WAKE AND BAKE

Busy days here at CFC headquarters and we are a bit behind in our Tuesday Texture posts. Back to that soon.

Yesterday found me awake at 6:30AM and baking my first ever loaf of Artisan Bread and a deliciously sweet Orange Yogurt Cake with Candied Orange Peel Syrup... by 7:00AM. I needed to start early to get it out of the way so I could do my design work without having to keep an eye on rising dough and a baking cake.

Pretty but not all I expected as to the flavor.

Served with Honey Butter.

The Artisan Bread recipe came with our Cuisanart and I'd like to find another that is just as easy. While I enjoyed this bread, It did not make the amount stated in the recipe nor did it rise as much as I anticipated. It said I was to get 2 9" balls of dough... enough to make 2 loaves... yet I only got one. It was also a bit denser than expected rather than light and airy not to mention a bit too salty and a tad on the yeasty side... BUT... still quite tasty.  I'm not even going to bother with the recipe here. I did make a whipped honey butter to serve with it which was a nice balance to the salty flavor of the bread.

Serve with a dollop of yogurt, or with whipped cream and lemon grass leaves as pictured here.

Let the syrup sink into the cake and let stand in the pan about half an hour. The candied orange peel will stick nicely to the top. Slide a thin spatula around the edge of the pan and gently lift out and slide onto a serving stand. You could also serve directly from the pan.

The cake simply came about because I was flipping through and old cookbook looking for a bread recipe. I saw the recipe for Lemon Yogurt cake in my MARIE CLAIRE COOKING with Donna Hay and thought... that would be good to use the last cup of yogurt and some of our oranges. Of course I tweaked the recipe a bit... I substituted oranges for lemons... why not. Lime or grapefruit would work just as well. I also added the chopped candied orange rind to the top. She says to simply toss in the rind in thick strips and remove before pouring on the cake. Those extra bits really amp up the flavor.


For the cake
1 stick butter (4oz)
1 cup caster (superfine) sugar
2 eggs
1 cup thick plain yogurt
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For the orange syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 an orange rind cut into 1/8" strips then diced into small pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Butter a 9" cake pan.

3. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well.
Stir in the orange juice and zest and half the flour. Then add the yogurt, the remaining flour, and the baking soda, and mix to combine.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, and smooth the top well. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until the cake starts to come away from the sides of the tin, and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

5. A few minutes before the cake is ready to come out of the oven, prepare the syrup. Place the sugar, water, orange juice, and strips of orange rind in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring, over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Allow the syrup to simmer gently for 6-8 minutes. Immediately pour the syrup over the top of the cake, while it is still hot and in the tin. Evenly distribute the candied orange rind across the top of the cake.

Let the cake sit for at least 30 minutes before turning out of the tin and serving. Serve plain or with a dollop of yogurt. We ran out of yogurt so I whipped up 1/2 cup heavy cream with 1 tablespoon honey and 1/4 cup powdered sugar to put on top. Orange and Honey!!! YES PLEASE.

WE GOT MAIL…

We recently got a goodie box FILLED with an assortment of cards from our friend Kate Lydon of SATURATE. Her hand silkscreened cards are small works of art ... in fact the APPLE print she sent us is signed and numbered. Our kitchen is soon the be the proud recipient of that piece along side the scallions and lettuce we already have framed from Kate.

Her clever cards and notebooks are not only beautiful, but clever. I love how she achieves many colors in one card with careful placement of inks in specific areas of just one screen or how she makes vintage florals modern by screening a grid polka dots on top of them. We love them so much, it's kind of hard to part with them... but we do our part and share the them. We find it very important to send proper thank you notes, birthday cards and cheerful hellos rather than a quick e-mail. There really is nothing like a beautiful and thoughtful card waiting for us in our mailbox.

Mahalo for this box of beauty Kate.

Apple Print.

The Lettuce and Scallions already in the kitchen Gallery.

Her clever cards and notebooks are not only beautiful, but clever. I also love how she achieves many colors in one card with careful placement of inks in specific areas of just one screen or how she makes vintage florals modern by screening a grid polka dots on top of them. We love them so much, it's kind of hard to part with them... but we do our part and share the them. We find it very important to send proper thank you notes, birthday cards and cheerful hellos rather than a quick e-mail. There really is nothing like a beautiful and thoughtful card waiting for us in our mailbox. Mahalo for this box of happiness Kate. 

