a conglomeration of new! experiences

Life has been busy, yet fulfilling and I've stumbled across some fun things to share!

1)New {gluten free} Wholesome Chocolate Cake

Seriously delicious chocolate cake, made with no flour or butter.
Yep, you heard me right. This bad boy is held together with the incredible garbanzo bean! We visited some dear friends over the weekend, and my girlfriend told me about this cake she had discovered, and naturally; we promptly baked it together. I love cooking with friends.

I am going off of memory here, but I am pretty astute when baking; especially new recipes which have my interest from the start, just as this one did!

Melt on stove top over double boiler:
12 oz semi sweet or dark chips; melt the chips slowly over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove when the chips are mostly melted but slight chunks remain. Continue stirring until smooth, then add 3 tablespoons cocoa.

Puree until smooth in sturdy food processor or blender:
2.5 cups garbanzo beans (you want these fully pulverized, no chunks of bean in your cake!)

Add:
6 eggs, beaten
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 teaspoons baking powder

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour into a greased 9X13 pan and bake @ 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

This cake was dense, more brownie like than spongy-cake like. It had great flavor, and I could barely taste the garbanzo flavor. I am going to bake this again and add about 4 oz of strong coffee or even better, espresso. I might also leave some of the chips whole to get the additional texture of the whole chip. We did not frost it, but I think frosting would seriously put this cake over the top. It's a hearty cake, and I think it could support a thick frosting, but I am not much of a frosting girl. So I will stick with my espresso addition and be "exceedingly happy" in the words of my dear friend Em.


2)New Red Wine

Evodia Old Vine Grenache 

I recently discovered this new wine, and it is a great value. Economically priced at under $10 a bottle, yet full of flavor; highly complex (to my taste-buds). It is a red wine from Spain made with Grenache grapes.

3)New Tunes

This guy, Mike Tompkins, has amused Garrett and I for some time. He makes his music using only his voice and mouth. All sounds, man made. He only does covers, but most of the time I like his version better than the original artist. See more of Mike's magic here.


4)New Adornments

I was given a beautiful Lisa Leonard Designs necklace for my 30th birthday, and I adore it! If you haven't heard of Lisa's hand stamped artwork, check her out here.