Tuesday, February 9, 2010

There is hope for my stupidity!

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." - Mark Twain

Sunday, February 7, 2010

These brownies actually get better with age.


Last week I was craving something chocolate. To be honest, I am almost always craving chocolate. Keeping with my desire to keep things whole grain, I decided to try a new whole grain recipe from King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Cookbook. This recipe suggested letting the brownies sit over night before cutting. I don’t know about your house but most brownies don’t even make it to the next day at my house. Craving chocolate as I was, I didn’t wait. I thought they were okay, but wasn’t sure I would even make them again. My family wasn’t big on them either. The next day I, of course, was craving chocolate and cut myself a brownie. The chocolate flavor was rich, and I really liked the brownies, by day three I was sold. The best thing about these brownies is that my family passed on them because the flavor wasn’t real sweet and rich the first day, and there was plenty left to satisfy my need for chocolate.

Double Fudge Whole Grain Brownies

1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups packed light brown sugar
¾ cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbls vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 ½ cups hard white wheat flour
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add sugar and stir to combine. Heat briefly until mixture it hot and starting to bubble. Stir in cocoa, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Cool mixture until it feels like hot bath water. Whisk in eggs, stirring until smooth, then add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into prepared pan. Bake about 30 minutes, until a cake tester poked into the center reveals wet crumbs but not raw batter.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Still standing

Among the many reports coming out of Haiti during the past 3 weeks, one of my favorite stories is about a bronze statue – the unknown escaped slave. As I have watched the news and listened to reports of the destruction, I was reminded this week of the facts concerning Haiti that I am sure I learned during world history class over 25 years ago. So the mini history lesson is this. Haiti is a former French colony and was the hub of the slave trade, and it is the only country on earth to have gained independence by a slave rebellion. This bronze statue in Port-au-Prince is a symbol of the freedom gained through that revolt. Amazingly, amidst all of the rubble and devastation this statue that symbolizes Haiti’s spirit is still standing.