Welcome to the Max Effort Kitchen podcast.This is a For the Love of Food episode.We took a little bit of a break, but now we're back.My name is Matt.This is Sarah.We are the host of this show.And Sarah, I want to give people
little bit of an explanation of kind of what this show is because I've I did an event I don't know probably I think it's like four weeks ago now and it got of a lot of exposure to the channel so This show actually generated from Sarah.
I mean, this was like, let's build this around you because of some of the cool things you were doing.
And correct me if I'm wrong, Sarah, but the way that I see this show is it's for the love of food, obviously, but it's basically a different avenue of food.It's art, it's culture, it's where food comes from, it's a little bit of technique.
but it's also just exuding love for this thing called food in a different avenue that maybe people are used to hearing, right?
That's basically spot on.
Yeah, it's basically, it's an exploration of just like everything that's so fascinating in so many different facets about food, because food interacts with like culture and history and society on basically every single level.It is a part of us.
We are a part of it.The way it has evolved and the way it has evolved with us. is absolutely fascinating.And there's so much to explore with it.So many concepts to discover, so much history that's just like embedded in everything.
Yeah, no.And that's a really good way to put it, because there's a saying that I used to have when I first got into the food industry, which was, I'm getting into it was like, we're always going to need food.
Food is always going to be a part of our lives, like you just said.And And so it kind of to me, it was like job security at the time.But like, we think about it in that that way now.And it's like, well, yes, we're always going to need food.
But how can we elevate our knowledge?How can we elevate the flavors?How can we elevate the things we do with food?
And I think that's kind of what this show is about, is just talking about how can you take a simple cake and put, like you said in the beginning, non-traditional spices in it and elevate that experience.Because really, it's all about the experience.
If you don't have an experience with food, then I'm sorry.Maybe listen to the show a little bit more and we'll help you out with that.I don't know. But anyway, Sarah, how you been?It's been, like I said, a couple of weeks since we've been on.
Yeah, it has been.It's been interesting.Trying to keep my brain awake, but doing pretty good.Been doing a lot of cooking on the baking side lately, really diving into that end of things.
I just finished up reading through my favorite book, Salt, Fat, Heat, and Acid, which was so life-changing because I've been sitting down and annotating it.
And it's just like every single time I read it, like I can read the same chapter over and over again and pull something new from it every single time.It's just it's such a beautiful book.So now I'm just like now they finished up that book.
I'm kind of bouncing around on different fun topics I want to learn about, especially with like food history and stuff and incorporating some of that knowledge into, you know, some of the baking I've been doing lately, which has been pretty awesome.
Yeah, that's really great.Um, I, I'm, I'm excited to talk about that and we will definitely get to it.Uh, but what I guess, let me ask you this.We've, we've gone through a season change.Has that changed your, um, use of ingredients?
Has it changed your thought around food?Have you kind of made a switch into seasonality type food?Or are you still rolling through the stuff that you just generally like to do?
Well, I wouldn't say it's completely changed my ingredient list because I kind of, you know, there's so many different ways to utilize all sorts of ingredients.I mean, I have been transitioning, especially with produce as the seasons switch.
You definitely kind of like react to that and start using like fresh fruit in different ways to utilize it because it's not as unique. You start like, like the seasonal the squashes, the fall cozy vegetables, you'll utilize those more.
But mostly I've been playing around with like structure, the season change structure, like the structure of food wasn't something I super paid attention to.
When I first started cooking, I was more focused on the flavor, but the flavor, the structure of a food leads way to like,
different ways you absorb flavor almost it's really really interesting so I've been kind of like playing around with layering structures especially like to create like a warm cozy just like very holistic dish that just feels like a warm hug so like a lot of brawls like layering like all sorts of like creamy crunchy it's been really fun.
Yeah, texture is a huge aspect of how you absorb flavor, like you said.And it's also a visceral effect.Like, for instance, you put a piece of fried chicken in front of you, you're going to expect crunch and salt.
But you put a piece of fried chicken in front of you that doesn't have salt and is soggy, you're not gonna, it's not just, it's not appetizing.So it is a huge component in what we do in the side of food.
And it's not, it shouldn't, you know, that structure and texture should never be an afterthought.It should always, that's why we taste our food as we go.We're making sure it's balanced, we're making sure the, here's a fun word, mouthfeel.
