Brownie's Brownies

I'm going to visit a friend of mine tomorrow who's nickname is Brownie. Well - she loves chocolate - I think that is an understatement. And, her birthday is coming up (within 2 weeks). So, since her husband is working tomorrow night we are going to watch movies, eat dinner, and then eat these wonderful brownies. I hope she has some ice cream to go with it! :)

Brownie's Brownies
2 T water
3/4 cup sugar
6 T unsalted butter
6 squares semi-sweet Baker's chocolate
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs (one at a time)
3/4 cup flour
3 pinches salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips/chunks

Heat 1-3 over medium heat until melted and boiling. Take off heat and stir in chocolate squares until smooth. Add in vanilla and then eggs, one at a time. Add in the dry ingredients and then fold in the chocolate at the end. Heat oven to 325 and bake in lightly greased 8x8 pan. Cook for 26 minutes (give or take depending on how gooey you like your brownies).
Enjoy with some ice cream.
The thing I love about these is that they aren't too sweet. Most brownies are too sugary sweet for me - these are a great blend.
And they may be a little more expensive then a boxed brownie, but they take under 10 minutes to prepare and they are so much better. Use GOOD Chocolate!
Lisa - I'll be there tomorrow - I hope you enjoy them. Happy Early B-day and thanks for letting me stay at your house! Love you - and I'm so excited for bonding time!

Whole Wheat Zucchini Craisin Muffins

Even with a non-working food processor - these still turned out pretty good. Zuks are in season right now so you can get them everywhere. What a great thing to use them for. And this recipe makes 12 (larger) regular muffins - yummy.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Craisin Muffins

3 cups grated fresh zucchini (I used 3 medium zuks)
1 1/3 sticks melted unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 t water
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup craisins

Beat the sugar and eggs, add in the slightly cool melted butter, water, and vanilla. Mix in the shredded zucchini. Sprinkle with soda and salt. Add in the flour and spices. Fold in craisins.
use a 12-cup muffin tin, sprayed with pam, bake for 25 minutes or until done at 350.
Enjoy! :)

Fresh Veggie Night

I love vegetable nights! Growing up we would often have vegetable Saturday - where we would go to John's and get some veggies and have them for lunch.

Last night Tracy came over and she brought makings to make a wonderful sauce for some whole wheat pasta: eggplant, zuks, squash, 3 peppers, onions, asparagus, tomatoes, basil. Really yummy - Thanks Tracy!

I made a wonderful salad from Foster's Market and some roasted peaches also from the same cookbook. We had some homemade Italian Bread to go with the pasta.

Roasted Corn, Avacado, Tomato and Mozzerella Salad2 ears of corn (soaked for 10 minutes minutes in cold water in husk), roasted at 400 for 25 minutes

1/2 large avacado

1/2 pint cherry or pear tomatoes

fresh mozzerella

Lemon vinaigrette

Put it all together on mixed greens!

It was a great evening of cooking, eating, walking, sweating (it was hot here in the ville), peaches and cream, and M. Night movie: Signs!

Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese Salad

Last night was a perfect opportunity to try this salad. I've seen many blog posts on this but never a recipe, so I just kinda went with it.

Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese Salad (6 appetizer salads)

2 bunches beets, peeled, chopped, roasted (olive oil, s/p, 400, 25-35 minutes)
goat cheese (1 small package, whichever one your knowledgeable Whole Foods cheese person picks out) - one of my new fave cheeses! Dr. W says it goes great on an omelette - so I will try that soon!
greens (your choice)
I used a lemon herb vinaigrette, but use a tart dressing

This salad was good. The only thing I would have changed was use a different dressing - or chop the herbs up more fine. But the contrast of the sweet (beets), salty and creamy cheese, and tangy dressing was great. Our tastes change over time. I never would have eaten beets with anything when I was younger. My salads were iceburg, tom, cuk, and cheddar cheese. Now, I never purchase iceburg, like different color grape or pear tomatoes (yellow pear are my faves), seldom put cuks on my salad and use all types of cheese. Usually beets, nuts, chick peas, craisins, toms, romaine or spinach, raisins, pumpernickel croutons (like at Ruby Tuesdays), red onions, that all makes for a great salad!

