The inventory of my cupboards began when I received an e-mail recipe for Dangerous Chocolate Cake that requires cocoa. Cocoa? I wasn't sure I even had any cocoa so I checked the cupboard that holds most of my baking supplies.
Yes. When I looked on the top shelf I found about a half can of baking cocoa. It is a brand I never heard of -- I thought cocoa was either Nestle or Hershey. Where did it come from? Probably a sample can I received when I was still family living editor at The Independent so it has been in my cupboard for a long time.
Does cocoa spoil? I don't think so but I haven't used it, yet.
When I was searching for the cocoa I found several items I forgot I had or didn't even know I had. For instance, where did I get a bottle of garlic wine vinegar and a bottle of gourmet red wine vinegar? I know I didn't buy either of those and have never used them. One of our daughters must have bought them for me when she visited the farm and neglected to tell me.
Also on the top shelf, in a corner, I found a two-quart bottle of Bertoli extra virgin olive oil, imported from Italy. Although I had seen it there I didn't think much about it. Who bought it and left if for Mom? I can only guess.
Next to the olive oil, was an unopened bottle of Savannah Cinnamon Mix, a "Flavorful Creation from the Old South." I remember buying that one from Eloise Clayton when Clayton's was still open in downtown Grand Island. It was the second bottle I bought. I used the first bottle to flavor hot apple cider. Why didn't I use the other bottle? Who knows?
Also on the top shelf I found a box of banana bread mix and another of potato bread mix. I think I bought those and planned to make the bread in the bread maker one of our daughters sent for Christmas one year. Are the mixes still good? They haven't been opened.
There was also a bottle of Brer Rabbit Molasses in the cupboard. I think I bought that to make ginger bread -- or something that my husband doesn't really like so I didn't use it.
On the second shelf of the cupboard I have a Lazy Susan-type holder for spices. In the middle of the top shelf I found two bottles of hot sauce. Who bought those and why is a mystery.
If there are that many items I didn't know about in a cupboard I open every day, what else do I have that I don't use or didn't know about?
As for the recipe that started it all, this is the e-mail I received from a friend. When I asked if she had made it, she admitted she had not.
Chocolate Mug Cake
- 1 coffee mug
- 4 tablespoons flour (that's plain flour, not self-rising)
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons baking cocoa
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
- Some nuts (optional)
- Small splash of vanilla
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips and nuts (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (This can serve 2 if you want to share!)
NOTE: I wasn't going to try the cake but it only took a couple of minutes to mix it up and three minutes in the microwave to bake. I didn't mix it quite enough but it tasted OK. It's called "dangerous," by the way, because it only takes about 10 minutes for chocoholics to make a cake and eat it too.
Billy Wetterer writes a weekly column for The Independent. E-mail her at billybillw@aol.com.
