Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins a la Leigh

I've been sitting on this recipe for two years (and have probably had Leigh send it to me four or five times) but finally got off my heiny and made it! I have Leigh Schmidt to thank for this lovely recipe and I just need to share.

I think next time I will halve the chocolate chips - it would also be fantastic without them.


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Prep 10 minutes    Baking time 16-20m per oven batch (I had to bake in two batches)
makes 36 standard size muffins

4 eggs
2c sugar
16oz can of pumpkin
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (can sub applesauce for up to 1/2 the oil)
3c flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
(I added 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice in addition)
2c chocolate chips

In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until smooth.

In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add to pumpkin mixture, mix well.

Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake at 400° for 16-20 minutes or until done.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove to wire rack. (Huh. I didn't see this part.)

These are phenomenal - a new permanent addition to my cook book! Thanks LBD!!

Tea. It's safer than skydiving.

Oh my. It started out a rough day and it just kept going that way. On the plus side I have a hot new (to me) ride with a sick CD-changer. Yeah, I have a clue what I'm talking about. All I know is that people large and small have been barking/whining/yelling/apologizing at me all day, had a 1 hr drive to a far away dealership where we had to wait around for close to 3 hours yet I managed to trade in my van for a rockin deal on a car I can drive a wee bit and NOW I NEED SOME FREAKING TEA.

I poured myself a nice big honkin mug of tea before we left on The Mission and left it at home. Then I got home, refilled it from the lovely pot, went to help a crying small person and a large person inadvertently dumped it in the sink.

Whimper.

(** intermission music while I go put water on to boil ... **)

Ok water is set to boil and, much as I crave to brew another pot of Thin Mint Green, I think I've had enough caffeine today to power my snazzy new-to-me wheels. Soooo ... I'm making up a pot of Meditative Mind. I'm slightly dubious of any tea that contains alot of small whole rose buds but hey, we'll give it a go.

Since I have some time here while the water boils, then cools for three minutes (yes friends, it says that in the instructions), steep for 3 minutes and then cool so I don't add burned taste buds to my list of fun today, I'm going to see what else I can review before the small people begin screaming again.

Have you noticed that I tend to use exhaustive run on sentences when I'm exhausted?

ANYWAY.

Something I forgot to mention about Thin Mint Green (and some of the other teas available out there) ... you can brew it more than once. I heart this - I do I do.

Jasmine Green Pu'erh - Wikipedia has a ton of info on Pu'erh tea as does Teaspot. I've always been curious about trying some and I love jasmine green tea so I ordered a sample of this one. First impressions - the mini tea bricks are freaking adorable ... honestly, I opened one and just wanted to love it and hug it and call it George. The scent is fantastic ... not too light, not too cloying. The brewing instructions confused me a bit however. The package recommends 2-6 minutes while the website recommends steeping one minute the first infusion, adding 30 seconds each infusion (it can be infused three to four times). I steeped the initial brew for one minute, I think, and it was absolutely lovely. Luuuuuurvely. A nicely flavored green tea with a pronounced but not overwhelming jasmine scent.

On the second brew I couldn't remember what I had done the first time so I did it by the package and brewed it 2m 30sec. Eeeeeeeeeewwwwk. It was so strong and bitter that I could hardly drink it. Interestingly enough, when my husband tasted it he said, "Eeeeeeeeewkk" as well but not because it was bitter. He just couldn't stand what he considered "too sweet" ... the jasmine notes. Right then.

As I said, I really love this tea but I don't really love the tea brick concept. I think I'd really enjoy trying the Jasmine Pearls Green tea to have a jasmine green in my cabinet and the Organic Loose Black Pu'erh to see how I like loose pu'erh tea.

Bolder Breakfast Tea - This would be the tea I drank a bit of this morning, forgot at home and then had dumped out before I could enjoy it all of it. My first impressions were not super favorable. I didn't really dig the darkness of the flavors or the chocolate notes. This  is a true black tea and has the highest caffeine content available on the site. It is a blend of black teas mixed with black pu'reh and what they call "dark chocolate essence". Huh? Ok. Anyway I was writing the Thin Mint review while I drank my first mug of it, thinking, "Hrmph ... wish this was Thin Mint."

I honestly don't think I gave it a fair shake and I'm so happy that Teaspot samples make a few mugs of tea. I'll get back to you with more on this later when my body can handle a serious jolt of caffeine. For those who like cream or milk in your tea, this may be a nice choice. More to come on this.

And now the tea of the moment...

