seriously intense cocoa nib brownies

One of the easiest things to bake are brownies. I've always used the recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home since it always provides seriously awesome results. In fact, it's actually foolproof – I know because I've totally goofed the recipe and even with insane screw-ups, they've always turned out delicious.

A few weeks ago, I started seeing Smitten Kitchen's cocoa brownies floating around and decided to take a peek. The recipe itself is very similar to the Moosewood version, so I decided that I'd pass by the SK version (since it required extra steps including the use of a bain marie) and just tweak my old standby to push the chocolate-intensity to the max. Not only did I add in cocoa (actually a half and half blend of some regular cocoa and some fancy extra-black cocoa from France) but I also threw in some cocoa nibs to boot.

The results were amazing! Dark, fudgy and rich and, like the old standby, so easy to put everything together. One pot and one baking dish. No need to dirty up a bowl. I did add a heaping amount of salt because I knew the salt would help to up the complexity of the flavours - but it you don't like your salt with your sweets, just level your measurement instead. These are perfect to people who are allergic to nuts since the crunch factor comes from the cocoa nibs. Forget about frosting them as they are pretty rich on their own....but they do go well with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. You know, just saying.


seriously intense cocoa nib brownies
1/2 c unsalted butter
1 c sugar
1/3 c cocoa powder
2 squares of unsweetened baking chocolate
1/4 t (heaping) kosher salt
1/2 t vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c cocoa nibs

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line an 8x8 glass baking dish with parchment paper (bottom and sides), leaving an overhang of paper to help lift the brownies out when they're done baking.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt together the butter, sugar, cocoa, unsweetened baker's chocolate and salt. Stir often to make sure that everything is melting properly. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs together. Quickly pour the eggs into the chocolate mixture and start beating the eggs vigorously so they don't end up scrambled. After your arm starts fatiguing, stir in the flour until it's just mixed. Gently stir in the cocoa nibs. Pour the mixture into your lined baking dish, smoothing out the top.

4. Bake for about 25-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out relatively clean from the center. Let cool on a wire rack. When cool, lift the brownies onto a cutting board and cut into squares.

merry merry & last-minute peanut brittle

I'm a Christmas lover. Our house is decorated in sparkle and lights and we've got a beautifully scented eucalyptus wreath hanging on the inside of our front door. In the evenings, I burn my favorite fir-scented candle and listen to Christmas records while sipping on rum cocktails. And as you probably guessed, I love giving away homemade candy & baked goods to friends and family.

This year, my baking has taken a bit of a back seat since I've been so busy with work. So the past few days I've been playing catch-up and have whipped up old favorites like rum balls, candy cane bark, almond bark and fudge. But I decided that I needed something new in the mix and decided on peanut brittle. The recipe is adapted from Serious Eats and it's super quick to make (the whole shebang can be done in about 20 minutes!) so it's perfect for last-minute gifting. No candy thermometer or complex ingredients required. Don't have peanuts? Use pumpkin seeds, cashews, or pistachio nuts instead. Wrapped in cellophane and tied with candy-cane coloured twine, it makes a very thoughtful gift.

Enjoy and happy holidays!!

last-minute peanut brittle
(adapted from Serious Eats)
2 c sugar
8 T unsalted butter
1/3 c light corn syrup
1/2 t baking soda
1 T kosher salt
1 1/2 c salted peanuts

Line a baking sheet with a non-stick silpat mat, or lightly grease the baking sheet. Set aside.

In a large pot set on high heat, combine the sugar, butter and corn syrup along with a 1/2 cup of water. Let boil away for 10 minutes without stirring until the mixture turns into a lovely amber shade.

Remove from heat and add in baking soda and salt and fold in peanuts with a wooden spoon. Quickly pour mixture onto prepared tray and spread the candy out evenly. Let cool and then break into pieces.

leftover grain veggie burgers

Right about now, I'm probably cruising down one of the picturesque side highways in New Brunswick or I've set up camp around the Bay of Fundy and dipping my toes into its muddy banks. Or maybe I'm sucking face with a lobster in Maine. Who knows, but whatever it is that I'm doing, I'm sure that I've got a huge grin on my face. I'm sure my face had a similarly stupid grin when I ate this sandwich. This is one of those stupid simple recipes. Correct that, it's not even a recipe. Rather it's a list of ingredients that is more of an idea than a step-by-step process. I think a lot of people use recipes as a guideline rather than following things to a tee...it's what I've been doing since I was a kid. If you like to follow things to the letter of the law, then shake things up! Play with your food!

So often I have leftovers in the fridge....small amounts of grains, leftover veg and bits and bobs hiding in corners. I hate wasting food, so I try to use up as much as I can without anything going into the trash. This veggie burger was a result of thinking I had nothing in the fridge for our meal. So wrong! When I looked closer at our fridge fixin's, I found that I could try making some veggie burgers. Into a bowl went the Trader Joe's mixed grains that I had cooked up for a soup the day before. I also threw in some leftover chopped vegetables and a few squares of forlorn tofu. Heck, I didn't even have buns, so I just used whole wheat toast but upped the ante with a slice or two of brie. What started out as nothing, turned into something pretty dang tasty.

leftover grain veggie burgers
1 egg, beaten
cooked grains
cooked vegetables
tofu cubes
salt, pepper & whatever spices look appealing
ground almond meal
dijon mustard

Add in your leftovers and spices to a bowl, toss with a beaten egg, a plop of dijon, and add in some almond meal to help bind the mixture. Too dry? Add in another egg or some broth or milk. Too wet? Add in some more almond meal. The mixture should start clumping well and holding together. Make patties and put in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to let things meld. Fry in a little olive oil until both sides are golden. Serve in buns or on toast with your favorite condiments.

garden inspiration: marinated vegetable salad

I spent my morning visiting my neighbourhood community garden. It was the annual plant sale, and while I only picked up a few free pots for my balcony, I found the whole visit very inspiring. The gardens were in full bloom and everything looked and smelled amazing. Although I've been there many times, it seemed to be extra beautiful this morning.


