Salted Caramel Pecan Brownies

Oh, howdy friends.

Yep, I'm back after a long and unexplained absence. I won't go into detail but, long story short long... there has been a lot of change going on and I needed some time to... adjust. Those of you who know me in real life already know that a certain boy has taken a great job opportunity in Seattle, WA. Hooray for jobs! But also... boo! Seeing as I don't live in Seattle, and my going with him was not an option, that left me here all alone.

  

 

Yes, I'm a big girl. And yep, I can look after myself. But darn, this long distance thing is tough. And we're only four hours apart, I can't imagine if it were any further! But if were being real? My crazy girl brain needed some space to get used to the idea. And that meant that this little blog slipped off the priority list. That makes me sad. You know what doesn't make me sad? How many people KEPT ON READING IT! I checked in the other day and saw that tons of you are still dropping by to take a look at things I've made and ... wow. Just wow. This gives me so much motivation to keep on blogging, so thank you!

Anyways...  I've found at least one major upside to having a second residence in the US of A. And that is Trader Joes, of course! Oh dear, do I ever love that place. Why oh why dont we have any in Canada? If you have never been, let this be a warning: Your first experience may be an overwhelming one. You will dart around the store like a crazy person. You will throw anything and everything into your cart. You may get whiplash looking from isle to isle. Afterwards, you will gorge yourself on cookies and chocolate-covered-everything and you will feel sick.

Just me? Oh.

One thing I picked up on the last trip were these crazy little Fleur De Sel Caramels. I am a goner for anything sweet and salty, and I knew from the moment I bought them that these were destined to be combined with chocolate and baked into something delicious. Brownies to the rescue! I mixed toasted pecans into brownie batter, dotted the top with the little caramels, baked them up and sprinkled with sea salt. BAM! Ooey gooey salty sweet brownies. Dig in!

  

Salted Caramel and Pecan Brownies

Adapted from S'mores Brownies from the Joy the Baker Cookbook.

These are moist cakey brownies, studded with pecans and melted caramel centres. If you can't get your hands on the TJ's caramels, any soft candy should do really. Or you could try marbling the top with a liquid caramel sauce. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter

6 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

5 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup toasted pecan halves, chopped

12 Trader Joes Fleur De Sel Caramels, or similar candy

1 tablespoon fleur de sel or course sea salt

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9X13 pan. I did not line my pan with parchment, but I think I would do this next time, to prevent sticking. Set a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering, not boiling, water. Add the chocolate and butter to the bowl, stirring until the mixture is fully melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and coffee powder. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Gradually add the chocolate mixture to the eggs, taking care not to let them cook. Next, add the dry ingredients 1 cup at a time and mix until well combined. Fold in the chopped pecans. 

4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Unwrap each caramel candy (the most labour intensive step in the recipe, without a doubt), and roll between the palms of your hands to form a ball. Place the 12 caramel balls on top of the brownie batter. 

5. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a skewer or cake tester comes out almost clean. In a small dish, combine 1 tablespoon fleur de sel with 1 tablespoon sugar. Use fingers to sprinkle as much as desired across the top of the finished brownies. 

These are best enjoyed warm from the oven, or zapped in the microwave just long enough to melt the caramel. They would also be RIDICULOUS with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oh man, why didn't I think of that when I still had some?!

I know that today is a big day for all the American readers out there. And although our Thanksgiving came and went last month, I will be attending an American's-in-Canada-Friends-Giving this weekend. I will be whipping up the pumpkin cream pie from last year, because the boyfriend loves it so, plus a savoury dish I'll hopefully share on here soon. Happy Thanksgiving!

And here is a rainbow. Because today, I'm thankful for rainbows.



What I Really Eat

As much as I'd like to, I don't eat cupcakes for every meal. 

A girl can't survive off pie, cake pops and lattes for long. My sugar rush always seems to come to a crashing halt sooner than I expect, which can make these long, busy winter days pretty hard to get through.

Most weekdays I'm lucky if I have time to throw dinner together at all. Too many times I’ve ended up starving at 7PM, searching my cupboards for something (Anything?!) that can be made into a healthy meal in 5 minutes or less. 

This is never very successful.

I have been known to down an entire bag of tortilla chips with salsa, a spoonful of peanut butter and a handful of chocolate chips. Then call it "dinner". So nutritious!

 

For this reason, my favourite favourite favourite thing to do is to take a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon and prep a big pot of soup and a hearty grain or noodle salad to last us the week.  If I have the time I like to throw together some muffins or bars for a healthy snack, too.

