food, glorious food

Oh I love to bake. And cook. Dinner was fabulous but let's talk dessert first. So National Chocolate Cake Day was January 27th and I missed it, however I think chocolate cake is good on any day. Don't you? This afternoon I needed some chocolate cake so I googled and found a simple recipe for one layer and it filled the need perfectly. I was happy (as was my family) to celebrate National Chocolate Cake Day a few days later!

One-Layer Chocolate Cake
1 cup sugar
1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup brewed coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8 inch pan. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until light & fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Add flour mixture, alternating with coffee. Beat until just incorporated.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

When cake is cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

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Now for dinner's part in today's kitchen time. As you know from this post, I have Rachel Allen's cooking app and am really loving it so far. This recipe is another from her app; the dish was so, so, so good for a cold night's meal. I actually forgot to put the cumin, coriander and brown sugar (cooking by the letter can be crazy in a house with boys running in and out of the kitchen) but the chili didn't need these ingredients at all. When I fix it again, I'll leave them out because it was packed with flavor as it was. I'm sure it would be extra wonderful with these items but honestly, you don't need them. Also, I didn't serve it with rice but rather some tortilla chips. Oh my word, was it delicious! I'm a cilantro freak so topped it with some.


Chili Con Carne
adapted from Rachel Allen recipe
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 green pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 (14.5oz) cans diced tomatoes, slightly drained
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
salt and black pepper
1 can black beans, drained

Pour olive oil in dutch oven or large pot. Crumble and brown meat completely on high heat. Remove meat from pot with slotted spoon and set aside. To pot add onion, garlic, green pepper and red pepper. Lower heat to medium, cover with lid, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft.

Return meat to the pot and add tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans and some salt and pepper. Bring to boil, cover with lid, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. This will let all the flavors marry and the sauce will thicken a bit.

Serve hot and top with cilantro, shredded cheese, sour cream if desired.

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I took a picture of the bowl before I served because Michele always enjoys seeing the plates and such. So this picture is for you, Michele ... we got these bowls in Colonial Williamsburg on one of our trips there several years ago. They have several eating taverns in the historic area and I collect the china from some of them, piece by piece, as they are pricey! They are really fun and take me right back to the colonial area of Williamsburg and the memories we cherish from there.

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I've started stitching a small Jane Austen inspired design and hope to show you more of it soon. It has the sweetest verse from one of her novels that reads:

It is well to have as many holds upon happiness as possible.

Till then ... stitch lots and eat well. Please.