July 29th, 2009
Recently I had the remarkable pleasure to discover chocolate extract. I was excited as I looked at the delicious smelling thick chocolaty elixir. I had to have it and discover all that it has to offer…
Well, I’m having trouble figuring out exactly what to do with it. If you google chocolate extract, you will find that I am not the only one. Essentially, you can put it in baked goods to make it a little chocolateier or you can make a chocolate liqueur… well, I’m not one for fancy chocolate cocktails (I know, shocking isn’t it but I just don’t like sweet drinks), so I have started slowly doing the former… emphasis on the slowly because as Juan said the other day “you are never going to use that, are you?”
I am! I’m just very unsure of when to use it and when not too. A few weeks ago, I did an experiment. I made the family brownie recipe. I added chocolate extract to one batch but not the other. Then I had my friends and co-workers see if they could taste a difference. It was subtle but definitely there.
This past weekend, I helped host a bridal shower and made 72 little mini cupcakes (half chocolate and half vanilla!)… sometimes, I’m a bit insane! I had leftover vanilla buttercream (made with vanilla bean paste), so tonight I made some brownies and used the leftover icing. I tried the Best Cocoa Brownies adding a teaspoon of chocolate extract. Delicious!
Vanilla Buttercream
(from Ginny’s mom)
1 stick butter, softened
1 box confectioner’s sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla (paste)
1/2 cup milk
Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the vanilla and the milk a little at a time until it of spreding consistency. Enough for two layers, a 9 x13, or 24 cupcakes.
Filed under Brownies, Chocolate, Vanilla | Comments (5)
July 26th, 2009
As I look at my unposted food photograph archive, I was struck by the amount of sandwiches that I have made this year… As a student, it is a fast, delicious and easy dinner plus I can be creative based on what it is in the fridge… Every Sunday, I’ll post one of my creations. I would love for you to join in. If you have a sandwich recipe, please email it (with a photo of the sandwich and your blog info) to me at ginnygetfloury [AT] gmail [dot] com by Saturday night and I’ll include it on my Sandwich Sunday post of the week!
Tonight I made a black bean burger with garlic and cilantro (from my window sill). I ate it with some sliced tomatoes and melted cheddar. It was delicious. The garlic and cilantro worked well with the creamy texture of the black beans. I would like to add this recipe to the Grow Your Own #23 since it uses cilantro that I grow in my apartment.
Ginny’s Black Bean Burger
(inspired by Kath)
1/3 cup black bean
1 garlic clove chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh cilantro, chopped
sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1. Mash the black beans with a fork.
2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and form into a patty.
3. Over medium heat, brown the patty about 2-3 minutes on each side.
4. Serve as desired.
P.S. Stay tuned for next week’s Sandwich Sunday. If you want to join in, please email me at ginnygetfloury [AT] gmail [dot] com by Saturday night.
Filed under Cilantro, Sandwich Sunday, Tomatos | Comments (7)
July 24th, 2009
…this past weekend, Juan and I spent a relaxing time in Kitty Hawk, NC with some of his friends. As the native North Carolinian among the group, everyone wondered if I had ever been there. Well, the Outer Banks has always been in my mind where the Northerns go… we always went to the Southern Beaches near Wilmington since they are closer to home…
In fourth grade Social Studies, we studied North Carolina. As part of the class, we had to take a “road” trip to explore NC. We started way up in the Northern tip of the Outer Banks in Kitty Hawk. I remember thinking that one day I needed to go there and see where the first flight took place. I’m quite glad that I’ve finally been there now… check another goal off the list… plus it was a wonderful weekend filled with sleeping in, playing on the beach, eating good food, and hanging out with cool people…
Maybe it is my Southern upbringing, but I have been craving peach pie for months now and impatiently waiting for them to be in season … the other day, when I saw this recipe and found delicious peaches at Treasure Island… I decided it was time to make peach galette… like a pie but smaller so I don’t each as much… yea… that’s what I keep telling myself…
Months ago I had bookmarked this recipe from Spicy Ice Cream, which is part of Lisa and Mark’s tour of the Tartine cookbook. I tried making the Tartine’s Brownies a few weeks ago and did not follow directions. Mine tasted ok but no where near as amazing as Mark’s. In trying another Tartine recipe, I followed the recipe as closely as possible but I halved the recipe. In my haste to get the dough in the fridge to chill, I actually only used 1/4 of the butter but half of everything else. Regardless, it turned out really well. The recipe is a little daunting at first but it is not as hard to make as it may seem. I do not have a bench scrapper but I do have a plastic green apple cutting board that worked great. Make sure to chill it as written because it helps the dough retain its shape when you bake it. This recipe did take patience but I was very happy with the peach galettes that I pulled out of the oven at 10:30pm…
I made two small galettes filled with peaches. I used 2 large peaches and two small ones. Having recently become a vanilla bean paste fan, I tested it out on this recipe. I mixed 1/2 teaspoon with 1/2 the peaches and used them in one of the galettes. The other I made with just peaches. I love the addition of the vanilla bean paste but the flavor was more intense the next morning… sigh… I wish there was still leftovers…
Filed under Pie, peach | Comments (2)