SUPER SAVINGS

The end of December we went shopping to our local SAVERS... sister store to Value Village... which I practically lived in back in Indianapolis. John had a coupon with 12 stamps on it that offered up a 30% discount as well as a coupon for $3.00 off any $10.00 purchase and he suggested we go shopping. I was rather shocked at this suggestion and took the offer to go shopping on December 30th, the day before they expired. Man am I glad we did?! We spent what seemed like hours perusing the shelves and when I came across a David Weidman print I rummaged the store one more time in hopes of uncovering another print or something just as fab. As luck would have it, I did find the Denby plate on that second scouring. We bought a few other things we have not pictured here, and nothing of real interest. John took $10.00 worth of merchandise and used his $3.00 off coupon while I took the "high ticket items" and used the 30% off coupon. I love saving money, but I love saving beautiful pieces of art even more. 

 

 

Not exactly who this piece was made by or when. With the honeycomb texture, matte finish and color we couldn't pass it up at $10 with the discount. If anyone knows anything about this piece I'd love to find out more.

This plate is by Denby and is from the ECHO collection which was produced between 1963 + 1974.
It is listed on replacements.com for $39.99 and we got it for $3.50 with the discount. 

This David Weidman print - Flamingos Feeding - almost sent me over the edge. I knew what it was right away as I had been looking at the prints for sale on the artists website. I had also recently been in contact with his daughter Lenna about shipping pieces to Maui. It was $10.50 with the discount and goes for $250 on Weidman's Art website. As exciting as that was, I almost felt I was stealing it... committing some sort of crime if you will. This frame is not the best choice for the print, but maybe if we take the outer gold part off we might be able to reuse the wood portion. Perhaps a new coat of stain or paint might save it. I also sent images in an e-mail to Lenna the minute I got home... and she was delighted we had found the piece and gave it a loving home.

It is signed and numbered 38/400, but had been mounted with double sided tape that was leaving a nasty discolored mark along the top.

I took the print out of the frame and carefully removed the tape and residue by using a bit of steam and an X-acto knife. Now it's just waiting to be reframed... in something better than what it came in... maybe the old re-worked frame?

We had know about David Weidman for sometime but last summer our friend Parnell sent me a link to an article in the LA times about a resurgence in his work. In fact Urban Outfitters had a few pieces they were selling, so when john was in NY I had him pick up these 2 pillows. David Weidman also has a book of his work out that we hope to be adding to our collection soon.

Where do I begin with this piece? At first we picked it up for the obvious reason... the orange and white frame. We didn't really have a love for the charcoal drawing of the poodles by Richard Priest and were going to get rid of it, but it's growing on us. I love his signature and the frame shop label on the back of the frame.

Then there is this prize. We couldn't pass it up at $1.99 plus the discount. John really wanted it for the packaging, but the caddy really is quite useful.

CUCKOO REVUE 2010

Hand crafted ribbon lettering, coconut crafts, hand knit golf club covers and handmade ribbons for Simple Times, John;s parents enjoying the warm January temperatures and new year plantings.

January started out with John's mom and dad coming for a 7 week visit filled with days fishing, sightseeing, and relaxing while I spent the month making projects for Amy Sedaris' new book "Simple Times - Crafts for Poor People".

Visiting the buddha in Lahaina, in the kitchen making fried cinnamon tortilla strips and homemade pata for lasagna and whale watching in Kapalua.

February we were still entertaining John's parents while his mom cooked almost every day. This was the first time they had seen the Humpback Whales which winter here in Hawai'i.

Swiss chard ravioli, a last dinner on Maui at Sansei, staining concrete, Mom, Nick, Heather and Brandon, Whale wtach and a bamboo birthday hike.

March brought the Giordani's 7 week visit to an end and we had about 2 weeks to recoup and take care of a few home improvements before Conn's family came for a 4 week visit.  Lots of whale sightings and bamboo forest hike for John's birthday.

Touring Haleakala's backside and a stop at Kaupo Store and a wall of waterfalls. Waimea Canyon, Glass Beach, Nick conquering his fear of caves and the Kilauea Lighthouse on the 2 day whistle stop tour of Kaua'i.

We were able to introduce Conn's family to new parts of the island like the back side of Haleakala and we even crammed a 2 day trip to Kaua'i right before they departed Maui.

Ideal Bookshelf book submission, sealing the tiles and tile installation on the office lanai, Kekoa's dad "Big Daddy", and the new kitchen tools.

