Marathon days

Don't be confused, it won't be about any sport. It was just the spirit.... In fact, with the burgers too, I didn't stop cooking and baking this week-end. But I think the big marathon was Sunday.

Saturday, I did again the smooth cake, a "moelleux" in french (well, we'll call it "pudding", for now) with chestnut squash and orange, for my neighbours. It was really difficult to fail a cake !!!, but it seems it was ok, even if it wasn't totally the same - a little less sweet, seems, although I put the same amount of sugar.

I was planning to walk through L'Estaque's little and winding streets, and along the beach, and try to take some pictures, but the wind, our "mistral", was so strong and cold, I couldn't withstand it. So I just went to the grocer's and the greengrocer, and came back to prepare my burger, because I didn't have a meal at  lunchtime.

And the real thing was Sunday !! First I had good things to make for my mother, and after that a cake to bake for a dinner with friends.

For my mother I prepared a pizza, since she likes mine so much - for her, i'm the Pizza Queen , as I was called when I was younger !!! aahah, very funny ; ), good title ! So, the day before - as she always does according to her tastes - she soaked cloves of garlic in olive oil, so that the dough have a mediterranean flavour when i'll add it while kneaging it (^^O^^ I learned a word today !!!!). And since she prefers pizza in the Roman way than the Napolitaine one, I make thin crust.

The tomato sauce ? mother's doing. She's so good at it, that I leave this noble task to her....
Last, are the aromatic herbs, picked in the scrubland of ours hills....... and this time i used a little of "pebre d'ase".......... (provençal word, which means "donkey pepper", for "Sarriette"). Really yummy on the mozzarella slices.

It's orgasmic, seeing the dough has risen. When I was young and started baking pizza,  I was always waiting, and following this moment. Now I come back one hour later. But before, long time ago, always lifting - just a little...- xxxxx times the cloth covering it, peeking at how much it has grown...  So delighting...

Sweets time now !!

So, during the time the dough was rising, I baked a cake for my mother, I wanted to do it since some weeks. Both us are found of chestnut, chestnut flour, chestnut cream... And this cake seemed like a chestnut cream cloud.......... I must do it, I thought !!!! Without any flour (well only a table spoon of chestnut one), but with cottage cheese and stiffly beaten eggwhites (second expression of the day !! V) - a dream in mouth.

 

 

 

First try was (well, first try was raw, before baking it !!!! I almost died of pleasure !) with chocolate. Miam !!! 

And tonight, after eating it all day, i wanted to make it taste sexier in mouth.... Chantilly was a good idea, two like-cloud-things. Didn't have whipping cream, though, in my fridge, but good thick cream, a little sour, perfect. A touch of milk so that it'll become easier to wisk (third word ^^O^^), sugar, and hop!, in three fork beats, this Heaven's dish. Pure pleasure....

But, but, but,.... I'm talking about eating, tasting, greedily but it wasn't really part of the famous marathon. I only tasted this cake today, so.......

No, once baked, I rolled out my crust, made the pizza, baked it, ate it, washed all the things I have used to cook them, and so, started immediately the cake for the evening. It was about 15h30, and a friend was going to pick me at 18 h................ Run, Forest, Run !!!!!
I have choosen a chocolate cake. But always in my experimental mood - I already hear from here the "Boouuhhh!!!," "Beeeeuurrrk", "Bââââhhhhhhh", and others  unappealing noises.
Yeah, but it's really strange, reactions were a lot more disgusted and afraid than when I tried the chocolate / chickpeas one (in fact I didn't even had a "Baaahhh" at that time, but rather a "Aaahhh ?" interested, followed by a "Aaaahhhh.... hmmmm !" of pleasure).
But here, when I announced chocolate cake with courgettes, everyone ran away.... or pulled such a face !!
And yet, raw courgette, when you thing about it, it's a vegetable with a lot of water, rather tasteless... So why all the commotion ? Did they think I was going to fry courgettes with salt, garlic and basilic for example, and mix it with chocolate, then bake it ???
Since courgette (and oil) was in place of butter, I was pretty sure it was going to melt.
In fact in order to obtain that, you need to grate them. Since I did manually, it took me time. But the chocolate part was a poesy..... Actually, you use here cocoa powder in the cake, but almost one bar too is chopped into chocolate chips. Wasn't seeing the end of it...
When at 17h, in a rush,  I put everything to bake in the mold, I noticed that I had left the olive oil in its measuring glass !! Add and mixed it in the mold at the latest time... phew !!!
And then at last,  I could cook me, euh, get ready!
The result was very good. But not really what I had in mind. First I think the last 15 min are too much ; a little less flour we'll be welcome too, and perhaps, for part of the cocoa powder, using melt chocolate bar instead (just a little).
Anyway  it was like there never was any courgette, and with them and olive oil, it was really light, and tasted like a very good chocolate cake. But I think I'll try to modify it a little like said, so that I can have a fondant.

And so ended my week-end - as well as my week ... a really challenging one.
So, see you soon, this new week, for the following of my culinary days in Marseille !!