OMG. That’s what I’m filing this recipe under. I found it online (this recipe is all over the Internet, so I’m not sure who to credit – it is on the King Arthur site so I’ll say it came from there). I tweaked it and then we ate it for a week, moaning each time. It’s rich, fudgy, satisfying and evil.  Except it’s made with zucchini so it must be totally good for you. Right? I’m going to make this every year with my overabundance of zucchini.

One ingredient that you might be unfamiliar with is chocolate extract. I ordered it from King Arthur, but you can also find it on Amazon. It’s like vanilla extract and I add it to chocolate recipes. It enhances the chocolate flavor and makes it even deeper and richer.

OMG. That’s what I’m filing this recipe under. I found it online (this recipe is all over the Internet, so I’m not sure who to credit – it is on the King Arthur site so I’ll say it came from there). I tweaked it and then we ate it for a week, moaning each time. … Read more →

My pal My Kids Eat Squid recently posted about Hungry Girl’s 2 ingredient brownie recipe. Obviously I had to try it! The recipe is so simple. Mix one box chocolate cake mix (I used gluten-free) with one 15 ounce can of canned pumpkin (I used organic). Mix it and divide among 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes at 400. Here is the range of opinions in my house:

– College age daughter: “I like these! I can’t tell there’s pumpkin in them.”

– Teenage son: “What is wrong with these? It tastes like bread or something.” Then I disclosed the recipe. He said it did not taste like pumpkin, but he didn’t like it.

– Me: I think these are a decent substitute for brownies if you’re trying to make them healthier. You do NOT taste the pumpkin at all. I kept them in the fridge and I think it made them taste a little better. If you want easy brownies, just make a mix – this isn’t really all that easier and you do have to scoop into muffin tins.

My pal My Kids Eat Squid recently posted about Hungry Girl’s 2 ingredient brownie recipe. Obviously I had to try it! The recipe is so simple. Mix one box chocolate cake mix (I used gluten-free) with one 15 ounce can of canned pumpkin (I used organic). Mix it and divide among 12 muffin cups. Bake … Read more →

This week’s project was chosen by yours truly: Chocolate Beet Cake (from November Living, not online yet). Wow! The gold standard for chocolate cake in my house is my grandmother’s Miracle Whip cake and this was just as good. It was incredibly moist and you would never know there were beets in it. It just tasted like a delicious, very moist chocolate cake – it looked just like a chocolate cake too.

I don’t know how often I would make this though, because beets are just a pain to work with! You have to peel them, then cut into pieces then boil then puree. I have an off-white Corian sink and was totally paranoid about it getting stained. I was able to find a pair of medical gloves to wear so I didn’t stain my hands. I peeled the beets on top of newspaper. I drained them out in the yard to avoid the sink issue entirely.

Other than the beets, the cake was easy to make and had an easy chocolate glaze, only one layer which I appreciated. It was so good I sent it away with Mr. MarthaAndMe this morning – can’t have that in the house AND the Halloween candy!

As you can see, I took it out of the oven a smidge too early – the very center didn’t quite cook all the way. I took it out with5 minutes remaining because it seemed done. I should have tested it with a cake tester.

I’m wondering if this would work with roasted beets (where you roast them whole, then just rub the skin off with a paper towel), or even canned beets so you wouldn’t have to cook them yourself at all.

This week’s project was chosen by yours truly: Chocolate Beet Cake (from November Living, not online yet). Wow! The gold standard for chocolate cake in my house is my grandmother’s Miracle Whip cake and this was just as good. It was incredibly moist and you would never know there were beets in it. It just … Read more →

It’s been a while since I tried a recipe from Martha’s show. Recently she made apple dumplings with the author of The Apple Lovers’ Cookbook. I had to make this one.

For several years, we rented a cottage each summer in New York state’s Finger Lakes region, on Cayuga Lake. One of our favorite things to do was visit Sauder’s Store in Seneca Falls (the town that Bedford Falls in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” was modeled after). Sauder’s was smaller then than it is now (now they sell woodcrafted items and plants outside), but it had a huge bulk section and lots of Mennonite and Amish made baked goods. There were always Mennonites shopping in the store when we were there, which my kids were fascinated by.  There is a bookstore section that sells Mennonite and Amish cookbooks and other books. We always purchased birch beer (similar to root beer) here, a treat we always enjoyed at the fair each summer, but which you could not find in stores at that time. There was a meat case and I always bought Lebanon bologna, a cold cut that looks exactly like salami, but tastes like sweet bologna.

