Category: Cooking

This recipe is based on this recipe for Extra-Dark Brownies with Sea Salt & Lime. I modified it a bit to make it more cakey and less fudgy.

Dark Chocolate Brownies with Sea Salt & Meyer Lemon
16 2-inch square brownies

1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, in squares
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Meyer lemon, juiced and zested
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon flaky or coarse sea salt. Be sure it’s not too fine or it will sink into the batter.

Preheat oven to 325°F and line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving the paper extra-long and hanging over two sides.

Place a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. Melt the chocolate and butter slowly in the bowl. Allow to cool slightly.

Sift together dry ingredients.

Beat wet ingredients together with a wire whisk. Add melted chocolate and butter.

Carefully fold  dry ingredients in to wet ingredients with a wire whisk in three batches. Batter will be thick, but be careful not to over stir. Pour into baking dish, and sprinkle sea salt on top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes before lifting out the parchment paper and cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares.

I absolutely love quinoa and lentils. I cook with them a lot, and lately I’ve been doing this a lot without a recipe. In an effort to not forget what works, I need to record it.  Here’s what I made tonight– you make up your own version and thank me later. (No picture, cause it doesn’t look all that great).

This is heavily adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe, another food-related standby.

One large onion, chopped

One red pepper (sweet), chopped

One purple potato (other colors would work), chopped

garlic to taste, minced

dried spices to taste, but definitely thyme and cinnamon, plus pepper and salt

handful of golden raisins

3/4 cup white quinoa (I think white rather than red would work better in this recipe)

1/2 cup red lentils (really should be red.)

1 1/2 cup water

Saute the onion in a covered skillet until very translucent and maybe just beginning to get golden. Then add the pepper and potato. Stir this all around and then add the spices and salt. Cook more, until soft and fragrant. You will want to deglaze the pan from time to time. Then add the raisins, stir again. Now add the quinoa and lentils (remember to rinse off, as quinoa is poisonous before washing!!!), stir to mix with the vegetables. Add the water, bring to a simmer, and let cook for 15 minutes. I served with some yogurt and parsley, but use cilantro if you have it.

For everyone who’s asked, this is the bagel recipe I use. I don’t really know who this guy is, but the recipe has plenty of detail that suggests long practice.

When I follow this recipe to the letter I have been successful. It takes about an hour and a half. Last time I made these I made the dough the night before and stuck it in the fridge, but this is only because I didn’t want to wake up early enough to do it in the morning. In that case the dough was probably too fluffy–normally you want it kind of dense. I also have substituted whole wheat flour for much of the flour, but in this case you will have to add extra water and recognize the texture will be different. Two tips: oil the baking sheet more than you think you need to, and I would highly recommend a spider for pulling the bagels out of the water.

Is it worth it to make your own bagels at home rather than getting them from a bakery? I would say yes, as it’s difficult to find really good bagels most places, and you can easily make real ones at home, unlike homemade baguettes or similar. Also this keeps them the sometimes food they ought to be.