Brownies and more brownies

It's been quite a week, I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  Between the heavy snow fall late last weekend, spaying my cats and having one of them go through some complications (she's doing well now) I'm finally able to just relax this weekend and do nothing (except bake brownies!)

Last weekend (pre kitty surgery) I was at petsmart to pick up some fresh litter for my little ones when I realized I need some stainless steel water bowls, those things can be quite expensive and an unlikely but great place to look for them is at a winners or home sense (TJMAXX/Home goods?) and lucky for me I stumbled upon a store in the same mall.  I went in and WOAH (unfortunately for me!) the pet stuff is near the kitchen stuff and there is a TON of stuff on clearance, which resulted in a huge shopping haul. 

As if that wasn't bad enough I found one set of these nice curtains that would suite my new windows, but only one set in the desired colour so I had to stop into every Winners (and home sense!) store in my area to locate another 3 sets. 

More stores, more stuff, and my car was pretty full of things. By that time I was also hungry and one winners has a whole lot of food items (close to expiration) on sale so I got a tin of cookies to munch on in the car, quinoa, pasta, chocolate, just a load of goodies for my pantry. 

Among the hoard of things there was this brownie pan, normally I don't go for infomercial items or "As seen on TV" products but this was dirt cheap and looked interesting enough.

Since I brought it home I've baked 2 batches of brownies, the first one was experimental, I just went with my regular brownie recipe and baked it on a lower temperature.  The brownies slid right out of the pan, no problem there! 

The only issue was that they turned out more fluffy, puffy and cake like than actual brownies, and I figured it's because of all that metal and even with a lower oven temperature there is too much heat going around that each piece cooks very quickly. 

This weekend I attempted to try again, making 3 times the brownie recipe in the 9X13 inch pan and using just oil instead of butter in my recipe. 

While baking the brownies puffed up like mad, I thought for sure they'd overflow but they didn't (PHEW!) instead they settled down but left that shiney crackly layer on top (which I think all brownies should have!) and a soft chewy centre developed as they cooled.  The baking time only took under 30 minutes!! 

I used my favourite brownie recipe (here ) this recipe is adapted from another recipe by adding another half a recipe to one batch and then baking it in a smaller pan for a higher chewier brownie.  It's been a reliable recipe for me.

For this pan I went with 3 X the original recipe or twice my recipe (since mine is 1 1/2 so doubling that would make 3 batches) and crammed it all into the 9X13. 

Brownies 

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or sunflower)

3 cup sugar (2 brown, 1 white sugar) 

3 tsp vanilla extract

6 eggs

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup cocoa plus 6 tbsp

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt 

Chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). If using a glass pan put oven on 325 F.

(Grease a 9X13 inch baking pan - or you're cool brownie pan with insert -use a mister filled with oil to spray this type of contraption - outdoors preferably!)

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in oil. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir the cocoa into the liquid mixture until it's lump free and chocolaty.

Gradually stir flour mixture into the egg mixture until well blended. Stir in walnuts, if desired. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. (add metal divider insert here, add garnish to individual brownies if desired, I used walnuts on some and sea salt on others then left some plain) 

3. Bake for 30-40 minutes (or 30 minutes if using my brownie pan, must set the brownie pan onto another baking tray as the label instructs!)  (this is just approximate time so keep an eye out!) or until the brownie begins to pull away from edges of pan.

Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares or frosting/glazing it.

In my case I let it cool 5 minutes then released the divider by pulling it out gently.

Store them away after cooling in a glass pan covered with plastic wrap so they don't dry out. 

(recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com Mmm-Mmm Better brownies)

Hope you guys enjoy!

I threw in a pic of my pizza because it's another thing that got me super excited, the Calphalon pizza grate/pan I got on clearance, cooks my homemade pizza super fast and with a perfectly golden crust, how exciting!

.... And for this summer, I'm predicting there will be Paella :D

And of course the brownie pan box makes the best toy in the world!

Guava's 'n' cream

Strawberries and cream, peaches and cream... how about guava's and cream.  I love the combination, especially in milkshakes.  My mother used to make me guava milkshakes when I was really young back when we lived in Pakistan, they were my favourite!

I picked up some guavas at the supermarket this week and have been eating them over the week but today wanted to do something a little different. I googled guava salad but nothing really came up that caught my eye so I headed into the kitchen and took a whiff of the lovely fragrant little fruits to get some inspiration.

Whenever I'm on vacationing down in Cuba I enjoy these fruits for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I can, they're always so pink and lush and irresistable.  The honey I brought back from Cuba sitting in the far corner of my counter caught my eye so I took a tbsp and heated it with a drop of water in a small sauce pan. 

In the mean time I chopped my giavas in rough bite size cubes (you just wash them and cut the ends off then chop them seeds/peel and all to eat) 

When my mixture came to a boil and after putting my little guava jewels into my serving bowl I drizzled with the warm mixture.    It looked good enough to eat at this point but I always like to make things a little extra special so I reached for the whipping cream in the fridge and whisked up a tiny drizzle into soft peaks (no sugar necessary) just a splash of natural vanilla extract. 

Now I topped my guavas with a few spoonfuls of the soft whipped cream and with a final drizzle of honey it was ready to dig in.  While sitting at the window and watching the fluffy snow flakes fall from the sky I have to say this really hit the spot with the tropical flavours of the guava and golden Cuban honey, it took me right back to a warmer place.

