Red Velvet Chocolate Squares

Oh man, are these good...

You wouldn't think they're good for you. They're sugar free and have no dyes. Sweetness is provided by agave nectar, which doesn't spike your blood sugar. And they're made with with beets, which gives the red hue to these confections.

Don't let that scare you though. The beet flavor is a subtle earthiness. The squares are smooth, dense, and rich. And really, really good. Try it, you'll like it.

Red Velvet Chocolate Squares
adapted from Costco Connection Magazine

1/2 c. Beets - I used roasted fresh, but the recipe calls for canned
1 c. Canned red beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c. Unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs, but the recipe calls for 3/4 c. liquid egg substitute
3 Tbsp. Whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 c. Agave nectar
1 Tbsp. Unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. Almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray an 8x8x2-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine the beets, beans, cocoa powder, eggs, and flour in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, 1-2 minutes, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Add the agave nectar, butter, vanilla, and almond extract. Process until combined, about another minute.

Pour the batter into the baking dish and smooth with a spatula. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 300F and bake another 5 to 8 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come ot with a little soft batter clinging to it, not clean or it's overfilled.

Let the cake cool completely in the baking dish on a wire rack. Then refrigerate for at least 3 hours, it gets better with time. Cut into squares and enjoy!

More Muffins

I'm starting to think I might have a problem. A problem with pumpkin. And muffins. Combined. Seriously, whenever I think about making muffins the first thing I want to include is pumpkin. I think pumpkin helps make muffins super moist, but I don't have any science to back this up. But I also like the fiber and good stuff that pumpkin lends to a muffin, as well as the taste. Maybe this isn't quite a problem after all.

These muffins have a soft nutty flavor from the buckwheat flour, and are studded with juicy tart-sweet blueberries and melty, gooey chocolate chips.

Pumpkin Blueberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Heavily adapted from a generic muffin recipe

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. buckwheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/3 c. melted butter

2 large eggs
1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. frozen blueberries

1 c. chocolate chips

Put oven in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with muffin cups.

Whisk together pumpkin, butter, eggs, cinnamon, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flours and baking powder mixture until just combined.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about three-fourths full). Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature. I popped all of mine in the freezer, and nuke them real quick when the muffin-urge strikes me.

 I would like to walk down this pink muffin-scented hall

Related recipes:

Hearty Cherry Muffins

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Apple Pumpkin Muffins

Mexican Mocha Pudding with Pumpkin Cream

Harvest Cookies

Inspiration

Not much to say about how these came about, other than I was craving cookies that were just a little different. These are soft and chewy, with tart dried berries and sweet chocolate chips. And oats make them breakfast-worthy!

Harvest Cookies

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 banana, mashed
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. backing powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup dried berries*
1 cup chocolate chips **

Place racks in the upper third of the over and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl with electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add egg and mashed banana, and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix with a spoon. Add berries and chocolate chips and mix again.

Drop batter by heaping tablespoons 1-1/2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake for 10-13 minute, turning/switching sheets half way through, until golden brown. Cookies will be soft. Let stand on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool. Makes about 30 cookies.

* I used Welch's Dried Berry Medley with cherries, blueberries, cranberries, and golden raisins.
** I used Nestle Mini Morsels so there would be little bits of chocolate throughout rather than big chocolate chips.

Happy Halloween!

In honor of Halloween, here's a really tasty dessert. If you've never made homemade pudding you should really try - its very easy and very, very good. I really loved the kick from the Mexican chili powder in this. I substituted cornstarch for the arrowroot powder, and in the future I would you just a touch of the pumpkin mixture in the whipped cream, because what is in the recipe is way too much to keep the whipped cream actually whipped. You can use the remainder of the pumpkin mixture for muffins or cookies.

Mexican Mocha Pudding with Pumpkin Cream
From Vegetarian Times

Mexican Mocha Pudding

½ cup sugar, preferably natural brown sugar such as Sucanat or maple
3 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
2½ Tbs. arrowroot powder
1 Tbs. instant espresso powder
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. New Mexico chili powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 large egg
2 egg yolks
2 cups milk
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Whipped Pumpkin Cream

1 15-oz. can pumpkin

½ cup brown sugar

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1. Combine sugar, cocoa powder, arrowroot powder, espresso powder, cinnamon, chili powder, and salt in bowl. Whisk together egg and egg yolks in separate bowl. Stir egg mixture into cocoa mixture.

