Celebrating Ancient Grains: Heritage Baking Cookbook

Artisanal, Bakeries, Bakery, Chicagoland Area, Chronicle Books, Historic foodways

A history major and bread aficionado, Ellen King became intrigued by the abundance of grains once available and commonly grown in the United States that had, since World War II, completely disappeared from the marketplace and which often didn’t seem to exist anymore.

“I spent some time in Norway and bread was about all I could afford to eat,” says King, who earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in history and then attended the Seattle Culinary Academy and worked in several Seattle restaurants before she moved to Evanston, Illinois. Shocked at finding that Chicago didn’t have the types of breads she yearned for, she began a search for heirloom grains and began making bread the old fashioned way—using natural wild yeasts as an ingredient, mixing and turning the dough by hand for several hours and then injecting steam for a crisp crust while it bakes in an imported European oven.

But that wasn’t enough for King, who in 2013 opened Hewn Bakerywith partner Julie Matthei in Evanston, Illinois and is the author of Heritage Baking: Recipes for Rustic Breads and Pastries Baked with Artisanal Flour with Amelia Levin (Chronicle Books). For her hand foraged breads she wanted to harken back to the grains of a century or so ago instead of using the homogenous flour currently turned out by big corporate mills.

What good was opening a bakery if I couldn’t find good ingredients, King remembers thinking. Partnering with farmer Andrea Hazard who was interested in growing heirloom grains, the two finally connected with Stephen Jones, a wheat breeder and the Director of The Bread Lab at Washington state University. Jones, who earned a PhD in Genetics from the University of California at Davis, suggested she and, a farmer who was interesting in growing heritage wheat, read old farming journals to find out what varieties that were grown at the turn of the last century.

“There are literally over 10,000 varieties of wheat,” King says. “One person told me 100,000.”
The names are romantic–Rouge de Bordeaux, Turkey Red and Marquis. But the seeds seemed ephemeral. Take Marquis, a hard red spring wheat first introduced in Canada in 1895. It was among the most widely grown wheat in the United States between the 1910s through the 1930s. During the 1920s, Marquis accounted for 59% of the wheat produced in Wisconsin. By the time King went looking for it, Marquis was no longer grown and she couldn’t find the seeds.

But her years during historical research paid off. Countless queries led to a college professor who had 2.2 pounds of Marquis wheat. Planting the seeds King and Hazard were able to produce 30 pounds the first year. Now they hope to have 3000 seeds which will yield enough to both make bread and save seeds.

“That way we can grow more and share with other farmers,” she says.

Selecting a loaf of bread from Hewn is like taking a step back into history. The menu of hand-forged breads made from organic, locally sourced re-discovered wheat varieties include those made with Turkey Red, a heritage variety of wheat grown in Wisconsin and Kansas Lower in gluten the bread has a nutty flavor and Red Fife–a heritage variety of wheat grown and milled in Wisconsin.

Why did these varieties disappear, I ask King.

“After World War II the cherished varieties fell out of favor,” she says. “And when we did that we lost the uniqueness of each region where the wheat grew and we lost the flavor. Along with the homogenization of our wheat, we added fertilizers and products like Round-Up and made bread less healthy.”

It was all about efficiency and mass production.

“General Mills flour is always exactly the same and large scale baking needs that consistency,” she says. “At Hewn, I invest in people, not machinery. For us, it’s about training the baker in how to treat and understand the flour.”

Just as wine connoisseurs can recognize the terroir of grapes, King can do the same with wheat. And though heirloom produce like tomatoes, squash and peppers has become a major player in farming, she says wheat varieties are still lagging.

But she enjoys the challenge of finding farmers who are growing them.

“There are more and more people doing it,” she says. “I met this guy who is growing Pedigree Number 2. At first I couldn’t find any one growing Red Kharkoff anywhere, but now I’m connecting with a farmer in Washington state who is growing it and all sorts of grains. It takes time, but it’s worth it—it’s better for the soil, for the environment and for our health. It tastes great. And also, it’s history.”

