[Ninja Baker] Winning!

[Ninja Baker]

“Winning!”

I purchased Charlie Sheen’s t-shirt so he can support his children.

Kidding!

Seriously, what is winning?

My nephew, Adam Knode with Simon Cowell at Madame Tussauds, Hollywood.

Love to see your "winning" definition in the comments box.

To me, it’s an inside tickle which giggles, “You’re on track!”

Author of Return to Love (and a myriad of other books), Marianne Williamson says, “Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.”

"What if this as good as it gets?" said Jack Nicholson as Melvin Udall in As Good As It Gets. Sister-in-law, Sharon Devane Knode chatting up the movie star at Madame Tussauds, Hollywood.

For most of us I imagine winning involves worldly success. A sense of achievement. The Oprahs of the world celebrate with shopping sprees at Chanel in Paris. 

Sharon Devane Knode, Eliza Knode and the Ninja Baker window shopping at Chanel in Beverly Hills.

Others of us savor la dolce vita by biting into Beverly Hills Sprinkles cupcakes!

Family and friends, of course, add sweetness which no Google, Apple-laden stock portfolio can provide. Where is the glory in victory without company? (“Bitter, table for one!”) 

Nephew, Adam Knode and niece, Eliza Knode with great-nephew, Ethan Zartman.

Ethan cheering on the Ninja Baker. (He knows a cupcake is the reward.)

As the Bard advises, “Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried/
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel.” 　　
(Hamlet, Act I, Scene 3, Lines 62-63)

Friends forever. Barbara and renowned interior decorator, Ivan Woodhouse.

Heeding Shakespeare's wisdom, my glamorous stepmother, Barbara sojourns every year from Sarasota, Florida to meet up with equally glam ex-pat pals from Japan (where she and my father lived for over thirty years.) 

Gorgeous gal pals from Japan at Gramercy Tavern in New York.  From left to right, Barbara  Knode, Nita Caplan and Judy Sackheim.

Manhattan provides the perfect spot for their sophisticated palates. Upon the recommendation of her Florida friend, Sean Murphy, she booked the Gramercy Tavern for the 2011 NYC dinner reunion. As Monsieur Murphy is the proprietor of the Zagat’s 2010 America’s Top Restaurants listed Beach Bistro, Barbara picked the right resource.  (Knowing who to contact when and where are also components of winning this thing called life, n’est-ce pas?) 

Bravo TV's Top Chef Co-host, Tom Colicchio

In August 2006, Bravo TV’s Top Chef co-host, Chef Colicchio took his final bow at the  Gramercy Tavern. 


Chef Michael Anthony took over.  With a black belt in business and language studies, his food is presented and prepared with strong Japanese and French accents. Numerous critics commend the chef for his braising and poaching skills. (Perhaps a product of his Parisian training.) Barbara noted the decidedly Japanese influence of presenting each plate as a work of art.

Ivan Woodhouse and Shoji Osugi reported on the latest London news. (After living in Tokyo, they took up residence in another city with great culture and history.)

Between bites of juicy gossip at the Gramercy Tavern, Barbara and her friends dined on the James Beard award-winning Chef Anthony’s ramp custard and shitake mushrooms and other delicacies. (Ramp or ail de bois, I learned is a member of the onion family which smells like garlic.) 

Nala, one of Barbara's three beloved cats.

Photos were also shared. Apparently a few pictures of grandchildren were produced. But Barbara passed around her cat photos. Her interior decorator friends proudly displayed their treasured antiques on their iPhones!  

Before flying off to the Big Apple, Barbara requested that David (my husband) and I look after her kitties, plants and my father in Florida. (Not necessarily in that order of priority.) 

An egret ignoring the Ninja Baker in the background.

Scenic views of wildlife from their front window; a private swimming pool circled only by egrets who pass no judgment on the less than perfect figures in bathing suits; plus quality time with Dad. Would you say no? Oh, by the way, the neighborhood also boasts diamond-white beaches.

Dad and the Ninja Baker.  A chocolate dipped cream puff - a variation of my friend, Betty's recipe is dessert. (See the recipe below.)

Allowing sunshine and avoiding pressure laden to-do lists are treasured rewards to yours truly. In California-ese, taking breathers tickles my inner child.  A mini-Purim if you will. Although I’m not Jewish, I was entranced by Rabbi Simon Jacobson’s explanation of the celebration. “Purim celebrates your inner child, the enchantment and magic of our souls.”

In Women Who Run with the Wolves, author, poetess and storyteller, Clarissa Pinkola Estes talks about wolves who simply stop in their tracks to assess a situation. 


Vacations give me perspective. Space is created for answers to soul-troubling queries. Do you agree?

Ms. Pinkola Estes declares that, “Asking the proper question is the central action of transformation- in fairy tales, in analysis, and in individuation. The key question causes germination of consciousness. The properly shaped question always emanates from an essential curiosity about what stands behind. Questions are the keys that cause the secret doors of the psyche to swing open.” 

And according to Nobel prizewinner Naguib Mahfouz, "You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions." 


My Florida holiday gifted me with magic, too. (No, not the Disney World variety.) While stuffing empanadas for my father’s supper, I felt the distinct presence of eyes staring into the kitchen side window. Slowly, I looked up and gazed into the face of a wild bird. (Guess he’s fond of puffed pastry.) 

Hand-feeding the egrets.