When I got home I decided that while I can't replicate the colourful gardens on my own small apartment balcony, I could at least carry through the bright colours onto my dinner plate. I found an assortment of vegetables that would do the trick. I chopped up thinly the purple onion, the bright red carrots and the remainder of the jumbo carrot that I had found in Chinatown last week. I also had 2 crowns of broccoli. I have to admit that I'm not a fan of raw broccoli. It tastes too green, too crunky. So I did what I always do to broccoli, I blanched it quickly and then cooled it quickly under cold running water. It's like raw, only awesome! I mixed up a quick balsamic marinade and then tossed everything together. I kept it in the fridge for only 2 hours or so, tossing it when I remembered to. The results of the marinating? Yum! It made for a very tangy and flavourful salad filled with all the bright colours of the gardens that inspired it. Don't have the vegetables that I used? Don't worry. This salad can take a bit of play....use what you've got!

Everything in this salad tastes bright and crisp and fresh and the slightly sweet and tangy dressing helped to keep everything in check. We ate this salad as a side to some barbecued hot dogs for our lazy Sunday night dinner. Want to make a meal out of it? Throw in some chickpeas or top with feta cheese and serve with french bread and you've got something truly spectacular.


marinated vegetable salad
2 broccoli crowns, cut into florets
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly into rings
5 large radishes, sliced thin
1 large carrot, sliced thin
1 stalk celery, sliced thin
finely chopped fresh herbs (use whatever you have around)

1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
1 T grainy mustard
1 T honey
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t kosher salt
ground pepper

Blanch the broccoli (which means bring salted water to a boil, dump in the broccoli and cook for 1 minute until bright green - drain and rinse under cold water until cold). Add all the vegetables and herbs into a large serving bowl. Mix together the dressing and pour over vegetables, tossing well. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally.

a plain jane: buttery raisin biscuits

I've been swamped with work so it's been nothing but crickets around here from my end. I haven't had much to write about really, as all the cooking that I've been doing has involved just emptying out all the bits n' bobbins from my pantry. It's tasty, in a gotta-do-it kind of way, but not all that exciting.

Yesterday I did celebrate one small work milestone with a bit of baking. After some website mockups that I had sent to a client were approved, I figured that a bit of celebratory baking was required. The thing was, I still had loads of other work to complete, so the prep and baking had to be quick so that I could get right back into the swing of things work-wise. Lucky me, I had just finished reading this post on Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once. The photo reminded me of my favorite bakery item: the eccles cake. I know that some people are all about chocolate or a macaron or a cupcake. But for me, if I spot an eccles cake, it's mine. It's not the prettiest or the sweetest thing on the shelf...in fact, it's just a little bit dowdy and plain Jane. But I know that what it lacks in beauty, it makes up for in taste. Buttery, crispy and chewy all at once, and studded with lemony currants, it's my idea of bakery perfection. Take that you starry-eyed cupcake!

So getting back to the real star of this post, the buttery raisin biscuit. Now, I'm calling these a biscuit in the way the British refer to cookies. These are not to be confused with the Southern-style biscuits dripping with gravy or clotted cream. Nope, these are a bar cookie of sorts or something akin to shortbread. I made the recipe as directed, except I used plain ol' raisins instead of fancy currants and added a bit of lemon zest just to remind me of those eccles cakes. I started preparing the recipe, weighing the ingredients at the top of the hour and by half past, the biscuit was on my kitchen table cooling. A 30 minute treat, indeed. I don't have a fluted tart pan, so I made do with my small 7 inch springform cake pan that worked just fine. When I cut into the biscuit, it didn't have the crunch I was after, but it did have a good texture that was somewhere between a dense brownie and a scone. Next time (and oh, there will be a next time), I will bake it a bit longer for a bit more bite. This recipe only makes a small batch of biscuits as I was able to cut 8 wedges and after they disappeared, I wanted more. So go ahead and make a double-batch!

buttery raisin biscuits
120 g ap flour
90 g cold butter, cut into cubes
50 g white sugar
120 g raisins
zest from 1 lemon
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour and butter. Get it all crumbly using your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Add in sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until combined; add raisins and zest, stirring gently until evenly distributed. At this point, the mixture will still resemble coarse meal. Slowly add in a little bit of the egg and stir until a soft dough forms. You don't want a dough that is too sticky. I used only half of an extra large egg, but I could have used a bit less.

Pat dough into a tart pan or a small springform cake pan. Make sure to get even coverage and then use the remaining egg to brush the top of the dough. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops and edges are golden.

(recipe adapted from Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once)