need a little balance

Well at prayer group on Tuesday nights I always enjoy making a treat for everyone. I get it from my mom. Anytime we ever have company over, there will definitely be some snacks, and more often then not they will be homemade. She loves to make treats for everyone to enjoy. So I guess that’s where I get it from. It just doesn’t feel right to have company over and not have some chocolate chip cookies, rice crispy treats, brownies, etc. to offer them. Well this past Tuesday, I decide to mix it up and have a healthy snack. We have had desserts almost every time, and we needed something healthy (I guess thats what my blog is all about huh?) . I whipped up a little easy fruit dip combining Organic French Vanilla Yogurt, Agave Nectar and cinnamon. I simply bought a big bag of yummy green grapes and washed them. We ate all of it! Haha

Easy Yogurt Fruit Dip

1 Cup Vanilla Yogurt

2 Tbsp Agave Nectar or Honey

1-2 tsp cinnamon

*you may want to add more cinnamon, just taste it and see

Mix ingredients together, adjust it to your liking. Buy some fresh fruit and enjoy!

dark chocolate meets white chocolate

Well I have heard about Dorie Greenspan’s “Quintuplet Brownies”. Basically they are these yummy fudgy brownies containing:

1)dark chocolate

2)milk chocolate

3)semi sweet chocolate

4)cocoa powder

5) white chocolate

Well I was dying to make these brownies, I found the original recipe and looked at dozen’s of pictures of these yummy treats. Sadly, when I got to the grocery store I just could not bring myself to spend so much on all five different types of chocolate. It was a really tough decision but I decided on just buying semi sweet chocolate and white chocolate haha. I definitely needed the white chocolate for the glaze and then thought semi-sweet chocolate would be the best to use for the base of the brownies. They were extremely fudgy so if you prefer your brownies more cake like then this might not be the recipe for you. However, they were wonderfully chocolaty but the white chocolate glaze was what brought this recipe together. It is fantastic and looks so pretty on top. Enjoy!

*this is the original recipe from Dorie herself, hope you enjoy it!

Quintuple Chocolate Brownies

Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

For the Brownies

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons strong coffee

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 ounces premium-quality milk chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought milk chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts

For the Glaze

6 ounces premium-quality white chocolate, finely chopped, or 1 cup store-bought white chocolate chips

1/3 heavy cream

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt.

To Make the Brownies: Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add, in the following order, the butter, the two chocolates and the coffee. Keeping the pan over low heat, warm just until the butter and the chocolates are melted– you don’t want the ingredients to separate, so keep an eye on the bowl. Stir gently, and when the mixture is smooth, set it aside for 5 minutes.

Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Don’t beat too vigorously– you don’t want to add air to the batter– and don’t be concerned about any graininess. Next, stir the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. If your not already using a rubber spatula, switch to one now and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. Finally, stir in the milk chocolate chips and nuts. Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for 35 minutes, or until a think knife inserted into the center comes out streaked but not thickly coated. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the brownies rest undisturbed for at least 30 minutes. (You can wait longer if you’d like.)

Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and place it under another rack–it will be the drip catcher for the glaze. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely.

To Make the Glaze: Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Wait 30 seconds, then, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until the chocolate is melted.and the glaze is smooth.

Hold a long metal icing spatula in one hand the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and use the spatula to nudge it evenly over the surface. Don’t worry if it dribbles over the edges, you can trim the sides later (or not). Refrigerate the brownies for about 20 minutes to dry the glaze.

Cut into 16 squares, each roughly 2 1/4 inches on a side.

a locavore's paradise

So this past week I got to spend some time in the Pacific Northwest.

We spent a day in Seattle, WA.

Let me just say the word “fresh” has a whole new meaning

you know how most apples from the grocery store say Washington?

well I ate some real washington apples,

Gala apples actually,

and oh my goodness were they delicious

crispy & sweet,

maybe the most delicious apples I have ever had

thats saying a lot…..

these are a few pictures from my adventure in Pike Place Market in Seattle.

amazing apple streusel bars (amazing!)

yes. this pretty much just became one of my favorite desserts. and its from my new favorite blog( go figure). These apple streusel bars have a yummy buttery crust topped with sliced apples covered in sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon , everything apple pie, and then are topped with more streusel topping and drizzled with a vanilla powdered sugar glaze. I could not restrain myself from eating them throughout the day. It got so bad that I just had to give them away so that I would stop eating them haha! Please, please try this recipe! It is amazing!