It's a very trendy word right now.But, you know, just making sure that that's all there.
And, uh, for me, I have made the transition into soups and soups are one of my favorite things to, uh, to cook because you, it's just like pizza is a platform for flavor.So is soups just in a different form.
Um, I love creating new flavors with soups because broth can be so dynamic and It also can be extremely simple and very flavorful.
You put a bone broth in there and the longer you let those bones roast, the longer you let them cook, the more rich and flavorful that broth will be. Yeah, I've made the transition into soup.And I can literally, I can sit, I can make a pot of soup.
I can sit down.I get a like an entire baguette and I'm just like, I don't even have a spoon.I'm ripping the baguette off and I'm using the baguette as my utensil.And next thing you know, I've eaten a whole baguette and like a quart of soup.
So I don't know. It always happens this time of year, you know, right when the weather changes.And and we got a little bit colder out there.I'm like, all right, it's soup season.Let's go.So that's kind of what I've been doing.
I've been definitely doing soups, broths a lot too.I took a really cool South American soup class and I learned so much in that couple of hours.I ended up, cause we were going to make four soups and I ended up making two of the four.
And the ingredients, like I am obsessed with South American soup because it's like a whole other way of viewing soup, the textural components, the ingredients that you, that go into it. It's insane.
And I discovered so many cool ingredients and techniques with like blending and poaching.It was amazing.Like the way they were utilizing liquid as a cooking method.It's really, really revolutionary.
And I haven't stumbled upon those processes in any other cultures yet. It was like all the way they utilize acid and nuts and just like, oh, there was this it was a pumpkin hominy soup.
So it was pumpkin seeds that they made a paste with with with cilantro stems and all sorts of these like aromatics with milk.And then they use that as their like creamy thickening agent in this hominy soup.It was amazing.
You know, pumpkin seeds do have a I forget the name, the technical name of it.But I guess really all nuts and seeds have the component of thickening stuff.Almonds, I think, are known most traditionally.But yeah, that's a really interesting one.
Now, they made it into a paste.They put milk in it.And then I'm guessing you took it and you pushed it through a sieve or something like that?Or was it just like, was it more, what's the word I'm looking for?
the paste that they put in the broth and then blended.
It was just a paste.It was a little bit more of a rustic, simple soup.
That's rustic.That's the word I was looking for.Yes.That's cool.That sounds really good.Um, awesome.Well, I love this time of year.It is my absolute like favorite time of year cooking.
Um, I think spring probably rivals it a little bit, but, but this is like, I mean, We got all the fall flavors, and we're in a great area of the country for that as well, I think.
You really are.I've been trying all sorts of new squash this year.
It's been awesome.Yeah, exactly.
Squash, the way to my heart.
Yeah, and we have a couple pumpkins left over from Halloween that we didn't carve.And so my plan is to make a bunch of pumpkin puree this weekend.
And then can it up and see what comes of it throughout the year. Alright, so let's get into what you're doing now.You are you've you've entered yourself into a baking competition, correct?
Okay.So is this now?If I'm not mistaken, this is a this is a James Beard thing, right?
Um, no, it's actually run by baked from scratch magazine.
Okay, okay, so why don't you explain to everybody like what the competition is and You know what you're you know why I guess why you got into it
OK, so basically, I was scrolling through Instagram, and I saw this ad for this baking competition.And that was all gone through online, and it seemed really interesting.It's run by Bake From Scratch magazine.It's hosted by Buddy Velastro.
And I didn't know at the time, but it's actually a fundraising event for the Be Positive Foundation to raise money for children battling cancer, which is really, really awesome.So I'm super stoked about that.Yay. And that's when my brain falls off.
No, here.Ultimately, it's a fundraiser.What you have done is you are baking, you are experimenting, and you are making new ideas.
For me, when I did the culinary side of this, it was a fundraiser for the Jane Beard Foundation, which basically helped people that
didn't have necessarily the funds or the resources to get into maybe culinary school or get exposed to food or, you know, maybe help them open up their first like farmer's market, you know, a little cart thing.And so, I love the cancer.
I love I love the fundraiser side of this, like this, this whole competition, you know, they call it a competition.But really what it is, is it's a bunch of people that are getting together and raising a bunch of money for a good cause.
