Episode 26: Somewhere in Between Evocative Photography & Growing a Durian on Your Fire Escape
Autumn’s on spring break! Woohoo! And she’s on a culinary RAMPAGE thanks, in part to this app. AND she’s tackling the carrot situation… again.
We’re yin and yang, wouldn’t you say? Can you tell whose limoncello is whose?
We also talk terrariums. And more of Kelly’s literary cakes. With Yellow Wallpaper and stabbed hearts.
Makes & Bakes Dranks: Autumn’s drinking her fancy ‘good bottle’ bourbon [cuz she's a baller] on #springbreak. Kelly’s drinking a cranberry cocktail.
Kelly made Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs. And they’re gluten-free [and easily adaptable for vegan folks!]
If you missed our hashtag & instagrams, we recount our #MakesandBakesLIVE adventure in NYC, including the RIDICULOUS place where we bought these beauties.
And Kelly makes a connection between a durian and French macarons. Yup. She went there.
We talk about the evocative nature of photos of foods, both from the perspective of viewer and photographer. Logical vs. emotion: what pervades in your photographs? Do your instagram photos accurately reflect your personality? Or, do you think there’s a disconnect between emotional cooking/baking and food photography? Tell us in the comments!
What kinds of food images stir a positive emotional response from you? Food photographers & stylists–What’s your style? Autumn reveals the previously-hidden secret of her crisp, clean photos. Do you have any food photography tips? Please, share!
If pictures are a reflection of the photographer, what does that say about the current trend of incorporating shadows into food photography? Or, are they a reflection of changing attitudes toward the maturing state of blogging?
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Click play below to listen to Episode 26
Episode 25: Peeps, Moby Dick Cupcakes & Baking Fails
Nobody’s sick this week [luckily] but there’s a birthday in the house!!
Autumn’s drinking a Boozy Tea/Progressive Old Fashioned: Making bourbon drinking okay for breakfast, lunch AND dinner. Look out for the recipe on Serious Eats soon!
Kelly’s drinking Kedev grape juice (Jewish friends, is she pronouncing that right?) We also talk Passover foods and the great kosher gluten-free options from this company.
Yes, Virginia, there IS a recipe for perfectly fluffy gluten-free pancakes, and, in Autumn’s case, meyer lemon ones. Get the recipe here and in the meantime, let Autumn teach you a thing or two about starches & gluten-free baking.
Kelly takes a teaching turn, talking about the trials of homemade yogurt after reading this book. The gals talk yogurt-making fails and baking with whey. If you want to try it yourself, you can find recipes here and here.
We talk waterbaths too. What’s your favorite recipe that uses a waterbath?
What’s not black and white but red all over? KELLY’S BAKING FAILS. Let’s talk about it. (you can start here and if you’re hankering for some science, this site’s got you covered) Autumn’s got one that one too and it involves going from mushy to burnt in a flash. We try to diagnose our fails, but we welcome your help! Leave us a comment with a suggestion to fix our fails (especially if you’re good at science) or tell us about your baking fails! You’ll be in good company!
Literary cupcakes. GENIUS. They’re not only gorgeous, but they’re the perfect blend of words, food and everything this podcast is about. Kelly’s got literary cupcakes of her own and she’s giving us the backstory on the podcast.
Autumn makes a geeky confession and tells us the story behind visiting Melville’s grave and the unusual gift she left him.
Peeps are turning 60, peeps are going crazy for peeps and peeps are doing weird stuff with peeps… sort of like this, but not. And Kelly makes a peep confession she’s not proud of.
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Episode 24: “Now I want a hot dog.”
Week 2 of no booze continues: Autumn is the sick one this time! And her remedy is echinacea tea and a whole bunch of X-Files on Netflix. What’s your favorite show to stream when you’re sick?
Kelly’s juicing in non-boozey solidarity.
“Ode to a Masticated Beet Juice” Recipe
(to be juiced in a juicer)
2 small beets
1/2 bunch baby spinach
1″ (half-knob) fresh ginger
1 granny smith apple
1. Juice all ingredients. Stir to combine.
blended beets! egg pants!
Want to use up that extra beet pulp? Check out What Julia Ate’s Chocolate Beet Cake.
