General Life Update (with videos)

PIE!

September is upon us. We've had one last hot muggy stretch over the weekend (along with the above peach raspberry pie) and now the nights are backing down near 50 degrees. School has started and the mornings are a little darker each day.

 

Some things that are different this year:

We decided to cut out the bus time altogether this year. Talked about it last year but since London still wasn't sleeping I was never sure if I would be awake enough to safely drive to the Middle School at 7:30 in the morning. This year we're giving it a try. It is the stuff that coffee addictions are made of. Get up at 6 (no matter what), start some laundry, start breakfast (no matter what), we all eat breakfast at 7 unless London is still asleep. Wake up London if needed, run to the school at 7:30(no matter what). On service days I then come back home, get ready, pack lunch, leave for service, come back around 12:30 to try to squeeze in London's nap before we leave again at 2:15 (no matter what) to pick Spencer up.

It makes the school day feel very short. But I'm trying to stop fighting that. I'm trying to just keep my perspective as "When you have young kid's it does dictate most of your life, but it wont be like that forever. Just roll with it." Those days of panic when I feel like I've completely forgotten how to finish a thought or conversation I just need to remind myself that nothing, nothing, nothing stays the

  same forever, so just try to do it well now.

I've also just started putting out a bread table every Friday morning. Last week was my first one and no one stopped, but I'm hoping that if it's consistent people will get used to it and start checking it out. So tell me; what's a fair price for a Barowsky's size of oatmeal molasses bread with no preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup, and quality flour? I'm starting with $4... We'll see.

 

So during the morning London and I try to get outside swing time if we're not in service. Priorities, right? She's sleeping right now so I'll start my bread for tomorrow and vacuum everything.

Talk to you soon.

A Summer Evening Outside

Real Black Bean Brownies

Ever since I heard about them I really wanted black bean brownies to work. The idea that something so rich and delicious could potentially be better for you is always appealing, but brownies!? really?

I've had different versions that have completely covered the spectrum. Some were chalky, powdery, hard, etc. Some were amazing. My sister has made some at my Mommom's house (who cannot have wheat) that were dense and gooey and so chocolaty that my grandfather never knew they were anything other than boxed. (We never told him). And my Aunt recently shared some with homemade almond flour, coconut oil, chocolate chips, and a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember. The almond flour gave them a great texture and depth of flavor that I will have to try sometime.

But when I asked both of them how they made them it was "Oh, a shake of this..." "A scoop of that." "You know, about this much..."

So I had to make my own. I've combined ideas. "Coconut oil is hard to keep smooth" said my sister. So I liquefied it and then stirred the sugar in to keep it from clumping. And "It seems to help mashing the beans with the cocoa, because otherwise you get bean chunks" was my Aunt's tip. So, taking all of that under advisement. Here's my version.

Real Black Bean Brownies (Tyson asked "Are those REAL brownies, or black bean...?" How dare he...)

1/2 can of black beans, drained
3/4 cup of dark cocoa
1/2 cup of coconut oil, warmed until liquid
2 eggs, or 3 for more cakey brownies, whisked together.
3/4 cup to 1 cup of sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
chocolate chips as desired (reasonably)

preheat oven to 350 and butter a 9x9 pan.

in a bowl, mash mash mash the black beans with cocoa using a pastry blender until it forms very small uniform clumps and you can't see any more of the whiteness inside the beans. take no prisoners! it will seem very dry and crumbly, but don't worry. stir in your baking powder and salt.

mix your sugar into the coconut oil. stir in your eggs and mix well. stir in vanilla.

mix the wet and dry together. pour into your prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. turn the oven down to 300 and bake another 15 minutes. check on them. if the middle still jiggles a little let them go another couple of minutes.

let them cool on a rack for a few minutes. if you used three eggs they may be puffy, but will settle down a little.

Serve with milk, whipped cream, frosting, ice cream, strawberries, raspberries, etc...

ps. this recipe does use regular white sugar, so they are not exactly "healthy". but I thought you should know that white sugar is much easier for your body to process safely when eaten without white flour. so high five to that!

Cannellini Bean and Leek Soup with Bacon and Sage

Has this summer completely skewed your perception of time? It has mine. It feels like I've had to go through this mental exercise of figuring out what day it is every morning when I'm waking up. Yesterday I actually had to ask Tyson. Thankfully he was still in bed, who knows how long it wold have taken me...
Anyways, this week when I made up the menu on Thursday I already had dinner planned for that night, but thinking it was Friday I didn't have a dinner plan until Saturday. This soup was what I came up with to fill in my (mental) gap. It was very flavorful. The beans have such a nice earthy flavor, but the sage and chives really kept it bright. You could even skip the potato if you wanted something a little less hearty and more summery.

Cannellini Bean and Leek Soup with Bacon and Sage

2 cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 leeks, white parts sliced thin
2 pieces of bacon
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 large russet potato, peeled, and diced smallish
3 1/2 or 4 cups of water
splash of white wine
4 sage leaves
chives, or garlic chives, to add color and zing (optional)

Slice bacon and place in a large heavy pan. Cook over med-low heat. When fat has rendered, add leaks and stir. another 5 minutes or so or until leeks are soft. Be careful that it doesn't burn and add a splash of wine if it starts to.

Add the tomatoes and their juice, simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the beans and potatoes and just barely cover with water. Season with some salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil and simmer gently until potatoes are soft. Snip your sage leaves into the soup and let simmer a couple of minutes more.

Snip your chives into each bowl after serving so that their color stays bright.