I list Greek yogurt for both recipes, but feel free to use a dairy-free substitute for a pareve ice pop.

Matcha Yogurt Popsicles (based on this recipe)

1 ¾ cups Greek yogurt, 2 tsp culinary grade matcha, 3 tbsp honey, 1 tsp vanilla, pinch of salt. Whisk the ingredients together, pour into your molds, add the sticks, and freeze.

Cucumber Orange Popsicles

Puree one large cucumber and the flesh of one orange, then strain to get the juice. (Discard or compost the solids). This will give you about one cup juice. Whisk the juice together with ¾ cup Greek yogurt, 4 tablespoons of honey, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Pour into your molds, add the sticks, and freeze.

Great Books: Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone, by Deborah Madison

As regular readers know, I do a lot of vegetarian cooking – though I do enjoy some meat and fish. Nowadays, it is not very hard to find excellent, vegetable-centric cookbooks. Today, though, I want to discuss one of my favorites – Deborah Madison’s classic Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The book has been a cult classic since it was first published in 1997. It is widely lauded, too. And with good reason: there are 1,400 delicious recipes for a full range of vegetarian dishes, all straightforward to cook. Madison’s book is as much a reference on what to do while centering plants as of ways to do so.

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone book cover

The recipes are good, both for simple dinners and entertaining. There are many “classic” recipes for common American favorites like pasta sauces and pancakes – but also food from all six continents and featuring many delicious vegetables. There are ten-minute recipes, and day-long project recipes. Pretty much every recipe I have tried so far from it has been easy to follow and has turned out well. Many of the recipes are modular and build on one another too – and they lend themselves to easy experimentation, which Madison encourages.

I appreciate that Madison generally does not try to imitate meat or fish foods. Doing so was especially in vogue when vegetarianism was still considered a “fad” – and remains so in many quarters. As a meat eater, I can verify that sometimes the vegetarian version is better (burgers, anyone?) – but generally, it is not. And vegetarian ingredients often sing best when they are treated on their own terms rather than as a substitute. Madison understands this instinctively – and while there are a few imitation recipes, the hundreds of recipes in the book treat their main ingredients as the star of the show. As they should be!

This book is very much of its time. Many of the things reflect food trends of the 1990’s – particularly quite a bit of higher-fat cooking and many Mediterranean recipes. That said, many of the recipes are timeless – as are the techniques and lateral tricks Madison includes throughout the book. In addition, the compendium is so wide that there is always inspiration in this book’s pages.

Brussels sprouts broccoli rabe and radishes for sale in a market — Inspiring vegetables (photo mine, October 2022)

To finish, here are a few of my favorite recipes from this book. Page numbers are in the second printing of the 1997 edition, and may vary for more recent versions.

Chickpeas and Greens with Moroccan Spices, page 309
Five-Minute Beets, page 339
Green Beans Simmered with Tomato, page 337
Nutmeg Pie, page 700
Peruvian Potatoes with Peanut Sauce and Garnishes, page 161 (this is essentially papas a la huancaina)
Somen in Broth with Silken Tofu and Spinach, page 482
Sweet Corn Soup, page 206

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison

Cacao Nib Cookies: The Less-Sweet Cousins of Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mountains, blue sky, and fields with trees and gras — An Andean landscape near Ollantaytambo in Cusco Department (photo mine, May 2024)

I recently went on vacation to Peru – which is a magical country. The people are friendly, the historic sites are majestic, and there is a lot of “verve.” I strongly urge you to go. One highlight, of course, was the food. Peruvian cuisine is, of course, well known for its artful use of native and introduced foodstuffs. But what I find interesting about Peru is how it was very much the cradle – or a cradle – of many of the foods we enjoy in the modern world today: including tomatoes, potatoes, and chocolate. Though cacao is more commonly associated with pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, it was actually first domesticated and grown in what is now the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador and Peru. Cacao is still grown in the region, and Peru is one of the top ten cacao growers in the world.

