Thursday, March 17, 2011

Triple (Chocolate) Threat

The Friday before spring break, I made triple chocolate cookies that were so good! It was perfect for an intense chocolate craving like the one I was having. Heck, like the one I have every day! I honestly cannot remember which recipe I used, but this one comes close.


Ingredients:
2-1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup Dutch process cocoa or unsweetened baking cocoa
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
6 ounces white chocolate bar, chopped 1/2 inch pieces (or 1 cup chips)
6 ounces dark chocolate bar, chopped 1/2 inch pieces (or 1 cup chips)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease (spray and wipe off) or line baking sheet with parchment paper or baking mat. In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt and cocoa with a wire whisk. In large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Stir in vanilla. Add eggs one-at-a-time. Combine completely. While mixing add flour mixture 1/2 cup or so at a time. Hand stir-in chopped chocolates. Drop by tablespoonsful onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes. Remove to wire racks for cooling completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
For bar cookies: Lightly grease 9x13 pan. Spread dough into pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

St. Patty's Day

Sorry I've been MIA for a while! St. Patrick's Day seemed like a good day to get back to bloggin'.  While the rest of campus is pretending it's a weekend I'm in my room suffering from intense stomach pain and finishing homework. I know you want to hear about my personal discomforts!

Anyways, here's a sneak peek at what I did for Spring Break! I, of course, forgot my camera (ever since it broke in India I seem to have forgotten I even own a camera!), but my friend took is an awesome photographer.  I met some awesome people on this trip and it was definitely more fun and relaxing than the typical college spring break in Florida (or SC this year) that I've done with the track team the past 2 years - not that they aren't awesome too. And I didn't have to spend 24 hours on a bus! More pictures to come later
dogsledding!

I also made Irish soda bread on Tuesday for the co-op in honor of St. Patrick's Day. It turned out really well, even though I forgot to add salt (whoops!). It was also the first day it was warm enough for us to eat outside!  This is a recipe from my mom's collection:
6 c. flour
1 T baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
2 t. salt
4 t. sugar
2 1/2 c. buttermilk
2 T butter
1 1/2 c. raisins - I used a mix of golden and regular. And I made a small walnut loaf, since I knew some people didn't like raisins. I wasn't sure if the flavors would mix well, not the non-raisin-eaters said it was good!

Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl.  Set aside.  Combine buttermilk, butter, and raisins; add to flour mixture, stirring until moistened (don't overstir).  Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead until smooth - about 5 minutes. Place on greased cookie sheet and press evenly into a 1 1/2 inch thick circle.  Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until bread sounds hollow when tapped.  Cool 5 minutes.  Cut into wedges.

source
It was sooo good!


Thursday, March 3, 2011

Days 27 and 30!!!

day 27. a photo of last summer
visiting my grandma in Canton, NY
I'm skipping 29. Cuz I want to
day 30. a photo of you when you were happy

I love to ski. Have I mentioned that? 

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Basic whole wheat bread

I didn't do a post on the desert I made last week because it, um, didn't quite turn out.
But, I made up for it by making delicious bread today! I just decided to make a basic whole wheat bread. I didn't even make any substitutions! This recipe makes 1 loaf, so I doubled it and made 2.



Ingredients: 
1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see additional notes for a 100% whole wheat version)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast (active dry yeast will work also
Instructions: 
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir.
2. Add flours and yeast, and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10-15 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.
3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. 
5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cover with a cloth. Slice and enjoy while still warm! Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.

I also made brownies today (yes, from a mix. The Ghirardelli double chocolate kind). It's my favorite from-a-mix brownie. Maybe even better than my homemade brownies - they're the one thing I seem to always have bad luck with. Anyways, I made them because I want to put them in random people's mailboxes. It's part of my whole random acts of kindness thing I decided to start just now. But I better give them away soon - I've already eaten 3! and I'm going to count this as day 28 of the photo challenge: a photo of what you ate today
mmmmmmm

Days 23-26:

I'm just going to finish the rest of this photo challenge right now, mostly because I want to move on to other stuff. Also, it's almost my spring break so I won't be able to blog (woohoooooo spring break!!!)
day 23. a photo of your friend as a baby
my friend Lacey
this is her now


day 25. a photo of a night you loved
last night in India - sad but really fun! 
day 26. a photo of your favorite weekend
How am I supposed to choose something like this? 
winter retreat in the Texas hill country 2008 - they were so fun!