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!

Carmel Chip Bars

These bars are not as hard to make as you may imagine. They look scrumptious and I believe everyone at work that had the opportunity to try one would agree.

Carmel Chip Bars

1/2 c butter (no substitutes)
32 caramels
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 yellow cake mix
1/2 c oil
2 eggs
2 c miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 c white chips
1 Heath candy bar, chopped

In large sauce pan combine butter, caramels and milk. Cook and stir over medium-low heat till smooth. Cool.

In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs. Mix well. Stir in chips and chopped candy bar. Press 3/4 of mixture into 9x13 greased pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350°, cool for 10 minutes. Poor caramel mixture over crust. Drop remaining dough by spoonfuls onto the caramel layer. Bake 25 minutes until edges are brown. Cool completely.

I got this recipe from Kima. :-) It is definitely a work favorite. So, like almost every recipe I've added, I did make a few alterations to these bars. First of all, I used half of the butter, caramels and sweetened condensed milk. The caramel layer wasn't very thick, but it was sufficient to get stuck in your teeth. Then I only had about a cup of the miniature chocolate chips, I substituted nuts for the white chips and my Heath candy bar was a cup of Heath chips. I almost considered adding cranberries instead of the nuts...maybe another time.

Fortune Cookie

Your wisdom will be respected in later years.

...till then I am a person who lacks good judgment and must make foolish mistakes to gain wisdom.