weekly recipe: black bean brownies

Ok. Yes. I have noticed that my recipe posts tend to be desserts... From the beginning, this was not planned. What can I say? I love sweets. And my middle name is Baker. So there you are.

This week's recipe is an adaptation of Heidi's Black Bean Brownies at 101 Cookbooks. I know the idea may raise an eyebrow or two, but you really have to try them first. My friend and I made these as the feature presentation in a birthday package for our friend in New York. Despite the unique texture, these brownies are deliciously chocolately with a caffeinated kick.

LB & SB's Black Bean Brownies

Ingredients:
-4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
-2 sticks unsalted butter
-1 can black beans
-1 tablespoon vanilla extract
-¼ cup ground coffee (espresso works best)
-¼ teaspoon sea salt
-4 large eggs
-1½ cups honey (agave nectar is preferred, but hard to find)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease an 11x18 or 9x13 inch baking pan lightly with canola oil spray.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high. Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely. Place the beans, the vanilla extract, and a couple of spoonfuls of the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blend about 2 minutes, or until smooth. The batter should be thick and the beans smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the remaining melted chocolate mixture, coffee substitute and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the honey and beat well. Set aside.

Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee/chocolate mixture. Stir until blended well.

Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over the brownie batter. Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set. Let cool in the pan completely before cutting into squares.

Makes 45 (2-inch) brownies.

Consumption tip: The brownies will be a bit gooey even after they cool. I recommend refridgerating them overnight before consuming, and they age well too.

homemade ice cream: shake it

My friends and I had homemade ice cream tonight- without the churner or a long wait. This method is quick, fun and foolproof (nearly- potential messes are dependent on plastic.) If you've never had ice cream this way, you should. And for your convenience (and entertainment), I've included a short instructional video....

flavor of the (memorial day) week(end)

Memorial Day makes me think of chilling and grilling out in the sun. Not that I spend my holiday this way, but isn't that how we Americans like to celebrate long weekends in the summer?

After your hamburgers or barbecue, digging into a vanilla ice cream-topped berry dessert is a great way to end a meal. Strawberries are actually the freshest right now, but this King Arthur Flour recipe for Blue Ribbon Pie looks delicious. A perfect afternoon pie for the long, lazy weekend.

I absolutely love this chair, and not just for its name (it's called the Lazy Bastard.) True, this seating may be more suited for the bookworm-types and less for the beer drinkers, but I don't think it would take long to become a favorite in any home. Find out more about it and its designer, Montis, here. Dwell also featured some other lovely products in their weekly review that I believe are worth sharing, so check them out.

And how about hanging these blown-glass beauties out on your deck for your friends and neighbors to admire? I'm a big fan of this new multi-bulb lighting trend. This photo is from MoCo LoCo's post on modern lighting at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, which took place last weekend in New York.
Obviously, there are numerous ways to create this effect with the DIY method by using recycled glass, Christmas ornaments or assorted plastics. Here are Modern Urban Living's Top 10 homemade chandeliers, just to give you some ideas.

chocolate peanut buddies

This recipe (from Nestle) happened to fit perfectly with the ingredients I found in the kitchen. However, my peanut buddies are extra chocolatlely (I used 2 11 oz. bags of chocolate chips)- oh the cravings.

They are delicious fresh out of the oven, but be prepared to lick your fingers. You can also put them straight into the refrigerator to solidify the chocolate layer on top. Whatever you do, make sure you've "got milk."

(Very) Chocolate Peanut Buddies

1 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
6 tbsp butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups chocolate chips, divided (doubled for very version)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat peanut butter and butter in mixing bowl until smooth. Beat in sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Then beat in flour and salt. Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips. Spread into ungreased 13 x 9" baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are golden. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Let stand for 5 minutes or until chocolate is shiny; then spread evenly on top. Let cool completely and then cut into bars.