Meditative Mind - **drumroll** Ok, objectively, this is a gorgeous tea. It contains white tea needles, jasmine green tea pearls and a plethora of real honest to goodness pink rosebuds. It's fragrant and pretty to look at and, yes, very relaxing to drink. That said, I'm on the fence. I'm not big on "floral" and the rose taste isn't my favorite. It's an exquisitely done relaxing tea - the rose is well balanced with the jasmine and white tea without being cloying, bitter or overwhelming. I think I will reserve the rest of this sample pack for nights when I really need to relax. As it sits and cools the rose notes mellow and the jasmine scent lingers for a much more balanced taste.

Ok folks, that's four teas down and one mommy less likely to blow her top. I've been pondering the fifth tea, Climber's High, and I don't think it' a good idea for me to try it. I have high blood pressure so I need to avoid ginseng and licorice root :( I'm not out anything since it was sent along with my order as a free sample but fear not, it will find a good home ;)

Gooooooooood Mornin Chocolate Bread!

So yesterday after four hours of sleep I awoke to, "Honey, Audrey's sick and I'm calling her in to school."

Wha? I blearily asked for clarification and was told she "has a sore throat and a fever of 100".

Ahhh crap. For the first time in weeks I was ACTUALLY going to have 2.5 hrs to myself while the big monster was at kindergarden (dropped off by Dad, returned by bus) and the little monster was at preschool (dropped off by Gramma, picked up by Grammy). I note all the driving b/c I can no longer drive anymore due to health issues. Add that to our teeny tiny condo and I was really really craving 2 hours ALONE.

So. The Big Guy zips out of the house to head to his day-long class before I was even fully coherant and what do I find when I stumble into the livingroom? My eldest monster in footie fleece jammies, wrapped in a thick blanket, in an over heated 70 degree condo. I check her temp and it's 99.2. Ya think it has anything to do with being completely insulated? Really?

Normally I would just send the poached non-sick kiddo off to school anyway but, oops, I CAN'T DRIVE.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Goodbye nap. Goodbye catching up on sleep. Hello getting through the day without spontaneous combustion.

Somewhere around noon, I decided I needed to bake bread. I asked Audrey what her favorite kind of bread and true to Mendelian genetics the child immediately responded, "Chocolate". Mind you, I have never made, nor has she ever HAD, chocolate bread.

Sounds good to me. We winged it., basing it on a halved version of the Master Boule recipe in Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day.

These measurements are rough estimates and make one mondo loaf or two smallish loaves - adjust baking time as needed.

Holy Moley Chocolate Bread

1.5 cups lukewarm water

2tsp granulated yeast
1tsp kosher or other coarse salt
1/8c dark brown sugar
1 slosh real vanilla extract - interpret as you see fit
3 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour, measured with the scoop-and-sweep method
3 tbl cocoa powder
2 tbl instant espresso powder (don't have it? see adaptation below)
1/8c raw or granulated sugar
1/8c honey
1/2c chocolate chips or chunks (I like chunks better)
butter for loaf pan

Stir water, yeast, salt, brown sugar & vanilla together in a 5 qt bowl. Stir in flour till mixed - don't knead. If its not wet and gloppy, add more water in 1/8c measurements until you have a wet, sticky dough. remove half the dough and put in a 2nd large bowl. Lightly cover one bowl and set in a warm place to rest.

To other bowl, add cocoa powder, espresso powder, sugar & honey. Blend in gently - it won't be perfect. Add more water if not wet. Cover & set in warm place to rest.

Allow both doughs to rest 2.5-3 hrs. For ease of use I recommend chilling doughs at this point, otherwise dough is EXTREMELY hard to manage... but I didn't.

Butter a large (or two medium) loaf pan very well. I use the Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan and I love it.  Dump white dough out onto a well floured surface and pat into a flat rough rectangle. Dump chocolate dough on top and spread it out a bit. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of chocolate dough (yeaaaaah baby). Roughly roll up dough forming a big lumpy sloppy log. Tucking ends under a bit, plop into pan. Cover with cloth and allow to rest 90 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F for 5 minutes, 30 minutes if you keep a baking stone in your oven for heat distribution (I don't).

If baking the whole recipe, bake 40-50 minutes. Allow to cool COMPLETELY before slicing - it keeps the bread moist but not gloopy.

The I-Don't-Have-Instant-Espresso-Powder Varition A
(requires coffee)
~ Mix up initial white dough as recommended above, but only add 1/2c of water (dough will be dry and crumbly). Split into two bowls. Add another 1/4c-1/2c water to white dough in 1/c increments until dough is wet and sticky. Add similar amounts of brewed coffee or espresso to chocolate dough. Continue as in main recipe.

