flour-less chocolate cupcakes with rosemary ganache

Chocolate is my favorite ingredient in life. My philosophy on it is the darker, the better. Flourless chocolate cakes are an obvious pick because the flavor is so rich and decadent. These little cupcakes seem as if they have been plucked from the soil: smooth, velvety flesh topped with aromatic rosemary-chocolate ganache. The frosty topping seems to meld into the cake rather than perch atop of it, creating a wonderful melting sensation: absolutely to die for. 

If you're not a fan of rosemary, do without it. In fact, feel free to change the cupcakes into whatever you desire. The cake recipe, courtesy of Kate From Scratch, is incredible because of its versatility. 

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

4 oz fine quality chocolate

1 stick butter

3/4 C sugar

1 tsp molasses

1 tsp vanilla

3 large eggs, thoroughly beaten

3/4 C unsweetened cocoa, plus extra for dusting

Confectioners sugar for garnish

Ganache:

4.5 oz fine quality chocolate, chopped

1/2 C heavy whipping cream

2 fresh rosemary sprigs, plus extra for garnish

Preheat oven to 375° F. Butter a 12 cup muffin/cupcake pan. Using a pastry brush, dust each cup with a bit of cocoa powder.

Place a double-boiler over medium heat. Add the chocolate and butter to the inner bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the sugar, molasses and vanilla, and whisk. Remove from heat.

Whisk in the beaten eggs. Sift the cocoa powder over the mixture, whisking until smooth.

Evenly distribute the batter between the cupcakes. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from cups.

While the cupcakes are in the oven, make the ganache. Place chocolate in a large bowl and set aside. Place the cream and rosemary sprigs in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Discard rosemary sprigs. Pour the cream over the chocolate and whisk until thoroughly combined. Allow to cool until stiff.

Slather a generous amount of ganache on each cupcake. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

cider braised rabbit with anise black quinoa

Vegetarianism is a practice that should influence your daily eating habits, but for those special occasions there truly is no replacement for a prime cut of meat. Streaky bacon and dark-gilled mushrooms coddle the natural flavors of the rabbit, while pumpkin-based vegetable stock, organic hard cider and juniper berries provide depth and uniqueness to this woodland critter. I chose black quinoa for its color, substantial crunch and brisk flavor, complimented by the star anise. If you're not a quinoa fan, however, wild rice will also work well here.

This dish in its entirety is reminiscent of lying down in the middle of a wooded area, idly soaking in the surroundings. Utilize all five senses when consuming and be sure to save the bones for a hardy stock. Rabbit recipe courtesy of Delia Online. Serves 4 generously.

Ingredients:

Rabbit in Cider:
4 lbs rabbit, jointed
2 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
8 oz streaky bacon
1 T flour, heaping
1 C vegetable stocked
1 C hard cider
1 fresh sprig thyme, or 1 tsp dried
6 juniper berries, crushed
8 oz dark-gilled mushrooms, stemmed and sliced.
Salt & pepper

Quinoa:
1 C black quinoa
1 C vegetable stock
2 star anise
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 C chopped walnuts
1 fresh sprig rosemary
Salt & pepper

Heat a skillet on high for 3 minutes. Add the butter, then the oil. Brown the rabbit parts quickly. Use tongs to hold any pink parts against the skillet until darkened. Do not crowd the pan.

Remove rabbit parts and reduce heat to medium. Add the bacon, onions and garlic. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle in the flour, stir and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually add in the stock and cider and stir. At this point, place the rabbit joints back in the skillet. Add the thyme and juniper berries. Bring everything to a simmer, then add the sliced mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until the rabbit is tender, about an hour.

While the rabbit is cooking, make the quinoa. Bring 3/4 cups water and the stock to a boil. Add the quinoa, star anise and salt. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Drain the quinoa and add the garlic, walnuts and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish each plate with a variety of rabbit joints and a generous serving of quinoa. Ladle sauce over the rabbit.

warm kale salad

A well-rounded meal needs to start somewhere. Since my forest-inspired Valentine's menu was already laden with rich, hearty flavors, I decided to begin with something a little lighter. Don't be mistaken, this dish is plenty complex with both sweet and savory melding together. Though kale is often bitter when presented in a salad, the light toasting helps to temper the bite and the caramelized shallots do their part to compliment the natural flavor of the greens perfectly. All that is delicious, but the magic really appears when the fennel meets with the apple, honey, goat cheese and lemon. The result is an endless burst of organic flavor. The true beauty of this dish also comes through in the textures. The kale is roasted quickly to preserve its natural crispness, the apple and sliced almonds provide a wonderful crunch while the goat cheese adds a touch of creaminess, softening the salad. 