Heritage Corn and Berry Muffins

Excerpted with permission from Heritage Baker by Ellen King

Note: Most of the recipes in Heritage Baker require preparing a starter which is a process that takes several days. King recommended that beginners start with one of her muffin recipes as they are the simplest to make. She also notes that the flavor of flint corn is rich and pronounced but if you can’t find Floriani, any flint corn variety from your region will work well for this recipe. You can also, more easily, substitute regular or coarsely ground cornmeal which is found in supermarkets. Be sure to avoid finely ground cornmeal. Brands available in grocery stores like Bob’s Red Mill offer coarse ground coarse meal and a variety of flours. There are several places in Michigan where you can order specialty heirloom flours.

Country Life Natural Foods in Pullman, Michigan is a wholesaler but also sells in small amounts. They offer mail order and delivery. 641 52nd St., Pullman, MI 800-456-7694.

DeZwaan Windmill on Windmill Island in Holland, Michigan sells stone ground cornmeal and flour. Click here for more information about their products.

Ingredients for some of the grains in King’s book such as flint corn can be found online, at specialty stores or at farm markets.

Janie’s Mill in Askum, Illinois offers a wide variety of flours including Organic Black Emmer, Organic Einkorn, and Organic Red Fife Heirloom Flour as well as other products such as Whole Organic Spelt Berries, Organic Bloody Butcher Cornmeal, and Organic Turkey Red Flour among many others.

Batter:

2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
13/4 cups sifted heritage flour, such as White Sonora or Richland
1/2 cup fine-milled Floriani Flint or other heritage cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 cup strawberries, quartered, or blueberries

Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup stone rolled heritage oats
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 12-cup muffin pan.

To make the batter, stir together the granulated sugar and eggs in a large bowl until combined. Stir in the heavy cream, sour cream, and vanilla, followed by the melted butter. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir just until combined.

Using a wooden spoon, very gently fold in the berries. Do not overmix. Using an ice cream scoop, spoon the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups; the cups should be three-quarters full.

To make the streusel topping, combine the brown sugar, oats, and butter in a small bowl. Using a spoon or your hands, stir until the mixture becomes crumbly. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the topping over each muffin.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until a metal skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, or freeze in a resealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. To reheat, set on the counter until thawed and warm in a 325°F oven for 10 minutes.

Hewn in the News: Food & Wine magazine featured Hewn as one of the Best Bakeries in America and in the article The Best Bread in Every State. Hewn was listed among the Best Bread Bakeries at the Food Network, and as one of the Best Bakeries in Chicago by Thrillist. Click here to listen to their recent interview on the WBBM Noon Business Hour. Click here to read Midwest Living Magazine’s “Best of the Midwest.” Click here to watch Steve Dolinsky’s recent segment on the bakery on NBC5 Chicago. To learn more about their expansion to Libertyville, click here.

Photos by John Lee reprinted with permission by Chronicle Books. Additional photos by Siege Food Photo, Kailley Lindman and Julie Matthei

Spilling the Beans: Abra Berens Dishes on Legumes, Beans, and More in Her Latest Cookbook

Seasonal Recipes

A much maligned vegetable belonging, along with peas and lentils, to the vegetable class called legumes, beans are about as low on the food chain as you can go in terms of respect. Kids snicker at rhymes about beans and the gas they produce and sayings like “not worth a hill of beans” signifies their, well, insignificance.

Once Abra Berens, the former co-owner of Bare Knuckles Farm in Northport, Michigan and now the executive chef at Granor Farm in Southwest Michigan, was like most of us. She didn’t give a bean about beans. That is until she became intrigued by the bean and grain program at Granor, a certified organic farm in Three Oaks, a charming historic village with its own burgeoning food culture.

Now she’s all about legumes and grains and for anyone who knows Abra that means a total passionate immersion in the subject which resulted in her latest cookbook, a 464-page door stopper with 140 recipes and over 160 recipe variations titled Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds, and Legumes. Just published by Chronicle Books on October 26^th, the demand for Grist is so high it was hard to get a copy at first.

Now, that’s worth more than a hill of beans.

