It was my mom's birthday recently, so I made her birthday cannolis instead of a cake. She's always loved cannolis but they aren't something which can be readily found in Switzerland. When I was little, trips to NY in the summer had to include a cannoli from Little Italy for her, but those trips have been less and less frequent, so life has been cannoli-less. When I started making my own ricotta and mascarpone though, it was pointed out to me that I should try making cannolis. And then my sister dug out my parents' old cannoli moulds from 30 years ago and the case was settled. The week leading up to her birthday therefore, I made a few different variants of both shells and filling until I found one I was happy with. I trialled using home made vs store-bought ricotta and used home-made mascarpone. The curds in the home made ricotta were a little bigger and so required more beating , and in the end I used a combination of all three. My first tests of the filling came out too liquidy so I let the mascarpone drain for longer to stiffen up the final filling. Ingredients: For the Shells: 3 c flour 1/4 c sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 c butter, cold and diced 1 egg 3 tbsp vinegar 1/4 c whey/milk 1 egg white, beaten For the Filling: 2 c mascarpone 2 1/2 - 3 c ricotta 1 1/2 c sugar 2-3 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 c pistachios, chopped 1/4 c chocolate chips 1/4-1/2 c dark chocolate, chopped and melted over a water bath 1) Mix together the dry ingredients for the shells and then cut in the butter. Mix together with finger tips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. 2) Add in liquids one by one, mixing after each addition until a smooth, elastic dough is achieved. Place in the fridge to rest for about 30 minutes. 3) In the mean time, mix together all the ingredients for the filling except the pistachios and chocolate, whipping until smooth. Place in the fridge to chill. 4) Cut out an oval from paper or cardboard measuring about 15x11.5 cm (6x4.5inches). Roll out the dough to about 3 mm thick and then using your oval template, cut out ovals. Wrap the around moulds, brushing the edge with egg white to stick together, forming a tube. Alternatively, I rolled up my silicone baking mat to about 2 cm in diameter and wrapped 3 ovals around the length of it. Aluminium foil might work too, rolled up in this way. 5)Brush the rest of the tube with egg white and bake for 8-10 minutes in at 175°C in a pre-heated oven, or fry until golden brown at about 175°C. Remove from oven or oil and allow to cool for a few minutes before removing the moulds. 6) Dip the ends of some of the cooled tubes in melted chocolate and allow to set. 7) Split about 1/3 (or more) of the filling from the rest and mix in chocolate chips. Pipe either plain or chocolatey filling into the tubes, sprinkling pistachios onto the ends of some. Chill until ready to eat. Not having had them very frequently myself, things were a little complicated as I didn't have a very clear idea of what I was aiming for, but I am assured by those who know about these things that they came out quite well. I certainly enjoyed them, which hasn't always been the case with cannolis in the past. I have other filling combinations I'd like to try, like almonds, or lime/lemon pieces dehydrated just enough. The shells just needed to be a little thinner. I must also point out that I baked the shells rather than frying them as my mom isn't a bit fan of fried food, but I have an air fryer coming soon, so I want to try and put them in there to see how they do. Results to follow! EDIT: The shell cookie also works well with yogurt - in this case vanilla rhubarb yogurt.

I suggest calling this a Coupe Raisa, because we have been watching more Star Trek, and that is the ultimate vacation spot in the Federation, it seems, and this is the ultimate unctuous, creamy, fresh dessert with just a hint of acidity. (And thus marking me out as a nerd henceforth). This is a bit of a twist on normal berries and cream. Around here that tends to involve Double Crème from Gruyèree which is so thick it stands up on the spoon. There was some on sale last week, so I picked some up. As it is the middle of winter, berries are only available for substantial amounts of ready money (or credit, but lots of it either way). What we had on hand happened to be blood oranges though, so that is what I did. The White Balsamic Syrup is one I got as a Christmas gift. I hadn't opened it yet, but when I assembled the Coupe Raisa bowls, they looked like they needed it, so I brought it out and it was a hit. So here goes. Ingredients (per person): A generous dollop of Double crème de Gruyère ( in a pinch, mascarpone might do instead) One blood orange Optional: half a banana, sliced 3 dates, pitted and quartered (prunes work, but they are not as good) A handful of roughly crushed pistachios 1/2 tsp cacao nibs A drizzle of white balsamic syrup 1) Layer ingredients in a bowl, starting at the top of the list and working your way down. Serve with a small spoon. Mix up as desired. This was super tasty and I cannot recommend it enough. I loved the bite from the balsamic syrup paired with the cream and the fruit. The cacao nibs and the pistachios added some welcome textural contrast, too. A meringue crumble dup in there could work, but the extra sugar would be simply unnecessary.

