Best Brownies EVER

Having eaten a lot of homemade desserts at my friend Nicole's house, I know that making things from scratch is the way to go.  This brownie recipe is from scratch --- and let me tell you --- no more boxed brownie mixes for me!!!  This recipe is fantastic and a chocolate lovers delight.  Enjoy!

Brownies

8 tablespoons butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease and 8x8 baking pan. 

2. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate.  Stir constantly.

3. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, vanilla and eggs (one at a time).  Blend in flour and walnuts.

4. Spread in pan and bake 18-20 minutes.  (Both times I've made this, they've been done at the 18 minute mark).


Frosting

6 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unweetened cocoa powder
3-4 tablespoons milk

1. In medium bown with an electric mixer, beat butter and vanilla until creamy.

2. At low speed, gradually add confectioners sugar and cocoa.  Alternate with milk, beating well after each addition until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

3. Apply frosting when brownies are cool. 

Bon appetit!!!!

Sushi

My newest obsession:  homemade sushi rolls. 

I have been missing this for years while living in Mexico!!  I finally bought a bamboo mat to roll my own sushi and I am so happy.  Below is the (modified) recipe that I chose for the sushi rice.  The bag of rice I bought suggested making at least 2 cups of rice for "best results".  I knew I would end up with a lot of cooked rice, but I wanted to make sure that my first time making it was good.  My friend said she usually makes 3/4 cup of uncooked rice when making 2 rolls.  The recipe below is for the 2 cups. 

Sushi Rice

2 cups uncooked sushi rice
3 cups water
1/3 - 1/2 cup rice vinegar (use the larger amount if you want a more vinegar taste, use the lesser amount if you don't)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1. Rinse rice in a colander or strainer under water.  Rinse until water runs clear. 

2. Combine rice and 3 cups water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook on very LOW for 20 minutes.  (I stirred mine occasionally even though the recipe didn't mention it to make sure it didn't burn on the bottom of the pan).

3. In another small saucepan, combine rice vinegar, sugar, and salt.  Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

4. Let both rice and vinegar mixture cool. 

5. Stir vinegar mixture over cooked rice.  When poured over the rice, the rice will seem very wet.  Keep stirring and the rice will dry as it continues to cool. 

Large bag of Sushi rice from the local Asian store.

Cooked sushi rice with seaweed behind it.

Yummy avocado and rice sushi rolls!  It is so simple but it tastes great.

Living the new life.... and loving it!

I'm finally settled in my new apartment!  Most of the boxes are gone; I have lots of organizing to do still.  My horn studio got set up first, then the kitchen..... you can tell where my priorities lie!  I LOVE my new apartment.  Literally everything about it is exactly what I was looking for.  I thought I'd show some pictures of the kitchen.  Look back at one of my earliest posts about my kitchen in Mexico to compare. 
I would like to point out these AWESOME facts about my kitchen:

1. I have a dishwasher.  Never in my life have I had a dishwasher.  I even had to ask my friend how to operate it. 

2. I have a microwave. 

3. My freezer makes its' own ice.  How cool is that?!??  I didn't know a fridge/freezer could do that when it doesn't have the water/ice in the door. 

4. I have a double sink.  YAY. (although, with the dishwasher, I'll probably be using the sinks less....)

5. While my kitchen is still the galley-style, I do have much more storage and countertop space.  It feels very big to me.

6. I love the little bar area above the sink.  It opens up into the living room area.