Saturday Recipe

OK, those of you who do not like asparagus, here is a break from the monotony. Mind you we only have a couple of weeks to go on the asparagus front.

I picked up the link for this recipe from Hershey's Kitchens, but it seems like a lot of bloggers have used it. It looks positively sinful. Of course I would use cream (preferably Double Devon) rather than ice cream but that is a matter of choice.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Serves: 8 servings

Recipe adapted from Hershey's Kitchens

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups granulated sugar, divided
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup Hershey’s Cocoa, divided
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup milk
• ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 1¼ cups hot water
• Vanilla ice cream, if desired for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a pot of water on the stove to very hot (just under a simmer).
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine ¾ cup of the granulated sugar, flour, ¼ cup of the cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, melted butter and vanilla and mix until smooth.
3. Pour the batter into an lightly greased 2-quart ceramic dish (as shown in our photos) or a 9-inch square baking pan (if it's a non-stick pan, you don't have to grease it) and spread evenly.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, remaining ¼ cup cocoa and mix well. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter in your dish or pan. Pour the hot water over the top – but do not stir!
5. Bake 35-40 minutes if using a glass dish (or 30-35 minutes if using a metal pan) – or until the center is almost set. Remove your dish from the oven and allow it to stand for 15 minutes.
6. After 15 minutes, spoon the cake into individual serving bowls – making sure to spoon the fudgy sauce from the bottom of the pan over the top of the cake. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired and serve immediately.

Have a great weekend
 

PBS, Movies, Weather, A to Z.

I think I told you that a week or two back we were watching a great documentary about Oscar Hammerstein II. For years we have meant to join PBS (WNED out of Buffalo) and this time we decided to do so. Our gift of thanks was 12 DVDs of Rodgers and Hammerstein movies. In fact there are actually 6 movies and then 6 discs which I presume are all about the movies. Haven’t checked it out yet, they arrived in Thursday’s mail so, in the evening, we watched South Pacific. We also have Sound of Music, Oklahoma, Carousel, State Fair and The King and I. All old shows but the music was and is fabulous. Most of it we know word for word and I usually end up crying and the sad bits. When I was younger I absolutely adored Rossano Brazzi, I found I wasn’t so gaga about him watching the movie. Maybe because I later fell for Yul Brynner. That reminds me, we were talking about Judi Dench and I was staggered to find she is 79, I should look so good, also I was very surprised to find she was a Quaker. Not something you hear about much in England.

Being Thursday, we went bowling, the less said about it the better. Not a good day for us. However, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. A  lot warmer and the sun was shining beautifully. In fact our apartment got too hot. We are told it is going to be 1°C on Saturday with possibility of rain. With all the frozen snow, that could cause quite a bit of flooding in the area. One of the owners at the bowling alley was concerned about his eaves which are loaded with frozen snow and ice and which could well break from the strain if it does rain. So glad we don’t have to worry about such things. It’s at times like this when one can really see the advantages in living in an apartment building.

Would you believe I have already started writing blogs for the A to Z in April? One idea I have had since last April shortly towards the end of that blogfest. Amazing I even remembered it for this long. Still got to find 24 more ideas though, not to mention appropriate recipes.

Here’s a recipe from WebMD which is right up my alley. Not sure about the frozen yoghurt, think I would opt for whipped cream..

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Serve this dense, fudgy pudding cake with vanilla frozen yogurt.

Ingredients
 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup nonfat milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cups hot strong coffee

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Combine milk, egg, oil and vanilla in a glass measuring cup. Make a well in center of the dry ingredients and gradually pour in the milk mixture, stirring until combined. Stir in pecans. Spoon into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
3. Dissolve brown sugar in coffee; spoon over batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes; serve hot or warm.

Have a great day

32,000 yr. Seeds, Bowling.

I was fascinated by an article from National Geographic describing how the Russians have regenerated a seed from a 32,000 yr. old seed. The oldest yet apparently. The seeds were encased in ice and unearthed from 124 ft. below the permafrost and they figure they were buried by a squirrel. The seeds were surrounded by pre historic animals which were also frozen. To me its incredible something so old could be brought back to life. The plant itself is native to Siberia. The seeds were, in fact, damaged, they think by the squirrel itself, but there was enough viable material for them to be able to do the regeneration.

Had a pretty good day yesterday, went to a Red Lobster for lunch with all our Travel League bowling friends and actually ate some lobster tails. Then we went bowling, and I had one bad game, one good game and then I had to duck out, my legs were aching like mad. Then 2 of our friends came back with us for a drink. Actually the Dutch couple that I have been nagging about the Ollie Bollen. LOL. Needless to say I was bugging them today. For supper we finished off the rest of the crêpes and this time I tried mine with Nutella, not bad.

The following is supposed to be a healthy dessert, its not very high calorie I must admit, 143.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

Serve this dense, fudgy pudding cake with vanilla frozen yogurt.

Servings: 12

Recipe Ingredients:

1. 1 cup all-purpose flour
2. 1/3 cup sugar
3. 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4. 2 teaspoons baking powder
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 1/2 cup nonfat milk
7. 1 large egg, lightly beaten
8. 2 tablespoons canola oil
9. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10. 1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted
11. 3/4 cup brown sugar
12. 1 1/3 cups hot strong coffee

Recipe Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Combine milk, egg, oil and vanilla in a glass measuring cup. Make a well in center of the dry ingredients and gradually pour in the milk mixture, stirring until combined. Stir in pecans. Spoon into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
3. Dissolve brown sugar in coffee; spoon over batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes; serve hot or warm.

Have a great day