Foodie

Today I made these awesome chocolate pumpkin brownies from scratch.  I'm kinda rad in the kitchen. Here's the recipe I made (I found the original online and tweaked it a bit).

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used a white/whole wheat flour blend I made)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cup white sugar/splenda blend (I have my own blend I've perfected, just use white sugar if you haven't perfected the baking with splenda)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs (I used organic duck eggs from my mom's duckies)
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used fresh pumpkin that I baked and smashed)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (I used my own blend of these spices...and some others)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan.
-Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
-In another bowl, stir together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract; beat in the eggs one at a time with spoon. Gradually add the flour mixture, and stir the batter until it's evenly moistened. Divide in half in two separate bowls.
-Into one bowl of batter, blend the cocoa powder and chocolate chips.  In the other bowl, stir in pumpkin puree, walnuts, spices.
-Spread 1/2 the chocolate batter in the bottom of the prepared pan, and follow with 1/2 the pumpkin. Repeat layers ending with pumpkin layer.  Drag spatula gently through layers in a swirling motion to create a marbled appearance.
-Bake in preheated over until the brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick comes out clean - 40 - 45 minutes. Cool in pan. Cut into squares and serve.

Weekend Update

This weekend I saw my first Early Steps kiddo.  I had to drive through the 9th Ward to get there, but it was nice section of town. The tyke was shy at first, but by the end of the session I was covered in toddler drool and mac n cheese. Next session we're trying different fruits!

There was a recent Living Social deal for a Diamond Elite Ultrasonic toothbrush and I totally bought it.  I had been searching for an electric toothbrush and this one appeared legit. I've been using it for a few days now and I can honestly say my teeth feel less furry.  Not that my teeth were disgusting - I brushed at least 3 times a day with a standard toothbrush - but they actually feel cleaner now. Also, the OCD side of me is ecstatic that I have the UV light to sanitize the brush head after each use.

Saturday after my kiddo, I drove to Hattiesburg for a lil R&R and catch up with some friends. Enjoyed an early dinner on the patio of the Keg & Barrel.  Did a little bar hopping that evening before eventually catching the Ingram Hill show at Bennie's Boom Boom Room. I don't go crazy on the promotion of bands for fear of seeming like a groupie, but if you're ever able to catch an IH show, you definitely should.  They play in more intimate settings, great crowd interaction and good tunes.  Plus the guys are all fantastic people, so buy them a beer! And if you can get Zach to dance, I owe you a beer! For my NOLA locals, they play at Gretna Fest next weekend so come join me dancing in the crowd.

Sunday was a rest day - for the most part.  Watched the Saints whoop up on the Jags from the comfort of my bed, took a nap, and then headed to the pool for a swim. I did an easy mile and then came home.  I pushed myself on a few laps and then eased on some others.  As long as I keep my heart rate up, I'm doing great! I also realized I'm getting a superb tan from swimming in the outdoor pool.