New Baby Peach Cobbler

Well, as many posts were last week on peaches - I had to use the rest of them. I was sad to see them go, but this was a great cause. My friend Chris and Mindy had Baby Rylee on Friday, so I brought them a peach cobbler on Monday! (There is a Popeye character that says something like that!)

Peach Cobbler (adapted from Betty Crocker)

1/2 cup sugar

1 T cornstarch

sprinkle of cinnamon

7 medium-small peaches, unpeeled, slice

juice of half of a large lemon

scant 1/4 cup crisco

1 cup flour

1 T sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

Bring peaches and syrup (all above peaches and lemon juice) to a boil over medium heat. Pour in ungreased casserole (2 qt). Then mix up the cobbler part and dollup over peaches. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes. Take out and sprinkle with more cinnamon. Serve warm with ice cream!

Chris said it was good - so I'll take his word on it! :)

Congrats Chris and Mindy!

Sundays are MADE for Breakfast

I love going to church at night. That affords me things I haven't been able to do in the past on Sundays: prepare for church, sleep in a little, not have a rushed morning, and enjoy a great breakfast.

I love Sarah Foster. She is the chef/owner of Foster's Market in Durham and Chapel Hill. I like the Durham restaurant better because of the outside seating and the fact that Sarah is at that one more, plus it was only abou 1 mile from where I lived. Her cookbook, Fresh Every Day, is seasonal and simple - and a lot of recipes she uses in her restaurant!

So...today...I made my first Toad in the Hole. I know simple, but yummy.

1 egg

1 piece of bread (I only had whole wheat no added sugar, but any would be great)

olive oil, butter (tsp of each)

salt/pepper

Heat oil and butter (I probably used too much olive oil - I need to even it out for the taste next time). Heat bread, dump egg in a hole created by a cup or something (cut out). Cook for about a minute on the first side, then flip. Cook till desired doneness of egg. I never used to like mine runny, but it isn't that bad.

Then I had one of my peaches and tomatoes, some milk, water, and read in the Proverbs to help prepare for church tonight.

Fridge Pizza and Pasta Night

Ok - so...its not quite for a day ending in Weight Watchers, but so yummy and fresh and healthy!
Pizza:
1 whole wheat pita
1 T tomato paste
oregano, garlic powder, pepper
evoo
sliced fresh mozz balls
2 slices fresh tomatoes

Broil till cheese is melted! :)

Pasta was some leftovers I had made. Whole wheat pasta, lean ground beef, shredded onions and carrots, almost a can of tomato sauce, and some 2 % cheese. It is so good for leftovers - I have enjoyed it much more as leftovers than last Sunday when I just made it.

Tex-Mex Flat Iron Steak

I don't grill that often, but I found a recipe in a Weight Watchers cookbook, and found this piece of steak on sale - so why not? My Le Creuset grill pan has gotten a lot of work this summer, and I'm getting better - but still not as good as Alan at the outdoor grill! My friend brought some fresh green beans and caprese stacks (tomatoes, mozz, basil with a delicious balsamic, evoo, sugar, basil sauce - thanks Lisa).

3 T tomato paste

1 chili in adobe

2 T adobe sauce

1 tsp cumin powder

3 pinches kosher salt

zest and juice of one lime

1 lb flat iron steak

Take all and put in a big ziplock bag, marinate over night. Grill in a hot pan with olive oil for about 6 min on each side for medium (like in pictures). Alan would have flipped out if he saw me eating steak this raw - but it was yummy! I wish I could have gotten the marinade more even on the meat, but one end of the meat definitely had more of the "kick" then the other. But, it was good. Flat iron is a tender cut of meat as well - also tenderized with the acid from the tomatoes and lime juice.

Peaches and Cream Amaretto

Fresh peaches are delicious. I got about 10 lbs today from Hubers. A friend was coming for dinner, so I created a dessert! It was inspired by Bananas Foster (which is an amazing dessert), but I actually like this one better, I think. The different textures were great and the flavors were incredible!

