The Ultimate 5-Minute Quick-Fix

for Serious Chocolaholics

Plus, Freezing Salsa


Every once in a while I come across a recipe that sounds strange, delicious but decidedly strange. Such a recipe, called The 5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake, crossed my desk last week, sent by a long-time-but-never-met-friend. It's a recipe that just begged to be tried, and I'm telling you... this mug cake is a great idea! Definitely kid-doing easy, and perfect for drop-in company, or for dieters who absolutely MUST have some chocolate cake, but don't want a whole cake in the house tempting them.

You mix the ingredients, put in a coffee mug and microwave for 3 minutes. It's a cake, but the bottom is sorta soft and fudgy, almost like a molten cake. It firms up as the cake cools. Eat out of the mug or tip out on a plate. This would serve two if you felt generous, and most definitely wants some whipped cream or ice cream on top.

The 5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

4 TBSP flour
4 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP cocoa
1 egg
3 TBSP milk
3 TBSP oil
3 TBSP chocolate chips (don't skimp)
1/2 tsp vanilla
a coffee mug - your standard mug is 12 oz.

Put all dry ingredients in the mug and mix well, add egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil, once again mixing well, stir in chip and vanilla. Microwave in its mug for 3 minutes (a 1,000 watt microwave). Cake may rise over the top of the mug, but don't worry.

I'm going to make this tomorrow night for four of us, but I'll put all the ingredients (x4 of course)in a bowl, mix and pour into the mugs to cook. Thanks for sending this on to me, Gemma.

Freezing salsa...

This is the time of our harvest when I often have many ripe tomatoes, but not really enough to break out the canner and quart jars. So, I make a lot of salsa, and I freeze it. The first year we tried this as an experiment, we were happily surprised at the excellent results, and since then this is the only way I do salsa.

For my salsa, I just cut up tomatoes, green peppers, and onion in whatever proportion I have or that looks good. I add garlic and snipped parsley, a little vinegar and some oil, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, and then I freeze in pint plastic containers. Since my husband doesn't like cilantro and I do, I clearly label those containers that I've added it to, AND also those batches I've made with hot peppers.

My favorite way to use this salsa, completely thawed or not, is to just put in a small fry pan, bring to somewhere near bubbling, layer good white fish on top and just simmer until the fish flakes.

And now, back to the Patriot's game!

Mary