Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea

National Caffeine Awareness Month

Before this day ends, marking the LAST DAY of National Caffeine Awareness Month®, I feel it behooves me to explain why I haven't paid more attention to it.  You'd think, on a blog about coffee, tea and chocolate, I would have mentioned it more than once, but the fact is, this particular "campaign" is ANTI caffeine. 

The phrase "National Caffeine Awareness Month®" is actually trademarked by these folx, and that means you gotta use the little R behind it, lest you get yer butt in trouble.  I notice hardly anybody does, but that's what it says on the Caffeine Awareness website.  The campaign has been sponsored by a soy-based coffee producer, Soy Coffee, which they recommend we switch to in lieu of the badbad (but oh-so-good) caffeinated products. 

Whatever.  Here are some previous posts and interesting links about caffeine:

• Caffeine Calculator - from the same Caffeine Awareness website.  It'd be interesting to compare their results with other lists online, for instance
• Erowid Caffeine Vault - Caffeine Content of Beverages, Foods, & Medications
• Caffeine Comparison Chart - from about.com
• All About Caffeine - from answers.com
• Killed By Caffeine - a humorous calculator from the Energy Fiend
• A rebbutal from a coffee fan - read this, but see me for the "where to send"
• Another rebbutal
• And another - The War on Caffeine - from Energy Fiend's Caffeine archives
• Caffeine and Chocolate
• Caffeine Makes You Wanna ...
• Can't Get Enough Caffeine?
• SperoNews Article: Activists warn of dangers from caffeine addiction
• And last but not least, a bump to our favorite hymn of all time: "O Blessed Holy Caffeine Tree" by our buddy D of Third World County

That's it for me, I'm fully caffeinated for the evening, so ... good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow!

Chocolate Friday: Guinness Brownies

I've been craving a brownie lately.  Cravings like that should not be ignored, as they signal deeply core body needs that must be met on pain of ... some kind of terrible repercussion.  Heh. 

So, I decided to try this recipe for beer brownies.  I had some Guinness left over from stew making, and since we don't drink beer, it needed to be used up.  It sounds like a weird thing to be cooking with, but it really did make a wonderful taste in the stew, so I thought, what they hey, give it a shot.  The original recipe came from ArmyWifeToddlerMom, a link I posted the last time I obsessed on brownies.

I did want a more fudgy brownie, so I added a little more butter than the recipe called for, and also a smidgy more chocolate.  The result was a dense, moist-but-still-cakelike brownie, with a definite flavor twist coming from the Guinness.  If I make these again, I'll probably use a lot less beer because this is a flavor I just can't get used to.  Maybe I'm stuck in a rut, chocolate-wise, because the hubs thought these were the best thing since sliced bread.  I didn't tell him they had beer in them, and he didn't seem to notice the beer-ish smell or taste.  He just said they were GREAT, and went back for more.  Do you suppose it's a man thing?

Anyway, here's the destructions, as I made them:

Guinness Brownies
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
9 oz. dark chocolate
5 oz. white chocolate
8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick)
3/4 c flour
3/4 c cocoa
1 1/4 c Guinness Stout
Powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)

Preheat the oven to 375° F and butter an 8 inch square cake pan.

Place butter and chocolate (broken into pieces or chopped) in a saucepan over a low heat to melt.  While the chocolate is melting, beat together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  When the chocolate is melted, pour into the bowl and mix well.  In a small bowl, sift together flour and cocoa.  Add slowly to the large bowl and mix well.  Last, whisk in the Guinness. 

Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out almost clean.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar on top and cut into squares to serve.

Enjoy!

UPDATE: Interesting side note - I gave these to the hubs' bandmates which consists of 5 guys and 1 girl, and all the guys raved, loved them, scarfed them up.  The girl didn't like them.  I really wonder if there's something genetic about guys and beer.  Something different in their taste buds?

Cups & Shadows

The simple minded are easily entertained . . .

Coffee Roasting Report

I have roasted!  My very first batch of home-roasted coffee beans!

I wanted the first batch to be a sort of experiment.  I wanted to know if there really WAS a difference, semi-objectively.  So I chose to start with Costa Rican Tarrazu beans, since I had some that I had bought and could use them to make a comparison with.  Well, maybe not a completely fair comparison, since the bought beans were already some hmmphmm weeks old in the house.  But at least it gave me a place to start.

