chocolate, blueberries and prunes!! oh my!

this week has gone by a little too quickly! actually, this past month has gone by too quickly! so many people have been visiting and with all these visits i have been busy in the kitchen. luckily, my girlfriend, erica, told me about a recipe woman to look up. she calls herself the "pioneer woman". and man, this woman has the key to my heart!! all her recipes and expertise are things i aspire to gain and to know!! if you guys have time i suggest checking her out online and i will post the link at the end of the blog, but for now lets get to the good stuff!! the FOOD!! i tried making 3 of her recipes, blueberry muffins, prune cake, and chocolate molten cake(my favorite!!). the last day my brother and the kids were here i decided to try out her muffin recipe, especially after the banana muffins were kinda a flop, i wanted to try a better base recipe for a great muffin...

mmmmm dough!

butter the pan, and top with fresh blueberries^_^ bake and...

total yumminess!!!!

next, was a request by my mom. and since i usually do what she asks...emphasis on USUALLY. i decided to go with the prune cake. my mom wanted me to make it because when she had been to weddings back in "her day" they would make prune cake as a groom's cake and they would give it away in little pieces at the end of the reception. 

this is my mom when we went to the zoo, she is soo cute!!

it was interesting to me because i had never eaten a prune since the association with the elderly etc had always deferred my me from ever eating one. but, after my mom had bought them she made me try it, i still didn't like it:-p but i had no problem putting it in a cake...

one cup of prunes boiled...

mashed...

add some spices...only the best from penzeys...

baked and frosted, best served when warm!! although i didn't enjoy the idea of the prune, the cake was AMAZING!! it reminded me a lot of frosted gingerbread, and it was like having a little christmas spirit in the month of june^_^

FINALLY, my favorite, chocolate molten cake. this recipe was actually a link from the pioneer woman's site to a different site. and it just sounded completely scrumptious! and since my sister's best friend, tammy, is in town i decided to use the recipe. it was actually a pretty simple recipe and i suggest it to EVERYONE!! melting the chocolate and butter was easy, 4 egg yolks and 2 egg whites, some flour, and i added some vanilla. placed in the ramekins...

and bake...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO^_^ just flip...

i added some fresh whipped cream, and berries and voila!! this was a complete sway worthy dessert!!

it was a big hit^_~

the BEST website ever: http://thepioneerwoman.com/

P.S.- for those of you i told, i have not been able to go on my culinary school tour, its been postponed due to remodeling, but it will be happening the 16th of this month and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!^_^ pics will come!!