Our New Make-at-Home Kits 

Turn your kitchen into a professional bakery with our new make-at-home kits.

One silver lining of the quarantine is the perfect environment it has created for a surge in home cooking, bread making, and baking. Stores have been running short of flour and yeast. Newly minted bakers proudly fill their Instagram feeds with drool-worthy photos of crackly sourdough loaves, glistening muffins, and elegant cakes.

But not everyone has the skills or time to produce pastry-chef quality loaves and pastries. A month ago, to help those who wanted to bake professional-grade loaves, we created a kit for an organic whole wheat loaf. The response has been overwhelmingly favorable. Some people make them with their kids; others have sent beautiful photos of their masterpieces. And many have requested kits for more items.

So we’ve come up with three more make-at-home kits for some of our café favorites: Fresh Fruit Gluten-Free Muffins, Fresh Fruit Coffee Cake and Squash Harvest Bread.

Each kit comes with baking molds (or muffin liners), with all dry ingredients pre-measured and ready to go, and easy-to-follow instructions. You choose your favorite seasonal fruits and supply common wet ingredients like milk, butter, and eggs.

We love to see you in our cafés, but during these coronavirus times, we understand the desire to stay at home. The smell of your favorite breakfast treats baking might even drag your teenagers out of bed early. Enjoy!

Fresh Fruit Gluten-Free Muffin Kit

We started offering these in the cafés about five years ago, and even wheat lovers have become devotees. Our gluten-free dry mix takes the guesswork out of baking. Choose your favorite seasonal fruits, and we’ll help turn your kitchen into a high-end bakery.

Fresh Fruit Coffee Cake Kit

This coffee cake is one of our most requested recipes. The natural sweetness of the fruit permeates the cake and keeps it moist. Choose your favorite seasonal fruits, and we provide nearly everything else, including the baking molds.

Squash Harvest Bread Kit

Our most popular breakfast bread has been on our menu since the day we opened in 1993. The list of ingredients is long, but our kit includes most of them pre-measured and ready to go. You provide the wet ingredients; we do the rest.

The coronavirus has created the perfect environment for a surge in bread-baking. People suddenly have time around the house to do fiddly things they wouldn’t normally, like proofing yeast and monitoring rising dough. Some are looking for a fulfilling hobby, or for sustenance for their families, or just something to do with the home-schooled kids that’s not another video game. Measuring, kneading and shaping dough can be a balm for the anxiety that has accompanied the virus. And some people, faced with the prospect of the conveniences of modern life being upended, are feeling the need to be self-reliant, even in small ways.

Project Barnstorm: Leslie Mackie’s Fruit Spreads 

When I started Macrina Bakery, I had every intention of making homemade fruit spread for our pastries but simply got too busy. Instead, I found an excellent freezer jam made from local berries. I’d been making jam and fruit spread ever since I was in my early twenties. My mother taught me how. Every year, in berry season, she’d get as many of those mouth-watering native strawberries, raspberries and blueberries and set about making jam, fruit spread, and conserves. Most of her jam was freezer jam, but I took to sealing it in jars since it keeps longer and you can store it in the larder.

Now all these years later, I’m finally starting to make fruit spread in quantities large enough I can sell some commercially. The fruit spread business is called Project Barnstorm. Most of the spreads are made from fruit grown on my Vashon Island farm such as Concorde grapes, blackberries and Montgomery cherries. I’m also making apricot, raspberry and blueberry spreads with fruit from a local organic farm.

Project Barnstorm is a celebration of the seasons. By picking the fruit at its peak, or buying it straight from some of the best local farmers, the fruit spreads capture the natural essence of the fruit. Because fruit spreads have less sugar than jam, the natural sweetness of the ripe fruit shines through.

To get the right consistency, I make all the spreads in small batches and cook the fruit until I’ve reduced its water content enough that it will set with just a little pectin. The ratio of fruit to sugar in my spreads is much higher than commercial jams. A full, fresh fruit flavor is the result. A single spoonful in winter will bring you back to summer, if only for a moment. Fortunately, there is the rest of the jar to enjoy!

