It's Chocolate Time!

Lucky me! A friend's birthday and Valentine's day fell just a few days apart last week... giving me an even better excuse than usual (life) to bake my most favorite chocolate cake AND try my hand at chocolate truffles. So, needless to say... last weekend was... the... best.

First, the cake. It's Crazy Chocolate Cake, people! The BEST! Growing up, my mom often made this cake on snow days. In college, I made it for Mark and I on Valentine's Day (which is why I made it last week! I was nice enough not to eat it in front of him on Skype.) Once my college roommate Erica caught a whiff of this cake, she fell in love with it and made it for simply any and every occasion for the rest of the year! Oh, it's your friend's brother's birthday! Cake. It's Wednesday! Cake. You finished your grad school applications! Cake. You got a B on a test! Cake. Though I must say, the cake I made last week was one of my best yet...

Thank you to my Mark for these lovely flowers!

No icing necessary... we've got a sugar and chocolate crust.

Love!

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Recipe: Crazy Chocolate Cake

1. Mix these in a bowl:

• 3 cups flour (Last time I used 1 cup whole wheat and 2 cups white... and then laughed at myself for trying to make a chocolate cake healthier.)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (Hershey's makes a dark cocoa powder that has a really deep, yummy flavor!)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp baking soda

2. Add these and stir:

• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 3/4 cup oil (I use 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup oil. This is a worthy substitute! You can save quite a bit of fat and keep the moisture here.)
• 2 cups water  

3. Pour into a greased pan. Top with these:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips (This last time I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips. Do it!)

4. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
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I could probably eat this cake exclusively to satisfy any chocolate craving... but I did try a brand-new chocolate treat in honor of a friend's birthday and girls' night! (Thanks Kelly W. for being born!) Chocolate Ganache Truffles... you can find the recipe here, courtesy of Vegetarian Times. They were surprisingly easy to make (no double-boiling anything!) and were QUITE the hit with the girls. But really, if you doubt their deliciousness, just look at the list of ingredients. I am almost certain you can't fail here! *Note* I did follow the recipe closely... yes, I did use Kahlua; yes, I did use heavy cream; yes, I did use instant coffee (Starbucks Via, in fact); no, I didn't use corn syrup, I used honey instead because that's what I had. 

How the pros captured Chocolate Ganache Truffles

And... mine!

Let me tell you, it was a real shame there were still some left over and they sat in my fridge for a few days. (OK, a day.) A realllll shame.

To end on an even sweeter note... it's no secret that dark chocolate has been shown to have plenty of nutritious health benefits, thanks to their antioxidant-rich properties! Many studies have shown a link to decreased blood pressure, decreased platelet stickiness (i.e. decreased risk of heart attack and stroke), decrease risk for diabetes, and possibly a link to decreasing cancer risk! The darker the chocolate (over 60%) the better the antioxidant punch. Check out what the Cleveland Clinic has to say, or a researcher at Penn State.

I have a feeling I don't really have to convince you to make one of these recipes. Now get yourself some chocolate!

Sweet Sweet Sweet Potato

Isn't it just darling to find new ways to cook well-loved foods? I am talking about the sweetest potato I know.  

(Sweet potato or yam? In the US we use the terms interchangeably. Botanically, they are two different tubers. But most of what we enjoy here in the States are true sweet potatoes! Google it.)

Three sweet potatoes. Two new recipes. One tasty and beta carotene-filled day!

My excuses for cooking up Sweet Potato Blueberry Muffins and Spiced Mashed Sweet Potatoes are both internship-related.

First, the muffins. Another intern and I are testing recipes we will make for a breakfast event in Keene honoring Champions in the area. Champions are individuals and organizations who have pledged to help make Keene the healthiest community in the country by the year 2020. (Also known as Vision 2020.) The breakfast is in March. We'll prepare food for about 50 people, and then give a short presentation on how to make the most out of breakfast. So far we know we will make homemade granola bars, mini-quiches, and muffins. We are also able to serve yogurt, fruit, and coffee... making it a complete meal. I like this recipe because it is so different, wholesome, and kind of fun! (I mean, a sweet potato muffin? Really? I still get a kick out of it!)

This recipe was adapted from chef Mark Bittman's Sweet Potato Muffins, created for Runner's World Magazine. If you look at his recipe, you'll notice I added 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, tossed in a bit of flour. I also substituted some brown sugar for the white, and next time may even use a bit of maple syrup too (you just do that in New Hampshire.) These treats are the perfect, perfect pre-workout fuel... and a delightful afternoon snack.