Berens, a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Chef: Great Lakes, also authored Ruffage. That book, which came out in 2019, was named a Best Cookbook for Spring 2019 by the New York Times and Bon Appétit, was a 2019 Michigan Notable Book winner, and was also nominated for a 2019 James Beard Award. She puts the same energy into her Grist.

“We are told over and over again to eat a diet rich in whole grains and plant-based protein,” writes Berens in the book’s introduction. “The science is there—high in soluble fiber, low glycemic index, healthy fatted protein—but the perception of whole grains seems to still be of leaden health food, endless cooking times, and cud-like chewing at the end of it all.”

Indeed. Consider this. A cup of cooked black beans has 245 calories and contains approximately the following percentage of the daily values needed in an average diet—74% folate, 39% manganese, 20% iron, 21% both potassium and magnesium, and 20% vitamin B6.

“But we all know that they’re good for you,” says Berens, who describes herself as a bean-evangelist. “I want people to understand these ingredients and you can’t understand these ingredients until you know them.”

And so, she introduces us to 29 different grains, legumes, and seeds. Some like lentils, lima beans, split peas, quinoa, rice, and oats we know something about. Others are more obscure such as cowpeas, millet, teff, fonio, and freekeh are mysteries. That is until you read her book and learn not only how to cook them but also about their history. There’s a cheat sheet of the health benefits of each. Berens also conducted interviews with farmers including her cousins Matt and John Berens, third-generation farmers in Bentheim, Michigan who have transitioned into growing non-GMO corn and edible beans and Jerry Hebron, the manager of Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, a nonprofit, community-based organization dedicated to cultivating healthy foods, sustainable economies, and active cultural environments. Hebron has been raising crowder beans for almost a decade.

We also get to meet Carl Wagner, a farmer and seed cleaner in Niles, Michigan. Berens said she wanted to include “invisible” farming jobs and this certainly is one. She didn’t know what a seed cleaner was until a few years ago and figured that most of us don’t know either. Wagner, with his wife Mary, run C3 Seeds, a company that provides seed cleaning for grains and seed stock. When Berens asked him what he’d like people to know about his job, his response was that they would know that seed cleaning “is part of buying a bag of flour or a bottle of whiskey.”

“The biggest thing is that if people are interested in cooking with beans, it’s an easy entry point it’s not like buying $100 tenderloin,” says Berens.

Of course, you can buy beans in the grocery store. Berens recommends dried beans not canned. But Granor Farm also sells black, red, and pinto beans at their farm store which is open Friday and Saturday. For information on the times, visit granorfarm.com

Berens is already working on her next book, tentatively titled Fruit, due out in 2023. When I ask her how she does it all, she laughs and replies, “I don’t have any hobbies.”

And she takes things very seriously.

“Every author has to think about why they’re putting something in the world,” she says, “and what is the value of it and makes these books worthwhile.”

With Grist, we’re learning the value of tasty and healthy foods that taste good.

The following recipes are reprinted from Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds, and Legumes by Abra Berens with permission from Chronicle Books, 2021. Photographs © EE Berger.

Seared Chicken Thighs W/Buckwheat, Smashed Cucumbers + Tajín Oil

The angular mouthfeel of the buckwheat plays well with the crunch of the cucumber and against the crisp of the chicken thigh. Serve the buckwheat warm or chilled, depending on your preference. If you aren’t eating meat, the salad is a great lunch on its own or pairs well with an egg or fried tofu.

1 cup buckwheat groats, toasted or not
Olive oil
2 medium cucumbers (about 1 lb. total), washed
1/4 cup Tajín Oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup plain yogurt, Greek or traditional
1 lemon (about 1½ oz) zest and juice
10 sprigs parsley, roughly chopped
Any additional herbs you want, roughly chopped (mint, tarragon, thyme, cilantro)
Pinch of chili flakes (optional)
4 to 6 chicken thighs

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil over high heat. Toss in the buckwheat groats and give the pot a stir. Return to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook the grains until tender, 8 to 15 minutes.

Drain the groats, toss with a glug of Tajín oil, and set aside.

