Our Food Journey
There is something I find peaceful about finding the time to be in my kitchen baking and cooking. Standing at my island prepping and then making something delicious to eat is how I detox from the stress and strains of life. Being part of the food making process has been enjoyable to me since I was a little girl. I am often asked what my favorite recipe to make is and I honestly don’t have one because I love all types of food. I guess I would say whatever tastes good!
My way of eating has changed through the years. After I had my first child I saw the great need to take care of this precious new life and with that responsibility came me asking myself and doctors lots about nutrition. With that same child having an intolerance to dairy when I weaned her and then food sensitivities later in her life, I began to see the importance of what we feed our bodies. That journey led me to holding closer to a diet of eating what was in season and whole foods as well as for a time eliminating dairy, gluten, and eggs from the menu. After 5 years of eating this way we saw healing take place in her little system. Now I was left with the big question, do we never eat dairy, gluten, and eggs ever again ? Would we be able to eat these foods in moderation ?
Since her issue was one of sensitivity and not an allergy I met with her doctor and he suggested we very slowly reintroduce these foods back into her body to see how she would respond. The verdict was a good one, she could in fact tolerate these foods again! I decided during the five years of an elimination diet that if we were ever able to eat those foods again I would not deprive our bodies from them , but instead approach it with moderation. So, for us this means 1-2 servings a week of dairy, gluten, eggs, and chocolate. Many of the baked goods I share I have at some point substituted the all purpose flour for gluten free flour. My favorite brand is Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour. This blend has a good consistency in comparison to others I have used.
I love chocolate and actually have a drawer in my kitchen that is dedicated to chocolate only. When I need a homemade chocolate recipe to meet that fix, I bake brownies. I have made countless brownie recipes over my lifetime and I prefer them from scratch because I think they taste better and bonus they are easy to whip up. I have combined several recipes over the years , taking favorite additions from one person’s recipe to the next which led me to creating my own. For all my gluten free friends this is a great recipe to sub out the apf for your favorite gf flour.
ASHLEY’S BROWNIES
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, 1 egg yolk
10 tablespoons butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate chips, divided 1/2 c. & 1/2 c.
1/2 cup all purpose or gluten-free flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. instant espresso coffee
Dash or Pinch of ground cayenne (optional , but highly
recommended)1/2 -3/4 cups chopped pecans (toast in oven , let cool)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter an 8x8 pan. Line with parchment paper so that 2 sides hang outside and over the pan and the other 2 sides are free of parchment.
Chop Pecans and toast in oven( I use my toaster oven for this step) for 3-5 minutes, keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.
In a small bowl mix together flour, salt, cocoa powder, espresso powder, cayenne(if using).
On a double boiler or if you don’t have one , place a glass bowl that is larger than the top of a small saucepan filled with 1/2 cup of simmering water , add butter and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the bowl and stir until melted. Remove and let cool 5-7 minutes. While this is cooling add sugar, eggs and egg yolk to a large bowl and beat until pale and frothy. Slowly add the melted butter/chocolate mixture to the sugar mixture. Fold in the dry ingredients and add 1/2 c reserved chocolate chips with chopped toasted pecans.
Bake 20-22 minutes. This will allow your brownies to be s-l-i-g-h-t-l-y under done. I like a gooey brownie, so we eat it right out of the pan. OR Let cool in pan on a cooling rack 15-20 minutes. Slide a sharp knife along the 2 sides that are free of parchment and grab the other 2 sides of parchment and carefully lift out and place back on cooling rack. Sprinkle with a dusting of confectioners sugar. Serve as is or with ice cream of your liking. Butter Pecan pairs well with them.
Happy Baking!