While there, I went on a “chocolate production experience” – where I got to learn a bit more about cacao nibs. These are bits of cracked, roasted cacao beans that have not yet been processed into chocolate. They have a bitter, nutty, complex flavor that is deep and still chocolatey. Learning about chocolate and cacao in Peru was very interesting – and I enjoyed tasting the different “terroirs” of different cacao beans.

After this experience, I brought back a kilo (2.2 pounds) of cacao nibs. Enter the experimentation.

Cookies with cacao nibs on a colorful striped plate

Many people use cacao nibs as a substitute for chocolate chips in cookie recipes. Most of their cookie recipes, though, are quite complicated, or tend to use a lot of other specialty ingredients (to some of which I am allergic). Instead, I wanted to make a simple recipe with the cacao nibs that highlighted their savory nature, but was still friendly and approachable. Hence these cookies – which I have based on other cookies I have made before.

I have made these cookies several times now, and I really enjoy them. They are akin to a less-sweet cousin to a chocolate chip cookie, and the cacao nibs add a pleasant nuttiness. Many of the “taste-testers” who tried this recipe over several renditions over the past few weeks made similar comments to me. I hope you enjoy these cookies too.

Cacao Nib Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter or a butter substitute, softened

1 cup sugar (you can reduce this if you wish)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

½ teaspoon salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup crushed cacao nibs

Preheat your oven to 375F/190C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Cream together the butter and sugar until well combined and beginning to get fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Add the flour mixture and the cacao nibs to the butter mixture and mix to form a dough.
Let the dough rest for five minutes.
Place walnut-sized balls on the cookie sheet, about 2 inches/5 centimeters apart.
Bake for 11 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let sit on the cookie sheet for an additional 15 minutes.
Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Thank you to my co-congregants at Mishkan Torah synagogue, many friends, and my colleagues for participating in User Acceptance Testing for this recipe.

Playing with Ingredients: Sichuan Pepper Butter Pasta

And now, a well-timed recipe: with butter, for Shavuot. This recipe was inspired by a conversation two years ago – but first, a little context on Sichuan peppercorns, one of my favorite spices.

Sichuan peppercorns are a delicious spice native to China. They provide a smokey, slow heat to food with a famous tingling (mala in Chinese). These peppercorns – which are different from the black peppercorns we add to food – are a key part of Sichuan cuisine and all its fiery deliciousness, and predate the introduction of chilies to China in the 17^th century. Until 2005, they were not allowed in the United States, but now they are key to the increased popularity of Sichuanese cuisine. I have enjoyed using them while cooking Sichuan-style boiled tofu and other delicious things.

Cue to a party two years ago, when I got to meet Yao Zhao, who started 50 Hertz, which imports high-quality Sichuan peppercorns to the United States. We started talking about the wonders of the pepper, and he pointed out that it would be wonderful if people used Sichuan pepper more…with foods other than Sichuanese cuisine! As an authenticity skeptic, I really liked this idea.

Whole wheat noodles glistening with scallions — Sichuan peppercorn butter noodles with a healthy quantity of scallions on top. (Photo mine/June 2024)

More recently, I accidentally created this recipe while thinking back to that conversation. On a whim, I added some Sichuan pepper to some buttered pasta that I ate with fish and a salad. Since then, I have iterated on this recipe to produce this version.

This recipe goes well with crunchy vegetables and soft proteins like fish and tofu. You can also garnish with herbs if you like, but I appreciate the acidity of the scallions. This recipe tastes far better with whole wheat pasta – the nuttiness really matches the tingly sensation well.

Sichuan Pepper Butter Pasta

Serves 4

14 oz/400 grams short pasta (recommend whole wheat)

Water

1 tablespoon green Sichuan peppercorns (I recommend 50Hertz)

3 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter

2 teaspoons light soy sauce

1 teaspoon Chinkiang vinegar*

Chopped scallions, to taste

Cook the pasta in the water according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water before draining.
While the pasta is cooking, toast the Sichuan peppercorns: heat a skillet or griddle dry, over medium heat, then add the peppercorns and cook for about a minute, stirring. Remove from heat.
Grind the Sichuan peppercorns to a rough grind – you can use a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
In a pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Then, add the pepper, soy sauce, and vinegar and mix thoroughly. Turn off the heat.
Add the butter mixture to the pasta, and add back the pasta water. Stir over low heat until thoroughly combined.
Garnish with the chopped scallions and serve.
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to four days.

