Chocolate sorbet. Credit: jules:stonesoup/Flickr

This recipe for easy chocolate sorbet in the Sunday New York Times Magazine Food Issue caught my eye. So simple! Such promise! So cheap! Sunday’s issue included recipes for 11 other desserts, plus starters, drinks, and main courses. Note, I have NOT tried this recipe but hope to this weekend. Maybe I’ll make this today if I can get out of work early (doubtful). It is a lot cheaper than buying ice cream because I already have all the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients

3/4 c sugar

3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

2 c boiling water

1 tsp vanilla extract

Ice cream maker or large container

Directions

Mix sugar and cocoa powder, then stir in boiling hot water with a whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Add vanilla. Pour into your ice cream maker and stir as per the directions on your maker. Or, pour into a large container and stir every half hour to make granita. I’m new to granita, but Wikipedia says it is a semi-frozen dessert that has a coarser, more “crystalline texture” than its cousins, sorbet and Italian ice. Sounds fine to me!

My new double boiler

I make hundreds of chocolate-dipped pretzels and candies each year as presents, saving me many hundreds of dollars. Because I make handmade candies, I can be very generous in my gift giving and participate in food swaps. A new tool has made my gift-giving process significantly quicker (and time is money).

I have always used my microwave to melt chocolate. In fact, melting chocolate was one of the few reasons I owned a microwave. But melting large quantities of chocolates in a microwave is not very efficient and it lessens the flavor of the chocolate. I was on the lookout for a used double boiler because I certainly didn’t want to pay retail.

Last week, I was at my local farmer’s market and, ta-da, there was a gently-used double boiler waiting for me to buy it for $15. Now, having acquired this new kitchen tool, I was inspired to make a triple batch of my famous chocolate covered cookie dough balls.

I couldn’t believe how beautifully the chocolate melted. The taste was more intense. The texture was creamier. It was much, much easier to dip the cookie dough balls into the chocolate. It cut my preparation time by more than half! Oh yes, I am a double boiler convert.

A double boiler is two pots fitted snugly together. The lower pot has an inch or two of water that you bring to a boil. Water changes from a liquid to a vapor at 212F. The steam heats the top pot, creating the best method for melting chocolate, making delicate sauces or warming milk, which burns easily.

What if you don’t have a double boiler? Make your own.

1. Use a standard pot for the bottom of your double boiler.
2. Get a slightly smaller pot or an oven proof bowl for the top.
3. You want the top pot or bowl to fit snugly into the bottom pot without touching the bottom. You need room for water to boil. Only steam should hit the bottom of the top pot.
4. Make sure you put in enough water that it won’t all evaporate. Otherwise you will burn the bottom pot AND the ingredients in the top.
5. Make sure that water does not get into your top pot. Especially if you are melting chocolate. Water in melting chocolate ruins the chocolate. It turns grainy.

What else can you do with a double boiler? I found this amazing list of over a hundred double boiler recipes. Included in this list are recipes for bread pudding, perfect alfredo, frozen vanilla custard, and holly wreath Christmas candy. Is anyone else in love with their double boiler?

Didn't find any Easter chocolate? Credit: hoyasmeg/Flickr

Where are you shopping for Easter candy and decorations? The 99 Cents Only Store and other dollar stores have plenty of Easter goodies. I like shopping the dollar stores for disposable items that aren’t going to last long. Why pay more?

Here are Easter items you can pick up at 99 Cents Only.

• Easter baskets and grass (or use shredded newspaper)
• Easter themed candy – Russell Stover candy eggs  are 2 for $.99
• Fillable plastic eggs prefect for egg hunts!
• Chocolate covered marshmallow chicks (8-packs)
• Easter gift bags

My Mom liked to hide our Easter baskets around the house along with chocolate eggs and jelly beans. Hunting for my basket with only “hot” and “cold” clues could be quite a trial and sometimes took more than an hour. One year she taped my basket to the underside of our dinning room table that had a floor-length tablecloth. Another year it was buried deep in the recycling. Once I found it, underneath a chocolate bunny and other candy was a small present, like new underwear or socks. My Mom always made Easter so fun!

makelessnoise/Flickr

By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of BobbisBargains.

Decorating and dyeing Easter eggs is a wonderful frugal activity. For about $4-$7 you can buy dye, a dozen or more eggs that you are going to eat anyway, and create family memories.

Dyeing eggs

1.  Boil or blow your eggs. Blowing out raw eggs requires putting a small hole in one end and a slightly larger hole in the other end. While holding the egg over a bowl, gently blow into the small hole so that the liquid egg goes into the bowl.

2. Mix warm water and a coloring agent. I use 1/2 cup warm water to one dye tablet. An egg dyeing kit at your local drug or grocery store is about $1.99 before sales. Each kit includes dye tablets and a dipping tool. The best part is the box. It comes pre-scored so that you can push out holes and then put your eggs in the holes for drying. This is the only product that I actually buy FOR the box, above. Many stores have post-holiday clearance sales and some start before the holiday.  Buying your supplies at the last minute can lead to great discounts.

Tip: You can also use food coloring and the empty egg carton for drying to save even more money. Why buy dye tablets if you already have food coloring at home?

3. If you want to be more natural, use natural dyes to color Easter eggs. Use spinach for green, beets for pink and red zinger tea for lavender. Coloring the eggs in this manner is more expensive, but could be more educational.

4. Using some sort of dunking tool (use plastic gloves if you use your hands) put eggs in the dyeing liquid.

5. Wait a few seconds for light coloring or a few minutes for a deep hue. You can double dip but wait for the first shade to dry.

6. Take egg out and put in stand to dry. Drying times vary.  If you want to eat the eggs later, do not put the eggs in the sun to dry.

Decorating eggs

1. Disney’s FamilyFun site has a wonderful list of Easter egg decorating ideas that include using cotton balls, string, elastic bands and thumbprints to enhance your dyed eggs.  My favorites are:

• Dribble glue on the eggs. Let them dry, then dip in dye. Once the dye is dry, gently pull off the glue.
• Glue small stickers on the eggs. Ensure they are well stuck on. Dip, dry & peel.
• Glue string on the eggs. Let dry. Dip & dry. You may want to keep the string on for a new texture.
• Or… just forget the entire dyeing idea and paint the warm egg with crayon. The warmth of the egg melts the crayon.

2. Put bunny ears on the eggs and hide them.  Eat lots of chocolate while you do this.

3. For more decorating ideas check out these  Easter egg decorating instructions from eHow.

Is Vinegar Necessary?

All of the articles I found suggested adding vinegar to the dye mixture. However, this is not necessary for every color. My daughter and I experimented adding vinegar and it makes every color brighter except purple and red. For these colors vinegar makes the colors come out duller. Anyone a chemistry major? Why is this so?

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