Layered Wheat Germ Brownies

Source:  Hodgson Mill Wheat Germ

Botom Layer:
1 c wheat germ
1/2 c flour
1/2 brown sugar
6 T butter melted

Chocolate Layer:
1/3 c cocoa
1/3 c margarine
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2/3 c wheat germ
1/2 c flour
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt

Chocolate Icing:
2 T butter
3 T cocoa
1 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix together bottom layer ingredients.  Lightly pat evenly in ungreased 9 inch square pan.  Set aside.  Melt cocoa and butter over low hear, stirring occasionally.  Beat in sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Stir in wheat germ , mixed with flour, baking powder and salt.  Spread over bottom layer in pan.  Bake 25-30 minutes.  Cool slightly -- spread with chocolate icing.

Icing:

Melt butter and cocoa.  Remove from heat and mix in one cup of powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 T of hot water.  Spread over brownies.

So wheat germ.....It's the reproductive part of the grain, and usually gets removed by the milling process that produces refined grain products.  It's high in all kinds of nutrients, like phosphorus, Vitamin A, folate.  It's also a good source of fiber.  So it's very, very healthy.  But it looks like sawdust, and kind of tastes like it.   I got a box of wheat germ for some recipe (maybe even the terrible mistake of the healthy muffins that I chronicled in this blog earlier).  Then you have a whole box of wheat germ, and what do you do with it.... I would mix it into yogurt, or smoothies -- it melts in and ups the nutritional content.  But it takes a long time to use up a box of wheat germ that way.  So i was excited to find this recipe, and try it.  In fact,  I made this for a co-worker's birthday, and took it to the office.  I wouldn't say that it got rave reviews, but I think most people enjoyed it, and the fact that it wasn't overly decadent, and was somewhat nutritious made it a popular choice.

It's fairly easy to make.  The only note I would make is that the icing was very thick.  I actually didn't read the part about adding the water, so I added a bit of milk to the icing.  It still is pretty thick, and not liquid.  I also used unsweetened cocoa, to cut down on the sweetness.  Now I know the recipe says -- ungreased pan -- but I felt that the bottom layer didn't come out easily from the pan, but was crumbly and stuck to the bottom.  Next time, I will grease the pan, or add a little extra butter to the bottom layer to make it more moist and stick together better.

The name "brownie" is misleading.  It's not a brownie.  It's most of a chocolate bar.  It's very good.  Do not fear the wheat germ. The bottom layer is crunchy and nutty -- reminiscent of an oatmeal layer.  In the chocolate filling, the wheat germ just serves to thicken the chocolate.  It's not overly sweet, but still tasted pretty rich  I would recommend this recipe if you are in the mood for a little dessert that's not overly decadent and that you can feel OK about eating.

Shrimp with Farro and Spring Vegetables

Source:
Bon Appetit Magazine

8 oz farro
2 T butter
2 T minced shallots
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 t fresh thyme, finely chopped
1/4 c white wine
20 large uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 c sugarsnap peas cut into 1/2 inch pieces
10 thin asparagus spears, stems removed, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 c heavy cream
1/2 c chicken broth
1 t fresh lemon juice

In a  large pot of generously salted boiling water, cook farro until firm tender, about 8 minutes.  Drain and set aside.  Over medium heat, melt butter in large pot.  Add shallots and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.  Add garlic and thyme and cook another minute.  Add wine, and increase heat to medium high.  Add shrimp, and cook until they just start to turn opaque.  Add peas, asparagus and reserved farro.  Add cream, broth, lemon juice.  Salt to taste.  Stir and cook for two more minutes -- or as long as it takes for sauce to thicken.

How is this for a Spring recipe?  This recipe appealed to me b/c I've never worked with farro before.  It's one of those "ancient grains" that are so popular these days. They are also really good for you and very filling.   I had to go Whole Foods to find farro -- in the bulk bins.

This is what farro looks like cooked.  It tastes pretty much like brown rice.  Maybe a little "toothier" if that makes sense.

The recipe is very easy to put together.  I loved the use of all the fresh spring vegetables.  Must confess that I used dried thyme instead of fresh.

This dish is delicious.  Fresh, yet feels rich and decadent from the use of the cream.  By the way, I think you can easily reduce the cream to half a cup -- it would still be rich and creamy and delicious, with far less fat.  And did I mention that it takes less than a half hour to put together.  Highly recommend.  Do yourself a favor and make this dish.

Asiago Meatball with Fiery Sweet Bell Peppers

Source:  Texas Pete Hot Sauce

3 c breadcrumbs
2/3 c milk
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef
4 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 c grated Asiago cheese
2 eggs
1/2 c parsley chopped
1/2 t dried oregano
3/4 c olive oil
4 each of red and green pepper

hot sauce

Put breadcrumbs and milk in a bowl.  Add next seven ingredients in a separate bowl, and gently mix.  Add breadcrumbs.  Form meatballs and cook by your preferred method.

Slice peppers and saute in olive oil for about 9-10 minutes.   Serve with generous serving of hot sauce.

So by now you must have guessed that I've gotten some sort of a Texas Pete hot sauce with a recipe booklet.  True.  Hence all the recipes involving hot sauce.

A couple of things about this recipe -- it's missing instructions on how big your meatballs should be, and how to cook them.  I opted to bake mine on a sheet tray at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.  The second is that the amount of oil they suggest you saute the peppers in is ridiculous.  I used less then a tablespoon.

So this is an OK recipe.  The meatballs are fine -- I've made, and definitely eaten much better.  The sauteed peppers are nice, I actually chickened out from using the hot sauce.  So this was an acceptable dinner, but definitely not something you should write home about.