Summertime!

Canobie Lake Park is a local amusement park. It's not a Disney World - it's not even a Six Flags - but it holds a special place in my heart. When I was growing up, my family and my cousin's family went there together every summer. My mum and my Uncle Bob are twins, and his daughter Wendy and I are only two and a half months apart; we're more like sisters than cousins. Though we were very different growing up - she was the outdoorsy, athletic, outgoing one and I was the more introverted one who liked to play house and do crafts - we were always best buddies, who took advantage of every opportunity to have a sleepover.

Wendy and I are still very close. When we talked to each other a few weeks ago, near the end of the school year (we're both teachers), we decided to go to Canobie together for the day, once school got out, and so we did, this past Friday. I dragged her onto the wooden roller coaster first thing. We sat in the very back; I rode with my hands in the air the entire time, and she held on for dear life. We went on some tamer rides together, and before we left, enjoyed some fried dough that, as far as I am concerned, is the best you'll find anywhere.

One thing that Wendy and I have grown to have in common, besides a profession, is that we both love to cook. Wendy married a chef, but she's an incredible cook and baker in her own right. Dinner at their house is always an event to look forward to!

Wendy first learned to cook at her mom's elbow, much as I learned the basics from my mum. Aunt Diane's the one, you might recall, who's responsible for the spaghetti with bacon that I mentioned back in December. Along with somehow inheriting Aunt Diane's tendency towards being emotional (despite the fact that I can't possibly have inherited it, genetically speaking), I have accumulated a fair number of her recipes over the years, including this one. If you're having a gathering for Independence Day, this is a great dessert for a hot summer day!

I prefer this without the almonds.

Frozen Raspberry Pie

One 9” pie shell, baked

2 egg whites
12 ounces frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar
dash salt
¼ cup chopped almonds (optional)
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

With electric mixer, beat egg whites, raspberries, lemon juice, sugar and salt until stiff – about 10 minutes.

With spatula, fold in whipped cream and almonds, if desired.

Put mixture in 9” pie shell. Freeze. Keep frozen until serving.

Whole wheat meets Tollhouse cookies

Is that making you drool?

What if I told you - truthfully - that it contains whole wheat?

Backstory: I was recently concocting a batch of white-chocolate chunk cookies for my class at school, and realized that I only had a cup and a quarter of all-purpose flour left.  I needed another cup.  It was, in true Martha fashion, too late to run to the store to get more.  (Have I mentioned that I'm a procrastinator extraordinaire?)

Horrors.  What to do?

I opened my pantry closet in the hopes of discovering a bag of all-purpose flour that I'd purchased and stashed away in case of emergency.  No dice.  There was a bag of bread flour...and...wait a minute.

There was that bag of white whole-wheat flour, which I'd purchased with the best of intentions, but hadn't been brave enough to use.  Deciding that it was that or no cookies, I measured out a cup and crossed my fingers.

When they had cooled, I gingerly tried a cookie. I have nothing against whole wheat, but would it work in cookies? I was pleasantly surprised.  I honestly couldn't tell that I'd used almost half whole wheat flour.  However, this was a new cookie recipe for me.  As a true test, I needed to try it out in one of my old standbys: Tollhouse cookies.

I've made a few changes over the years to the original Tollhouse cookie recipe printed on the bag of Nestlé morsels, namely:

• I replace half of the butter (one stick) with margarine; this makes the cookies a little softer, a little less crispy.  
  
• I eliminate the nuts, just because I don't think that they have any place in a chocolate chip cookie.
• I don't use Nestlé morsels.  Yes, I know, sacrilege.  However, let me tell you, Nestlé Tollhouse cookies made with Ghirardelli 60% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate Chips are divine, a completely different animal.

I made a batch of them, replacing almost half (4/9, for my fellow math geeks) of the flour with the white whole wheat flour. I waited impatiently for the first batch to cool a bit, and finally bit into a still-warm cookie.

Heaven. They're absolutely delicious. Cookie Monster would devour them without a second thought.

I'm going to increase the whole wheat flour a bit more next time and see what happens.

Martha's Chocolate Chippies
based on Original Nestlé Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (11.5 ounce package) Ghirardelli 60% Cocoa bittersweet chocolate chips (brown package)

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl; set aside. In large mixer bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. (I like to bake on parchment paper on cookie sheets.)

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

I've been tagged!

Cara over at Cara's Cravings has tagged me!