*If you cannot find Chinkiang vinegar, rice vinegar will do – add another half teaspoon of soy sauce in that case.

Tofu with Garlic Ginger Soy Sauce

First: two things for which I need to say “sorry.” I apologize for not posting much and still not posting about the situation in the Middle East – beyond busy-ness, others have said things more eloquently than I can. Forgive me, too, for posting a recipe for something that is obviously kitniyot and may contain chametz about a week before Passover. You can always save this recipe for later.

Now, to business: I realize I have not posted a tofu recipe of my own on this blog, which is ironic, because I love tofu and I eat a lot of it. (My social distancing matrix recipe from 2020 only half counts.) As in, I buy tofu pretty much every time I shop for groceries. I am not vegetarian – but I do not eat much meat, and I really adore tofu. The texture is so pleasing, and one can do so many things with it. It is also a food with a fascinating history; I recommend listening to this Gastropod episode to learn more.

This is a simple recipe based on Korean dubu buchim that I have made often recently. It has become a frequent favorite in recent months. It is an amalgam of several different recipes from various authors and bloggers I like – with a particular focus on the books and blogs I use for Korean recipes. The firm but yielding texture of the tofu meshes nicely with the savoriness of soy, and the ginger adds a nice zing. It also comes together quite quickly – which is nice for weeknights.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is very versatile and goes with many things. I enjoy this especially with cooked greens and some nice rice.

Pan-fried tofu with a dark soy sauce with garlic, ginger, and scallions on a yellow plate on a white counter. — (Photo David Ouziel/March 2024)

Tofu with Garlic Ginger Soy Sauce

Based on recipes by Kathy YL Chan, Robin Ha, Emily “Maangchi” Kim, Deborah Madison, and Sue Pressey (My Korean Kitchen)

About 3-4 servings

1 pound/454 grams extra firm tofu

2-3 tablespoons sunflower seed oil (or any other high-smoke point neutral oil)

4 scallions, finely chopped

1 inch/2.5 cm fresh ginger, crushed

5 cloves garlic, crushed

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon chili flakes (optional)

Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional, any color)

Cilantro for garnish (optional)

Pat the tofu with a paper towel or other towel until dry. (You do not need to “press” the tofu, but can choose to do so.) Cut into half-inch/1 centimeter-thick slabs. I usually make the slabs about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide (5cmx2.5cm).
Heat a large frying pan or skillet on high heat and add some of the oil, then immediately turn the heat to low. Add a batch of the tofu, laying the pieces face-down on the pan.
Cover and let cook for 5-6 minutes, or until brown on the pan side. Flip the pieces, put the cover back on, and cook for another 4-5 minutes, or until brown. Remove and plate. You will likely need to fry the pieces in batches. The oil can splatter, so be careful.
While the tofu is cooking, mix together the scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and chili flakes to make the sauce.
When the tofu is done cooking, turn off the heat for the pan. Plate the tofu and pour the sauce over the tofu. Garnish with the cilantro and sesame seeds, as you wish.
You can eat this dish at any temperature you like. Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Thank you to David Ouziel and Timmy Woitas for participating in User Acceptance Testing for this recipe. Thank you to Adam Sperber for requesting the recipe after seeing it on my Instagram.

Great Books: The Moosewood Cookbook

A few months before he passed, the late Jon Henner wrote a tweet that immediately made sense to me:

Working theory. The Moosewood Cookbook by @MollieKatzen is one of the most important mid to late 20th century Ashkenazi diaspora cookbooks. My grandma cooked Moosewood and not really cholents and stuff.
@JMHenner – February 2, 2023

This book, the first of Mollie Katzen’s twelve works, indeed had a big influence on Jewish communities. It is a very Jewish cookbook – and a great one, too.

