10k, Resolutions, Beautiful Brown Butter Blondies

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10k? Who knew?! No, I haven't started the year with a 10K race; my knees can't handle that. Since I started writing this blog almost 1 year ago, I have had over 10k page views, 10,252 as of this evening. Wow! I was surprised by this number when I looked at my Google Blogger stats for the year. After working for Google on and off for 7 years, I shouldn't t have been surprised by all the detailed data they collect - thanks Google! The 3 most popular posts for 2013 were:

Jetlag and Marilynne's Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Playing for a Sheep Station & Matt Preston's Delicious Lamb Dish
Oodles of Dogs and Snickerdoodles

One third of the readers are from Australia while the other one third are from the US; it is almost evenly split. The other third comes from the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Russia, France, China and Spain. I find this all very interesting and THANK YOU for reading. This blog is a hobby, a journal for me. I enjoy examining Australian culture and life as an ex-pat and sharing easy, everyday recipes that your average home cook, like myself, can make.

January 2014 - can it really be 2014?! I remember as a kid bopping around to Princes' hit, "1999" and thinking that 1999 was light years away. Damn Gina, I am getting old! Is January like any other month for you? Are you like one of the many people who make resolutions? Do you keep any of those resolutions or are they cut-n-pasted again to next year? About 45% of Americans usually make New Year's resolutions and 50% of Australians do. According to Statistic Brain website (great name, heh?), the top 5 resolutions are:

Rank	Top 10 New Years resolutions for 2014
1	Lose Weight
2	Getting Organized
3	Spend Less, Save More
4	Enjoy Life to the Fullest
5	Staying Fit and Healthy

I had to wonder how and where they get these stats from but then again, I would expect they are similar resolutions every year. There is a high failure rate with New Years resolutions as old habits do die hard. According to Psychology Today, resolutions are an effort to reinvent oneself. People make resolutions as a way of motivating themselves. However, people aren't ready to change their habits, particularly bad habits, and that accounts for the high failure rate. Another reason is that people set unrealistic goals and expectations in their resolutions. Men tend to be more successful with their resolutions if they make them specific, eg 'I'll lose 10 pounds by March 1'. Women tend to be more successful with their resolutions if they verbalise them to their social circle, which makes them more accountable.

Peter Dazelel /Getty Images


FUNNY!  www.graboneblog.co.nz

 I make resolutions every new year. They are mostly obtainable items and perhaps just reminders to stay on course - Yell less, hug more/Declutter the house as if we're about to move/Just say Yes/Be less critical/Think more positively/Grow my business/See more of Australia/Pick up the phone instead of texting/Read some classic literature/Play the guitar again and many more. I will also set a few outlandish, pie-in-the-sky ones because well, why not? I write this bucket list down so that it is in view and not forgotten by March. It is helpful when I am feeling lost or overwhelmed.

While my resolutions vary from year to year there is always one which is cut-and-pasted from year to year, like above - to be healthier. These are the basics that are so basic that I often overlook them - getting enough sleep, drinking lots of water, exercising often and eating better. I am trying to focus on being healthier as I've fallen behind on all these basics over the holiday period. I've concocted a diet over the years that seems to work for me - no alcohol on weekdays, drink more water, add a piece of fruit or veg to every meal, have some sort of protein with every meal, do some form of exercise at least 5 days per week, eat more gluten free foods. IF I can follow my plan, I look better, feel better, stay trimmer and have more energy. Sounds like a no brainer, heh? However...

Trying to be healthier, can be quite (very) boring. I have a big sweet tooth, love to bake and my afternoon cup of coffee is always accompanied by something sweet. Even when I'm watching what I eat, I still have my sweets. Perhaps some 70% dark chocolate or something I've baked. This blog's recipe is Beautiful Brown Butter Blondies. In Australia, this recipe might be called a Chocolate Chip Slice and in the US, some places may call them Chocolate Chip Bars. I don't hear the word 'bar' being used a lot at cafes or at bakeries down under. 'Slice' seems to be the proper terminology. Another subtle food terminology difference between the US and Australia is the way food is described. I found it strange when we moved here and I was told that the food was beautiful - "The steak is beautiful....the quiche is so beautiful and tasty...have you tried this cake? It's beautiful." According to dictionary.com, 'beautiful' when used as an adjective has the definition of: having beauty, possessing qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about,etc.; delighting the senses or mind: a beautiful dress; a beautiful speech. The way I use beautiful is to describe a person, place or thing but not food. Then again, according to the definition, it can be something that delights the senses. Taste is after all a sense. I am use to hearing it now and it is quite a compliment if you've cooked something and it is described as beautiful, however, I still find it strange. Here it goes....

