brownies

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

(from allrecipes.com)

wow, i love making brownies - so easy and no fuss (no grating vegetables.. thank goodness!). they came out kinda rich for my taste, but then i guess brownies aren't supposed to come out light and fluffy either. i skipped out on the frosting since i'm not much of a frosting fan in the first place, and that was fine. i was thinking of doing the healthy substitution of using applesauce for butter, but i had a bit of a brownie disaster about a week ago, so i decided to stick with the butter this time around, but maybe i'll modify it the next time around. stay safe and happy new year!


oh, and here's a picture of a whole different kind of brownie (ha!):

chocolate chip cookies

• 2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
  
• 1 c butter, softened
• 3/4 c packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c white sugar
• 1 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 c semisweet chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees f (175 degrees c). sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, set aside.
2. in a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. stir in the eggs and vanilla. blend in the flour mixture. finally, stir in the chocolate chips. drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. edges should be golden brown.

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

these are totally killer chocolate chip cookies. i used another adaption of this recipe with a 1/4 cup more flour, which was fine, but i think that this one is definitely it. i used ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips for some extra "omph" and they are awesome. i love my dark chocolate... suzanne (the baker extraordinaire) has also baked a variation of this recipe using chocolate pudding and white chocolate chips, and they come out great that way too.

zucchini (or carrot) cake

another recent obsession of mine has been baking. there've been a few hits, but also the failed tries that ended up in the trash can. here's a good one that i got from my mom:

• 3 eggs
• 2 c sugar
• 1 c oil
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 2 c flour
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 c grated zucchini (or carrot)
• 3/4 c walnuts
• 1 1/3 c raisins

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees f. grease and flour pan (9 x 13 x 2) or bundt pan. sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder in bowl. set aside.
2. in a large bowl, mix together sugar and oil until light and fluffy. beat in the eggs one at a time, and then stir in the vanilla. add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. add the grated zucchini (or carrot), walnuts, and raisins.
3. bake for 50 to 60 minutes in preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

i followed the recipe to the tee except for the fact that i only added 1 1/2 cups of sugar.. i actually think it'd probably still taste good with only 1 cup of sugar (i'll try it out and update later). another tidbit is that i squeezed the moisture out of the grated zucchini with a cheesecloth. it worked out pretty well, as the cake didn't come out too soggy.

my gauge for a good recipe is seeing what the family's reaction is. unanimous approval on this one. merry christmas and happy baking!

** UPDATE (12/27/06): so the cake was so popular that it disappeared almost instantaneously and my mom requested that i make more. instead of using zucchini this time, i used carrots using almost the exact same method except for the fact that i reduced the amount of sugar, using 3/4 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. that ended up tasting fine, but the big issue with carrot cake is that i squeezed the moisture out the grated carrots like i had done with the zucchini cake. totally unnecessary since carrots are (according to my mom) a drier vegetable. so the carrot cake ended up coming up much drier than the zucchini cake. next time: no squeezing the carrots.


p.s. i did learn how to knit after all! i'll post a picture of the finished product when i'm done.

procrastination

i was just telling judy today, i'm such a spazz. remember the last post where i mentioned that i finally wanted to learn how to knit? so i've apparently taken this resolution to heart and i've been spending way too much time learning how to cast on (i think i got it!), checking to see what types of needles and yarn i should purchase, and checking out free knitting patterns online. all of this BEFORE i have my last final on friday.

i'm a dork.

so between my knitting research and playing hours (sadly, i'm not exaggerating) of solitaire, i've been working on getting all the gi disorders down, and i still have yet to go through the renal material and all the stuff on fractures.. and then there's still all the cumulative material that i haven't yet reviewed.

okay.. need. to. study.

knitting and the lives of strangers

that's it, i'm learning how to knit.

after perusing the etsy site and seeing all the kick-butt hat styles, i've finally been sold on trying to learn how to knit after seeing what you can make on your own. although it may just end up in the back corner, thrown to the side like many of my other hobbies (i think i have five unfinished cross stitch patterns hanging around my room), but i think it'd be a good investment. people who know me often make fun of me since i'm addicted to buying hats and scarves.. which is funny to most people since i live in the bay area where that type of clothing really isn't necessary. but making my own would be doubly satisfying, i'd have the satisfaction of working on something and (hopefully) get something i like as a finished product.

oh. and i know that i haven't been updating this journal at all. sorry about that (does anyone still read this thing, anyway?).. but here's a quickie update on what's been going on since august.

started my second semester of nursing school. walking through the hospital the first time for clinicals, it really hit me that i was actually doing it. me, with my b.a. in econ, was going to be a nurse. considering where i was and what i was doing just two years ago, that's a huge change and i'm still floored by the fact that i'm actually doing it. clinicals just ended yesterday (eheh.. 1am, now) and i've learned a lot throughout. it's a humbling experience.. i've seen things and met people who make me realize just how precious and fragile life is, and i've been blessed by getting wonderful patients who tolerate my inexperience and let me do assessments even though i'm not always certain of what i'm doing. thankfully, the coursework this semester hasn't been like the stressful bum rush of work that i had over the summer. but it's still had its moments. still have two more finals to get through before this semester is officially over...

outside of school, i've just been doing little things here and there. les and i were doing the salsa thing pretty regularly over the summer, but that died down a bit and we've been going on and off.. we checked out cafe cocomo in the city last, last weekend and that was pretty awesome. live band and some really kind and patient dance partners who tolerated my terrible dancing. i still would love to get better one day.. i occasionally get inspired after i watch 'dancing with the stars' or shakira, but that kind of dancing requires so much work! laziness...

i did end up crashing the (half) marathon back in october (13.1 miles!). it was a really good, scenic run. we ran all the way down the embarcadero, ending up at the coast near ocean beach. i love races since they always push you harder than you would normally go on your own. i ran the whole thing, and it wasn't until the finish that they picked me out of the crowd of runners (since i didn't have a bib), but i ended up being able to finish the race by running in the sidelines where people were spectating. it was a frigid finish by the coast, but it was a great run, all in all. i've been keeping up with the running since then. however this past month's been hard since school's winding down and there's been a crush of schoolwork to get done.

i think those are the major things that have been going on in my life lately. there've been other things going on here and there.. but too much to write for one post.

one more note.. i know i never knew him, but for some reason the death of this bay area man has really touched me. it's strange to be so touched by the life and death of a stranger. maybe the story is just a little too close to home and given similar circumstances, i can see many people doing the same. i just wish the best for his family and friends.

take care everybody and enjoy the holidays! drop me a line and let me know how you're doing.

edit: and i forgot to mention (maybe i'm blocking it from my memory): i turned 26. ha. thanks to les who coordinated a surprise party and an evite with over a 100 people. i'm blessed with wonderful friends. =)