Repaired Quilt

My cousin asked me to do some work on this quilt that was given to her. It is a very beautiful appliqued quilt and some of the leaves were falling. So, I appliqued them back on. I'm glad I got to work on this project because I now want to learn how to do a quilt like this. I think it would be well worth the effort if I could make it turn out half as pretty as this one.

Naomi's Revel Bars

Here is the latest recipe. I really like using oats in my recipes, so you'll like this if you like oats as well. And, if you're wondering...they are Naomi's not NoemÍ's bars.

Naomi's Revel Bars

1 cup plus 2 tbsp butter, softened, divided
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups rolled oats, uncooked
1 pkg (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease 13x9-inch baking pan. Beat 1 cup butter and brown sugar in large bowl. Add eggs; beat until light a nd fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda in medium bowl; stir into butter mixture. Blend in oats. Spread 3/4 oat mixture in prepared pan.

Combine chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk and remaining 2 tablespoons butter in small saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted. Pour chocolate mixture evenly over oat mixture in pan. Dot with remaining oat mixture. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are browned and center feels firm. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 2x1 1/2-inch bars.

This is another recipe from my Chocolate Lover's Collection cookbook. Surprisingly I didn't do any alterations. It's pretty much follow the recipe. Enjoy!

Never Get Angry

One of my favorite quotes is "Never get angry at stupid people...". I like it because I feel it has a lot of wisdom to it. I don't like who I am when I get angry and it's usually stupid people that make me upset. Although, I do have to admit that sometimes I fall into stupid modes, so I'm not exempt from getting mad at myself. I start feeling irrational and it really effects the way I deal with people, which is not fair to them. It's not healthy to be angry. I just need to calm down and accept that people don't always see things the way I do.

Saucy Chocolate Pudding

This has a rich chocolaty taste that is very filling. It isn't very sweet since it's make with dark chocolate and unsweetened cocoa.

Saucy Chocolate Pudding

1 ¼ cup milk
2 ¾ ounces dark chocolate
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup 1 tbsp superfine sugar
½ cup butter
1 ¼ cup self rising flour
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
Confectioners’ sugar, to dust

For the Sauce:
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
4 tbsp light brown sugar
1 ¼ cup boiling water

Lightly grease a 3 ¾ cup ovenproof dish. Place the milk in a small pan. Break the chocolate into pieces and add to the milk. Heat gently, stirring until the chocolate melts. Let cool slightly. Sir in the vanilla extract.

Beat together the superfine sugar and butter in a bowl until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and unsweetened cocoa together. Add to the bowl with the chocolate milk and beat until smooth, using an electric beater if you have one. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish.

To make the sauce, mix together the unsweetened cocoa and sugar. Add a little boiling water and mix to a smooth paste, then stir in the remaining water. Pour the sauce over the pudding, but do not mix in.

Place the dish on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 40 minutes, or until dry on top and springy to the touch. Let stand for about 5 minutes, then dust with a little confectioners’ sugar just before serving.

So I don’t have superfine sugar. I don’t think it made too much of a difference. At least I’d like to say I couldn’t tell, but since I have never baked with superfine sugar I really don’t have any comparison. This recipe came from my Chocolate cookbook (not the same one as the last recipe posted). Try not to over bake. I think I should have chosen a different dish to bake the pudding so the top took a little longer to cook. The sauce is supposed to be a little more runny.

Also, I really need to invest in a new mixer. The one-beater beater is threatening to die on me. It was probably never meant to last for 15 years, but I’m trying to get all the life out of it I can. The next dessert I want to make is a chocolate soufflé. However, I know that I can’t do it with the poor one-beater beater. So everyone will just have to wait for the soufflé.

Happy Earth Day!