Almond Fudge Brownies with Raspberry Ice Cream

Lately I’ve been thinking about wisdom - the good sense in judgement that one gets from accumulated experience, especially from aging. I’m certainly not old, mind you, but I do hope I’m somewhat more astute than I was at an earlier age.

Just for fun, I searched the internet for books written about wisdom and was not surprised to find that a double standard applies to the sexes. To sum up, men who are wise learn from mistakes and work to improve their skills, their intellect and their lot in life. Women who are wise strive to be better mothers, better wives and even ‘goddesses.’

Almost everything mentioned about wisdom as it relates to women applies to engaging in some activity external to the inner-self. One book went went so far as to say, “a wise woman learns to love her body, even her feet.” This is pretty much the part where I started to choke on my almond fudge brownie. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for self-empowerment, but I’m pretty sure a pedicure isn’t going to get me there.

Then I stumbled upon these statistics from the US Census Bureau:

• Women in the United States represent over half of the population
• American women have passed men in gaining advanced college degrees and bachelor's degrees
• One quarter of all women in the United States are victims of domestic violence
• Women make only 77 cents for every dollar that men earn for the same work
• Forty percent of women who head families live in poverty
• One in five women are without health care
• The largest segment of Americans living in poverty are elderly women

Obviously, many factors influence these outcomes. At minimum, the weight of the culture works against women and in some countries the statistics are dire.

If male wisdom is rooted in self-development and female wisdom is rooted in self-sacrifice, the results of the latter don’t seem all that promising to me. In fact, all of this reading makes me reflect on my own life and ask what I can do to put it on an even stronger trajectory.


That said, I’m curious about what wisdom you have to share. What have you done for yourself to strengthen who you are and where you’re going?

I also have another question for you. If you could go back in time and offer your younger self at least one piece of wisdom, what would it be? I’m eager hear and I’m sure others are too. After all, a wise person learns from the experience of others.

While you’re thinking about it, sit down and enjoy an almond fudge brownie with raspberry ice cream. It may not make you wise but the flavor combination will surely make you smile.

Almond Fudge Brownies

35 g (1/3 c) cocoa powder

80 ml (1/3 c) hot water

70 g (2/3 c) good quality milk chocolate, chopped

80 g (3/4 c) good quality dark chocolate, chopped

150 g unsalted butter (10 1/2 tbs) butter

260 g (1 and 2/3 c) brown sugar

125 g (1/3 c. plus 1 tbs) almond powder

4 eggs separated

1 pinch cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 355 degrees (180 Celsius). Throughly butter glass baking dish. I used a 7.5 X 9.5 x 3 inch square Pyrex dish.

Mix hot water and cocoa together until blended. Set aside.

Place butter and chopped chocolate in a bowl together and melt (just over a 1 minute in the microwave) and stir.

In a mixing bowl combine the cocoa and water mixture with the melted chocolate and butter mixture, the brown sugar, the flour and the egg yolks. Stir until blended with a sturdy wooden spoon.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. The egg whites should stand firm when the whisk is pulled away but remain shiny and flop over a bit at the top. (Note: Do not beat until dry. Also,increase mixer speed gradually while beating the whites.)

Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Pour into a buttered pan and bake until firm, about 45-55 minutes. Keep an eye on it though, as oven times do vary. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly clean with a few crumbs attached. Cool on a wire rack. Slice and let sit uncovered for 4 or 5 hours. The texture will firm up as they sit. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Raspberry Ice Cream

3 egg yolks

205 g (1 c) sugar

120 g (1/2 c) water

1 pint of fresh red raspberries (the more you add, the stronger the flavor)

pinch of salt

1/2 g (1/8 tsp) xanthan gum (keeps the ice cream creamy when freezing)

16 g (1 tbs) lemon juice

475 ml (2 c) half and half

Puree raspberries and strain to remove seeds.

Place egg yolk in a food processor or blender and set aside. Combine the sugar and water and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Briefly bring the syrup to a boil. With the blender or food processor running on high speed, gradually pour the hot syrup mixture into the egg yolks. (use the feed tube or the opening in to blender cover). Process about 3 minutes until thick and pale yellow. Add to this mixture,the raspberry puree, salt, xanthan gum and lemon juice and blend. Blend in the heavy cream and chill. Process in ice cream machine and freeze.

