Flourless Chocolate Cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake


Ingredients

14oz bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup oatmeal (ground and toasted)
1/2 c (1 stick) butter + 3 Tbsp butter
8 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp instant espresso or coffee
1/2 tsp pure vanilla

1 1/2 c pecans or walnuts chopped (optional)
1 cup toffee bits (optional)

Heat oven to 350 F

Spray 9 inch springform pan and line bottom with parchment paper (also spray paper.)

melt half of the chocolate with 1/2 cup of butter on high stirring every half minute or so until smooth. Using a mixer beat eggs and sugar until pale yellow in color (3-5 minutes)...stir in ground oatmeal, half the pecans and melted chocolate into the egg mix. Do not overmix this - just go until it's all incorporated.

Pour into pan and smooth evenly.
Bake until set and slightly puffed (30-45 minutes).
Let the cake cool completely and invert on a plate.

In a separate bowl dissolve the espresso in 1 tbsp hot water.
In a microwave safe bowl melt the remaining chocolate and 3 tbsp butter stirring until smooth.
Spread this glaze evenly over the top and sides of the cake.
Press the chopped nuts onto the side and refrigerate.

Once glaze is set this is ready to eat.

---

Some people separate the eggs. In this recipe I do not because more than likely people will be using freeze dried eggs or dehydrated eggs for this sort of thing. As long as you have chocolate and butter in your preps pretty much anyone can make this.

We top ours with homemade whipped cream and strawberries. But that's our house! Just depends on how much of a junkie you are. I saw a lady on youtube from the Depression era made chocolate glaze with cocoa powder and a can of condensed milk heated over the stove.

Use what you got. As long as you got it.

This ain't no game...

Life ain't no game anymore. I'm getting a bit fed up with the general situation of things and the things going on in the world. I've also found this new thing among youtubers and prepper type folks - it's this ongoing game of I've got this and I've got that and it seems to be a game to some people it's not a game. It's not great that the world is falling apart and it's not great that our government is supposedly expressing humanitarian effort when over 1 million Americans admit to food insecurity (eating maybe ONE meal per day) and 800 thousand Americans are obese - at least the ones who go to the doctor. And DON'T make me talk about the 45 million plus people who are on food stamps. This is the thing that people don't think about when it comes to food stamps - sure those people are getting free food - but consider this, at the rate that food cost is going up they are getting a lot less for the food stamp buck.

Then there are the youtubers - everyone's a damn expert. Look, even as long as I've been in the cooking game I still am learning a lot. I switched the nature of my blog to prepping to get the message to people and Mr. Man does his thing on youtube to reach people. But it never fails there always has to be one troll or one schmarmy ass smart-ass who always has a suggestion of a "better" way of doing things. See he is much more tolerant of such criticisms being an athlete and good natured and all that. Me? I don't play that shit. If you are so damn good at what you do then make a video and help all of us out. If you believe that you are so damn fantastic at your prepping show me what you got. Right. That's what I thought. Whatever.

Anyway I don't believe half of what people say because the numbers simply don't jive. But if it makes you feel better to bullshit me that's okay too. And please please please stop pushing ready to buy freeze dried or ready to eat crap on me. It ain't me ok. Another thing...don't tell us to buy organic this and non gmo that and blah blah yada yada...we all know that you have NOT been eating organic non GMO food your whole life and stop making this final crusade to be a food purist when times are tough and at this point volume is much more crucial than quality. Stop Fakin that shit.

Fake non GMO people are even worse than people who willingly grow that shit and sell it.
Mofo please.

This was Mr. Man's lunch yesterday. I know what you are saying is wow that's 2 lunches - no it's his breakfast and lunch. Skirt steak grilled then sauteed with onions topped with bellpepper and asparagus. A lean burger with cheese on flatbread, cucumber, lettuce and tomato on the side. You could pretty much make all of that from preps as long as you has some veggies dehydrated and some wheat and rice. The burger could be made with beans and canned ground chuck or dried chuck.