Trim the ends of the cucumbers and place on a cutting board. Using the widest knife (or frying pan) you have, press down on the cucumbers until their skin cracks and they break into irregular pieces. Dress the cucumbers with the Tajín oil and a pinch of salt.

Combine the yogurt with the lemon zest and juice, chopped herbs, chili flakes (if using), a pinch of salt, and two big glugs of olive oil. Set aside.

Blot the chicken skin dry and season with salt and pepper.

Heat a large frying pan over high heat until the pan is starting to smoke. Add a glug or two of oil, lower the heat to medium, and fry the thighs, skin-side down, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip the

chicken and sauté until cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes more.

To serve, dish the buckwheat onto serving plates. Top with the chicken thighs and then the dressed cucumbers. Garnish with a thick spoonful of the herbed yogurt.

Tajín Oil

1 cup neutral oil
2 Tbsp Tajín

In a medium sauce or frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat until it begins to shimmer, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the Tajín, and let steep for 5 minutes.

Whole Roasted Leeks w/Chickpeas, Lemon Vinaigrette, Ricotta + Chard

4 large leeks (about 2 pounds), trimmed and cleaned of dirt
4 sprigs thyme (optional)
¼ teaspoon chili flakes (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 orange (about 3 ounces), peel stripped, juiced, or ¼ cup white wine or hard cider
3/4 cup olive oil
2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed
1 bunch chard (8 ounces), cut into ribbons (or spinach, kale, or arugula)
2 lemons (about 3 ounces), zest and juice
4 ounces ricotta

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the whole, cleaned leeks, side by side, in a roasting pan.

Scatter the thyme (if using), chili flakes (if using), and 2 large pinches of salt evenly over the leeks.

Scatter the orange peel strips over the leeks and drizzle them with the orange juice and ¼ cup of the olive oil to coat.

Cover with foil and bake until the leeks are tender, 35 to 45 minutes.

Combine the chickpeas, chard ribbons, lemon zest and juice, and remaining ½ cup of olive oil with a big pinch of salt and a couple of grinds of black pepper.

When the leeks are tender, transfer from the roasting pan to plates or a serving platter. Top with the chickpea and chard salad. Dot ricotta over the top and serve.

Spoon Pudding with Pork Chops and Cabbage Salad

For the spoon pudding:

¾ cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder

For the salad:

About 1 pound red cabbage, shaved into thin strips
¼ cup olive oil
10 sprigs parsley, roughly chopped
1 lemon zest and juice
½ teaspoon chili flakes
½ teaspoon paprika
Salt

4 pork chops, seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled

To make the spoon pudding:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an ovenproof baking dish or frying pan that can hold 2 quarts total volume.

Combine the cornmeal, salt, 1 cup of boiling water, and the melted butter and whisk out any lumps. Combine the eggs, milk, and baking powder and add to the cornmeal batter. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake until the edges of the spoon bread are just set and lightly browned, 30 to 40 minutes.

To make the salad: Combine the cabbage with the olive oil, chopped parsley, lemon zest and juice, chili flakes, paprika, and a couple pinches of salt. Toss to combine and adjust the seasoning as desired.

Serve the spoon bread alongside the grilled pork chops and cabbage salad.

Flavors of the Sun: Middle Eastern Ingredients from a Century Old Family Business

Chroncile Books

“Herby and garlicky, with a bright jolt of sumac, this is everything you want in a one-pan meal,” says Christine Sahadi Whelan about her recipe for Sheet Pan Chicken with Sumac and Winter Squash.

Whelan, a fourth-generation co-owner of Sahadi’s and a lifelong Brooklyn resident, grew up in the James Beard Award-winning specialty grocery store that first opened in 1898. A graduate of NYU with a Degree in Finance and International Business she also trained at the Institute for Culinary Education, she also made mamoul with Martha Stewart. She brings all this to the table as Sahadi’s Culinary Director and now with her new book, Flavors of the Sun: The Sahadi’s Guide to Understanding, Buying, and Using Middle Eastern Ingredients with its more than 120 recipes. The flavors of the Middle East are just steps away from your kitchen with this book.