Are you juicer-less but love green juice? Here’s the technique for blending and straining to make green juice!
Kale juice margaritas! Green juice cocktails! Have you tried them?
“The Ode to Shitfoodblogger Martini”
3 oz quinoa vodka
1 oz kale juice
3 T cooked quinoa
2 oz tears (post Foodgawker rejection tears are best)
Step 1: Dip a martini glass in tears. Rim with raw quinoa. Chill.
Step 2: Pour 3 oz vodka and kale juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Cover and shake as if you were being sponsored to do it. #spon
Step 3: Pour into chilled glasses.
Step 4: Sip with the satisfaction of knowing that your blog is better than everyone else’s.
Autumn has got an abundance of carrots and is running out of ideas. What’s your favorite carrot recipe? Share it in the comments!
We talk Eastern European pastries, Autumn professes her love for the Hungarian Pastry Shop‘s carrot cake and Kelly gives a very muddled lesson on the history of the dobos torte ala Kaffeehaus.
Gratuitous goat photo from The Book Barn.
Back to carrots for a second. Carrot cake–crushed pineapple, walnuts, raisins? What goes in your carrot cake? Got a recipe? Share it with us!
Kelly shares some natural cold remedies from Kris of 80twenty that are sure to open your sinuses and keep the vampires away! Apple cider toddies, anyone?
Bloody marys, bloody caesars and …blood clam shooters? We also talk about clamming and clam chowder–Manhattan, New England or Rhode Island–which is your favorite?
We’ve also got a lesson on CT shoreline geography! (Thanks, Google Maps!)
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Click play below to listen to Episode 24
Episode 23: The Breakfast/Rapper’s Delight Edition
We like to mix things up a bit. And by that we mean record our podcast on a different day, at a different time, like Sunday morning. Judging from our beverage choices, we also like to keep you on your toes and change it up. Like who knew Kelly was classy and kept champagne on hand to make mimosas? Or that Autumn was secretly West Side and drinks Gin and Juice like a true playa?
Autumn shares her recent adventures in the kitchen, including a pomelo-poppy seed cake AND a mess (Kelly is obviously rubbing off!)
Her adventures also star a whole flat-rate box of gorgeous mail-order meyer lemons from these lovely ladies (check them out!) and preserved lemons. Besides lemon curd, what would you make with a box of meyer lemons? Leave us a comment and let us know!
Do you know the laws regarding Everclear sales in your state? We didn’t!
Doooo youuu haaaveee friends that teeeeext liiiike thiiiis? Elongating vowels via text: drag it out or complete drag? We explore why we feel compelled to do this thanks to this article by Jen Doll (who wrote the piece on baking with love from episode 1). We also ponder: is elongating vowels the new emoji?! HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT EXCITED TEXT?!
Along those same lines, online communication might be better if the English language included these 8 New and Necessary Punctuation Marks.
Let’s talk comfort food. Kelly was sick last week and made chicken soup and stock. Autumn thinks of rice & beans from her childhood. What foods do you make or eat to warm the soul? What pieces of writing have the same effect?
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Click play below to listen to Episode 23
Episode 22: “I would lift those turkeys”
Sorry to disappoint, but there’s no boozing this week. Kelly’s under the weather and drinking tea, which leads to a Yogi Tea love-fest. What is your favorite tea to drink when you’re sick?
Grumpycat does the Harlem Shake. You’re welcome.
Autumn is non-boozing in solidarity and drinking cherry juice leftover from her adventures in DIY Homemade Sour Patch Kids.
(The recipe is from Casey Barber’s new book Classic Snacks Made From Scratch featuring tasty treats like Nutter Butters, animal crackers, Klondike bars and yes, even Doritos! Seriously, if you don’t own this book, you need to change that!)
The Sour Patch-making process leads to a discussion about gelatin and booze. Flat beer can work in marshmallows, but too much and things start to get kind of slimy. How much booze is overkill when working with gelatin? Bakers, chemists, marshmallows: weigh in using the comments section below! (then hopefully we can get to work on those whiskey sour patch kids…)
And speaking of marshmallows, for those of you in the know, does acid have the same effect on gelatin as alcohol? We talk about our experiences making lemon marshmallows: Autumn’s take incorporates the zest while Kelly’s uses a larger amount of juice.