And community and support and helping those in need, which is yeah, amazing way to utilize food as a platform.
It really is.And there's some very specific techniques to go about this competition.And I call it a competition, but I don't necessarily think it's a competition.
To me, it seems like, like I just said, a bunch of people getting together to raise money, but the ultimate goal is to win because you get to be in a magazine, correct?
You'll be featured in a magazine.You'll be able to cook with, probably bake with somebody pretty important.And, um, and I believe you might get a cash prize.
I always love the money.And yes, it's on the table.
Yeah.And so that kind of makes it a competition.But at the end of the day, like, um, when I went through it and I, I think I got eliminated pretty late on, but the second I got eliminated, I was like, you know what?That was for a great cause.
I raised, I don't, I don't remember.It was a couple thousand dollars.It wasn't anything amazing, but it was definitely something I felt proud about.So talk about what your, like, the, your, your mentality behind this.
Like, what, what's your, what's your thought?How do you want to roll it?Like, what are you gonna, what are you gonna do to try to win this?
Well, I guess in the end, no matter what, it's just a great use of time and resources, just being able to, like, invest in this project, help people out, grow my food platform a bit, and really experiment and, like, have a drive to experiment with different flavors, you know, and, like, be a part of a community.
But this is, like, my first ever really competition of the sorts.And I've never been super big on social media.So it's definitely a bit of a learning curve.
But basically, I've just been going into the kitchen and just having fun creating cakes and pastries that I want to see because I've honestly never been much of a cake person.They just tend to be overly sweet, pretty dense.
But then when you get into like the layering of flavors, like I'm talking like mostly like classic American buttercream cakes, I'm not a fan.
But basically I'm like taking classic cakes and creating a spin on flavors, creating a balance of acid, adding in flavors that I think will really like help level out the palate.
So you're not just getting tons of sweetness to create just a whole new evolution of a dish.And then, you know, I have a lot of fun with photography.So I've been utilizing that pretty heavily.I've been having a lot of fun.My room is a mess right now.
You do not want to see the floor. everyone.
Yeah, no.And that's the things like, and that's kind of how you put it out there, right?You make something, you take a picture, you say vote for me.And then that's, that's the very basic way of explaining it.
But really, what you're getting out of it is, like, almost like a new drive to experiment, like you said, to learn about ingredients.
You're going to have things that don't work, but that's pretty normal in the world of food, especially when you're trying new things. But, you know, you really want to get a good exposure of your food.
And there's one thing I really like about your photography of it, which is the composition of how you're placing things, you know. I think it's very, very easy to take pictures of food from the close up right angle, like a kind of thing of it.
But setting background and really having a good understanding of what you want the person to see in your food is so important.Having an understanding of the layers of food, of the textures, there's a
kind of a term we use when we're doing, um, marketing and photography for, for my job, which is find, find the money piece, which is the ingredient that is most being highlighted and really focus in on that part of the, uh, the the dish.
And, um, I like what you're doing.I think baking is, is probably brings a little bit of a challenge.Um, because you know, it's, I don't know how easy it is to take pictures of cake.I can imagine it's pretty hard.
And I, if I know you correctly, cause you're a lot like me, like you're your own worst critics.So you're probably taking a hundred pictures and going from there.
My dad saw my camera reel and he just lost it.He like laughed for five minutes straight.I take like 20 shots of the exact same angle just to make sure I get the absolute perfect photo.
Yeah.And you know, there's so much fun stuff you can do with stop motion and, and creating uh, ways to look at the picture that people don't quite, uh, they're, they're going to see something that you want them that they wouldn't normally see.
And so that's, that's fun.Um, so let's get into some of the things that you're doing since you've started.Uh, what are, what are some things that you've, uh, you've baked so far?
Okay, so there's this cake that I made, and it is the most insane cake I have ever made in my life.And it is the best, it might be the best baked good I've ever made in my life.And it sounds absolutely crazy.You're going to think I'm off my rocker.
Okay, so I started with a spiced nutmeg chiffon cake.I didn't just put nutmeg, I put in some allspice, some cinnamon, some cashmere, chili, just tons of different spices to create like this beautiful base layer.
And a lot of the spices you couldn't really even taste, but they were kind of there in the back to kind of round things out.So it's a nutmeg chiffon base cake that I then made a gokujang banana foster filling.