Sahadi’s is truly a family affair. Both her children as well as her husband work at the store which is an integral part of their neighborhood and the city of New York as well. Their excellence was recognized as a true American Classic by the James Beard Foundation.

Whelan notes that the ingredients in her Sheet Pan Chicken like many of the recipes in the book can easily be substituted.

“Kabocha and delicata squash are good options because they don’t need to be peeled, but acorn squash or butternut work, too,” she says. “I sometimes use a couple of different kinds for visual interest. Either way, you’ll have folks wanting to eat directly from the pan the second you take this out of the oven.”

The book is an amazing introduction to the wide variety of ingredients such as sumac, pomegranate molasses, aleppo black pepper, and halvah that are best sellers in the store. Whelan shows us how to use them in easily her accessible recipes that are a great way to learn the nuances of Middle Eastern cookery.

Warm Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini-Yogurt Dressing

“We are always happy to share recipes with customers who want to try their hand at our family favorites at home, but we love it even more when customers return the favor! This recipe is a variation on one that came to us from longtime patron Steve Marcus, who devised a hearty cauliflower side dish incorporating all his preferred Sahadi’s staples,” writes Whelan in the introduction to this recipe. “It’s well-spiced and tangy, with a hint of sweetness from dried apricots, and a nice cold-weather option when there aren’t a lot of fresh green veggies to choose from.”

SERVES 6 TO 8

1 head cauliflower
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp za’atar
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp Aleppo pepper
¼ cup tahini
¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, full or low fat
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
½ tsp ground white pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup chopped Turkish apricots

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Cut the cauliflower into 2 in [5 cm] florets and mound on a large rimmed baking sheet. Toss with ¼ cup of the oil and the za’atar, ½ tsp of the salt, and the Aleppo pepper. Spread the cauliflower in a

single layer and roast, turning once or twice as it cooks, until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

While the cauliflower is roasting, whisk together the tahini, yogurt, remaining ¼ cup of olive oil, and the lemon juice in a large bowl. Season with the remaining ½ tsp of salt and the white pepper. Add 2

Tbsp of water to thin to drizzling consistency, adding more by the tsp as needed.

Add the warm cauliflower and toss to coat with the dressing. Gently stir in the parsley and apricots to distribute evenly. Serve warm.

Sheet Pan Chicken with Sumac and Winter Squash

SERVES 6

4 lb. chicken pieces, any combination
3 Tbsp sumac
1 tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, grated with a rasp
1 cup [240 ml] extra-virgin olive oil
1 kabocha squash (or ½ kabocha squash and 1 acorn squash)
1 bunch fresh oregano or thyme
3 red onions, peeled and quartered
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Pat the chicken pieces dry and, if you are using breasts, cut each in half to make 2 smaller pieces.

Whisk together 2 Tbsp of the sumac with the salt, dried thyme, dried oregano, and garlic in a large bowl. Add the oil and stir until well blended. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl, turning to coat them with the mixture, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the squash in half through the stem end and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into ½ inch thick slices and arrange them in a single layer (or overlapping slightly) on a large baking sheet. Scatter the herb sprigs on top, reserving a few for serving. Arrange the chicken on top of the squash, skin-side up, leaving a bit of room between the pieces and tucking in red onion chunks here and there. Dot the lemon slices around the pan. Pour any remaining marinade over everything.

Roast in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Baste the chicken and squash with pan juices and continue to cook for 15 minutes, or until the skin is browned and the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sumac and the reserved herb sprigs. Serve directly from the baking sheet.

Sweet and Spicy Nut Brittle

“One of the best parts of working in this business is that I always have top quality nuts available for snacking or baking,” says Whelan. “This is a fun way I like to use them that also doubles as a nice holiday gift.

MAKES ABOUT 4 CUPS

2 cups roasted unsalted mixed nuts (about 1/2 lb, coarsely chopped 11/2 cups sugar
1 cup Amaretto or bourbon
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 tsp Aleppo pepper
1 tsp flaky sea salt

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.

On a separate rimmed baking sheet, spread the nuts in a single layer and toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a large bowl and cover to keep warm. (Warming the nuts helps the caramel flowover them more readily.)