The Maker’s Mark Controversy: What’s your take? Does 3% alcohol really make a difference in flavor? Is it worse to make customers wait for a product or to change the time-honored bourbon recipe?
A passive aggressive good time.
Autumn gets strategic when talking about Strand bookstore… which seems like skills you’d also need for being a contestant on this show:
We ponder burnt foods and what it is that makes us love that carbony taste so much. Where do you stand? Do you like the juxtaposition of burnt bits and not-burnt parts of your food? Or are you in the “the more burnt, the better” camp?
And on that note, it’s a funky time of year for local produce. The farmers markets are lacking in colorful produce; how do you keep things exciting in the kitchen with a limited variety of veggies? We want to hear about it!
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Click play below to listen to Episode 22
Episode 21: Flour-less brownies, Essential Baking Pans & Foodie Cats
We start off on a healthy note: Kelly added bourbon to her granola thanks to this recipe from Palate/Palette/Plate and Autumn shares her tips for buying gluten-free oats on the cheap.
We touch on a fudgey note with Autumn’s baking adventures this week: David Lebovitz’s Gluten-Free Brownies. David mentions how French recipes don’t often call for pan sizes like American or Canadian recipes. Do you find pan sizes helpful or limiting? What are your most essential pans?
Autumn & Kelly both agree our most crucial pans are: a loaf pan (9×5″ is standard for gluten-loaves, but you may want a smaller pan for gluten-free loaves like ones found in this book. Autumn explains why in the podcast!), cookie sheets, an 8×8″ square pan for thicker brownies & marshmallows, a cast iron skillet and an enameled cast iron Dutch oven.
What factors into your kitchen purchases? Space? Money? Practicality? Or do you throw caution to the wind and splurge on special items for special projects?
We give love to our favorite local, independently-owned baking supply stores: Sugar Room & Cake Decorators, where the retail space may be small, but the owners are friendly, knowledgeable and carry everything you could possibly need.
Finally, we talk about our furry fellas who are both named after food and have nicknames involving food. Autumn’s grey guy is nicknamed because of his cheek fat and thanks to this video.
Butternut, aka Scup
Mascarpone aka Mars aka Tuna
This poses a bigger question: is it okay to have animals in the house who we love and don’t eat, while still being meat-eaters? Are we less connected to our food because western culture lacks creation mythology inclusive of animals? Autumn raises this point after seeing the animated short Adam and Dog.
oh and before we forget! We got some super awesome podcast love this week via @dhicking on Twitter:
So we wanted to include the very-awesomely-90′s gif he included in his tweet!
Got a question or some feedback? Leave us a comment; we’d love to hear from you!
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Click play below to listen to Episode 21
Episode 20: Virginia Woolf, Bread Therapy and Pretentious Ice Cubes
Things start off on a sugary high thanks to these guys (ride the red velvet train. You know you want to) and these, and debate the merits of raisins. Are you a fan?
Autumn drinks a variation on the negroni and explains Cynar, which is bitter and wonderful and has equally amazing marketing.
(Image from drinkoftheweek.com)
Kelly’s drink involves bourbon, blood orange juice, amarina cherries and slivovitz from this recipe from Cathy Barrow of Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen. Autumn’s damson plum gin.
We discuss the joys (and horrors!) of homemade kombucha. And Autumn gets WebMD on Kelly’s SCOBY starter. For directions on homemade kombucha, check out what Amanda over at Phickle’s got to say about starting your own.
Hate watered down whiskeys or diluted negronis? Autumn’s just got just the thing! (Step up your cocktail game and make your friends say, “oh you fancy huh?”)
BONUS: If you’re feeling extra DIY, try this Martha Stewart ice ball hack. But if crafting is not your thing, you can still make your own AND revisit your childhood for way cheap using this!
The ladies round things out with a discussion of one of our favorite ladies, Virginia Woolf and her self-proclaimed baking prowess, as mentioned in this piece from Paper & Salt. Is baking a return to sensory experience and a means of wordless expression? Or a therapeutic retreat into structure in the midst of verbal clutter? We’d love your opinion; leave us a comment and let us know your thoughts!
(and to get why this is relevant, you’ll just have to listen!)
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Click play below to listen to Episode 20
