TWD: Chewy Chunky Blondies

It turns out, there's a bit of a learning curve to moving in with someone. Who knew? For the fiance and I, it started with trying to cram two apartments worth of furniture into one. That wasn't too big of a deal, since I am much more attached to my (solid wood) furniture than he is to his (Ikea) (particle board) furniture. Phew. Furniture disaster averted, except that he's not a huge fan of my couch. Details.


But what follows? Grocery shopping. I will have to become used to his immediate beeline to the meat counter, while he has to become used to my tossing two to three pounds of butter into the cart at a time. And I believe that in the week and a half that we've been living together, I've eaten more meat than I did in the previous two months. Hello protein! Goodbye iron deficiency! (Oh yeah, and goodbye zucchini, mushrooms, beans and squash *sob*)


The even bigger learning curve though? He has to get used to (cue the tiny violins please) homemade ice cream, cake, candy and cookies constantly being in supply. Which is why, when I told him that I'd be baking chewy chunky blondies, he gave me a long-suffering look and asked that I take them into work. He wasn't done with the minty brownies yet. Or the ice cream. Woe is him, huh? Especially since he didn't realize that there would be homemade bread at all times as well. And don't forget the two sheet pans of nougat (pistachio and chocolate salted almond, based on this recipe and this one, respectively) currently on our kitchen table.


In the end though, it's probably a good compromise. I'll bring most of my baked goods into the department, and he might actually start exercising to make up for the ice cream I'll be churning up for him. Do you think I can get extra credit or something for bringing cookies in for my professors?


Last Week: Lots of Ways Banana Cake (I have to admit, I hoarded this for myself. it was GOOD.)
Next Week: Gingered Carrot Cookies

TWD: Lots of Ways Banana Cake

I adore flexible recipes. So when one calls out its flexibility right in the title, I am SO there. Even if I'm not a sweet banana lover (so sue me, I'm the one who eats bananas that are just the teensiest bit green on the edges. I loves me some starchy bananas!). Even better, since Dorie is so vocal about adding in, taking out, and tweaking this particular recipe, I consider myself entirely justified in tweaking out the coconut. To all you coconut lovers out there - Dorie told me to!


Although I guess I tweaked rather excessively. Not only did I leave out the grated coconut (without replacing it with any dried fruit) and the coconut milk (replaced with 2% milk), I swapped oil in for the butter (no softening needed!), used 1/3 whole wheat flour and dropped the sugar by just the teensiest bit. And, rebel that I am, I didn't even fluff the flour before measuring. Guess what? Minus the fact that this cake could be better termed a pancake (seriously, did anyone else stutter-step when the recipe called for baking soda instead of baking powder, with zero acid to be found elsewhere?), it turned out wonderfully.


So there you go, all you baking-averse fraidy cats! (I mean that in the most affectionate way) When it comes to flour, you can sift and measure, fluff-scoop-measure, level with a knife (or not) or just scoop-and-go. Not a fan of sweet baked goods? Just cut down on the sugar a wee bit. The world, she will not collapse! Life, as you know it, will not end. Those loaves of bread that didn't rise? Croutons! That cake that's a wee bit raw on the inside? Cake batter is tasty, and don't let anyone tell you differently! Cookies spread like crazy? Oh darn, that sheet of cookies counts as one big cookie!

Go forth! Bake! And if your banana cake comes out a wee bit on the flat side? It just means you can eat a bigger slice. Like, half the cake. I promise, I won't tell. *burp*


P.S. The fiance is here. In North Carolina. In the same apartment as me. So my apologies if I sound just a wee bit giddy. With him came my long lost baking ingredients and, evidently, my boundless enthusiasm. I'm going to have to kick his ass for keeping both of those from me for the past three months.


Last Week: Brrrr-ownies (the fiance is IN LOVE with these brownies. I might have to make them again. soon.)
Next Week: Chewy Chunky Blondies

TWD: Brrrr-ownies

Random observations:

1. Once I pick a seat in a room, I automatically gravitate to it each and every time I have to sit down in that room. If it's a classroom, chances are good that it will be in the front and on the right side from the professor's perspective.

2. The same thing goes with restrooms. Once I use one stall, I preferentially go back to it each time I'm in that restroom. It's my stall.

