I’m not the type of person to go gaga over celebrities, but when it comes to meeting bakers and cooks I admire, I tend to fall all over myself. Spending several hours in a cookie class with Alice Medrich meant that I could barely hold myself together. I mean, this woman is superstar baker. She’s a terrific teacher and largely self-taught. I’ve got most of her cookbooks (Pure Dessert is probably my favorite) and I’m always happy to see her recipes published in magazines – they’re always delicious and reliable.
Strangely, the first thing I decided to make from her new cookbook was Honey Hemp Bars. I’m not sure why, maybe because I thought I had hemp seed on hand (I didn’t). I’m just happy I made them, because they’re delicious. They make a great breakfast or energy bar replacement. They can easily be made vegan by replacing the honey with agave or another sweetener. We’ve taken to calling them hippie bars.
For dinner I went back to the stuffed pumpkin (Larry really likes it). My plans to make a farro salad fell through when I tasted the plain thyme-scented farro. I had bought some farro from Anson Mills a month or two ago and decided to use it tonight. It’s most certainly what you’d call an artisan food product, and it shows. I decided to serve the farro as-is because the flavor and texture was just too perfect to mess with.
- Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good (Epicurious, October 2010)
- Caesar Salad with Focaccia Croutons (The Conscious Cook, p. 57)
- Thyme-Scented Farro(Food & Wine, March 2010)
- Honey Hemp Bars (Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies, p. 157)
