"Look a hattery!"
This was just one if the comments I heard when I first opened my little hat shop in Berkeley in 1991 named after my two daughters, Zazu and Violet. They were 9 and 6 years old at the time. Their brothers, Alfie and Huey were 14 and 3 years old.
As a soon to be single parent I had to balance a 6 day work week required by a new small business and feeding and caring for my 4 children. I picked the location for my shop because it was a block away from their school and 4 blocks from our home. They did their homework after school at the shop and at the end of the work day we would walk home and I would cook dinner. They would help as much as they could.
Fortunately I love to cook. The challenge was preparing a good meal in 30-40 minutes. They had to be simple and I was committed to using the freshest ingredients. We would have more elaborate offerings on Sunday. Any baking could be done on Sunday as well.
It has been 20 years, they are all living on their own and are all good cooks thanks to the helping in the kitchen while they were growing up. I decided to adopt a gluten free diet a year and a half ago because of some health issues, inflamed joints and skin allergies. I think these were aggravated by changing all my recipes to whole wheat flours, pastas, etc. I thought it would be a better diet, but it created these health problems. With my gluten free diet everything has cleared up.
The challenge with a gluten free diet is baking and getting the taste and texture we so love from wheat. The gluten free flour mix I have been mixing myself and using seems to be working very well as an all purpose flour. It has sweetness from millet, 'sweet sorghum' and rice flour and good texture from potato flour and tapioca. I added ground flax seed because it is so good for you. The only thing I don't bake is bread, but there are biscuit, scone, English muffin, waffle and crepe recipes, so who needs bread!
Zazu & Violets' all purpose gluten free flour mix
Please contact us at zazuandviolets@gmail.com for flour mix.
Always store your flour in the freezer, let it come to room temp after you measure out what you need, especially if yeast is involved.
Happy Baking!
To see the latest collection of Zazu & Violets' hats, visit our on-line Etsy shop.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Chanel and Asparagus Soup
"Once more, Chanel stands apart from the crowd by virtue of the astonishing simplicity of her attire, an almost masculine tailleur made of white linen, completely unadorned by jewelery. No less spare is the hat, with its relatively discreet brim and its utter lack of 'garnish'."
Coco Chanel lived at the perfect time to be such an influence on the fashion of the time. Women were fighting for their rights, they were less and less restricted creatures, who had been hampered by excessive and uncomfortable dress. Chanel was influenced by practical menswear, it all contributed to being independent and competitive in a man's world.
Simplicity was and is the key. Nothing is as simple, yet celebrates the essence of a vegetable as this asparagus soup. Serve it with fried wedges of rice tortillas topped with a melting cheese and a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves.
Asparagus Soup
Serves 2 people
1 lb. asparagus
2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup white wine
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
Trim the ends of the asparagus. Peel the bottom half of the stalks with a vegetable peeler and cut into 1" pieces. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a saucepan, add the asparagus, thyme leaves and salt, and sauté until the asparagus is very tender, about 10 minutes. Add the white wine, cook for 3-4 minutes, add the stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and puree with an immersion blender. Return to the heat and add the cream. Cook gently until the soup thickens. Serve hot and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil.
This asparagus soup is simple, elegant and with just a drizzle of garnish. I think Mlle. Chanel would have enjoyed it, in the spring-time, while wearing white linen.
To see the latest collection of Zazu & Violets' hats, please visit our on-line Etsy shop.
Coco Chanel lived at the perfect time to be such an influence on the fashion of the time. Women were fighting for their rights, they were less and less restricted creatures, who had been hampered by excessive and uncomfortable dress. Chanel was influenced by practical menswear, it all contributed to being independent and competitive in a man's world.
Simplicity was and is the key. Nothing is as simple, yet celebrates the essence of a vegetable as this asparagus soup. Serve it with fried wedges of rice tortillas topped with a melting cheese and a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves.
Asparagus Soup
Serves 2 people
1 lb. asparagus
2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup white wine
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
Trim the ends of the asparagus. Peel the bottom half of the stalks with a vegetable peeler and cut into 1" pieces. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a saucepan, add the asparagus, thyme leaves and salt, and sauté until the asparagus is very tender, about 10 minutes. Add the white wine, cook for 3-4 minutes, add the stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and puree with an immersion blender. Return to the heat and add the cream. Cook gently until the soup thickens. Serve hot and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil.
This asparagus soup is simple, elegant and with just a drizzle of garnish. I think Mlle. Chanel would have enjoyed it, in the spring-time, while wearing white linen.
To see the latest collection of Zazu & Violets' hats, please visit our on-line Etsy shop.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Butterfield 8 and Gluten Free Potato Puffs
"Another one of those hats," she said.
