Chocolate Cookies

These are "the cookies."

1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
2 ozs unsweetened chocolate
7 tbs butter
1 tsp coffee powder
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
½ tsp baking powder
1-1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1. Melt chips, unsweetened chocolate, and butter in double boiler. Remove and set aside to cool.

2. Stir coffee powder and vanilla together until dissolved. Beat eggs and sugar. Add vanilla-coffee mixture. Add melted chocolate mixture.

3. Whisk flour and baking powder together. Fold flour mixture and additional chocolate chips into batter. Let stand for 20 mins until batter firms up. (Looks like brownie batter).

4. Roll cookies into 1 tbs balls. Bake 350 F for 11 to 14 mins.

Tomato Soup

Serves 6 to 8

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil , plus more for drizzling
1 medium onion , chopped medium (about 1 cup)
3 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
Pinch hot red pepper flakes (optional)
1 bay leaf
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 large slices good-quality sandwich bread , crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes (if using), and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Using potato masher, mash until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain. Stir in sugar and bread; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf.

2. Transfer half of soup to blender. Add 1 tablespoon oil and process until soup is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and repeat with remaining soup and oil. Rinse out pot and return soup to pot. Stir in broth and brandy (if using). Return soup to boil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve soup in individual bowls. Sprinkle each portion with pepper and chives and drizzle with olive oil.

New York Style Crumb Cake

CRUMB TOPPING

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

8 tbs butter

1-3/4 cup cake flour

CAKE
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp baking soda
1-1/4 cup cake flour
6 tbs butter

1. For the topping: Whisk sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter in bowl. Stir in flour until dough-like. Set aside.

2. For the cake: Whisk flour, granulated sugar, and baking soda, in large bowl. Beat butter into the flour mixture using an electric mixer. Beat in egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk until combined. Beat the batter until smooth.

3. Place batter in 8-inch sq cake pan. Break apart crumb mixture into pea sized pieces and layer on top of batter.

4. Bake 35-40 mins at 325 F.

5. Let cool for 30 mins and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Grilled Lemon Pound Cake

This is a tasty summer treat! The base for the recipe is lemon pound cake. Change lemon ingredients to orange ingredients and you have a lovely orange pound cake. You can top with vanilla ice cream, grilled peaches or a fresh berry syrup. Raspberries or blackberries complement the lemon flavor nicely.

2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup lemon zest
1 tsp baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter (at room temp)
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray.
2. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed for 2 mins. Add eggs one at a time. At low speed, beat in flour, lemon zest, and baking powder until well incorporated. Beat in milk, lemon juice, and vanilla.
3. Bake for about 1 hr 15 mins or until golden yellow and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool for 20 mins. Unmold cake and let cool completely, about 3 hrs (or speed cooling up in fridge).
4. Light grill. Oil grill grate. Place slices of loaf on grill, turning once, until toasted, about 2 mins.

Grilled Peach Topping:
1. Slice peaches into 1/2 inch slices.
2. Oil grill grate. Place peaches on grill, turning once, about 2 mins.

Berry Syrup Topping:
1. Boil about 1/4 cup of water and 1 tsp of sugar. Add about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of berries (bruise them well). Constantly stir mixture and let boil for about 5 mins.
2. Place berry syrup in freezer for about 20 mins to cool completely and it should thicken slightly.

Tomato Sauce

8oz can whole tomatoes
1/4 cup green pepper
1/4 cup onion
1/4 cup carrots
4 cloves garlic
EVOO
salt, pepper, italian seasoning to taste

Finely chop green pepper, onion, carrots, & garlic and sauté in EVOO. Puree tomatoes and add to vegetable mix. Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally. Season to taste.

This is really easy (especially if you have a blender or food processor). It tastes better than sauce from a jar and there is far less sugar than sauce from a jar. I boiled all the water off to almost make a paste and used as the sauce on a vegan chicken sandwich.