Making chocolate!

Ever thought about making chocolate? Well, if you're in the Boston area, look no further!!

I saw a LivingSocial deal for this class at ChocoLee Chocolates and thought hey, could be fun! I got a friend to buy it with me last July, and she called in January to schedule a date in but they didn't have any openings until June!! So, we had this on our calendars for 6 months, and after almost a year we finally had the class, and it was a lot of fun! It's a 3 hour class on a Wednesday night or Saturday afternoon, and in our class we did chocolate almond bark, truffles, and filled chocolates. We mostly worked with dark chocolate - my favorite - so I really liked that part. You don't actually just work on your own chocolates - everyone works together and you can switch between different tasks as you want. So, if you don't want to chop a huge (HUGE) bar of chocolate, you don't have to. And you still come home with a LOT of really delicious creations!

I actually saw at least one other Groupon or LivingSocial for this class recently, so if you're interested, keep your eyes open for a good deal :)

Birthday dinner #2: Oaxacan Tlayuda with Guacamole

Birthday dinner with Dave this time! He doesn't like serious cooking (aka with recipes) very much but went all out for my birthday :). According to my Moosewood cookbook, tlayudas are tortillas baked or grilled with all sorts of toppings, like Mexican pizzas. There are a bunch of steps involved but, very tasty!

1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 cup diced onions
3/4 cup diced bell peppers
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 15-oz can pinto beans (1/4 cup of liquid reserved)
2 whole grain tortillas (or 4 small ones)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded green cabbage or slaw mix
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Warm the oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the garlic, onions, bell peppers, salt, cumin, and cayenne and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Drain the pinto beans, reserving about 1/4 cup of the liquid. In a food processor or blender, puree the beans, cooked onions and peppers, and just enough of the reserved bean liquid to make a thick, creamy spread. Add more salt and cayenne to taste.

Place the tortillas on an unoiled baking sheet. Spread each with half of the pureed beans (or 1/4 if you use 4 small tortillas) and top with cheese. In a preheated 450 degree oven, bake until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes. Spread 1/2 cup (or 1/4 cup for 4 tortillas) of the cabbage or slaw mix on each tortilla and bake for another 5 minutes. Toss the tomatoes with the cilantro and sprinkle on top of the cabbage. Bake for a couple of minutes, just until the tomatoes are hot.


Optional (but highly recommended!): Simple Guacamole

2 large ripe Haas avocados
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp minced red onions (optional)
pinch of cayenne or dash of Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce (optional)

Slice lengthwise around each avocado down to the pit. Twist the halves apart, and remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh and mash it in a bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and salt, adding more to taste. Stir in the red onions and cayenne, if using. Serve immediately.




Both recipes from "Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health"

Lemon blueberry buckle

YUM. This makes me drool just looking at it. This was Dave's birthday "cake" for me - I picked it out instead of a cake because I thought it would be more interesting. And that it was. I normally don't like lemon-flavored desserts all that much but I loved this. I had also never made or even heard of a buckle before, but I'll definitely look for more recipes after this one! When we were making this, we were thinking that the lemon glaze for the top was unnecessary - but it IS necessary. Once it sits for a bit it gets crunchy and just awesome on the top. Just do it.


Crumb topping
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cubed, at room temperature

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Add the butter, using a fork or your fingers to cut in the butter until it is reduced to the size of peas. Loosely cover the bowl, and place it in the freezer while you mix the cake batter.

Cake and assembly
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the pan
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I used dried nutmeg - it's a 1:1 ratio fresh to dried)
3/4 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (or sour milk, milk + vinegar or lemon juice)
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, divided
Crumb topping, chilled
Juice of 2 lemons (about 6 tablespoons)

Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, three-fourths cup sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Stir the flour mixture into the bowl, a third at a time, alternating with the buttermilk, until both the flour mixture and buttermilk are evenly incorporated into the batter. Gently fold 1 cup of the blueberries into the batter.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and distribute the remaining blueberries evenly over the top of the batter. Remove the crumb topping from the freezer and sprinkle it over the berries.

Bake the cake at 350 degrees until it is lightly golden and firm on top, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through for even baking.

While the cake is baking, make a lemon syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the remaining one-third cup sugar with the lemon juice and whisk until blended. Heat the pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid thickens to a syrupy consistency, 6 to 8 minutes. (The glaze will bubble while cooking and may need to be removed from the heat to check that it is the proper consistency.) Remove from heat and set aside in a warm place.

Remove the cake from the oven and drizzle the warm glaze over. Cool to room temperature. The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, covered in plastic wrap (or in the fridge for a week or so).



Original recipe here

Birthday Dinner - Basho

Parent-sponsored birthday dinner at Basho = amazing sushi! One of the rolls in the photo was a summer roll that had a bunch fruit in it - was a little nervous about it but it was awesome. Great meal after an afternoon Red Sox game!