Happy Birthday to Me

I have never been very good at most math, algebra, statistics, pre-calc all went straight over my head. However, along the way cooking and baking have helped me improve my skills, fractions are now a cinch and division just makes sense if you don't want to make six cakes. Beyond these simple skills, there is the more complicated algebra, for example:

1 cranberry upside down cake, plus

Discovering Spices/Zaatar Pizza

One of these days I'm going to set off with a backpack and a notebook and discover the world one spice at a time. I want to explore and learn more about different cultures based on the flavors that define them: moles in Mexico, curries in India, chilies in Thailand, the possibilities are endless. I do think that graduating before I run off would probably be the best idea, so right now I am working on bringing the flavors of the world to my kitchen. Sometimes this intimidates me, foreign spices are, well, foreign and I am not totally comfortable with their depths of flavor. Anyhow, since I don't want to be a total ignoramus when I do set off on my voyage, I just go with it and hope for the best. So far, things have turned out pretty tasty to say the least.

Za’atar is a mix of sumac, wild thyme, sesame seeds and salt. Its complex flavors are earthy and bright, and it can be used for infinite purposes: as a dry rub on meat, sprinkled on hummus, and almost anywhere else you want (after tasting it, you’ll want it everywhere).

Daring Bakers/Puff Pastry Vols-au-Vent

I would like to welcome everyone to the new TBD. Since our last challenge I have revamped the look and feel of my blog and I really hope you all like it; I would like to send a shout out to Ellie from Rainy Day Templates for all her help. Ellie's templates are beautiful and affordable and she could not be nicer and more efficient, for all of you looking for a blog facelift, I highly recommend you check out her site. What better time to reveal my blog's new look than during a Daring Baker's challenge?

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

I was so excited when I found out that we would be making our own puff pastry this month, it is one of my favorite ingredients and I am so happy that I finally learned how to make it myself. I feel like I have always heard horror stories about puff pastry, all the turns, the rolling, the arm pain and so on. The truth is, it was pretty manageable and I found it was all about enjoying the process. Steph require that we make Vols-au-Vent, which is not the first thing that I would think to do with homemade puff pastry. This requirement definitely left me a bit stumped, I spent hours thinking and brainstorming about what to do with it, and in the end I was unsatisfied with all my ideas.