honey Archives | The Vanilla Bean Blog

Honey & Toasted Walnut Bread with Icing

Sarah Kieffer — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 03:46:05 +0000

I’m a big fan of quick bread, and most often turn to pumpkin or banana when whipping up a loaf. However, I wanted another variation in my usual rotation, so I came up with this honey walnut bread. It is a delicious change of pace, and perfect for those in-between spring days, when citrus is fleeting and we are anxiously awaiting on berries. ********************************************************** A few things: *If you are a Minneapolis reader, I highly recommend checking out this documentary on one of my favorite bands, Luxury. It’s the story of their almost rise to fame and then tragic van accident while on tour, which changed the course of their lives. *I started an Amazon storefront with all my favorite kitchen essentials and whatnot, but I also have a section for my favorite cookbooks and books I love or am currently reading, if you are interested in that; I am always updating it. More Quick bread Recipes:

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Cake!Cake!Cake!Cake!Cake!

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 02:13:34 +0000

I first discovered Wayne Thiebaud’s painting Cakes at Zoe’s house. She has a small print hanging in her kitchen, and I find myself drawn to it each time I go visit her. It’s simple but beautiful, and I’m often questioning the cakes as I study them. Are you all just chocolate and vanilla, or is there a carrot cake in there, too? Maybe even pumpkin? Is that lemon curd on top down front, or did someone get crazy with the food coloring? What kind are you, little cake peeking out from the side? Why is only one cake cut into way in the back row? Zoe and I have chatted about the piece over the years, and finally came up with a project that has been starring us in the face: baking through Thiebaud’s Cakes. We’ll be starting the series later this summer, so stay tuned. I finally purchased a print of Cakes for myself (details below), and it is now hanging proudly in my kitchen. I still find myself questioning each and every cake on a weekly basis, and it’s spurred on some delicious conversation between friends and family alike. But! I have a non-Thiebaud dessert for you today. […]

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Yogurt Bowl With Saffron Honey

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 03:48:53 +0000

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something. So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever.” -Neil Gaiman Hello, and happy New Year. Things on this end have been terribly busy, and I apologize for the silence again. I’m popping in quick to bring you this amazing yogurt bowl with saffron honey from Heidi Swanson‘s new book, Near & Far. It’s been one of those cookbooks I curl up with on snowy afternoons and late evenings, enchanted by Heidi’s beautiful captures and intriguing flavor combinations. I highly recommend adding it to your book collection. I hope your […]

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french toast with bittersweet chocolate and pears

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 21:35:27 +0000

‘I am not a chef and have never been. I am a home cook who writes about food. Not even a passionate cook (whatever one of those is), just a quietly enthusiastic and slightly greedy one. But, I like to think, a thoughtful one. Someone who cares about what they feed themselves and others, where the ingredients come from, when and why they are at their best, and how to use them to give everyone, including the cook, the most pleasure… The art of crafting something by hand – a sandwich even- for others to enjoy is something I can always find time for. Making a dish over and over again till it is how you want it, whether a loaf of bread or a pasta supper for friends, gives me a great deal of pleasure…[i]f we follow a recipe word for word we don’t really learn anything, we just end up with a finished dish. Fine, if that’s all you want. Does it really matter how you get somewhere? I don’t think it does. Short cuts are fine, rule breaking is fine. What matters is that the food we end up with is lick-the-plate delicious. Let us never forget […]

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waffles with fig compote and orange-honey crème fraîche

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 06:00:37 +0000

As soon as you announce to the world you are going to have a child, the world responds with its wisdom. It’s a lengthy monologue, a blast of ice cold wind in your sweet, glowing face; sentence after sentence of contradictions insisting that you heed its warnings. Vaccinate! Don’t vaccinate! Breastfeed! Formula! Co-sleep! Never! Cloth Diapers! Disposables! Let them cry to sleep! Don’t let them cry to sleep! Snacks! No snacks! Television! No television! (And on and on and on and on…) But while the world may know about its own children, it doesn’t understand mine; the height and depth of these two tiny beings that reside with me. It may even have an arsenal of books with facts and statistics, but still it never took any time to distinguish my daughter’s hurt cry from her tired, or figure out that when she formed her mouth to look like a tiny bird beak there was exactly 49 seconds to feed her or she would rage. The world never saw my son successfully wiggle his way out of swaddled blankets each and every time I attempted to wrap him tightly, or saw him cry himself to sleep though I held him […]

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rhubarb raspberry fizz

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:10:37 +0000

Instead of simmering the rhubarb and raspberries with honey, I’ve added the honey to the warm juice after it’s been cooked and strained. I found this gave it a more ‘clean’ honey taste. I thought 2 tablespoons was the perfect amount – it still left a little bit of tartness to the drink. Feel free to add more if you’d like it sweeter. If you want to make the juice ahead, remember that honey will firm up in the fridge, and you will have to gently reheat the mixture to loosen the honey. Sugar could be substituted, although I would include it in the simmering stage. A tablespoon or two of minced ginger would be lovely here, and strawberries or blueberries would make a nice substitution for the raspberries. A splash of bourbon is also excellent! I made this with both club soda and ginger ale, and liked it both ways.

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Honey Cake with Fleur De Sel

Sarah Kieffer — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 23:42:00 +0000

The days aren’t discarded or collected, they are bees that burned with sweetness or maddened the sting: the struggle continues, the journeys go and come between honey and pain. No, the net of years doesn’t unweave: there is no net. They don’t fall drop by drop from a river: there is no river. Sleep doesn’t divide life by halves, or action, or silence, or honor: life is a stone, a single motion, a lonesome bonfire reflected on the leaves, an arrow, only one, slow or swift, a metal that climbs or descends burning in your bones. -Pablo Neruda Honey Cake with Fleur de Sel There are so many recipes for honey cake out there, but one Friday morning I decided to tinker with my own. I love honey and coffee and butter together [like in this syrup], but most of the cakes I found were made with oil and piles of sugar and piles of spices. I found I still needed some sugar with the honey, but I mostly just wanted to highlight those three ingredients. The warm honey topping was inspired by this cake [isn’t that top so so pretty?], and I saw the honey-salt combination in many places; […]

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honey butter popcorn

Sarah Kieffer — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 23:26:00 +0000

I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.’ – Lewis Carroll I’ve had honey butter popcorn on my to-do list ever since I saw Melissa’s version, but never got around to making it. Then my mother-in-law sent us home with beautiful strawberry popcorn, and I decided it was time. So we spent a snowy afternoon snuggled on the couch, with tiny honeyed snowflakes in our bowls and on our lips. It’s possible we’ll stay right here until winter is done. Honey Butter Popcorn 3 tablespoons oil 1/3 cup popcorn You can watch this video for stove top instructions [it’s only two minutes long and worked like a charm]. For the honey-butter topping, see The Faux Martha.

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