Chocolate salve

Callebaut chocolate

Friday was a rough day at work. Nothing spectacularly bad happened, just a lot of little annoying things that made me decide that I needed to bake something to feel better.

So, I decided to make Zingerman's Magic Brownies. These brownies are legendary in these parts. They are incredibly dense with just the right amount of cakeyness. Perfection.

The recipe turned out well, though I will probably use cake flour rather than all purpose flour next time. The texture seemed a tiny bit off (I could have also overmixed the batter). Definitely a keeper.

Zingerman's Magic Brownies 
from Midwest Living
 
6.5 oz butter (13 T)
6.5 oz unsweetened chocolate
1.5 C cake or all purpose flour
3/4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
4 eggs
2 C sugar
1.25 t vanilla
1 C coarse chopped walnuts, toasted

1. Grease a 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 325.

2. In a heavy small saucepan, heat the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring, till chocolate is melted and smooth; set aside to cool.

3. In a small bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes or till light yellow and fluffy, scraping side of the bowl occasionally.

5. Add cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Stir in walnuts.

6. Spread batter in pan. Bake 30 minutes or until brownies appear set. Cool in pan on wire rack; cut into bars.

I omitted the walnuts due to a food allergy (aka Black Magic Brownies). I'm sure that it's great with walnuts, too.

Failing (Flailing?)

Bunny time at Domino's Farm

Winter walk in the Arb

BAKE class

Wow. I can't believe how chaotic life has been for the past several months. I really did not anticipate what a whirlwind O's job search would be. So here's the big news: we are moving to DC this summer! We are really excited about it, and we have a lot to figure out.


But....all this chaos means that I am behind on a lot of of stuff. My list of things is looking pretty sad. We'll see how much I can check off before July 12th. To be continued.......



1. Bake something once a week
2. Visit Cannon Beach
3. Sew something (maybe a quilt?)
4. Roast a chicken
5. Read King Leopold’s Ghost
6. Make a necklace
7. Pick blueberries (Do raspberries count? I say yes)
8. Go to a Michigan football game
9. Take L. to the zoo
10. Buy Zingerman’s bread once a week
11. Pick apples (Apples were not left on the trees, so I "picked" a bag from the orchard. Full disclosure)
12. Visit The Wave Field
13. Make croissants
14. Pickle carrots
15. Take L. to the pumpkin patch and corn maze
16. Visit the cider mill with L. and O.
17. Take a class at Pot & Box
18. Learn more about our camera
19. Get up early and go bird watching
20. Plant succulents
21. Take a BAKE class
22. Make a snowman (FAIL)
23. Visit Leelanau County and Sleeping Bear Dunes
24. Work on photo album for L.
25. Make pâte de fruit
26. Go to the Homegrown Festival
27. Take a winter stroll in the Arb
28. Make Bûche de Noël (FAIL)
29. Go for a walk once a week (even in winter)
30. Put up a Christmas tree
31. Read The Brothers Karamazov
32. Make jam
33. Plan monthly art project to do with L.
34. Take a class at Hollander’s
35. Visit the Natural History Museum

The verdict.....

So.....I didn't win the pickle contest, but it was really interesting. There were 37 entries which ranged from the standard cucumber to the exotic pickled tomato (that's a TON of pickles to taste!). First place went to the balsamic tomatoes.

The pickle contest in action at Downtown Home and Garden

In any event, I will be pickling more vegetables in the future. They make great snacks and refreshing side dishes for heavy meals. My recipe was actually an attempt to recreate the spicy pickles at Tartine Bakery that accompany the croque monsieur (one of my favorite sandwiches ever, especially with one of their lattes in a bowl). Sigh.

SPICY PICKLED CARROTS

1 cup white wine vinegar

2 cups water

1/4 cup sugar

2 bay leaves

6 sprigs fresh thyme

5 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns, cracked

1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (preferably marash)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 lbs small carrots, or standard carrots cut down to sticks about 1/2 inch wide and 2-3 inches long

handful pearl onions

In a medium saucepan, combine white wine vinegar, water, sugar, thyme, garlic, black peppercorns, red pepper flakes, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and let cool for 5 minutes.

Put the carrots and pearl onions in a large, heatproof bowl, and pour the warm brine over them. Cool to room temperature.

While the carrots cool, make sure your canning jars are clean.

When the carrots and brine are cool, distribute the carrots evenly among the jars, arranging them snugly. Using a ladle, divide the brine evenly among the jars. The carrots should be completely covered by brine. Seal firmly and refrigerate for at least a week to three weeks depending on the thickness of the carrots, and how spicy you like it.

Making progress

Spicy pickled carrots

Ingredients for tomato jam

The final product

 Practice shot in photography class at Blue House

I am happy to report that I am making progress on my list, my friends! In the past few weeks I pickled carrots, made tomato jam, and took a dosa class at Hollanders (which was great). Sadly, I missed blueberry season in Michigan. Do you think that picking raspberries should count (being berries and all)? 

I really enjoyed making the jam and pickling the carrots...so much so that I am planning on entering my pickled carrots in a local pickle contest on Saturday. A friend of mine is also entering some pickles, so it should be a fun event. 

Next on the list: apple picking, visiting the cider mill, and picking out some pumpkins in a pumpkin patch. I can't believe that it is almost Halloween. Yikes.

1. Bake something once a week
2. Visit Cannon Beach
3. Sew something (maybe a quilt?)
4. Roast a chicken
5. Read King Leopold’s Ghost
6. Make a necklace
7. Pick blueberries
8. Go to a Michigan football game
9. Take L. to the zoo
10. Buy Zingerman’s bread once a week
11. Pick apples
12. Visit The Wave Field
13. Make croissants
14. Pickle carrots
15. Take L. to the pumpkin patch and corn maze
16. Visit the cider mill with L. and O.
17. Take a class at Pot & Box
18. Learn more about our camera
19. Get up early and go bird watching
20. Plant succulents
21. Take a BAKE class
22. Make a snowman
23. Visit Leelanau County and Sleeping Bear Dunes
24. Work on photo album for L.
25. Make pâte de fruit
26. Go to the Homegrown Festival
27. Take a winter stroll in the Arb
28. Make Bûche de Noël
29. Go for a walk once a week (even in winter)
30. Put up a Christmas tree
31. Read The Brothers Karamazov
32. Make jam
33. Plan monthly art project to do with L.
34. Take a class at Hollander’s
35. Visit the Natural History Museum