German Chocolate Brownies

I work out so that I can eat more. It is probably counter productive, but it makes me feel better. I am taking a weight lifting class this semester and loving it. If I am sore after class I feel like I have worked hard and deserve a brownie. If I am sore all weekend, well then I deserve brownies all weekend. And if they happen to be rich, coconuty, and wonderfully chocolate brownies, all the better.

These brownies are truly superb. If you are a German chocolate cake fan, you need to give these a try. And if you like brownies and aren't allergic to nuts or coconut, you too should try them out. They do take a little bit of time, but are definitely worth it.

For Brownies:

½ ½	cup semi sweet chocolate chips cup milk chocolate chips
½	cup butter or margarine
1 ¼	cups flour
1	cup sugar
1	teaspoon vanilla
½	teaspoon baking powder
½	teaspoon salt
3	eggs, beaten
1	cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
½	cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350°F. In 3-quart saucepan, melt 2 cups chocolate chips and the butter over low heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in flour, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, salt and eggs. Spread batter in ungreased 13x9-inch pan.

Bake 27 to 34 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

For Frosting:

1 cup evaporated milk

 1 cup sugar

½ cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 egg yolks

Mix the above ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick then add:

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

2 cup shredded coconut 

Asian Lettuce Wraps

To finish off my kick of Asian recipes I bring you, P.F. Chang's inspired lettuce wraps. I have only been to PF Chang's once, and it was few years ago so I couldn't really tell you if these taste like the real thing. But I can tell you that these are delicious.

We start with this luscious, beautiful thing called Butter Lettuce. This particular lettuce came from our bountiful basket, courtesy of Jake and Richelle who picked ours up for us. Isn't it beautiful? I hear you can also use something called Bib lettuce.

We fill it with a tasty combination of chicken and mushrooms with a nice crunch of water chestnuts. This savory filling has been cooked to perfection with an assortment of asian spices and sauces.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients: 

1 head butter lettuce (10 leaves)
1 pound ground chicken breast
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
4 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can (8 ounce size) sliced water chestnuts, drained, finely chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

Directions:

Rinse lettuce leaves, keeping them whole. Set aside to drain.

Cook chicken in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often to break up the meat. Add onion, garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar and chili powder. Cook until the meat is crumbled and brown. Add water chestnuts and mushrooms.

Stir in sesame oil. Arrange lettuce leaves on the outer edge of a platter. Spoon meat mixture in center. 

Panang Curry

I adore Thai Food. There is something unique about thai cuisine which makes it more sophisticated somehow. I think it is the coconut milk.

The only problem with thai food is that it can be quite expensive. I found a solution to this when I discovered this recipe a couple summers ago. All the ingredients could be found at an asian market, they weren't too expensive, recipe wasn't hard and the end result was delicious. I fell in love. I made this recipe for everyone. Multiple times. Ask my family or my roommates from that year, I was obsessed with it. But I guess I kind of got over it, or maybe I just forgot, or found new recipes to try. In any case, I realized that I had never made my Panang Curry for Matthew. And so I whipped out the recipe, made a trip to the Asian market and got busy.

It was just as good as I remembered. We had our neighbors over for dinner and we all deemed it a success. If you like thai food, I really hope you try Lettuce Wraps that I will post soon...

Lime leaves have a very strong flavor and don't soften much with cooking. This is why you remove most of the leaves before serving. But I still like the continued flavor, so I chop two very finely and leave them in.

Panang Curry Recipe

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breasts,

1-2 Tbsp Panang Curry Paste (depending on how spicy you like it)

2 cans coconut milk coconut milk (about 4 cups)

8 kaffir lime leaves, 6 whole, 2 finely chopped (see above picture)

Dash of salt

3 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 bell peppers- red, orange or yellow, cut into thin julienne strips and halved

8-10 cups cooked rice

*curry paste, lime leaves, fish sauce and coconut milk can all be found at most Asian markets

Directions:

1. Wash the chicken and cut into thin, bite size pieces, and fry until barely done.

2. In separate pan, fry bell peppers until al dente, soft but with a crunch to them, set aside.

3. Heat 1 can of coconut milk over medium heat until the oil surfaces. Add curry paste, stir constantly for 2 minutes until fragrant and red oil surfaces. Add the chicken, and cook for a further 2 minutes or until done. Add the remaining coconut milk.

4. Season to taste with salt, fish sauce, sugar and whole lime leaves. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add chopped lime leaves and bell peppers and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove whole lime leaves and let curry rest for 3-4 minutes before serving.

5. Spoon 1-2 cups rice in each bowl and top with curry.