The Moosewood Cookbook stems from the namesake restaurant which Katzen co-founded in Ithaca, NY – which still operates today. (If you are in the Finger Lakes, I recommend a visit.) Moosewood was very much a product of its time – a vegetarian, plants- and ethics-forward restaurant with a very global focus – perfect for the “People’s Republic of Ithaca.” The cookbook – and several of the following books – are hand-lettered and -illustrated by Katzen herself, and compile many of the “hit recipes” from the restaurant’s early years.

Pasta with vegetables and cheese — Farfalle primavera at Moosewood Restaurant itself! (Photo mine)

The recipes themselves are great – and very rich and hearty! Among other hits, I can highly recommend the soups and many of the casseroles in the book, as well as the pies. The Brazilian Black Bean soup is a particular favorite. Katzen writes accessibly and in a very intuitive way – the recipes are organized in a way that makes chronological sense for the recipe. Many of the portion sizes are generous.

The book is also deeply Jewish. Katzen herself credits her kosher upbringing with her interest in vegetarianism, and she included many Ashkenazi classics – such as noodle kugel, cabbage borscht and other soups like solyanka, blintzes, stuffed cabbage, and cholent-like casseroles in the book and on Moosewood’s menu. These vegetarian, well-flavored, rich renditions are exemplars of their recipes. And it is not hard to find Jewish influences elsewhere too – the pie made with a grated potato crust akin to yapchik, the zucchini pancakes akin to latkes, or the spices that pair with the many wonderful mushroom dishes.

Katzen was part of a trend, of course: many Jewish people were involved in the vegetarian, environmental, and “hippie” food movements of the 1970s and 1980s. Other non-Jewish chefs active in this time include Jewish recipes in their works too – for example, the women behind Bloodroot Restaurant in Bridgeport, CT, and Deborah Madison, the author of several authoritative cookbooks on vegetarian and plant-forward cooking. Other Moosewood co-founders – and members of the staff who took collective ownership in 1978 – were Jewish too, including Katzen’s brother.

Handlettered Sweet Potato Pancakes recipe — A handlettered recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook (copyright Mollie Katzen via Glamour magazine)

Yet Katzen’s influence went back to the Jewish community in a way unparalleled by these other books. By the time I grew up in the 1990’s, many of Katzen’s recipes were in my and others’ experience frequent guests on the tables of synagogue events and Shabbat dinners. Though my own family did not cook Moosewood, many others’ did. Others have written about this experience, too. As an experiment, I asked my heavily-Jewish friends circle what they like to cook from Moosewood. Many of the recipes I mentioned appeared – alongside the pasta al cavalfiore, no-boil lasagna, and the Ukrainian poppy seed cake. I was not surprised to hear so many entries – after all, many others have been in communities heavily influenced by the cookbook too.

Pasta with cheese and cauliflower — Pasta al cavalfiore from The Moosewood Cookbook (Photo Margaret Wessel Walker, February 2024)

I have many times made a recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook or Katzen’s subsequent The Enchanted Broccoli Forest to find that I had recreated something I had eaten before, at a Jewish community event – especially in the left-leaning communities I have frequented as an adult. I think this has happened for many reasons: Katzen’s own continued links to Jewish life, the strong Jewish presence at Cornell University and in Ithaca, and in particular, the way Moosewood reflects how American Jews actually eat. The recipes were not preserved jelly-like in nostalgia, but rather in a mix alongside Indonesian salads, Brazilian soups, and an array of pastas.

And so this is why Jon’s tweet resonated with me so much. It was not just his grandmother who cooked from Moosewood – many of the people I knew in my communities, across generations, vegetarian or carnivore, left-wing or conservative, did. I do too, now – and I am grateful to this book for very much enriching Jewish tables across the country.

