Figs

** I just entered this photo into a gluten-free photo contest!! Wish me luck! **

Lately I've been reading a lot about figs. Not on purpose - the subject just seems to pop up in the books I've been reading lately. My big plan was to make a blackberry sauce to go on roasted chicken tonight but couldn't find any decent looking blackberries... and then figs popped up! A neat little bag of figs called to me from next to the berries. Seeing as how I've only had figs once (on a sandwich at Earls about a year ago), I used the tips and ideas found on the back of the bag to make my dessert. It suggested dipping the figs in some chocolate and then coated them with crushed nuts. Turns out I had a 85% chocolate bar in the fridge that I was not really digging so I figured that would be just the thing to coat my little figs in. I crushed up some walnut pieces to roll them in after and voila:

Four lovely little figs dipped in chocolate and coated in walnut pieces. I love the crunchy little bits inside the figs and the completely natural sweetness. They were pretty good but better yet, good FOR you. Figs and I have a very bright future. The fruit and vegetable section is my safety zone at the grocery store now. I'm completely free to try anything I like and I don't have to waste my time reading labels. It's 100% less stressful than eating out!

Who knew the day would come when I would appreciate cooking and cleaning my own kitchen more than letting someone else take care of it? Making my own food and cleaning my own mess is the most re-assuring thing I can do at this time. I know exactly what's going in my belly and my belly thanks me everyday.

 Oh and in case you're wondering what I had instead of blackberry sauce on roasted chicken.... nachos (que paso brand is gluten free) made in the microwave with tomatoes, olives and guacamole. It seems pretty weak in comparison but I'm kind of glad I couldn't find those damn blackberries. It's way to hot to turn the oven on!

Some Sweet Treats

I've got a few sweet recipes from the past few days to share today. First off - a baked banana with coconut:

 

For those who can't stomach the strong flavor of banana - look away now (mom). I found tonnes of recipes for this method on the internet. Some included marshmallows, chocolate or even peanut butter. From all the different recipes, I took what interested me and made my own baked banana. All mine had on it was some melted margarine, lemon juice and coconut. It was simply baked in the oven @ 375 for about 15 minutes (until soft and coconut browned). I did not wrap mine in tinfoil but some websites suggested that as well. Jason drizzled some chocolate sauce for the finishing touch. 

 

I could tell this was not really a hit as Jason kept repeating "I'm eating a hot banana" and "this is a hot banana" the entire time he ate it. It was definitely a bizarre flavor and I can't say I'm eager to make it again. It was kind of baby food meets ear infection medicine - in a bad way. 

Now onto something a little more successful: Bomb-Chelle Brownies! The recipe comes from my good friend Rachelle - hence the "Bomb-Chelle". It's a long story, but I had been presented with the challenge of making brownies that were more magnificent than the Daytona 500 for my dad. He has yet to taste them, but with the help of Rachelle, I'd say I owned this challenge:

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, melted
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs (make sure you have 4 before starting or you might have to run to the store in the middle of this recipe! that would suck... i imagine...)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. (I made mine in individual silicone mini-hearts)
2. Combine the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in the chocolate morsels. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish (or plop into your mini-muffin tin/cups)

4. Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove, and cool pan on wire rack before cutting. (I found that about 15 minutes did the trick for mini-brownies)

These brownies were very good - Jason and his sister ate the broken ones and gave them 2 thumbs up. The true test will come tomorrow though when we find out how they stack up against the Daytona 500. 

Now speaking of Jason's sister, she came by and delivered these Valentines cupcakes for us today:

 

So cute! Thanks Kate - we're saving them for dessert tonight. 

In other news, I'm drinking this interesting beverage as I type:

It's beer mixed with cherry juice. I can see this tasting very good on a hot summer day! 

Also - a question for Edmontonians. Have you ever seen individual sized bread bowls anywhere? I made chili for this evening and really wanted to serve it in some cute bread bowls! I could not find any so I settled for some longish crusty buns.

Double Chocolate Walnut Biscotti for a Sunday afternoon

Yesterday, Jason and I went to Da Capo for lunch. He had a gift certificate kicking around from a bike race last year and we just so happened to be in the area and starved half to death. It's a little Italian cafe owned by a cyclist and seems to be very popular with local bikers as Jason recognized almost everyone in the place. We had pizza (delicious) and some drinks. On the counter was a big glass container full of double chocolate biscotti. I don't usually like chocolate but for some reason these just looked so rich and perfect that we had to get one. It was so good that I found myself inspired to make some at home today. I found this recipe and gave it a try:

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar (I didn't have any of this but it would have added a nice decorative touch)
  

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter and flour a large baking sheet.
In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until combined well. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.