In a 1 quart saucepan, combine the sugar, amaretto, honey, and butter. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Heat over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves, then continue to boil until the mixture reaches 300°F (hard crack stage).

Carefully pour the sugar mixture over the nuts and mix quickly with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, coating all the nuts. Immediately pour onto the prepared baking sheet and spread in a thin layer.

Sprinkle with the Aleppo pepper and salt. Let cool completely, then break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

The above recipes are excerpted with permission from Flavors of the Sun: The Sahadi’s Guide to Understanding, Buying, and Using Middle Eastern Ingredients (Chronicle Books, 2021) by Christine Sahadi Whalen. Photographs © 2021 by Kristin Teig

Disco Cubes: Ice is a big part of the mix in making great cocktails

Chroncile Books

Creating artisanal ice for large scale events, private clients and parties in Los Angeles is a continuation of Leslie Kirchhoff’s career as an artist, DJ and photographer for high-end magazines like Vogue. Feeling a little stifled and less than creative in her day-to-day work doing magazine shoots, she hit upon the idea of ice cubes as works of art–albeit not very permanent ones. She also realized that while putting large ice cubes in drinks was trendy, putting something in the ice cube itself wasn’t being done. Using that as a springboard she started Disco Cubes, where she creates handcrafted ice so beautiful and/or unique that it turns a mere cocktail into a showpiece.

“The cube itself is just the container for whatever you put inside, like a tiny 3-dimensional blank canvas where gravity doesn’t quite exist,” says Kirchhoff who describes great cocktails as similar to multi-sensory sculptures. “Mixologists are truly becoming artists, much like chefs have become. You have the architectural elements, like the shape and texture of the glassware, the color and clarity of the drink. Every element is so carefully calculated that it’s a wonder why more people aren’t experimenting with ice.”

Now Kirchhoff is sharing her ice cube recipes in the recently released Disco Cube Cocktails: 100+ innovative recipes for artful ice and drinks. The name Disco harkens to both a renewed interest in the designs, clothing and aesthetics of that era as well as her own work as a DJ. Kirchhoff also is very much influenced in her ice works by Danish designer Verner Panton who she describes as an inventor as well and the first to make a single-form injection-molded chair.

I just love everything about him,” she says, impressed by Panton’s ability to find a balance between the weird and the practical while have fun doing so.

A perfectionist when it comes to cubes, Kirchhoff also read up on the physics of freezing and talks about polishing ice cubes to make them perfect. In other words, Disco Cubes isn’t just cracking open an ice cube tray or putting a glass under the dispenser on the refrigerator.

Some of her recipes have multiple steps and include ingredients we’re not likely to have on hand. Others are simpler and those are the ones I’m starting off with here. If you like them and want to go more experimental, I’ve included the more complicated ones at the end.

HERBAL SPEARS
Makes 4 Spears
4 fresh herb sprigs [about 4 inches long]
5¼ in clear Collins cube mold

Place one herb sprig into each Collins cube compartment. Fill the mold with water and freeze until solid, about 30 hours.
Remove the cubes from the mold, polish them, and keep frozen until ready to use.
Polishing Cubes
As with metal that needs polishing or wood that needs sanding, ice sometimes needs a little love before it’s ready for its close-up. Cubes may have seams from two-part molds, lumpy tops, or other imperfections you want to smooth out. This process must be done quickly, especially in a warm environment.
Shaping Herbal Spears
A sharp paring knife can easily skim off the seam from an ice sphere. Hold the cube with a microfiber cloth in one hand, while carefully carving with the knife facing toward you, rotating the sphere away from you as you go.

HOT SAUCE SHATTER
These are easy to make and can be used in drinks such as Bloody Marys, Margaritas and Michelada (chilled Mexican beer mixed with other ingredients such as lime juice and Worcestershire sauce) that require spicing up.
Makes Enough for 10 to 15 Drinks
1 ounce hot sauce
2 cups water
Quarter sheet pan, to use as ice mold

In a glass measuring cup, combine the hot sauce with 2 cups of water. Place a quarter sheet pan in the freezer, and carefully pour the hot sauce mixture directly into the pan. Freeze until solid, about 2 hours.
Pop the entire sheet of ice off the tray and transfer to a 1 gallon freezer bag until ready to use. When ready to serve, with the ice still in the bag, shatter it into various-size pieces [anywhere from 1 to 4 inches, or 2.5 inches in length] using a mallet or rolling pin.

