Chocolat

I knew I would bake this weekend. I just wasn't sure what I'd bake. It turned out to be, for today anyway, chocolate, chocolate chip cookies. Delicious brownie-like cookies loaded with heavy chocolate flavor. I have always wanted to find a recipe with that intense chocolate punch that did not use cocoa to do it. Most chocolate recipes use cocoa because they claim it imparts a more intense flavor. But I have never found that to be true. All those recipes came up short. So I finally found it. It is on the Food2 website. They are rich, delicious and VERY chocolate-y. The main ingredient is melted bittersweet chocolate into the dough with little flour and no white sugar. The butter is melted and that is basically it. They are not complicated or difficult. The only thing is that the dough (batter-like really) needs to be refrigerated for a couple of hours before baking. The result is a marvelously good cookie. I made a video out of this but I can never upload them. Here are some pics. Wowzers! As good as the delicious roast and mashed potatoes! Cheers.

My Photos

Hey! Putting up some photos that I like. No baking going on yet. I think I will hit the kitchen this weekend. Here is one of my favorite pics. My shot of the green bananas got shot down because the pic was too green! Well I say tough. I like green! I am still having trouble uploading my videos. I must admit but my films have been compared to those of Ed Wood. I take that as a compliment, so there. Cheers peeps I shall definitely return for this weekend. I just need to make it through this week.....(crying and sobbing). Yoga helps.

Botany

It is a hot day today. Went out to Fairchild Gardens and took some pictures with my class. Very nice because there are no crowds. We all met at 9:30 at the entrance and took the tram ride around the entire 83 acres. Then we were on our own to take our pics. There aren't too many flowers this time of year, even here in FL. But there are some great tropical fruits just hanging above ready for the pickin'. Yummy! There are bananas, papayas and some other stuff I can't remember. Also a cute little resident just hanging around and relaxing. But I think my favorite is the colorful eucalyptus tree. My photo teacher says green is boring but I love it. I think the leaves are interesting and dynamic and have beautiful patterns and textures. It's also my favorite color ;-). Became a member and will be returning when it is cooler!

FEELING THE TURNING OF THE SEASON

What a day! Yes, it's hot but it is a nice day. It isn't as stifling as it has been in the last few days. There is definitely a change in the air and the afternoon light is soft and golden. Yahoo! I can't wait to get into some autumn cooking. I think today calls for pasta. It is versatile and easy to adapt to the seasons. There are lovely cool salads to make for the spring and summer and hot rich soups for winter. I think today with it's autumn (for South Florida anyway) cast it is definitely a pasta day. I am leaning towards a pink sauce? maybe...or just straight tomato. I am on the fence and will decide as I go. Maybe meatballs? or maybe I will just jump into some meatloaf? Let's see what happens in the kitchen. Just a couple of weeks ago I was going for some full Asian recipes that I associate with summer and spring. And here I am dreaming of apple pies, festivals ( I associate festivals with autumn), snake bites being attended to by famous men (I can't explain), Halloween (my favorite holiday) and rich pasta. AND THERE IS A FULL MOON! Whopeee! Can't wait to break out my camera this weekend. Dreaming of a better camera but I may invest in that in the future. Cheers!

Autumn is here and it is about 90 degrees with an overcast sky. Miami is quite lovely....in January. Ah well, it isn't exactly a great day to have a raging oven on for about 5 hours, but that is exactly what I did. First up, a lovely Nutella pound cake. I must say, this is absolutely delicious. A rich tender and very moist crumb with a lovely swirl of rich chocolatey hazelnut spread. Just go with your favorite pound cake recipe and after you prepare your pan pour about 1/3 of the batter in then half a jar of very smooth, pourable Nutella and then the next third of the bater and the other half of the 13 oz jar of Nutella and then the final third of the pound cake batter. You may need to nuke the Nutella for about 15 seconds or in my case I just let it sit near a window and well...in this heat, that was it. The result is a rich and delicious pound cake. If you really feel you must add something else I suppose a ganache topping isn't out of the question but..I wouldn't. This is going to go great with a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream.

My next endeavor is the slow braising of a lovely piece of pork. I let the pork slowly braise in the oven for about 3 and 1/2 hours in lemongrass, green onions, garlic, and 5 spice powder; then threw together a lovely glaze of rice wine vinegar, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, tamari sauce, ketchup and honey. It is sitting in the oven now and will be removed shortly and shredded to go in some buns. Delicious! A pan-asian fusion sandwich is what I am aiming for. I hope to post a picture if i get a chance.

Will be posting up some pictures soon of experimental photography. I am on a quest and am in the process of practicing with my Canon Powershot but hope to get another one if my picture taking improves. I am also dabbling in making my little films that are waaaaaaay better than my pictures. Wish me luck or you if you plan on seeing them!

Le Sandwich

Now this is the way to get your veggies! Sun dried tomato ciabatta filled with roasted eggplant, tomato, onion, garlic, zucchini, red peppers and yellow squash. Use any combination of vegetables you prefer, just slice your veggies to fit your bread, sprinkle with olive oil, herbs de provence, or your favorite combination, and your favorite vinegar. I used white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, herbs de provence with some extra thyme and fresh basil from my garden. Then roast in a 350 degree oven until they are suited to your taste. I personally roast them until caramelized and soft. You can do this the day before and keep them moist with some olive oil in the fridge.

Spread some of the olive oil from the veggies on your bread and put under the broiler until it suits you, I love it lightly toasted and brown. Layer on your veggies and sprinkle one side with goat cheese and the other side with a slice of your favorite cheese. I used muenster. Place under the broiler one more time to melt the cheese. Add some balsamic vinegar and fresh basil to some good quality mayo and spread to your liking, if at all, and you have a fantastic sandwich. You can also grill it if you have a pannini grill. I don't so I use my oven. I have had a great lunch and am looking forward to a real southern bbq dinner.

Ribs (bee and pork), sweet coleslaw and baked beans dinner. The ribs have a very spicy dry rub that consists of dark brown sugar, cumin, salt, pepper, pinch of cayenne, chili powder, paprika, coriander and vinegar. Make it a nice thick paste and rub your ribs. The desert for today is a thick and creamy rice pudding. Very simple! Just boil some short grain rice in water with a pinch of salt, a cinnamon stick and a lemon rind. When the rice is dry just add milk (any kind will do, non-fat, whole, 2%, half and half, cream....) and cook down until the mixture is amalgamated but do not overcook or upon cooling it will become a whole mass. I can't give you time, I just know when it's done. Then I like to add raisins and spoon them into bowls and cover them with powdered cinnamon. This is really good cold!

Great afternoon

Day started wonderful. Spotted some flours on a potted plant, Indian Hoya, that I have had for about two years and I finally saw the most beautiful flowers on it. They are perfect and have a strange waxy texture to them. As you can see from one of the pics I knocked down a bunch moving the pot to take the picture, but the other bunch looks like a beautiful pink parasol. Yipeeeee. Spent the afternoon shopping and catching up with a friend. Some good buys at mall and picked up some needed stuff at Ikea. Terrific Saturday.