Her name was Granola, she was a show girl

 My homemade granola bars: in pictures.

Eyeball the measurements. Make the granola bars your own.

I added Honey Bunches of Oats cereal to the mix

Drizzling some agave on my melted mixture

Line a Pyrex pan with buttered parchment for best results

Chocolate by the bald man

Max Brenner loves himself. His face is literally everywhere in his chocolate themed restaurants. Their tag line is “Chocolate by the bald man,” and he has several of his chocolate meccas around the world. Tom and I went on a whim for brunch recently in their Boson location and it was quite an experience. Almost all items have chocolate in it somewhere, so you’re bound to get your fix.

A chocolate martini served with a "re-fill" and biscotti.
That is my "hug mug" of hot cocoa behind it. 

Other than the super slow service (understaffed), we had fun. There’s a mini chocolate shop in the front where there are unusual items and a chocolate bar where you can get everything from hot cocoa to a chocolate martini. Their cups for hot chocolate are called “hug mugs” because you’re suppose to “hug” your hands around it and smell the aromas as you drink it. Does it work? I’d say, yes!

Tom and I tried one of their many chocolate alcoholic drinks, a hot cocoa, an omelet, and onion rings served with a chocolate ranch sauce. The omelet could have been more seasoned and priced a little lower (no sides or toast), but the drink and onion rings were wonderful.

I got cobblered last night

I was inspired yesterday to make something fresh and fruity since the weather was beyond beautiful! Paula Deen's sons posted a light version of strawberry shortcake. I took that idea and made a light cobbler. It was 68 and sunny with a light breeze when I went to the grocery store for my ingredients.  I used strawberries, rhubarb, and McIntosh apples.

My kingdom for ice cream

The item that caught my interest in their recipe was the "reduced-fat buttermilk baking mix," which I took to be Heart Smart Bisquick. It's about half the calories and fat of regular Bisquick. I know you won't believe me until you try it, but I really can't tell a difference! What a revelation! Bisquick has many possibilities for recipes, including classic biscuits that are perfect for a Sunday brunch.

Any time I make a cobbler, I like to add spices. I added ginger and nutmeg to this one. I also added two tablespoons of vanilla and a bit of starch so it wouldn't fall apart. I baked a bottom crust into the pan first, then poured in my sliced fruit. I like to drop little mounds of Bisquick on top so it's not too bready (it WILL rise and be more like a cake if too much is used.) Then for a crumble top, I use quick oats, butter, flour, and brown sugar. Continually stir with a fork until lots of little crumbs form. Spread crumbs over the top of the cobbler then bake for about 45 minutes (time may vary depending on depth of pan.) Serve with vanilla ice cream!

A nod to eggnog

Just when I thought Trinity Farm’s flavored milks couldn’t get any better, along came a thick, creamy eggnog! I was a little shocked by the price at first ($12 a bottle), but found myself coming back for more the next week. I had recently experimented with quick eggnog pancakes (just use eggnog instead of water when mixing with Hungry Jack pancake mix) and I loved the result. Something I hadn’t heard of, however, were eggnog muffins. Starbucks, the clever scallywags, have probably already done it, but I was determined to try it. I wanted them to be rich and indulgent, so I used my giant sized muffin pan and did my best crumble topping yet. Click here for the recipe!

Egg on My Face

All's well that ends well, but I had really dropped the ball on this meal by forgetting the heirloom tomatoes I bought at the farmer's market, refilling the glass milk bottle with Trinity Farm's fabulous coffee milk, and leaving my Canadian Sausage behind.

There are things I would have done differently to these eggs benedict and potatoes. Firstly, this was my first hollandaise sauce. It looks good, but I didn't do it by the book. There was no double boiler or wine. Instead, there was one pot and some white wine vinegar and lemon juice. Under the sauce lay marinated artichokes hearts, which I would have warmed, but my pacing was slightly off. I used onion and cubanelle peppers with the potatoes, but too sparingly.

The poached eggs were successful enough, as they should be, because I love them and therefore make them often. They sat on toasted English muffins, just waiting for it's runny yolk to flood the plate!

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*In a previous post, I mention bearnaise. I found a page that I think explains the difference between bearnaise and hollandaise beautifully, plus it includes links to both recipes.

