Archives for August 2007

Almost a boomchunka…just add cherries

Several years ago we vacationed in the small northern Michigan town of Glen Arbor. Dexter suggested this destination because it’s the home of The Cherry Republic…in other words, all things cherry. Cherry Republic’s slogan is “life liberty, beaches, and pie” and who can fight with that…actually it sounds like my idea of heaven. It was a delightful get-away with a fabulous, almost pacific-like beach, a good resort, huge dunes for climbing and hiking, and the best cherry pie I’d ever had until I made my own this summer. Other delightful cherry offerings included a cherry ice cream that practically sparkled, a fabulous cherry soda, and my favorite boomchunka cookies. GH and I both adored these cookies and the boys didn’t (more for us). I’ve often contemplated those cookies, their possible ingredients, composition, texture…every aspect lives large in my memory and yet I’ve never attempted to recreate their deliciousness. The were dense, loaded with chocolate, nuts, and cherries, and they were toothsome…not crunchy and not chewy…but just right in between the two.

Yesterday I asked Dexter to choose a cookie recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking: From My Home To Yoursand he proceeded to mark at least a dozen recipes with post-its. So after taking it under advisement that he really wanted the Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops I decided to go with the chocolate oatmeal drops…I just don’t find whoppers appealing.

After reading over the recipe I realized that with a few changes I might actually get lucky and have a boomchunka…and so I started changing the recipe, making notations in the margin and getting more excited as I moved along. Then …drat, drat, double drat…I’m out of dried cherries! I went ahead and made them without the cherries…knowing that they’d be good, but just not exactly right.

I can’t wait to get some dried cherries because these cookies are awesome! They’ve got it all…density, chocolate….oh yeah, they’ve got chocolate three ways, pecans, oats, and that fine quality I call toothsomeness…not crunchy, not chewy…just right. Given our flawless geek logic we’ve figured that these cookies are actually good for us…you know…oats, pecans, chocolate…antioxidants and fiber…they must be good for us. Plus they’re perfect with coffee…oh yes, these are complex, dark, adult cookies…kids tend to shun them for their oaty goodness. So I’ll buy the cherries and add a cup and I’ll report back on the results. In the meantime here’s the recipe:

Triple Chocolate Boomchunkas
adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

2 sticks of butter
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 eggs
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment or use a silicone mat.

Place the butter and bittersweet chocolate chunks into a medium sized microwave-safe bowl and microwave on level 7 for 2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir the butter and chocolate until they emulsify and come together. Add the brown and white sugars and stir well to combine. Add the eggs and stir well to combine.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the butter/chocolate mixture to this and stir well to combine. Add the semisweet chocolate morsels, pecans, oats, and cherries. Stir to combine.

Using an ice cream scoop place 6 mounds of dough on the prepared cookie sheet. Each mound should have about 1/3 cup of dough. Using the palm of your hand flatten the mounds out so that they are about 1/2” to ¾” thick and a circle shape. Bake for about 12 minutes in convection oven, 15 minutes in a standard oven. Adjust cook times for your own oven.

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16 August 2007 | baking, chocolate, cookie, food, fruit and nuts, recipe, sweets | 9 Comments

A slight change in perspective

The onslaught of zucchini continues and frankly it becomes a chore trying to think of new ways to use it. I’m now at the point that I put off thinking about what I’ll cook for dinner until 5:30 or so and then I stick my head in the refrigerator and those damn zucchinis are still there. Why can’t they be magic leprechauns with pots full of gold? Okay…I know that’s weird, but really, couldn’t they turn into something I want to eat, like sushi? Oh, all right…they’re zucchinis and they’re proud of it…onward.

My inspiration today was simply to leave the sunny and provocative Mediterranean preparations behind and head east. Zucchini is often used in Thai and Indian curries (at least here in Madison) so my first thought was a standard curry served over rice…but I’m not in the mood for rice or anything even remotely heavy. So I decided to zip the zucchini and eggplant through my mandoline and turn it into noodle-ish substitutes…light, tasty, and, woohoo!!!…I killed 2 more zucchinis! I diced the chicken and sauteed it in oil and Penzys’ Singapore Seasoning and then deglazed the pan with coconut milk. While that bubbled away I gave the zucchini/eggplant strands a quick spin in a super-hot wok, plated, tossed on a tomato, and there we are… eating zucchini again and with no complaints…uh-huh…it was tasty, light, filling, zesty, and GH thought it was fabulous too.

So maybe a different perspective is all it takes sometimes.

14 August 2007 | Asian, Wisconsin, food, gratins, stews, and stir-frys, low carb, low cal, lowfat, pasta, pizza, noodles, quick and easy, spicy, vegetable | 9 Comments

Tomato love and more

I’ve been having a wonderful summer and I’ve been greatly remiss in not sharing more of it with you, my dear and faithful readers. Because it is you, dear readers, that I think of when I’m deciding what to bake, cook, photograph, and write…well you and those three big guys I live with. I’m a shy girl, I’ve never been popular and well…you know…I’m kinda geeky. So everyday I’m shocked and surprised that you all show up here to see what’s cooking…and I’m thankful. Thank you for reading, commenting, praising, suggesting, and lurking (yes I see you over there hiding behind that cup of coffee).

So it was this morning that I woke up and went down to the kitchen to see if GH had the coffee ready. The sun was shining so fetchingly on my collection of tomatoes that I thought of you and wanted to share…so I grabbed my camera.

I love, adore, and worship tomatoes. The more misshapen, cracked, and oddly colored, the more I love them and the better they taste. I get several beautiful tomatoes in my CSA box and then I go to the farmers’ market and I always end up buying many, many more. When I was a kid my mom had a huge tomato garden. In the first few weeks of September I’d arrive home on the school bus and be met by my trusty, devoted Beagle dog, Billy. We’d walk straight to the garden and I’d pick the best, most perfect tomato and sit down in the cool grass under a shade tree and eat the tomato out of hand, just like an apple. That sunny warmth and flavor shaped my love of all good things to this day.

Scott at Real Epicurean has tagged me for the Fantastic Four meme…so here goes:

4 jobs I’ve had:
Waitress, driver, soil lab technician, operations manager

4 places I’ve lived:
Sullivan, Illinois, Carbondale, Illinois, San Fransisco, California, Antioch, California

4 places I’ve vacationed:
London, NYC, Boonville, California, Markleeville, California

4 of my favorite foods:
Pork, pie, tomatoes, garlic

4 places I’d like to visit (was “rather be” but I’m always happy where I am):
Prague, Mongolia, Sicily, Amsterdam

4 friends to tag for this meme:
Ros, Kate, Erin, and Splatgirl

Now, go eat a tomato…you know you want to!

12 August 2007 | Local, Wisconsin, bits and pieces, blog event, food, food porn | 4 Comments

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