2. Scald milk in saucepan over medium heat until milk is steaming. Remove from heat. Whisk ı/2 cup hot milk into cocoa mixture. While whisking, pour cocoa mixture back into hot milk, and whisk until smooth. Return to medium heat, and continue whisking for 5 to 6 minutes, until pudding starts to bubble. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth. Transfer pudding to bowl, and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly onto pudding; refrigerate until chilled.

3. To make Whipped Pumpkin Cream: Cook pumpkin and brown sugar with cinnamon in medium skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl, and cool to room temperature.

4. Whip cream in stand mixer or with handheld beaters on medium-high, until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Fold whipped cream into pumpkin until no streaks remain. Refrigerate until chilled. Serve pudding dolloped with pumpkin cream.

* * * * *

I tried to take the dogs out to take some Halloween pictures today with these cute pumpkin headbands that Chris' mom sent to us - in fact, my place is decorated thanks to her since she sent candy, mini pumpkins, and a wonderful-smelling sugared pumpkin candle as well, Thanks! - but the dogs were not cooperating. So, instead of pretty pictures with a nice grass and tree background, you get what I was able to manage inside the house. They're not pretty, and you get to see my dishwasher, but there you go.

Happy Halloween!

I'm off to have a slice of my first pumpkin pie of the season!

Bananas for Zin

Clockwise from top left: Souvenir wine glass; me sipping something-or-other;
my patio Princess lilies; wine glass and festival flyer.

Today Chris and I went to the ZinFest Wine Festival at Lodi Lake. I found out about this event a few months ago and had been looking forward to going for quite a while, simply because it was something new and I got a killer deal on the tickets. We arrived about half an hour after the opening, which I think was perfect. It was hot, being Lodi in the summertime so it was somewhere in the 90°s F, but we were on the lake and there was ample shade to help keep us cool.

After parking in the lot we walked to the entrance, rather than wait for the shuttle where we would just be riding pressed up against other sweaty people. There are very few people I want to be that intimate with, and the ten minute walk was probably just as fast with the added benefit of getting a little exercise. Then our IDs were checked, a little further down we handed over our tickets and they stamped our hand with a little red smiley face indicating we were of drinking age, then a bit more further down they slapped an orange wristband on us, I think it was for re-entry if we left. Another short walk and we were handed a souvenir glass and program, then a small loaf of bread to help soak up the wine that would soon be in our bellies. After the intricate entry procedures we were free to roam.

There were fifty local wineries present, pouring more than 250 different wines. I wonder if anyone tried them all? Or at least every winery? I ended up trying less than ten, but honestly I cannot recall how many. The standout wine from what I tasted was the Gnekow Family Winery Old Vine Zin: it was incredibly mellow and smooth. There were also a number of local restaurant booths with food, some arts and crafts (though far fewer than I would have expected), live music, and a few roaming entertainers. Some people came ready for the day with picnic blankets, camp chairs, and I even saw a tent. We ended up staying a few hours overall before heading back to the car; I can only sip so much wine in one afternoon.

On our way home we stopped off in Tracy for lunch at The Olive Garden, to use up an ancient gift card that I think my parents gave us at least five years ago. It was a predictably bland meal: Chris said his lasagna tasted like Chef Boyardee, and my fettuccine Alfredo was passable. But free food always tastes better, we were hungry, and the service was actually quite good. The rest of the day has been spent relaxing, with a quick BBQ on the patio for Chris' steak and my double-stuffed wasabi "baked" potatoes. Its been very nice sitting here, playing on the computer with a Midori sour in my other hand, a dog or two at my feet, and enjoying the warm night. Everyone should be this lucky.

* * * * *

The other night I had an insatiable craving for banana bread. My mom makes a great one, and I have her recipe, but I wanted to try something a little different so I opened my copy of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. With a few adjustments based on what I had on hand, I came up with this, and it was good.