*Update* The second time I baked these, I reduced the total amount of regular whole wheat flour from 2 1/2 down to 2 cups. The muffins came out a bit lighter and even better! I imagine if you used whole wheat pastry, 2 1/2 would still be fine, but it can be hard to find.

"Make me! Eat me!"

The other sweet (potato) dish we whipped up (literally) is a mashed sweet potato with some uncommon flavors. Let me explain. A fellow intern and I are doing a lunch 'n' learn presentation at a local senior center. Since seniors are often told what they can't eat, (goodbye saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, vitamin K perhaps...) we are going to talk to them about how to make what they do eat even better. With spices! Did you know... 1 tsp of cinnamon contains the antioxidant equivalent of 1/2 cup of blueberries? Dried spices are essentially concentrated forms of fruits and vegetables. No, that doesn't mean we can replace vegetables with spices in our diets, but it does mean we can maximize the nutrient punch by adding spice.

These spices are some of the most powerful:

• Cloves 
• Cinnamon 
• Oregano 
• Turmeric 
• Curry 
• Thyme
• Ginger
• Cumin
• Black pepper

To start off the session with our seniors, we'll have them taste our Spiced Mashed Sweet Potatoes and guess what spices we added to the dish. Much of our research for the topic, as well as the recipe, came from McCormick.

Recipe: Spiced Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

1. Cook 2 lbs sweet potatoes. (Microwave, boil, bake, whatever your heart desires. We microwaved!) 
2. Mash.
3. Add 2 tbsp butter, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp dried thyme.

Thanks McCormick for the photo... I promise it looked like this when I made it too!

I think you will find this dish intriguing. The vanilla suggests sweetness, but the thyme keeps it savory. And the ginger does its own thing. It's good, I promise. One taste-tester exclaimed... This is confusing!

Keep it interesting! Happy cooking!

Beer Bread

It's been snowing a lot lately. And I think, cold and snowy calls for warm and doughy! Feast your eyes on my weekend snow day treat...

Beer Bread!

I first made beer bread in the foods lab at Penn State. It is so easy and tastes amazing. I have seen some pretty extravagant recipes with chocolate, cherries, cheddar, cider, onions, you name it. This one is completely basic, and is ready in 1 hour. Don't mind if I do...

Beer Bread
Mix 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 4-1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and 12 oz. beer. (I used Harpoon IPA... yummy!)
Plop into a lightly greased loaf pan.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 50 minutes.

It's even easier to EAT!

Persimmon. Muffins?

Hey, look, these are persimmons!

Oh hey, we're persimmons.

I myself had no idea what a persimmon was less than 1 year ago. Once, my friend Victoria asked me to identify one in a photo, and I could not do so without cheating. A persimmon is a fruit, grown in the wintertime, resembling (in my opinion) an heirloom tomato topped with a shitake mushroom. Size and texture are similar to tomatoes, but fewer seeds. Cooking Light Magazine tells me they have long been part of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cuisines, and are commonly used by American cooks in "holiday puddings." (Really? Okay.)

A few days ago, another intern and I were going through cookbooks looking for recipes for a breakfast event we're doing in the community next month. We came upon several using this weird orange fruit! I narrowed it down to one and gave it a shot- Spiced Persimmon Muffins.

I stuck to the recipe for the most part, but I left out the pecans (on purpose- texture thing) and the fresh ginger (by accident- #oopsIforgot). I also substituted "flax eggs" for the real eggs. What? Why?

Flax Egg- Ok so, I don't really like eggs, and when I buy them for a recipe, the leftover eggs just sit in my fridge for months. Enter, flax egg. Developed by vegan bakers, a "flax egg" is 1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 2 tablespoons warm water. Let that sit in a bowl for a few minutes to congeal and get a little goopy. It supposedly mimics the properties of an egg in a baked good! And the best part is, I am left with delicious flax instead of leftover eggs! I have had success with flax eggs in muffins before, and they turned out great with my persimmon muffins. (Tip- I just get a bit of whole flax seed from the bulk bins at the store and grind them fresh in my coffee grinder. I store the remaining meal in the freezer to preserve those precious omega-3 oils.)

Pretty rainbow-colored silicon muffin wrappers... no sticking here!