Having porridge most mornings of my life, sometimes it's nice to mix it up a little and change the flavours and textures. Here are a few autumn/winter flavours that we've been enjoying over here! Pumpkin Pie Oats: 1 c oats 1/2 - 3/4 c pumpkin (I roast mine then mash it up as the tins are unavailable here) 2c milk 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp orange peel 1 tbsp chia seeds 3 cloves A generous grating of nutmeg Apple Cocoa Oatmeal 1 c oats 3/4 c apple sauce 1 1/2 c milk 1 tbsp cacao nibs 1 tsp cinnamon (We trialled this one with the quantities of milk and apple sauce roughly reversed, but the oats came out too stodgy and not creamy enough. With proportions this way around, they are creamy and taste almost like apple pie oats). Candied Sweet Potato Porridge 1 c oats 3/4 c sweet potato, roasted and mashed 1/2 tsp cardamom 1/4 tsp tumeric 1/4 tsp fenugreek powder 1 tbsp ground almonds 1 -2 tsp brown sugar Apple Cranberry Oats 1 c oats 2 c apple juice 1/4 c dried cranberries 1 tsp cinnamon sugar For any of these, they can either be assembled the night before and left to soak overnight, or tossed in a saucepan in the morning. Either way, place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring slowly to a simmer. Cook until they have reached the desired consistency (I like mine creamy, but others prefer their past a bit thicker). Add raisins or sugar to taste. Alternatively, place all ingredients in a baking dish and leave to soak overnight. Bake at 180°C for about 25-30 minutes until thickened and golden. If you bake it, a little almond sprinkled over the top is beauteous. We use either whole oats or finer cut ones. My favourites are the coarser ones, but they never cook as smooth and creamy as the finer ones. Either will work for these.

As mentioned in Day 2 of The Challenge I grew up with cornbread. It is a comfort food, a good staple. Usually it was a breakfast food, served in bread or muffin form with eggs and jams. Sometimes my father baked in pieces of bacon. For years though, that was all it was, until I started cooking for myself. Then gradually other things made it in, like cheese or jalapeños. I started baking it over chilli and experimenting with it in different ways. This loaf is one of those ways. It is endlessly versatile. This time I put in brocoli and spinach because I had them on hand, other times it is other vegetables. I find that feta works well as the cheese, but so do others. The red curry paste was because I had some in the fridge and it felt like the right palette. Quick, easy, adjustable to whatever tastes, cravings or stores you have, and super tasty. Ingredients: 1 cup flour 1 cup cornmeal 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 cup milk 1 egg 2 tsp red curry paste 2 tbsp jalapeños 1 onion, diced 6 sundried tomato halves, sliced 1/2 suçuk or other spiced sausage, in chunks 1 red chilli, sliced 1 handful of spinach, wilted 1/4 head of broccoli 1 disk of feta, cubed/crumbled 1) Preheat oven to 220°C. Combine dry ingredients, then add wet, stirring just enough to mix. 2) Add all other ingredients, reserving half the feta. 3) Prepare a loaf pan, and pour in the batter. Sprinkle the reserved feta over the top. 4) Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown on top and a knife comes out clean. Serve as is, as a main or a side, with or without sauces or spreads. On Day 2 we had it as a main with different sauces. My husband liked it best with BBQ sauce, I preferred it with whole grain mustard. Butter, mayo and hot sauces worked too. Take your pick and enjoy!