2/3 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup amaretto (almond liqueur)

2 T slivered almonds

2 fresh peaches, sliced

1 tsp cinnamon

Vanilla frozen yogurt

Almonds

Melt butter over med-high heat. Once melted, add in brown sugar. Add cinnamon, almonds, and peaches. After cooking some (3-4 minutes), add in amaretto. Let concentrate over medium heat.

For plating: spoon some of the syrup on bottom of bowl. Then a scoop of ice cream. The cover with peaches and more syrup. Top with almonds.

Incredible! :) Lick the plate good!

"Blondies" Do Have More Fun

I am a brunette, and the girl I am making for is a brunette - but these blondies are amazing. I've never made them - but after tonight - they will become a staple. I don't particularly love brownies - I mean they are good, but I can pass. I can rarely pass up a homemade chocolate chip cookie. These are a mix.
This is a Better Homes and Garden recipe. Not too time consuming and are incredible. It almost takes like you are eating a piece of caramel and chocolate - which I love both! :)

2 cups brown sugar (packed)
10 2/3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup ss chocolate chips

350, greased.
heat (on about 3) brown sugar and butter till smooth. Make sure it doesn't burn. It doesn't take very long, but it is mind-consuming. Let it cool. Add vanilla and eggs (one at a time). Add the dry ingredients. Pour into a 13x9 prepared pan. Cover with 1 cup chocolate chips. Bake for 40-45 minutes until done. Cut and enjoy! :0
WOW!

Birthday Cheesecake Brownies

I really should know this - never try new recipes for a friend's birthday, when its hot, and you are trying to get skype to work on your computer.
Oh, well.
Brandi - I hope you had a fantabulous birthday. TCF has much more to brag about their cheesecake.
I made this recipe and they looked great, so I said why not? Brandi loves cheesecake - so how bad can chocolate and cheesecake be? Right?
Well, the cheesecake doesn't end up this high in comparison to the brownie. I love the brownie part. It is very rich. I actually used 3 oz of dark chocolate instead of just 2. But I did everything that the recipe said. I didn't hear my buzzer go off the second time, so they probably cooked 3-4 minutes too long. The ratio is too much brownie, not enough cheesecake. Good thing the brownie is good.
They taste good, they just aren't perfect and amazing. So Brandi - know that I can bake better for this - and this will just mean that I'll have to make something else cheesecake for next year's birthday - and there are just a few days before that for me to redeem myself. I hope you enjoy them!

Mushroom Chicken Soup

Yes, it is 95 degrees outside, no A/C inside and I am making soup. I love soup!
Anyway, I got the idea for this from Cooking Light. But, ended up changing it quite a bit - and absolutely love it. It will become one of my favorite soups to make - right behind the WhitePlains Chili and White Chicken Chili. Enjoy!

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 med onion, chopped
3/4 cup carrots
3/4 cup celery
1 regular can of sliced mushrooms (not the small can)
olive oil
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp each oregano, celery seed
2 cups water
32 oz homemade chicken broth (much more flavor)
scant 1/4 cup cooking sherry wine
1 6 oz box Uncle Ben's Whole Grain and Wild Rice, mushroom version
3 cups chopped cooked (boiled) chicken

Saute veggies in oil about 5 minutes. Add flour and seasoning, coat. Add in liquid and rice (and flavor packet). Cover and let cook until rice is almost done. Add the chicken. Cook until rice is done and chicken is heated.
This is so yummy - even at the beginning of August! :)

Oh, Canada!

Canada does offer us some wonderful things. First, we have Prince Edward Island. Still one of my dream places to travel too (all because of Anne of Green Gables). Second, are these bars. I saw someone mention them in food blog world and I saw them when a friend and I went to lunch today. So, had to pick it up and find out what they were. I couldn't figure out what the inside part was, thinking amybe a pb mousse of some sort - but oh, it wasn't. My only problem with these is finding what to make them for - so many people do not like coconut. But, I am bound and determined to make them. I had 1/2 of the small bar I had. It was very yummy. And quite worth 2 points! :)