I followed the destructions given here.  I used the lower temperature - 410 F -  to start with, but when the beans didn't crack at 12 minutes, I turned the oven up to 425 F and waited.  4 minutes later I was started to get nervous but there was finally a crack.  I kept waiting for the second surge of cracking, but it never came, and the first cracking actually never fully stopped.  I'm going to guess that means my beans weren't roasting uniformly.  Maybe I had too many in the pan, or not enough space in the center, I don't know.   In any case, after 18 and a half minutes they were quite dark, so I finally just took them out.  Then it was just a matter of letting them cool, and shaking them in the collander to get the little chafy stuff off. 

Then came the experiment.  I had to wait for the house to clear a bit, because all I could smell at first was the smokey roasting smell, which I LOVE, by the way.  I would fill the house with that smell all the time, if the hubs didn't object so strongly.  It wasn't as smokey as I thought it would be, but I did have a pretty hefty fan blowing through the kitchen and straight out the wide-open window.

I measured out the same amount of beans from the bag of Costa Rica Tarrazu and my freshly roasted.  The first big difference I noticed was the smell of the beans themselves.  What a difference.  HUGE!  The bought beans smelled bitter and flat.  Not stale, just bitter.  The fresh beans had a really strong smell, a full smell.  Much richer and more complex. 

I made myself two cups of coffee and carefully tasted each.  I won't even bother to say I "cupped", because I'm such a rank amateur at this it's not funny.  But I tasted.  And waited.  Then tasted the other.  Back and forth a few times, letting the coffee flavors speak to me.  There is a definite difference.

Now, those folx who have done this will think I'm being silly, but ... frankly, as the hubs was happy to tell me, there's a lot of hype about coffee and various coffee preparation - machines and beans and such - and I'm inclined to agree with him somewhat.  I did feel a little bit skeptical.  I wondered how much of that praise and rapture is just ... fashion.  I had to know, I had to test it for myself.  Even if there hadn't been a big difference, I would have enjoyed the process.  But now I can say that there is definitely a difference in the flavor of coffee made from a freshly roasted bean.  A big difference.  The bought coffee was good, but the flavor of the other was fuller, bigger.  I don't think it was something I've ever tasted, so I'm not sure what to compare it to. 

It was like the difference between a freshly picked rose and one that's sat in a vase for a few days.  If you've only ever smelled the 2 day old rose, you would think it smells nice, and you would enjoy it, but you wouldn't know what you were missing.  You wouldn't have been blessed by the subtle complexities from the aroma of a fresh rose.

That's what this experience was like.  My nose and taste buds went  "ahhhhh, I never knew ... "

The kicker -- the hubs likes it.  Before I did this, he said stuff like "You know, you can just BUY those beans at the store and not have to go through all this trouble".   But after I served him up his very own cup, he raved.  In fact, he went back for another cup this evening.  And he said something to the effect of "I wouldn't go through all this trouble myself, but any time you want to roast some more beans, I'll be happy to help you use them up."

That's high praise from the real skeptic in this house.

Now the question is, shall I keep doing it in the oven, or shall I invest in the roasting machine thingy?

Carnival of the Recipes #84

Greetings ladeeez and gentlemens!  My name is Christine and I'll be your server this morning/afternoon/evening.  Our chefs have prepared a truly splendid selection for you.  Please take a moment to look through this week's menu of delectable and delightful dishes, gathered for your approval here at the 84th edition of the Carnival of the Recipes.  I'm sure you'll find something to tickle your fancy.  Our special today is ... everything!  Take your time, I'll be back in a moment with your drinks.

Chef Kevin the Technogypsy serves up French Pancakes, otherwise known as crepes, and delicious by any name.

Chef keewee at keewee's corner presents Grape-Peach scones - not just a breakfast food!

Chef Christine (that's me!) offers a recipe for Cheesy Frittata, guaranteed to fill you up.

Chef muse at me-ander presents My latest breakfast, a brief meander through brekky.

Selections for snacks or light lunches:

Chef FrazzleDad Jim offers a delicious recipe for Garlic Salami Crostini.

Chef David of Third World County serves up Easy Tostadas

Chef Shawn Lea of Everything and Nothing brings us Italian Meatball Soup, a filling dish that could be a whole meal in itself.

Chef Romeocat at CatHouse Chat presents Rye and Bean Salad, demonstrating that a good recipe can be made better by a "wing it" chef.

Chef David of Third World County brings us (FLAT) Chicken Enchiladas, made even better by use of the word "thusly".

Chef Marsha at A Weight Lifted honors one of the first famous female chefs in french cuisine with her recipe for Chicken with Truffles.

Chef Triticale the wheat & rye guy serves up Buffalo Pizza.  What's that?  No, ma'am, it's not really buffalo.