Being prepared makes me SO HAPPY. Seriously. It might be unnatural the amount of joy I get from having a fully stocked fridge. It chases my worries away. The world could crumble to bits and at least we would have delicious food.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Yams and Chickpeas

I enjoyed this salad a number of ways... Most common was on the go, straight out of a tupperware container in my backpack. But it was also delicious warmed slightly, with a poached egg or two nestled on top (let the yolky part run into the salad, so good), or with warm roasted beets and extra feta. Mmm. Easy, healthy, and seriously yummy.

Ingredients

Dressing:

2 Tablespoons white wine Vinegar

1 Tablespoon dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon honey

2 cloves garlic, pressed or very finely chopped

½ Teaspoon each salt and pepper

½ Cup olive oil

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl, slowly add olive oil while mixing vigorously to form an emulsion. Or combine all ingredients and use an immersion blender to mix well. 

Salad:

½ Cup quinoa

About 2 cups yams, peeled and cubed (for me this was 3 small yams, 2 larger ones would do)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

½ Teaspoon each, sea salt and pepper

2 Cans chickpeas (14oz), drained and rinsed

1 Carrot, peeled and grated

1 ½ Cups spinach leaves, cleaned well and coarsely chopped

½ Cup parsley, chopped

½ Cup feta cheese, crumbled

½ Cup sunflower seeds, toasted

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions, fluff with a fork and set aside to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Toss yams in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a large baking sheet and roast until tender, about 20 minutes, turning once. Allow to cool.

3. Combine chickpeas, vegetables, sunflower seeds and feta with the quinoa and yams in a large bowl. Toss with dressing.

Enjoy at room temperature or warmed slightly. Follow with a handful of chocolate chips for good measure ;)

Recipe adapted from the Whitewater Cooks Cookbook.

I'm off to beautiful San Francisco later this week. I've never been and will have lots of time to explore. If you have a favourite restaurant or foodie place (or just a place) to visit please share in the comments!! I'll be sure to share the highlights of my trip on the blog. Hoping that it stays sunny for us :) So excited! Have a lovely week friends!

 

XO, 

Maia

Black Tie Caprese Pasta Salad

This Spring I took a weekend trip to Seattle and met up with some girlfriends. Three of whom are professional chefs. Not bad company to keep. It was a fun little trip where we ate pretty much everything we could get our hands on without shame. 

 

We went Here (and ordered the entire menu).

And Here.

Took a tour of Here (and brought lots of goodies home).

And dined Here (the Tart Tatine.OMG).

We watched them throw fish at the market and waited in line for approximately two years for some mini donuts. Or 20 minutes, whatever. I picked up these beautiful little bow ties at a shop outside of Pike Place Market. I can't remember the name, but Google says it might be here.

The store was full of fancy schmancy things like saffron infused oil and truffle salt (never liked truffle much). I taste tested the gourmet offerings but I wasn’t compelled to bring anything home until I saw these little guys. So dapper! I still have a bag of rainbow striped ones in my cupboard waiting for the perfect recipe. Any suggestions?

I wanted to use the pretty pasta in a dish that would let it shine, something without a thick sauce to mar its beauty. I think this simple caprese pasta salad does a fine job of that. And this dish will be perfectly delicious with whatever pasta you use. It’s all in the balsamic reduction. That’s where the magic is. It is delightful drizzled over thin slices of steak as well.

Caprese Pasta Salad with Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients

250 gr. dry pasta of your choice
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 tub (500 gr.) fresh mozzarella/ boconcini (I used Tre Stelle pearls, I like the slightly larger ones as opposed to the mini mini ones)
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of your favorite balsamic vinegar - I used fig balsamic!


1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just al dente. When the pasta is cooked, drain in a colander and drizzle with a bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking to iteself. Refrigerate to cool.

2. To make balsamic reduction add 1 cup of the vinegar to a small saucepan set on med-high. Bring to a boil while whisking constantly and quickly. Don't leave the room while this is going on, it can burn up on you very quickly! It is done when the vinegar is thick and syrupy and has reduced by about half. Set aside.

3. Make a Chiffonade of the basil by rolling the leaves tightly lengthwise and then slicing thinly perpendicularly. You should end up with fine, thin strips of basil.

4. When the pasta has cooled add the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. If you want you can drizzle with a little more olive oil to loosen the pasta up, but don't over do it. Add salt and pepper to your liking and mix it all up.

Drizzle the balsamic reduction over each plate. I added lots more to mine than you see in the picture. You can even make extra to use on salads, grilled steak, chicken, or fish. Yum. This makes quite a lot of pasta and the leftovers will keep for a few days. However, I do recommend bringing it to room temperature before eating, as the flavors are so much more pronounced this way. I also hate cold tomatoes. Ew.

Enjoy!

XO,

Maia