I LOVE these Beautiful Brown Butter Blondies! I almost call them 'Best Blondies' but I hate when cooks use that term as the 'best' sounds arrogant and taste varies from person to person. They are the best Blondies in my household as they get eaten up in less than 24 hours. This is my go to recipe and I have been making it since Cook's Illustrated published it in July 2005. The recipe is easy to make, it yields a a lot of Blondies, and best of all, tastes beautifully delicious. These Blondies are very similar in taste to a chocolate chip cookie but much quicker to make as you cook them all at once and don't have to take cookie sheets in and out of the oven. They are also versatile as you can use white chocolate, dark chocolate, and nuts alone or in any combination.

I have added a twist to the original recipe by browning the butter. Please do not be scared off by brown butter. It is easy to make and I'll show you how below. The browned butter adds an extra 15 minutes to making the Blondies but it is well worth it because it imparts a rich, caramel like flavour. Plus, the incredible smell that it fills your kitchen with is worth it on its own. Please note, these Blondies still taste good without browning the butter if you can't be bothered.

Beautiful Brown Butter Blondies

adapted from Cook's Illustrated recipe

175 grams or 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, browned and cooled

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips - dark, milk, white or any combination
1 cup nuts (walnuts or pecans), chopped

1) Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350F/175C degrees, conventional oven.

2) Brown Butter -*Please note, this is optional. Plain, melted butter can also be used.* Cut butter into chunks and add to saucepan over low to medium heat. Do not leave stove.

 Start whisking butter as it melts.

Butter will continue to cook and bubble. Keep whisking it or "swirl" the pan over the stove.It'll become even more yellow in colour.

After the butter bubbles, it'll become foamy. Patience, you're almost there.

Everything is OK. In fact, your kitchen will be starting to smell lovely. Keep whisking and swirling. Once the foam dissipates, you will see brown bits in the butter. Looking good.

 Take the pan off the heat, stop stirring and let the butter cool. It may be become a bit browner. This is fine. As long it is off the heat and cooling, it'll not burn and smell wonderful. I put this smell up there with other wonderful kitchen smells - fresh coffee, bacon, popcorn, etc. Another simple culinary pleasure.

WHETHER YOU USE PLAIN BUTTER OR BROWN BUTTER, LET IT COOL FOR 30+ MINUTES. If the butter is too warm, it'll melt the other ingredients (Brown sugar, chocolate chips) and change the texture of the bars which ruins the recipe.

2) Take out 2 bowls. In 1 bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) and in the other bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (cooled butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract)

3) Chop nuts if using and measure out chocolate chips

4) Mix wet ingredients together and add to dry ingredients, stirring by hand with a spoon until just mixed through. Add nuts and chocolate chips and just stir through. Do not over mix.

5) Turn batter onto a well greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan/33 x 23 x 5 cm, spooning over top with rubber spatula.  

6) Bake until top is shiny, cracked, and golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes; do not over bake. Cool on wire rack to room temperature.

Roman Holidays & Twofer Pumpkin Bread

I realised that in the past 6 weeks there have been 2 American holidays - Valentines Day and St.Patrick's Day. A third more personal holiday was my daughter's birthday. Of the three, my daughter's birthday was the one that was fully celebrated. She was serenaded at the bus stop, her locker was decorated at school, each friend gave her candy, and she was sung to again at soccer practise. The last time she was so excited about a birthday was when she turned 4! The large bag of candy is the closest she'll ever get a an American Halloween.

While I was thinking about the topic of holidays down under, my US friend posted an article from The Huffington Post, on her Facebook page titled: 'Can We Bring the Holidays Down a Notch?' (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-howerton/can-we-bring-the-holidays_b_2903040.html)
I found this ironic as I'd been thinking about this same topic and wondering if there was any holiday hoopla in Australia? Should I continue my American celebrations of Valentine's Day, St.Patrick's Day and even Halloween even if they are not celebrated much where I am currently living? When in Rome, should I be a Roman?

Since a topic like this is hard to research, I searched out my dog park acquaintances. This is an excellent "research group" to speak with as they are different ages, different professions, different personalities, and bear no emotional connection to me. Overall, I was told in the usual direct, honest Aussie way - Why would you celebrate Valentine's Day or St.Patrick's Day or Halloween? What is the significance of these days? What do you know about them? Aren't these fluffy holidays; just a ploy to spend more money and buy more things (aka American consumerism)? Since holiday traditions stem from childhood memories, there are many questions I need to ask as I continue living overseas and raising children here - Isn't it nice to celebrate Valentine's Day, a holiday  focusing on love? Yes. Do I really need to eat more chocolate and buy a Target red t-shirt for that day? No. With my husband and I sharing Irish heritage, is it important to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Maybe. Do I want to eat corned beef and cabbage? No but the beer is fine. Is it fun to dress up for Halloween? Yes. Do the kids need all that candy? No. Lots to consider.....

