When It Rains, It Pours

(Except in Southern California; it doesn’t really rain here. :p)

Well, Happy New Year! Welcome to my first (quite delayed) post of 2011. Life has definitely gotten ahold of me recently and I have neglected my poor blog and lovely readers.

You know how they say, “When it rains, it pours”? Well that is a true statement.

I decided that I needed to reorganize my kitchen, so I took everything out of the cabinets and put it all on the counters and dining room table. I did that one evening and then went shopping for shelving and other organizational items. By the time I got home I was tired, so I stopped for the night. I woke up the next morning, sick, so I did nothing. The day after that I had unexpected dental work. I spent half the day at the dentist and was sore and grumpy by night, so I did nothing. My kitchen was a pigsty for about four days.

One of my favorite books from my childhood is If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. I think it is one of my favorites because it was written about me. After I reorganized my kitchen, I wanted to reorganize the rest of my apartment. I moved all my furniture out of its place, vacuumed and scrubbed everything, then put it all back together, rearranging my bedroom furniture at the same time. I was finally happy with my spotless apartment. My happiness lasted for about two days.

I woke up one morning to a flea infestation! My poor kitties somehow got fleas. I cleaned everything again. I even took my kitties out of the apartment for three hours so I could set off a flea bomb. Those darn little things are resilient! (and completely disgusting). I did everything I possibly could to get rid of them, but the over-the-counter medicine I used is known to be ineffective and potentially harmful to cats and humans. I did not know this, otherwise I would never have used it. So all my efforts were for nothing because the things I was using weren’t working. I took my babies to the vet, who gave me things that actually worked.

My car also needed some repairs recently; I couldn’t go over 40mph. I was without my car for two days, and realized how grateful I am for my car. I also am very fortunate to not have to rely on public transportation.

In the midst of all this I started school. I am now a proud student at one of the world’s most well known culinary institutions. Today is the beginning of my fourth week and I have already learned so much. I get more excited each day about my new chosen path in life. I’ve just started school, but I am already looking forward to a career in the culinary industry. (And I am loving my new knife set!)

My days recently have been spent at school, and my nights have been spent cleaning like a crazy person and doing homework. Thank you for your patience, Dear Readers, as I adjust to my new schedule. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t leave you without a recipe.

Please enjoy one of my favorite ways to wind down and de-stress: Double Chocolate Brownies.

This recipe is from the label of a bar of Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate.  The recipe is good as is; the only thing I have changed is that I use half semi-sweet and half unsweetened chocolate.

Double Chocolate Brownies (aka Ghirardelli Classic Brownies)

Yield: 16 Brownies

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 cups packed brown sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate morsels

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Butter and flour a 9 x 11 baking pan.
-In heavy saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring until smooth.
-Remove pan from heat; cool to room temperature.
-Stir in brown sugar and vanilla.
-Add eggs, mix well.
-Sift in flour and baking powder in batches, fold flour into chocolate mixture.
-Stir in chocolate morsels.
-Pour batter in prepared pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a pick inserted into center comes out clean.