Toffee Chocolate Bars

Our local Raleys Supermarket puts out a great recipe magazine, called Something Extra. I picked up the latest copy yesterday and found this Toffee Chocolate Bars recipe this morning. The recipe comes from a store called Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates. The store is located in Sacramento, California, which is about 90 minutes south of where I live.

Click on the candy store link - you will not be disappointed. There's a revolving montage of gorgeous chocolates, like chocolate porn.

Toffee Chocolate Bars

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1¼ cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted

DIRECTIONS
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 to 12 minutes
Rest time: Several hours

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Add vanilla and egg yolk; mix in flour and salt. Spread mixture evenly onto a non-greased 16 X 12-inch baking pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, turning sheet from front to back after 6 minutes. Remove from oven; let rest for 2 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over top and let stand for 5 more minutes. Spread smooth with a spatula and top with almonds. Let sit for several hours before cutting into 2-inch squares. (Refrigerate to firm, if needed.)

Makes about 48 pieces. Nutrition Per Serving: Nutrition per piece (17 g): 90 calories, 1 g protein, 6 g total fat (3.5 g sat., 0 g trans), 9 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 6 g sugar, 35 mg cholesterol, 50 mg sodium, 2 points

Teriyaki Sauce

Have you ever tasted Soy Vey Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce?

Good stuff. I picked it up for the first time a couple of months ago, but it went fast. I decided to try to come up with my own version. I looked at online teriyaki recipes to try to get an idea, but other than a list of ingredients, I didn't find anything definitive. This is what I came up with on my own. You will definitely want to tweak it a bit, according to your taste. I wanted something with a good gingery-sesame flavor.

Teriyaki Sauce

1 cup soy sauce, I use Tamari soy sauce, I like the flavor better

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup sugar, I used a non-bleached, organic sugar, but you could also use honey or brown sugar

1/4 cup sesame oil, you could use another oil, but this gives a good strong sesame flavor

2 TB water

2 tsp crushed ginger

1/2 tsp granulated oil

salt and pepper to taste

Put the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat, flip the seeds around so that they brown, but do not burn.



Mix the rest of the ingredients in a two-cup measuring cup (helps with pouring when it's done). Use a fork to blend until smooth. When sesame seeds are browned, mix them in, as well. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

You can use the sauce for a marinade for meat, fish, or vegetables. Store in an air tight container, in the refridgerator.

Tonight, I'm using it for salmon, brocoli, and rice. I'm going to use it later in the week to make a dressing for a asian chicken salad.

Cream Of Brocoli Soup

I was hungry for something quick and warm for lunch. I took a peek in the fridge and found a huge bunch of brocoli that Leah and I picked up at the Farmer's Market, last Saturday. Cream of Brocoli Soup - quick and easy. We like a cheesy brocoli soup, but that adds a lot of fat and calories, so rather than making the whole pot that way, the kids and I grate cheese in the top and stir it through. Yum.

Cream Of Brocoli Soup

4-6 cups of clean, chopped brocoli
4 -5 cups of chicken broth
1 potato, clean, chopped into chunks
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
salt
pepper
1 1/2 cups nonfat milk
1 tsp flour
* Optional cheese - we used Cheddar and Asiago cheese, grated.

Heat chicken broth, add brocoli and potato chunks when broth reaches a boil. Add garlic. Turn down broth and cook vegetables until tender. When tender, take a potato masher and mash the vegetables. The potato helps to make a thicker soup.


Taste broth/brocoli mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add flour to milk, stir until smooth, then add to soup. Heat until thickened a bit. Pour into individual bowls, then grate cheese over the top, stir through. That's it!

LaRocca Winery

While visiting theFarmer's Market yesterday, my friend, Leah, and I met a local wine maker from the LaRocca Vineyard.
The LaRocca Winery produces organic wine up off of Hwy 32, in Forest Ranch, California. I got this from the company's website:

"Phillip LaRocca, owner and vintner, the character of the wine is absolutely dependent upon the quality of the grape. Growing grapes organically includes using farming methods that nurture the soil, air and water. Through the process of totally excluding the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, all of LaRocca Vineyards receive organic certification by CCOF....The processing of LaRocca's wines, as certified by CCOF, excludes the use of these chemical additives including sulfites. Because the wines are chemical-free, from vine-to-bottle, adds to the drinking pleasure and supports the health of our environment."

