The other day as TK was driving through our neighborhood, our kind neighbor stopped and gave him a bag full of fresh tomato’s and figs from her back yard garden. I was thrilled when he walked in and immediately thought of the Tomato Tart. (Chapter Four: Pies, Tarts, Cobblers and Crisps pg. 268 & 269) I have never made pie dough from scratch. The Tomato Tart calls for her Pate Brisee vs. the Tart Dough, both on page 224. I’m guessing that Pate Brisee is more appropriate for savory tarts because there is no sugar in it. I’ll have to look into that. The crust turned out to be so simple and quick to make. My photos of it in the food processor and wrapped in plastic look pretty much like the book. So far so good.

After letting the dough chill in the fridge for a few hours, I was ready to roll it out and put it in the tart pan. This is the challenging part and where I need to practice. I could not really roll the dough when it first came out of the fridge, it needed to sit for a few minutes. I did lightly flour my cutting board but as I rolled, the edges would crack and break. The recipe called for a 10″ fluted tart pan, mine is 11″. Probably not a big deal. Maybe I needed to add a little bit more water when making the dough? I’m not sure, but this is where practice will probably improve my technique. If you look at the photos on pg. 225 of the Pate Brisee dough draped over a rolling pin and then set into the tart pan, thats not the effect I got at all! I had to maneuver my less than perfect dough into the pan and then do a repair job in the areas where my dough had cracked and come apart. It was pliable enough to fix but it wasn’t pretty. I really want to perfect pie crust so I am looking forward to working through this chapter.

The rest of the Tomato Tart recipe was very easy. I had roasted the head of garlic, which gave the house the most amazing aroma! After that, you simply assemble the ingredients in order: mashed roasted garlic, fontina cheese, tomato slices, salt and pepper, remaining cheese and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 45-55 min., cool on rack for 20 min., sprinkle with thinly sliced basil and serve warm. Simple.

Because our kind neighbor had also given us figs, I served the tart with a salad of mixed greens, figs and goat cheese. We loved this dinner! Even though my dough didn’t look so pretty before the tart was assembled and baked, and it didn’t even compare to the photograph of the final tart in Martha’s Baking Handbook, it did look OK. I will get to a better looking dough with practice but the biggest reward was TK saying “You have to make this dinner for guests soon, it is sooo good”. For me, that’s success!

“Recipe recreated from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook, available online at Amazon.com.  Copyright (c) 2005, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. For more great recipes visit marthastewart.com.”

Last year, I had purchased Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. Having been a Martha fan since 1993, I loved the photography and thought that many of the recipes seemed doable. Baking is one area that I know nothing about and have absolutely no experience.  As I was flipping through the pages admiring the gorgeous tarts, cakes and yeast breads, I had an idea. An original idea? No. An interesting idea? Possibly not to anyone but me, and maybe my brother, who I had given Martha’s book as a gift, and because he’s my brother!

The idea? To teach myself to bake using Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook as my guide. Now I’m not looking for a book or movie deal, that’s been covered by another blogger, about another famous cookbook, by another famous chef. Right? We all saw that movie. (and loved it!) I simply want to challenge myself to learn to bake, challenge myself to take better photos as I go, and possibly become a better writer as well. I am a complete amateur in all three areas. I will publish the good, the bad and the ugly as I’m sure there will be less than perfect results. I certainly don’t have the stylists, photographers, chefs, lighting, even baking equipment that Martha has, so I’m not expecting my final results to look like hers. If I can learn to be a somewhat competent baker, and learn from the mistakes that I will surely make, I’ll be happy. I’m not going to put a time limit on myself but I am committing to try every recipe in the book. I would like to post at least once a week but I do work a full time job that requires travel, so I’ll just do the best I can.

I started out writing this post thinking back on why I started a blog in the first place. People blog for so many reasons. Some to promote a business or product, to make money, offer education on any subject imaginable. People use twitter, facebook and a vast array of social networking tools to drive people to their blogs. Obviously blogging has become a way to make a living and a way of life for some, but the amount of time they put into it makes my head spin. My baking experiment is simply a hobby for me so I’m taking the pressure off! If no one reads Inspired Ingredients but me, that’s OK. I do not want to participate in twitter! This is my own personal diary of learning some new personal skills in a time where I want to focus on something other than the worst economy of our lifetime. I believe that worrying about that which I can’t control is more exhausting than Martha’s Mocha-Pistachio Wedding Cake on page 209. Well, maybe. That wedding cake does make me a bit nervous. Anyway……here we go!