"Another one of what hats?"
"Didn't you see it? I think they're rather cute, but I don't know whether to buy one or not." -Butterfield 8
I am reading Butterfield 8, which is set in early 1930. Every decade hats change and the fashionable girls start following the trend. At the beginning of the 1930's the cloche was the newest look, close fitting and requiring bobbed hair. The flapper was defined in 1929 and she had to wear a cloche. I was very curious about the book after seeing the movie starring Elizabeth Taylor. As usual Hollywood took great liberties with the story and focused on her character, Gloria's, story and changed the time frame to the 1950's which of course was when Taylor was her most beautiful. The book is much more complicated and has many more characters.
I am not sure when the French decided to mix potatoes with a Pāte á Choux dough and make potato puffs, but I am very happy they did and happily I found a recipe. The only thing left was to make them gluten free. My family is crazy for them!
Potato Puffs
makes about 20 puffs
2-4 small-medium potatoes, use a fluffy potato like russets, red potatoes or Ukon gold, boiled whole in salted water until tender, peeled and mashed.
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
3 tbs. butter
1/2 cup Zazu & Violets' all purpose gluten free flour mix
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
2 large eggs
olive oil or grape seed oil for frying
Pāte á Choux dough
Bring to a boil milk, 1/4 tsp. salt and the butter. Remove from the heat, add the flour mixed with the other 1/2 tsp. salt and xanthan gum all at once and mix with a wooden spoon until it comes together in a ball. Cook for 30 seconds over low heat, transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time with the wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
Stir in the potatoes to make the potato puff mixture.
Heat 2-3" of the oil in a high-sided pot to 350 degrees. Use a 1 oz. cookie scoop to measure the puffs and drop into the hot oil. Don't overcrowd the frying pot. Fry for 2 minutes, then turn the puffs so they brown all over. Fry another 2-4 minutes, turning the puffs in the oil until dark golden brown all over. Remove to paper towels to drain while you continue frying the puffs. You can also keep them in a warm oven if you want to serve them all at once, but there is usually someone ready to eat them as soon as they can.
I make a dipping sauce of mayo mixed with a spicy brown mustard.
I actually prefer to fry them in olive oil, the crust is a little more golden and delicate. Watch out, they are highly addictive!
To see what is currently available at Zazu & Violets' hats, visit our Etsy shop.
"Another one of what hats?"
"Didn't you see it? I think they're rather cute, but I don't know whether to buy one or not." -Butterfield 8
I am reading Butterfield 8, which is set in early 1930. Every decade hats change and the fashionable girls start following the trend. At the beginning of the 1930's the cloche was the newest look, close fitting and requiring bobbed hair. The flapper was defined in 1929 and she had to wear a cloche. I was very curious about the book after seeing the movie starring Elizabeth Taylor. As usual Hollywood took great liberties with the story and focused on her character, Gloria's, story and changed the time frame to the 1950's which of course was when Taylor was her most beautiful. The book is much more complicated and has many more characters.
I am not sure when the French decided to mix potatoes with a Pāte á Choux dough and make potato puffs, but I am very happy they did and happily I found a recipe. The only thing left was to make them gluten free. My family is crazy for them!
Potato Puffs
makes about 20 puffs
2-4 small-medium potatoes, use a fluffy potato like russets, red potatoes or Ukon gold, boiled whole in salted water until tender, peeled and mashed.
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
3 tbs. butter
1/2 cup Zazu & Violets' all purpose gluten free flour mix
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
2 large eggs
olive oil or grape seed oil for frying
Pāte á Choux dough
Bring to a boil milk, 1/4 tsp. salt and the butter. Remove from the heat, add the flour mixed with the other 1/2 tsp. salt and xanthan gum all at once and mix with a wooden spoon until it comes together in a ball. Cook for 30 seconds over low heat, transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time with the wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
Stir in the potatoes to make the potato puff mixture.
Heat 2-3" of the oil in a high-sided pot to 350 degrees. Use a 1 oz. cookie scoop to measure the puffs and drop into the hot oil. Don't overcrowd the frying pot. Fry for 2 minutes, then turn the puffs so they brown all over. Fry another 2-4 minutes, turning the puffs in the oil until dark golden brown all over. Remove to paper towels to drain while you continue frying the puffs. You can also keep them in a warm oven if you want to serve them all at once, but there is usually someone ready to eat them as soon as they can.
I make a dipping sauce of mayo mixed with a spicy brown mustard.
I actually prefer to fry them in olive oil, the crust is a little more golden and delicate. Watch out, they are highly addictive!
To see what is currently available at Zazu & Violets' hats, visit our Etsy shop.
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