HOLIDAY PUNCH + ROSEMARY WREATH
You don’t have to wait until the holidays to serve this one. It can be a cool summer drink as well.
Makes 24 Servings
Four 750 ml bottles prosecco, chilled
24 ounces Peppered Cranberry Syrup (see recipe below)
16 ounces vodka
¾ ounce orange bitters
1 Rosemary Wreath (see recipe below)

In a large punch bowl, combine the prosecco, cranberry syrup, vodka, and bitters. Stir to mix. Gently add the ice wreath and serve.
Peppered Cranberry Syrup
Makes About 24 Ounces
4 cups cranberries [two 12 ounce packages]
1 cup sugar
4 ounces apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons peppercorns, coarsely cracked

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the cranberries, sugar, apple cider vinegar, and peppercorns with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Strain it twice through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve, or for up to 1 week.
Rosemary Wreath
Makes 1 Ice Wreath
1 tablespoon dried hibiscus flowers
One 8 cup Bundt pan
1 or 2 bunches rosemary sprigs

In a large heatproof glass measuring cup, steep the hibiscus flowers in 32 ounces of hot water for 5 minutes.
If using a silicone Bundt pan, place it on a quarter sheet pan.
Arrange the rosemary sprigs in a wreath shape inside the pan. Through a fine mesh strainer, pour the hibiscus tea into the mold, then add 2 cups of water. Use the sheet pan to transfer the mold to the freezer and freeze until solid, about 8 hours, or overnight.
DR. DRAGON + RADISH CUBES
Makes 2 Cocktails
2 Radish Cubes
2 cucumber strips
4 ounces Miso Butter Washed Suntory (see recipe below)
1½ ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ ounce Radish Simple Syrup (see recipe below)

Place 1 Radish Cube in each of two Old-Fashioned glasses to temper. Add 1 cucumber strip to each glass, circling the cube and touching the side of the glass.
In a cocktail shaker filled with plain ice, combine the whisky, lemon juice, and radish simple syrup. Cover and shake for 15 seconds, then double strain into the glasses.
Radish Cubes
Makes 4 Cubes
4 micro radishes, or small red radishes,
stems trimmed so total size is about 2½ inches
2-inch clear ice cube mold
Place 1 radish in each compartment of the clear cube mold. Fill the mold with water and freeze until solid, about 30 hours. Remove the cubes from the mold, polish them, and keep frozen until ready to use.
Miso Butter Washed Suntory
Makes 2 Cups
4 ounces unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sweet white miso paste (can substitute soy sauce instead)
2 cups Suntory whisky (or other bourbon)

In a small pan set over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in miso paste to combine. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Combine the melted miso butter and bourbon in a lidded wide-mouth container, then cover and shake briefly to combine.
Let sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours, then transfer to the freezer for at least 6 hours or overnight. Remove the hardened butter from the top of the bourbon and set aside, then strain the mixture through a coffee filter set inside a sieve and into another lidded jar. Store infused bourbon in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Radish Simple Syrup*
Makes about ¾ Cup
½ cup sugar
½ cup thinly sliced radishes

In a small saucepan over high heat, combine the sugar and ½ cup of water. Heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the radishes. Cover and let steep at room temperature for at least 2 hours, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a lidded jar or bottle.
*Beware the pungent smell of making this simple syrup.
SOUL MAKOSSA + TANGERINE TURMERIC CUBES
“In 1973, Manu Dibango brought an infec¬tious groove from Africa to the dance floors of downtown New York City with his mas¬sive global hit, “’Soul Makossa,’ which flew off shelves so quickly that even DJs had a hard time getting their hands on a copy,” says Kirchhoff. “The infectious sax riff and vocal chant were covered, sampled, and famously ripped off time and time again, most notably by Michael Jackson in ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’. With these cubes you’ll have a party in your glass faster than you can say ‘ma-mako, ma-ma-sa, mako-mako ssa.’”
Makes 1 Cocktail
1 Tangerine Turmeric Cube (see recipe below)
2 ounces tequila
Soda water or tonic water, for topping off
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Lime wheel, for garnish