Okay.And then I... Interesting.
Let's come back to that, but go ahead and finish.Yeah.Yeah.
And then for the frosting, I did a coconut lime zest or mine frosting.And I layered that all up and it was amazing.
Like the textures I wanted with the coconut frosting, I want it to be very airy because like the chiffon cake, you know, it's like, it's very similar to an angel food, except you incorporate the egg yolk.
So it's a little bit richer, but you still have a nice lightness to it. So the texture was very light, airy, beautiful texture, but it's still pretty sweet.And with the Gokujang banana foster filling, banana foster has tons of brown sugar.
It's very, very rich.So for the frosting, I wanted something a little bit on the lighter side to kind of balance everything out.
So I did an ermine frosting base with coconut milk and the lime zest to give it this acidity that I thought, this florality that I thought it was missing.
And then I cut back on the sugar a bit to make it like a little bit less sweet, where it was like, just like a hint of sweetness, but not like overpowering like most frostings.
Then I folded in a coconut cool whip to like create more airiness in it all.
Okay, so you had the banana fosters filling and the lime, I'm going to say lime-ish frosting, and I'm not trying to dumb it down, but what I'm doing is showing that You have a rich thing coming through the middle and you have acidic sitting on top.
And what that does is that creates a bit of a harmony where the acidic is tampered by the richness and the richness is tampered by the acidity. creating a balance of flavors.
So, um, if you heard what she was saying about all those ingredients, you're probably thinking, wow, that, that must be intense.But, but the harmony of the two is really creating balance.
And, um, such as the, the book you are reading, it all, it's all about balance.That's what that, you know, that's the premise of that book. And I think it was really smart.Did you, I mean, is there something you came up with on your own?
Were you, were you kind of like looking around and you're like, Oh, I see that.I want to try it.Or how'd you come up with that idea?
Honestly, the first thought that came into my mind was Gokujang Banana Foster.I didn't really have anything that inspired me quite, but I was thinking about Banana Foster lately because it's one of my favorite classic desserts.It's just so amazing.
And then all of a sudden I was all like, you know what would really play off of like the rich brown sugar butteriness of it, like meld into that like light umami and give it a little bit of like
a kick, it would be Gokujang because Gokujang has that like fermented, acidic, like umami, spicy richness to it.And I thought that it would really play in with everything else.And I'm just like, OK, so how would I want to utilize this?
How would I balance this in a cake?What was the what would be a good base cake to use?
And that's how the chiffon cake came in, because I knew that the that it was going to be like a little bit like the filling was going to be like pretty rich, a little bit dense when it solidified.
So I wanted something like light in texture to counteract that.And so then I was like kind of thinking to myself, how will I tie like a light vanilla-y cake in with like this spicy brown sugary filling?
And that's where like the nutmeg and like the light like woody spices came into play, because then that would bounce into the brown sugar, like caramely taste of the filling.And then I'm just like, OK, I'm going to have sweet on sweet.
I really need something to break this up.And that's where I want to be like light and fluffy.I want the texture to just be like this beautiful, airy pillow.And that's where the lime zest and then the coconut came in, because I wanted that.
Florality that lightness to kind of just cut all the richness that I had going on So there's there's one thing I want you to back up with because I don't think it's common knowledge and I want to make sure that anybody listening this kind of understands what what Goku John is and When when you explain what it is, you know people are going to I mean for me when you said Goku John I knew exactly where you were going with that and it makes sense because you've hit every different level of taste
And so explain to everybody what gokujang is.
So gokujang is a Korean fermented red pepper paste That's like it's like a sealed and I believe traditionally it's really cool It's like a terracotta jar that they like seal with clay if I'm not mistaken Basically, they ferment it over a long time like you would like with a miso paste.
So it has like that light
Mommy to it like that depth in that little bit of a seating zing and it's mildly sweet and mildly spicy So it's like perfect to like utilize on a lot of different ways Yeah, and it's and you said that perfectly the red chili paste.
It's what I don't want people to get scared of is
is the fermented part because all the fermentation is doing is breaking down cells, but also creating a flavor that you wouldn't be able to get unless you did put it under time and almost temperature as well.
And like, if you just crush up a bunch of red chilies, you're going to get a very, I'm not—to say it's a green taste, but you're going to get a very young taste.You ferment that and you get a harmony of these flavors that come together.