3. I don't like mint. In much of anything.


Unfortunately, I'm surrounded by mint lovers. My dad puts it in all sorts of things, including savory dishes. My sister was the original mint chocolate chip ice cream lover in our household growing up. She always got Junior Mints at the movie theater. And I knew I was in for it when I asked the fiance what he wanted me to bake during one of the first weekends he visited me in Oshkosh. He requested a marbled loaf cake - chocolate and mint. Yeecchhh. I don't actually have a problem with mint in, say, gum. Or toothpaste. Maybe mint tea is acceptable as well. Once in a blue moon. But baked? Warm? With chocolate? Why? That just seems like a waste of good flour, butter, eggs, and chocolate. You want chocolate and mint, just let me bake something chocolatey and you can buy some mint ice cream to put on top of your piece. I'll stick with vanilla or coffee ice cream, thanks.


Which is why these brownies are sitting in my fridge, awaiting the fiance's arrival (!) on (!) Friday (!). Well, minus a taste test of an uncontaminated part... If nothing else, I can attest to the slightly fudgy, slightly cakey, wonderfully chocolatey portion of these brownies. Next time though, I'll put in peanut butter cups.


Last Week: Tarte Noire
Next Week: Lots of Ways Banana Cake

TWD: Tarte Noire

Well, I'm here. North Carolina, I mean. Finally. And let me tell you - don't let anyone claim that Midwesterners are the friendliest, most neighborly people you'll meet. They're lying - Southeasterners are without a doubt the most friendly people I've ever met. I should probably back up though, huh? My life, she is flying by at a rate that I can't even comprehend!


I flew in to the Raleigh-Durham airport a mere 6 days ago, which is mindboggling to say the least. The only thing to note about the whole 8 hours in multiple airports and planes? I sat next to a wonderfully nice National Guardswoman on the flight from Burbank, CA to Dallas-Fort Worth. We chatted for about half the flight, spurred on by her first comment to me soon after I sat down next to her. She leaned over and, half in a whisper, asked if I had looked closely at the people up in first class on our flight. I admitted that I hadn't, not admitting that it was partially due to being envious that they got free alcohol on a 7a flight. That would have been neither here nor there, right? Well, it turns out that Leann Rimes was on our flight. Wha? Not only did I get to see random paparazzi on my little jaunt through Hollywood, I had also experienced a celebrity sighting as well! LA is a weird place, people. Weird.


But now I'm in Chapel Hill. Not only that, I moved into the fiance and my apartment just last Friday, assisted by three of the nicest, most wonderful guys from TROSA. Not only did they come right on time, smile the whole time, and gasp whenever I tried to pick anything up (seriously, did they think I was just going to stand around while they moved my things?), they called me ma'am! Seriously! In order to keep me from carrying things in, the foreman tasked me with putting together the bedframe - apparently I don't look like I can lift anything. I love shocking people by actually having some sort of strength. It was all done in such good nature though that I couldn't fault them. And hey, it meant I actually had a permanent address! After two months without one, it's embarrassing how happy that made me.


I'm all unpacked now, having buckled down that very night and opened every single box, putting everything away. Hopefully the fiance can fit his things in here when he shows up in two weeks, but my things came first, right? Once that was done, all that was left was looking forward to Charli coming for the weekend. My college roommate of three years and my maid of honor, Charli also understood that Sunday was not for grilling - oh no, Sunday was spent baking. All day. Bread, peach cobbler, and this tart, which was definitely improved by the use of fancypants El Rey chocolate we picked up walking through Whole Foods. Good stuff, people, this tart is good stuff.

Also, since I haven't bothered getting cable or internet at my new place (and will therefore be stealing internet access at the handy-dandy Barnes & Noble a mile away), reading of blogs and commenting will be greatly reduced. It doesn't help that as of this morning, I'm hopping feet-first into the lab at UNC and learning the ropes. After reading page after page of articles on secondary organic aerosol, I hope you'll forgive me if all I want to do is eat a slice of this tart.


One last note - I feel it is my duty to tell you a few things we realized over the weekend. One, double cream brie is like butter. Cheesy, wonderful, tasty butter. Two, the movie Leap Day? Awful. I'm surprised we made it through the first 45 minutes, after which the characters finally became slightly likable. Three, sweet tea vodka is pretty wonderful stuff. So are fried okra. And four, best friends? Priceless.

Last Week: Little Vanilla Cakes
Next Week: Brrrr-ownies (mint and chocolate = my nemesis, so taste testing might wait until the fiance shows up)