Peek-a-boo, little chocolate chips!

Banana Bread with Macadamia Nuts and Chocolate Chips
adapted from "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"

8 tablespoons (1 stick butter), plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons half-and-half cream
1/4 chopped macadamia nuts
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

Mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl and with a hand mixer, cream the butter and beat in the eggs and bananas (I didn't bother pre-mashing my bananas; I added them whole here and used the beaters to mash them). Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients just enough to combine; lumps are okay. If your batter seems a bit too dry, like mine did, add the half-and-half at this point. Gently stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out mostly clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing the bread from the pan.

Enjoy slathered with melty butter and a good cup of coffee. I've had a thick slice of this for breakfast for a few days now. Its great to start off the day with chocolate!

* * * * *

I think I'm about ready to curl up in bed with my newest read - The Lunatic Cafe, the fourth installment of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series - and perhaps a slice of pie.

What, you don't eat pie in bed?

Biscotti

Mac is a pretty big little guy. He's short, but his chest is as big around as mine. Chris often comments that Mac looks like he's the same size as me, and this weekend I pulled out my flexible tape measure and proved it. That just makes him great for hugging!

Mac also has a new best friend: a glow-in-the-dark Chuckit! ball I picked up at Whole Foods a few weeks back. He takes the ball everywhere with him in the house and outside; he even sleeps with it. When he takes it outside the glow factor recharges in the sunlight, so when he brings it back in it glows green in his mouth. The ball is a little soft so we thought for sure he'd destroy it (tennis balls, stuffed animals and the like don't last too long in our house), but it has stood up to his chewing quite well. I have to give it a glowing review...

Ba-dum-chuck!

* * * * *

I made biscotti yesterday - dunking a crunchy biscotti in my morning coffee makes Monday mornings a bit more tolerable. Baking Bites recently talked about the Cook's Illustrated review of chocolate chips, and Ghirardelli’s 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips were the winner. I picked up a bag, and I have to say I really like the large size of the chips:

They are flatter and more disc-shaped than the Nestle's I generally buy. The Ghirardelli chips also melted very smoothly. I went with a recipe off of the Ghirardelli site for my biscotti, with a few changes to accommodate what I had on hand.

Marbled Biscotti
yield: 4 dozen cookies

3/4 cup chocolate chips (original uses semi-sweet)
1/3 cup butter, at room temperature (original uses unsalted)
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons baking power
1 pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, finely chopped (original uses hazelnuts)
(1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease two cookie sheets. Melt the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth (or use microwave). Remove from the heat and cool. In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until it is creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar, baking powder, and salt; beat until blended. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon.

Divide the dough in half and transfer one half to another bowl. Stir the melted chocolate and ¼ cup of the macadamia nuts into one-half of the dough. Stir the orange zest (I used about a teaspoon of lemon juice instead, but didn't taste it in the end cookie) and remaining nuts (I omitted these) into the other half. Divide each half into four equal parts. Using lightly floured hands, shape each portion into a 1¼-inch by 10-inch rope. Place a rope of each color side by side on one of the prepared baking sheets. Twist the ropes around each other several times. Flatten slightly to make a 2-inch-wide log. Repeat with the other ropes (I twisted two sets, and just placed the regular dough on top of the chocolate dough for the other two), placing the resulting logs about 4 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes or until the logs are firm to the touch. Cool on the baking sheets for 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Lower the oven temperature to 300ºF

Transfer one log to a cutting board and, with a serrated knife, cut the log into twelve 1-inch-wide cookies. Repeat with the remaining three logs. Remove one oven rack and place the 48 cookies directly on it. Return the rack to the uppermost position in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp. Transfer the cookies from the oven rack to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely. Store at room temperature in a tightly covered container.

Enjoy!

Overthinking It

Unbearable cuteness

I reclaimed the yarn from my Ophelia, which was too small and I would likely never actually wear it. It was fun unzipping all the rows. I wound the yarn into balls as I ripped so I wouldn't end up with a hopelessly tangled pile of ramen.