I started canning about March 20th. So about 7 or 8 weeks right. This is what I have put up so far - 5 quart cases and 3.5 pint cases - really that should be 4 pint cases but I gave some away. Happily I might add since the girl I gave it to actually now started putting up food and gardening.

But over 100 jars of food ready to go. I think about 3 bottles did not seal right - and more than a few bottles disappeared from eating lol.



Truth be told I never thought I would go through my stacks of empty jars and next thing I knew I needed more.
















It is a combination of meat, veggies and preserves. I do not overdo any one thing when it comes to canning. Because preserves are certainly not eaten as much as veggies and meat are. I've heard some people say they are just giving up meat because it will be unavailable when SHTF that just doesn't make sense to me. Why not make it while you can and give it up when you have to. Unless you just like quitting.












It's kind of gratifying to look at your rows of canned stuff that you made with your own hands. It's also nice to know that you have chicken and beef and veggies at your disposal.
















Be careful when you get started doing this stuff - it is very addicting. I had 10 cases of jars and thought I was doing something - next thing you know you are all out of jars. I think I will have to just pick up a case everytime I go to the store.

Oh and I know I don't have to leave the lids on there - I just leave them there because a case of jars comes with a lid and cap. I also store extra lids and caps since tattlers are NOT in my budget right now.









The other night there was still a lot of corn left, bellpepper, jalapeno and such. So I made a full batch of various vegetables. I've decided that no matter what I am going to do a full batch of canned stuff even if I have to yank something out of the fridge to do it. It is simply a matter of not wasting my effort. Because when I first started I used to just 3 or 4 jars because "that's all i had"...no more.





That dark jar on the right is a cinnamon apple base for cakes or pancakes. I didn't like the quality of the braeburns my sister got so I made it into something more pulpy that you could mix with fresh apples for cakes or pies.









Ground Chuck and Flank was on sale again. So stuff the fridge...












...and can the rest. Some might ask why am I canning beef when I can dehydrate it. I am going to can because I can, it's easier on the house than an oven right now and because water is a big challenge here in the desert. Given the choice to rehydrate meat with my water or make rice with it - I would rather make the rice and pop open the meat.






I cooked about 8 lbs or so...seasoned it with a touch of salt, pepper, garlic powder.












Followed the directions in the blueball book, added a tbsp of red chili flakes and topped off with beef broth.

8+ pounds of lean ground makes about 5 quarts of goodness lol.








the old fashioned oats were on sale this week at .69 cents a lb. That's a steal - especially when you look at the price of quaker oats in the store. So I picked up 20lbs of it.










I picked this cupcake thing for under 2 bucks - just a fun little thing for making different kind of cupcake things for kids both big and small. Regularly this thing is like 15 bucks.







I also picked up this stackable cookie rack that is good for both cookies and bread since mine are looking really beat. The little cutting board is for the bail bag and the candles were only a quarter a piece. Mr. Man is always telling me we need candles - I'm like we already have 2 cases how many more do we need. lol.







Just get out there and do something. Do something every moment you've got - because I just get the feeling that time is short. Don't let others detract or distract you from doing what you need to do. Most of all, beware of telling people they aren't doing stuff right or calling them hypocrites for certain behavior - before you tell me my ass stinks - be sure you wipe your own.

How Things Used to Be...In my pre Prepper days.

I got home from my 7am class this morning and spied a white bag on my desk. I guess one of my favorite Aunties had sent me a birthday gift. Actually she's just glamorous like that and sends you gifts anyways...A lot of my favorites are not my purchases but her gifts. It was a great surprise but I looked at it almost wistfully.

Before I started getting into prepping - I loved nice things. And since I have no children and no real responsibilities I could always get what ever caught my fancy somehow or someway. Until this morning I didn't even think of these things or get caught up in the acquisition of non purposeful things. It is simply a reminder of my old life.