I've always loved chestnuts in any shape or form, especially roast chestnuts. They always speak to me of Christmas markets, friends and family, and the smell alone is enough to carry me back. Traditionally, these should be eaten out of a paper cone, fresh from a roasting pan outside in freezing night air, and the chestnuts so hot you burn your fingers peeling them. The other day I settled for home-roasted ones for Little Bit and me, though. He ate fewer than I had anticipated (always the case) and I made the mistake of leaving the rest in the cast iron pan on the stove while I finished tempering chocolate. As a result, they were rock hard but not burnt. I hate the idea of food waste, so instead of tossing them in the compost, I decided to try and salvage them by turning them into custards. I didn't have enough eggs for that, so instead turned them into little puddings. Ingredients: 1 1/2 - 2 c chestnuts, roasted 3 tbsp butter 1 1/2 - 2 c milk 1 egg 1 tsp cinnamon 2 tbsp flour 1/3 c sugar 2 tbsp dark chocolate, grated 1) Melt 1 1/2 tbsp butter in a saucepan. Briefly toss the chestnuts in the butter, then simmer in milk until liquid is reduced by about half and the chestnuts are tender. 2) Blitz the chestnuts in milk, adding a touch of extra milk or some water if it is too thick. 3) In another saucepan, mix sugar and flour over medium heat. Add the chestnut mix and a little extra milk, and cook slowly, stirring well. When well incorporated, remove from heat and beat in the egg, remaining butter, and cinnamon. The egg should be fully cooked by the residual heat of the pudding. 4) Dish into little individual ramequins and sprinkle chocolate over the top. Chill in the fridge for an hour or so, then enjoy! These were delightful. I wasn't able to blitz the chestnuts until smooth as Little Bit was already asleep and after about a minute of pulsing, he was starting to wake up. Instead, our puddings had chunks of roasted chestnut in them, which worked rather well. They would have been nice with a little whipped cream or mascarpone, but were also very tasty as is! Book Pairing: While making these, I was listening to the start of In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick. It is a history of the real-life whaling ship Essex and its wreck which were the inspiration for Moby Dick. I decided that Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky was too depressing and I wasn't in the mood, so instead switched to a book that opens with an account of cannibalism... Hmmm... It is well written, but listening to the unrelenting series of errors in judgement, leadership and navigation made by the captain and first mate and knowing where the whole thing is headed is a bit grim. It would be funny how badly things went if it weren't so tragic! At least, having decided that I wasn't up for anything depressing at the moment, this is a quicker read than Brothers K! Definitely worth a read if your mood can handle it though.

Sweet Potatoes are normally really expensive here, so when the price drops, I buy up loads of them. Usually, being a tuber, they last pretty well. This time though, that meant using up 4 kilos of sweet potatoes fast. After putting a couple in a few other dishes and still having a mountain of them to use, I chopped off the ugly bits and made soup. As often happens, I didn't have a very clear idea when I started of where I was heading with this soup, but I am really happy with where it ended up, so thought I'd share. I had thought maybe I would go a big veggie soup direction, or maybe cream of sweet potato soup, or something coconutty. The Fromage Blanc was the last from my most recent batch of homemade cheese, and the chives were the only ones that poked their heads through this year. The pot looked rather like a bald man's head with only a few green hairs sprinkled around. I used chicken stock as I had some from a recent chicken dish, but veggie stock would have worked well too. It all came together very nicely though! Ingredients: For the soup: 2 tbsp olive oil 3-4 onions, chopped 4 cm ginger, diced 2 - 2,5 kg sweet potatoes, chopped 4 c chicken stock 1 tsp Urfa Biber 1 tbsp nigella seeds 1 - 1 1/2 c corn Salt and pepper to taste for the red pepper paste: 1 red pepper 1 red chilli pepper 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 onion, chopped For the fromage blanc 3/4 c fromage blanc (or cream cheese) 2-3 tbsp fresh chives 1/2 tsp garlic powder salt 1) Place red pepper and chilli in the oven, whole at 200°C for 20-30 minutes, until the red pepper is soft and starting to char. 2) In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté onion and ginger. 3) Add sweet potato and stock. Add water until the sweet potatoes are just covered and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 - 25 minutes until sweet potatoes are soft. 4) Using a hand blender, blitz soup until it is most of the way smooth. Add corn, Urfa and nigella seeds. 5) Meanwhile, remove peppers from the oven and blitz in a blender with the onion, olive oil and vinegar. (I used olive oil left over from preserving my Cabécou Goat's cheese). 6) In a bowl, mix the fresh cheese, chives, garlic powder and salt. 7) Serve the soup hot, with dolloping options of fresh cheese and red pepper paste. I am really happy with this soup. Having the fresh cheese and the red pepper paste on the side meant we were each able to spice it up or make it creamy according to our own tastes. This also continues the trend of keeping spicy things on the side so that Little Bit can eat the same meal as us. He wanted corn from the tin while I was cooking, so I ended up needing more corn than anticipated, but then he offered me 5 kernels for the soup. Individually of course. He was very proud of his contribution too! The fresh cheese was very tasty, and I enjoyed the creaminess as it melted into the soup, but the soul also works really well without it. The red pepper paste is tasty in its own right, and I am happy to have it around for other purposes too. I like happy accidents in cooking!