On prepared baking sheet with floured hands form dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Bake logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscotti on baking sheet 5 minutes.

On a cutting board cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool biscotti on a rack. Biscotti keep in airtight containers 1 week and frozen, 1 month.

MY REVIEW: These didn't compare to Da Capo's but I'm on the right track. I think the initial 35 minutes was a little much as they were pretty dark on the bottom. They are also mini biscotti! I thought the 12" x 2" log would grow a little but it pretty much stayed the same size.

JASON'S REVIEW: They were very gooood (he requested there be lots of o's).

Mini Chocolate Cheese Cupcakes

So after I say farewell for the year, I end up making these adorable little cupcakes. I hope you've been checking back or you might miss something good! I made these for my potluck lunch at work tomorrow. I can't remember where I got this specific recipe but there's lots of similar ones on the internet. They are commonly referred to as "Black Bottom Cupcakes" as well. Here's how I did it:

Topping
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 (6 oz.) pkg. mini chocolate chips (I didn't have any of these, but I had some little skor chip things and they worked)

Cake
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. Hershey's cocoa (Superstore brand seemed to work just fine)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. water
1/2 c. cooking oil
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix topping ingredients together; set aside.

Blend all cake ingredients together. Fill cups 1/2 full with cake batter; add 1/2 teaspoon topping (I used a toothpick at this point to swirl around the topping). Bake at 350 degrees about 15 to 18 minutes. Makes about 60 (made about 45 for me) cupcakes. Use the petite sized paper cups in the mini muffin tins.

 It's like a little cheesecake baked into a cupcake! 

NOTE: Two things I wanted to mention, these taste kind of gross when they first come out of the oven.. like hot cheese. Once they cool, or better yet, have been in the fridge for a while they taste MUCH better. Also, I used my hand mixer for the first time making these! My wrist was in heaven. 

Chicken & Gravy with Glazed Carrots and Mashed Potatoes

Since we both had the day off today, I decided to put a little more effort into dinner than I have been able to lately. Brought out a bottle of our red wine to accompany it too!

We took one of our huge chickens out of the freezer on Monday in preparation. When I say huge I mean.....

Jason was in charge of the chicken, as he always is. Since my 9 year stint as a strict vegetarian, I have never felt fully comfortable cooking meat.  I don't think he made any sort of rub this time - just put it in the oven au natural. He also made his delicious gravy. To go along with the chicken, I boiled some potatoes (still from our garden!) and mashed those up. I found this recipe for Balsamic Butter Glazed Baby Carrots on RecipeZaar and gave it a shot:

Balsamic Butter Glazed Carrots

Ingredients
1 (1 lb) bag baby carrot
2 cups water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2/3 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter (margerine)
2/3 teaspoon minced thyme
2/3 teaspoon tarragon (didn't have any of this)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions
1 Combine carrots and 2 cups water in the dutch oven. Bring to a boil over medium high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes or until crisp tender.
2 Drain carrots and keep warm.
3 Cook balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.
4 Stir in brown sugar and butter until smooth.
5 Pour vinegar mixture over warm carrots, toss to coat.
6 Stir in thyme, tarragon and salt and pepper.
7 Serve immediately.

For dessert, I wanted to try out my new beautiful ramekins! Here they are before going in the oven:

I found a fairly simple recipe for Chocolate Lava Cake and tried it out:

Chocolate Lava Cake

Ingredients (4 people):
6 oz. Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate (or use your favorite 70% dark chocolate bar)
6 oz. Butter (diced, room temperature) (I actually used butter!)
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 cup Flour
Butter for Ramekins (I just sprayed vegetable oil)

How to Make It:
Preheat oven to 350°F
1. Melt chocolate on low flame in a bain-marie (double boiler). When melted, take of flame, and… (I put it in the microwave. I'm so fancy.)
2. Stir in diced butter, until it melts.
3. In another bowl, beat eggs and sugar, until it starts to whiten.
4. Stir in melted chocolate and then the flour.
5. Butter 4 individual ramekins, and pour in chocolate batter.
6. Cook for about 10 minutes. (Closer to 20 in our fantastic oven)
7. Tip ramekins upside down onto dessert plates and serve. (Perhaps wait about 5-10 minutes before doing this)
Voilà!