I've been moving along on my Soap Bubble Wrap and have completed the right front piece (left front in the pattern, but I'm knitting left-handed without changing anything so mine is mirrored), with only a few snags:

- I did three gauge swatches before I came up with the correct pattern gauge.

- I started the front and messed up on the first line of double increases (a few inches in) and had to frog it.

- I’m substituting kfbf for the double increase because I couldn't get the specified increase to work correctly.

- About half way up the front chart I dropped a stitch and had to unknit a few rows, but I was able to fix the mistake to my satisfaction.

- Finally, I overthought the short rows on the shoulder shaping. I did the wrap and turns and got to the point when you put the piece on stitch holders to wait for the three-needle bind off, but the instructions tell you to put the front border stitches on a holder, then the rest. Well, I was starting at the sleeve end so, in my overthinking way, I figured it must be due to the left-handedness. I unknit all the way to the start of the short rows and then did some research online, only to figure out that what I had done was correct. So I redid what I had just undone. Its all about learning...

Soap Bubble Wrap - Right Front

I attempted yet another lemon meringue pie yesterday, this time with the Jello lemon filling I found at the grocery store. The filling is not nearly tart enough, and too custard-like, but at least it doesn't taste flat-out bad. I've also made a few pie shells lately, and now find that I dislike the premade Pillsbury crusts you can buy in the refrigerated section - they are too salty and tough compared to homemade. And homemade is surprisingly a lot easier than I thought. I'll be sticking with making my own from now on, I just have to remember to add in the extra hour or so it takes to prepare one (mostly chilling time).

Lemon meringue pie attempt eleventy-billion

I put the pie in the refrigerator without completely cooling it on the counter, so the meringue shrank, pulling away from the sides of the pie plate, and those little beads of sugary moisture formed on top. I think they're rather pretty.

Nectar

I also whipped out a double-batch (four dozen) of my favorite Outrageous Chocolate Cookies courtesy of Martha Stewart today.

Cooling, and making the whole house smell like chocolate

The dogs have been bored due to the rainy weather. In fact, Ayla is looking at me expectantly, and perhaps a little disappointedly, right now.

Ayla: I didn't do it.

Mac, dejected and bored. Or just sleeping. Same diff.

Please entertain us!

Little pink toesies!

A Little of This, A Little of That

Thinking about what I did this weekend, it seems like a lot now!

Last weekend I got my hair cut, and I suppose I got what I deserved for going to a cheapie hair salon. I'm in the process of growing my hair out since cutting off 11 inches last winter, and its at the awkward stage where it likes to flip up on the ends as it hits my back and shoulders. I asked for something more even, and ended up with tons of layers that looked awful and the front chopped off. It was so awful I had to go buy shoes to feel better. I didn't want to go back for fear she would make it worse and it would be too short to fix again. Chris teased me about my quasi-mullet all week. Seriously, it was that bad! This weekend I called up the fancy salon where I got last winter's cut, and my new stylist was able to fix it, thank goodness. The previous layers were cut all wrong and choppy, but now they look nice. She had to cut off an additional 3 inches, but it should grow out nicely now. Crisis averted!

After my hair appointment I headed to the mall. I like to shop, but rarely find anything I like enough to buy, and I'm cheap when it comes to clothes for myself (though not for Chris... hmm). I ended up with a few cute things for myself this time, and nothing for Chris! It was really busy at the mall for some reason, but I enjoyed myself.

Saturday night I cooked up some minestrone soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. The weather is definitely cooler now, which means its time for lots of soup! I used the recipe from my Bittman book, with some of the extra butternut squash I chopped and froze from the risotto last week, zucchini and summer squash, and frozen peas and chopped spinach. I usually see pasta in minestrone, and this recipe didn't call for any. I have a ton of soup left over, so I'll toss some pasta in next time.