The I-Don't-Have-Instant-Espresso-Powder Varition B
~ Um. Just leave it out. :D

Couch Mix ~ Trail mix a la Melissa

I'm allergic to tree nuts but looooooove trail mix. This is a variation on my Aunt Jane's GORP mix (Good Ol Raisins & Peanuts) and I keep it for times that life just sucks. Or any other time that I just need a mommy-treat.

I mix...
Salted Peanuts
Raisins
M&Ms
Peanut butter filled pretzels

Mix em up in an air tight container and then hide it from the children :D

Other yummy mix ins are dried cherries, reese's pieces, white chocolate chips, chex cereal ... have fun with it! But the key is to have chocolate-sweet, fruity-sweet and salty all in one place :)

I'm going to go gently gorge on this while I recover from today's attempted root-canal.

Mom is Great...

If you haven't seen Bill Cosby's chocolate-cake-for-breakfast bit, you HAVE to take a moment and check it out now. Go ahead, I'll wait.

See? Anywho, THIS is my theme song. I'm not the hip mom, the soccer mom, the super-earth-crunchy mom or the every-kids-best-friend mom. I'm a loving, as understanding as I can be, mostly patient, extremely tired and in severe pain disabled mom. And I can be a tough mom, because when mom has limits, kids responsibilites take on a new meaning. I try to remind myself constantly that a responsible child (good) is a different thing than a parentified child (not good). I also need to find ways to find joy in a hard day. Sometimes the only solution is baking. It generally happens when I don't even have enough energy to read a book or knit - then my poor husband turns around and sees me whipping up frosting.

So. To remind my kids that life is fun, to remind myself that *I* am fun,  I bake chocolate cake. Baking cakes from scratch seems intimidating but it only requires two things: a great recipe and a stocked pantry. I'm not a person who always has food in the house. Milk? Oops. But as long as I keep some form of sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and flour in the house, I am content. Don't have a perishable ingredient (eggs, butter, milk)? Try to find a substitution on the web. It actually takes me the same amount of time to bake this cake as a box mix - and if you know me, you know I get exausted fast.

Here is my favorite recipe. I halve the recipe belowand bake it in a cast iron skillet (I don't know why - it just feels so cozy!) and it makes enoug to cut about 8 pieces from. Or, one for each of them and the rest for me.

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake
2c sugar
1 3/4 c flour
3/4 cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c milk
1/2 c oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water (measure after boiling)

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. For more size/quantity variations, check out the link above.

I like to frost it differently each time - remember to halve the amount if you've haved the cake. So far I've done these two ...

Hershey's "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING (same link as the cake)
1 stick butter
2/3 cup Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Caramel Frosting by Paula Dean, Foodnetwork
1 stick butter
1 c heavy cream (can substitute half & half or milk if its what you have on hand)
1 tbl vanilla
1 box confectioners sugar

Melt butter in small saucepan. Add brown sugar and 1/3 cup cream. Cook over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Transfer to a large bowl.

Using a handheld electric mixer, beat in confectioners' sugar a little at a time until smooth. If frosting is too thick, add 1 tablespoon heavy cream at a time until consistency is right.

Hoooo Baby Chocolate Chip Pie

I have a friend on Facebook and The Babywearer who occasionally posts amaaaaaaazing recipe links. Generally I can find an excuse for not making them but this time... well just check out this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie on Bakerella.com.

eta ... NOTE: This recipe DID NOT WORK FOR ME. PROCEDE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

DANG.

I tweak everything, so here is my version of it, based on what I had handy. I'm allergic to nuts so I did some fancy footwork to substitute for the pecans. I would also like try this with a Nilla wafer crust and crushed graham crackers subbing for the nuts.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie (original version on Bakerella.com, from Nestle Classic Recipes, 2003

1 unbaked 9-inch graham cracker pie shell
2 large eggs
1/4c all-purpose flour
1/8c whole wheat flour
1/8c Quaker rolled oats (not instant or quick cooking)
1/2c granulated sugar (I used turbinado sugar b/c its all I had)
1/2c packed brown sugar
3/4c (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1c (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/2c crushed vanilla sandwich cookies
1/4c shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325 F.
Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high until foamy.
Beat in flours, oats, sugars. Beat in butter.
Stir in morsels, cookies and coconut. Spoon into pie shell.
Bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm.

This took 10m standing time in the kitchen.

I haven't tasted it yet but I'll post when I have a review ;)