For beef entrees we offer these exotic selections:

Chef Anna at bunny? presents Mediterranean meatballs/Kebobs, with your choice of lamb, goat or beef.

Chef David of Glittering Eye presents a Dalmatian dish called Cevapčici (pronounced cheh-vahp-chi-chi)

Chef Brian of Memento Moron serves up Shrimp Campeche, complete with flame-age.

Chef Bryan of Soup Noodles defines (or redefines) "Kung Pao", with his recipe for Kung Pao Shrimp.  Spicy!

Chef Deborah of Eat Your History serves up a wonderful recipe for Pan Seared Scallops With Asparagus and Baby Leeks, which she guarantees is quick and easy.

Chef DeputyHeadmistress at The Common Room presents a spicy selection with her recipe for Thai Style Pork Noodle Toss.

Chef Kim C at Life in a Shoe: the methods and madness of one mother of 7 presents Cheesy Pasta - a very easy recipe you'll love!

Chef Riannan of In the Headlights helps us recover from Mardis Gras with Bananas Foster.

Chef Taleena of Sun Comprehending Glass brings us a delicious recipe for Apple Strudel

Chef Kittykait at Seven Silly Southern Sisters presents Kitchen Scrap Cookies, a good recipe for creative cooks!

Chef Kevin of Seriously Good shares some of his creative and experimental cooking with his recipe for Blood Orange Pots de Crème

Chef mensa barbie at Mensa Barbie Welcomes You presents Sorbet de Framboise!, a great recipe for those of us who don't have an ice cream maker!

And that wraps up the menu.  Would you like another minute to browse the selections, or are you ready to order?  A few more minutes?  Not a problem, take your time.  It IS difficult to decide.  But you know, you CAN have one of everything, if you want.

Thanks to Beth, our Founder in Chief and She Who Will Be Obeyed, for making all this possible.  Next week's carnival, the April Fool's edition, will be hosted by Caterwauling.  Post recipes by Saturday noon, either by email to recipe-dot-carnival-at-neversendspam-gmail-dot-c0m, or you can use the Conservative Cat's Carnival Submission Form.

National Chocolate Week

Oh man, I don't know how I could have missed this.  Thanks to D for mentioning this in the comments of my last post.  Cripes, I would have missed it entirely, and as it is, I'm waving byebye to the tail of this critter.  It's been National Chocolate Week ALL WEEK!  And I missed it!  Missed a glorious opportunity to eat chocolate every day.  Oh wait, I already do that.  Missed a wonderful opportunity to talk about chocolate every day.  Wait, I already do that too.  Ok, you're right D, every week is chocolate week here, and every week has a Chocolate Friday in it for extra-special chocolatey oomph.

It's probably also worth mentioning that today is National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day. 

Oh, and March is National Caffeine awareness month.

Chocolate Friday: Cream-filled Muffins

I wasn't sure whether to call these muffins or cupcakes.  Muffcakes!  That's the ticket.  Well, whatever you call them, they're scrumptious.  Highly decadent. If you like the combination of chocolate and Bailey's Irish Cream, you'll love these. 

I started with a chocolate layer cake recipe found here.  The cream filling started as the Irish Chocolate Cake filling.  And of course, I modified both to suit my preference for putting cream cheese in everything.  Heh.

I do have a question, in case anybody has the answer.  What's the deal with adding eggs one at a time and beating well in between? (See destructions below, which is exactly how it was written on the cake recipe I stole.) Is there a good logical reason for this?  I got really irritated with this after about the 3rd egg, and just tossed them all in together. 

I thought, hey, maybe this is kinda like that story about Great Granny's Famous Pot Roast.  You know that story where the recipe has been handed down for generations, and the first item is: "cut the ends off the roast".  Finally somebody thinks to go ask Great Granny what that's about, and she says it was because her roasting pan was too small for the hunk of meat.

Well, maybe the person who originated this cake recipe had a really REALLY shallow bowl, and had to add the eggs one at a time to prevent major spatter.  Heh. So, rather than just follow this one blindly, I'm asking --  Is there a good reason to put eggs in one at a time and beat well between each one? 

Cream-filled Chocolate Muffcakes
1 1/2 cup softened butter
1 2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
6 eggs
2 2/3 cup flour
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350°.  Cream together butter, cream cheese and sugar.  Add one egg at a time, mixing well between each egg.  Mix in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla extract.  Add 1/2 cup boiling water and mix well.  Pour batter into greased muffin tins (the large kind, the bigger the muffin, the more space for filling).  Bake at 350° 30-40 minutes until set (a toothpick will come out of the center clean).