Fermentation is all about breaking down cell walls, but by the process of that creates a byproduct of flavor. this is your spice element.And I really think that's a, that's a cool, cool thing to do, especially with bananas.
Like mixing those two things together makes complete sense in my brain.Like I'm like, that's like, you know, when you go to plug something in the wall and it fits like, Oh, there you go.
This is meant to be with each other, but it's not something that a lot of people think of spicy or like, you know, sweet, spicy and bananas. But hey, go out there and throw a little bit of chili paste on a banana and see what it tastes like.
If you don't like that, try some cinnamon on a banana.Cinnamon works perfectly.And if we eat cinnamon on its own, it's kind of spicy.
And I bring up cinnamon because you have gone down a very big rabbit hole on it, which we will, we will curb for right now, but I think we should have an episode on it because I've been getting crazy.
I'm creating a historical timeline account of its distribution.Like in how like cinnamon, like evolve is it's really cool.I'll save it.
Yeah. Cinnamon is a very interesting thing.And there's a lot of things that we think we know about it, but we don't.And so you're right.It's, uh, there's so much that has evolved from cinnamon because of the trade of it.
And, uh, I remember learning about that and it was just like, uh, it was so much information that I probably just tucked it away and was like, okay, cool.Tuck that away.
Um, but then you started like texting me about it and I was like, Oh man, this, this reminds me a lot.And you're, you were saying things that were like,
triggering thing, remembering the, the essays and, and all the history we did or research we did on it.So it's really cool.But again, we'll save that for another time.So let's see, you, you made the cake.
You took some beautiful pictures of it, by the way.Did you sample it out to anybody?
Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure I fed 20 people with that cake.
And let's just say the votes are in, everything's unanimous, it was awesome.
I heard many skeptics very happy, I will say.
Yeah.I love the idea of feeding somebody something that they may not know what's in it, and then telling them afterwards.But it does require a level of trust It requires a level of trust of the person you're feeding.
But it's really interesting to have somebody try something and maybe in a different form that they have a preconceived notion about.
you know, like say somebody doesn't like bananas, but you, you feed them this and they're like, Oh my gosh, this is amazing.What is this?And you tell them bananas are in it.And then maybe you've taken the opportunity to change somebody's mind.
And, and that's a beautiful thing right there.So what's your, uh, what's your next project?
Okay, so the one after that I made, because I was thinking about gingerbread cake, because gingerbread cake is like one of my favorite things of all time.The molasses, the sweetness, the richness, it's just so, so good.
And then I also recently took, it was a North Indian cuisine class, and I learned about all sorts of new cool spices, like amchur powder, which I think I was talking about, dried green mango, so cool. And I was like, you know what?
Why hasn't anybody incorporated garam masala into a cake?Like, I feel like I thought it would play like perfectly into like that molasses and ginger taste of a gingerbread cake.So I made garam masala, cashmere chili, gingerbread cake base.
And then I went in and I made a mango jam. and then topped it with some more, some lemon zest whipped cream for like lightness because of the density of the cake.And it was pretty good.Yeah.It wasn't as good as the last cake.
I need to play around with specifically structure a bit more.I think I want to try a gingerbread cake that is a little bit less fatty, a little bit like lighter, a little bit stickier.
And then I think instead of, because I halved it, I think I want to cut it in thirds.That way you get more cream, you get like a softer bite overall.
Yeah, that and the playing with the layers of it.I like that you're looking at it like that.When you're mixing in and I kind of want to explore this when you're mixing in the whipped cream and you want to you're saying you want to make it airy.
Is that what you're saying?Is that why you're doing that?
Um, have you ever tried just using, um, a meringue or actually maybe putting it, I know you have a KitchenAid, right?KitchenAid mixer.So putting it on there, put, put your stuff in there.Um, maybe
turn it with the whisk on extremely high and just letting air get into it before you try the whipped cream.Is that kind of an effort you're putting or is the whipped cream kind of a cheat?And a good cheat.I'm not calling you out for anything.
I'm just trying to understand your technique.That's all.
I do try to, because incorporating air into cake is a really good step if you want lightness.And I do try to do that.I probably should have, in retrospect, I did do that with this cake, but I think I should have whipped it a little bit longer.
