The Evil Brownie...

Meet my friend.

We have a LOVE-HATE relationship.

His Royal Evilness...Baron Brownie.
Stop staring at me with those piercing eyes!

This is an entry on THE evil Brownie. Really sick and wrong...in a good way. So deathly delicious they kill any effort to lose weight and have to be banished to the tower... and even then I manage to find the locked door and fight off the bats and fairy dust to get to them! Here is my favorite brownie recipe, for good reason. I doubt you will be able to keep the munchkins at bay...or giants for that matter. There is a reason why I only make these when I can take them somewhere. Otherwise they stare at me all day. How rude. Don't make these...save yourself!!!Okay, make them. You have been warned.

My Chef Tess Brownies
1 1/4 cup butter
4 cups sugar
1T vanilla,
2 tsp rum extract
1 T cinnamon
1 T orange zest
1/2 tsp ground Cayenne pepper
8 eggs
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
1 T salt

Preheat oven to 325degrees. Cream the butter,sugar, eggs, vanilla, and spice until light. Add the flour, cocoa, and salt, mixing 2 minutes. Pour int a lightly greased bar pan (at least 9inch by 13inch by 3) Bake 40-45 minutes--slightly undercooked is better than overdone and dry. Cover with ganache and toasted almonds:

Ganache
16 oz. high quality chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups toasted almonds

Boil cream.
Place chocolate in a metal bowl and pour hot cream over the chocolate. Stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over brownies when they are cool and cover with toasted almonds. Allow to cool...if you can wait that long and cut into squares.

Baking Bread in a Solar Oven

Sun baked bread....

In previous posts I have talked a little about my joy of cooking with a Solar Oven . Should the need arise in an emergency, we have a way to bake bread and pretty much anything that can be baked. I love my oven. The last 6 months with it have been a great learning adventure.

Particularly, I wanted to share some tips on baking bread in a solar oven.

The chamber in a solar oven is a lot smaller than a conventional oven.

One thing I have found is that is is possible to only bake two loaves at a time. This is okay if you plan on making a few batches. Just start them an hour apart and they will be perfectly timed for the solar oven. The only situation this would not be true, is if you bake your bread in a WIDE mouth quart mason jar. Grease them pretty well! Then you can bake them 3-4 at a time.

Second, For bread, once you have formed it into a loaf, it is okay to put it in the oven immediately. The oven takes long enough to heat up that the final "proof" can be done there inside the oven. This allows your bread not to get too light and have better slicing quality.

Third, I heard that it was very difficult to get anything brown in a solar oven.
The enclosed chamber holds in the moisture.

They will get good and golden brown, however, if you don't clasp the door shut.
Close the glass, but don't clasp it. This allows moisture to escape but not all the heat.

They are still pretty pale, but not white.

Test them for doneness by inserting a meat thermometer in the loaf. If it registers 175 degrees, it is cooked.

In any situation however, it is always good to have some practice cooking in a different way than with gas or electricity. This oven is great for camping!! It is light enough my 5 yr. old can carry it. It is also amazingly fun!

More information can be found at:https://www.sunoven.com/ I don't sell them.

Tomato Molasses Hamburger buns...perfect for BBQ sandwiches.

Tomato adds such a cool color to bread dough. Don't you think so? These are my cute buns. Um... That came out wrong. These are my HAMBURGER BUNS. Manly buns. Not cute. Manly.

Today we had them for dinner with some vegetarian BBQ filling made with mushrooms and caramelized onion...and BBQ sauce stuff. Pretty basic.

I used my basic bread recipe but replaced one of the cups of water with tomato sauce, and the 2 T of honey with 3 T dark molasses. That's it. When the dough was ready for the final proof, I formed into 8 large balls. Coated a bakers stone with cornmeal, and put the buns on the stone. They raised just over an hour and then I brushed them with water and sprinkled the tops with more cornmeal. They had such a nice crunch to them. Baked at 400 degrees 25-30 minutes. When still hot I cut them and filled them with the BBQ filling.

Here's the "before picture"...


I decided to go a little over the carrot top and make a freaky fun center holder for the carrot sticks. It's just a bell pepper cut in thirds, this is the middle section. How cool is that? My boys went crazy about it...which always makes me smile. BIG.

Look at these buns all baked now and loaded up with filling. Want to know a secret? The tomato and molasses go perfect with BBQ. I don't think I can ever go back to plain buns again. No matter how cute they are.

Wow.


For the record, we are real people too. Ketchup. Plastic punch jug. Gallon of milk on the table.