The rules:
Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What was I doing ten years ago?
Summer 1998... I was teaching at a summer program at Shore Country Day School, where I was the reigning Queen of Gimp.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
1. Make Tollhouse cookies before school
2. Get through the school day - almost there!
3. Go grocery shopping
4. Plant flowers around the mailbox
5. Maybe get together with Andrea for girls' night, and work on some beading projects

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Popcorn or kettle corn (made in my Whirley Pop)
2. S'mores
3. Ice cream - current favorite is Edy's Swiss Orange
4. Homemade cookies
5. Fruit

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Pay off our house
2. Buy a new car
3. Invest so I can live off the interest
4. Start my future childrens' college funds
5. Make sure my mom is comfortable

Places I've lived:
Most recent listed first...
1. South Chelmsford
2. North Chelmsford
3. Melrose
4. Beverly
5. Gloucester

Jobs I've had:
Most recent listed first...
1. Bioeducational Facilitator
2. In-house sub at an elementary school
3. Assistant teacher at a private school
4. Nanny
5. Church secretary

Tag, now you're it!
1. Charles at Cat Boy II
2. Annette at Thirtysomething Revisited
3. Jenny at Tangerine Honda Element Dreams
4. Michelle at Ginger Snaps
5. Heather at Madwoman's Attic

Turning up the heat

Though the weather is gorgeous right now - just what June should be, in my opinion - we had a nasty spate of hot weather at the beginning of the week. Mother Nature should save her summer heatwaves until the kids are finished with school. I'm lucky, in that my school is air conditioned, but the vast majority of schools in Massachusetts are not. My sympathies go out to you if you teach in (or send your kids to) one of them! The last few days of school are tough enough without oppressive heat. (I have three days left, but who's counting?)

With the warm weather here, it's salad season again. I started this blog last August with a flurry of salad recipes: potato salad, Japanese chicken salad, coleslaw, and spinach strawberry salad. I think it's time to add some more to the mix.

The following is not your average chicken salad. Madras-style curry powder, which is spicier than the standard, adds a little heat here; use regular curry powder, or back off the amount used, if it's too spicy for your liking. Toasting the curry powder is essential, as it helps to release the flavors.

The spiciness will develop further while the mixture sits. If you are making this ahead of time, make sure you taste it just before serving - it might be quite a bit hotter than when you initially mixed it up!

The walnuts can of course be eliminated if (as in my extended family) there are issues with nut allergies.

Chicken, Walnut, and Red Grape Salad with Curry Dressing

2 teaspoons curry powder (preferably Madras-style)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use light)
1/4 cup plain yogurt (light or non-fat)
2 teaspoons mango chutney
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
3 cups 1/2-inch chunks cooked skinless boneless chicken breast
1 cup halved seedless red grapes
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped

4 large curly lettuce leaves
4 small clusters seedless red grapes

Stir curry powder in small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to medium bowl. Add light mayonnaise, yogurt, mango chutney, minced ginger, and grated orange peel. Whisk to blend. Stir in chicken, grapes, scallions, and chopped walnuts. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made up to 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Place lettuce leaf on each of 4 plates. Divide salad among leaves. Garnish each plate with grape cluster. Makes 4 servings.


Still eating cake...

...but this time it's chocolate.

We had a family cookout today, as my husband's uncle and aunt are visiting from waaay out of town. It happens to also be my sister-in-law's birthday, so I called her up to see what kind of cake she wanted...

T: "Chocolate, of course!"
Me: "Good. What kind of frosting?"
T: "Well...maybe we should have vanilla, so it's not too much chocolate for people."
Me: "Listen, it's YOUR birthday. YOU get to choose what YOU want."
T: "Okay, then chocolate frosting!"

Fabulous. I broke out my top-secret, for-special-occasions chocolate cake recipe.

Okay, you got me. It's not really a top-secret recipe. In fact, if you have a container of Hershey's baking cocoa, you have the basic recipe: it's the "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake recipe on the back. Despite its name, I thought it wasn't qute perfect, and decided to mess with it a bit, so my version DOES have a secret ingredient.

The original recipe calls for adding a cup of boiling water to the batter at the end, just before baking. I decided, after making the cake a couple of times, that something was missing. I added about a tablespoon (plus) of instant coffee to the boiling water, stirred it until the granules had dissolved, then added it to the batter.

Holy fabulous cake, Batman. You can't taste the coffee at all; it just adds an amazing depth and richness to the chocolate. The cake was good before, but the coffee makes it come pretty darn close to the "perfect" in its name.

The following picture isn't beautifully composed - at least I put the cake on one of Gramma Betty's plates - but I think you can see how dark, rich and moist the cake is. It's frosted with the companion Perfectly Chocolate Frosting, which is likewise on the Hershey's cocoa container. My next step in perfecting this recipe is to make the frosting a little less sweet, but it tastes good as-is.



Enjoy.

NOTES:

You can use the pan preparation method I described in the yellow cake recipe of greasing the pan, putting parchment or waxed paper circles in the pans, greasing the circles, then flouring the whole shebang.

When I make chocolate cake, I "flour" the pans with cocoa powder. No white streaks on the outside of the baked cake!

This recipe makes quite a bit of batter. My 9" cake pans are relatively shallow, and the cake was rising up over the top of the edges! I'll be buying some deeper pans sometime soon.

Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa (preferably Hershey's)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon instant coffee or instant espresso

Heat oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans (see notes).
Combine dry ingredients (sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder) in large bowl.
Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for two minutes.
Add instant coffee/espresso to boiling water, and stir to dissolve. Stir hot mixture into the rest of the batter; batter will be quite thin. Pour into pans.

Bake 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Frosting.

Easily serves 12.