Bread With Chocolate and Olive Oil

original post here

Time: 15 minutes

6 thick slices country-style bread (about 10 ounces total)

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 60 percent cocoa), coarsely grated. (A Microplane is not essential, but it helps.)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt.

1. Heat the oven to 325. Put the bread on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Spoon the chocolate over the toast in a thin, even layer. Drizzle the toast with the oil and sprinkle with the salt. Serve.

Yield: 6 servings.

It reminded me of toasted bread with honey and salt I ate as a kid. Chocolate is an awesome alternative, a close second for me~

Mint Tea

photo credit

Super-duper easy: a tablespoon of fresh or dry leaves to one cup of hot water,

cover it up with a small plate and let steep for a bout 5 minutes.

Delicious!

To dry fresh mint: put leaves in a dark dry place; depending on humidity and temperature,

it will take about 36-48 hours for the leaves to dry fully. Store in an airtight container.

Goat Tacos (original post here)

Recipe for Goat Tacos (courtesy of epicurious.com, with some adjustments):

1 dried guajillo or New Mexico chiles, wiped clean

2 dried ancho chiles, wiped clean (if you cannot find it- use halapenos, not quite the same flavor, but workable)

1 pound tomatoes

3 1/2 to 4 pound bone-in goat such as shoulder, neck, or leg

3 garlic cloves

1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

5 whole black peppercorns

3 whole cloves

2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California

2 T cumin

2T coriander

16 to 24 corn tortillas

Accompaniments:

sliced radishes

crumbled queso fresco

salsa verde

thinly sliced romaine or iceberg lettuce

chopped cilantro

chopped white onion

lime wedges

Slit chiles lengthwise, then stem and seed (leave veins for heat). Heat a dry large heavy skillet (not nonstick) over medium heat until hot, then toast chiles in batches, opened flat, turning and pressing with tongs, until more pliable and slightly changed in color, about 30 seconds per batch.
Transfer chiles to a bowl and soak in hot water until softened, 20 to 30 minutes.
Cut a shallow X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in simmering water 20 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to stop cooking. Peel tomatoes. Coarsely chop, reserving juice.
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Cut goat at joints to separate into pieces and put in a 3-quart shallow baking dish. Sprinkle all over with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
Drain chiles, discarding soaking water, and purée in a blender with tomatoes and reserved juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining ingredients except tortillas until very smooth, about 1 minute.
Pour sauce over meat, turning to coat, then cover dish tightly with a double layer of foil and braise in oven until meat is very tender, 3 to 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and cool meat in liquid, uncovered, 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Coarsely shred meat, discarding bones, then mix into braising liquid in dish. Return to oven and cook, covered, until sauce is simmering, about 30 minutes more.
Fifteen minutes before goat is done, make 2 stacks of tortillas and wrap each stack in foil, then heat in oven on rack alongside baking dish. Serve goat with warm tortillas and accompaniments.
Or,
do as I did- serve on the bone, with brown rice and accompaniments.

Chocolate chip cookie recipe:

more photos here
2 sticks butter softened
1 cup sugar (half brown, half white)
2 eggs
1 cup white flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 T baking powder
1 t salt
1 T vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips

Beat sugar with butter till creamy, add eggs one at a time, add vanilla;
separately mix flours, salt and baking powder;
slowly add flour mixture to butter/sugar/egg mixture;
add the chips.
Chill 2 hours. Can also be refrigerated or frozen.
Preheat oven to 350 F, drop full Tablespoons of batter, spaced an inch or so apart.
Bake for 8 minutes, or till the desired crispness.
8 minutes at 350 F in my oven gives you a lovely crisp edge, but soft center.

Chocolate Frosting:

1 stick butter, softened
2/3 cups good quality cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cold milk
1 t vanilla (not more, or it will taste like vanilla frosting)
1 T light corn syrup ( I know, it's a got bad rap these days, but it adds a gorgeous sheen and viscosity)

Mix butter and cocoa together, don't beat these- you'll end up with a chocolate cloud- cute for kids, not adults and cleanup. Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time, and 1 T milk at a time. IF it's too thick, you may want to add a little more milk. If it's too thin- a little more powdered sugar.

Maple Walnut Cake with Fluffy Maple Frosting

more photos here

CAKE:

3 3/4 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup
3/4 cup hot water

Cream the butter and the sugar, add the eggs one at a time, beat in the maple syrup gradually. Add the flour alternating with the water, beating after each addition. Divide the batter between two 9 x2 inch round pans (buttered) . Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 F until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool 5-10 min, then remove and cool completely on wire rack.

Frosting

Frosting is made with maple syrup, and tastes like marshmallow fluff. It is enough for a two layer cake. I double the recipe usually- this includes doubling the beating with the mixer time- and turn the cake into a 4 layer tall delicious beauty!

2 egg whites
1/2 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 t cream of tartar
1/4 t salt
1 t vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

In the top of a double boiler, combine first five ingredients, cook beating constantly on the medium-high speed of an electric mixer, until mixture stands in peaks, approx. 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract and continue beating 1 minute more until thick enough to spread.

When cake has cooled, ice between the layers. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the frosting. Then ice top and sides of cake, sprinkling the top with chopped walnuts. Rainbow Cake