Apple Streusel Bars
from Honey & Jam

Pastry:
2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. real butter, softened
1 egg, beaten

Apple Filling:
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 c. (about 3 medium) sliced, peeled baking apples (I used gala)

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
About 3 Tbsp. milk (whole milk is best)
1/2 tsp. almond extract

To prepare crust, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles. Gently mix in beaten egg.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Gently pat about 2/3 of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish. Preheat oven to 350 and set aside.

To prepare apple filling, combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon and toss with apples.

Spread apples out on prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over apples evenly and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

When finished, allow to cool.

To prepare glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, almond extract, and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Spoon glaze on top of bars. (I like to glaze them when they’re still a little warm, so the topping isn’t bright white.)

*note-I added a little brown sugar to the apple filling, just because…

no knead bread

for the lazy (but patient) bread fanatics…

I have found a new favorite blog. Honey & Jam. Cool name, even cooler foodie. She is 19 and is amazingly talented. She has such a talent for baking/cooking AND for photography. You should definitely go check her blog out. Anyways she has 5 recipes listed as her top favorites. I was scrolling through them and came across this No Knead Bread. Well kneading is not my thing, I can’t even say it right. I say knead (like bread but with a “kn”). Haha, so I try to avoid it when I can. Well this recipe is very easy. It does take time to rise, but it only needs four ingredients and tastes very similar to Panera’s Bread! It does try out quickly so make use of it the day you bake it. I highly recommend this recipe to everyone! Fantastic . It also makes your entire home smell like a bakery. Wonderful!

No Knead French Bread
Courtesy of Honey & Jam

3 cups of lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Grab a very large mixing bowl, or a large container that you can cover. In it, mix the water, yeast, and salt. You don’t have to heat up the water to a precise optimal temperature for the yeast. I’ve even used just regular tap water, and it’s worked well for me. Just let that sit together for a while (you don’t have to wait for the yeast to dissolve completely), then dump the flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon. You don’t need to knead this, and you’re not looking to make it come together into a dough ball. You just want everything mixed well, with no streaks of flour left, and you’re done.

Leave it in your container, covered (but not airtight, or it’ll pop), for a few hours. When it has risen and then deflated a bit, your dough is done. It’s ready to be used or stored in the refrigerator.

To bake the bread, just grab a chunk of dough, about the size of a grapefruit. Dust your hands with flour to help prevent sticking, and gently pull the sides of the dough toward the bottom, rotating the dough, until you get a roundish shape with a smooth surface. It should only take you about a minute or less to do this. The dough won’t be entirely in the bottom, where it may look bunched up, but don’t worry about it.

Put it on a cutting board that’s been dusted with cornmeal to prevent sticking, and let it rest for at least 40 minutes. No need to cover it. If the dough has been refrigerated, it helps to let it rest a little more, until it’s no longer chilled.

Twenty minutes before you are ready to bake, put a cast iron skillet (or a pizza stone) in the middle rack of your oven, and put a broiler pan (I used a cookie sheet) in the bottom rack. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Dust some flour on the top of your loaf, and slash the top, about 1/4-inch deep.

After twenty minutes of preheating, it’s time to bake. (You can put the bread in after 20 minutes, even if your oven hasn’t reached 450 degrees yet.) Slide the loaf onto the baking stone, and then quickly pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler pan. Then quickly shut the oven door to keep the steam inside.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until you get a nice brown crust. Remove and let cool completely, if you can wait that long.

dark chocolate anyone?

I do not think I would have ever tried this recipe had it not been for a friend who thought this was a delicious combination. I love dark chocolate….. and pistachios……. and dried cherries. But together?? I was a little nervous, yet it turned out to be a wonderfully easy recipe with a great mixture of flavors. This is basically like a thick, deluxe, chunky dark chocolate bar filled with slightly tart cherries and yummy pistachios.  If you like all of the ingredients, definitely check this out. It is a nice little snack when you need a quick chocolate fix. And you can try and justify it if you want since dark chocolate is supposed to be rich in antioxidants, and dried cherries are , well, fruit and pistachios are nuts. There you go maybe I should just classify them as healthy haha.

Chunky Bars

(Adapted from Peanut Butter & Jargon)

• 1 1/4 pounds good quality bittersweet chocolate (60% cocoa), broken into pieces
• 1 1/3 cups dried cherries
• 1 1/3 cups salted roasted shelled pistachios

Line an 8×8 inch square baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang.

Melt chocolate in a metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (or double boiler), stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove chocolate from heat and stir in cherries and pistachios, then spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.

Lift candy in foil out of the pan using overhang and transfer to a cutting board. Peel away foil liner. Let chocolate come to room temperature before cutting (which will make for cleaner cuts), then divide into 1-inch squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 5 dozen.