valentine's day

hope everyone had a wonderful valentine's day on saturday. we celebrated with orchids, a lazy morning and seeing cat power in concert. just in case you didn't fulfill your chocolate fix this year, thought we'd share our favorite brownie recipe. it's from my cooking bible and go-to-reference - the joy of cooking. i got it for christmas in 1997 from my parents and the pages are very well worn and smudged by now. don't let the reduced fat part of this recipe worry you - these brownies are amazingly rich and chewy! there also great with a tablespoon of instant espresso added to the dry ingredients.

Chewy Brownies

(from The Joy of Cooking)

3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tbs unsweetened cocoa

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tsp canola oil

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbs light corn syrup

1 tbs water

2 tsp vanilla

2 egg whites

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. line an 8x8-inch baking pan with foil and grease well. in a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. in a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate with oil. once smooth, remove from heat and stir in brown sugar, sugar, corn syrup, water and vanilla. then add egg whites and stir until combined. stir in the flour mixture and blend until smooth. bake 20-25 minutes or until center is almost firm when lightly pressed. let cool completely before cutting.