The baked goods were the highlight (whoopie pies, breads, pies, cookies) and apple dumplings were one of our favorites. I’ve never tried to make this and really forgot about it until I saw it again on Martha’s show!

I followed the instructions on this recipe to a “T”, but I think the problem was that my apples were too big. It’s really hard to find small apples here in NY state, where our apple crop is a big deal and sellers pride themselves on selling big, ripe, beautiful apples. I ended up cutting an inch or so off the tops of my apples, but they were still too big to fit in the dough squares. I ended up rolling the pieces of dough out to be larger and I still had to smush them to get them to cover most of the apples.

Other than, that it went well. The cider sauce is simple and it was all much easier than I imagined. This was really delicious. I think I might make regular pie crust next time instead of this dough recipe. I will definitely make this again. The entire family loved this.

It’s been a while since I tried a recipe from Martha’s show. Recently she made apple dumplings with the author of The Apple Lovers’ Cookbook. I had to make this one. For several years, we rented a cottage each summer in New York state’s Finger Lakes region, on Cayuga Lake. One of our favorite things … Read more →

Perfecting Pru chose this week’s project, Almond Blackberry Squares.  This recipe was easy (or it would have been if I hadn’t burned the almonds first time around — the phone rang and I couldn’t get back in time!). I made half a batch in an 8×8 pan. I am not a blackberry fan – I like the flavor but just hate all the seeds. Everyone else in the family likes them though. This got a thumbs up all around. It was easy to make. I didn’t have a single orange in the house, so I put a few drops of orange extract over the berries instead of zest which worked out quite well. This would be good with raspberries too I think, or even a combo of both.

We’re taking a break from Martha Mondays for the next couple of weeks.  I am hoping to get back to regular posting this fall!

Perfecting Pru chose this week’s project, Almond Blackberry Squares.  This recipe was easy (or it would have been if I hadn’t burned the almonds first time around — the phone rang and I couldn’t get back in time!). I made half a batch in an 8×8 pan. I am not a blackberry fan – I … Read more →

It was my turn to pick this week and I chose the section in July Living with the chocolate chip cookie desserts. I made the chocolate tart with the chocolate chip cookie crust. I knew going in that this was going to be a lot of work – first you have to make the cookies, then you use them to make the crust, then you make the filling and bake that. You could definitely just buy pre-made cookies to make this crust if you wanted to.

Apparently, I was a little impatient, or it was just so dang hot that the cookies never really cooled, so when I whizzed them up in the Cuisinart with the melted butter, the whole thing turned chocolate since the chips were not set.

The tart filling was not hard to make and baked up nicely.

Here’s the recipe for the tart (I didn’t think there was anything special about the cookies):

16 choc chip cookies, finely ground, 2 cups

2 tbsp melted butter

for filling:

1 cup heavy cream

8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1 tbsp butter

Mix cookie crumb and butter then press into a 9 1/2 inch tart shell with removable bottom.  Refrigerate 30 min. Then bake at 350 for 10-12 min. Make the filling by bringing cream to boil and pouring over chocolate. Stir in other ingredients after chocolate has melted. Pour into the shell and bake at 300 for 20-24 min until the edges are set.

This looked pretty and cut nicely. It was way too rich for me though, like eating candy. We cut one small slice, everyone had a taste, and off it went to Mr. MarthaAndMe’s office for others to enjoy. It was very good, but not something I could ever actually eat more than a couple little bites of.

It was my turn to pick this week and I chose the section in July Living with the chocolate chip cookie desserts. I made the chocolate tart with the chocolate chip cookie crust. I knew going in that this was going to be a lot of work – first you have to make the cookies, … Read more →

Mr. MarthaAndMe just had a birthday and he always asks for gingerbread with lemon sauce for dessert. His mother used to make this from a box when he was a kid. I make my own. He is the only one in the house who really likes it, so he usually works his way through the pan after about a week! I served this once at a family Christmas party (minus the raisins) and everyone loved it.