Taste of Louisville: Havana Rumba's

Among the staff in the school I work, there are a couple of popular restaurants. One of those is a little Cuban restaurant in the St. Matthews area called Havana Rumba's.
I've been there plenty of times, never having a bad thing. The only thing that changes is the service, sometimes good, sometimes a little less than good.
I've had their cuban (my first time there) with their sweet potato fries. Amazing on both accounts. Maybe not quite the Columbian in Ybor - but close. The fries are amazing though, hands down the best.
Second was the Vaca Frita - beef with peppers, rice, black beans, and plantains - the black beans and plantains are worth a trip in and of themselves. One time a bunch of profs went there (and me) I think all but one of us got this meal. It is definitely a favorite.
I then got the Ropa Vieja. That has been the thing that wasn't good enough to have again - it was too greasy.
I've had their yuka fries (great), cuban bread pudding (good, stiffer than normal bread puddings).
Yesterday I went with a family after church and wanted to get something healthy. So I had their Tropical Salad with grilled shrimp. The shrimp was great, grilled and marinated. It has oranges, mango, papaya, and spanish walnuts on it. It was good. I just didn't feel like I had been to Havana Rumba. It was a salad I could have gotten anywhere.
But, I did have a yuka fry and I stole some of Hannah's sweet potato fries. I had some leftovers of pork and black beans for dinner - so, it turned out great!
If you like Cuban food - check it out. I took my parents when they came to town!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I love hummus! :) I came to love it when I was in seminary and Sarah made it for me. Then I had George's in Durham (dtown) - man, there is none better. But, I don't live in Durham anymore, so I have to experiment. Usually, though - I like to stick to plain old regular chickpea hummus. But, today - I went a little crazy!
This was amazing!

1 can chickpeas
1/4 cup water
juice of one large lemon
1 red pepper (roasted for 20 minutes with a tad bit of olive oil, salt, at 450), cooled
salt
olive oil
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic
This has the freshness of the lemon, kick of the garlic, sweetness and color of the roasted red pepper, - oh goodness - so good.
You just have to play with the water, olive oil, and salt levels - to whatever thickness and texture that you want in your hummus!
I'll be enjoying this during the week with pitas, boiled chicken, veggies. :)

DQ, Godiva, and Vegetables

What a title! What a day!

Danny (Connections Pastor at my former church, the Summit, in Durham, NC) emailed the other day saying he had found an incredible drink - and only for $2.02 I think. It was the Starbucks Dark Chocolate Mocha. I do NOT like coffee, but I am glad he had found it. Well, I was at my neighborhood walmart today and thought I would look. I didn't find any Starbucks, but I did find a Godiva Dark Chocolate Mocha - for $1.28 (saving more than Danny). I got to my car, shook it up, popped the top (pop!) and oh goodness - it was good. I immediately called him and left a message and told him it tasted like a too good to be true Slim Fast shake - only better! There isn't much of a coffee flavor so that is great. And dark chocolate is similar to coffee - only a tad bit sweeter! So, I have a new favorite drink. Thanks Danny and Godiva!

I went hiking today and have exercised well all week - so I stopped by DQ on my way back from a park today. I love the combination of oreos (the best American store bought cookie hands down) and ice cream. You can't beat it in my opinion. So, I got the Oreo Brownie Earthquake. The oreos of course were great, the brownies were too rich, so I left one of those, and the ice cream is soft serve - so its not much compared to Cold Stone. But, it was good, cold, and I didn't gobble it down and I didn't leave it all.

Then I went to my favorite veggie stand - Garden Gate - on the corner of Bardstown and Breckenridge. I found all sorts of things: KY golden tomatoes and june Amish apples, patty pan squash, watermelon, pole beans, lemons, a tomato to have a tomato sandwich later in the week - yummy, kiwi, and some corn on the cob. Can't wait. I'm cooking the pole beans tonight!

Whoo hoo.

Well, that is my food for the day...good finds.