“Recipe recreated from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook, available online at Amazon.com.  Copyright (c) 2005, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. For more great recipes visit marthastewart.com.“

The Huntington Meats is exactly the kind of meat market that makes you want to cook. They have a beautiful assortment of handmade sausages that they prepare daily from pork, chicken and lamb and contain no sodium nitrates or preservatives. The market also offers a huge array of Harris Ranch Beef,  Boars Head meats and cheeses, hams and condiments. They have won polls for providing the #1 New York Steak in L.A.. You can order specialty cuts of meat for any occasions or for the Holidays. I have always wanted to try preparing a crowned roast and they said to just order it ahead of time and they’ll tell me how to do it.

But this visit was about the dog food. I met John, a meat cutter who has been cutting meat for 25 years. Dan, one of the owners, has been cutting meat for 40 years, so these guys know their meat!  John said that the raw dog food is made of a mixture of cheeses, ends of ham, hearts, kidneys, liver and spleen. They grind the ingredients, mix it and then grind it a second time. Then they freeze the mixture and cut it into squares. It’s sold in a 3lb bag for $2.98. John said to mix it with kibble the first few times so the dog can get used to it, after that, you can give it to them straight. The raw food should be kept in the freezer. You can take a portion and put it in fridge to thaw slowly the night before you serve it to your pet. Because of the fine grind, you want to thaw slow to prevent bacteria, just like you do with the meat you eat yourself. I was told not to cook it, just break it up. I’m not condoning or condemning the practice of feeding your pet raw meat, but if concerned, there are a lot of articles on the internet that you can read about it. Here is a link to one you might enjoy.

I found it interesting to learn that the raw foods craze was not just for humans, but that it might be a good idea for certain pets as well. Maybe not all pets, like an older dog who has digestive problems. Everyone has to make their own choices about what they feel are the best ingredients for themselves and their pets. If you have concerns, you should talk to your vet but I can tell you that my city dogs, Malcolm, Lulu and Buck all seemed to love it! I really like the idea that a beautiful, quality meat market has thought about my dog’s needs as well as my own. It makes sense.

Huntington Meats will also ship any of their products throughout the U.S. You can visit their web site, or call them at 323-938-5383  for more info.

The young woman who approached me in the market was very knowledgeable, and by asking me various questions, she was able to pull down from the wall three blends for me to experience. With tea, for myself, it’s all about aroma. I ended up choosing a specialty blended Black Tea called “Whispering Heaven”. This tea contains a black rose congou base infused with grapefruit and hibiscus notes. It was very aromatic and delicious.

It all sounds kind of like the blending of perfume and it’s no wonder. The first T Salon, located in the Chelsea Market in New York, was founded in 1992 by Miriam Nouvalle, who many years ago worked as a “nose” in the perfume industry. After leaving that business and moving to Europe and Asia, Miriam was able to use her experience and knowledge to manifest her tea vision. The Los Angeles stored opened about seven months ago.

Both stores have an interesting calendar of events. They also offer a huge selection of tea accessories, iced teas on tap and fresh seasonal foods prepared in their cafe, some made with tea as an ingredient!

Miriam has created an environmentally responsible business that is fun to shop in and beautiful as well. The T Salon’s comprehensive web site gives all the details of what they do to leave as little footprint as possible. I really enjoyed my visit to the Los Angeles location! You can find T Salon at 7111 Melrose Ave..

The market was really clean and had everything you might need spur of the moment, like a greeting card, firewood on a cold night or oil for your car. In addition, it had everything you would need to throw a great dinner party, a full service meat department featuring Harris Ranch Beef, fresh and frozen fish, a deli (hot and cold), nice wine selection and a good sized produce department. I don’t know what it is that gives me good feelings when I walk into a store like this, but I think it’s what we lack in the shopping experience of the mega-stores. It’s the owners knowing your name and what your preferences are, it’s the care that goes into the day to day running of the business from an entrepreneurs perspective, it’s knowing that this family’s livelihood comes from serving the community.

I know I can be a bit of a sap, always mentioning the nostalgia of it all when it comes to small markets, but I still think it matters. While I was in the store today, one of the customers said she had been coming there her whole life. The lovely couple who was running the market, and gave me the information about it’s history, said that you’ll find fewer and fewer family owned markets because of cost. I hope the Moore’s stick around for at least four more generations and thrive. They don’t have a web site for me to link to, but you’ll find Moore’s Lunada Bay Market at 2201 Palos Verdes Drive West in Palos Verdes Estates. They did give me a brochure about the business and in it was a quote by John Forte: “Its better to compensate the grocer than the doctor.” I couldn’t agree more. Support your neighborhood market!

