Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Strawberry Time

Hooray!!! It's strawberry time! And for once I didn't miss them!

And what goes better with strawberries but chocolate?

You are going to be so sorry you learned about this recipe. Sooooooooooooo sorry. Because not only is it the richest, creamiest, most luscious, most velvety chocolatey goodness that will ever cross your lips, it is extremely easy.

Better hit the back button.

Seriously.

You'd better not look at this.

Okay, if you insist. But don't say I didn't warn you. I am hereby not responsible for your Weight Watchers bills, gym fees, or new wardrobe from Lane Bryant.

This is actually called "ganache". Ganache is a French word meaning, "super-duper-fattening, heavenly, sinful, to-die-for chocolate." (Either that, or it refers to a combination of chocolate and cream. I forgot which.) Ganache may be used as a glaze, or as a filling for cakes and truffles. (Oh my word, you have got to try it on cheesecake! No, don't. Your hips will hate me forever.)

Be sure to always use real chocolate chips as opposed to chocolate-flavored chips. This recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate chips, but it is SO yummy with other kinds of chips. (If using anything but semi-sweet, leave out the sugar.) Milk chocolate is soooo rich. I have tried mixing part semi-sweet chocolate with part white chocolate, and that is the best! I have also had good results with peanut butter, chocolate mint, and other flavored chips. Let your imagination go wild!


Chocolate Ganache

12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips*
1 C. heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, optional** (no substitutes)
2 tablespoons sugar, optional

Place chocolate in a glass or metal bowl; set aside. Heat heavy cream, butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring mixture to a boil. Pour boiling mixture over chocolate; cover with plastic wrap. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Serve at room temperature with fruit for dipping.

*Or, 12 oz. semisweet baking chocolate, chopped
**You can leave the butter out; it's just a little less creamy.

The next recipe is way less fattening, but is still really yummy.

Chocolate Dip

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 container (8 ounces) Cool Whip, thawed
1/2 teaspoon rum or vanilla extract (optional)

Place chocolate chips and half of the Cool Whip in small bowl. Microwave, uncovered, on high 1 minute or until chocolate is melted and smooth, stirring every 20 seconds. Fold in remaining Cool Whip and rum or vanilla extract, if desired; mix until smooth. Serve with fruit for dipping.

Here are my previous WFMW posts:

Tooth-Tugging Tip for Terrified Tots

Handy Earache Relief

Uses for Leftover Bread

Leaky Diaper/Pull-up Fix

Snack Mix Recipe (at the end of the post)

Awesome Stain Recipe
(at the end of the post)

"Fun"damentals of Family Life

Removing Wite-Out from Everything

When NOT to Save Money

Public Service Announcement

For more WFMW tips, stop by Shannon's blog.

Here are some pics of my little munchkins at the strawberry patch. Because we went during the school day (we're studying plants in science right now) we had the whole place to ourselves.

Drama Queen


Persnickety Pete


Screech

Screech was actually the picture of innocence for most of this outing. I expected to be run ragged trying to keep her out of the strawberries. She did great, carrying the pail for me and saying "Thank you, Mommy," every time I tossed in a berry.


Then - big mistake - she started to put a strawberry in her mouth, and I let her. She snarfed it down, then tried to grab more. She thought the whole pail was for her. Our happy little outing ended like this:



Poor, pitiful thing. Don't worry, at home she got to eat her fill of WASHED strawberries!

8 comments:

Laura said...

This does sound VERY yummy...and I'd definatly go with the heavy cream and real butter recipe. I LOVE the real stuff! And...your trip to the strawberry patch sounds like SO much fun!

Lady Why said...

Yummy! Double yummy, in fact!

Unknown said...

How adorable! I'm going to try this on some strawberry cheesecake when I get around to making it. Right now our house is filled with birthday cake (one of them is strawberry) so it'll probably be a while.

Coach Paulette said...

I posted on strawberry tips this week - enjoyed seeing your recipes!

Read your post about tooth pulling - my 5 year old has her first loose tooth right now!

You should look at this product designed by a dentist called the Gator Gripper - it painlessly helps pull baby teeth and it is FABULOUS! I have a drama queen as well in my oldest daughter and I've used it for all but her first loose tooth. No tears and they love the little alligator! Here's the link:

http://www.gatorgripper.com/howworks.asp

Shari Ellen said...

Those sound absolutely delicious and easy to do. I just love the pictures of your kids in the strawberry field. Our strawberries won't be ready here until mid June. This is getting me excited for the strawberry season.

Unknown said...

Sounds yummy! We love chocolate and strawberries here, but our berries are a little behind yours. We still have about a month to wait... :(

Happy Mommy said...

Great recipe! I saw your weight loss ticker, I have a weight loss tip today. I have lost 95 pounds with WW and am now at my goal. Check out my tip.

ames said...

ooh, ganache! I've been meaning to try homemade truffles as gifts this year.

Love the strawberry pics, reminds me of myself at that age!