This post is dedicated to Dr. Jonathan Henner, z”l, who passed away in August. I knew him through this blog and our shared Jewish networks – he suggested that someday I write a post on Moosewood. In the wider world, he was known as a proud Deaf advocate and an achieved linguist who studied American Sign Language and children’s education. His work and activism have had a profound effect on many people, especially Deaf children. You can read more about him here; he will be missed.

The Moosewood Cookbook, by Mollie Katzen, is available from many wonderful independent bookstores across the world.

Thank you to my friends for contributions and particularly Margaret Wessel Walker for the photo!

Tangerine Vanilla Cheesecake

So, some personal news: my partner and I got engaged and bought a townhouse! Despite all the depressing news, there has been some specialness in my life too. And so – not just to destress, but also to celebrate – I have been baking. One result of this baking is this tangerine vanilla cheesecake.

black and white photo of cheesecake in pan — A slice of the cheesecake (photo Michael Faccini, January 2024)

I have written about the Jewish history of cheesecake before on the blog, and others have covered this topic well too. I have based this cheesecake on a well-known recipe made by the since-closed Three Cities of Spain coffee shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The sour cream topping adds a tang, hides any cracks, obviates the need for a water bath, and creates a wonderful contrast in texture with the cream cheese-custard filling. Three Cities of Spain was a well-known artists’ hangout – including for many Jewish artists, musicians, and writers – and one of the many places where Jewish hippies began their reinvention of American Jewish cuisine in the 1960’s. (A hint for a forthcoming blog post.) In any case, this cheesecake’s sour cream topping reminds me of the many tangy, creamy Ashkenazi Jewish desserts – and many of the tasty cakes one might find in a Ukrainian or Russian bakery.

Cheesecake with sour cream topping on a serving dish on a bag — A past rendition of this cheesecake at a Shavuot picnic in 2022 (photo mine, June 2022)

I add tangerine or mandarin to this cheesecake for some additional tang and floral-ness. My friend Michael described this cake as akin to an orange creamsicle. I hope you enjoy!

Tangerine Vanilla Cheesecake

Adapted from the Three Cities of Spain Cheesecake and Deb Perelman’s version of the same recipe

Crust:

11 sheets graham crackers, blitzed into crumbs (use a food processor or a rolling pin)

6 ½ tablespoons/92.5g butter, melted

Filling:

24 oz/680 grams cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs, room temperature

Zest and juice of one large or two medium tangerines

¾ cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping

8 oz/227 g sour cream

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

A few drops orange blossom water (optional)

Method

Line an 8”/9” (20cm/23cm) springform pan with parchment paper on the bottom.
Mix the crust ingredients together until combined. Pour into the springform pan and push down and evenly spread across the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator for at least ten minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350F/175C.
In a bowl with an electric mixer or a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until fluffy and significantly increased in volume.
Add the eggs, zest, and juice and beat on low speed until fully combined. (Note: if your eggs are still cold and cause the cream cheese to congeal a bit again – you can use an immersion blender to get a thoroughly smooth result. Pulse until the clump is gone.)
Add the sugar and vanilla and beat on low speed until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the cheesecake is mostly set except for the center.
While the cheesecake is baking, mix together the topping ingredients.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven. Immediately add the topping on top of the cheesecake, and use a spatula or spoon to spread evenly across the top of the cheesecake.
Return the cheesecake to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool on rack for 30 minutes.
Then, refrigerate the cheesecake for at least six hours.
Run a knife along the tin, then remove the springform collar. The cheesecake keeps refrigerated for up to six days in the refrigerator.

Thank you to David Ouziel (my partner and fiancé!), Michael Faccini, and my fellow congregants at Mishkan Torah synagogue for assistance with User Acceptance Testing.

Why Bake Off Is Refreshing Right Now

Like many other people, I have been engaging in a fair amount of escapism in my spare time lately. The news is often very overwhelming – as are my frustrations. (Long-time readers and friends can probably guess my political opinions based on some past writing on this blog and elsewhere.) So, to avoid burnout, I distract myself.

Lately, that has been The Great British Bake Off.

