After a long hiatus (abandonment?) I'm back! I moved into a new apartment and have been desperate to bake and cook - actually, mostly to bake. This is largely a product of the cool weather, allowing me to turn on the oven without suffocating myself and incurring the wrath of my roommates. The first thing I baked in my new oven, in the new fall weather, were these Flaky Sesame Rolls (Tahinli) from the blog Desert Candy. I didn't realize they would so carefully walk the line between sweet and savory. I think in the future I would increase the sugar content and make them unabashedly sweet and sticky, or increase the tahini, salt, and olive oil and strive for something reminiscent of City Bakery's pretzel croissant. I used white whole wheat flour instead of all purpose. Also, I bought Sahadi brand tahini which I would not do again - I think it's bitter.

Cool and Crunchy Summer Salad

Ok, so it wasn't that hot last night, but I'm definitely in summer cooking mode which dictates as little stove usage as possible. This dinner fits the bill. I wanted to use up a head of red cabbage that had been clunking around in the produce drawer so I put together this salad: sliced red cabbage, grated carrot, chopped cucumber, and diced tofu. I meant to put in cilantro, but I forgot. I made a very spicy dressing composed of tamari, sesame oil, chili flakes, sesame seeds, mirin, and peanut butter. Crunchy, light, and delicious.

Last night was actually a triple-header food night, because after dinner I hopped on my bike and rode to DUMBO for the NYC Food Film Festival (http://www.nycfoodfilmfestival.com/). The screening was right next to Grimaldi's, which treated us to free pizza as we saw two films about pizza in the city and Brooklyn and another film about slow food and farming in Italy. It was great! I met a friend there and we got an ice cream cone at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/brooklyn-ice-cream-factory/).


After biking home I decided I wanted to make some frozen yogurt, but it didn't turn out very well because it didn't have any fat in it. I think it would have been fine if I had eaten it right after it was done, but I was too full and it was too late, so I popped it in the freezer. This morning I saw (felt) that it is frozen solid and will need to thaw before it can be eaten. I think I've probably missed the boat on it ever becoming creamy again. Oh well....I'm going to try to make a salted caramel ice cream soon.