Chocolate Orange Brownies

My pantry is, and has been for some time, low on several baking necessities but that did little to stop me from creating a baked dream. Using a basic brownie recipe as my base I used what I had, some creativity and a little guidance from the kitchen goddess herself, Nigella Lawson, I got me a-bakin' some chocolate orange brownies y'all (alla Paula Deen). Let me tell you, it SMELLS GREAT.

Here's the recipe if ever any of you potentially non-existent readers want to give it a try.


Ingredients:
150g Chocolate (Mixture of Dark & Milk Chocolate)
125g Butter
3 Eggs
1 cup Caster Sugar
1 cup Plain Flour
1/4 cup Cocoa / Chocolate Malt Drink Powder
1 tsp Orange Vest
Pinch of Salt

 Method:
1. Melt chocolate, butter and orange vest in a deep pan over low heat until everything has melted. Take off the heat and leave aside to cool.
2. Add a pinch of salt to the chocolate and stir.
3. Add in one egg at a time to the chocolate mixture. Beating well after each addition.
4. Add in the sugar. Stir until well incorporated.
5. Mix the flour and cocoa together in a bowl.
6. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture. Stir gently until the flour has been fully incorporated.
7. Pour into the baking tray lined with foil. Push the batter to the edges of the tray and smooth the surface.
8. Baking in a 180C preheated oven. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.
9. Remove from the over and leave to cool.
10. Remove the brownies and foil from the tray. Pull away the foil from the brownies and cut to desired sizes.

ENJOY <3

BONUS: It's all done in one pan. Meaning? Minimal wash-up! That's always a plus in my book.

Solitary Meals

Sometimes all I need is a little alone time and some food therapy. This is exactly what I've been getting the past two afternoons. And it feels great. There's just something magical about getting absorbed into the world of cooking -the tasks, the flavour combinations, THE RESULTS.

As I write this, I am happily, and hungrily, eating my just prepared simple lunch. Today it's a lettuce and tomato salad simple dressed with lemon juice, salt and pepper with lovely fried bacon. To top it off, a cut of lean pork pan coated with a rub of indian-y spices and lightly seared. The meat's still juicy and tender, oh so good. I love the combination of this quick lunch. The pork has a slightly strong flavour because of all the spices but is beautifully complimented with the clean salad and freshness of the lemon juice. And, of course, nothing ever tastes bad when you have the crunchy salty morsels of bacon running through the whole dish.

It's also a nice contrast to what I had yesterday - Spagetti alla Carbonara. The kitchen was somewhat chaotic while I was making that, what with all the pans and bowls about but nonetheless, it turned out fine. I didn't have all the original ingredients to make carbonara so I improvised. Instead of cream, I used milk and in place of parmesan was sandwich cheese. Weird and unforgivable what what could I do? I was craving. And everyone knows you can't whole a girl down once she's made up her mind. I added a bit too much cooking liquid so it turned out a bit too wet but who cares. It still tasted good, with more of a mac and cheese taste to it, i must say.

Lunch was heavy yesterday, so today I make it light. Hmm I wonder what I'll having tomorrow? Hehe my taste buds tingle with eager anticipation what I conjure up my next culinary idea.

And so, with the last bite of today's lunch,  I end this post.

- Indeed, what we did not do is a great regret than what we did - 

Technology makes us as much

- LIARS -

as it does

- TRUTH SPEAKERS -

I WISH I WAS BETTER.