After class I stopped at the local store and picked up 20 lbs of rice, 5 lbs of lentils and 18 lbs of pinto beans - for a whopping 19 bucks. LOL. I could have gone for more beans but my cute shoes were not feeling cute. I was more excited than anything to bag and tag my haul.




This shit really changes you by having clear definition of "need."

How you used to "want" for things is a thing of the past.

an Award by definition...

An award by definition is:

1. To grant as merited or due: awarded prizes to the winners.

2. To give as legally due: awarded damages to the plaintiff.

well...at least according to freedictionary.com

I guess this is one of those pay it forward type blogger awards that people hand off to each other who like each others blogs.

I was handed mind by ScifiChick whom I met in the American Preppers Network Chat. I dig her blog because not only is it informative but she also lets you hitchhike on her journey.

Blogs are a 2 headed beast...I first started reading blogs about 10 years ago. As a person who has kept a journal since I was 11 it was almost like peeking into someones diary, back then people who blogged generally had something to say or at least documented their life in some way and it was like a tv series for your brain. And like anything that becomes fashionable and mainstream - blogging has become a bit bastardized. There are a LOT of people who now blog because it's no different than having a facebook, a twitter, a myspace, a whatever - it has put a LOT of pointless shit out there that isn't even worth reading - i mean C'MON do i really care if you got some makeup on sale, or that you are in line at the store, or you are hungry and don't know what to eat or blah blah blah. More and more it has become infested with pollution. I rarely go blog "shopping" anymore.

Why do i blog? Although I still keep a handwritten journal (unlined paper) thank you very much...blogging was a natural progression to document my cooking adventures and in my pre-prepping days I even used to write poetry. It was also an avenue for me to write down recipes for friends and family who were always asking for them. The last year and a half I've really slowed down on my social tirades and recipe posting but I am back at it again, at least once a week or if something great happens in the kitchen. But since I am learning more and more new things - I will start blogging again.

Well - back to the award. The award has two requirements: 1) disclose 7 things your readers might not know about you. 2) PASS this award onto 15 bloggers you think deserve the award.

Part 1) Disclosure
1) I don't sleep very long but when I do I'm out in a coma.
2) I took my first international flight by myself at 8 years old. Yup no lie
3) I only have 2 best friends - and that's enough for me.
4) I don't talk to exes in any way, shape or form. It's an exercise in futility.
5) I grind my teeth in my sleep.
6) I think people don't really need 8 glasses of water per day (see AU aboriginals)
7) I resent retarded people getting pregnant so easily.

Part 2) Hooking it up

Bear in mind these are in random order - and most of them probably don't even know I exist - which is okay for me because when you don't write for an audience you are generally sincere. This is in random order - and there are 2 or 3 more that i follow but this is what caught my eye.

1) My girl Alfie - not just for her art but just because she's awesome
2) My boy Jojo - even though he's like me and hasn't posted in the last couple years
3) That girl SciFiChick - coz "she's just sayin..."
4) Anthony - his blog is more on his photos, but our talks vary from horror flicks to hyperinflation and all the things in between
5) Korean Yummies - my bestie pointed me to this site! She makes it look easy yay
6) Ghostface Killa - just coz he's nuts...
7) the Homie Tariq - who else goes from AZ- S.America - AZ - relocate to Thailand
8) How to Butcher a Chicken - the title says it all
9) The Doctor who Knows What's Hot! - the doctor that loves to cook
10) Maggie - she's new to this prepping thing like me and I dig her perspective
11) Afroprepper - it's really a Vlog - but you KNOW it counts besides he's with me haha
12) Jason - one of my favorite artists
13) Survival blog - it was a kickoff point for me
14) Burnt Lumpia - just coz i like to see other Filipino Folks doin it in the kitchen!
15) Mine - well if you can't congratulate yourself who will. HAHA

Well that's it - that's the whole thing. We'll just see where it goes.