Food Blog World

I love Google Reader. Currently, I think I have about 130 blogs I keep up from theology, friends, food, etc. This picture is a mix. One of my dear friends, Tonya, just made this cake for her son's 1 year bday. I think she did an amazing job (she's the one who gave me the Strawberry Pie recipe). She's a fantastic cook as well!
I think you can tell a lot about food world if you see what other people are cooking since most people get at least their ideas of food from cooking shows, food magazines, etc.
So, here are some trends:
Grilled - of course its summer - grill anything and everything
Chocolate chip cookies - this has been the buzz word of the summer
Whoopie Pies - and I'm just not a fan, or maybe I'm just not a fan of moon pies - there is a difference.
Basil - and I have some cinnamon basil growing in my house right now, so I need to use that.
This is my other thought right now on food:
I am doing Weight Watchers (4th time, maybe this time I'll keep it off) - but discussing with a friend today:
Does Weight Watchers build in a "sin choice". This is what I mean. Overeating is a sin (at least in my thought process - being in light of the Bible). When I am full I need to stop eating. Bad things aren't good for me. Everything in moderation right? Well, when Weight Watchers builds in those 35 flex points - and I use them all on one day (usually after I weigh in once a week) - aren't I sinning just to keep "on program"? I eat weigh too much food - sometimes even when I'm not hungry - I just know I don't have to step on the official scale for another 7 days.
Thoughts? What are you cooking? Are you hip on any of the food trends?

Taste of Knoxville - Barleys

This weekend was spent in a gorgeous state - Tennessee - and the last leg of the trip was to Knoxville.
Our dinner was at a bar/pub called Barley's. We got in before cover so that was good since we didn't stay for the band. (But, we had to leave our cars because they were blocked in, oh, well. Add to the adventure).
By the time we figured out our pizza order - 2 girls, 4 guys - not easy to pick pizzas. We finally ordered 2 large, one Barley's All-American, 1/2 Hawaiian and 1/2 something with black olives.
These were the good things about the pizza:
1. The crust. We got the wheat crust. Very thin till you got to the back part of the crust - then it was nice and chewy - with just enough salt to make it really really yummy!
2. The Hawaiian. It has feta cheese on it (with ham and pineapple). The feta made the texture different and gave it a really good flavor. The pineapple wasn't the best, but oh well.
3. The Italian Sausage. This was on the Barley's All-America. It wasn't crumbled italian sausage - it was sliced italian sausage - and it was just a bit spicy and added great flavor.
We had a good time - despite our waiter who wasn't that great. It was a fun night!

Brownie Doctor

Ok - so when it is really hot in my non-ac-ed apartment, and it is the mid-90s and very humid outside, I don't feel like baking.
So...thankfully I had a box of brownie mix in the cupboard - I know - it was quite a shock to my system too.
But, I took my box of 8x8 pan size, Betty Crocker, dark fudge, fudge like brownie mix and doctored it up.
I added Reece's pb chips to the batter. Then when it was done, I sprinkled some on top so others could tell what was in them. Just kinda pushed them down into it with a spatula and covered the warm brownies loosely with foil - so they would melt a little.
Other things you can add:
mint chips
junior mints/york peppermint patties
cherries
mini baking chips
any kind of nuts

Be creative. Just because you use a box mix doesn't mean they have to be boring! :)

More work on Chocolate Chip cookies

Well, every blog I have been reading seems to be talking about chocolate chip cookies these days. You really start to get sick of them. But, you take little tidbits out of each one and then slowly start to work on your own recipe. I've seen recipes from the NYTimes, from Alton Brown, from Nestle, etc. They all seem to have something different about them.
Well, last night I was making some to take with me to TN this weekend for some friends, and I thought I would try my regular chewy recipe which I really love and change somethings.
So, here is the recipe as of a couple weeks ago. This time I did these things differently:
1/2 cup + 2 T of bread flour (then only 1 cup of regular flour)
1/2 cup each of mini baking m&ms, dark chips, semi-sweet chips
let the dough rest for about 3-4 hours in the fridge (this makes for even coloring, or so I've read)

These cookies kept their form, stayed puffy and chewy. Almost seemed like it had a crispy skin protecting chewy goodness. I really liked it - and the color from the mini m&ms.
These made about 25 cookies - and I baked them for 11-14 minutes on a lightly greased cooking sheet at 350.