Bon appetit!

Meringue Clouds

May you have a joyous, healthy, and peaceful New Year. Thank you all for your friendship and support. It's meant the world to me. And be sure to check out the latest interview with me and a few fabulous food bloggers here. Cheers to you and yours.

Meringue Clouds

250 ml (1 c) egg whites

1 pinch cream of tartar

205 g (1 c) sugar

255 g (2 c) powdered sugar, sifted

2 drops blue food coloring

Preheat oven to 200 degrees (100 Celsius). Line three baking sheets with Silpat or well buttered parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, beat egg whites with cream of tartar at low speed. Gradually increase speed to medium until the mixer gets white and frothy. Increase speed to medium high. Slowly add sugar and beat until whites are stiff but shiny. (The egg whites should flop over a bit at the top when you pull the whisk away). Remove bowl from mixer. Gently fold in powdered sugar with rubber spatula.

With a large spoon mound 2/3 of the meringue into balls on the baking sheet. They should be about 3 inches high and have some space between them. Pulling up on the spoon will help you create a swirly effect on the outer surface. For the remaining meringue fold in 1-2 drops blue food coloring. Use the blue meringue to make more mounds on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 1 and 1/2 hours - 2 hours. Place the handle of a wooden spoon in the door to hold it slightly ajar during the baking process. Keep an eye on the meringue. If it browns too quickly, lower the temperature a bit. Cool on a wire rack.

Bon Appetit!

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies with Coconut and Sweetened Dried Cherries

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

There was a time in my life when I loved to travel. The packing, the planning, the excitement and the idea of journeying to far away lands thrilled me to no end. It all seemed glamorous, fun and interesting. How times have changed.

"You want me to pay extra so there's room for my legs?" "Is this bottle of liquid too large to carry on the plane?" "Be sure to wear the slip on shoes and to take off your belt so you don't set off the alarm." "How do I get this camera equipment through without them losing it or destroying it?" "I'm losing how much to convert dollars to Euros?"

It's not uncommon for New Englanders to take mid-winter vacations. The need to escape typically climaxes in February as the frigid temperatures and long, dark days take a toll on even the most well-adjusted among us. Because of this, I rank myself among those in need of an annual winter get away. Every year I pull out the travel guides. Every year I read the Trip Advisor reviews. Year after year I'm increasingly mortified by the cost and how little we can get for our money.

This year we decided to do something different. We sat down and calculated the cost of vacation, cut the total in half and decided to spend the money on making our own home more luxurious and cozy.

So far we've upgraded our bed linens and bought fluffy comforters, robes, slippers from the Matouk and Anichini outlet stores here in New England. We're visiting local antique stores here and here, consignment shops and Craigslist so we can create a library in our home office. We're busy framing, painting and decorating so we can turn our spare bedroom into a music room. We're making lists of movies we want to see, developing our own at home cooking/ baking immersion courses and building our music collection by sourcing our materials at the local library. Soon we'll be making lists of museums we want to visit and restaurants we have yet to try. Surprisingly, we've done quite a bit and have only made a small dent in our tropical vacation fund.

I am aware that this process will not bring us sunshine and 80 degree weather. But for us, it's been much more fun than planning a vacation and hopefully the rewards will last longer. At the very least, we can curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and a few of these sensational cookies. I know for sure that I won't get dessert this good at a resort.

So what about you? How are you feeling about travel these days and what are your vacation plans this winter?

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies with Coconut and Sweetened Dried Cherries

230 g (1 c) butter, room temperature

195 g (1c) sugar

75 g (1/2 c) light brown sugar

75 g (1/2 c) coconut palm sugar (you can substitute brown sugar)

2 large eggs

16 g (1 tbs) milk

4 g (1 tsp) vanilla extract

2 g (1/2 tsp) cherry extract (you can substitute vanilla extract)

1 g (1 tsp) Kirsch (cherry flavored liquor)

290 g (3 c) oats

175 g (1-1/4 c) all purpose flour

8 g (1 tbs) teff flour (you can substitute all purpose flour)

6 g (1-1/4) baking soda

4 g (1-1/2 tsp) cinnamon

1 g (1/4 tsp) nutmeg

< 1 g (1/8 tsp) cloves

2 g (1/2 tsp) mace

85 g (1 c) dried, sweetened coconut

360 g (12 oz.) good quality dark chocolate, chopped

85 g. (3/4 c) dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (177 Celsius). Marinate the dried cherries in the Kirsch while you make the recipe.