Clementine turned out to be the kind of food that I love, homemade, seasonal food with ingredients purchased at local farmers markets. The place was bustling inside, even though for most working people, lunch time was over. They serve a great assortment of salads, soups, sandwiches, breakfast all day and sweets. You can see in the photo, most sweets were gone by the time I arrived. They also sell heat at home entrees which looked like healthy comfort food. See the menus on their web site. I had the yummy Winter Spinach Salad with apples, cranberries, walnuts and blue cheese dressing, and a fresh squeezed limeade to drink. You order at the counter and the servers bring your meal to the table, very friendly and quick. I was in lunch heaven! I’m so glad that awning caught my attention. I know the rest of my day was better because instead of fast food, I sat in a cozy environment enjoying fresh food. It reminded me that a few extra minutes are worth the mental and physical benefits of putting good ingredients in the body. Find them at 1751 Ensley Ave. off of Santa Monica Blvd. On the opposite side of Century City mall.

Claro’s has a great selection of imported and domestic Italian groceries. I have never seen so many tomato products, including a huge variety of San Marzano tomatoes, the best! They also carry a large array of olives, beans, canned tuna, the kind you enjoy in Italy, polenta and pastas. They sell a nice selection of wine, obviously mostly Italian but they also have an assortment of Greek, French and Argentinean wine as well. The deli is stocked with various Italian cheeses, cured meats and their own Italian sausage in many varieties. People line up at the deli to get sandwiches “to go” so avoid the lunch rush. I think what Claro’s may be best known for are their sweets. Do not go in here hungry! They have a huge assortment of cookies and breads. The one I can’t leave without is their own Pizelles, which are a flat anise flavored waffle cookie.

Before I went in the market today, I printed out a few recipes from their web site so I could be a bit more focused in my shopping in order to make a great Italian dinner tonight. The entire experience of cooking has already started out on an inspirational note because of my trip to Claro’s today. Salute!

I had not eaten much Vietnamese food before going to Number Nine Noodles and Beer in Long Beach; CA. Wow, was I in for a great surprise! The owners are young entrepreneurs who had previously owned the Downbeat Café in Los Angeles and who also currently own The Vintage Collective, next door to Number Nine.

I asked them why Vietnamese, especially since she is from Barcelona and he from Southern California? Their response was that they love the food and felt it was poorly represented in Long Beach. They wanted to do a pho restaurant exactly how they would like it: good design, groovy music, plenty of killer beers, 100% natural meats, quality ingredients, nice servers, clean and with a stream-lined menu of just the staples. I think they hit the nail on the head!!

When there, I tried the vegetarian spring rolls, which are served cold and have a wonderful explosion of flavor from the fresh mint, thai basil and cilantro. They also include lettuce, pan-seared tofu, shiitake mushrooms, vermicelli noodles, daikon and carrot pickle, with peanut sauce on the side. I also tried the Chicken Pho, rice noodle soup that comes with an herb plate that contains bean sprouts, lime, thai basil, jalapenos and cilantro. The flavors made my mouth happy! TK had the Banh Mi, a Vietnamese sandwich. He chose the barbequed pork which comes with a sriracha mayo and sliced jalapenos, and is served with shrimp chips. It was quite large with just the right amount of heat.  For desert, we chose ginger infused crème brulee, a nice twist to the classic with just a hint of spice. Really different and really good!

The atmosphere is sleek and modern, but casual, a nice neighborhood spot on 4^th street. It’s the kind of place you want to go to with friends after a busy day. The wine and beer selections are excellent and their cocktails look interesting as well. Next time I have to try the Hanoi Bellini.

When  in Long Beach, check it out, your taste buds, as well as the rest of your senses will thank you!

Lentil Walnut Burgers

3/4 c lentils

1 ½ c water

2 T apple cider vinegar

1 T olive oil

1 c onion

5 garlic gloves

½ c minced walnut

1 t salt

½ lb fresh minced spinach

1t dry mustard

½ c wheat germ or bread crumbs

Add lentils to water and bring to a boil. Simmer 30 minutes or until dry, transfer to a bowl. Add vinegar and mash.

Heat oil in large skillet. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except wheat germ/bread crumbs and sauté 5-10 minutes. Transfer to large bowl.

Add wheat germ to ingredients and mix well. Adjust seasoning. Chill for 1 hour.

To make patties:

Form lentil mix into patties with your hands. You can either brown them in a skillet with some olive oil or bake them. I love to freeze the patties by forming the patties and stacking them with wax paper in between and putting in a big zip lock freezer bag. You can then take them out individually for a quick lunch or dinner. Or for something a bit fancier, cook the patty and top with the following delicious sauce (my favorite):

Carrot Avocado Dressing

2 ripe avocados, peeled and seeded

1 garlic clove

1 1/2 cups fresh carrot juice

1 tsp oregano

2 scallions, minced

Braggs (liquid amino acids) to taste

Blend all ingredients. Chill and garnish with scallions