From my experience, the only holidays that are big celebrations here are those with large significance - birthdays, ANZAC Day (veterans), Australia Day, and Christian holidays - Christmas and Easter. This is not surprising since according to 2011 Census, 61% of Australians adhere to some form of Christianity and religion is also in taught in public schools. As we get closer to Easter, I'm seeing lots of Easter candy and flowers in the stores. The Royal Easter Show (think fancy county fair) is in full swing and Good Friday and Easter Monday are both public holidays, so a four day weekend is upon us. It is really a holiday as the country will shut down. Except for the petrol station, a grocery store and maybe a few cafes, everything else will be closed. I am glad to see some Easter hoopla because at the end of the day, I like any holiday that gives people time to slow down, visit with family & friends, and eat a good meal.

With Easter approaching, I'm automatically thinking about chocolate, tulips, longer days and sunshine. These are the nostalgic things that remind me of my youth and growing up in upstate New York. I still get confused with the opposite Southern Hemisphere seasons. Here in Australia, Easter is an autumn holiday. March 1 (yes, March 1 not March 21) indicates the beginning of autumn (and yes, that is 'autumn' and not 'fall' as people only fall down or fall pregnant). With the cooler weather that is yet to come, I am trying to think about apples, sweaters, and crock pot cooking. One of my favourite everyday autumn recipes is Pumpkin Bread. I call it Twofer Pumpkin Bread as this recipe makes 2 loaves, uses only 2 bowls (the less clean up the better) and I make 2 different types of pumpkin bread with this one recipe. I LOVE this pumpkin bread - it is healthy, moist and more nutritious than most loaf breads.

Twofer Pumpkin Bread

altered from original recipe in Baked: New Frontiers in Baking cookbook

 

Ingredients

3.25 cups/455 g of  regular flour

2 tsp/10 g cinnamon

1 tsp/5 g nutmeg

1/2 tsp/2.5 g allspice

1/2 tsp/2.5 g ginger 

2 tsp/10 g baking soda

1 tsp/5 g salt

1-15 oz can/420 g of pumpkin puree* (see notes at bottom)

1 cup/240 ml vegetable oil * (see note at bottom)

2 cups/400 gm sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp/5ml pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup/120 ml water

Optional  Mix-Ins - chocolate chips, sultanas (raisins), walnuts, pecans

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 350 F/ 175 C degrees.

2) In large bowl, make dry mixture: add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, baking soda, and salt. Hand stir to combine.

3) In another bowl, make wet mixture: add pumpkin puree and vegetable oil and hand stir through to combine. Add sugar and stir through again. Add eggs one at a time and stir through with each addition.Add vanilla extract and water and stir through.

4) Add wet mixture to dry mixture in 3 batches. Hand stir through to combine with each addition, making sure to scrape down sides and churn up bottom so the batter mixes evenly. The batter will be slightly lumpy BUT you do not want to over beat batter as this will make the bread denser and more chewy.

5) Divide batter between 2 greased loaf pans and place in oven OR add additional mix-ins to bread. In my photos, I divided the finished batter equally between the 2 used bowls and added 3/4  dark chocolate chips to 1 bowl and a 3/4 cup mix of raisins/sultanas and walnuts to the other.

6) Place loaves into oven and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes. If you can, rotate each loaf pan 1/2 way through cooking to ensure more even cooking.

7) When cool, serve plain or toasted with butter or cream cheese.

Notes:

- Libby's Pumpkin Puree is sold at speciality deli's. In my neighbourhood, the Green Grocer always stocks it near the deli, just ask. Another substitution is microwaving a Jap Pumpkin and then pureeing it so you have 2 cups. (Yes, there is a Jap pumpkin here and also a fish called, 'Jewfish') 

- To reduce fat, instead of 1 cup vegetable oil, use 1/2 cup vegetable oil and 1/2 cup applesauce.

Driving down under & Easy Tuscan Pasta

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Did you ever feel like a taxi driver? Perhaps 'chauffeur' sounds better, at least fancier. Now that school is in full swing, I seem to be doing a lot of driving for my 2 children - dropping/picking them up from the bus stop, after school activities, sports' training, friends' houses, etc. I'm so glad I got rid of my old station wagon last year and bought a sporty sedan. At least, I can troll the streets in luxury. I was warned by others that getting a 5-seat sedan was a bad idea. It wouldn't be good for carpooling since it doesn't seat 7 people. Do I really want 6 kids and myself in the car, six girls laughing and chatting it up in the backseats? I think not. It all sounds nice but the screaming and singing  is quite dangerous for a driver like myself.  I am a very distracted driver - 'look at that colourful bird....hmm, what kind of car is that....oh, I love that old Stevie Wonder song, time to start speeding and do the white man's overbite while I bop my head around.' Yes, I admit, I am a sub par, female driver. While some people have huge dreams of what they'll do and buy when they strike it rich, mine are simple - I want a chauffeur to drive ME around.

