Why yes, I did eat half a pan of brownies for dinner.

I always thought that I would reach middle age and not fall for the chocolate trap. Boy was I wrong.

I'll admit, I was swayed by the picture.

 

It just looks so rich and decadent.  I think I convinced my self I was getting this:

Spoon River Flourless Chocolate Cake

I was silly.

Anyway, the brownies did taste good. They were chocolaty and rich and gooey... but I couldn't get them out of the pan.. even though they were completely cooled.  They just stuck to the fork. When I picked them up, they fell apart. That was annoying. In no way was it a satisfying brownie eating experience. 

That didn't stop me from eating half a pan for dinner, though. I only stopped because my sister and my parents were looking at me a little strange. Plus, I let them have some, so I could really eat the whole pan AND share. Good chocolate goo eating experience? Yes.

I'm going to have to go to Spoon River soon.

Brownie Life Improvement Plan

So, I've been on this diet. Well, let me rephrase that... I've made a life style change that involves not eating every loaf of bread, topped with donuts, wheat thins, and sugary crumbles that I see.  More fiber, less sugar.  More fiber, less carbs. More fiber, less refined, processed, pre-packaged foods.  And so far, it's working out pretty good for the balancing out the blood sugars and chronic fatigue part of the plan.

However, I've noticed that I've been seriously lacking in the Brownie department.  Now, I've discovered that I can eat one square of ultra dark chocolate (coupled with black coffee and few almonds!) and almost get the same effect and still stay low carb/sugar... but it frankly is not a brownie.

SO! While walking through the store aimlessly to let the food choose me,  This box of brownie mix jumped into my hand (funny how that happened).  The box is sitting in my car waiting for me to get home and bake it up and then eat it all up.  At first, I felt a little guilty. Then I realized, my plan need a name. If a plan has a name, then it's official.  There is no questioning official business!

The Brownie Life Improvement Plan will commence at the completion of the Brownie Baking League inaugural bake off... which will probably end up being sometime around 10:30 at night considering my work schedule today.

I've never had this mix before, so I'll have to let you know how it goes.  Until then... Eat brownies, my friends.

I knew it!

We here in Howktown have always maintained that chocolate, was a SUPERfood. 
There is no question that at the Howk House, SUPER is the only way to describe chocolate. As I mentioned before, there is no legal definition for that other use of the term Superfood, so it is well within my rights to declare chocolate SUPER.

But get this people, there is science and stuff that is going to back up my claim! Indeed! It has been published in a magazine (what we used to read before the internet, in fact before you said "I read it in on the internet, so it must be true." You said "I read it in a magazine....") that you can eat chocolate to loss weight! SUPER!

You can eat chocolate to reduce stress (Ah Doi!) SUPER!

Chocolate is a fruit (and not in that 'bacon is vegetable' way, it really is!) SUPER!

ON the grocery store my friends. Time for the chocolate diet. Howktown APPROVES!  SUPER!

Happy Valentine's Day if you want it to be, I guess. Hey a Squirrel!

Okay, so there are a lot of opinions about Valentine's Day out there, from the "Plan my life around it" types, to the "Remind everyone why you think it is evil" types. Some people say, "I don't need a holiday to tell my spouse I love them" and other say "If you don't get me a present, I'll divorce you".  

Here in Howktown we believe in not taking everything so seriously. Here's the thing, I like chocolate. I like chocolate enough to MAKE UP holidays to buy it, give it, and more importantly... eat it. It is a super food after all. Why would I turned down the culturally sanctioned holiday dedicated to chocolate?

Second, I know that we all like to think that we don't need reminders to do things, but if that were true we wouldn't have alarm clocks and calendars. That's awesome if you remember every single day to point out everything you love about your spouse in a meaningful way. Me, I get distracted by ... HEY SQUIRREL!

What was I saying? Anyway. I don't think you need to plan beyond your means, or even doing anything 'noteworthy' beyond maybe an extra tight hug.  I certainly don't need you to go to Jared's unless that is the only thing you want to get.  Did I mention I like Chocolate? Dark Chocolate. The Superfood?

