Chocolate Street

Corbyn and I had a lovely afternoon together doing things he absolutely loves - one was painting.  We had never done this before, but I had bought a rock painting set a while ago. Every time Corbyn felt ready to try his hand at it, we had run out of time.  So I promised the very next time he was there we would do it first. And we did.  All we got done was the base though because it had to dry before we could go any further.  I guess the poor kid is going to have to learn real patience because the fun part of rock painting will be the next time! 

 
 
 

We had better luck with the other thing Corbyn requested.  And that was baking!  I am beginning to wonder if he truly enjoys the act of baking!  I used to think baking was only a means to an end for Corbyn.  We are continuing to work through the "My Baking Journal"  I got for him a few months ago.  And since it is easier to just work through the book rather than make a decision - the next project was "Rocking Rocky Road", or as Corbyn remembers it "Chocolate Street". 



Corbyn got to wear my moose apron again, he seems to have taken that on as his own!  And he has a stool that helps him be the correct height to be able to reach the bowl and help stir.  He is still very wary of the hot stove, and I do not mind that at all. 

I love how he checks the recipes to make sure we are doing everything right.  The only thing is - I know he can't read yet!  So he is sort of bluffing, but he does it very well!

Corbyn may not be able to read - yet - but he can recognize numbers and he loved measuring out the ingredients and watching for certain numbers in a certain order. 

 

 

ingredients all present and accounted for!

 

Chocolate Street    AKA   Rocking Rocky Road

 

125g butter ( I used unsalted)

 80 g sultanas

200g dark chocolate

   3 TBS golden syrup

150g rich tea biscuits 

100g mini marshmallows

   2 tsp icing sugar (powdered sugar)

 

1.  Line a 24 cm square cake tin with greaseproof paper.

2.  Melt the butter, chocolate and syrup in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat.

3.  Remove from the heat and set aside 125 ml of the mixture in a bowl.

4.  Place the biscuits in a sealed plastic freezer bag and bash them with a rolling pin into small pieces.

5.  Add the biscuits, sultanas, and marshmallows to the pan and mix well. 

6.  Transfer the mixture into the cake tin then pour over the remaining chocolate. 

7.  Place in a fridge for at least 2 hours.

 

We had fun bashing the biscuits and pouring everything together.  Corbyn loves sultanas and was happy snacking on them while we got it all together.  He even patiently waited that minimum 2 hours.  Then, the time came to taste the rocky road.........and he didn't like it at all.  Corbyn stated that it tasted like vinegar. Of course, I have no idea when he has tasted straight vinegar, but he also told his mother the same thing.  In this journal, the children using it are encouraged to rate their baking out of 10 - Corbyn gave this a 1.  And, the really sad thing - I didn't like it either.  However, in this recipe's defense - everyone else who tried it loved it. 

 

I think the problem is Corbyn doesn't like dark chocolate and I don't like sultanas or marshmallows.  Maybe folks with a more mature palate like Rocky Road, but Corbyn and I are together in this! 

 

 

 

Good Living
is an act of intelligence,
by which we choose things
which have an agreeable taste
rather than those which do not.
Brillat-Savarin



Another High School Memory - Chicken Paprika

To continue the journey through my high school recipe box, the next one is Chicken Paprika from about 1971. 

I have fond memories of cooking this recipe!  I know that sounds odd but this must have been one of the first recipes I found on my own.  (Yes, I did live on my own during my senior year, but that is another story!)  It is easy and delicious.  The really funny thing is my best friend asked me to make it for her dad one time.  It was only recently that I told someone this and they asked me why?  I never questioned why she asked me that.  I am extremely lucky that she and I have never lost touch after all these years, so maybe I should just ask her now!

This card looks really old.  I have no idea where I cut the recipe out from, but it is taped to the index card.  And "back then" no one cared about acid free products to protect precious paper items!  The tape has gone all dark and obscures the edge of the paper.  This makes it very hard to see the number exactly.

Luckily, Alan also enjoyed this, so we will probably not wait over 40 years to make it again!  


Things I might have done wrong this time - I used chicken breasts and not chicken pieces.  They were there so why not?  Next time, I will use what I always used when I was in high school.

And I also picked up the low fat (50% less fat) Crème Fraiche.  Out of habit, I picked up the lowest fat I could find and Crème Fraiche is usually a good substitute for sour cream.  Next time, I will use the real thing. 

And I used egg and spinach tagliatelle for the wide noodles - widest ones I could find!  They were actually ok!

Chicken Paprika

1 chicken cut in serving pieces
1 1/4 tsp salt, divided
2 tsp   paprika  ( I used smoked paprika this time around)
2 Tbs butter or margarine
1/4 finely chopped onion  ( I can't be bothered to measure onions so I just use a whole one)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream  
(sour cream can be difficult to find here, so I substitute Crème Fraiche when necessary)

1/2 8oz package wide noodles

Sprinkle chicken with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp of the paprika.  Heat butter in skillet; add chicken pieces and brown on both sides.  Add onion; cook 2 minutes.  Add water, cover and simmer 30 minutes, until tender.  Remove chicken to serving platter and keep warm.  Add remaining 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp paprika and sour cream to mixture in skillet.  Heat, stirring constantly, do not boil.  Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with wide noodles. 

Yield:  4 servings



Sorry for not having a finished photo to show you, one of those times we were Hungry and I forgot!  I also must apologize for not converting this recipe into metric, another excuse of being in a hurry and also out of the habit of converting. I will do better next time!  Honest.  

Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.