Even when I left the carrot cake in the microwave for five minutes, I could not get the middle to rise (to finish cooking) which I suspect would hold true for the chocolate cake as well. So, this time I divvied out the batter in heaping spoon fulls around the side of the plate. I ended up with five mounds on the first plate with enough batter left for three mounds on the second. (I did not cut the recipe in half this time). I cooked the plate with three mounds first until the batter was finished rising (after it first flattened out some). This ended up taking two minutes. Since the second plate had one mound that was bigger than all the rest and a total of five mounds as opposed to three, I cooked it for two-and-a-half minutes. I accidentally put in 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder when I was only supposed to use 1/4, so I'm not sure what effect this might have had, but the batter flattened out quite a lot after it cooled so that the end result looked like eight cookies. However, they were still flexible, as bread should be. But, I'm all set to retire for the night, so I will have to wait until tomorrow morning before actually trying (eating) one.
This didn't work either. In fact, given that I used twice as much baking powder as I was supposed to, I thought the end result might be overly puffy. But as it turns out, what I got was rather dense and flat...not a very pleasant texture.
After letting them air out for a day, the outcome of this experiment have become stiffer (drier) and chew more like a cookie than they did before, so that the former unpleasantness of the texture is almost gone.
Is it better to buy canned tuna packed in oil or in water? Water-packed is usually preferable because it has fewer calories and retains more omega-3s. Oil-packed chunk tuna absorbs more of the oil than solid white, even if you drain it. On the other hand, the oil that tuna is packed in—often soybean oil—is unsaturated and heart-healthy.
It's my understanding that some research has shown BPA (bisphenol-A) can seep into food or beverages from containers made with it, and that exposure to it is a concern because of the possible health effects BPA might have on the brain and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children; and because it can also affect their behavior. However, given that I have fewer days ahead of me than behind me, and that children are no longer in the picture, any concerns I might have are not likely to rise to the level of worry.