Much has, of course, been written about this baking reality show and its evolution (and sometimes, missteps). Some of Bake Off fandom is intense. I am not in that category – I am a casual watcher. I like watching the baking and the personalities and the weird cakes. I get ideas for things to make. And I have watched episodes enough times that it is comfortable background material while I complete another task. Even when the show has gotten a little weird or cringey, the comfortable structure has remained.

In recent weeks, though, I have come to appreciate something else about Bake Off: the show not only does not have villains and heroes (apart from the weather on Chocolate Week), it also does not have a Moral or Big Lesson. The show is inherently ridiculous – a competition for baking! – and owns it. There are not grand story arcs or something to learn. I think this is why Bake Off is so refreshing.

A chocolate cake with raspberries on top — The Bake Off cake. (Photo: Great British Bake Off)

A lot of our media – and a lot of our food media – centers heroes and villains, or feels a need to give a moral lesson or be rooted in a specific type of morality. We are told that this person is good, making that food makes you immoral, or see complex stories squashed into simple narratives. (Full admission: I have trafficked in this.) These of course have a time and place – but especially now, there seems to be an insistence that all media has to have some sort of didactic charge. Is that really necessary?

Sometimes, to be most effective, one needs to turn one’s brain off. And this is where, I think, the biggest lesson of Bake Off lies. Not everything needs to have a villain or a moral, and certainly not everything in food. Sometimes a cake competition should really just be that. And by letting ourselves just enjoy something, we have more time for the efforts, activism, and fights around food that actually matter.

—

A cottage with vines and birds made out of pie — Crystelle’s pastry masterpiece (Photo: Great British Bake Off)

Relatedly, I will highlight my seven favorite bakes from across the series, incidentally all made by Star Bakers from that week. In no particular order:

Tom’s epic Jörmungandr and Mjolnir bread sculpture in Bread Week in Series 7
Tasha’s Japanese katsu and matcha illusion biscuits in Biscuit Week in Series 14
Syabira’s Jack and the Beanstalk creation in Pastry Week in Series 13
Ruby Tandoh’s Carrot Cake and Pistachio Garden Plot in Alternative Ingredients Week in Series 4 (also, you should get her book and cookbook)
Julia’s (slightly inappropriate-appearing) “Snail Under a Mushroom” bread sculpture from Bread Week in Series 8
Nadiya’s Chocolate Peacock in Chocolate Week in Series 6
Crystelle’s Lily Nana’s Pickle Cottage terrine pie from Series 12 (pictured above)

If you cannot tell, I particularly like the cute bakes.

I also recommend the podcast Sticky Bun Boys, hosted by Series 10 winner David Atherton and contestant Michael Chakraverty for all sorts of fun content and Bake Off commentary.

A West African-Inspired Spiced Ginger Drink

As a first note, I do not yet have the words to write coherently about the current conflict. Anything I would have said has been written already. Be kind to one another, and remember that people have a right to life and to be safe in their homes.

Ginger root on table — *Photo open source, undated*

This warming, piquant drink has been very comforting for the past few weeks. It is based on a series of ginger drinks common across West Africa, called gnamakoudji, tangawizi, emudro, among other things. I initially encountered this drink in a book by Jessica B. Harris, the doyenne of African and African-American cooking here in the US. I strongly recommend taking a look at her work.

Spiced Ginger Drink

Based on recipes by Jessica Harris in The Africa Cookbook and Armelle Dee

2 3 inch/8 centimeter pieces of fresh ginger

1/4 cup agave nectar

¼ cup lime juice

1 cinnamon stick

2 pieces star anise

5 cloves

10 peppercorns

2 cups hot water

8 cups cold water

Peel the ginger – the easiest way to do so is to rub it with a spoon. Then, crush the ginger using a mortar and pestle or a food processor.
Add the ginger, agave nectar, lime juice, and spices to a bowl. Pour the hot water over the mixture and let stand, covered, for one hour.
Strain the liquid into a large pitcher. Add cold water and mix, then refrigerate.
The drink tastes best after it has been allowed to sit for about four hours. It keeps for a week in the refrigerator.