Mid-April found us putting together the "Ideal Bookshelf" for our book collection that was painted for the Curiosity Shoppe / Jane Mount show. We finally got our office lanai tiled, Kekoa's dad became a regular visitor and we have now become quite close to him. The kitchen faired really well this month with the addition of the long desired KitchenAid mixer and the so hard to find scraper. We were also interviewed and featured on the blog Seeds and Fruit by Kathy Epperson... which led to the design of her new book series - Field Trip.

The view from the office window facing East to Hana. The Java Plum and Christmas Berry trees were getting extremely tall so we cut about 15-20 feet off the tops to reveal what we call Hana Twin Peaks.

May found us tending to the yard and garden area that had suffered for almost a year and a half since we started construction on the new office.

Vanilla ice cream in the making and the new book shelves.

May continued to be full of catching up on home related projects. We finally found some bookshelves and had them shipped from IKEA. Then there was the KitchenAid ice cream maker that needed to be tested. 

Yard work, gardening, concrete staining, wore yard work and the actual painting from Jane Mount for the Ideal Book Shelf project.

June saw the purchase of our new and MUCH need laptops. Our old ones were 7 years old and while they still worked... they were slooooooooooow. More attention to the yard and house this month.

Building a better berm, John visits his family in upstate NY and celebrates his parent's 50th anniversary at the Mohonk Mountain House.

July saw John heading back to NY for his parent's 50th Anniversary as well as visiting old friends in the city.. But before he left we had some landscaping work done, traded in the old... ok not old... the other car for a new gray model that better suits our personalities. Conn's high school friend Jenny and her son Brian, who now lives on Kaua'i, visited on their way to and from Indiana. 

Breaking ground on the shed, nursing a Japanese White Eye after it hit the window, building and planting.

August ushered in the building of the new garden shed from the leftovers of the old garden shed we tore down over a year and a half ago. Conn's obsession with birds is never ending and of course there is always something to plant.

Raising walls and the roof ad finishing touches to the shed, The Hawaiian stilts at Kanaha Pond, Big swells  hitting Ho'okipa Beach.

September we were still working on the new shed. We finally made a visit to Kanaha Ponds to view the wintering birds and the big waves starting showing their faces on the north shore. 

Maui County Fair, a Kapalua hike and Star Noodle Birthday dinner, Guri Guri, fresh coat of paint on the shed, the end of the tent and THE NOBLE CHEF EVENT at the Fairmont Kealani.

October found us at the Maui County Fair and doing a hike in Kapalua on Conn's Birthday finished off with a fantastic dinner at Star Noodle. We finally tried Guri Guri, finished the construction of the shed... with a few bits to add on like shelving and a rain catchment system (which will be detailed in an upcoming post). The Winter winds rolled in and finally helped in dismantling the construction tent. The vent for THE NOBLE CHEF / Maui Culinary Academy that Conn designed all the printed collateral and new logo for took place at the end of October and we were lucky enough to be able to attend and partake in the delicious food from around the islands.

Leonard's Bakery and Diamond HEad on Oahu, Simple Times, John on the "set", charred pine tree in Poli Poli Spring State Recreation Area , international treats and Thanksgiving dinner at Hali'imaile General Store. 

November took us to Oahu for 2 days to do some work with several clients including Leonard's Bakery and more importantly - shopping. Simple Times - Crafts for Poor People hits the stands, John landed a set assisting gig for a Lands End catalog shoot, we got a sweet treat delivery fresh from Paris full of chocolates and sugars from dear Deb and her ohana. Thanksgiving was spent hiking Poli Poli Spring State Recreation Area and going out to eat for the easiest Thanksgiving day dinner ever at Hali'imaile General Store.

Mama's Fish House, The first proof of FILED TRIP, a temporary gate in the attempt to keep out wild pigs, more planting, holiday parties, the new troff to be used as water catchment on the shed, sotting the first whales of the season on the north shore and our bamboo and garland holiday "tree"... the other one did not make it's way out of the box in the garage.

December saw our 10 year anniversary and we celebrated by going to Mama's Fish House. We had wild pigs invading the yard and making a few messes, yard work, parties, whale watching and sad holiday decor.

Conn's Design work for 2010: New Logo for Gurman Container + Supply Corporation, The design of the new book, FILED TRIP, The cover design and hand ribbon lettering for SIMPLE TIMES as well as some very fun crafts inside, A new Logo for a new Floral Wholesaler, New + updated Identity for Melissa Foster Cook of Brilliant Life Design, Art Announcements for Parnell Corder, A CV for hair and make-up stylist Giorgio Baroni, and THE NOBLE CHEF 2010 Logo and printed materials ... just to name a few.