So, don't think I am Martha Stewart. She's such a smarty pants. I don't have her entire creative staff either. Or a maid. Or several million in the bank. Just me and the boys.


Here's Face, eating the beets . He was so happy!!

What more can I say? It was a sweet dinner. Life is good.

Here's to living each day as if it was your last, and turning off the TV for dinner.

Red is all the Rage..

Red Beet and Apple Salad...

Now we're getting into the good stuff.

What?! Your kids eat beets?!! Yup. Mine do. I don't think I can take any credit for it. I just make sure they taste really good and for some reason they eat them. Call me weird. It's okay. Most of the time I am a little off my nut. One of my favorite ways to serve beets, is in a salad. Most beet salads have pickled or fresh beets and some kind of vinaigrette with dill or whatever. I used to make it with sour cream. That was pretty good at masking the dirt taste. A few years ago I found this recipe and have used it ever since. It's got apples and beets in a sweet dressing with some savory chopped mixed nuts...have mercy. No dirt taste anywhere. Love it.

The other day I bought these little beauties...not really winning any "Pretty" contests are they?

I think they are gorgeous, but that's because I know what they are capable of doing...
Once peeled and sliced they look like this. Now we're getting past the nasty exterior, into the ruby red love....

Cover and steam 8-10 minutes on the stove. Medium heat until tender. Cool.

Dressing:

1/4 apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup vegetable oil, I like a light olive for this one.

1 thin sliced green onion

salt and pepper to taste

So combine the dressing in a good size bowl, add the cooked beets and coat well.

Chop 1 large Granny Smith Apple (I'm a little partial to Awesome Washington State for these!)

Mix the apple with the beet mixture. They won't get brown because they take on the color of the beets. Pretty intense red.

Transfer to a serving dish and top with 1/2 cup chopped mixed nuts (mine where roasted with Tuscan herbs).

Tell me...would your kids eat that? It's worth a try! I'm eating it!

Oh yeah! It's gluten free!

Enjoy!

It's Good to Be an Old Maid...

Seriously, I love a good Ol' Maid!!

My granny used to always get after us..."Stop fighting over the Old Maids...you kids are crazy!!"

I don't know... I just don't know how those crispy little nibblets of popcorn could taste any better on the bottom of the bowl. Know the ones I mean? The ones that have popped slightly and are all crunchy and popcorny. (Is popcorny a word?) Well, they are my favorite. So much so that a few years back I decided I wanted to make them the main snack instead of residuals to the fluffy stuff. Mind you, I make the fluffy stuff, but I do love a good ol' crispy treat. They are loaded with fiber and down home goodness too. Just the thing on a movie night instead of processed microwave stuff. Though I do sometimes indulge in the micro-cooked too.

Have you ever seen so many ol' cuties together?

These are really hard to make...kidding. Actually they are so easy it seems insane to me that more people don't make them! I think if more folks knew the secret, it would be a staple!

So here's the secret, ready? Soak the popcorn first. 6-8 hours. 2 cups covered in water.

Just about an inch over it's head...

Drain it after 6-8 hours and pat dry with a towel.

Put popcorn in a covered popper or pan with a lid.

I use one of these whirlie popper gizmos.

It whirls the popcorn so I don't have to keep moving the pot over the burner to move the popcorn.


I put the kernels in the pot with 1T oil.
Get the pan good and hot.

Cook on Medium high.

They will start to pop something awful!!... Crazy sound too. Like my boys playing "army" chucking hot wheels as hand grenades and hitting the walls. EEK.

But the sound is worth the resulting pot of love...

Season however you want. We have done ranch seasoning, cheese powder, Parmesan and garlic, sea salt and pepper...if you put 2T sugar in the pot at the end of cooking, it will be like kettle corn nibbles. I have even gone so far as to stir in a little melted white chocolate. Ouch. Try them. You can thank me later.

Creamy Southwest Polenta on Roasted Vegetables

Magic Merlin helped me with dinner tonight. I, the fairy princess chef, was in need of some new magic. I hit the computer and found a very cool blog called The Merlin Menu . There was a gorgeous picture of some creamy polenta. It looked freakishly easy and delicious. Merlin said it would go with anything, the perfect side dish. I started thinking about my vegetarian hubby and decided it would make a great main dish too. Heck, it can go with vegetables! The Arizona desert looked especially pretty today so I went with Southwest. What resulted was a combination of Merlin's magic, and my own. Here's what I used:

Creamy Polenta:
4 cups water (I used vegetable stock since it was for dinner)
1 cup polenta (it's cornmeal folks. I used a fine ground but the medium grind is awesome!)
1-2 T butter (I used the light stuff)
8 oz cream cheese (I used 4 oz, light with jalapeno and garlic)
Salt and pepper

Roasted veggies:
4 cups corn, fresh (frozen will work in a pinch)
2T garlic infused oil, 1 T for corn, 1T for bell pepper and onion
2 medium bell peppers, chopped
1 small onion, peeled and sliced
cumin, coriander,ancho chile powder, fresh cracked pepper

Melt butter into boiling water.

