Dark Chocolate, Smoked Almond, & Sea Salt Bark

While enjoying a cup of coffee and a bowl of cherries one day with her son, a young woman (OK, not sooo young woman) STUMBLED upon a recipe that quite took her fancy. If your were a reader from the start you may already know about the woman's penchant for a certain dark chocolate, caramel, sea salt creation from a trendy store that's all the rage, I'm sure you've heard of it. That Trader Joe's. Well anyway, the recipe she found reminded her of those very chocolates. She thought perhaps even more extraordinary.
Out the door she ran, fur flying. She nearly took off the dog's tail with the door in her haste to get to the store!

OK, so really she waited for her mother-in-law to arrive, checked and double checked to make sure the baby had what he needed, put the dog outside (tail safe, intact, and still a dangerous weapon), and slowly backed down the driveway, hoping that she had remembered to put everything on her grocery list. The chocolate, almonds, and sea salt especially!!!
(Read to the end of recipe for the end of the story)

• 8 oz 53% Cacao Dark Chocolate Baking Bar

(I couldn't find this so I bought a 10 oz bag of 62% and used the whole thing)

• 1/2 cup smoked almonds coarsely chopped

(save a few to sprinkle on top)

• 1 tsp sea salt

2 hours and $175 dollars worth of groceries (for just one week!) later, the lady was back home and ready to tackle her latest desert.

Dark Chocolate, Smoked Almond, & Sea Salt Bark

It became clear very shortly that this beauty would take mere minutes. A major plus for a mommy with a 4 month old.

Melt the chocolate in a glass microwave safe bowl for 40 seconds. Stir. Replace in microwave, cooking in 10 second intervals, stirring between, until chocolate is almost but not completely melted. A little bit more melted than in the picture. The more you stir the chocolate the more it will melt. If you heat it too much the chocolate will seize up and you will have to start over with new chocolate. (I don't personally know how to save seized chocolate, or if there even is a way.)

Stir in the almonds.
(I added a handful of raisins to half of my chocolate mixture because I began to think that maybe something a little sweeter might break the monotony of all that salt and dark chocolate. Totally up to you.)

Spread the chocolate over a sheet pan covered with wax paper. Tap the pan to spread out the chocolate. (My pan was too big and its an 8 in)
Sprinkle with the reserved almonds and the salt.
Refrigerate for 1 hour.


When the woman removed the bark from her Frigidaire later that evening, broke the bark into pieces, and tasted her latest treat, she fainted right there on the floor, in the kitchen, and that is where her husband found her when he got home. With dark chocolate all over her face and a stupid grin from ear to ear.

The end!!!!!

Dairy Free Mocha Mocha Coconut Milk Ice Cream

This recipe does not come out tasting like coconut one bit. Its just as good if not better than store bought dairy ice cream. My ice cream maker is pretty small so if yours is a big one double this recipe. Also, if you leave out the egg, which is totally fine, this recipe is vegetarian.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 egg yolk
1 13-15 oz can of coconut milk
1/2 cup or more strong coffee cooled
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp Nutella



In a pot that is not Teflon coated combine the sugar and the water and heat over medium high heat until sugar is dissolved. This is called a simple syrup. Remove pan from heat and whisk in the egg yolk. Add the coconut milk, coffee, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Whisk together. Return the pot to medium heat. You want to see steam coming off the top but you don't want the mixture to be boiling. Reduce the mixture for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a container and cool. Add to your chilled ice cream maker and churn as directed. When the ice cream is nearly done add the nutella and continue to churn so the nutella is spread throughout.
Please note that I did all these ingredients to taste so just add as much or as little of whatever you want until the unfrozen mixture tastes good to you. If it tastes good hot it will taste good frozen too. :))

Blueberry Banana Bread Hmm...

I made this recipe I found for banana muffins a few days ago and I had so much other stuff going on that I completely forgot to put in the butter. I also added 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar that was not called for, and guess what...They were awesome!!!!! They have strudel on the top which is probably why. Anything with strudel is good usually. I also added fresh strawberries from my garden. They were really yummy. Today I am making them as a loaf instead of muffins. I am leaving out the butter again and changing the sugar to half cup brown half cup white because I think the extra brown sugar was good but maybe a bit too much, they were kinda sticky. I am also adding 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries.

