#MEwx Clouds, mild temps and a Chili recipe with a Chocolate Poundcake for dessert

Good morning Augusta

We're under a Winter Weather Advisory – see this morning's  previous post.

This morning we have partly sunny skies with highs in the mid 30s. Light and variable winds.

Tonight we'll have partly cloudy  skies this evening, followed by clouds with snow with a chance of freezing rain after midnight. Little or no snow accumulation. Ice accumulation around a trace. Lows in the upper 20s. Light and variable winds. 

The readings from my weather instruments are:

The Wind Chill is 31.8°F, Dew Point is 21.4°F, the humidity is 65%, and the outdoor temp is 31.8°F.

The wind direction is North Northwest between 0.9 MPH and 2.5 MPH.

The Relative pressure is 30.11, the Absolute pressure is 29.91 and falling with a weather graphic indicating rain/snow.

Visibility is 10.0 miles / 16.1 Kilometers with mostly Cloudy skies to 2,900 ft / 883 m.

The UV rating is 0 out of 16, Sunrise is 6:54 A.M., Sunset is 4:01 P.M., Moonrise is 12:21 A.M., Moonset is 1:24 p.M. and the moon phase is Waning Gibbous being 33% illuminated.

The RAW METAR readings from Augusta's airport are:

SPECI KAUG 011231Z AUTO 30003KT 10SM BKN029 M01/M04 A3017 RMK AO2 T10061044  | 

We didn't receive any rain or snow here over the past 24 hours, but it's on its way.

If you STILL have some turkey leftover and haven't tossed it in the freezer yet, try this chili recipe for that cold, raw and wet weather meal.

TURKEY CHILI

2 lbs ground turkey (4 cups of leftover strips)

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced (1/2 tsp of minced garlic = 1 clove of garlic)

1 16-ounce can tomatoes, whole, and undrained

1 8-ounce tomato sauce

2 cup chicken stock, homemade

2 tbsp chili powder or more to taste

1 tsp cumin, ground

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground

2 apples, green, peeled, and chopped

1 16 ounce can, drained pinto beans or red beans

 

This is an easy very tasty dish, and turkey is much lower in fat than beef or pork.  You can use strips of leftover turkey instead of uncooked ground turkey, about 4 cups, and add it to the bean for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.  To use dried beans, cover 1 cup of beans with water and simmer for 1 hour or until tender; they will yield 2 cups cooked.

 

1.                  Combine all ingredients except apples and beans in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and summer for 30 minutes.  Stir frequently to break up the turkey and tomatoes.

2.                  Add apples and simmer covered for another 20 minutes.  Add beans and cook 10 minutes longer.

 

Calories:  263; total fat:  2 gm; Saturated fat:  0 gm; cholesterol:  70 mg; sodium 526 mg; total carbohydrates:  25 gm; fiber:  16 gm; protein:  26 gm

 

And for dessert, one of my personal favorites:

Chocolate Streusel Poundcake

  MELISSA CLARK

YIELD8 to 10 servings

TIME2 hours, plus cooling

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

In this stunning dessert, a moist and soft chocolate poundcake is topped on two sides — bottom and top — with crunchy, slightly salty streusel flecked with chocolate chips. The combination of cocoa powder and melted dark chocolate gives this cake a particularly rich flavor. You can make it up to 3 days ahead. Store it at room temperature, well wrapped in foil. Then serve it topped with ice cream or whipped cream and fresh berries, or toasted and buttered, or plain as it is. It also freezes well for up to 3 months.

Ingredients:

·         ½ cup/60 grams all-purpose flour

·         3 tablespoons/45 grams granulated sugar

·         1 ½ tablespoons/11 grams cocoa powder

·         ½ teaspoon/4 grams kosher salt

·         4 ½ tablespoons/64 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed

• ⅓ ½ cup/60 grams all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons/45 grams granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons/11 grams cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon/4 grams kosher salt
• 4 ½ tablespoons/64 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed
• ⅓ ½ cup/60 grams all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons/45 grams granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons/11 grams cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon/4 grams kosher salt
• 4 ½ tablespoons/64 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed
• ⅓ Cup chocolate chips

For the Poundcake

3 ounces/85 grams extra-bittersweet chocolate (70 percent), chopped

1 ⅓ cups/185 grams all-purpose flour

¾ cup/89 grams Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon/2 grams baking powder

¼ teaspoon/2 grams baking soda

½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, melted

1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar

½ cup/100 grams dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon/4 grams kosher salt

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract

½ cup/120 milliliters plain Greek yogurt

½ cup/120 milliliters whole milk

PREPARATION

1.         Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, then line with parchment paper, leaving enough to hang over the edges of the pan. Grease the parchment on the bottom of the loaf pan.

2.         In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate for the cake, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool while you prepare the streusel.

3.         Prepare the streusel: In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Using fingers or a fork, cut in the butter until it is evenly distributed and forms large, moist crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4.         Scatter half the streusel evenly into the bottom of the loaf pan. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until baked through.

5.         Prepare the cake: In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.

6.         In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat melted butter, both sugars and salt together until combined. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, yogurt, milk and melted chocolate. Fold in dry ingredients until just combined.

7.         Scrape batter into prepared pan and top with remaining streusel. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake emerges clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool completely before turning out and slicing.