The thing about incorporating a lot of air is I wanted a pretty moist cake.
And when you make it airy, it tends to, you know, make it a little, like, it's a beautiful airy lightness, but it doesn't tend, it tends to be a little bit more on the dry side.
So I really want, like, that moist, soft stickiness, almost like, you know, if I was putting in a cake soap, but, you know, of course, not quite that moist, because that's a, that's a whole other, like, that's like adding in water at the end.
But yeah, yeah, totally.Yep.
I wanted that softness to it.So the whipped cream was more a way to like contrast the cake I was looking for.
And with the gingerbread recipe I chose, I thought it was going to turn out to be more on that soft, moist side, but it was a little bit denser instead.So I want to try experimenting with different gingerbread recipes as my base.
And then, you know, I like contrasting whatever cake I choose with the toppings, you know, create more harmony.
Yeah, no, that makes sense.Now when you're, uh, and I want to go back to a very, very basic step of, of making cakes and I want you to explain what you're doing, but when you are making these cakes, what kind of flour are you using?
I tend to use all purpose flour.And I know that cake flour is the best to use because of its lower protein content.Correct.The cake flour is expensive.
It is.And it's like, I understand that.Because like, so I have my, you know, my little test kitchen here with my pizza. oven.And I am an absolute nutcase about the flour that I'm using.
Like I won't even make pizza dough unless I have the double O. And that is my own hang up.Because I know there's techniques around it. I just like the product that it makes.
And double-O flour is very expensive and kind of hard to find at just the normal grocery store.And so I do understand.I like what you're doing, though, because what you're doing is you're saying, you know what?
Not everybody has the ability to go out and buy the perfect ingredients.Let's see what we can do with this ingredient to get the same result. And there are multiple techniques.
And what you're doing is you're, and I'm coming kind of full circle here, is you're taking all-purpose flour, you're making a gingerbread recipe, and then you're saying, OK, well, let's make this more cake-like.Here is almost a hack.
Let's put in this whipped cream and see what happens.Uh, maybe try folding in some, uh, instead of whipped cream, you do like, um, some egg whites.See if that helps.Um, maybe shoot.I mean, you want it moist.Maybe, maybe you stick to, um,
the traditional version that you've done already with the whipped cream, and you pour like a simple syrup over it right out of the oven and see if that helps some moistness, poking holes in it.I don't know.
There's different ways you can do it, but I will raise my hand and call myself out right now that baking is number two on my list.So I'm just thinking how my mind would think, like how do I create moistness in this?
You know, we create moist in with fats and I don't know if sugar is the right word.What do you think on that?
Hmm.I guess it's how you treat the sugar.Because you can kind of like, what form of sugar are you going to put in?Are you going to put in a maple syrup, some sort of liquid sugar?
Are you going to whip the sugar until it starts to break apart and dissolve into the wet ingredients?There's a lot you can do with the way you treat sugar.
You know, I just had something pop in my head. You're absolutely right with the sugar.I think that you can use it as a technique to make something a little bit more moist.But what if you, instead of whipped cream, you used sour cream?
Oh, I love using sour cream.Yeah, that would be great.
It's a move I do with my, and it's a completely different thing, but with my cornbread, I will do like a mixture of sour cream and honey. and I mix that up and I put it in my cornbread mixture, and it makes the most moist thing in the world.
And so I don't know, maybe give that a shot.
I love sour cream in cakes because it adds like that, it has this beautiful creaminess that really does moisten things and then the acidity.
Also yogurt in cakes, but I find that sour cream, it tends to aid in the fluffy moistness where yogurts make it really dense, like denser, but still really, really moist.
I do want to clarify though that I wasn't putting whipped cream into the cake batter, I was topping with whipped cream.
For some reason, I thought you were putting it into the batter to make it a little bit more fluffier.That's my bad.
I was trying to talk about sour cream.I was like, oh, wait a second.
I see.Yeah.Oh.Yeah.No, that's what I thought you were doing.But I understand why you do it in the frosting.That is completely logical.And you almost had me going and making a cake putting whipped cream in the batter.
Because I was like, oh, I got to try this.
Yeah, yeah, no, I definitely should try that.Maybe I will.And I'll let you know.Yeah.