The muffins were delightful! Chewy cranberries, sweet honey and nutty whole wheat made for a great flavor and texture (also, my perfect muffin-method-mixing technique made for proper crumb formation and gluten development, thanks food science). The persimmons don't have a strong flavor, but it was fun to try baking with them. These are some other recipes that looked good- Persimmon Gingerbread, Ricotta Cheese Crepes with Persimmon-Apricot Glaze, and Arugula, Hazlenut, Persimmon, and Fennel Salad.

Morning Muesli: One of the muffin ingredients is yogurt, which I don't usually buy (texture thing... wow, I am really revealing my food jags today), but used my leftovers to make one of my favorite European breakfasts... Muesli! Muesli is a cereal mix developed in Switzerland, usually containing oats, wheat, spelt, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. It's traditionally eaten by soaking overnight in milk and yogurt! I love museli, and had it several times for breakfast in and around Germany. I bought a muesli mix from Bob's Red Mill, and found it just delicious.

Happy Breakfast!

Give Beets a Chance

Tonight's post will come much to Mark's dismay.

I have come to love his most hated food of all time. BEETS!

Beets are a root I seldom cook with, mainly because we didn't eat them much growing up... besides pickled beets... to which I will still say- no thanks. But I recently saw a beautiful photo of sliced beets in a health magazine, which was enough to convince me to buy them last week.

The lowly beet. Just wants to be eaten. Even comes with an emotional tag.

Beets are a bargain. Not only do you get the beet root itself, but the greens on top are edible too, and quite delicious when sauteed! If the colors of the leaves look familiar, it's because baby beet greens are often found in your favorite salad blend, Spring Mix. Beautiful bright, purpley-red beets contain a powerful pigment. It's powerful for many reasons...

1. It helps protect against cancer.
2. It's a great source of iron and folate.
3. It stains your hands and makes it appear as if you have committed murder.
4. It can cause something called beeturia... or so I hear.

The last time I had beets was in the summer at a fantastic restaurant called The Skinny Pancake in Burlington, VT. I had a crepe filled with beets, caramelized onions, and goat cheese. It was memorable! Beets and goat cheese are a trendy combo these days, and one that I know I like... so this is the direction I took with my own.

I chopped 'em up with some onion and coated them with the most fantastic oil you will ever taste. It's simply called "Basting Oil," and it's made by Wegmans. It's garlicky, herby, and just awesome.

Run, don't walk, to the nearest Wegmans and BUY THIS! I roast EVERYTHING in it!

I roasted the beets and onion with a little salt and pepper at 375 for about 30 minutes. Just out of the oven, I tossed it all with some goat cheese. It was warm, sweet, salty, creamy, tangy... it was just plain good. I also sauteed the greens in the same garlic oil. I didn't intend on taking another photo, but I had to mid-bite, because it was too yummy.

I ate my beets and greens with some brown rice and lentils, cooked in garlic and red wine.

The very next day, I saw someone on TV make a beet and quinoa salad. It's like this week was destined for BEETS! I couldn't find the actual recipe, but it did inspire me to create something similar of my own.

I roasted beets and onions the same way described above. (I actually turned the heat down to 350... sometimes little pieces of onion burn easily, and I didn't have that problem this time.) I added those veggies to some quinoa cooked in salt, pepper and garlic. Quinoa is a high-protein grain with a nutty flavor. It cooks up in just 20 minutes on the stove top. I fluffed in some lemon juice, honey, olive oil, chopped cilantro, pumpkin seeds, and yes... goat cheese! It was pink and delicious... I currently can't stop eating it.

I hope you will try this beautiful root for yourself. If not, at least buy yourself some goat cheese!

I can't wait to make this for my future husband! I'm sure he'll come around... after all, when he first met me, he didn't like... mushrooms, asparagus, peppers, beans, vinegar, or curry. Now he can't get enough. Let's hope he falls in love with beets soon!

New Year, New SOUP!

Last night's meal was a bit of a retaliation against Christmas vacation... translation=holiday food. As much as I love cookies, chocolate, chips, and basically anything else with carbs and sugar... enough is enough! I am back in Keene now, after sadly saying goodbye to my sweet fiancé... but not-so-sad was my parting with the carbs! I knew I wanted to make a specific recipe I had tasted last winter, deep in the heart of Kansas... an Asian Veggie Soup made by Nurse Mom- that is, the mother of my dear friend Victoria. (Shout out to Nurse Mom on graduating with her BS in Nursing this month! You rock!)