Add the polenta cornmeal. Stir constantly over medium-low heat 20-30 minutes (I used the finer grain and it took only 15 minutes).

The polenta was cooking pretty well. , I added the cream cheese. Once the cheese was incorporated, I transferred the thick pottage onto a lightly oiled sheet pan with a 1 inch lip. Spread it out and put it in the fridge until dinner time. Now Merlin served his creamy,right from the pot. He gave great ideas on re-heating it too. I know my hubby will eat it either way and that my kids would probably like it in a shape. So I did the sheet pan and then fry method...that is, I ate a bowl from the pot, put the rest on a sheet pan and smiled uncontrollably. This was gonna be AWESOME!!

I chopped. Mixed bell pepper and onion, saute in a large skillet on super hot heat for the fajita effect, though next time I will probably just roast them with the corn. I then added some ancho chile powder and some oregano...and as always salt and fresh cracked pepper.

The corn, cut off the cob and mix in a bowl with the oil and 1-2 tsp cumin, fresh cracked pepper, and salt. Place on a cookie sheet with an edge so it doesn't fall off and put on the top rack in your oven with the heat set on "broil". Leave it there 3-4 minutes, checking often so it doesn't burn.

To crisp up the polenta:

I cut the chilled in squares and then lightly fried it in a little garlic infused olive oil.
Then stacked it on the cooked veggies. Plum sauce was pretty easy. A couple of tablespoons of plum jam, heated then drizzled.

Look at it sparkle in the sunlight. Ahh dinner on the patio.

The final test...will the kids eat it. Yup... grin. Note to self, talk to Little Man about doing a great job on eating those veggies...and a little reminder to chew finger nails less...

Oh yea, and Ronit can eat this! It's gluten free and yummo!

Sundried tomato blush sauce and pasta

This one is for Ace, who had pasta and blush sauce Monday at our favorite restaurant. Candle light and a cute face...who could ask for more? Ace did. He wanted to drink the sauce. Really. Very classy. He did start chanting under his breath "I will not embarrass Steph, I will not embarrass Steph..." For those wondering, I am Steph. Tess is my nickname. Where was I? Oh yea...

Monday was our wedding anniversary. I've been married 13 years to Ace. Ace is my little nickname for him because he is a driving genius. Did I mention I can't park to save my life. Ace on the other hand is a high performance driver and has done a lot of test driving for Nascar teams and training for fire and police departments. He trains the instructors for the academy...so he's a step above the academy. He's the only guy I know who has a plaque on the living room wall from the United States Secret Service for his valued assistance and cooperation with their driver training program. Like I say, he's an ACE!

Why do I bring this up? Well, probably because for all the experience he has driving fast cars, he has no idea how to cook dinner. I take that back. He learned how to cook rice this week. He can also make spaghetti in a pinch, just don't ask him to make the sauce from scratch. No idea where to start...I usually start with something similar to these...

So I decided that my little guys would be all around experts. My youngest son, pet named Face, has a tool belt...

Today we strapped on the belt. It was time to make dinner, and Face is always eager to start a cooking project with yours truly. Tess. I love cooking with the kiddos. This was a mission to duplicate the blush sauce for Ace adapting it from a recipe I already had from the Pampered Chef. This isn't their recipe. I've changed it. It's a skillet dish, but I have a huge skillet. You may need a bigger pan...like a 2 quart stock pot. Here is what we came up with.

The ingredients:

6 cloves of crushed garlic...yea. We like it a lot. Can you tell?
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes

2T sun dried tomato oil or infused oil (basil oil is awesome here)

1 cup chopped, peeled fresh tomatoes

5 cups vegetable stock

2T Italian seasoning

1/2 cup chopped parsley (I use flat leaf Italian parsley)

1 lb rigatoni pasta

1/2 cup chopped olives

1 cup frozen carrots, or fresh carrots, peeled and cooked until tender (Face loves to do this part.)