This one isn't anything particularly spectacular, but it was quick and easy for a week night dinner and very tasty, so I thought it maybe worth sharing. Little Bit loved it for all the bits he could pick out and identify and get excited about (and for the mess he could make with the couscous). Ingredients: For the couscous: 1 c couscous 2 c water 1 tbsp olive oil 1 carrot, grated 1/2 c raisins 3 cloves 2 tsp curry powder (I used a pineapple curry powder from a spice market) Salt to taste 1 tbsp butter For the veg: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1/2 head of broccoli, floretted and chopped 2 - 3 cm butternut, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped 2 tsp zathar 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp honey 3/4 c chopped almonds, toasted 1) Heat oil in a small saucepan and toss the couscous. Add the other ingredients except the butter, bring to a simmer, and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been absorbed and the couscous is fluffy. Add the butter and mix it in, allowing it to melt into the couscous. 2) For the veg, in a large sauté pan, heat the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil. Sauté onions until beginning to soften. Add other veg, balsamic, honey and zathar, and cook until veg is tender - about 10 minutes. 3) Spoon the veg over the couscous and serve. Sprinkle warm, toasted almonds over the top. Full of veggies, with a little crunch from the almonds and some sweetness from the raisins, it was satisfying and flavourful. The balsamic and honey balanced each other nicely, with the sweet curry flavour adding further flavour notes. Dead simple, this pulled together in under a half hour and was filling and satisfying, not to mention healthy! The butter could be skipped to make this vegan, or bits of chicken could be added just after the onion for the carnivores out there.

This year, I accidentally planted lemon mint on my balcony instead of a variety I might be more familiar with and like more, like, say, peppermint or spearmint. Ironically, the lemon mint is one of the few of my plants to have flourished this year. I planted more things too early, then we had late snow and frost which wiped a lot of my plants out. I replanted and hoped for the best. Then the spring was very rainy and drowned a number of them. Then we had hail. Twice. A lot of plants were flattened. In and amongst weather catastrophes, was Little Bit, who delights in tearing up my plants by the roots, or picking the leaves off of them to make mud soup in his paddling pool. Through all this, the mint survived. I was delighted until I made tea with it and discovered that the flavour was not quite what I was expecting. I wondered if there had been black tea left in the bottom of the pot? No. I tried again. It still tasted odd: at once muddier than regular mint and more acidic, but without mint's typical freshness. I left the plant alone for a bit and wondered what to do with it. And then I hit on the idea of a pesto. It took a little tweaking, but it worked out well in the end. I had to add a little water to get the blender to work properly, and then it was too wet as well as needing a grounding note, so I added some stale bread to the blender. If your consistency is ok without it though, skip the bread. I also gradually increased the amount of garlic. As the pesto is raw, I was worried that too much garlic would be overpowering, but the pesto really did need it. Here it is. Ingredients: 3-4 c fresh lemon mint leaves 3-4 tbsp olive oil 1/4 c pine nuts 1/2 head garlic 1/4 c water 1/4 c bread crumbs Juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 c grated parmesan Salt and pepper to taste 1) Blend all ingredients until smooth. Taste test. I am happy with how this came out. It doesn't taste overpoweringly minty (but then, neither does the parent plant) but has a nice balance to it. We had this first with sandwiches. The minty pesto worked very well on wholegrain seedy bread with cheese and sausage for lunch. We have also tried it with spinach and ricotta tortellini, and it was delicious. Little Bit refused to try it, but then he doesn't like any sauce on his tortellini.