The fruits spreads are delicious with our toasted artisan breads but are also a great accompaniment with cheese on our flatbread or crostini. My latest indulgence is a spoonful or two over ice cream in the evenings or yogurt in the morning.

If you haven’t made fruit spreads before, take advantage of Washington’s bountiful blackberry crop starting in late July. Often you can find them, purple and bursting with juice, along roadsides throughout the area. Enjoy!

~ Leslie

Leslie’s Blackberry Jam 

Ingredients:

8 canning jars and lids (6-8 oz in size)

8 cups ripe blackberries

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

1½ cups sugar

3 tsp Pectin (Pomona’s Universal Pectin)

Directions:

Fill a canning pot with water and bring it to a boil. Submerge jars and lids in boiling water to sterilize for 5 minutes. Remove and let dry at room temperature.

Gently rinse off the blackberries and pat dry. In a medium saucepan place the berries and mash with a potato masher. Add the lemon juice and half the sugar (¾ cup). Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Skim any foam that might form on the surface of the mixture and discard. Combine the remaining sugar with the pectin and whisk into the simmering jam mixture. Simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off heat.

Taste the jam for sweetness. You can add a bit more sugar or lemon juice at this point to accommodate for the natural sweetness of your berries (they do vary).

Bring the canning pot water up to a boil again. Ladle the hot jam into the sterilized jars, filling to ¼ inch of the top.

Place the metal top and rim over the jar and tighten rim to seal. Gently place the covered jars into the boiling water. Be sure the water is covering the jar. Boil for 10 to 15 minutes to seal.

Remove the jars from the boiling water and let cool at room temperature. Ensure that all the jars are tightly sealed. A good test is to remove the rings and lift the jar by its lid. If it releases, the seal is no good; refrigerate and use within a month (or freeze for up to 6 months). Well-sealed jars will hold at room temperature for 1 year.

La Spiga: Poetry to the Mouth

Capitol Hill’s beloved Osteria La Spiga, located in the historic Piston & Ring building on 12th Avenue, has been serving exquisite northern Italian cuisine since 1998. As co-founder and host Pietro Borghesi says, “An evening at La Spiga is like dining in Italy—without the plane fare.” 

More than ever now is the time to support black-owned restaurants in Seattle. One of our favorites is La Spiga, located on 12th Avenue in the heart of the thriving Pike/Pine corridor. The restaurant was born of a love story between a young black chef from Fairbanks, Alaska, and a young Italian man, from Emilia-Romagna. They met in Salzburg, Austria. In an interview with Cuisine Noir Magazine, Chef Sabrina Tinsley said, “I’ve always loved Italian food, but when I tasted authentic Italian food for the first time, I was blown away. It’s so different. It’s poetry to the mouth, for sure.” 

In February, Sabrina was one of ten local black chefs invited by two-time James Beard Award-winning-chef Edouardo Jordan to participate in Soul of Seattle, a sold-out fundraiser for organizations that support youth of color. The event was a smashing success, and fun to boot. “We enjoy each other’s company,” Sabrina says. “It’s nice to be in a room of people who look like you, who share the same experience, not only culturally, but in the same industry.” 

At La Spiga business was booming, continuing their steady growth over the years. Then on March 23, Governor Jay Inslee issued the stay-at-home order and whiplash ensued. Sabrina and Pietro Borghesi, her husband and La Spiga’s General Manager, shifted gears and ramped up their takeout menu. Fortunately, La Spiga’s legion of fans, stuck at home, flocked to their website and ordered their favorite housemade pastas like Tagliatelle al Ragu, Lasagne Verdi, Gnocchi al Pomodoro, and chef’s specials such as Pollo Arrosto and Grigliata Mista. 

Now that King County is in Phase 2, La Spiga recently began limited seating in their spacious dining room. But that hasn’t stopped them from developing their takeout menu and an in-house store where you can buy their fresh pastas, sauces, sliced cured meats and cheeses. During the shutdown, they redeveloped their website for ease of customer use. The new system works very well,” says Pietro. “And we’re continuing to expand the takeout menu, adding things designed for a dinner night at home.” 