2 cups broccoli, steamed

8 oz light cream cheese

4 oz. shredded mozzarella

4 oz shredded Parmesan or Feta

Fresh cracked pepper and additional chopped flat leaf Italian parsley for garnish

Saute garlic in 2T sun dried tomato oil, from the jar your tomatoes are packed in.

Take a look at my homemade sun dried tomatoes. Oh my heart just sings for joy.Obviously these are what we used. I think one of my next entries should be how to make these at home like I do, huh?

Once the garlic cooks 2-3 minutes on medium, we added 5 cups vegetable stock,

1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, 1 cup peeled chopped fresh tomatoes, 2T Italian seasoning (again, this is a preference thing...I grind my own spices and herbs for my Italian blend, but you can use a store brand...I'm not checking your cupboard.) I also added 1/2 cup chopped olives (pick your favorite), and 1/2 cup chopped parsley. Normally I would add it at the end, but this cooks so fast there really isn't a need to worry about flavor loss of the fresh. It also brings the dried herbs to life. Quite amazing really.

Bring to a boil and add 1 lb Rigatoni. Don't panic. It will cook just fine and this will also help thicken the sauce...

When pasta is almost cooked, after about 7 minutes, add the cream cheese.

Add the cooked carrots and broccoli.

When heated through add the cheeses and transfer to serving dishes. Garnish with extra chopped parsley and give a generous cracking of black pepper...

Happy eats. Ace licked the plate...at home. What a good guy. I'll keep him!

Lehavah Ooo-La-la Cornmeal Anise Cookies with Orange Icing

Jimmy Crack Corn and I don't care..

What kind of attitude is that?

This is a corny post. Brace yourself.

My friend Ronit Lehavah came to visit last weekend. I had not seen her in years... After the girlie squealing died down...which was a while, we chatted. Oh it was heaven on earth. Her mom came too and we found we both have a great passion for cooking--ooo I love kindred cooking souls!! Drooling over old school cookbooks. It wasn't pretty to see the drool, but fun. I am sure we will hear more from Linda in the future. Love love darling!!

Okay so back to the Ronit subject. Ronit has some very unique dietary needs. Ones that effect many, but that seem especially challenging for me now, because she is my dear friend and her pain is mine. How's that for enmeshment? At any rate, here is what we know so far...no gluten. That's one I can usually handle, but add to that...no rice, no potato...EEEK!! The only starches she can have are tapioca, corn, and buckwheat. That's it folks. So I have decided to add some recipes that will henceforth be known as "Lehavah Ooo-la-la"

So let's get Crackin'. Ronit needs some REAL food. Well, maybe a treat. Cornmeal cookies are my answer to the craving for sugar cookies. Sorry my "no sugar" friends. This one has some. I didn't take the time to try it with honey but try using 1/2 cup honey to replace the sugar and one less egg. It should be fine.

Wouldn't you know that I was plum out of cornmeal when I decided to do this recipe but we did have popcorn. So it went into the mill. You can just use regular cornmeal if you don't want to put your kids to work.

I really liked seeing my son pump the crank and show me his pecks. Quite funny.

Get your stuff together:

2 1/2 cups cornmeal

1/2 cup soy flour (Ronit can have soy! Yea!!)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened (you can use the Heart healthy stuff too)

1 tsp anise extract (or 2 tsp seeds...Ronit can't have seeds)

2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg replacement)

frosting:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 T water (more or less depending on how thick you like your icing)

2 tsp orange zest

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees (or open the flaps of your solar oven and point it toward the sun). Combine the cornmeal, soy flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and butter until they look like this...

Now, here's a trick...if I can share one. Take this mixture and put it in a quart size storage bag. Write "Add 2 eggs, mix well, put on greased cookie sheet, flatten and bake 8-10 minutes." .Repeat the measuring and mixing process as many times as you want, and you have cookie mix, ready to turn into cookies at a moment's notice. If you use butter, store the mix in the freezer. Really, we don't want rancid tasting puke mix. Right? Note to self: make super luscious cookie mix for when Ronit visits again...

Okay, now if you intend to bake the cookies now...and really, why wait? Add your eggs and anise extract (you can use almond or vanilla if you prefer)

Mix them really well. It's gonna be crazy tight.

Put little Tablespoon balls on an oiled cookie sheet and flatten with your hand.
Bake 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes...until they are all golden and toasted. MMM.

Cool slightly on the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack. When cool completely, combine the ingredients for the frosting and spread on the cookies...

They are crispy and yummy. Plus, look how cool the frosting looks. Love you Ronit!!