Driving in Sydney has it challenges. For starters, driving on the opposite, dare I say wrong side of the road, is quite an adjustment. My husband has taught me to hug the centre line of the road as it is quite natural to veer to the left. The first few months living here, I drove around with my radio off, clenching the steering wheel while saying aloud, 'drive on the left, Susan, stay in lane, you are too young to die, hug the white line!' just like Rain man, over and over again. Another challenge that I face on a daily basis is playing chicken with oncoming cars in my neighbourhood. With cars usually parked on either side of the street, it is Russian roulette to decide who will move over to the let the other one through first - yikes!

Sydney is Australia's largest city and it is estimated that there are 4.6 million people in the Sydney area. While the city has grown, the road infrastructure is lacking. The roadways are very congested and many of the major roadways are narrow local roads. I cringe when a big city bus is in the lane next to me as I think it could sideswipe me at any moment. Despite my complaints, I find the drivers in Sydney to be quite nice. You don't hear the symphony of horns blaring like you do in New York. In fact, I rarely hear horns at all as you are only suppose to use yours if you are about to get into an accident. The drivers use their turn signals most of the time and are courteous about letting you switch into their lane when your directional is on.

Like learning the Aussie lingo, there are is different lingo for driving too. Your car trunk is the boot, gas is petrol, the petrol station is the servo, the bonnet is the hood and many others.The 'Yield' sign has been replaced with a different warning, 'Give Way'.  The warning of a crosswalk is oddly indicated by a huge snakelike zigzag lines on either side of the crosswalk. There are a lot of roundabouts (aka rotaries) instead of traffic lights. Speed cameras are in effect in various areas and it is a shock if you get a ticket in your mailbox. The fines are expensive, you can't contest them (you must pay), and you lose points on your license. The sad thing is after passing the speed camera sign so many times, it becomes part of the scenery and you forget about it until you get a ticket. (Perhaps that happened to me?) I love seeing the koala and kangaroo signs but unfortunately I haven't seen either in this densely populated area.

With all my driving adventures, I don't have always have the time to make the dinners I'd like. During the week, I am always look for something fast, easy and nutritious. A favourite dish is Easy Tuscan Pasta which can be made in 20 minutes or less, all while the pasta is cooking. It is healthy and very filling.

Easy Tuscan Pasta

Base Recipe:

1 regular sized bag of penne or rigatoni

1 can of stewed or diced tomatoes

1 bag on fresh spinach

1 can navy/cannellini beans, drained

1/2 - 1 container of feta (plain, not in oil)


Add Ons:
sauteed onions, mushroom, garlic, olives, sundried tomatoes, Chorizo sausage, red chili flakes

1) Fill large pot with salted water and boil. When it has reached a rolling boil, add bag of pasta.

2) While pasta is cooking, empty entire can of tomatoes into large saucepan and heat through. Add bag of spinach. Spinach will appear to be overflowing from the pan but as you stir it more and more, it will decrease in size and mix in with the tomatoes.

3) Drain and then rinse can of beans. Stir beans into sauce until beans are well blended and some are starting starting to break. Do NOT cook the beans for too long as they will become glue-like. The beans add a nice creamy texture to the dish; you don't want to lose that.

4) Sprinkle 1/2-1 container of feta cheese in sauce and stir until mostly melted in the sauce and the sauce looks creamy and lighter in colour.

5) Serve over cooked pasta on its' own or with salad, bread, red wine.

Notes:
-  Use penne or rigatoni pasta. Thin pasta, like spaghetti, does not work well.
-  Cooking pasta - cooks often add some oil to their water hoping it'll prevent the pasta from sticking. The oil doesn't help it and only makes the pot greasy. Salted water is best as it makes the water boil at a higher temperature and only very minimally transfers the salty taste to the pasta. To stop pasta from sticking together, add 1 cup of cold water to the pot and stir just before draining pasta.

- This is a base recipe because it is quick and easy but you can also personalise it to suit your taste. I purposely did not put sizes on the ingredients as some may like more or less of the canned tomatoes, spinach, and/or feta.

- If you have the time, I would encourage chopping and sauteing an onion and/or mushroom as the very first step, then adding the tomatoes. Leftover, cut up sausages adds flavour as does chili pepper flakes or olives or sundried tomatoes. Whatever is in your refrigerator that you think would taste good, give it a go!

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