How which coconut like, you know, like the coconut solids, if you like aerate it, and then fold it into a cake?Would that change anything?Like if I use like coconut cool whip, a fat, I wonder what would happen?
I will think about it.You go buy a
So I really want pancakes, like flat pancakes, I think, because of the way the heat distributes.I think that might be really, really interesting.
That's an interesting thought, because you go and buy a can of coconut, they call it coconut milk.But one of the things that you're taught right away is when you buy that can, you keep that can as precious as possible.Don't shake it.
Because you open it up and you have that beautiful fat on top, right?So I always remove the fat first and take the liquid.And then I'll sit there and whip the fat, add a little bit of liquid, whip the fat, add a little liquid.
And then you have this beautiful, you can make your own coconut cream with that.I've also taken it and made like a coffee creamer with that. where you can do like a half and half.And you whip that stuff up.
You just gently add half and half, a little bit of powdered sugar.And you have a coconut creamer for coffee or even something to put in hot chocolate or something.It's really nice to do.
But that's the thing, is when you buy those coconut milk cans, do not shake them.Because that fat is sitting on top.And that's the gold of what you're buying. But that's a good idea.Maybe whip some of that in there and see what happens.
As you were talking about whipping up and creating your own coconut cream, I was immediately thinking of, because I'm a big cappuccino fan, and I had a really amazing cappuccino yesterday, and the foam on top was so thick and luscious.
And I was thinking, I wonder what you could do, drink-wise, using that cream to float on top, to create a layer on top of another drink, to create this beautiful texture, like the foam of a cappuccino.
Well, think about how they make that foam, which is the, they take just, you know, half and half or whole milk or whatever, and they're piping in a whole bunch of hot steam. And what it does is it swirls, it swirls, it swirls.
And then what happens is the aeration of it starts to separate the water base from the foam base.And next thing you know, you have all this evaporated water base and it turns into this beautiful foam.And in the most simple form, you're piping in air.
And, but it's in a very, it's in a temperature controlled way, which is creating this thick and luscious foam that we put on top of cappuccinos. it's a very easy technique, but a very specific technique on how to do it.
And, um, I have a, I have a cap, uh, espresso machine here that has one of those wands on it.
And when I first got it, we were playing around with a bunch of it, but like, um, I will use it from time to time in cooking or if I'm trying to froth something before I put it into, um, uh, like a, a batter or an ingredient, but like,
The the one thing you don't want to do is try to put egg whites in there and brought them good.
I Learned that the hard way You know, there's basically a scrambled white egg you know, scrambled egg whites, but, but no, that's, that's how that's made.And you can do, you can create the same thing by doing multiple different ways.
I used to have this, you can, okay.You have a French press by any chance?
Okay.Well, you can take a French press and you understand the concept of it.It has the plunge, right?You know what a, you know what a French press is?
It's a coffee like maker, right?Oh yeah.
Yeah.So basically it's a canister. Yeah.Yeah.You put the water, you put the grounds in there, you let them soak and then it has this like plunger that you push down and it basically extracts all the nice little coffee oils and water out of there.
But you can take that thing and you can sit there and like push it up and down, up and down and create air in something.And I used to do that with creamer.
put creamer in there and then just really like vigorously like pump the the plunger part of it and it next thing you know you see the creamer start to expand and what that and that kind of goes back to what I was saying about creating air into things which that's what that does you can also get one of those little milk frothers you know that like the
And so that, and you're doing the same thing.It's just not temperature controlled, right?So you're creating a froth that's colder.
You know, when you're putting a froth on a cappuccino, you kind of want it to be a little bit warmer, so it doesn't just melt from the hot coffee.But there's so many ways to get air into things.And I think that that's
you know, that's why we experiment with, with different techniques is to find out how to aerate and how to keep things from being dense.Now you, there are some baking things that you do want dense.
You probably want an upside down pineapple cake, pretty dense in my opinion, but that's just me.So, okay.You've gone through those two things.How long is the, the competition?
Okay, so it ends January 2nd.So it's pretty much, it's a very long haul competition.But basically you go through multiple rounds of voting.In the beginning, I sent in an application with some photos of my work, some written pieces.
And then they select people to participate as competitors in the competition.And then they sort those competitors into groups of about 40.And then like on about a weekly basis, it cuts the group down.Like in the first initial round is a top 20.