Place the Tangerine Turmeric Cube on a cutting board and using a serrated knife cut it diag¬onally through the middle. Place both halves into a white wine glass or Old-Fashioned glass. Pour the tequila over the top, then top with soda or tonic water, bitters, and lime wheel.
Tangerine Turmeric Cubes
Makes 4 Cubes
8 ounces freshly squeezed tangerine juice, strained
2 ounces fresh turmeric juice, strained (see note below)
2 ounces Honey Simple Syrup (see below)
12 dashes of orange bitters
Collins cube tray

In a large glass measuring cup, combine the tangerine juice, turmeric juice, simple syrup, and orange bitters. Pour the mixture into the tray and freeze until solid, about 4 hours.
Simple Honey Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup honey

Combine water and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring constantly until honey dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool about 30 minutes until it is at room temperature. Store refrigerator in airtight container, it should keep for up to 2 weeks.
Note: Turmeric juice can be found locally at Apple Valley Market in Berrien Springs and GNC in Benton Harbor or if you don’t want to buy it then consider mixing a little ground turmeric with carrot or orange juice.
The above recipes are reprinted from Disco Cubes by Leslie Kirchhoff with permission by Chronicle Books, 2020.
Jane Ammeson can be contacted via email at janeammeson@gmail.com or by writing to Focus, The Herald Palladium, P.O. Box 128, St. Joseph, MI 49085.

Every Day Is Saturday: Recipes + Strategies for Easy Cooking, Every Day of the Week

Book signings, Chroncile Books

Short on time? Sarah Copeland has a recipe for you.

Want a dinner that tastes like Saturday night when you’ve had all day to putter around in the kitchen on a Wednesday? Don’t despair. Sarah Copeland, author Feast, has a new cookbook out that’s just right for you.

In Every Day Is Saturday: Recipes + Strategies for Easy Cooking, Every Day of the Week (Chronicle, $29.95), Copeland, a former food director of Real Simple magazine, restaurant chef and mother of two young children as well as a New York Times contributor, zeroes in time management, maintaining a well-stocked pantry, and cooking dishes that do double duty. She also emphasizes healthy.

Her recipes with prep time and total cooking time help you decide what fits in with your busy day.

Reprinted from Every Day Is Saturday by Sarah Copeland with permission by Chronicle Books, 2019

MIGHTY YOGURT BOWLS WITH CURRANTS AND PEACHES

PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME: 5 MINUTES or overnight

SERVES 4

Quick-to-make chia pudding, with the right touch, can turn an everyday yogurt bowl into something beautiful and irresistibly creamy.

The secret is to keep the chia mixture loose, and treat it like a condiment, rather than the main event. (Chia thickens as it sets in liquid, so you’ll need to add fewer seeds if you plan to let it sit overnight.) Serve this creamy, coconut-milk goodness with loads of fresh fruit, as a quick morning breakfast bowl that’s nearly ready to go when you wake up.

¾ cup whole milk, or almond, coconut, or hazelnut milk

2 to 3 tsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 to 3 Tbsp chia seeds

Plain yogurt, for serving

Currants, peaches, berries, honey, or maple syrup, for topping

Combine the milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons chia seeds in a mason jar or any glass container with a tight-fitting lid. Give it a shake or a stir and refrigerate up to overnight, or stir in the remaining chia to thicken if you plan to use right away. Spoon the chia mixture over yogurt, and top with fresh fruit and honey or maple syrup.

Sarah Copeland will be in conversation with Jeanine Donofrio of Love & Lemons at Read It & Eat in Chicago on Saturday, June 29, 2019 from 2 to 4 p.m. (773) 661-6158. 2142 N Halsted Street
Chicago, IL