Black Bean Brownies, Breakfast Burritos, and Procrastination

A few weeks ago, I read a friend's post on Facebook approving a fresh batch of black bean brownies she had just made. My mind perked up when I read her post, because I had tried Rocco DiSpirito's recipe using artificial sweetener, and frankly found the brownies to taste of chemicals and have an "off" texture. I was less than impressed with Rocco's recipe, though many of his other recipes from his book "Now Eat This" are quite delicious. I simply do not like artificial sweetener. Period. It tastes terrible, and sugar is NOT the devil. Any how, I asked her for the recipe, and made the brownies. I'm not sure if it was a blessing or a curse to discover that they are chocolaty, hearty, satisfying cubes of sweet deliciousness. Since making the first batch, Mr. O and Sophia have decided that the house is not properly stocked without the black bean brownies, and we have to make a new batch as soon as the last brownie is eaten and the pan washed. Sophia loves her position as sous chef, and exerts her "authority" on the subject of brownies regularly. The wonderful thing about the black bean brownies is that they use absolutely no flour, the beans are the base of the recipe, which means a dessert with tons of fiber, protein, thiamine, iron, (tryptophan??) and they're low in calories. At roughly 126 calories for a slightly smaller square than I cut, you can't beat this healthy, tasty dessert.

Black Bean Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish.
2. Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and instant coffee in a blender; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.

Note: I tried this recipe omitting the 3tblsp. of oil, and replacing it with fat free, plain, Greek yogurt. They turned out nice, but slightly different than with the oil. This obviously reduces calories and fat by a bit, and lends to a nice chewy "crust" on the outside of the brownies. I also urge anyone who tries the recipe to reject your notions that this will have the texture of a colossal, full fat, chewy, double fudge brownie. It's actually got more the texture of a flour less chocolate cake, but none the less, they taste wonderful and really fix that chocolate craving, without busting the calorie bank.

On the subject of food, which by the way is of great interest to me, I want to discuss the tortilla. The tortilla is an essential staple in my home, and I don't know how I'd get by without them. I like all types for the most part, but really dislike the "low carb" bullshit ones. They're a bread product and I expect breads to be just like people; who they are, not a weak substitute of what we think they should be.

Tortillas can be filled with nearly any and every thing. One of my all time favorites is the handy breakfast burrito. This morning, my breakfast burrito consisted of two beaten eggs with real bacon crumbles (Hormel sells bags of cooked, pre-crumbled bacon...it's a winner) and goat's cheese, wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. It was delicious and healthy. If our cupboards weren't quite as bare as they are today, I'd have probably added some asparagus, or spinach....maybe even broccoli. The tortilla fuels the imagination. Anything you can think up will be made easy to eat and transport if you roll it up in a tortilla. I love the fact that with a little bit of cheese, and a tortilla, left overs seem to be tastier and more interesting. Out of sandwich bread? Remember the lowly, little tortilla and turn that sandwich into a wrap. Tortillas make fantastic, customized, low fat chips too. Cut those bad boys into triangles, spray with some cooking spray or olive oil and sprinkle with your seasoning blend of choice, bake at 350 degrees til crisp and golden. Dip in salsa and you're set. (It works the same with corn or flour, or wheat tortillas)

Now, getting to the heart of my matter today: I cannot get myself to stop procrastinating. I'm heading out of town this weekend, and leaving Mr. O in charge, which means I need to get my "ducks in a row" before I jump in the car and high tail it outta here. I can leave a lot of the yard work, as it's still very early in the season, but I can't ignore the pile of laundry, the hair balls and crumbs, the bare cupboards, and the ever present, daily, moment by moment needs of my daughter. Instead of facing these tasks, leaping on top of the mountain and chipping away at it, I am hiding in here, in the blog, looking out at the street, watching the birds, and generally day dreaming. Don't get me wrong; I love daydreaming and think that it's a vital piece in the creative process, but I'm day dreaming about vacations, and rest, sun, tropical drinks, and irresponsibility. If I keep putting off til tomorrow, what I can do today, I fear I'll end up with far more than I can accomplish in the time left. I don't even feel like I can properly prioritize what needs doing, because I only want to focus on me, and what I'm going to bring to Minneapolis, and when I'll be able to schedule my next hair cut appointment, etc...etc...Is it simply that I NEED to focus on myself, and it's to the point that I can no longer ignore myself, or, am I just lazy?