I love yogurt. Until relatively recently, though, aside from Tzatziki, it was a sweet food, usually for breakfast. Even plain yogurt, which is more sour than sweet, I considered a food to be had with oats and raisins, or with syrup on a crêpe. For lunch though? Maybe muesli, but even then, I consider that more sweet than savoury, loaded up as it is with fruit. Imagine my delight, therefore, when I discovered borani, a savoury Persian yogurt dish. The yogurt is flavoured with herbs and spices, salt and pepper and served with vegetables. I started out following recipes for it, but have since gone my own way. I've enjoyed playing around with different veggie toppings and herb or spice combos too. It is no longer what you might call "authentic" but it is tasty! I also love that it is tasty eaten at room temperature, and within reason, it doesn't need to be refrigerated. I found that it worked well as a packed lunch when working in a refugee camp, for example, where we had no microwave and no fridge. Here's our most recent one. Ingredients: 3 c yogurt 1 tsp sumac 1 tsp herbes de Provence 1 tsp Thyme 2 c spinach 1 tbsp butter 2 onions, sliced 2 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted Salt and pepper 1) Strain yogurt through a cheese cloth until thickened to the desired consistency. Mix with herbes de Provence, thyme and sumac, salt and pepper to taste. 2) Wilt spinach and sauté briefly with butter. 3) Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry onions over medium high heat until crispy. 4) Assemble bowls, first a dollop of yogurt, then some spinach, some onions and a sprinkling of pine nuts. Incredibly quick to assemble and at once refreshing and filling without being heavy, this was the perfect lunch last week after a morning bike ride with Little Bit. It was a lot of steep uphill (and then a much quicker descent) so I was happy to be able to plate up something quick when we got home. I made this using home-made yogurt which we'd left out a little too long, so the flavour had ripened a little. For breakfast, the flavour was a bit much, but mixed with herbs and spices for a lunch borani, it was perfect.

These Cherry Brownie recipes three ways- two cherry and almond white chocolate blondies and one cherry and dark chocolate brownie recipes - are the result of multiple tangents after discovering that I was missing ingredients for successive recipe variations that I had originally set out to make - passion fruit, cocoa powder, orange juice - leading to the first iteration of the cherry and almond blondies... It thus wasn't planned out in advance, but rather assembled and devised as I went, with Littler Bit as my helper (she was more interested in taste-testing every stage than anything else. And in going through the cake decorating things and commenting on them, and asking if we could use them on various things. E.g., with sprinkles in hand, "These are for ice cream", and with food colouring, "Can I put this in yoghurt?", and with the almond extract, "Is this for cake or cereal?"). Anyway, assembled with multiple changes of direction midway through, this wasn't necessarily how I would have made Cherry Blondies otherwise, but such is life... as a Type C mom anyway. Having made them and being happy with them, but... the recipe kept going around in my head for days, so I decided to try two new variations side by side a few days later. All three of these wound up being quite different, from taste, to colour, through texture and how sweet they were. Two are blondie recipes, and one is for dark chocolate brownies. Recipes Cook time: 15-20 minutes prep, 30-35 minutes in the oven ~~ Portions: (how big do you cut your brownies?) approx. 20 brownies ~~ Difficulty: Easy Cherry and Almond Blondies, Take One Ingredients: 4 eggs 2 c sugar 4 TBSP oil 3/4 tsp orange extract 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 3/4 c (250g) white chocolate, melted 1 c tinned cherries, blitzed 2 c flour pinch of salt 3/4 c flaked almonds 1 c dark chocolate chips 1) Beat the sugar and eggs together. Stir in the oil and the extracts, mixing well before adding the white chocolate and the cherries. 2) Stir in the flour and salt until just combined, followed by the almonds and the chocolate chips. If the batter feels to thick, add a little of the cherry syrup. 3) Pour into a brownie pan and bake at 180°C for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool thoroughly before serving. Cherry and Almond Blondies, Take Two Ingredients: 3 eggs 1 c sugar 1/2 c butter, melted 1/2 tsp almond extract  1/2 c (~200g) white chocolate, melted 1 c fresh or frozen cherries, puréed 2 c flour 1 c flaked almonds 1/2 c triple chocolate chips 1) Beat the sugar and eggs together. Stir in the butter and almond extract, mixing well before adding the white chocolate and the cherries. 2) Stir in the flour until just combined, followed by the almonds and the chocolate chips. 3) Pour into a brownie pan and bake at 180°C for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Cherry and Dark Chocolate Brownies Ingredients: 4 eggs 1 c sugar 1/2 c butter, melted 1 c fresh or frozen cherries, puréed 1/4 tsp almond extract 1/2 tsp vanilla extract  1/2 c (~200g) dark chocolate, melted with 1 TBSP milk 2 c flour Pinch of salt 1 c flaked almonds 1/2 c dark chocolate chips 1) Beat the sugar and eggs together. Stir in the butter and the extracts, mixing well before adding the dark chocolate and the cherries. 2) Stir in the flour and salt until just combined, followed by the almonds and the chocolate chips. 