- 5 mini guavas, chopped in small bite size pieces
- 1 big teaspoon honey, a drizzle of water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Splash of vanilla extract
- Another drizzle (1 tsp) honey

To make it even more tropically (and vegan!) use coconut cream whipped into a soft cream and top guavas instead of dairy cream.

Fennel and Orange

I've been watching a whole lot of Jamie Oliver lately, especially 15 minute meals and I'm lovin' every moment of it! 

Today I bring you a Jamie Oliver-esque menu, however this unfortunately did not take 15 minutes, not even 30... more like 15 hours (don't dispair yet! I'm just including the brining time)

I'm a big believer in brining chicken, HOWEVER after rotisserie roasting this chicken for nearly 3 hours in my hamilton beach toaster/rotisserie today I realized that it is totally unnecessary.  

Normally I brine for 24 hours at least and then roast on high temperatures and it yields a juicy chicken but it seems that is not the case with rotisserie so I'm better off just marinating in lots of lemon juice, salt, crushed fennel seeds, garlic and then going ahead roasting it on the spit after being rubbed down with olive oil. 

So cutting out brining cuts down on the prep time a lot! 

Feel free to go about prepping your chicken however you like, you could even follow Jamie's 15 minute method of seasoning, smashing it down and then cooking in the pan for about 3.5 minutes on each side until it's crispy dark on the outside and juicy, moist and white on the inside. 

The interesting food element today is the Freekeh/Freeka/Freekah, or even freaka!  This is a middle eastern ancient food, it's basically a green young fresh wheat that has been harvested and I believe they burn the husks off using fire so you get this smokey (not really toasty) but roasted firey type of taste from it, really amazing. 

I didn't need to add anything to it, just cooked in water with salt and olive oil.

Basic Freekeh: 

-1 cup freekeh grain

- 4 cups water

-1 tsp salt

-1 tbsp olive oil

Wash grains under water and remove the husks that float to the top, drain well and add 1 tbsp olive oil.  Cook on high heat until it sizzles/toasts slightly in the oil.  

Add salt and boiled water, reduce heat to low, cover and cook like rice.  

It takes about 40 minutes to cook and after 30 minutes I removed the lid to let the extra liquid evaporate.  

It does not cook like dry grains of rice, it has a bit of a sticky residue kinda like risotto (but it shouldn't be mushy or crunchy)  it's delicious!  

The box said to use 5 cups of water but even 4 was too much for me (thus letting it evaporate in the last 10 minutes with lid off) 

Another fun element I added to the dish was roasted tomatoes with garlic.

Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic:

- 2 large tomatoes

- 1/2 head of garlic, separate the cloves, leave the peels on! 

- 3 tbsp olive oil

- salt and black pepper

Prepare a tray with parchment, heat oven to 300 F.

Chop tomato in fat wedges (8 pieces for each tomato) 

Toss with olive oil and seasoning, add the garlic cloves and toss along with it. 

Lay flat on a tray and bake for about an hour or two, flipping them halfway through cooking.  You just want their flavours to intensify and get a little browning on the tomatoes, they don't need to "dehydrate" 

See the photo below for a guide. 

Fresh Orange Salad: 

- Garden greens or "Spring mix" 

- 1 tsp orange zest

- 1 orange, peeled and segmented

- Juice of the 1 orange used above

-1 medium clove garlic 

- Lemon juice

- Olive oil

- Salt and black pepper

With fennel seeds on the chicken I went with orange in the salad. Plenty of bright fresh orange zest, salt, a crushed garlic and olive oil along with segmented orange pieces and the leftover orange juice with a squeeze of lemon made a gorgeous salad dressing, tossed with mixed greens it was fabulous! 

Begin by plating freekeh on a platter, arrange tomatoes overtop.  Sprinkle garlic bulbs around (it's ok if they're still in their peel, just pop them out and eat!) . Top with sliced chicken breast (or whatever parts you like, I love the legs but I didn't add them here although I did enjoy them with the meal!)

Sprinkle with chopped green onion and sprigs of cilantro. 

Serve salad alongside and enjoy!

Move over Quinoa ( just shove over) and leave some room for Freekeh, I think these two grains (alright, alright, I know quinoa is a seed!) are going to have to share the spotlight on my pantry shelf because they're now both my favourites!

Sweet and Salty pan fried plantain: Nature's dessert

I call this nature's dessert, because it's soft, starchy, sweet and fruity and no fussing required, just a ripe plantain, pan fried and sprinkled with a pinch of salt.  A perfect indulgence, I think.

If you like sweet and salty things and you want an easy dessert (healthy too, maybe?) then you'll love this, and even if you're not a fan of banana/banana desserts like myself (you'll probably love it if you're a banana lover) then give it a try. 

A plantain is that starchy banana that is usually green and found in the Caribbean/African section of your local grocer.  You want to find a ripe one that is almost yellow, if not then just set it on your kitchen table and wait for it to ripen.

It should be almost black, really, that's when the sweetness comes out, this could take a while but just forget about it and when it's ready it's only a matter of seconds to whip this dessert up.

Heat a bit of oil in a skillet on medium high. 

Peel your plantain by cutting off both ends with skin on and then pulling the peel off the middle part. 

Slice into 1/2 inch rounds or on a bias/diagonal so you have more surface area on each piece to brulee. 

Add your pieces to the pan, do not overcrowd so do it in batches (I did it in 2) and brown both sides flipping and making sure they don't burn (they've got sugar in them so they will brown quickly) 

Now set them on paper towel and sprinkle with salt.  Enjoy them right away when they're still slightly crispy. 

Just eat with a fork, and here I had some Forever nuts tea from David's Tea to go along with it. 

So good!