The soup is simple to make, big on flavor, and easy on the tummy. The perfect meal after you've eaten too many Christmas cookies. (Note- If any cookie binge was brought about by my last post and recipe, I apologize.) It is broth-based, which means it is a volumetric food; research at Penn State has shown that starting a meal with a low-calorie salad or broth-based soup can decrease a person's total food intake at a meal... helping with weight loss! So grab your German carrot shredder and let's get cooking!

My fancy German swirly carrot shredder... these too thick? Flip it over for a smaller shred! Zo zimple!

My fancy German swirly carrot shredder... these too thick? Flip it over for a smaller shred!

Zo zimple!

My parents gave me this top-of-the-line, award-winning, German-engineered vegetable shredder for Christmas last year. The first few times I used it, I couldn't get the hang of it. (I probably should have just watched this video.) But after a few tries, I now find it pretty fun and functional! It involves twists and metal things and slick side handles. The soup calls for "shredded" carrot (matchstick cut are fun to use, too) but I thought I'd use my Gefu tool, and it worked out pretty nicely... like long, thick, carrot-spaghettis.
 

My prep bowl- carrot curly-q's, bok choy and scallions

My prep bowl- carrot curly-q's, bok choy and scallions

So here's how you make Asian-Style Vegetable Soup:


Take 6 cups vegetable broth to a simmer with 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar. Add in 1 cup shredded carrot, 2 cups sliced bok choy (whites AND greens), 2 tbsp sliced scallions, 2 thick slices fresh ginger root (which you will not actually eat... but you certainly can... okay I did!), 1 minced serrano chili (note- serranos are twice as hot as jalapeños... proceed with caution if you can't take the heat!), and 2 cloves minced garlic. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used baby portobellos... if I had a limitless budget I would use shitake!) and simmer for 5 more. Turn off the heat and add chopped CILANTRO! I am in love with this herb... (Lauren Martin, I am not mocking you. But I do love cilantro even though you hate it.)

So rustic. (Rustic is the word you use to describe something that looks haphazardly thrown in a bowl.)

So rustic. (Rustic is the word you use to describe something that looks haphazardly thrown in a bowl.)

It's the perfect light meal. I hope you enjoy! Happy cooking... here's to getting through my first winter in New England!

The Best Christmas Cookie You Aren't Baking

The cookie swap is a cool new thing to do with a bunch of ladies. Everyone brings a ton of cookies and their recipes to a party, and then you divide up the cookies amongst yourselves! And you go home with even MORE cookies than you brought (miracle), and you eat them uncontrollably for days, putting yourself in a prolonged state of hyperglycemia! (Nutrition term for... back away from the cookies.)

Anyway... there were PLENTY of fantastic cookies to choose from (and I did, multiple times). Here were some of my favorites:

• Peppermint Bark Chocolate Chip
• No-Bake Oatmeal PB Chocolate
• Chewy Molasses Crinkles
• Snickerdoodles
• Classic Sugar
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls (NOT Buckeyes)
• Chocolate Mint
• Oatmeal M&M
• Pretzel Snaps with a Hershey's Kiss and an M&M (especially addicting)

 The cookies I baked for the swap are a recent favorite in my family. We love them for three reasons:

1. They only take about 30 minutes, start-to-finish.
2. They are SO DELICIOUS!!!
3. They are wheat-free... for the glutard in your life- love ya Mom!

 So do something wonderful for you and your loved ones this holiday season... bake Flourless Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies (affectionately known as Peanut Butter Bombs). You probably have all of the ingredients already in your house!

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Flourless Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy

1 egg

1 1/3 cup sugar, divided

1 tsp vanilla

Hershey’s Kisses, unwrapped (dark chocolate is best!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet.
2. Combine peanut butter, egg, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla in mixing bowl and stir well.
3. Roll small dough balls in remaining sugar to coat. Place on baking sheet and bake 12 minutes.
4. When removed from oven, immediately top each with a Kiss. Wait 4-5 minutes until Kiss is melted, then smooth down with a knife or back of a spoon.

Yield: 18 cookies

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You simply MUST bake these! (Unless you are allergic. Duh.)

Special thanks to Mrs. Karen Bassett for hosting the Cookie Swap! Your Molasses Crinkles were to-die-for!