For the gingerbread:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup molasses

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp dry ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup hot water

1/3 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9″ square pan. Mix butter and sugar. Add eggs, then molasses.  Mix in all the dry ingredients, then the hot water. Stir in raisins. Pour into the pan and bake for 35 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool at least 20 min before serving.

Lemon Sauce:

1 cup sugar

4 tbsp cornstarch

dash of salt

2 cup water

4 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp butter

4 tsp grated lemon zest

Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in a pot. Stir in the water until it is mixed. Cook, stirring, on high until it boils. Reduce heat to medium and cook until slightly thickened and clear about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter, lemon juice and zest. Serve with gingerbread.

Mr. MarthaAndMe just had a birthday and he always asks for gingerbread with lemon sauce for dessert. His mother used to make this from a box when he was a kid. I make my own. He is the only one in the house who really likes it, so he usually works his way through the … Read more →

I spent a lot of time in restaurants as a kid. My parents were major foodies back when it was called being a “gourmet.” Creme brulee is one of my dad’s favorite desserts, so I’ve had more than my share of it even though it’s just not a favorite on my own list. He orders it a lot in restaurants. It was everywhere back in the 70s and 80s and seems to be everywhere yet again. The textures are great – crunchy top with cool creamy pudding, but I am a chocolate girl through and through.

Martha to rescue. Martha recently whipped up chocolate creme brulee on her show (this is also in February Living) and I was hooked. Had to try it! And I rationalized, it could be my Valentine’s present to myself since Mr. MarthaAndMe and I don’t really go overboard for this holiday.

The pudding was easy to whip up and it cooked nicely in the water bath. So far so good. I was nervous about making the top though. I don’t have a torch, so I had to broil it. The sugar sort of melted and then hardened. It had the right texture, but not the right color. And a lot of the pudding itself got kind of warm – it only stayed cold down at the bottom.

Despite that, this was good and if you have a torch, it would really be a snap to make. I liked it, but I think I’ve just had too much creme brulee in my life maybe. I would rather just have chocolate pudding!

I spent a lot of time in restaurants as a kid. My parents were major foodies back when it was called being a “gourmet.” Creme brulee is one of my dad’s favorite desserts, so I’ve had more than my share of it even though it’s just not a favorite on my own list. He orders … Read more →

Have you ever bought an ingredient for a recipe then been simply unable to locate it anywhere in your house? That’s what happened to me with this. I needed mini size cupcake liners or candy wrappers for this recipe. I bought them. I brought them home. They sat on the kitchen table for a few days. Then I put them in the pantry. Then I moved them to a shelf in the pantry so that I would be able to easily find them. Then, when I went to make this, they were just gone. We looked everywhere. So I had to improvise, and I used full size cupcake liners.

This project is from February Living and was chosen by Sassy Suppers. All you do is melt bittersweet chocolate (which I do in the microwave) and then brush into the inside of the cups. Let it dry and do it again. Simple, right?

It actually was pretty simple. The only hard part was getting the paper to peel off. I had to call in Mr. MarthaAndMe for that. He popped them in the freezer for a minute then was able to get it to peel off.

You can add anything you want to the cups – fruit, mousse, ice cream, etc. Martha suggested peanut butter but I didn’t want to eat that much peanut butter. So I did fruit and ice cream. This is super cute and would really be a great way to serve dessert for a dinner party.

Have you ever bought an ingredient for a recipe then been simply unable to locate it anywhere in your house? That’s what happened to me with this. I needed mini size cupcake liners or candy wrappers for this recipe. I bought them. I brought them home. They sat on the kitchen table for a few … Read more →

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrated. I thought I would share a photo from ours. My dad made this yule log for Christmas dinner. He says he made it once 30 years ago, but I don’t remember it. I think it looks gorgeous. The cake was very moist, but he used a prune filling that had some liqueur in it and I didn’t care for that. The mushrooms were light and yummy though.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrated. I thought I would share a photo from ours. My dad made this yule log for Christmas dinner. He says he made it once 30 years ago, but I don’t remember it. I think it looks gorgeous. The cake was very moist, … Read more →