Combine the sugars and butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the milk, vanilla extract, cherry extract and eggs. Combine. Add the oatmeal and stir on low speed until combined.

Sift together the flours, baking soda and spices. Mix into oatmeal mixture. Stir in coconut, chocolate and cherries until evenly distributed. The batter will be very thick.

Form patties of about 1-1/2 tbs of dough. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, depending upon your oven.

Makes about 30 two inch (5 cm) cookies.

Bon appetit!

Quince Pate de Fruit

I glanced out the window while eating breakfast and noticed the juxtaposition of the light against the turning leaves. I said to my husband, "it's time for quince." Without saying another word, we washed the dishes and dressed for our trip to the orchard.

I've been dreaming about quince since fall arrived here in New England. Quince is big, yellow, knobby and something of a cross between an apple and a pear. It's quite bitter until you cook it on the stove with sugar but once it's done, it's sweet, soft and delicious. I couldn't wait to get to the orchard to buy some.

I was also excited because I love visiting the orchard. To me, orchards are magical. I love the rows of trees, the colors and the slope of the land. I love them because they give us fresh food even after most of the farm stands and farmers markets have closed for the winter. For whatever reason, it's not the first time we've talked about how wonderful it would be to have an old farm house with an orchard out back.

Of course, we were diverted on the way by caramel apples and cider doughnuts but that didn't keep us from finding fresh quince. I had neither tasted nor heard of quince when I stumbled upon an incredible membrillo recipe on Aran's beautiful blog. For three years now we've made her membrillo in autumn and eaten it with a delectable cheese from here or here. This year we decided to do something different.

We decided to turn the recipe into something sweet called pate de fruit. It's especially simple to make pate de fruit with this recipe because quince contains a lot of pectin. No gelatin is required to make the recipe work. It's an elegant treat with incredible fresh fruit flavor.

How I wanted to taste this candy. When all was said and done there was only one obstacle between me and the pate de fruit - my right arm. I injured it about over a week ago and it's simply too hard for me to find success in the kitchen with my left hand alone. Thankfully, my husband stepped in and deftly turned this bitter fruit into one of our favorite treats of all time. He did an amazing job with the recipe. I know you'll love it too.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Quince Pate de Fruit (only slightly adapted from Cannelle et Vanille)

4 large quinces

Juice of 1 lemon

Sugar (25% less amount as pureed quince)

Peel, core and quarter the quince. Cut the quarters in half. Place the cut quince in a bowl with lemon juice to stop it from oxidizing.

Place the quince in a large pot and cover them with cold water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the quince until fork tender, about 20 minutes.

Drain the water out and puree the soft quince. Weigh the puree on a scale. You will need slightly less sugar than puree (about 25% less). That is, if you have 1000g of puree, you'll need about 750 g of sugar. You need less sugar for this recipe than the membrillo recipe because you're going to roll the candy in sugar at the end and don't want it to be overly sweet. Don't worry about it being exactly 3/4 of the amount. Simply measure the puree and put in a bit less sugar.

Place the puree and sugar in a large pot and start cooking it in medium heat. When the sugar melts and it starts to get hot, it will bubble up and might burn so be very, very careful when stirring. Wear gloves if necessary. Turn the heat down a bit but make sure there are still small bubbles forming. Cook this mixture for about an 45 minutes to an hour. It may take longer if you have a lot of quince. You can tell it's done when it turns a deep orange color and gets very thick.

Transfer the thick paste, into a quarter sheetpan lined with parchment and let it cool. Once cool, cut into squares and roll each square in sugar. Leave out uncovered overnight so the pate de fruit develops a stronger shape.

Later, store at room temperature in a covered container.

Bon Appetit!