what may call itself a mushroom galette?

I just wanted to say thank u everyone for your encouraging comments yesterday ^.^ ^.^ ^.^ and thank u for subscribing =^.^= =^.^= =^.^=

Let me begin by saying that many aspects of Day 1 of this project did not go as I planned. But it’s okay!!

This morning we awoke to quite a snowdrift — check it out!

maybe 3 or 4 inches of snow on the deck of this AirBnB!

Alas, I had planned to go shopping early this morning to get ingredients for the week, including for my first planned recipe du jour, seedy maple breakfast muffins (an already-vegan recipe!). They seemed like the perfect way to start the week, this project, and the Great Conjunction. But no way was anyone getting off the mountain in this weather, both figuratively and literally!

maybe a foot or so of snow on the deck a few hours later. it really kept coming down!

Notorious as I am for remaining calm in crisis (NOT getting screechy and spewing unhelpful streams of thought, in case you heard that from someone), I paused to evaluate whether the project was salvageable.

It turns out, I had just enough ingredients on hand—between the groceries with which my mother stuffed every nook and cranny of the car on our way up here, and the many, sometimes surprising, seasonings stocked in the pantry of this AirBnB—that I felt I could attempt a version of Claire’s crispy mushroom galette (another already-vegan recipe, because Claire IS My Queen). I had even already planned to make this recipe later this week!

So after some deliberation, I was in business! Listening to the Eartha Kitt playlist on Spotify, while the snow floated down all around me, kneading dough in this kitchen? I gotta say I was feeling pretty good!

snow falling onto the trees outside the kitchen windows

Still, the operative words two paragraphs ago were “just enough.” Allow me to describe 1) what ingredients I actually had, 2) what substitutions I had to make, and 3) what I simply had to do without, listed in order from most to fewest implications on the outcome of this process.

What I had

• Pound of chanterelle mushrooms from my mom

• 2 large leeks from the garden of this AirBnB provided by the very nice owner and my mother’s new friend, Joe

  

  leeks cooking with a beautiful view of the snow!

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Literally just enough all purpose flour from the back corner of the pantry — 1 3/4 cups — and not a single grain more

• Sugar, salt, pepper, and baking powder from the pantry

the fully spent bag of flour, hopefully feeling well appreciated for its critical role in today’s baking journey

What I substituted

• The crispy topping of nutritional yeast, panko bread crumbs, and garlic w/ fried leek greens,* crispy fried onion bits from the bag, and chopped Mexican saffron from the pantry

  *I think this turned out pretty delicious, and while Claire Saffitz is my queen and her talent and thoughtfulness in recipe development are without question, I was kind of bummed that this recipe called for discarding the leek greens. I never cook with leeks but I asked my mom because I know she uses the greens. After noting unprompted that she thinks it’s “weird” that white people throw out the greens (THIS MAY NOT BE AN ACCURATE CONCLUSION ABOUT WHAT KINDS OF PEOPLE THROW OUT LEEK GREENS, LIKE I SAID, I NEVER COOK WITH LEEKS), she said that leek greens are delicious in a stir fry with shrimp or meat.

  • NB: I’m putting this first not because I think it had a substantially negative impact on the result, but because it was an enormous bummer not to have nutritional yeast for a recipe that called for it. Do you know how many nearly-full containers of nutritional yeast I have left behind in various temporary housing situations, having spent $6-$10 for just a third of the cheesy nutty good stuff inside? I was about to do the same thing here! What I would have given to have a nooch shaker from the past with me today!

• Grainy Dijon mustard w/ mustard powder from the pantry

• Fresh rosemary sprigs w/ dry rosemary from the pantry

I am not exaggerating when I say that i did not eat this food a single instance in my childhood, so I was absolutely floored that my mother brought them

What I simply did without

• Garlic — yes, that’s right. In all my mother’s chaotic bags of groceries, and the even more chaotic spices both left behind and long remaining in this house’s pantry, there was not a single head of garlic nor even a speck of garlic powder. This discovery nearly stopped me cold, but I forged on and like I assured you at the beginning, it all turned out okay!!

• Any measuring implement in the spoon-range except for the 1 tablespoon I use for my coffee

crisped + browned mushrooms, along with well-cooked leeks and mustard powder, waiting to be put into the galette

Reflections from the process

• Many recipes in Dessert Person, including the vegan flaky olive oil dough for this galette, have step-by-step photographs in the instructions. This is an amazing feature and I just think Claire did a swell job with it! I am not posting the photos because I want us all to buy her book and bake together forever, but I wanted to say that this is a great part of Dessert Person and made baking this delicious crust a breeze for someone who has almost no experience with dough.

  

  the flaky olive oil dough chilling, snug as a bug in a rug, in the fridge. side note: has anyone tried cooking this PumFu (pictured), the tofu alternative made out of pumpkin seeds? i’m trying to figure out how to make it to impress this girl, so if you have any recipes lmk. #notsponsored

• I have not done much savory baking in my life, but it is an excellent opportunity to eat sweet treats guilt-free during the baking process. For example, while making this galette I ate a large caramel nougat bar and two pineapple Pioneer Squares. Would recommend!

the crispy mushroom galette right before going into the oven!

How did it turn out? Honestly, pretty great! My mother said the final crispy mushroom galette was “the best cake you [Angie] have ever made” and said “I could eat this everyday” twice. She brought two slices down to Joe, and though he has not provided any feedback I don’t think he will say it is anything but delicious, or it would be an extremely rude response to receiving free baked goods. I myself found the outcome very tasty. I love mushrooms, and the olive oil crust is salty, tender, and delicious. I was very happy with and proud of this!

the final galette, out of the oven!

Where I would serve this: a wine-laden dinner party where my friends gather to meet my mother, in the dead of winter on a night like this one. Everyone gets so buzzed, toasty, and full that the icy evening air feels absolutely wonderful when they finally head out into the stillness of the snowdrift.

final galette close up!

TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THIS BLOG

Substitution in baking plan
I previously indicated I would be baking an almond butter banana bread the day before Christmas, but I am swapping that out with Claire’s spiced persimmon cake because I discovered today that my mother brought a borderline unfathomable amount of persimmons into this house. She just eats them all the time apparently!

the two large bags of persimmons pictured here are completely full of persimmons except for that one pack of dried mushrooms.

just look at all these persimmons!!

A logistical snafu
As likely reflected in my previous anecdote about only scrounging up 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour today, if I can’t get to the store tomorrow, this project is going on indefinite hiatus. It’s a bummer because I had so much fun with the crispy mushroom galette and it really made today a good day, but I’ll be back as soon as I can get into town!

So, if you don’t hear from me — that means you won’t be hearing from me until the snow clears up! You didn’t think a baking blog would be leaning on the literary device of suspense like this, did you?

Thanks for reading!

part of the galette when sliced up, before the plate was eaten clean!