Thursday, July 23, 2009

Thursday’s Culinary Adventure

 

 

 

Tonight, on Thursday’s Culinary Adventure

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starring, my little helper who loves to help Mommy “COOOOOOK!” :

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So, lately I have been having a craving for chocolate.

Except that I am almost positive that it is too early for cravings, which basically just means that I want chocolate. (who doesn’t?)

I recently watched the movie “Chocolat (which also gave me a craving for Johnny Depp…) and my mouth was watering so much that I knew something had to be done.

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After eating about half a pan of brownies, I realized that they were not quite what I was after. 

Then, today at swim lessons, I saw a little boy eating one of those huge and delicious chocolate-chocolate chip muffins from Costco.

My stomach growled and my fetus told me that it would probably be okay to knock the boy over and eat his muffin. 

I knew I had to make some.

And the rest, dear blog readers, is history.

(I found the recipe here.  I emitted the nuts since Joseph doesn’t eat them yet.)

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You will need:

2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. milk

1 egg

2 Tb. veg. oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. semisweet choco. chips

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Dump all of the dry ingredients in a bowl (except the choco chips), and mix them well.IMG_4030

(About this time, I noticed that Joseph had a horrendous poopy diaper.  Which I got to smell for the rest of the adventure…yummy!)

Oh, and if you have ever wondered what flour + unsweetened cocoa tastes like, here you go

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(Mid-retch)                                         (Wiping off his tongue)

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Dig your measuring spoons out from where you toddler has buried them, IMG_4036  IMG_4037 and measure in all of the liquid ingredients.

Stir well, you don’t want very many lumps.

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Yes, you are seeing correctly, I DID give Joseph an egg. 

He wanted one so badly, and after he said “EGG!” about a trillion times, I gave in.  I am trying to let him have lots of new learning experiences, even if they = a big mess for me.

Here he is trying to crack it (head to the side in concentration)

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And here is the exact instant the egg brokeIMG_4040

…and got all over my floor (please note his messy toes.)

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Joseph was then excused from this culinary adventure, and he left some sticky, chocolately footprints as he ran off to find his Daddy.

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Stir in your chocolate chips, and scoop the batter into muffin tins. 

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until a fork inserted in the middle comes out clean.

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Taste Testers Say:

Joseph: 

-Threw first bite on the floorIMG_4046

-Then bonked his head on the table

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-Then decided that he liked it!

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-Finally, he started throwing pieces of muffin, and was sent to bed.

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Caitlin (and Joseph):  

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Brian:               IMG_4067

Summary:

Good!  Not quite as good as the Costco muffins, but that is probably because I left out the gallon of lard or whatever it is they put in there,  so I actually like them a bit better. 

They are not very sweet, which means that I can consume…say…four without feeling sick.  Convenient.

I do think that next time I will use some milk chocolate chips too.

Grade: A-

(I love these pictures:)

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10 comments:

septembermom said...

Joseph is great fun in the kitchen. I always love your photos of Joseph. He has such great expressions on his face when he's concentrating or playing. Chocolat was a great movie. I have to watch that one again. I'm always in the mood for chocolate. Thanks for the recipe. Hope you're feeling well, Caitlin. You look terrific in the photos!

Rachel said...

Oh my gosh, I have been on a strict diet since Monday so I won't blind people's eyes and make them gag when I'm wearing my swimsuit on my cruise. I so want chocolate. Seeing this post is painful. Now I'm going to go eat 1 fat free cookie. Yum.

T Rex Mom said...

How funny - I have zero desire for chocolate. T Rex Dad made a quadruple vat of his special brownies for the reunion and I have not had a single bite. Guess my little fetus does not want chocolate! How funny!

I am SO glad you're culinary adventures are back. I've missed them.

Okay, back to vacation and school work. I hope Joseph had a better afternoon than he had of the morning.

Be well!

Maureen said...

You are an incredibly PATIENT mother! I can't believe the mess, but I sure am glad you can tolerate it because it is so entertaining to read about and SO good for that little guy as he learns, learns, learns!

Jen said...

love me some chocolate muffins and I loved all the photos. Great shot of when the egg broke.

suzy said...

pictures are so sweet! You are glowing friend... nice summer tan! you are so brave for letting joseph have that egg...

Nina said...

I love it....
He is such a cute helper and I would have given up the egg also. Actually I think I have and I end up with the same result also.

grandma said...

Remember how Micah liked to play in the kitchen and "help" his Mommy? The results were the same, as I remember. Well, it's all learning about the world around him and you are a great mom to let him do all that stuff...including the play doh and the markers. Brave too!

Ter said...

lol

and in that last picture, joseph has the face of a jackolantern.

Don't hit me! that's a compliment! I bet you call him Pumpkin sometimes! :)

Jenners said...

This was soooo fun! I think you and Joseph should have your own cooking show on the Food Network! The photos are just too hilarious! And I agree -- flour and unsweetened cocoa would make me retch too!