OK. Lets discuss the outcome. There is a ravine running through the middle of my bread. It seems that all the berries dropped to the bottom creating a very soggy messy blueberry puddle, and the whole loaf is structurally unsound. Flavor wise the bread is good. Like I said, strudel, but the blueberries really don't add much. The strawberries were much better. I did cut it while it was still hot so maybe...ultimately though the strawberry muffins were much better. Maybe the batter just cant stand up as a whole loaf of bread, only in muffin cups. Wont be using blueberries again. Wont be using a loaf pan again. Will be using strudel and brown sugar though even though it makes it sticky.

Ingredients

• 3 bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
  

Strudel

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  (I forgot the cinnamon this time OOPS well see what its like)
  
• 2 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven 375 F

In a large bowl mash up 3 very ripe bananas with your mixer

Add 1/2 cup white sugar

Add 1/2 cup brown sugar

Add 1 egg

Beat until combined

Add 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp baking powder. Mix until combined

Add 1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries. Pour batter into greased loaf pan.

In a food processor if you have one, (if you don't just use your hands or a spoon but try not to overwork and melt the butter) add 2/3 cup brown sugar, 4 tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tbsp butter. Process until butter mixes into sugar and flour evenly.
Sprinkle over loaf and bake in oven at 375 F for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Happy Late Mothers Day Carrot Cake

I made this carrot cake with carrots from my garden. It was the first time I have ever used this recipe. I am used to carrot cake being a layered cake, not a sheet cake. I feel like the frosting layer for this cake was almost as thick as the cake itself and I didn't like this ratio. Also this recipe is not very spicy. It was good but I feel like it needed some clove or something. I think I may try another recipe next time. It tastes good, its moist and carrot cakey. I just don't think its the best recipe out there.
(The flowers and strawberries are from my garden too)

Hes not from my garden but hes growing like a weed thats for sure.

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 
  
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

Add 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Add 2 cups white sugar and 2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix in 2 cups of flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp cinnamon

Add 3 cups grated carrot
(forgot to take picture sorry)

Pour into prepared pan.Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool

To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.

Blueberry Lime Cornmeal Scones

These scones have the potential to be very good, well they are very good but the recipe told me to greese the cookie sheet and also to cook on 450 F and that resulted in burned bottoms. This recipe calls for lime zest and the lime flavor in the scones is really nice with the blueberries but I don't think there was enough of it. I also don't think there were enough blueberries. I am going to write this recipe for you the way I think it ought to be.

1 1/3 cups flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
3 tbsp white sugar
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup cold butter chopped up
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
zest of 2 limes
1 1/2 frozen blueberries
1 tsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 400 F

Combine 1 1/3 cup flour, 2/3 cup cornmeal

Add 3 tbsp white sugar

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

cut in 1/3 cup cold butter until flour mixture resembles course crumbs

Zest 2 limes

Combine the zest of 2 limes, 1/2 cup buttermilk, and 1 egg

Make a well in dry mixture, and add the buttermilk mixture all at once.
Stir with a fork until just moistened. Don't over mix.

Toss frozen blueberries with cornstarch, and then add to flour mixture.
Drop dough on floured (not greased) sheet pan in 12 mounds 1 inch apart

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden on top.

The recipe I used also called for a a drizzle made with powdered sugar mixed with lime juice. I did not do this because it just adds more calories, and I have never had a good outcome when making icing with just powdered sugar and a moistening agent. It always tastes icky. I used some honey instead. It was pretty but the honey got all over me every time I ate one. Its really not necessary they are good plain. The recipe also called for sliced almonds sprinkled over the top but again, more calories.

Heath Bar Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1-1/3 cups (8 oz. pkg.) HEATH BITS 'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits
• 1 8 oz. pkg. semi sweet chocolate bits.
  

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine 2 stick softened butter with 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown sugar. Blend with hand mixer until combined.
Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract.

Add three whole large eggs and combine.

Add 3 1/2 cups of flour 1 cup at a time until well blended. In between 1st cup of flour and second add 2 tsp. baking soda.
In between 2nd cup of flour add 2 tsp. cream of tartar.

Add 1 bag of Heath-1/3 cups (8 oz. pkg.) HEATH BITS 'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits and 1 8 oz. pkg. semi sweet chocolate bits. Mix well.

Use a tbsp. to measure out your cookies onto a greased cookie sheet and
bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes