Chocolate Biscotti

dark chocolate is one of my favorite foods. dark chocolate. I have an affinity for the slightly bitter but yet so subtly sweet and rich dark chocolate morsels. I love the way the pieces break off with a satisfying snap. The way that the small corner of chocolate melts on your tongue, and the armoa and flavor of the chocolate as it fills your mouth... nothing that I bake will ever.... ever be able to capture the deliciousness of the 72% cocoa dark chocolate morsels that I consumed in between baking this delicious chocolatey treat.

Enter: Chocolate Biscotti modified from here

Ingredients:

6 TBS butter, softened
2/3 C white sugar
2 oz melted and cooled dark chocolate (I used Ghirardelli dark chocolate)
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 C all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped Ghirardelli dark chocolate

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 F
• Melt chocolate and let cool

Melty Chocolate mmmm

• Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy
  
• Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding vanilla and the cooled melted chocolate

Melty Remains

• Add flour and baking powder, add the chopped chocolate
• Chill dough for ~15 minutes.
• Divide dough into half and roll into a log and place on parchment paper, flattening the log before baking
• Bake 20 min and remove to wire rack to cool until the loaves can be handled
• Slice the loaves into 1/2-1 inch diagonal slices and bake on one side for 9 min. Turn slices over and bake again for ~9 min
• Devour. maybe save some for later in an airtight container.

Choco-scotti??

The fall is beautiful. i wish i had more time to enjoy the weather. my heart is a mess with the beauty around me.

Grass Gone to Seed

Sunset over the Prarie

til next time....

Lemon Toddy Pudding Cake

A storm is rolling in. And in between exams and presentations and talks, all i can think about right now is how the smell of the rain just before, during, and just afterwards is such a familiar and welcome smell. The winds are picking up and the trees with their still green leaves are rustling. it sounds reminiscent of the ocean waves hitting the shore. and it makes me want to go away from here and be near the water. i think i was born to be along the coast. i would die to hike along the shore and bike the winding roads and sit on the beaches just to watch the sun rise or set and hear the water.

A monstrous gust of wind blew a sheet of rain downwards. it's going to be an awesome storm... if/when it ever comes. the giant storms of the midwest! i love how they announce their presence with rolling claps of thunder and monstrous lightning. in the daytime, you can see the sky change. the wind picks up and you can smell it in the air. when the temperature drops, then you know you're in for a big storm, and you see along the horizon, the front line of the clouds rolling in. One time, i had to go and pay the vet at the clinic for pet sitting for me. a massive storm was coming. and you could feel it in your bones. the winds picked up to 40+mph and on the western horizon came the line of clouds. an army of angry rain clouds that looked like they wanted to drown you with their sorrows. it was beautiful. only because i made it into the car as the first drops of a torrential downpour began to splash down. driving was impossible so i just sat in the car. and waited til i couldn't wait anymore (meaning about 2 minutes). and i rushed home as fast as i could before the underpasses were flash flooded. funnel clouds were spotted, and the storm ended. boring boring boring... but so beautiful.

So, on to food. What is a toddy? so, according to wikipedia, a toddy is a hot drink, usually containing alcohol-- that you drink before going to bed... and/or in wet, cold weather.

A traditional Scottish recipe for a toddy goes as follows: pour whisky (a shot or so) into a mug and add boiling water. add a spoonful of honey or sugar, half a lemon slice, some cloves and a cinnamon stick and let brew for 3-5 min.

sounds delicious... in pudding cake form! this cake was slightly modified as i didn't have any whisky... i substituted it with some amaretto.... a sad replacement... but it was all i had.

Lemon (Toddy) Pudding Cake

recipe modified from here

1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup Scotch (i wish i had scotch... used amaretto instead... sadders)
1/2 stick butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons mild honey
1-2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup sugar

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a shallow dish.
• Whisk together soy milk, lemon juice, amaretto, butter, honey, zest, salt and egg yolks, then stir in flour.
• Beat whites until they start to get frothy, then add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time while beating, until whites just hold stiff peaks
  
• Stir some of the meringue into flour mixture to lighten the mix and gently fold in the remaining whites. Transfer to your dish and bake (in a water bath) until the top is set and golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes.