The salad is light enough to begin a meal, but with a little bread it works nicely as a delicate lunch. The recipe below will generously serve four.

 

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
2 medium shallots
2 T olive oil, divided
1 small lemon, juiced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp fennel, freshly ground or minced
2 T honey
1 sweet apple, chopped
1/4 C slivered almonds, toasted
1/8 C goat cheese, crumbled
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425°. 

Wash, dry and stem the kale. Chop into large pieces.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Slice the shallots thinly, add to the pan and toss to coat. Allow to caramelize for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat. Add the fennel and the garlic and toss to combine.

Place kale in a large bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and toast until crisping at the edges, about 4 minutes. 

Evenly distribute the kale on four separate plates.

Top the kale with the caramelized shallots, then add the apple pieces. Combine the honey and lemon juice, then splash atop the salad.

Sprinkle the almonds and goat cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

grimm forest valentine's day menu

Ah, February. Quite possibly the worst month of the year, this frigid season resembles that of a rotting corpse. The romance of the first winter's snow and the Holiday season now a distant memory, all that's left is the gruesome reality of dirtied sleet, black ice and biting winds. Nature is dead and the Spring's rebirth is not yet apparent. Juxtaposed in the middle of February is Valentine's day, a contrived celebration of love and source of unnecessary stress and anxiety for both singles and couples alike.

I myself am among those who despise this "Hallmark Holiday," since it marked my very first heartbreak. Apparently, clichéd irony is a motif in my life. As a freshman in high school, I was a blush with the freshness of youth and blooming first love. A boy with a warm skin tone and dark, velvet eyes had left me enamored. He was the only boy who had ever flirted with me: everyday in our theater class, he'd sit next to me and ask to borrow a particularly smooth mechanical pencil. When the day of love arrived, I brought a bundle of mechanical pencils adorned with a heart-shaped note that read "Will you go to turnabout with me?" Indeed, my moist, shaky hands held my actual heart, supple with the weight of a first crush and brimming with hope. Of course, he avoided me quite purposefully for the remainder of the day. At 5:00 PM that day, he sent me an instant message stating that he could not attend the dance with me. Thus my bitter disdain for Valentine's Day was born.

2013 heralds a new level of maturity. This year I decided to pull my emotional scars together and use Valentine's Day just like I use any holiday: an excuse to cook. Using inspiration from the grotesque dead-ness of winter, I chose to channel my affinity for the Brother's Grimm stories. My Valentine menu is filled with a woodland ensemble of rich flavors and hearty produce. A cider-braised rabbit is the star of this meal, but like any great production, there are no small roles.

warm kale salad with caramelized shallots, apple, sliced almonds, goat cheese and fennel

I've begun with a lighter approach to Kale. Though praised for it's rich nutrient content, Kale is typically avoided in it's raw form because of it's bitterness and coarse texture. However, a short toasting session softens the greens and the subtle sweetness of caramelized shallots, lemon, toasted almonds, honey, goat cheese, tangy fennel and apple provide a wonderful balance. Paired with some robust whole grain bread and salted butter, this elegant salad performs as the perfect light-hearted introduction to my woodsy Valentine's meal.

cider braised rabbit with anise black quinoa

Freshly cooked pumpkin and vegetable stock, molasses hard cider and fresh juniper berries implements the tastes of a crisp forest in one of my favorite woodland creatures, the rabbit. Though at times gamey, a buttermilk marinade leaves the meat as tender as amish chicken breast but with a stouter flavor. Naturally, dark-gilled mushrooms provide the perfect amount of earthiness. Anise black quinoa with walnuts and rosemary adds a striking darkness as well as rich flavor and crunch.

flour-less chocolate cupcakes with rosemary ganache

No Valentine's day is complete without chocolate. These flour less chocolate treasures taste less like cupcakes and more like perfect mounds of fudge plucked right out of heaven. The rosemary ganache seems to melt into the cake, creating a velvety melting sensation.