On previous visits, David taught some of the local birds to eat out of his hand.  So, on this visit, the pool area became a bird sanctuary.  Egrets, herons, terns, ducks and even a white pelican flocked to my husband’s pool party. (David is an animal whisperer of sorts. He’s got the gift.) The birds trust him…And the twenty-dollar tilapia bundle brought back daily from Publix market. 

David and his flock of fans.

Click the YouTube of "David Feeding Birds." You'll see Egbert the Egret picking up his fish presents from David's fingers...The denouement features a mad rush of birds who've heard the news about free food! 

Despite the distractions and parade of squawking, honking, serenading birds, I persevered in my promise to Barbara to take care of my father. Proud to say a hot meal was placed before him every night. (Alas, my husband often chose the birds over his wife’s cooking and ran out to distribute another round of fish.) However, the gratitude in Dad’s eyes and voice made this Ninja Baker feel like she was winning!  

Cheers to winning moments!

Scroll down to see a few of the items which were served.

Breakfast:

• Lavender Tea Bread (from the September/October issue of Cooking with Paula Deen) 
• Betty Watkinson’s Cranberry Bread

Lavender Tea Bread

Cranberry Bread (David's mom's recipe)


Preheat oven to 325.
Grease and flour a   loaf pan.
Combine the following ingredients; mix well.


2 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is best)
The rind of one large orange
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons hot water
1 cup whole cranberries
1 cup chopped nuts


Bake for approximately one hour and ten minutes.

Dinner: 

Tamagoyaki, Ninja Baker style

• Argentine Empanadas
• Chardonnay Rice
• Asparagus Chicken Roulade
• Huevos Rancheros Casserole 
• Tamagoyaki 

Tamagoyaki 
Whisk the following ingredients well. 

4 eggs

1 ½ teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon Mirin

2 teaspoons sake

Special equipment:

Tamagoyaki/small square pan

Heat pan slightly.

Spray with buttery cooking spray.

Wipe off excess grease.

Pour a thin layer of whisked eggs onto the hot pan.

Let the egg mixture firm up a bit.

Taking a spatula (ideally the same size as the pan) or chopsticks (if you are particularly agile), roll up the cooked eggs from one end of the pan to the other.

Now, add another thin layer.

Allow to set a little.

Roll your first oblong shape into the second layer.

Keeping adding thin layers and adding to the original roll.

Tamagoyaki is similar to snowball making. So, enjoy!

Note: You’ll need to keep adding a slight amount of grease in between rolls.

Also, I’ve found if you can keep the film pretty thin with each pour of egg mixture, you’ll have better results.

Desserts:

Betty's Cream Puff recipe with a Ninja Baker twist of dipping the tops into melted chocolate.

Disney inspired cheesecake.

• Betty’s Cream Puffs (Click link. Scroll down for the recipe.)
• Mint Chocolate Chip and Fresh Mint Buttercream Cupcakes
• Fantasia Cheesecake (from Mickey's Gourmet Cookbook) 
• Lemon Biscotti with Slivered Chocolate and Almonds                                                            (Add lemon zest, juice, chocolate chips to the recipe below. Use slivered almonds instead of walnuts.)  

Takako-san's Famous Biscotti
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine 1/2 pound of soft, room temperature butter, 2 cups sugar, 4 teaspoons baking powder and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix well. (Takako-san likes to use a oshamoji - the paddle used to scoop Japanese rice into little bowls. I have her blessing, however, to use my KitchenAid mixer.) Add four eggs. One at a time. After mixing well, add four cups of flour. (For an almond accent, I like to use 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour with a 1/2 cup of almond flour plus 2 tablespoons.) The goal is for the mixture not to stick to the sides of the bowl. In other words, keep sprinkling flour onto the dough until the mixture is one big ball.


Chop up 4 cups of walnuts (or slivered almonds if making the Ninja Baker variation.) 


Line baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats. (Takako-san uses Pam cooking spray.)


To shape the biscotti, use plastic gloves and/or well-floured hands
1.Form dough into balls (large baseball-size or onigiri-size - Japanese rice balls)
2.Squeeze in the nuts.
3. Shape the balls into rectangles.


Bake for 30 to 32 minutes. Let them rest for about 3 to 5 minutes. Move them about the tray - gently. Cool for another 5 minutes. Cut into the mini rectangles on the diagonal. Head of the knife in first.


Rebake the biscotti for another 15 minutes or until dry and golden brown. 


Allow them to cool on the pan before diving in for a sample.

Dad, David and Lemon Biscotti with slivered almonds and chocolate.

A final thought from Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ Women Who Run with the Wolves  about winning. (P.s. Suspect the truth she speaks applies equally to both genders.)

 "It makes utter sense to stay healthy and strong, to be as nourishing to the body as possible. Yet I would have to agree, there is in many women a 'hungry' one inside. But rather than hungry to be a certain size, shape, or height, rather than hungry to fit the stereotype; women are hungry for basic regard from the culture surrounding them. The 'hungry' one inside is longing to be treated respectfully, to be accepted and in the very least, to be met without stereotyping."

Last and not least: An inspiring Live Like You Were Dying duet by country superstar Tim McGraw and Scotty McCreery (the new American Idol winner.) 

Wishing you soul-satisfying tickles which whisper, “You’re right on track!”

The Ninja Baker 

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Posted By Ninja Baker to Ninja Baker at 6/05/2011 09:40:00 PM