And then in every single week, it cuts like another five off until there's one person remaining in each group.Then you get funneled into a larger group.And then, and it's the one person remaining in that group all the way up into the top.
The voting for the final round is January 27th, I believe.Sorry, November 27th through January 2nd.
Okay, cool.So how do people vote for you?
Um, basically I have a link, um, that I send out, I've pasted it basically everywhere, all over my Instagram and you just follow the link and, um, you can, um, either use vote once daily, um, for free, or you can, um, donate money and it's about a dollar per additional vote.
And that will go to the Be Positive Foundation for fundraising.
Yeah.And, uh, oh, that's what like, so I have a very specific friend that, um, How do I explain him?
He's, uh, a little bit on the less, I don't, he's stingy with his money and that's stingy as a negative term, but I'm not, I don't mean it as negative.
He's just very conscious about how he spends his money and he's like, I don't know where the money's going.And I'm like, okay, the money's going for a good cause.
You know, it's going to help, uh, cancer in probably all kinds of different facets, research, um, kids with cancer, all that stuff.So like,
you know, look at this, when you go out there and you vote for Sarah, you know, obviously you can do it for free, but you know, throw her, well, it's like 10 bucks for 100 votes, right?Or something like that?
Or was it- 10 bucks for 10 votes, I believe, yeah.
But the votes can be thrown along the way because, you know, it's, you know, more controlled.
Correct.And go to her Instagram.What is your Instagram for people to find it?
Okay, so it's kind of long.It's Sara Soras Chef.So S-A-R-A-H and then Soras is S-A-U-R-A-S and then Chef.
Okay, I will also post a link on on this.
I I did repost your I think your first one And I'll probably cycle through that a couple times if you can't find it go to max effort kitchen I will make sure and have a link for you there, but definitely get out there and and vote for Sarah You know, it's going towards a good cause I had I had a lot of people be really generous and towards
Uh, when I did the competition and it's a very humbling feeling when people start voting for you and giving you their support.
Um, so know that if you're out there and you're, uh, like kind of wondering what this is and you, and you go and you want to vote, um, just know that it's, it's going not only to a good cause with cancer, but you know, you're helping a very, you know, a young inspired, uh, person, you know, move in the world of, of, of food.
And for me, I remember I was talking to my uncle and my uncle is kind of the person that I have followed the footsteps in because my grandpa was also a chef and he was very big in the in the food industry.
And so I'm kind of like the third generation there.But he was like, Hey, are you bummed out or whatever after I after I got voted out or after I got Taken out of the competition.
I was like no what it did for me is it showed me that I have the ability to make it this far and Just kind of lit a fire to hey I want to make it farther next time or I want to try another competition or hey I can do this so it gives you confidence and inspiration in the ability to do more things with food and
And I know you well enough to know that you're probably only using a very specific capacity and you have so much room for more information and more experimenting and that's a beautiful thing.
You're aspiring, you still have your youth, and you're in a very specific area where you're just a sponge soaking it all up.
It's an awesome feeling, honestly, just knowing that I have so much to learn.It's just so inciting and invigorating.I'm so ready.
Well, if I can give you any advice, don't ever lose that.Because I'm 44 years old, and I still have that feeling.And I've been in the industry long enough where it could easily have distinguished all of that.
But I definitely have a drive and a food for love, and that's why we do this show.So that's part of my drive.So anyways. Yeah, you got to get inspired.You got to put effort towards the things you love to do.
And don't be afraid to put yourself out there because that's part of learning and that's part of building who you are and what you do. Everybody get out there and vote.Sarah, great job.Keep it up.Keep posting.
That's the biggest thing is you just got to be relentless with it.Every time you make something, post it, put a link on there.Every time you, you know, every day put something out.
That way it's reminding people because we live in a world where social media just comes up and then goes away, right? It's just constantly going.And so we got to keep putting it out there.It's for a good cause.It's for cancer.It's for you.
It's for the people who get to eat your food.You know what I mean?It's for a lot of people.
I will make a very large Baked Good spread and feed many, many people.
Yeah, do it for the cookies.I like that. All right, everybody, get out there and vote.Thank you for listening.Sarah, thank you for the show.And I think that's it.So we'll talk to everybody later.Sarah, we'll talk to you soon.
Have a great day, everybody.Bye.
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