Match this meal with a red high in mineral flavor. I chose the snake charmer, which is easy on the budget and boisterous enough to support the many aspects of this opulent February savor. Enjoy.

fennel butter popcorn

Popcorn is my go-to snack. It is filled with endless possibilities for seasonings and occasions. It stores perfectly in an air tight container, so it's perfect for any season. For this recipe, I chose fennel seeds which add a savory-sweetness to some melted butter, making it a surprisingly elegant hors-d'oeuvre for a party. This recipe is addictive enough to serve 1, but large enough to satisfy 2.

Ingredients:
1 T Canola oil
1/4 C un-popped popcorn
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Begin by heating a pan over high heat. Add the oil and popcorn kernels and cover. Give it a few vigorous shakes and allow to sit. After the first couple pops, give it another shake. Let it sit until only a few stragglers are heard. Remove from heat, salt and pepper to taste and keep covered.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Mince or grind the fennel seeds and add to the butter with a sprinkle of salt and a dash of ground black pepper. Pour over the popcorn and toss to coat.

french press coffee

I love my french press, but I always found it under-brewed my coffee. After reading the recipe for perfectly pressed coffee in The Sprouted Kitchen's cook book, I discovered that I was going about it all wrong. Dumping my grounds in the cold glass pitcher with vigorous stirring were all elements of my painful ignorance. I'm now entirely converted to this slightly more time-consuming but entirely worth it. I'm not going to give you the scientifically accurate and slightly exhausting step-by-step recipe that The Sprouted Kitchen provides, but rather I'll create an easy guide to improving your french press skills. Enjoy your awakening.

Pressed Coffee:

Start by boiling your water. You want the temperature to be just a touch above 200°. A screaming teapot holds water at about 212°. Make sure to remove the pot from the heat for about 10 seconds before adding it to your press pitcher.

Meanwhile, fill your pitcher with hot tap water. This warms the glass so that less heat is lost when the hot water is added, resulting in under-brewed coffee.

Grind your beans. I use 3 tablespoons of whole beans per 8 oz cup of coffee. You want the grind to be larger for the french press. If you don't have a grinder, 2 tablespoons of ground coffee beans per 8 oz cup should suffice.

When the water is at the right temperature, add about a quarter of it to the French press. Using a spoon or a chopstick, lightly tap the grinds until they are entirely submerged, careful to agitate the brewing as little as possible. Cover and allow to brew for 45 seconds.

After the 45 second mark, use your spoon or chopstick to gently break the crust. Add the rest of your water and stir lightly with the chopstick six times. Cover and allow the coffee to brew for about 3:30.

After brewing, uncover and stir lightly. At this point, you will see a foamy layer at the top. These are the fines. Scoop them out with a spoon and discard.

Then you are ready to plunge and pour! If it's cold out, I found it helpful to warm up the mugs with hot water. It keeps your coffee warmer for longer.

Be sure to serve with an insanely delicious breakfast, like this make-shift bananas foster french toast breakfast with lemon zest and Chia seed Greek yogurt.

For another approach to pressed coffee, please visit here.

orange ginger stir fry

Below zero temperatures making you stir crazy? Warm up with this flavorful and colorful stir-fry! Ginger and cloves provide a wonderful warming sensation, especially when combined with chili paste.  I chose to keep this recipe vegetarian with some hearty tempeh, but chicken, beef or pork would work well also. This recipe fills two bellies generously.

Ingredients:

2 T white rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2-3 drops fish sauce
2 tsp chili paste
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 pinch cloves
2 oz Tempeh with flax seeds
2 T toasted sesame oil
1 carrot
1 small onion
1/2 a head broccoli
1 small orange
1 bundle buckwheat noodles
Salt & pepper
Sesame seeds to garnish


In a medium-sized bowl, blend the vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce and chili paste together. Sprinkle in the ginger and cloves and stir to combine. Place the tempeh in the sauce and ladle to coat. Allow to marinate for 3 - 8 hours.


Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the sesame oil. Peel and chop the carrot and add to the pan, stirring to coat. Allow to cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Chop the onion and add to the pan. Allow to cook until the onion is clear and fragrant, about 5 more minutes. Add the broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, pour two cups of water into a sauce pan, salt and bring to a boil. Add the buckwheat noodles and boil for 2-3 minutes.

Add the tempeh and marinade. Toss to coat and cook for 5 minutes. While stir fry is cooking in the sauce, peel and cut the orange into 1 inch segments. Add to the pan and allow to cook an additional 5 minutes. Meanwhile, drain the noodles.

Spoon an even amount of noodles into each bowl. Top with a generous amount of the stir fry, pouring a bit of the sauce over it. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately.