Banana Protein Bread

Not quite as delicious as straight up banana bread... not quite as nutritious as a totally boring version. This compromise is a pretty perfect breakfast, tho.

4 overripe bananas you should maybe not of bought so many of last week
1 cup greek yogurt (I used 2%)
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 container (about 2 cups) almond butter (peanut butter would work too but be less neutral tasting)
3 scoops vanilla protein powder (or chocolate) (or all plain but add some vanilla extract)
2 scoops unflavored protein powder (if you are less bothered by fake sugar taste you can use 5 of flavored stuff)
1 tbl or so cinnamon
1.5 cups oats
pinch each salt and baking soda

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix first 5 ingredients until they are well combined.  Fold in the rest, do not overmix.  Put into a baking pan (I used a silicon 8x8 cake pan) and bake approx 30 mins (more if using a deeper pan, less if using muffin tin).  For 12 servings comes out at 300ish cals, 30g carb, 14g fat, 18g protein, more if you add things like chocolate chips or walnuts or other things that might taste good in there.

"Caprese" Salad Pasta

This is a light, incidentally vegetarian, mealprep lunch for a busy week. 4 servings come out to 425ish cals, 60g carb, 20g protein, 12g fat.

4 cups bow tie pasta
8 oz fresh motz balls
8 plum or campari tomatoes
1 bag spring mux, baby arugula, or spinach
1 lemon for juice
Salt, pepper (if not using arugula!) oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, etc to taste

While pasta cooks, portion your motz and tomatoes and arugula into containers, and season/squeeze lemon over. Split pasta into containers while still warm to wilt greens a bit if not using spring mix. Done. This is barely a recipe but makes awesome lunchez.

Lentil Curry (not daal)

This recipe starts with a frustrated cupboard cleanup/reorganization prompted by being unable to find my coffee...... nevermind everything else I seem to be hoarding against the zombie apocalypse I had 6 goddamn bags of dried lentils.  Looks like I need to use some of these up over the next few weeks..... I had been planning on making a big batch of chicken and veggie curry for this week's lunches so, veggie only curry, go!  (This is by no means an authentic recipe of any sort, but it borrows heavily from several.)  5  big servings come in at 325 cals, 70g carb, 5g fat, 27 protein. 

1lb bag dried lentils
4-5 cups raw spinach
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 bag (4-5 servings) frozen spinach
1 can peas (I like leseur, use whatever you like if  you have less impeccable taste)
1/2 a large sweet onion
1 jalepeno (or more or less, to taste)
1 bunch cilantro
2-4 cloves garlic
1 inch chunk of ginger
few stalks celery
2 tbl butter - but could use coconut oil to be vegan
spices to taste - tumeric, cumin, 'curry powder'
juice of one lemon

Build the base of your curry first.  Get the butter/oil melting and add the chopped onion, tumeric/cumin, jalepeno, garlic/ginger, cilantro, and celery (which is not part of the curry but..... I had it in fridge and somehow I can't fathom cooking lentils w out it, hush).  Once those have cooked down a bit, add the tomatoes (maybe you want to cut them up... I neglected to) and the spinach.  Put water in the pot to cover the spinach, then add your lentil and califlower.  (Don't add peas yet or they will turn to total mush!) Watch water level to keep lentils covered/happy but not drowning (we are not making soup) and cook 15-25 mins until they are tender, adding the peas when they are almost done.  Then stir in your curry powder and add your lemon for brightness right at the end. 

New Years Day Double Chocolate Protein Muffins

When the cold light of new years morning leaves you hating the scale and determined to get back on track but you can't shake the memory of your awesome cookies from last night..... Here is the diet friendly version for breakfasts/snacks all week.  You're welcome.

2 ripe/overripe bananas

1 cup natural peanutbutter (can do almond butter or sun butter etc if you are allergic or dislike the taste of pb)

2 eggs

pinch each baking soda and salt

1 cup oats

3 scoops chocolate protein powder

splash vanilla

1/3rd to 1/2 bag semi/dark chocolate chips

Set oven to 350.  Smash bananas, mix in pb and eggs.  Add soda, salt, and vanilla at this point.  Stir in oats and protein powder, then chocolate chips.  Portion into muffin tin and bake for 12-15 mins.  I ended up with 16 muffins at abt 190 cals, 16g carb, 10g fat, 8.5g protein each.  No white sugar, no white four, plenty of chocolate taste, and a good way to use up some protein powder you thought maybe you could stand to just drink (you thought very wrong). 

Meal-Prep Tikka Masala

This is NOT authentic Indian food.  It is, however, very tasty and super healthy (comes in under 400 cals with 40g of protein per serving for 6 servings.... make smaller portions and serve with rice if you want more carbs/less protein then I do).  It is loosely based on a chicken tikka masala recipe.

Spices:
Cumin (seeds if possible)
Tumeric
Cardamon
Garam Masala/curry powder (the better ones are usually labeled garam masala) (Do not use brittish style sweet curry powder unless you like that cloying shit but omg ewwwww you did not get this recipe from me if you do.)
Corriander if you cannot find fresh cilantro
Salt, pepper, maybe some cayane

Veggies:
1-2 inches chopped Ginger
3-7 cloves chopped Garlic
Serrano Peppers (or other 'green' tasting hot peppers of your liking) - this is to taste
1 large bunch Cilantro (fresh omg not dried) (If you cannot find fresh just use corriander, and add some fresh parsley if possible.)
1 Yellow Onion
1 can/2 cups Chick Peas
1 can Peas (leseur is my favorite)
Large bag (5 servings) Frozen Califlower
1lb fresh spinach
28oz Tomato Puree - or chopped/diced/etc tomatoes, whatever you have in the house rly.... except not ketchup or tomato sauce that has herbs/spices in it already

Other:
2lbs Boneless/boned skiness/skinned chicken breast (Thighs would possibly taste better, but, trying to be healthy this week so....)
4 tbl butter - or use coconut oil if you have, or ghee
Lemon

Note:
You could just use a LOT more chick peas and easily make this a vegetarian dish....vegan even if you use coconut oil instead of butter.

Start with butter/other fat in the pan.  Add your cumin and tumeric and stir it a bit to get them fragrant (I used abt 1 tbl of both).  Toss in your onion and your chopped peppers (I used 2 serranos, with seeds, bc I like spicy.... adjust for your heat tollerance), and salt if you use salt.  Stir a bit to let onions start to cook down.  Now add your cardamon seeds (I used seeds from 2 pods), your corriander if no cilantro (maybe 1tbl), your cilantro, ginger, and garlic.  Stir some more.  Next dump in your tomato product and let cook a few mins.

Next, peas, chick peas, and califlower.  Then, chicken.  At this point, put a lid on it and leave it alone for about 30ish mins (put rice in rice cooker now if you are serving with such, it will be a good timer for chicken).  Just stir from time to time so it does not stick to bottom of pot.

When chicken is done, dump spinach in and stir just enough to wilt it.  Then add about 2-3 tbl of your garam masala, and the juice of one lemon for brightness.  Taste, and adjust with cayane pepper, salt, more garam masala etc as needed.  If you have made it slightly too hot,  serve with rice and raita to balance it out a bit.

Almond Flour Waffles

Perfect for soaking up egg yolks or hanging out under some fried chicken with pork rind breading.

1 cup almond flour 

3 eggs -seperated if you want fluffier waffles, not if you are just hungry and in a rush.

1tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup water

2 tbl oil or melted butter or bacon fat

If you want really fluffy waffles, beat your egg whites to still peaks. If not, they still taste good. Mix your wet ingredients and whisk in your dry. Carefully fold in egg whites at the end. Super sinple.

Makes 4 servings of 2 waffles each (they freeze well if leftover also). About 350 caloties/serving with 5 net carbs (8, 3 fiber).

Savory Keto Pumpkin Muffins

Yes, I know it is not "pumpkin season" but I opened a can of pumpkin the other day and now I need to use it up. As per my usual contrary nature, these are NOT sweet, and there is NO coconut.

2 tbl chia seeds
5 eggs, seperated
1 cup pumpkin puree
5 oz cream cheese
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Pumpkin pie spice or your own approximation to taste
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/2 cup almond (not goddamn coconut) flour

Set oven to 350. Grease or line standard muffin tin.

Whisk egg whites to stiff peaks and set aside.

Put everything else except nuts and almond flour into the food processer and pulse until smooth. (Or get cream cheese to roomtemp and beat it by hand if you are a masochist.)

Fold wet ingredients, flour, and nuts into egg whites carefully. Spoon mixture into muffin tin.

Bake for about 30 mins, till set. Makes 12 muffins. 135 cals each, 5g protien, 4g carbs (1.7 net), 10g fat.

Butternut Squash and Kale Lasagna

This recipe is a riff on   Food Network's Gnocchi with Squash and Kale that came about because I had several boxes of lasagna noodles in the cupboard that needed using and I wanted something I could prepare in the morning and pop in the oven later (and have leftovers for the week).

"Meat" Layer:
for omnivores:
12 oz chicken sausage
6 oz cremini (or button if you like white mushrooms) mushrooms
1 tsp thyme
3-4 sage leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1-2 tbl butter
olive oil and chicken stock to cook them in

for vegetarians:
12-16 oz mushrooms
1 tsp thyme
3-4 sage leaves
veggie stock to cook them in
2 cloves garlic
1-2 tbl butter
Soysage, or TVP, or just extra mushrooms

Cook sausage through (soysage or TVP just need to be heated/browned as they are fully cooked) and add chopped mushrooms, butter, herbs, and garlic.  Salt and pepper to taste and cook until mushrooms are nicely browned.

Butternut Squash and Kale:
1 medium sized butternut squash
1-2 cloves garlic
a few cups chicken or veggie stock to cook squash in
splash of olive oil
3-4 cups kale, chopped
3-4 sage leaves, chopped
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste
1/4th cup or a bit more grated parmesean

Get out your heaviest sharpest knife for chopping up and peeling your squash. I recommend cutting it into quarters first before peeling it so you have nice pieces you can just put flat side down on your cutting board to work.  Scoop out the seeds and chop it up into cubes.  Cook in the stock with garlic, sage, salt, pepper until tender. Add splash of olive oil, the kale, cheese, and red pepper flakes if desired and continue cooking until cheese is melted and kale is wilted down.  (You can double the squash/kale layer and save the other half in the fridge to use just plain over pasta or rice later in the week if  you like.)

Cheese Layer:
16 oz ricotta cheese (I like part skim)
1 cup shredded mozzarella  or mozzarella/sharp provolone blend
1 egg
1-2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1 cup parmesean or parmesean and romano cheese
1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped kale
2-3 sage leaves, finely chopped
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste

Mix everything well to combine it, taste for salt/pepper and adjust as needed

Sauce
What? You thought this got tomato sauce? No way.  Sage and walnut pesto finishes off this dish beautifully.
2 cups walnuts
2 cups chicken stock or veggie stock
Large handful sage leaves
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4th cup good olive oil
1/4h cup parmesean
salt, pepper to taste

Put everything except the chicken stock into the food processor and pulse to chop/combine.  Add chicken or veggie stock to thin it out a bit.


Assembly:
You will need 1 box oven ready lasagna noodles, an additional 1 cup shredded cheese, some good olive oil, and possibly more parmesean and chicken/veggie stock for assembly.

Put a layer of sauce into the bottom of your lasagna pan. Next comes a layer of noodles, followed by your meat/non meat and a splash more sauce.  Put your next layer of noodles in the opposite direction from your first ones for some added structural integrity. Cheese comes next.  Depending on how deep your pan is, you can put another layer of noodles between the cheese/veggies or not.  Add veggies and a tiny bit of sauce and top with your final layer of noodles.  Pour remaining sauce over noodles and add a bit of chicken stock around the edges if your lasagna looks dry.  Top with shredded cheese, some more parmesean, and give the whole top a nice sprinkling of good olive oil.

You can make this up to several days ahead.  Bake at 350 for an hour or so, until the cheese is melted and everything is bubbly and brown.  Enjoy!

Peach-able Assembly Pie

This is not so much a recipe as assembly instructions, but it comes out beautifully.
1 ready made uncooked pie crust
1 7oz package almond paste 3 ripe peaches
1 cup dried cherries
1/4th cup southern comfort
1 tbl cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4th cup light cream or half and half or whole milk
6 oz greek yogurt
splash vanilla
 few tbl sugar

 Put the cherries in a ziplock with the southern comfort and go work on the rest of dinner. Leave them to reconstitute for at least half an hour and up to a day before beginning the rest of the assembly of your pie. (If you don't want to booze up your pie use some apple juice or something similar to reconstitute the a bit, or use fresh or frozen cherries if you like.)

Preheat oven to 350. Put pie crust carefully into a pie pan. Roll/smush your almond paste out into a circle big enough to cover the bottom of your crust, and put it directly onto pie crust. Slice your peaches up and drop the slices into the pie. Drain cherries and scatter them over peaches. Sprinkle the whole thing with cinnamon and brown sugar and put it into the oven for about 40 mins.

Look in the fridge for heavy cream to make whip cream, and realize you don't have any. Mix yogurt and whatever milk you do have until it is thick but spoonable, and flavor it with vanilla and sugar. Serve pie warm with cream to spoon over it.

Wilted Greens

1 lb spinach, or kale, or arugula, or whatever your favorite leafy green is
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 tbl stock or water
1-2 tbl good olive oil
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste

Heat up your stock or water and chopped garlic in a wide bottomed pan until it starts to simmer.  Add greens and keep turning with tongs as they wilt (2-3 mins tops).  Don't salt/pepper until they are nearly done cooking as you can end up over seasoning because of how much they reduce in volume.  Season and drizzle olive oil on top and serve. 

Creamy "Roasted" Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This feeds 2-4 people depending upon how much you like mashed potatoes, and scales up easily.  Saves the trouble of roasting the garlic by cooking it right along with the potatoes.

2 baking potatoes
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed but not chopped
1 beef bullion cube
salt, pepper
1/4th cup freshly grated parmesean cheese
Heavy cream
2-3 tbl butter

Cut your potatoes into fourths or sixths or so to speed cooking.  Peel if you like, scrub well if you don't.  Put into a pot with the smashed garlic cloves, the bullion cube, salt, pepper, and water to cover.  Cook until fork tender.  Remove from heat and drain, keeping the garlic with the potatoes. 

Add the butter and cheese and smash the potatoes with a masher or run them through a food mill as preferred.  Stir as you pour in heavy cream until you get the desired texture.  You can use milk if you like, but sometimes a smaller portion of the full fat version is just more satisfying.

Beans and Greens

This one is a guest recipe from my dad ^^

Full Meal Beans & Greens

2 bags baby spinach (or any spinach, I like the baby leaves)
1 lb. hot italian sausage, loose or broken up
hot pepper flakes1/2-1 cup chicken broth
lots of your best extra v. olive oil, the stuff you save for salads
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
1 big can Cannilini beans
sweet onion, sliced thin
garlic if you like it

1/4 cup or more olive oil in high-sided saute pan, get hot, add sausage, hot pepper flakes and onion and brown it up on medium heat. When browned nicely, add spinach a bag at a time, add garlic, wilt spinach nicely by turning in hot oil. Add beans and 1/2 cup of broth. If it does not look saucy enough for you, add rest of broth. Bring up to nice simmer, add some more fresh olive oil, eat with crusty bread to soak up the great oily broth.

Sesame Squash Salad

Since I seem to be in a 'healthy cooking' frame of mind, I decided to remake spicy cold sesame/peanut noodle salad.  This makes 1 lunch sized serving or an app for 2-3 people and is best if you let it sit in the fridge at least overnight.

2 cups baked spaghetti squash, stringed
1 tbl sesame seeds
2 tbl natural peanut butter (I like crunchy but you can go with plain if you don't like discernible chunks of peanut)
1 tsp sesame oil
2+ tbl red pepper flakes depending on your heat tollerance
1 tbl ground ginger
3tbl to 1/4th cup stock (I used chicken, veggie or beef would work also.)
several green onions, chopped. a shallot works in a pinch as well
splash of rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Microwave your peanut butter 30 sec or so so it will mix well, and mix in your sesame seeds, oil, spices, stock, and vinegar.  Taste for heat and adjust accordingly.  Toss in your squash and green onions and mix well.  Let sit in the fridge and serve cold.  This makes a great lunch with a side of quick pickled cucumbers (let them sit overnight with rice wine vinegar, salt, and pepper).

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Makes one serving for a hungry person or 2 app sized servings, scales up easily. 

1-2 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 tsp curry powder (hot or mild as you like it)
1 tsp cayenne  pepper
2-3 tsp ground ginger
salt, pepper to taste
1/2 a small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 to 1 tbl butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups veggie stock (can use chicken stock if you are an omnivore. Don't use water without really amping up the spices or soup will be bland.)
6oz (a single serving container) of 0% greek yogurt (could use full fat yogurt, or a smaller amount of sour cream or creme fresh, or just a dash of actual cream if you want.  But the yogurt has a bonus effect of adding a bunch of protein along with the creaminess.)

Put curry powder, cumin seeds, and both peppers in a small soup pan over medium heat to toast a bit while you chop up your onion.  Add butter when spices are toasted (you will be able to smell when they're ready).  Throw your onion and salt in when the butter melts and cook until onion is caramelized.  Add chicken stock, ginger, and pumpkin and stir to incorporate.  Bring to a low boil and cook for about 5 mins or so to let it thicken up a bit and let the flavors meld.  Taste for seasoning (you want the soup a bit spicier then you actually want it at this point because the yogurt will cool it down considerably) and pour into whatever bowl you are serving it in over the yogurt.  Stir to incorporate and enjoy.  Lunch for under 300 calories (assuming you did not overdo it with the butter) in under 10 mins. 

Parmesean Black Pepper Waffles

This is just a super simple update that I've been loving lately

1 cup bisquick
1/2 cup buttermilk (can use milk in a pinch, but buttermilk is better)
1 tbl bacon drippings (could use melted butter)
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
10-15 grinds black pepper

Mix everything, cook according to the directions on your waffle maker (I suppose you could try to make pancakes out of this but I'm not sure how well that would work). Done.  I like syrup on them anyway even though they are savory but you could amp up the savoryness by using garlic butter instead of plain and no syrup as well.  These rock with fried chicken.

Pumpkin Peacan Cake with Salted Caramel Glaze

This recipe does involve some planning/doing ahead, so it can't just be scrambled together at the last possible moment (unless, of course, you have made and not opened a can of condensed milk caramel and left it sitting in the cupboard in case you felt like baking).  But pumpkin baked goods are worth planning ahead for, really.

For the cake:
2 sticks butter
1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!) 
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 part each ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg
1/2 part cyan pepper
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
dash of salt
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tbl baking powder

Turn your oven on to 350 and get out a 9 x 14 cake pan (this makes a thin cake, you could use a smaller dish and get a taller cake if you like, baking time may vary).  Toast your pecans in a small sautee pan for a few mins, you will be able to smell when they are done. Add your butter and let it melt, and continue cooking butter and nuts until your butter starts to brown (this will give the cake a richer flavor).  Put your pumpkin puree in and cook for another 3 mins or so.  Add both sugars to the butter/nut mixture and stir, turning off the heat once they have melted in.  Put in vanilla and add spices a bit at a time, tasting as you go.  You want this mixture to be a bit over-spiced at this point because adding the flour will tone it down.

Let cool for a few mins then add in your eggs, one at a time, stirring as you go.  Once eggs are incorporated into sugar/butter/pumpkin mixture, get out a mixing bowl for your dry ingredients.  Whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt.  Then pour in your wet ingredient mixture, stirring as you do.  Get everything incorporated but do not over mix.  Pour into the pan.

Bake for 25 mins or so for the larger/thinner cake, probably more if you are doing a smaller/taller cake. Let cool slightly before glazing.

for the glaze:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2  cup of buttermilk
2-3 tbl salt

Boil the unopened can of condensed milk in a great big pot (seriously, you don't want it to be uncovered at any point in the boiling process, just us a big pot so you don't have to remember to replace water so often) for 3-4 hours.  Carefully remove and leave sitting in a cool place for at least a day before you open it to be safe. You can make a few cans of this at a time and keep them in the cupboard unopened pretty much indefinitely.  This will give you a can of very thick caramel. When it is time to glaze your cake, spoon the can into a baggie (because you do not want this mess sticking to a bowl) add the buttermilk and salt, close the bag and smoosh it around until it is well mixed.  (This cake would probably also taste good if you used bourbon as well, now that I think of it.)  Just open the baggie at the corner and pour your caramel glaze out onto your cake.

Kale and Brown Rice Salad

2 cups cooked brown rice
4-5 cups torn up kale
3 avocados, diced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
Juice of 3 limes
salt and pepper to taste

Another assembly job.  Tumble it all together and beat it up a bit mixing it so that some of the avocado gets squished enough to create a dressing. Lazy summer lunch that looks fancy and even contains trendy super foods, go!

Greek Grain Salad

2 cups quinoa, cooked (or the frozen in a bag just microwave to reheat type, if you are lazy and making salads because it is too hot to cook in the summer time like I am.)
1  arugula or baby spinach
1/4th cup crumbled feta cheese
10-12 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped (can use black olives in a pinch)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
4 tbl fresh oregano
Juice of 2 lemons (3 if they are stingy)
few tbl olive oil
salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

This is pure assembly.  Just toss everything together and dress with the oregano/oil/lemon juice and let it sit in the fridge for awhile (or even a day or three) and take to a picnic or serve as a nice light summer side.

Storied Chocolate-Gran Mariner Cake

My husband has been talking about wanting a rum cake made by a colleague of his for awhile now.   A) I am only recently a baker B) the guy who makes said rum cake is using one of those kick-ass passed down several generations family secret type recipe C) Even if I *had* his recipe to follow I suck at following recipes and somehow it would be 'wrong' and not the rum cake that is being looked for sooooooo.....

Thought about what I could possibly do to change the flavors in a rum cake for days.  Read a ton of recipes for it while thinking.  Had citrus on the brain but wasn't sure which direction to go from there.  Wandered through the liquor store thinking about buying some rum to play with and spotted a bottle of Gran Mariner. Light blub!  Snagged it. Came home thinking I would so some lemon/lime based cake and soak it in the Gran Mariner, but thought about it some more and decided that was too simple and that lemon cake was already its own thing and that if I wanted to booze that up I should of gotten Limonchello.  Contemplated going back to buy Limonchello instead but realized booze is not cheap and sat on the idea some more.

Read a few more rum cake recipes. Read the wiki article about it.  Hm.. it is a holiday cake traditionally.... Somehow that made me think of those chocolate oranges that fall apart when you smack them on the counter and I had my idea. 

Idea in head, went back to reading tons of recipes for rum cakes.  Noticed a lot of them included pudding mix, and that more then a few had ground walnuts.  Went and read some pound cake recipes for good measure since I already know I can make a stable pound cake and I wanted some known grown to work from.   

Which is how I came up with this recipe for Chocolate-Gran Mariner Cake.  Just in case you were wondering where/how I get some of this random stuff from.

3 sticks room temperature butter
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 room temperature eggs
Zest of 1 orange
8 oz almond paste
1 box (4ish oz) chocolate pudding mix
1 cup unsweetened coco powder
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups flour
splash Gran Mariner
pinch each baking soda and salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Using a mixer, beat butter and sugars until fluffy.  Continue beating and add eggs,  one at a time.  When eggs are fully incorporated, add almond paste, orange zest, Gran Mariner, baking soda, and salt.  Once those are all mixed in, add the pudding mix, the milk, and then the coco powder.  Incorporate the flour last, so that you are not beating it too much once you have gotten that into the batter.  Pour batter into 9x12ihs baking pan and bake for 40 mins or until a toothpick put in the center comes out clean.  (You can use a bunt pan if you want to make it the same shape as a traditional rum cake, that will take longer to bake since the cake will have less surface area.) 

While the cake is baking,  make the soaking syrup:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
zest of 1 orange
1 cup Gran Mariner
splash of rum as a nod to the original cake

Cook water and sugar until the sugar starts to caramelize and remove from heat.  Add orange zest, Gran Mariner, and rum and swirl to stir.  Be careful working with this in case the hot sugar decides to spit at you.

Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the still warm cake with the soaking syrup.  Let sit at least 8 hours, if not 24, brushing with more of the remaining syrup if the cake looks dry.  Serve to grownups and hide their car keys.

Chocolate Peanut-Butter Brownies

1 stick butter
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbl vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened coco powder
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

1 cup 'natural' peanut-butter (if it has any ingredients other then peanuts and salt it is the wrong stuff. I prefer chunky but smooth works also)
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and mix butter, brown sugar, and 2 eggs. Add vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt after it is well mixed. Gradually add in the coco powder and flour, stirring as you do. Mix thoroughly so there is not any lumps but do not over mix. Fold in chocolate chips and put into an 8x8 baking dish.

Melt peanut-butter in the microwave so it is a bit runny, then mix 1 egg and the sugar into it. Drop in spoonfuls over the top of the brownie batter then swirl it around a bit.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 mins depending on how cooked you like your brownies to be.