Thursday, Friday. Food Prep,

Sorry no blog yesterday, this sleepiness is getting a bit much. Admittedly I did watch TV late last night, but I slept for a lot of the rest of the day, particularly during one of my favourite programmes, Jeopardy.  We went bowling in the afternoon and didn't do too badly. I am taking so many pain killers these days I don't know what is working, if anything, or not. The Lyrica may be helping, Matt says 'well I am not in pain when I am asleep', true, but being asleep all the time is not my way of living a good life.

Friday I planned to make a Thai shrimp supper plus pickle a couple of veggies for myself. After lunch I sat down for a while, and zonk, I was asleep. I did wake up in time to get everything done, but of course having to do everything at once caused pain. I have to sit down all the time. Cannabis is now legal in Ontario (Canada?) wasn't it before when I first purchased some? So now, fingers crossed, our insurance will help with the price and then perhaps I can take the recommended dose.

At dinner Friday night I mentioned that I couldn't think what to cook for Saturday night. Matt doesn't understand, he thinks you can just conjure something up 10 minutes before you sit down. He used to cook but I guess he has forgotten now. He says everything I cook is wonderful, don't know how he can tell, he covers it all with black pepper.

Mexico celebrates The Day of the Dead at the end of October and there are lots of delicious recipes associated with this period. This is a fairly simple one. Flan is one of my favourite desserts, I am sure I would love this one.

Chocolate Flan

1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 Tbs agave syrup
kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tsp crushed ceylon cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean, split
1/2 cup cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed)
6 large eggs

1. Cook ½ cup sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to melt and turn brown around the edges. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, pull melted sugar at edges toward center of unmelted sugar. Continue cooking, pulling in melted sugar, until all the sugar is melted and caramel is uniformly dark brown (it should smell toasty but not burnt), 10–12 minutes total (if you still have undissolved lumps of sugar, stir off heat until they melt). Pour caramel into 8"-diameter cake pan to create an even, 1/8"–¼" deep layer. Let cool.

2. Bring 1 cup water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in cocoa powder until no lumps remain, then add cream, milk, vanilla bean and cinnamon stick and return to a simmer. Remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes.

3. Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Purée eggs with sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt in a blender until smooth and sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Strain chocolate mixture into egg mixture and blend at low speed to combine, discard solids. Skim foam off the top and transfer to prepared baking dish.

4. Line a roasting pan with a thick kitchen towel; this will keep baking dish from sliding and will insulate flan, preventing it from overcooking. Set dishes on towel and place roasting pan in oven. Pour boiling water into pan until it reaches the same level as flan in baking dishes. Bake flan until it looks set like Jell-O (it will wobble when gently shaken), 35–45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Cover with plastic and chill until set and cold, at least 3 hours and up to 24.

5. Meanwhile, increase oven to 350°. Toss sesame seeds, syrup, and ¼ teaspoons salt in a small bowl. Scrape onto a silpat- or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and spread in a even layer. Bake brittle until sesame are golden brown and syrup is bubbly, 15–20 minutes. Let cool until hardened, then break up into small pieces; discard any dark brown, bitter pieces.

6. Run a small knife around edges of flan to loosen. Invert onto a platter and top with crushed candy.

Tips: Do Ahead: Flan can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Unmold and serve

Source: Genius Kitchen

Have a great weekend