3) Pour into a brownie pan and bake at 180°C for 30-35 minutes. On the whole, I was happy with all three of these, although that does not preclude the possibility of more playing around with these in the future. The first variation of the blondies was tasty, with a very strikingly distinctive hot pink colour to them. What they had in colour, they lost in taste, though. Having used tinned cherries (due to the peripatetic nature of that particular recipe development, that is what I had on hand), the cherry flavour was less present than I had hoped, but the colour was brilliant. I also used a little too much white chocolate and too much sugar so they came out tasting too sweet to me. Having said that, they were most definitely kid-approved, with both Little Bit (who usually has less of a sweet tooth) and Littler Bit devouring them at any opportunity. I had liked the idea of using the orange extract with the cherries, and while it did work, I found that using the vanilla as well muddied the flavour-waters a little, so to speak, so I would strike that one out next time. Instead, I would add some orange zest to really lean into that flavour combination (but given my pantry scarcities I seemed to encounter on that particular occasion, I didn't have that on hand either. At least, not fresh. I do still keep Dried Orange Peel as a pantry staple). I would also use orange juice instead of cherry syrup to moisten the batter, leaning into the citrus notes and cutting some more of the sugar. Attempting to balance out the sweeter, higher, flavour notes, I added dark chocolate chips. Unfortunately, I added too many of them (I know? Right? I didn't think that should be possible...) So again, the flavour profile was a little muddied, and so in the subsequent variations, I cut the chocolate chip quantities significantly. Texture-wise, they were moist and squidgy, well within the normal blondie texture range, but I liked the almond flakes in them, so I kept those in the subsequent recipes. I am aware that nuts in brownies or blondies aren't everyone's thing, though, so feel free to just skip those if you so prefer. Overall, tasty, and I would make again, possibly just tweaking one or two things. Blondie Variation two, I don't think I would tweak much. For blondies generally, I have discovered that I prefer to eat them once they have cooled. Because of the white chocolate, I find that if eaten hot, the only flavour that really comes across is sugar. As they cool, more subtle flavours are allowed to emerge. In the case of variation two, the flavours when it was hot were sugar and almond, which were overpowering. As they cooled, however, I found that the flavours were more balanced. I would possibly still cut the almond extract a little to showcase the cherry flavour a little further, though. These were on the slightly cakier end of the normal brownie texture continuum. Adding a little more liquid next time would not go amiss. Despite this, they were lovely and moist and stayed so the whole time that we had them around - almost a week, in fact. The downside to these was that, using the frozen cherries, although the flavour was more pronounced, the colour was darker. Still visibly pink brownies, they lacked the pop of colour that variation one had. Maybe if I need that colour in future (like for Littler Bit's pink birthday coming up), I try doing half-half tinned and frozen cherries - get the colour and flavour? The dark chocolate and cherry brownies were delightful. The cherry complemented and deepened the dark chocolate, while the chocolate added richness and counterbalanced the sweetness. These ones were a little on the fudgy end of the texture continuum and quite sticky. It could have been that they were pulled out a couple of minutes early (what made me think that baking two batches of brownies back to back while doing bath-time and bedtime for the kids would be a good idea, and after a nursing shift, no less?) The other possibility could be the extra egg compared to the second variation of blondies. With the sugar content lessened, the 4 eggs could simply be too much. I might try these again with one less egg. Beyond that, though, and I'm not saying the fudginess really was even a bad thing, I was happy with this one. The original brownie recipe I grew up with, for dark espresso brownies, is my dad's, and he was teetering on the verge of mildly offended that I had felt the need to play with what is generally agreed to be a rather excellent brownie recipe. When he tried these though, he did succumb to their call and recognised that although possibly not the healthiest lunch option on his visit, they were tasty and addictive. Swaps and Substitutions: Try using different citrus extracts, zests or juices in any of these; just adjust the other extracts accordingly. I went with almond and vanilla in the brownies here, but orange could be delectable! Try different nuts, cut into different sizes to play with texture. Try adding 1 TBSP of cream or milk to make the recipes squidgier. Try swapping the almond extract and flakes for coconut. Book Pairing I am listening to The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon at the moment. Set in the late 18th century in Massachusetts in the wintertime, the story follows a midwife in her community. Right at the start, there is a murder, and the community is in uproar, people taking different sides. I am not very far in yet, but it is beautifully written, and I am completely won over to the main character's side. I just hope I am not betrayed by her later on! I wasn't listening while baking, but had been just before on my walk home from work, and so as I was stirring batter, my mind kept wandering back to the bookish world I had just left and mulling over where the story might take me. So far, it has been lots of fun!