The day I filmed the Almost No-Knead Bread video, I got some extra cooking done. It made sense to have just a little more home cooking before we head off to Kauai for my cousin’s wedding. The meal: Indian spice rub pork chops with raita (a yogurt sauce with cukes and tomatos) and Indian spice roasted potatoes. Dessert was Swedish brownies. And while I was at it, I whipped up a batch of meusli.
While the recipe was originally for chicken, I used pork chops in this Indian spice rub and raita combination from Joanne Choi’s Week of Menus blog. Being a mother with young children and still a foodie, she manages to balance creative, complex flavors with ease of preparation and wholesome ingredients. The only change I would make to the recipe is to add a little bit of brown sugar and a bit of salt. The rub could have used a touch of sweetness.
Tawn and I enjoy meusli for breakfast – although in truth I eat oatmeal most days – and I find it isn’t too difficult to roast a batch of meusli when I already have the oven heated for some other baking. Each batch is just a little different. Based on Alton Brown’s granola recipe from the Food Network, I cut back on the sugar and substitute a little orange juice instead. I sometimes substitute different types of nuts or seeds (flax, pumpkin, or sunflower) for the cashews and almonds in his recipe. And I add a bit of cinnamon or sometimes freshly-ground nutmeg while the meusli is still warm. After it has cooled, I add dried fruits. This one is a combination of cherries, dates, apricots, and raisins. Tasty and pretty healthy, too.
Now, you see why I had to bake some healthy meusli: to offset the caloric karma that came from these wonderfully sticky and chewy brownies. The recipe came my from friend Per’s mother. Since he’s from Sweden, I think I’m going to call these my Swedish brownies. Some brownies are too cake-like. These have an almost mochi-like chewiness (causing me to wonder what would happen if I added just a bit of rice flour to the recipe).
The big challenge was that the recipe was in metrics – and I don’t have any dry ingredient measuring cups marked in deciliters. Thankfully, the internet helped provide conversions and then I made note of the weight of the ingredients so I can measure by weight in the future.
Okay, enough food porn for one entry!
christao408 
I’m so glad I ate before reading this, otherwise I would be hungry!
That’s a very delicious dinner meal indeed! Are you packing a few of the brownies for your trip?
You make your own müsli? Fascinating!
sticky and chewy, nom!
That looks super delicious. I miss having an oven!
I pat myself on the back when I can fix up a bowl of cereal for breakfast. But you bake your own bread, make your own muesli. If you tell me you milk your cow every morning and grab some eggs from your hen house too, I’m just gonna just scream.
P’ Chris! I just spent time in the gym. Brownies. Not fair! Haha. I have an upcoming cupcakes war with my friends. I’m going to have to go through your food porn for inspiration. :]
Looks yummy! Just finished my Life cereal and am thinking I could have had THAT! (yes, I mean the brownies! hehehe!)
@piyapong – Just had dinner with a gal last night who runs a cupcake place here called “Jelly Jan”. She has a pizza cupcake. Savory, but with a cupcake texture and build. Want to try it.@murisopsis – Of course that’s what you meant. @ElusiveWords – Matt, if I could have a hen house, I surely would. One of these days I’m going to live in a less urban environment, have a garden, and a hen house.@moolgishin – Aren’t ovens wonderful?@beowulf222 – Yes, much better than the commercially available stuff and I think cost-competitive, too.@CurryPuffy – No, I’m actually running a bit behind for my post. The brownies were baked last Friday.@Roadlesstaken – Good planning on your part!@yang1815 – Mochi brownie!
All looks good! I love Meusti and do try my hand at it.
you always make me so hungary….lol
Thankfully I’m off to go eat lunch… because you just made me hungry.
Every time I see you pictures of food, it makes me want to cook. Or rather, eat what you just cooked. 🙂
WOW!! Where has your cooking been all my life?!! This looks soo yummy!! (: (:
Those brownies look heavenly.
Love chewy brownies! I want that recipe!
I like this recipe with chicken because i think chicken makes it tasty,what you think?Dutch Sweets