Vijay's birthday cake

An explosion of chocolate an peanut butter...just what Vijay requested!

Basically a sour cream chocolate cake with a hidden layer of chopped up peanut butter cups. A frosting of chocolate and peanut butter and sprinkled with honey roasted peanuts. The birthday boy was very happy.

Spicy Quinoa with Sweet Potatoes and Avocado

This dish may not look pretty but it was pretty darn tasty. It was made up while at the grocery store with my only criteria being that it had to include quinoa, avocado and pine nuts.

I sauteed a shallot, 2 cloves of garlic and cooked them until soft and fragrant. I added a diced sweet potato (one large one, about 1 lb). Then added some cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper (I didn't measure I just started throwing things in because I was hungry and really, what could go wrong??). I added a splash of veggie broth, covered the pan and cooked until the sweet potatoes were soft but not falling apart.

In a separate pan I toasted 1 cup of quinoa until it was lightly brown and smelled nutty (in my limited quinoa experience this toasting step makes a BIG difference). Add 2 cups of broth (veggie or chicken) and cook until all the liquid is absorbed and then tun off heat and cover. Then I added 2 cups of cooked quinoa to the sweet potato and tested for seasoning (add S&P at this stage if needed).

Stir in a very generous handful of cilantro and garnish with diced avocado and toasted pine nuts. Just ridiculously tasty and comes together in 15-20 minutes.

Chewy Chocolate Chips Cookies

I love America's Test Kitchen. I have a not so secret crush on Mr Grouchypants Chris Kimball. This recipe comes from the ATK Family Baking book. The chewy factor comes from the use of melted butter, lots of brown sugar and an extra egg yolk. I have made these a million times and I thought I should finally post the recipe for anyone who hasn't tried them.

Ingredients:

2 c plus 2 Tbs AP flour
1 c packed brown sugar (I used dark brown)
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks butter (melted)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

1. Beat sugars and melted butter together for 3-4 minutes
2. Add eggs and vanilla
3. In a seperate bowl sift all other dry ingredients
4. Add flour mixture and beat only until combined (30 seconds)
5. Add chocolate chips and stir in completely

6. Roll 2 Tbs balls and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone sheet
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes until still soft on the inside (do not overbake!)
8. After they have been removed from the oven, let the cookies sit on the baking tray to finish cooking for 10 minutes.



Try to only eat 3 while they are still warm from the oven. Otherwise you will get a tummy ache...not that I would know.