Wednesday, June 1, 2011

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.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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