John's Design work for 2010:  The new logo and blog design for hapa | hale, Logo re-work and in-store signage for Leonard's Bakery on Oahu, A new blog design for Grace Supports, Identity for Island Endodontics on Oahu, Logo and Flyer design for an iPhone app called BUCKET LINK, the Website Design for a new Recipe site called Asian Supper and Icons for FIT LIFE a division of Rodale... to name a few.

We somehow managed to keep ourselves very busy with new and continuing clients to whom we are very thankful for their business. MAHALO!

Again, we ate really well and enjoyed the adventure of finding new ways to use the fruit and vegetables from our yard...

...despite being so busy, we always take time to stop and enjoy the tropical flowers...

...Conn obsesses over the birds, especially with the purchase of a new telephoto lens and...

...we introduced you to TUESDAY'S TEXTURE, and we plan on bringing you a new weekly post starting next week.

...we broke for rainbows and...

...we always try to stop and enjoy the vibrant light shows from sunrise to sunset.

Please visit us often in 2011. We will continue to chronicle our adventures and discoveries, food and friends, textures and more. And who know what critters will be showing up here next. That's always fun.

To those of you who visited... we loved hearing from you and hope you enjoyed your visits. 

Mahalo and Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

A hui hou,

c+j 

TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE STARS

Star Fruit (carambola) season is in full swing here and I am trying to use them up as quickly as they ripen — which is no easy task. 

The loaded star fruit tree.

I swear there are over 1000 on this tree. The sad part is when the ground is littered with rotting fruit.
But the birds and geckos are happy... not to mention the gnats.

Saturday night I made a full size star fruit - upside-down cake for our friend Abraham and last night I made these Mini Shooting Star Fruit Upside - Down  Cakes to take to our friend Liz's house for dinner. These mini cakes were inspired by the Hali’imaile Pineapple Upside-Down Cake at Hali'imaile General Store.... Where we will be having Thanksgiving dinner this year. NO COOKING HERE. 

Mini Shooting Star Fruit Upside - Down Cakes.
Arrange on a serving platter in a star pattern.
This one is perfect for the holidays as it looks like a snowflake.

Topping
3-6 medium star fruit

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) butter

12 teaspoons dark brown sugar

Cake
1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon orange, lemon or lime zest

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks, at room temperature

2 egg whites

1/2 cup sour cream



1. Wash and trim the outer ribs on your star fruit then slice  3/8" thick. Remove any seeds.


2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Divide the butter into 12 pieces and place in the bottom of each muffin cup.

3. Place the tins in the oven while it is pre-heating to melt the butter. KEEP AN EYE ON IT AS NOT TO BURN THE BUTTER.

4. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and citrus zest in a small bowl. At this point you should be able to remove muffin tin(s) from oven

5.  Beat one-half cup softened butter and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in egg yolks one at a time.  Next beat in half the flour mixture, then half of the sour cream,repeat with the remaining flour mixture and sour cream. Beat until smooth. If you are using a stand mixer like a KitchenAid, then transfer this batter to a new bowl. Clean your stand mixer bowl and beat egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into batter.


6. Place 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar into each muffin cup and top with one slice of starfruit.

7. Pour approximately 1 heaping tablespoon of the batter into each cup.

7. Place muffin tins on a cookie sheet to prevent any over bubbling from hitting the bottom of your oven. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until the a toothpick comes out clean. I like to let them go just a tad longer to make the visible tops a bit crispy. 


8. Remove from oven and slide a cake icing knife around the edges to loosen them. Place a cookie sheet on top of the muffin tins and Immediately turn out onto the cookie sheet. Serve warm or room temperature. 


* You can also reheat in the oven on on the stovetop in a cover skillet with a little butter for 5 minutes on low flame.


** You can also use just about any fruit for this you like: apple, mango, pineapple, peaches, berries, banana, pear, even orange slices with the rind removed...hmmm// now i want to try the orange version.

Melted butter and brown sugar in tins. I thought I took a pic of the star fruit on the brown sugar — but iI didn't.

Pour batter over star fruit, butter and brown sugar. Bake and remove when golden bubbly and crisp.

Slice a cake icing knife around the edges. I like this knife because it's thin and flexible enough to get under the cakes as well as the sides.

Golden crispy goodness.

Turn out onto cookie sheet and cool.

Place on serving platter and garnish with sliced star fruit and banana leaf sections with the ends cut into dovetails. If you don't have banana leaves, use paper or wired ribbon. Any color will do.
Also, allow the  star fruit slices to drain a few minutes on a paper towel before placing on platter to avoid starfruit juice puddles under your crispy cakes.