Physical Education

For the fall semester, we focused on PE with both of the girls to give Olivia the credit she needed for high school, but using books like Home School Family Fitness and Food and Nutrition for Every Kid ended up being way more fun than any of us anticipated.

Olivia found she loves going to the gym with me, she keeps lifting more and more weight and challenging me to stay ahead of her!  We discovered Food - Delicious Science on PBS and dusted off our copy of "The Science of Good Cooking".  I love all of the charts and practical science included in this book!  I think we're going to continue through the rest of the school year, just because we are having such a good time learning.

I haven't asked the girls to read the chapters in order, and this week, Olivia chose Concept #50:  "Cocoa Powder Delivers Big Flavor".  "If you simply add cocoa powder to the dry ingredients (as is often the case in cake recipes that call for cocoa powder), you don't get much flavor.  The secret to using cocoa powder is to bloom the flavors by pouring hot water over the cocoa.  Stirring the cocoa in hot water caused these flavor molecules, which would otherwise remain imprisoned, to burst forth, amplifying overall flavor."

Chewy Brownies

from "The Science of Good Cooking"

Makes 24 brownies

1/3 cup (1 ounce) Dutch - processed cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons instant expresso powder (optional)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups (17 1/2 ounces) sugar

1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1)  Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Make foil sling by folding 2 long sheets of aluminum foil so that they are as wide as 13 by 9 inch baking pan (one 13 inch sheet and one 9 inch sheet).  Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to one another, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan.  Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan.  Grease foil and set aside.

2)  Whisk cocoa, espresso powder, if using, and boiling water together in large owl until smooth.  Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted.  Whisk in oil and melted butter. (Mixture may look curdled.)  Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous.  Whisk in sugar until fully incorporated.  Whisk together flour and salt in small bowl and then mix into batter with rubber spatula until combined.  Fold in bittersweet chocolate pieces.

3)  Transfer batter to prepared pan; spread batter into corners of pan and smooth surface.  Bake until toothpick inserted in center of brownies comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating pan half through baking Transfer pan to wire rack and let cool for 1 1/2 hours (if you can stand it that long).

4)  Remove brownies from pan using foil.  Return brownies to wire ack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.  Cut brownies into 2 inch squares and serve.  (Brownies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)