Comfort food

Today I made a quick run to the store for a few things and spent the rest of the day cooking, knitting, and reading (The Omnivore's Dilemma while cooking and World War Z otherwise). I'm making progress on my Cable-Down Raglan. At first I worried that it would be too small, but now I'm thinking it might turn out too big. I'll just keep going and see what happens. This shot is three balls in, the sleeves are on waste yarn and I'll finish them when I'm done with the body of the sweater, and I've begun the waist cables:

Cable-Down Raglan

For breakfast I made danishes for Barefoot Bloggers, but more on those later this week. For lunch I threw together black bean and cheese taquitos, with my homemade salsa and guacamole as well as store-bought tomatillo salsa, for dipping. I baked these to be a bit healthier, but they'd be great fried.

Mmm... taquitos!

Mac spent most of the day in the kitchen with me. He sleeps on this rug Chris got from his Grammy years and years ago, hoping that I drop something and he can snatch it up before I get to it. This infrequent payoff must be worth it, because I'm always stepping on him or hitting his bum with the fridge door.

I can haz hot dog?

After lunch and some knitting/reading time, I made a bunch of cookies: two dozen of Martha Stewart's Outrageous Chocolate Cookies and three dozen Lemonade Cookies. I had to try out my new cookie scoop I picked up at Macy's, and am in love. It makes perfect, round, same-sized cookies and it much easier than using two spoons. The lemonade cookies are basically sugar cookies with lemonade concentrate added. They are light and fluffy, and the lemon flavor is nice. The chocolate cookies are one of my favorites. I first found the recipe when I had a subscription to Martha's Everyday Food magazine. I loved this magazine, and while the recipes are available online it was always nice to thumb through the pages each month too. I've given this as a gift subscription a few times and really recommend it for someone looking for good basic recipes and wanting to learn more about cooking.

Sugar overload

This evening I took the beasts out to play fetch. If there's only one ball Ayla will grab it and run home. I've found that if I take two balls, and one squeaker ball, I can get the dogs to play fetch and actually bring the ball back to me when I squeak the squeaker ball. Its a lot easier to get them running and burning energy off that way, and a lot more fun for me. Otherwise Mac is always trying to steal Ayla's ball, or they're standing there chewing on the tennis balls but won't drop them for me. We have a really nice lawn area to play on too, overlooking the golf course and by the spa.

Smiley dogs

By the way, my new dish soap is green apple scented. Whenever I wash dishes it makes me think of the dogs' shampoo, which is also green apple. Washing dishes makes me think of washing dogs, a very odd association.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

No, I didn't try to burn my house down, but we have a bunch of wildfires burning in California right now. While they aren't near our home, we have had a lot of smoke in the area and that familiar smell of fire in the air. Luckily its cooling off after a hot weekend, so hopefully the firefighters get some help.

We had a nice weekend. I took the dogs swimming on Friday afternoon, as I usually do. It was around 100 degrees but I spent most of the time in the water as well as the pups, so it was very nice. Saturday I went to a high school graduation in Berkeley, and I took Ayla to run on the golf course in the evening. She's starting to understand how to play with other dogs (thank you Mac!). We met what I think was a Catahoula and after some initial posturing, she started play bowing and jumping around with him. Ayla ran her fool head off too, though I of course kept her off the greens.

Sunday Chris and I spent a lazy morning torturing Ayla and Mac:

Ayla dusting off her 4th of July attire

Mac wearing Ayla's "Wanna be Doberman" shirt. It fits! He's big!

Group Shot

And Again

Mac left the shirt alone once I had it on him, but he kept trying to take Ayla's hat off. Maybe he thought it was too embarrassing?

After we tried their patience to the limits (and Mac fell asleep) we went out to lunch at El Balazo where we had Bob's Burrito, one of their vegetarian specialties. It was very tasty, and I enjoyed watching Chris sweat eating the jalapeno and onion relish. Then we walked over to the Cold Stone Creamery and shared a banana ice cream with chocolate chips (yum!). After lunch and dessert we went to see The Incredible Hulk. It was pretty good. I think Edward Norton is a very good actor, and of course Liv Tyler is just gorgeous. The movie was well done, and leagues better than the previous Hulk from 2003. There are a lot of good summer movies coming out, so we'll be going often I think.

