BEST Brownies!

Not that I'll say no to a cakey brownie, but I just prefer a denser, chewier version. If you're like me, then you will love this recipe! It's been my go-to brownie recipe for several years now. My one complaint is that unless I bring my own cocoa from the U.S., my attempts to make this fall far short of expectations. I'm not sure what they're cutting the cocoa with here, but it is about half as chocolatey as cocoa powder we can get in the states. Or less.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 t. baking soda
2/3 cup melted butter, divided
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1-1/3 cups flour
1/4 t. salt
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Combine cocoa and baking soda. Add 1/3 cup butter and boiling water. Mix well. Add additional butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla, beating until well combined. Stir in flour and salt and stir until dry ingredients are incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts (if using).
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is my absolute, most favorite soup EVER. I could (and have) eaten it five straight days in a row, and would have eaten more but I ran out. I found a recipe online and modified it to fit our tastes. It's not as spicy as some, so feel free to add more chili powder or other hot stuff if you like it hotter.

INGREDIENTS
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. oil
2 t. chili powder
1 t. oregano
1 can tomatoes, diced
4 cups chicken broth*
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
2 T. chopped jalapeño peppers (optional)


DIRECTIONS
Sauté onion for five minutes on medium heat, stirring frequently. Add garlic, chili powder and oregano and sauté 30 seconds more. Add in diced tomatoes with juice, chicken broth, corn, beans, chicken and jalapeño peppers (if using). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Serve with your choice of toppings. The tortilla chips are pretty much mandatory though, don't you think? Considering this IS chicken TORTILLA soup!

TOPPINGS
fresh cilantro, chopped
sour cream or plain yogurt
chopped green onion
avocado chunks
shredded cheese
tortilla chips

*I like to wait until we've roasted or grilled a whole chicken, then I throw the carcass and whatever chicken is left in the crock pot, cover with water and cook on low overnight. The next morning I have a lovely broth to use, along with the leftover chicken which is easily de-boned and chopped. But I've also been known to just use chicken bouillon cubes to make the broth, if I'm desperate for some of this soup and we don't have any plans to roast or grill a whole chicken.

Rosti Potatoes

I first had these had a Swiss-owned restaurant in Uganda, East Africa. I'm a HUGE fan of potatoes in all their glorious culinary forms, but that first helping of rosti potatoes almost pushed me over the edge. Talk about utter deliciousness! I tried to recreate it at home with no success. It wasn't until some years later that I had the brilliant (?) idea to look for the recipe online. DUH!

This is one of those recipes you have to plan ahead, because the potatoes have to be boiled the day before, and chilled overnight. But aside from that, this is a super easy recipe.

INGREDIENTS
2 lb. potatoes
3 T. butter
1 t. salt
2 T. milk

DIRECTIONS
Boil whole potatoes day before.
Cool to room temperature, then put in fridge to chill overnight.
Peel and grate potatoes.
Heat butter in skillet (I prefer a cast iron skillet).
Add potatoes, sprinkle with salt, press flat with spatula.
Sprinkle with milk and cover tightly.
Reduce heat and cook for 30 minutes.

Cold Cucumber Soup and Basil Garlic Bread

This is one of my favorite summer soups! Cold and refreshing, light and tasty. This will serve 4-6, or in our case, it was sufficient for several meals. My friend Katie serves it with the most delicious little cheesey scones, but I made this basil garlic bread this week and the combo is heavenly!

 

CUCUMBER SOUP

3 medium cucumbers

3 cups chicken broth

3 cups sour cream

3 T. cider vinegar

2 t. salt

1 clove garlic*

Peel and seed cucumbers. Cut in chunks and puree in blender, along with the broth, in small batches. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. Chill for at least four hours. Serve with optional toppings: chopped tomatoes, chopped green onions, chopped avocado, cilantro, slivered and toasted almonds.
*I used three cloves of mashed roasted garlic instead.
(My friend Katie gave me this recipe. She serves it with the most delicious little cheesey scones!)