Nutana Crumbtastical Muffins

Today was the perfect day for summer baking (so rare!). Summer thunderstorms call for muffins! Walnut banana crumb muffins to be exact! The recipe didn't call for the walnuts, but I had them leftover from lunch, so, why not?

It's time to break out the Nutella and espresso and relax with one of these babies. The rest will be taken to a BBQ later today because everyone knows nothing goes with pork butt like a warm muffin...Don't they?

Banana Crumb Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Serve with Nutella, cream cheese, or mix them together for ultimate gooey extravaganza!

I'm not tellin' her, Nutella!

Molly and I had just bought some Nutella, so I decided to put that chocolaty goodness to work and make crêpes this morning. Molly helped with the photos (see the “flip” with Junius the cat watching.) I got out our usual crêpe toppings, which include, but are not limited to: sour cream, our grandmother’s jam, Nutella, fresh fruit (bananas, strawberries, etc.), lemon and sugar (<--so British!).

The finished product you see here is a Nutella crêpe in the middle and a lemon and sugar one on each side. It’s drizzled with my grandmother’s raspberry and red current jam (from her garden) and a dollop of crème fraiche. I usually use The Joy of Cooking recipe, but this time I tried a slightly different once from my crêpe cookbook written by Lou Seibert Pappas:

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon rum, cointreau, amaretto, or brandy

2 tablespoons butter, melted, plus 2-3 teaspoons for coating the pan

Mix in food processor or, if by hand, sift the flour into a med. bowl and add sugar. Whisk the eggs until blended, mix in mild, water, vanilla, and liqueur and whisk this into flour; stir in melted butter. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour then gently stir if separated.

Heat a seasoned 7-10 inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Wipe the pan lightly with butter and pour 2-3 tablespoons of batter or 1/4 cup for larger crepes. Continually tilt the pan to coat surface, cook for 1 minute, flip, then cook for another 15 seconds. Cool on tea towel or eat immediately.

Happy Bastille Day!

Molly and I went to State St. Market today and bought some pastries, heirloom tomatoes, and a baguette. I later baked a clafoutis, using fresh strawberries, my grandmother's homemade applesauce from her garden, cinnamon, and one egg. I wanted to use rhubarb, but didn't come across any at the store that day.

We went to Fairfield's Bastille Day festival a couple of days earlier, but were disappointed with their effort. Molly and I found the only French things there, a pétanque tournament and a crepe stand. So watched while eating our chocolate banana crepes. It was more "Fairfeild Fest" than anything French. Oh well, c'est la vie!

The cure for the red & white blues

Got a little patriotic today and made 4th of July themed pancakes, or as my dad calls them, "pan cookies."

I used the leftover blueberries from a peach and blueberry cobbler I made a couple days before. The dollop is crème fraiche and the jam is my grandmother's, made from her own strawberries and rhubarb.

Molly, Jeff, and I ate them on the back porch on this perfect sunny day while drinking coffee. Jeff made a minchelada for himself. The morning was spent cleaning, getting the stereo system set up, and shopping for household items.

Tonight we're going to the park to watch fireworks at East Rock. They're sponsored by Ikea, so we'll keep an eye out for those subliminal yellows in the reds, whites, and blues!

Waffle and a Movie

I made buttermilk waffles (J.O.C.) at Fred's (movie theater in apartment, need I say more?) this morning before watching Iron Man (Surprise! I liked it!)

I used to have a fabulous Belgium waffle maker, but alas, it died. Dad thought he was being nice by buying me an American style replacement, but it just made me miss my other one even more...

I brought over sour cream (you know I love the stuff!), whipped cream, my homemade lemon curd (J.O.C.), bananas, and mangos (pictured).

Muffin, Muffout

These are tried, true, and tested muffins I make pretty often. I love that they're made with buttermilk! I usually add fresh blueberries because I don't put as much sugar as the recipe. I also use wheat flour instead of all purpose. They're great with a cream cheese/honey mixture.

Ingredients

• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, soak oats in buttermilk for 15 minutes. Stir in egg, sugar and oil. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into oat mixture just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 16-18 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.