I tried to capture the inside oozing out as best I could:

As you know, I'm not a chocolate fan. Once Jason was finished his, he happily moved onto mine:

MY REVIEW: Great dinner! We've been having lots of macaroni and perogies lately. The carrots had a nice flavor but they looked kind of dirty. I guess that's not a big deal if the flavors there. Potatoes were great and chicken nice and moist. If you like chocolate, you must try the lava cake. Very rich and gooey and warm.

JASONS REVIEW: Effin' fantastic. The lava cakes blew my mind.

Spaghetti & Meatballs with Chocolate Cake

Tonight, I made Jasons favorite: spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs were actually made yesterday and they're turkey. I'm sure I've posted the recipe I've used before... nothing fancy. Just a spoonfull of italien seasoned breadcrumbs, 1 egg and 1 pack of ground turkey. To prevent the pasta sauce from soaking into his bread, I created an aluminum foil barrier. This did not work.

I felt like baking tonight but didn't really have any exotic ingredients. As we know, Jason enjoys the odd slice of chocolate cake. I found this interesting recipe:

This is a foolproof moist chocolate cake. Remember mayonnaise is just eggs and oil (If it wasn't for that comment, I would probably have been too grossed out to make this. It puts it all in perspective). 
Great recipe from Sally Pasley's Tao of Cooking cookbook.
by Missy Wombat

(1 layer cake)

1 cup mayonnaise (I had 1/2 fat!)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/4 cups flour
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Mix mayonnaise, water, sugar and vanilla together until well blended.
Sift cocoa, flour salt and baking soda together.
Stir into liquid ingredients and mix just until blended.
Pour batter into 1 greased and floured sandwich cake tins[8-9 inch size].
Bake in a preheated 375 deg F oven for 20-25 minutes (or 40 if your oven isn't accurate like ours) or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Cool and then ice (If you click on the link for the recipe, it comes with what looks to be a good recipe for icing. I just used some extra safeway icing I had in the fridge! 2 weeks until my cake decorating classes start and I've never made my own icing).

I then proceeded to decorate it really strangely with shavings of white chocolate and little multi-colored chocolate balls. Again, cake decorating classes start next week!

JASON'S REVIEW: He definitely liked the meatballs and spaghetti. He hasn't tried the cake as our washing machine is broken and he's trying to fix it. I'll let you know when he tries it. I'm interested to see if he can guess the secret ingredient.

MY REVIEW: I didn't eat either of these. I say we need a new oven though...

Cake!

Today I got my first "springform" cake pan. I'm trying to gain some basic baking knowledge before I go to NAIT in November. My mom took me to a huge cooking supply store and I was inspired to bake a cake when I got home! I always heard about making your cakes in these springform pans but never really understood, and possibly still don't, what they were. There is still much research to be done on how to use these properly but I couldn't wait so I gave it a shot today!

The occasion: Jason rode his bike for 2 hours (and had nothing to eat but cereal I found out later!) That's the only occasion I could think of.

I was looking for a really basic chocolate cake recipe and ended up finding one on this website. If you check out the website you'll find a recipe for frosting as well - I opted for the rest of my pre-made Safeway icing in the fridge! Here's the cake recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups water

1. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
2. For Cake: In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and baking powder; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl and beat on high speed of mixer 3 minutes. (I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I don't have a mixer. Any mixing is done with my own 2 hands/arms/wrists/shoulders. One day I will have the red mix-master!)
4. Alternatively add flour mixture with water to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan(s).
5. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. (Mine took probably 45-50 minutes because I have a super lame oven. Just keep your eye on it.)

Here it is after I unlocked the springform:
Pretty nice! I guess this type of pan is popular for making cheesecakes. I can see why.

I microwaved my chocolate icing and poured it on top of the cake. I spread it around a bit and let it spill over the edges. I plopped a few fresh raspberries in the middle as well just for color!
I'm not sure if you're supposed to invert the cake onto the platter or if you're supposed to level off the top with a knife... I chose to just put it upside down because the bottom had a really flat surface. It is kind of sitting on a dome but maybe it will flatten once the cake cools. This is where the extra research comes in!

JASON'S REVIEW: The best chocolate cake I've eaten all day. The icing is silky and the chocolate cake is moist and the raspberries add a delicious sweet punch. (Jason may sound sophisticated in his reviews but really he could barely get his helmet off before eating a slice in 3 bites. I had to coax the review out of him between mouthfuls of his second slice)

MY REVIEW: I had a fork full from Jason's plate and the cake was very good! I'm usually not a big fan of chocolate but this cake was perfectly moist if I do say so myself. This recipe is a keeper.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

I saw the movie Julie & Julia last night and loved it! It inspired me to do a little experiment today. I won't spoil the whole movie (because you should all see it), but there is one scene where Julia makes a chocolate cake and her husband pretty much eats the entire thing with his hands. After the movie, my grandma asked me if that's what Jason would do if I made him a chocolate cake. I couldn't really say because Jason has never had that sort of a freedom with a chocolate cake. When I bake, it's usually for someone else or a special occasion. That means his consumption is heavily monitored. I got to thinking... what would Jason do with a cake to himself?? No limits.

So, when Jason got home from work today, this is what he found on the kitchen table:
I even iced it!
After the first bite, he had to go put his "eating" pants on.
Honey was enjoying the smell immensely.
Who am I kidding... she's always on the table. I like to pretend it has something to do with the wonderful smell of my cooking. But clearly it does not... she was bored with the entire situation.
All in all, Jason did not eat as much as I imagined. Or perhaps my cake was not as good as Julias? Hard to say. Here's the leftovers:Anyways, here's the recipe I used if any of you are interested in trying this experiment.

3/4cup sugar
1/2cup flour
1/2cup walnuts
1/2cup coconut
1/2cup cocoa
1/2tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2cup melted butter

Mix ingredients as written. Bake about 20 minutes. Ice while warm.

That is honestly all I have written down on this recipe card! It was from a friend of my grandmas and it's pretty much fool proof. I don't have the time/temperature down yet. I just start checking it every 5 minutes after 20 minutes and the oven was at about 300. It's very easy to prepare though! You only get 1 bowl dirty.

JASON'S THOUGHTS ON THE EXPERIMENT: It was tasty. It was chewy and satisfying and I've never had chocolate cake for dinner before. I hope I get chocolate cake for dinner every night.

PS - You may have caught a glimpse of my new typewriter in the first picture! Here it is - in all its glory:
$5 at a garage sale, works like a charm and weighs about 23098lbs. It has no home yet so it sits on the kitchen table. I've already used it once for a gift tag and hope to get lots of use out of it for cards and such!

*Update: Approximately 15 hours after the brownie came out of the oven, it had been fully consumed. That included a large portion for breakfast.

Crunchy Pickle & Vegetable Salad with Chocolate Mug Cake

2 new recipes tonight! First... the Crunchy Pickle & Vegetable Salad. This came from the KRAFT website. I made a few changes:

1 medium head cauliflower (1 lb.), cut into small florets (I used about 3/4 of a big one)

8 CLAUSSEN Kosher Dill Pickle Halves, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed (I used half a can)

20 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 bunch green onions (about 5 onions), sliced (didn't have any)

1 bottle (8 oz.) KRAFT Classic Caesar Dressing (instead of this and the dill, I just mixed some light mayo with my Lemon Dilly spice)

1 tsp. dill weed

MIX cauliflower, pickles, beans, tomatoes and onions in large bowl.

COMBINE dressing and dill weed. Add to pickle mixture; stir gently. Cover.

REFRIGERATE at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with fresh dill, if desired. (I only refrigerated for maybe half an hour)

So that was that... the mush in the background is the leftovers from last night. I just shredded the last chicken breast and made it like a stew. I must say, it was kind of a gross combo (the salad and stew) but on their own they both would have been good :)

I MADE DESERT TONIGHT! I never ever make desert. I found this great recipe for a single chocolate cake on this blog and thought it was a great idea. Jason has a sweet tooth but I don't really want to make a whole cake... or buy a whole cake. We don't need that sitting around the house! So I just made him one of these tonight - I had all the ingredients in the house and you probably will too:


1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour (that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

MY REVIEW: The salad was great... I love pickles and anything dill flavored. I made lots so we'd both have some for lunch tomorrow. I think a whole bottle of Caesar dressing would be disgusting on this! You only need a little bit. As for the cake, I only had a spoonful but what a great idea!! It has so much potential too... I didn't try tipping it out but you could also put some whip cream or sprinkle some icing sugar on the top. It could be as fancy as you like. Also, the consistency was moist and fluffy!! I thought it would be soggy but it was just like cake. Mom, dad could even make this for himself.

JASON'S REVIEW: He must have liked the salad because he accepted my offer to make a container for his lunch. More importantly, he was raving about the cake! He said it was the best thing that's ever come out of the microwave and couldn't believe it only took 3 minutes. He thought some cherry pie filling and whip cream would round it out nicely. Definitely a big hit!