I just found out by reading on the internet—the bastion of all truth—that I should stop eating whole wheat and instead start chowing on spelt. Also that I should avoid all sugars except the good ones like, um, grapefruit. And spinach.
You know what I made for my kids today? Fudge brownies. From scratch. A really delectable recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook–the one with the red and white checkerboard cover that makes you think of your grandmother's tablecloth so you feel all confident that the recipes between those covers will take you right home to that little round farmhouse breakfast table.
Except I added some white chocolate melt-away mint drops left over from Christmas. (It's okay. Those things have a shelf-life of like 25 years. Right along side Twinkies.) Then, just to make sure it balanced, I added some semi-sweet chocolate chips and extra vanilla. So what we ended up with was a dense chocolatey slab of deep richness with a zing of mint and a teeny bit of crunch from the non-pareils that coat the bottoms of the white mints.
In other words, nothing whatsoever like anything containing spelt, spinach, or grapefruit.
And I must tell you, I believe we are all happier for it.
And isn't happiness what counts?
Not calories?
Or insulin spikes?
Just me and my kids and our plated slabs of fudge delight.
Death to spelt.
(To help support the Death to Spelt campaign, here is my fudge brownie recipe. It's easy. It's peasy. And you can add anything to it. Except icky stuff. Try a cup of sliced strawberries. Heavenly. It changes the texture. Tastes fabu. Or snip marshmallows in half and shove them into the batter at intervals for a lovely toasted marshmallow confection. Stir in crushed candy cane, raspberries, nuts–although I don't usually like nuts interfering with my chocolate–cherry pie filling [I haven't tried this. I'm just guessing] or Cadbury Mini Eggs. I'M NOT KIDDING WITH THIS, PEOPLE. STIR STUFF IN THERE AND OBLITERATE THE VERY IDEA OF SPELT.)
(Unless you have a really good spelt bread recipe. In which case, do post it in the comments section. I'm willing to change my views. Especially if you'll come bake it for me.)
BH&G Fudge Brownie Recipe
½ cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ cup chopped walnuts
–Preheat oven to 350F
–In medium saucepan melt the butter and chocolate (microwave works fine). Remove from heat and stir in sugar.
–Blend in eggs one at a time.
–Add vanilla. Stir in flour. Add walnuts. Don’t overstir. I don’t know. Guess.
–Spread in greased 8x8x2-inch pan.
–Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Careful not to overbake. Cool. Cut into 16 squares. Because BH&G said to. Bit of micromanaging going on in the cookbook department, don’t you think?
**Incidentally, these people are crazy. You don't just do an 8x8x2-inch batch of these babies. You double it. You need to be eating these for at LEAST two days. Or four, in an emergency
***Also, if you add stuff to this and double it, you'll probably need to add a few minutes to the baking time. Start with five minutes. Then check it impatiently and obsessively every 2 or 3 minutes thereafter until the toothpick test works for you. Just don't use spelt.
Thank you for helping to bring about world peace.
I totally have to try that. I think my heart stopped when I read your description of the marshmallow toasty yumminess. Want! [Spell check doesn’t like the word yumminess. It doesn’t like yummyness either. Or yumines. Or yumminness. Weird, huh.]
It’s sooo yummy. But you want to just press the marshmallow halves into the top of the batter in the pan so they puff up and toast. mmm, yuimines yumminneesss.
I’m around health talk all day long, so I’ll bet I could name your sources 🙂 And they have points; but if you mix points and dessert too much your dessert will end up pokey. I like my dessert lush and guilty…most of the time. Someday I shall blog about how to make desserts yummy and not-so-guilty; it’s an adventure 🙂 Your brownies look/sound amazing! I must try them. I must say, I do love spelt. It’s so much better than wheat–it makes going whole-grain luxurious! But yes, keep it out of the desserts.
Spelt just looks like it’s spelt wrong.
Just an FYI. My mom has quite the food storage, with a major emphasis on chocolate (the word “chocolate” sounds better in Spanish or French). When a food storage maven reprimands her for it, Mom’s reply is that if there is an emergency, she will have more luck getting what she needs with a little chocolate to trade, instead of some spoilt (spelt?) wheat berries. Have to say, I’d let her in the helicopter first…
Cassidy! You should definitely blog about yummy non-guilty desserts! The world needs many many more of those.
Cappy – I’d let your mom into the helicopter first for SO many reasons. Not the least of which is chocolate. But I will add to it: I believe people would pay just about anything for toilet paper in an emergency. I would pay all of my chocolate to the first passing bear with a roll of the stuff on a campout. So, buy grundles of toilet paper and chocolate and you’ll be prepared for any emergency.
There are three main myths about the creation of the brownie. The first, that a chef accidentally added melted chocolate to biscuit dough. The second, a cook forgot to add flour to the batter. And thirdly, the most popular belief, that a housewife did not have baking powder and improvised with this new treat. It was said that she was baking for guests and decided to serve these flattened cakes to them. This became our beloved treat of today. Whatever may be the case; all three myths have gained popularity throughout the years due to its mysterious beginnings.* With kind regards.