Allow the muffins to cool.  When cool, make a well in the muffin for the cream filling.  Using a sharp knife, cut down into the center of the muffin almost to the bottom but not quite.  Scoop out the insides with a fork.  Use a large spoon to fill the center with the cream filling below. 

(Cook's privilege -- eat muffin centers, dipped in the filling.)

Cream Filling
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsp Irish Cream Liqueur
1/4 - 1/2 cup softened cream cheese

Mix ingredients together in a bowl until creamy.  I used pre-whipped cream cheese, so if you use regular cream cheese, you may want to use a little more or less depending on your taste.  The mixture should be thick, not soupy, more like a pudding texture. 

Top with a marascino cherry and serve with a good, rich coffee.  Mmmmmm, delishyummygood! 

Enjoy!

Color Me Happy!

My green coffee bean sample packs from Sweet Maria's have arrived already!  They're frikken FAST!!  It arrived yesterday afternoon, and I had only ordered it 2 days before.  I didn't ask for speedy delivery, I asked for the cheapest possible shipping.  I'm so happy!  My feet are dancing and the hubs thinks I'm crazy. 

I don't have time to roast today, but guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

And now, on with Chocolate Friday!

Cheesy Frittata for Brunch

A frittata is an egg dish, similar to an omelet, but ... different. 

With an omelet, you traditionally cook the eggs, "lay in" the center ingredients, and then fold the eggs over them.  With a frittata, you mix all the ingredients right into the eggs, mish-mosh, and then just let it cook up flat, without folding.  A minor difference, but I have this little bit of trivia in my head and I have to flaunt it.  Heh.

A frittata is perfect for a small intimate brunch with friends.  It doesn't have to be served immediately, and in fact, a frittata is sometimes served at room temperature.  Personally, I prefer hot out of the pan, but when you're busy prepping and cooking for company, it's good to have a dish that can be set on "hold" for a while.  This dish is also highly customizable - just add whatever ingredients you love best.

Cheesy Frittata
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced or diced
1 - 1 1/2 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup diced ham
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
6 medium eggs
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar and jack cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large skillet.  You will need a large, deep non-stick skillet with a lid.  Add broccoli and onions and allow to cook for about 5 minutes, adding the mushrooms and ham after about 3 minutes. 

In a bowl, combine eggs, water and milk, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper if desired.  Beat or whisk lightly.  Stir in 1-1/2 cups of the cheese and then add it all to the pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Cover and cook over medium heat 10-15 minutes until the eggs are set.  A few minutes before it's ready, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese over the top.  Allow the cheese to melt and the eggs to finish setting up, and then remove from heat.   

Serve in a large pie dish or plate, cut into wedges.

A few notes:

• You can cook a frittata in the oven if you prefer.  You can use an oven-proof skillet or a flat casserole dish.  Bake at 375° for about 20-25 minutes.
• The bottom and sides will be a nice brown shade by the time the center of the eggs have set up.  If you have the heat too high, the bottom will burn, so slide a spatula gently under the sides to check partway through cooking.  Turn the heat down a little if the bottom is cooking too fast. 
• I personally like it a little soft-ish, but I've seen frittatas served where the eggs are so set you can almost pick a wedge up like a slice of pie.
• Other ideas for the innards: diced tomato, green onion, zucchini, green pepper, diced cooked chicken, crab, shrimp, sunflower seeds, the kitchen sink...

Enjoy!

It's a Teapot Morning

I bought more stuff.  I couldn't help it, and it's not my fault, and ... other blame-diverting words. 

It all started here with a blogpost about this teapot, shaped like an espresso maker.  I think this so cool!  I want one!! It's all mixed up, just like me.  Then I just need to find a coffee maker shaped like a teapot.  Heh. 

So I went in search, but I couldn't find anything on it.  Nada.  Zippo.  And Colin of the CoffeeCrew doesn't say where he found it. 

I tried the Teapots, Teapots blog, but couldn't find it there either.  BUT, I did find a post about  interesting spot called TeaPot Island in Kent.  The photo shows a woman standing next to a ginormous teapot fountain.  Another must-visit place to add to my travelogue, for sure!  There's not much detail on the Teapot Island website, but they do have a VERY interesting photo gallery of unusual teapots. 

That was good for an hours' worth of diversion, but then I continued my search, and landed eventually at The English Tea Store, where they're having a closeout sale on some of their teapots!  So ... well, you know how it is.  I had to.  It was a moral imperative.  I bought two Amsterdam teapots, one large, one smallish.  Very cute, very cheap, even with shipping.  See, isn't it cute?

I am now putting the credit card away, in a box, high on a shelf, behind something really heavy and difficult to move.