Pietro and Sabrina are even planning to open a takeout window right onto bustling 12th Avenue. “The front of the restaurant—the whole front—will be retail for those walking by,” Pietro says. “We’ll have piadina grill right out front. People will be able to grab a hot-filled piadina sandwich and much more. “Eventually, they’ll also add retail items such as cheese, cured meats, and olive oils. 

The recently disbanded Capitol Hill Organized Protest, better known as CHOP, took a bite out of their business and left Pietro and Sabrina with conflicted feelings. “The public lynching of George Floyd activated a different audience and has really put people in the street,” Sabrina says. “It hasn’t just been the black population out there. Now’s the time everybody feels called to action.” 

Once after a couple of shootings at CHOP, La Spiga’s newly opened in-house dining fell off steeply. With CHOP cleared, things have picked up again. “I’m really happy when the protests are peaceful,” Sabrina says. “It’s disheartening when you see all the destruction. Especially the killings. Those kinds of actions really detract from the main purpose.” 

While the coronavirus has led to unprecedented challenges for Seattle’s restaurant community, Pietro and Sabrina have discovered a few silver linings—none better than some quiet time at home with their teenage children. They’ve all been eating dinner together, a rarity for most restaurant families. “That’s been precious,” Sabrina says. “This has been hard on our business, but I know that we’ll look back at the extra time together as a beautiful time.” 

July Recipe of the Month: Blueberry Nectarine Pie

One of my pinch-me-I’m-dreaming moments was in 1996 when the incomparable Julia Childs invited me to appear on the seminal food series Baking with Julia. A version of this fruit-filled pie was included in the Baking with Julia cookbook, edited by Dorie Greenspan. Over the years, we’ve tweaked this recipe, always wanting to improve on one of our all-time favorite pies. Throughout the seasons, you should play around with the fruit combinations, using what’s fresh at your local farmers market. This time of year, it’s hard to beat fresh nectarines with plump blueberries!

– Leslie Mackie

Ingredients
Makes one 9-inch pie

1 batch Macrina’s Flaky Pie Dough
2 pints fresh blueberries, rinsed and air-dried
4 ripe nectarines, rinsed and cut into ½-inch wedges
¾ cup + 1 Tbsp granulated sugar, divided
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
4 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash

Directions

Make one batch of Flaky Pie Dough. Keep discs refrigerated until you’re ready to use them.

In a medium bowl, combine the blueberries, nectarine wedges, ¾ cup sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and flour. Toss to coat the fruit with the other ingredients.

On a floured work surface, roll out the larger disc of Flaky Pie Dough so that its diameter is 14 inches and it’s approximately ⅛-inch thick. Fold the flattened disc in half and lift it onto your pie pan. Unfold the disc and gently press it down and around the sides. There should be a 1 to 1 ½-inch overhang for sealing and crimping at the finish.

Pour the fruit filling into the raw pie shell. Use a spoon to press gently on the fruit smoothing the surface so the filling doesn’t have gaps that would settle when baking. Break up the 1 Tbsp of unsalted butter and dot the top of the filling. Paint the rim of the pie dough with egg wash.

On a floured work surface, roll out the smaller disc of Flaky Pie Dough so that its diameter is just under 10 inches and it’s approximately ⅛-inch thick. While it’s flat, cut vents in the disc in a decorative design. We often cut two 2-inch slits (across from each other) and four 1-inch slits to the left and right of the larger slits. Be creative; the main thing is to have steam vents so the crust doesn’t balloon.

Gently fold the disc in half and lift it onto the pie. Unfold it and match the perimeter to the egg-washed rim of the bottom dough. Brush the top of the pie with egg wash, then fold the lower dough’s overhang up around the entire pie.

Once it’s sealed, crimp the edge with a decorative design. You can flatten and use fork tongs for design or use your fingertips to form a waving edge. Again, be creative. Brush the crimped edge with egg wash and sprinkle 1 Tbsp sugar over the top of the pie. Refrigerate the pie for 30 minutes before baking.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 400°F.

Place the chilled pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 40 to 45 minutes. The top crust should be golden brown with bubbling fruit juices visible.

Let the pie cool for 90 minutes before serving. Serve it with your favorite ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.