Mielbio Organic Italian Honey Lavender Loaf Cake

Honey is one of my favorite sweeteners; about the only thing I won't use it in is tea. I know, tea + honey (especially with lemon) is a classic combination, but it's not a favorite. When I was a kid, I was sick a lot, and among my mother's favorite remedies was big pots of Lipton tea with tons of honey and lemon. So it reminds me of having a bad cold. (She also loved Ben Gay, therefore, I have also developed a deep-rooted dislike for wintergreen in any form. Even root beer can be an iffy proposition.) But I do like honey on its own. And it's great for adding a bit of sweetness to a savory dish, or spread on a piece of buttered toast or a biscuit. And as an ingredient in baking.

When we received a jar of MielBio organic honey in their limited edition Mandarin flavor from Rigoni di Asiago, I knew I had to use it as a flavoring element for a cake. The cloudy raw honey syrup, from Calabria, is made by bees who sip the sweet nectar from clementine trees and has a distinct orange-y flavor. I didn't want to add more orange to the cake, thinking it would detract from the honey flavor, so instead I added a small bit of lavender flowers. They lend a herbal touch to the cake that marries perfectly with the sweet citrussy honey.

The cake gets a nice brown crust while baking; the crumb is light and airy with a delicate orange flavor. It's terrific toasted, with butter (and honey!) or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Honey Lavender Loaf Cake

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup MielBio mandarin honey (or other light, flavored honey)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon food-grade lavender buds (We get ours from the Spice House)
2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the honey, and then the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and sour cream.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl. Beat it into the butter mixture just until combined.

Scrape into a greased 8" or 9" loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 40-50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before unmolding cake. Cool on rack until at least room temperature before slicing.

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Posted on Minxeats.com.

Thai Bolognese

In a three day period, Mr Minx and I dined at Bobby Flay's new restaurant, Gato, had a 7-course lunch at Le Bernardin, another multi-course lunch at Ma Peche, and dinner at Harold Dieterle's Kin Shop. With all of that good food behind us, it was hard to come home to a fridge full of nothing. Right away we went to the grocery store to stock up on fresh veggies and dinner fixins. I figured a spicy Asian-style meal would be a good segue from fancy NY food to home cooking, and the first night home whipped up a pasta sauce that was part laab, part Bolognese.

I wanted to use ground pork, but the store we visited had none. Instead, I used ground turkey and made sure to season it well to get rid of, well, the turkey flavor. There's always an assortment of Asian condiments in the fridge (miso, gochujang, hoisin, chili bean paste) so I combined my favorite Thai chilli with basil paste and red curry paste, plus lots of fish sauce, lime juice, and coconut milk powder to make a richly flavored yet light sauce. You could use liquid coconut milk, but I find it doesn't keep well if you don't use the whole can right away. Instead, I always have packets of dried coconut milk so I can use a little or a lot and then store the rest in a zip-top bag in the cupboard.

While the dish wasn't Kin Shop-worthy, it was still pretty darn delicious.

Thai "Bolognese" Sauce

1/2 large onion, chopped
Vegetable oil
The innermost leaves of 1 stalk of lemongrass, bashed with the side of a knife and minced
1 lb ground turkey or pork
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon Thai chilli basil paste (Maesri brand)
1 tablespoon red curry paste (Thai Kitchen)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons coconut powder
1/4 cup water
Juice of half a lime
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
Chopped cilantro
Thai basil
Chopped scallions
Fresh mint

Cook onion in vegetable oil over medium high heat until translucent. Add lemongrass and ground meat, breaking up meat with wooden spoon. Cook, stirring constantly, until meat is mostly cooked through and beginning to brown. Stir in garlic, chilli basil and red curry pastes, and 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce.

Combine the coconut powder, water, and lime juice in a bowl. Pour over meat mixture in pan and stir well. Add sugar and remaining fish sauce. Turn heat to low. Cook mixture until ground meat doesn't taste strongly of turkey or pork but has taken on the flavors of the pastes and fish sauce, 5-10 minutes.

Serve over pasta or rice, garnished with plenty of fresh herbs and scallions. Alternately, you can chill the mixture and eat it like laab (Thai ground meat salad), rolled in fresh lettuce leaves.

Serves 4-6.



Posted on Minxeats.com.