The LaRocca Winery Tasting Room is open Saturday and Sunday, from 12-5. It's located in the town of Forest Ranch, 16 miles east of Chico, CA.

The wine is good and the fresh grapes aren't bad either.

Ruby Tuesday - Carnival Candy

Happy Ruby Tuesday! This was taken last Thursday at our school carnival. This booth was a candy booth - little sand candy. The kids loved it. It fits with the little bit of red theme. I hope that one is still okay. Here's a close-up of the candy. I didn't taste it, but it reminded me of the stuff in Pixie Sticks.
For more Ruby Tuesday, please visit Mary, the Teach at her blog Work of the Poet.

Shortcut Wheat Bread With Rosemary

Here is a recipe for wheat bread that is a bit of a cheat - the dough is made in the bread machine, but then you take it out, work it a bit, and bake it in the oven. I love my bread machine for pizza dough, but anytime I've ever tried to make bread in it, it has come out small, hard, and disappointing. This bread, it was an experiment and I'm pretty happy with how the experiment turned out. It makes some very tasty toast, too. I love toast.

Shortcut Wheat Bread With Rosemary

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/3 cups warm water

1 package yeast

2 TB olive oil

2 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp fresh Rosemary, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 F

Add the ingredients into your machine in the order the manufacturer suggests. Mine goes like this - water, oil, salt, rosemary, flours, then make a little well in the top and add the yeast into the well. Set the machine to the "dough" setting, which runs for 9o minutes.

At the end of 90 minutes, pull the dough out and place it on a floured surface. Sprinkle additional flour on top and work it into the dough. You want a smooth, non-sticky dough.

Shape into a loaf and place on either an oiled cookie sheet or use some parchment paper (I prefer the parchment). Let rise until it's about doubled in size. Slash the top of the loaf 3 or 4 times, about a 1/2 inch deep.

Sprinkle the top of the loaf with water, then place in the oven. During the first 9 minutes, periodically open the oven door and mist or sprinkle more water on top of the bread dough.

At the end of 9 minutes, sprinkle with a light dusting of flour, reduce heat to 375F, and bake for an additional 10 minutes. At the end of the 10 minutes, tent with foil and then bake for 10 more minutes.

Bread is done when you can knock on it and hear a "hollow" sound. Place on a rack to cool. Cover, after cooling, to keep fresh.

Some notes.........

Sprinkling the dough with water, in the beginning, gives it a nice crust.

You may have noticed that in the picture my bread does not have the knife marks. Oops, please pretend that you did not notice that part. I forgot to do that step. ;D

Make sure that your bread is fully cooled before covering, you don't want a soggy bottom crust.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

I felt like a little cooking today, so I made a couple of things - Cranberry Orange Muffins and a Quick Mac and Cheese dish.

I used dried cranberries for the muffins. Before I started getting anything together, I put a cup of water in the microwave for 2 minutes, then when it came out, I added 3/4 cup cranberries to plump them up. For the orange flavor, I used a couple of scoops of frozen orange juice concentrate. I wanted it very orangey.

Orange Cranberry Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

1 3/4 cup flour
1/3 sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup cranberries
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup frozen orange concentrate
1 packet (about 1 tsp) of raw sugar (optional)

Preheat oven 400 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder. Mix egg, milk, oil, and orange concentrate, then add to dry mix bowl. Drain cranberries, then pour into bowl. Stir gently to combine. Lumps are fine, you don't want to over mix the batter.

Spoon into either greased muffin pan or paper muffin cup - 3/4 full. Then, sprinkle the raw sugar lightly over the top.



Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before eating.
I'll post the pasta recipe later. My Grandma just called. I hope that you enjoy your muffins.