la porte rouge

Let's all just take a few seconds to savor this quaint pocket of a bakery my Madre recently discovered. 

After her weekly walks, my Mom would rave about the cream puffs from a bakery downtown called La Porte Rouge...and while I understood her excitement over a delicacy such as cream puffs, I couldn't understand the excitement over a Japanese take on a French patiserrie. 

So last week, we decided to go on a little excursion to La Porte Rouge for a birthday "choux creme", and discover what all this talk was about. 

Well, now I understand. 

I was enlightened, my friends. 

La Porte Rouge is the sort of bakery everyone loves to imagine - it's tiny, quaint, only known to the locals, and absolutely beautiful.

When you enter, the large red door is opened for you by the ladies who run the counter...and a little bell jingles as it is opened. 

There is classical music and the smell of baking bread in the air, the chef wears a tall white cap, and when he speaks, he lets out a string of flawless Parisian French. 

For a minute, you feel like you've been transported to Europe. 

But the creme puffs....oh boy, the creme puffs. 

I have no words. 

Since there is no place to sit in the bakery, we brought our little puffs of bliss home to enjoy over homemade cafe au laits. 

And let me just tell you something. I think I went into a state of altered consciousnesses for a few minutes. 

No, I'm not being dramatic. 

Yes, they were really that good.   

If you happen to be roaming the streets of good ol' Kuni-ville any time soon, taste the local delicacies - the lotus roots, Iwakuni-zushi, and rice balls - but save an afternoon for La Porte Rouge. 

If for no other reason, do it for me. 

Do it for the creme puffs. 

You won't regret it.

G

Lärabar Bites

Lärabars. 

It was love at first bite. 

Made purely of dried fruit and nuts, I thought that I had found the ultimate snack bar. No added sugar, just enough natural sugar found in the fruit to give me a boost of energy, and nuts to add in some healthy fats. I was smitten. 

   Unfortunately, I discovered that stacking my beloved Lärabars up in the grocery cart on a regular basis was becoming quite a pricey love affair...something had to give. 

 So, I began to conjure up a recipe for my own Lärabars. 

My only complaint about Lärabars was that they contain a lot of sugar (even though natural), in the form of dates. 

Natural sugar is better than processed sugar, but glucose is still glucose, and I wanted to create something that had a little bit less glucose, fructose, sucrose or any other type of 'ose that tried to sneak it's way in.

So I added prunes. Don't even get me started on prunes. They are my favorite...sweet, tart, full of vitamin K, and let's not forget the enormous amount of fiber they offer!;) Plus - they have less sugar than dates...so in they went. 

This recipe is so easy. It took me 10 minutes to throw everything together and roll the little bites out. They're easy, cheaper than Lärabars, and have less sugar. 

Plus - they're amazing. 

Do you need more convincing?

I didn't think so. 

Lärabar Bites

makes about 12 bites

1 1/2 c. Almonds

1/2 c. Prunes 

1/2 c. Dates

1 Tbsp Coconut Cream Concentrate

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 c. shredded, unsweetened coconut (for rolling) 

1. Grind the almonds and cinnamon in a food processor until they resemble a course meal. 

2. Add prunes, dates, and coconut cream. Blend together with the almonds and cinnamon until the mixture comes together as a ball, or until you can form firm balls with the dough. You may have to add a few more prunes/dates depending on how your batch comes together

3. Roll out into bite sized balls and roll into shredded coconut. 

4. Bon appetite! 

p.s. You'll notice that in the pictures of my bites, there were some balls with oats in them. This is because I added a few tablespoons of oats to half the batch along with some chocolate chips for the broskis. 

If you're looking for more of a desert/snack, then I would highly recommend adding the chocolate;)

Okinawa: Part two - Okuma

 

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I'm not sure this post needs words. In fact, I'm positive it doesn't. 

Molasses Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Early this morning, as I drove Padre to spearfish, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the trees surrounding me that were dressed in their Autumn best. The skies were grey and the leaves skittered across the road like glitter on this dreary morning. The ocean breeze was bringing in the smell of the sea, and my hair was curling around my ears as the humidity set in reminding me of  the Autumns in Cape Cod. It was just such a beautiful, peaceful morning! All I could think about as I drove back from dropping Padre off, was that I wanted a warm latte and a chewy molasses cookie. So I came home, put on some Frank Sinatra, dusted off Mama's old cookbook, and went to work. What resulted was a quite delicious cookie that hit the spot.  Here's what went down:




Molasses Cookies:

1c. unsalted butter, softened.
1c. sugar
1c. molasses
1c. sour cream
3tsp. baking soda
3TBSP. white vinegar
2tsp. ginger
1 /2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
4 c. sifted flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter & sugar well. Add molasses and sour cream; mix well. Mix soda with vinegar and add it along with ginger and salt. Stir in beaten eggs, then sifted flour. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet, 2" apart. Bake 8-12 minutes. Make sure to take them out before they get too over done, and lose their chewiness! Remove from pan and cool. Frost.

*Unfortunately, I ate all the frosted cookies before I got any pictures! So you'll have to just imagine the most beautiful frosted molasses cookie ever.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. Neufchatel, softened
1/2c. unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 box powdered sugar

Cream Neufchatel and butter until smooth and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add vanilla.

Voila! And as the Japanese would say: おいしい!