Showing posts with label chile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chile. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
SPICY CHOCOLATE-PECAN BROWNIES WITH A HINT OF ORANGE
HAPPY EASTER!
The Aztec royalty liked their chocolate with some chile in it, and modern chefs and chocolatiers have made this combo popular with at least a portion of chocolate lovers. This is my contribution-- a spin-off from the Fudge-y Light Vegan Brownies in my book "The Fiber For Life Cookbook". These are a little richer-- they taste positively decadent!
Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S SPICY CHOCOLATE-PECAN BROWNIES WITH A HINT OF ORANGE
Serves 12
Yield: one 9 x 9" OR 7 x 11" pan, 12 bars
Dry Mix:
1/2 cup regular whole wheat flour (not pastry flour)
2 1/2 tablespoons your favorite chile powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Flaxseed/Egg Replacer Mixture:
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon flax seeds
1 tablespoon Ener-G or Orgran egg replacer powder
Cocoa Batter:
1/3 cup vegan butter (try my homemade palm oil-free vegan Buttah)
1 cup brown sugar, packed (or you can use Rapadura or Sucanat)
1/2 cup organic cocoa powder, unsweetened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon water, Bourbon, rum or Kahlua
grated zest of 1 organic orange
Additions:
3/4 cup (4 oz.) organic, dairy-free semisweet small chocolate chunks or chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 9 x 9", or 7 x 11" baking pan and line the bottom with cooking parchment.
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, chile powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Place the 1/4 cup water, flax seeds and egg replacer in a blender. Blend on high for several minutes, until the mixture is "gloppy" like slightly beaten egg whites, with little brown flecks of flax skin throughout. (OPTION: you can blend the mixture with a hand/immersion/stick blender, but this works best if the flax seeds are ground in a coffee/spice mill first.) Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt the vegan butter gently over medium heat OR melt it in a medium-small microwave-proof bowl in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then stir in the cocoa, vanilla, water or liquor, and orange zest. Fold the Flax Seed/Egg Replacer mixture into the cocoa mixture. Add the Dry Mix and stir briefly just to blend. It is a thick batter. Add the chocolate chunks or chips and the pecans and stir to mix.
To bake the brownies:
Spread on the brownie batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly with a wet spatula. Bake for about 15-17 minutes. You may have to experiment with timing, according to your oven (try to use an oven thermometer to check the temperature, which can vary even in new ovens), and according to how fudge-y you like the brownies.
Cool on a rack, then cut into 12 squares. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per bar): 230.1 calories; 44% calories from fat; 12.1g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 117.7mg sodium; 217.2mg potassium; 32.3g carbohydrates; 3.7g fiber; 18.1g sugar; 2.6g protein; 4.9 points.
Enjoy!
Monday, June 18, 2007
A FAMILY CROWD ON A RAINY WEEKEND
It's been a while since I blogged! I don't know where the time goes! This weekend two of my daughters and their families came for a visit, and we were looking forward to it, although I was worrying about making enough food for everyone, having had a super-busy week and no time to make a shopping trip to town. They brought juice and drinks and fruit and snacks, however, and I planned some simple, filling meals.
My house is small, and the weather was not very cooperative! The first night, the 4 little girls were sharing a tent. It was only supposed to "shower" intermittently, but there was a downpour early in the morning. My husband got up about 5 and was in the shower when they all came running into the house sopping wet, dragging their damp bedding!
At that point I got up, too, tucked the three youngest into my bed and set up the oldest (age 12) in the little daybed in my office with a reading lamp, with grandmotherly orders to try to sleep and let the grownups wake up!
The "constant reader" at breakfast!
I managed to shower and have a cup of tea when the others started coming in. We had a simple breakfast, my husband in charge of the coffee and toast (made with his good homemade bread), dried all the bedding and clothes, made lunch for later on, and we left my husband to have a well-deserved rest while we went to the "Free store" (recycling center). Everyone found at least a few treasures, and we visited my mother at her house for a little while before heading home.
Two more cousins enjoying a book
Lunch was a BIG pot of my Japanese noodle soup, which I had made in the morning, with watermelon for dessert.
Everyone went to the beach during a lull in the rain in the afternoon, giving me a little breather, and then brought my mother to our house for an afternoon snack of hummus and baby carrots, and salsa and chips.
 |
| Creamy Low-Fat Hummus (see recipe) |
A dinner of my prize-winning vegetarian chili (see recipe below), and homemade cornbread, with a big green salad.
Cornbread (UPDATE: Vegan "Blue Ribbon" Cornbread, my adaptation. The recipe is here, but I made these changes-- instead of the 4 tsp. baking powder, I used 1 teaspoon baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and I added 2 teaspoons lemon juice to the soymilk to make "soy buttermilk". Here's a delicious wheat-free version of cornbread.)
Dessert was the Triple-Ginger Espresso Cake (Update-- from my latest book, World Vegan Feast
, and I posted the recipe here .)
We all watched a family movie together, laughed alot, and the kids fell asleep almost immediately (they slept on bedrolls on my dance space/office floor, and in the little daybed-- the youngest slept with his parents in a more water-proof tent!). I slept like a log and didn't hear a peep from them until about 8 am!
Sunday was Father's Day, so my daughters and I made crepes for breakfast, which was much appreciated by all! The sun did come out for while, allowing the kids to play outside and get Grampa to push them on the tire swing. Everyone left around noon, and we had a lazy day after that. It was good to have some time to chat with my busy daughters, and to see my grandchildren interact with eachother. They get along really well. My little three-year-old grandson (who can tell you the bus routes in Vancouver quite accurately!) had a gaggle of girl cousins spoiling him rotten and seemed to be just fine with that!
I hope you all had a great weekend, whatever the weather!
PRINTABLE RECIPE
BRYANNA’S LONG-COOKING FAT-FREE CHILI (CHILI SIN CARNE)(WW CORE PLAN COMPATIBLE)
12 servings
This recipe appears in my first book, “The Almost No-Fat Cookbook
”. A few years ago, I won first prize in our local chili contest with this chili—beat out all the meat ones!! NOTE: You can use a combination of pinto, small red, and black beans for variety, if you like."MEATY" OPTIONS:
2 lbs. FROZEN tofu (start with firm tofu for best results), thawed, squeezed dry, and crumbled
OR
2 pckgs. Yves Veggie "Ground Round" (or 4 c. other veggie "hamburger crumbles")
OR
3-4 cups ground seitan
OR
3 cups dried textured soy protein (TVP) granules or flakes, reconstituted in 2 and 1/2 c. boiling water
ADDITIONAL:
2 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 T. chili powder (for a really good chili, use at least half dark chili powder, such as ancho)
1 T. EACH dried oregano, ground cumin, and unsweetened organic fair trade cocoa (can use 2 T. cocoa for a very dark chili)
1 bay leaf
7 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
8 c. water
1 crushed dried chili pepper
2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
4 c. dried pinto beans OR small red beans, SOAKED OVERNIGHT and drained
2 small cans tomato paste
OPTIONAL THICKENER: 2-3 T. cornmeal or masa harina
Mix all ingredients EXCEPT the cornmeal or masa harina in a large pot and bring to a boil. Boil for a few minutes, then turn down and simmer, covered, for about 4 hours. Taste for seasoning. Add the cornmeal or masa harina if you think it needs thickening and cook for a few minutes before serving. Can freeze.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 329.1 calories; 4% calories from fat; 1.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 457.4mg sodium; 1024.9mg potassium; 56.9g carbohydrates; 15.7g fiber; 7.1g sugar; 41.3g net carbs; 25.7g protein; 5.9 points.
Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)