BASIL GARLIC BREAD

1 cup fresh basil (hard packed)
6 garlic cloves (peeled)
1/4 cup olive oil
1-1/4 cup lukewarm water

 2 t. sugar

2-1/4 t. active dry yeast

1 t. salt

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Chop basil leaves and garlic finely, or place in a food processor and chop finely. Do not turn into a liquid. Add olive oil slowly. Set aside. In another bowl add lukewarm water and sugar, sprinkle yeast on top of water. Set aside to activate the yeast; about 5 minutes. Add yeast to basil mixture and mix. Add flour 1 cup at a time till dough is smooth. Place dough on a floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes. Place dough into a greased bowl. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Let rise till dough doubles in size. Punch down dough. Form dough into a loaf and place in a greased pan. Cover let dough double in size. Place loaf in a 350 F oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
(This recipe is from the cookingbread.com website.)

Chocolate Meringue Cookies

I had to look up what cream of tartar is in Spanish (cremor tártaro or crema de tártar) because I want to make Chocolate Meringue Cookies. I've been making a LOT of homemade chocolate pudding lately (it's one of my favorite comfort foods when I'm sick) and since it calls for only the egg yolks (three, to be exact), I have a stash of egg whites in my fridge to use up. What better way than meringue cookies?! And how fortunate that the chocolate meringue cookie recipe calls for three egg whites. That means I have enough for four or five batches.

Since it's possible you might end up with an excess of egg whites at some point in your life, I wanted to share the chocolate meringue cookie recipe with you. They are scrumpdillyicious!

CHOCOLATE MERINGUE COOKIES

3 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup white sugar

1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips

~~~~~~~~

Preheat oven to 300° F (150° C).

Combine egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla.

Beat until the whites form soft peaks.

Slowly add sugar; beat until stiff peaks form, and mixture becomes glossy.

Fold in cocoa and chocolate chips.

Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls on to a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Now I'm off to find cremor tártaro or crema de tártar so I can make some of that chocolatey goodness myself.

Homemade Granola Bars

I'd like to share this amazing granola bar recipe that I found on Tasty Kitchen. I've tried several recipes over the years and have always been disappointed by the taste and/or texture -- until this one, which scores high on both.

GRANOLA SQUARES

• ½ cups Melted Unsalted Butter
• 1 cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
• ¼ cups Granulated Sugar
• 1 whole Egg
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 1-½ cup Quick Oats
• 1 cup Flour
• 1-¼ cup Rice Krispies
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1 cup Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup Chopped Pecans
  

1. Cream butter and sugars together in a large bowl.
2. Add egg, vanilla, and honey.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.
4. Pour wet ingredients into the dry mix bowl and mix well.
5. Press granola into a greased baking pan (I use a 9 x 12” but if you’d like thinner bars, go with a bigger pan).
6. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes or when the top is very light brown.
7. Let cool and cut into squares or bars.

Enjoy!

Roasted Eggplant Salad

I just spent three days hanging out with a vegetarian who showed me how to make some amazing food featuring vegetables. Which makes me happy since I am a HUGE fan of the vegetable. Haven't met too many I didn't like and the ones I have -- well, it usually wasn't the vegetable's fault but the way it had been prepared.

Anyhoo... I'm going to share one of the recipes today. It's SO simple and tastes SO good!

Roasted Eggplant Salad

(serves 6)

3 medium to large eggplants

2 tomatoes

1 small or half of a large onion

salt

vinegar & oil (your choice; I usually reach for olive oil and balsamic vinegar)

Poke eggplants a few times with a fork, roast in hot oven for 1/2 hour or so until skin is black and wrinkled.
While eggplant is roasting, cut up tomatoes and onions in a bowl.
After removing eggplants from oven, slice down middle and carefully scoop out all the pulp (which is VERY hot so be careful!) onto a cutting board. Chop into small pieces and add to tomatoes and onions.
Toss with salt, oil and vinegar to taste.
Chill for at least 2 hours.

[Eggplant can have a bitter taste but prepared this way, it doesn't.]