2013 - Week 33

Hello everyone :) I hope all things are going well for you. Things are busy in my world as usual. I attended another yoga class this week which went better than the last, but I was still very sore afterwards. I miss the heat of the hot yoga, I think that kept the muscle soreness down. But at any rate, it was still pretty good.

As promised last week, I made some tasty zucchini dishes. The first was a zucchini carrot tart (just page once to the right in the link to see the recipe). The crust my husband made from a Pampered Chef recipe was really yummy. Sorry I can't find the recipe online. I sliced the carrots and zucchini lengthwise on my mandolin slicer and then placed them in concentric circles in the springform pan. The recipe wasn't very good in that it calls for olive oil but doesn't say where to use it. I just drizzled about 3 Tbsp. over the whole thing and it turned out pretty well. It was an interesting tart, and pretty good :)

Before baking

And after . . . yum . . . the thyme really makes it

I also used some of my zucchini to make this chocolate zucchini ganache cake. Don't be fooled by the link, just scroll down a little bit and you'll see the recipe. I probably should have peeled the zucchini to hide it better, but the cake was really tasty and moist. Plus, it's covered in ganache . . . and that can never be bad :)

This week I have a top tip for you about ganache. Never put the chocolate on the heat . . . it's that simple. I know, how could something so delicious be that simple, but it really is, just heat the cream and pour it over the chocolate, let it sit for ~ 5 minutes and stir your way to creamy goodness. So if there is ever a recipe telling you to do it another way, run away. How many times was I frustrated during my cake month by ganache? I don't remember, but it was never a good experience, and this was all I had to learn how to do . . . amazing. Now don't be afraid, confidently go ahead and make lots of ganache goodness :) You can even make it with other liquids, even coffee, for you caffeine lovers.

Ganache goodness

I made a couple other tasty things too, buffalo chicken tenders which were just okay, and pecan tartlettes, which were amazing, and made with love with my friend the ganache queen. The recipe was from the Miette cookbook, a fancy bakery out in San Francisco. Awesome and pretty easy recipe . . . bake and enjoy :)

Until next week then :)