Something about the texture of this cake was a little bit off. maybe it was the use of soy instead of regular milk... or maybe it was the smallish size of the eggs i used... the flavor was marvelous! the slight sweetness from the amaretto and the amazing lemony flavor!!!! i just wish it was more... cakey on top and more gooey on the inside. maybe my baking dish wasn't right... maybe i should have whisked it better... but all i can think about when the lemon and the milk is mixed is how much it curdles.

maybe next time, i'll try it again with regular milk. and see if i can get the texture and consistency to be... smooth and creamy... so i can relaly enjoy it. with a splash of whisky... and maybe a real toddy on the side. :-)

in the mean time, here is a caterpillar. he's eating so he can turn into a big beautiful butterfly!





eat and grow!

Apricot Bread Pudding with Meringue

Bread pudding is... delicious. With the changing seasons, I find myself craving the warm and spicy and steamy sweet delicious foods. Summer flew by without much to say, but the crisp early morning air cries out for attention. not much to say besides life is stressful! but food makes it bearable :-)

Recipe modified from here

Meringue Bread Pudding

6 ounces sweet bread
1/2 c apricot jam
1 c milk
1/2 c heavy cream
2 eggs
2 T sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 T vanilla
1 pinch salt
Amaretto for drizzling

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Slice the brioche into rough slices.

• Spread each slice of bread with jam, layering the slices in a 2 quart souffle dish. Drizzle some amaretto over the slices
• Mix the milk, cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla, and beat until the egg is thoroughly incorporated. Pour the egg mixture over the brioche. Let sit for about 5 minutes to let the bread soak in custard
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
  

Meringue:

2 egg whites
2 T sugar
1 pinch salt

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place a shiny cookie sheet, shiny side down, on the top rack of the oven on the highest setting, and the other rack on the lowest rung.
• Beat egg whites and salt until fluffy. Slowly add sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form.
• Spread meringue over the top of the bread pudding, making little peaks as you go

• Place pudding on lowest rack of the oven, beneath the cookie sheet.
  
• Bake the pudding for about 8 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown. Serve warm.

look at those peaks...

MMMmmmm

to be honest, i was a little bit disappointed with the bread pudding. Yes, it was warm and delicious... and yes, the apricot and the amaretto and cinnamon made an amazingly warm combination of flavors in your mouth... and yes... the meringue topping was just the perfect touch of fluffy toasty sweetness and the wine we drank was a great match for the dessert... but I wanted it to be more puddinglike... i wanted it to jiggle and ooze with cream and juices... but it didn't. it was dry. i guess next time, i'll just up the liquids :-)

but otherwise.... it was delicious.

Something like being alone

All year, I begged for a weekend to myself. And all summer, my weekends were immensely occupied by visitors, people, renovations, life, death, and the likes… it’s strange to be in a position where there is Absolutely. Nothing. To. Do. I finally got my wish and I finally have a weekend to myself, but was a weekend riddled with stress and stressors. It’s frustrating to be obligated to do things you never signed up for. To have that expectation from people to be here or there and back and forth at this time or that time… to be chained to your phone for fear you might miss something exciting, to be chained to your phone because someone will call you every hour and demand to know what your plans are for the next hour until they call you again and demand to know what your plans are for the following hour… it’s depressing. All I want to do (or... i guess have been wanting to do since february)… is sit by myself at home, in my home in my house with my cat and watch tv, eat ice cream, go for long bike rides for hours, browse recipes, cook delicious food, and be at peace with where I am.

I don’t mind being cut off from the world. Sometimes it is liberating to be distanced from technology. But there is a difference between distancing yourself and complete isolation. And what I experienced last weekend was something like complete isolation. Sitting in the confines of a little room in the confines of a house with no internet with no tv and not even able to watch dvds on my computer because I don’t have a cd drive on my computer (uh, my fault entirely on that one). I sat… in a cave. In a well lit cave… and it bothered me that i could not still for lack of things to do.

Books were strewn across the bed and floor, but my attention was so divided between wondering what to do next, wanting to leave and escape, and wanting to sleep and rest. And all this is the stress that is called "going to my parents’ house." I wish I was comfortable sitting and doing nothing. but the neurotic workaholic graduate student self that I am cannot sit for more than 10 minutes and not do anything. I am not one to sit idly. I can’t stand it. And yet, while I sat there wishing I could do nothing, there were so many things that I wanted to do… but alone, in the comforts of my own home, where things are placed in a familiar manner, where my cat will rub up against you and meow petulantly for treats.

I become a mess of nerves when I’m separated from my work with no agenda for my days.

one day... there will be a weekend to rest. and from the looks of it... it won't be til december... :-(

in the mean time... pictures from the gardens

Prairie grass gone to seed

Purple leaves

Bonsai Garden

More flowers

I promise (i guess to myself....), the next entry will be food. not that anyone reads this :-(