just for now.

Today I did the unthinkable.
Grocery shopping– unplanned, list-less, and possibly hungry. With two half-ill children.
Not far along into our trip, Isaiah, the poor thing, started requesting that we “just go home.”
Though my body agreed my mind said, “Hey, you’re already here, and you need food…”
And then some insane part of me (that could be more than 50%) inspired me to walk up and down random aisles searching for “whatever looks good.”
This is so anti-meal-planning, so helter-skelter, so….whatever.
I think I did pretty good, actually. No chocolate voluntarily flew off the shelf into my cart and I’m pretty sure everything I bought contributes to some part of a meal I already have stuff for in the pantry.
And you know what, it was fun. And we shopped by colors. Like, I’d say, “Let’s get something green.” And Isaiah said, “Green peppers!”
“Oh but what about asparagus? It’s fresh.”
We got the pepper. Less cooking required.
I also ended up with two frozen California Pizza Kitchen pizzas, two loaves of bread, a gallon milk, three dozen eggs (we eat at least four eggs a day), yogurt, frozen corn on the cob (also at Isaiah’s request– I don’t know where his cravings come from but I’m for this kind), bananas, apples, and pears.

So there you have it. My anti-planning confession of the day. Good times.
The end!

So I’d tried this brownie before, and by following the recipe exactly I ended up with something kind of like chocolate banana bread. Good, but not a brownie.

Today, out of pure necessity, I had to alter it quite a bit, but I LOVED what I ended up with. A sweet, chocolaty dense brownie-like cake with banana tones interwoven. If you’re not a fan of banana bread then this definitely isn’t for you…but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love banana bread.

Okay, so here’s the deal. You use honey, or maple syrup, instead of sugar. You use one really brown, smooshy banana for moisture and more sweetness. You use whole wheat flour, and it detracts nothing from the goodness that is this treat. I would even like to try added a few tablespoons of ground flax seed sometime…my bet is you wouldn’t even know it’s there.

The original recipe is as follows:

“Beat well together 2/3 cup honey, 1/2 cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 beat eggs, 1 ripe mashed banana, and 3/4 cup water.

In separate bowl combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 cup flour.

Combine them together slowly, making sure to really whip it so there aren’t big chunks of banana anywhere. Stir in 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts at the very end. Pour into greased 8×8 (?) pan (I had to use two bread pans) and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Best fresh!” (I found it at MoreThanAlive.com)

Now, for the glorious “alterations”.

Today I had no honey and a lot of maple syrup, so I used that, though it’s much more expensive and I’m sure honey is just as good. Then, I replaced the eggs for about 1/3 cup applesauce, which gives you a lot more density. You will have to bake longer if you do this too. Also, I had no baking soda so I put in 3 teaspoons of baking powder (they are not equal in quantity replacement). Lastly, I added about 1/2 cup of peanut butter just because I love peanut butter + chocolate + banana. Oh actually very last of all, I replaced the nuts with dark chocolate chips. This does add some sugar but it’s so minimal and you get the added benefits of dark chocolate.

Okay, so since I had no brownie pan around I used two loaf pans and baked for more like 30-40 minutes at 350F. When I first took it out it seemed a little undercooked but I usually like things like this a little gooey anyway, so I let it cool and it was perfect. Very dense, and very moist. Mmmm. I put a little peanut butter on top and ate with a fork.

The original recipe also says that these brownies are best fresh but I put the leftovers in tupperwear and found that the trapped moisture only added to their texture and I think the flavor intensifies with time. Absolutely delicious! I was so happy to feed these to the kiddos today after last week’s “mommy’s pregnant so we’re eating junk food” streak.