After the movie we took the dogs to the elementary school to play. We can play keep-away with the ball for a while, but once Ayla gets the ball its very hard to get it back from her. She likes to run away with it and lie down in the shade, and will run if we come toward her. But while she was hoarding the ball, we ran around having Mac chase us. We've discovered that from a dead stop, he's as fast or faster than us, though we can outlast him. The little guy moves! After we tired the dogs out we came home, did some gardening, and grilled hot dogs (and a tofu pup for me), enjoying the warm evening.

I've made some progress on the Travelling Roses scarf. Here it is three lace repeats in, only ten more to go. The color is truer in this picture than in the previous one I posted:

Travelling Roses Lace Scarf

Finally, I baked up some cookies tonight and am very happy with the results. I adapted the recipe from the back of the bag of Guittard semisweet chocolate chips. These are like little fluffy clouds of banana and chocolate yumminess! And yes, we are on a chocolate and banana kick lately. Does it show?

Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

2-1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. banana extract
1 banana, pureed
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy (I use an electric hand mixer). Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Beat in banana puree. Gradually add the flour mixture until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by well rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Let rest on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool. I made about 4 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

Jello Wrestling

Well, maybe not jello wrestling. But there is wrestling involved. And there is food too.

First up, a few pictures from our trip to Shadow Cliffs last Friday:

Mac hamming it up for the camera

"... Let me tell you 'bout my best friend..."

Mac really swam this time. I tossed a stick out a little, then a little farther, and a little more. All of a sudden he was diving under the water since the stick sank a little, did a turn, and paddled back to shore. I think he surprised even himself, and he wasn't much interested in actual swimming after that. He was very happy to wade though.

Now for the food: We had a going-away party at work today for a coworker so I made a cake. I used Orangette's Banana Cake with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting, but doubled it to make a two-layer cake and added a chocolate ganache filling.

Banana Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Orangette

For the cake:
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1.5 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large egg
1.5 cup puréed very ripe bananas (I used 4 bananas)
0.5 cup sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Chocolate ganache:
9 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghiradelli chips)
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbs dark rum

For the frosting:
6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
6 Tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
6 Tbs well-stirred canned cream of coconut; not coconut milk
2 tsp dark rum
2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut (optional, I put it on the side to add as desired)

Place a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly butter or spray a 9-inch round cake pan (I added parchment rounds, then sprayed again), and dust it with flour, shaking out any excess.

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

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Add the egg, and beat until well combined. Add the banana purée, sour cream, and vanilla, and beat to combine well. Reduce the speed to low, and add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix. (Its best to add the flour in thirds or quarters. The batter will be very thick so you'll probably have to mix by hand toward the end.)

Divide the batter equally between the two prepared cake pans, and bake until the top is pale golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-27 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan; then invert the rack over the cake and invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely.

While the cake is cooking or while it cools, make the ganache. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream until nearly boiling (but do not allow to boil). Pour over the chocolate in a bowl and stir to melt the chocolate and combine. Allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Once cool you can whip the ganache if desired to make it fluffier.

While the cake cools, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese and the butter on medium speed until smooth. Reduce the speed to low; then add the confectioners sugar, cream of coconut, and rum. Mix until combined; then increase the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, about two minutes.

Even the cake layers by slicing off the domed tops with a large serrated knife in a gentle sawing motion (and save the scraps to snack on!). Place the bottom layer on your plate, pour some ganache in the center and spread outward, stopping about half an inch from the edge of the cake to avoid overspill. I used about half of the ganache to fill the cake (put the rest in the fridge, then use a melon baller to scoop out truffles!). Top with the second layer. Spread frosting around the sides and over the top of the thoroughly cooled cake, and sprinkle evenly with coconut if desired.

One of these days I need to get a proper cake stand or plate, instead of using a dinner plate. I also need an offset spatula to make frosting easier and prettier. My dreams are rather humble. This cake is really tasty and moist, like banana bread. The only leftovers from today was one little piece I brought home for Chris, and he's going to have to share it with me!

Finally, the wrestling portion for today. Here's a video I shot of Ayla and Mac playing bitey-face. You can hear Mac grunting and breathing, but Ayla decided to stay quiet tonight. She'll growl and even bark sometimes when they wrestle, but I guess she was camera shy.



I love having two dogs to wear each other out!