Beanies

I'm not all that into cooking (mostly a time/lack of focus thing), but I do really enjoy baking. I doubt that even my good friends realize that. I'm not talking about fancy cupcakes or creme brulee or bananas foster. I'm a basic midwesterner when it comes to recipes, like my mom but not nearly as ambitious. She used to make up to 10 pies or 13 loaves of zucchini bread on a Sunday afternoon (cause she worked all week), moving like a one-woman assembly line for hours. They'd go into the freezer for my dad to take out after he'd finished the last. Oh, and her pie crusts were FROM SCRATCH.

Anyway, her influence pointed me in a sensible, simple direction when it comes to baking. I don't make many things, but I do them well and (in my opinion) the right way. I like cookies made from scratch, pancakes that didn't start in a box (although who has the time some days?), and zucchini bread baked after a trip to the Urbana Market at the Square. I don't bake often but when I do it's a really relaxing and even meditative thing. I make a mess and clean it up at the same time, I talk to myself, and I feel like I'm doing something that women have done for hundreds of years. Having said that, I'm not going to make my own crusts. It's hard to even want to make a PIE, when you can buy a really awesome one at Sam's for like $6. There are just so many hours in a day and you have to consider the cost - store bought in this case is probably cheaper.

And while we're on the topic, I'm guilty of running to the big store and buying something packaged for a party more often than not. That's fine - we're all rushed these days. Still, it makes me feel sort of bad. Baking for someone else is a real GIFT. So this winter when my neighbor repeatedly snowblowed (is that a word?) my sidewalk, I baked him cookies. That made me happier than him, I think. During the summer, I take my dad loaves of zucchini or banana bread at least once since my mom no longer bakes. He told me that my zucchini bread is better than hers...and if your mom is a good cook. you KNOW that was a huge, HUGE thing to hear.

So tonight I'm all alone, and spent most of my downtime in the kitchen. I broiled marinated shark steak (wow - that was a first) and had a good dinner...then I made what I'll now call "Beanies." I was extremely skeptical but thought, what the hell. It has chocolate chips - how can it be all that bad?

But this brownie recipe also has BLACK BEANS. It was in my Fooducate daily email for Valentine's Day, and I've saved it ever since. I had to use my old hand-held blender because I don't have a food processor (and my Magic Bullet just couldn't cut it) so I worried that the beans weren't pureed enough. Well, I think it tastes pretty incredible. If you prefer semi-sweet rather than super sweet, you should give this recipe a shot. I'll post it separately, as this has gotten long enough.

First, I have to go check my oatmeal whole wheat bread kneading in the machine. My hopes are in check; it was looking a bit sad a while ago as I peered through the window, flashlight in hand. Live and learn. Even bad bread isn't THAT bad, right? It's still bread.