Oh, lest you think I don't understand the singlers v-day plight? Considering my age, and the number of people that I've dated, I had three V-days with a boyfriend worth noting.  The first, I got two speeding tickets in 15 minutes. The guy cancelled plans at the last minute. We'd been dating for months.  All the other times I was single or freshly dumped. I didn't give up on love, though. I still was getting valentine's day cards from my parents and if I was at home, a chocolate bar at the breakfast table from my dad.

The other notable VDay was 5 years later after the speeding tickets and was very sweet. It was the first 'real' valentine's day I'd ever had. It changed my outlook on the whole day. That it didn't have to be about money and presents (or even chocolate). 

The third was again, 5 years later, and this year.  D convinced me to try playing his online adventure game, which I agreed to finally because it was something that we could do together as a team.  We went to Korthos island, killed some zombies, rescued some villiages, and he bought me a really cool sword that cost way more than any diamond ring. 

So folks, I love ya. Don't fret V-day, cause here in Howktown, it's just an excuse to get hugs and chocolate, and we don't really need that around here, but we're not going to pass it up either. 

I would just like to mention before the year is up...

Some things I've noticed in the last year week:

One: I'm addicted to online scrabble


Two: I am a multi-tabber in my web-browser and why won't scrabble load while I'm in another tab! Like it knows that I'm not really paying attention to it, so it just stops talking until you are paying attention again, all the while giving you a dirty look. That's how I feel when I ignore scrabble when it's loading.  Please don't hate me scrabble. I need you!


Three: Hold on it's my turn in scrabble...

::THE HAPS IN HOWKTOWN::

The official telephone of Howktown is now: Chocolate. Yes. That's right.

Now I just have to figure out how to use the dang thing... after scrabble of course.

The Results!

As you know, science in Howktown is very scientific. We use polls, which everyone knows are accurate and tell the truth. There is no worry about not sampling a large enough audience, because I have at least 9 readers! Well, minus me and Kylie... 7 readers!

We are even scientific enough to hold blind taste tests!

The three totally objective judges are me, my mom, and Kylie. The chocolates in question:

Dove dark chocolate, Hersey's Dark Chocolate Bliss, and Lindt Exellance 70% Cacao.

My darling Doug disguised the chocolate so that we couldn't tell the difference between the chocolate and tasting commenced!

The first taste was familiar and delicious, and yet Kylie found it repugnant. My mother recognized the taste right away. We didn't reveal which chocolate it was until we cleansed our palate with a swig a joe and moved on to the next plate.

AHHH! Now this bitter, fruity flavor was REAL chocolate! We all agreed that this was some high quality choco! But, before we became too smug we tasted the last plate.

I thought it was good, but years of avoiding dairy turned me off from things that are overly creamy. It seemed too sweet and creamy to me, and less chocolatey. Kylie on the other and who is still in the throes of mourning dairy loved the creaminess and flavor.

The order revealed: Dove, Lindt, Bliss. At first Kylie and I were at odds, but then we realized that we did agree on the the higher quality chocolate. On a personal level, I am happy to note that the readers poll agreed with me, that between the commercial brands Dove is the best.

The three person blind taste testing was a Howktown scientific discovery worth filling our candy bowls over!

Dark Chocolate! It's A SUPER Food.

Howktown approves of SUPER foods. Why? Because they are SUPER! SUPER is really fun to say accompanied by a quick fist jab across your front, a shoulder dip, and a cheesy grin.

I've decreed that I'm the only one that gets to declare which foods in the house are super (as opposed to supper). Otherwise Doug will declare Pork Hocks and Sauerkraut a SUPER food, and believe me, they don't qualify for SUPERosity (yes, I know the correct term is superiority).

Now, there is no legal definition of superfood, which means it is perfectly reasonable for me to decree what is a SUPERfood and what isn't! Isn't that AWESOME!

::BREAKING NEWS!:: Howktown declares Dark Chocolate a SUPERFOOD! Oh yes I did. Add it to the list with Guacamole, people!

::NEWS ALERT:: Agreement between the cities of Howktown and Saarisburg on the best Dark Chocolate easily accessible to the plebeian masses is in question. Talks and sampling may be in order. Blog poll to help quell argument.

That's right, folks! I'm prevailing upon you to help me win this dispute by voting the poll on the right side of the blog here (you facebook and feed readers are gonna have to hop over to the official site to participate).

READY, SET, VOTE!

P.S. If you vote other, please list in in the comments section of this post so I can go out and try me some new SUPER food!