Granola February 25, 2008

So, I’m a baker. I love to make cakes and cookies and pies. Super healthy stuff, you know? But then, I had to go and move to Colorado. The land of granola. I still make plenty of butter-laden goodies. But I’ve had to broaden my cooking skills. Especially when it came to my friend Krissy. Krissy’s a runner. She’s pretty much amazing. Last year, she ran a marathon. So, I wanted to give her a little gift before the race. But you can’t give chocolate chip cookies to someone who’s about to run a marathon.

So, I made granola. And, doggone it, it’s good stuff. So I made it again tonight. And I will share it with you.

Making granola is easy. It’s just a dump and stir recipe. Mine has oatmeal, almonds, walnuts, maple syrup, brown sugar, coconut, dried cranberries, vegetable oil, a splash of vanilla and a bit of cinnamon (don’t worry, actual recipe will be at the end of the post).

Oh, and about 9 minutes in, I realized I put the cranberries in. And you’re not supposed to put them in until it’s cooked. So I had to pick them out.

Every fifteen minutes, you stir the granola, making sure the edges don’t get overcooked. My recipe called for an hour, but mine only needed to cook for 45 minutes until it was nice and toasty brown. Then, you take it out and stir in the dried cranberries (any dried fruit will do–raisins, etc.)

Mmmmm, that looks so good.

So, I’m kind of a granola purist. I like it in yogurt, but my favorite way to eat it is with milk.

Or dry, straight out of the bag.

I feel like the southern, dipped in butter, deep fried part of me died a little. But I don’t care. This stuff is goooood!

Granola
(adapted from an Alton Brown recipe)

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashews (I’ve also used walnuts, and it was still GOOD)
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
A dash of cinnamon
A splash of vanilla
A bit of honey

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar. Add the remaining ingredients. Pour onto a sheet pan (you can split it between two pans, but I don’t). Cook for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.
Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add cranberries and mix until evenly distributed.

Light Carrot Cake February 18, 2008

I have a confession to make. I love food. More specifically, I love food blogs. My current favorites are The Pioneer Woman Cooks and Smitten Kitchen. I love the recipes. I love the food pictures (affectionately known as food porn). I just love it all. So, I decided, a few weeks ago, to start this food blog.

So, today’s recipe is a light carrot cake. And I ask for your grace. Because this was an absolute mess.

First of all, I didn’t know what to take pictures of. Do you really want to see this:

Or this (even though I think it’s kind of pretty):

But the real thing is, about halfway through, I stopped taking pictures. Because I added my flour mixture to my wet ingredients:

And I stirred and stirred and stirred. And it still looked like this:

And if you’ll notice in the upper left-hand corner, there’s still a blob of unmixed spices. So I started to panic. I had to get this in the oven RIGHT now, and after I added the carrots (no pics, I was freaking out), it was like dried out cookie dough. BAD. So, I dumped a can of pineapples in the food processor, pureed them, and added them until I had the right consistency. Then I threw the whole thing in the oven and sat in the corner and cried.

But you know what, it turned out okay. I took it to a dinner (because I am FOREVER trying new recipes for other people), and people seemed to like it. And I took it in to work the next day, and people seemed to like it. So I’m going to post the recipe here, and maybe you won’t need to have a panic attack. Let me know! And next time, there will be more, prettier pictures. And hopefully less rocking in the corner.

Light Carrot Cake
(adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen recipe)

You can either use the large holes of a box grater or the large holed shredding disk in a food processor for grating the carrots. Use a metal cake pan, not a glass or Pyrex pan, for best results. This cake is terrific with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, or for a special treat, try it with our Light Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below).

Servs 16

	Vegetable cooking spray
2 1/2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1 1/4	teaspoons baking powder
1	teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4	teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2	teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8	teaspoon ground cloves
1/2	teaspoon table salt
3	large eggs
1	cup packed light brown sugar (7 ounces)
1	cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1/2	cup vegetable oil
1	pound carrots (about 6 medium), peeled and grated (about 3 cups) And, if you’re me, a cup? a few cups? pureed pineapple, until you get the right consistency.

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with vegetable oil spray, then line the bottom with parchment paper.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugars together in a medium bowl until they turn thick and creamy, 1 to 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and slowly whip in the oil until thoroughly combined and emulsified, 30 to 60 seconds. Sift half the flour mixture over the batter and gently mix in. Repeat once more with the remaining flour mixture and continue to whisk the batter gently until most of the lumps are gone (do not overmix). Using a rubber spatula, gently stir in the carrots. (It was here in the story that I dumped in the pineapple, just to get it to a consistency I could actually stir it and pour it into the pan. You may or may not have to do that.)

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking (do not overbake). Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto a wire rack and remove the parchment paper. Flip the cake right-side up, and cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours, before frosting (if desired) and serving.

Light Cream Cheese Frosting

Be sure to mix the frosting by hand—an electric mixer or food processor will turn the frosting soupy.

Makes about 2 cups

12	ounces Neufchatel (1/3 less fat) cream cheese , softened but still cool
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2	cups confectioners’ sugar (6 ounces)

Mix the cream cheese and vanilla together in a large bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the confectioners’ sugar and stir until thoroughly combined and smooth.

Chocolate Truffles February 14, 2008

I made these for Valentine’s Day…and lordy, they were time-consuming!

I made two different batches, but they were basically the same. I’ll post the recipes at the bottom, and I’ll show you the things that were different–i.e. the things that drove me to drink.

So, you start with some chocolate chips and cream. Then you stir and stir and stir until you feel like your arm will fall off. But it said to stir constantly. And I’m a stickler.

FINALLY, it melted. One recipe had me mix it with a mixer. The other just said to put it in the refrigerator.

One had vanilla…ohhh, pretty vanilla puddle.

The other had peppermint schnapps. Which I may or may not have put in some hot chocolate.

Then, things started to get complicated. The first recipe came together pretty easily. Rolled some chocolate. Refrigerated. Rolled in melted chocolate. Pretty. See:

I even did some pretty swirls.

But the other one. Good heavens. It was soooo sticky.

Look at this craziness!

Look at all these dirty dishes. It was insanity!

I debate whether it was worth it. But aren’t they pretty!

Basic Chocolate Truffles plus 4 variations
from recipezaar.com

Ingredients

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup unsalted butter

to taste cocoa , for rolling

Directions

1. In a heavy pan on a low heat, melt chocolates, whipping cream and butter together, stirring occasionally; when melted, pour into a small bowl and cool mixture; refrigerate for 2 hours or until mixture hardens.
2. Using a melon baller or a teaspoon, quickly form mixture into approximately ¾-inch rounds; refrigerate until cold; roll in cocoa or dip in chocolate; refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
3. Variations on a theme: ORANGE LIQUEUR TRUFFLES Add ¼ cup (50 mL) Grand Marnier, Cointreau or Triple Sec to truffle mixture after it has melted; stir in ¼ tsp (1 mL) grated orange rind to heighten orange flavour.
4. KAHLUA TRUFFLES add 3 tbsp (45 mL) Kahlúa to truffle mixture after it has melted.
5. RUM TRUFFLES add 3 tbsp (45 mL) rum to truffle mixture after it has melted.
6. DARK CHOCOLATE COATED TRUFFLES Melt 8 oz (250 g) bittersweet chocolate in a heavy pot over low heat; remove from heat; place cold truffle on skewer or dipping fork, and swirl in chocolate to coat; place on wax or parchment paper to set.

Betty Crocker’s Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients

• 1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate pieces or one 11.5 oz package milk chocolate pieces
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 12 ounces chocolate-flavored candy coating, cut up (I just used semi-sweet chocolate chips)

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside. In a medium heavy saucepan combine chocolate pieces and whipping cream. Cook and stir constantly over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove saucepan from heat; cool slightly. Stir in vanilla. Beat truffle mixture with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Drop truffle mixture by teaspoons onto prepared baking sheet. Chill about 20 minutes or until firm.

2. Shape chilled truffle mixture into balls; freeze for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan melt candy coating over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Using a fork, quickly dip truffles, one at a time, into coating. Draw the fork across the rim of the saucepan to remove excess coating. Return truffles to baking sheet. Let cool until coating is set. Store truffles tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Let stand at room temperature about 30 minutes before serving.

I love food! February 14, 2008

So, I’ve been admiring a lot of food blogs from afar. And tonight, I decided to take the plunge and start my own food blog. It’s nothing special. I like to cook. I like to take pictures while I cook. So now I’m just going to slap them all on here for your viewing pleasure.

You can also check out my other blog if you’re interested in understanding the method behind my madness. Enjoy!