Mission Accomplished

Because ShellyP asked here's a pic of the vegan brownies.
















They're delicious.

To go with the brownies I baked this garlic & herb meatless chik' n cutlet, prepared vegan mac and cheese, and steamed some broccoli.

The Mission

To make Vegan Brownies using this recipe:

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
* 2 cups white sugar
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup water
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Pour in water, vegetable oil and vanilla; mix until well blended. Spread evenly in a 9x13 inch baking pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is no longer shiny. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into squares.


Its my first attempt at making a vegan dessert. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Did She Really Say All That????

Got this in email last night!



This had me on the floor. Loved it! Be warned: Very offensive stand up comedy. Not necessarily for the faint of heart.

An 80s Flashback

I woke up this morning with the tune Seasons Change in my head. That inspired this week's playlist. I was such a pop music fan in those days.

Music always stirs your memory. Why is that? These songs make me remember the little, pleasant things from back in the day.

• I remember riding the Amtrak from Downtown LA to San Diego. I always had to eat a bag of peanut M&M's
• I remember being sent to Boy's Super Market by my Great Aunt. We always messed around on the train tracks and threw rocks on the way to the store. There was this open field next to the center where the store was and it always reeked of dead flesh. We would always hurry up and run through the field to avoid the smell as best we could. We'd soon encounter the unique smell of the cleaning solution from the neighborhood cleaners
  
• I remember hoping my older cousins would give me .25 cents to buy a scoop of ice cream on a cone from Thrifty's. Thrifty's always had the best ice cream when I was growing up
• I remember riding in the car with my mom listening to the radio. My mom would sing along to her favorite tunes and it would drive me crazy when she'd sing in her falsetto instead singing full out. And she always sang with lots and lots of vibrato. It would drive me insane
• I remember that we always left a lamp on the days when we knew we be coming home late with the radio playing softly in the background to hopefully convince a potential burglar that someone was indeed home so they wouldn't break in
  

A True Junkie

This was my 3-5:05am today.



I'm a real junkie to be waking up in the middle of the night to watch tennis. Its a shame. But with this being last men's tennis tournament of the season (The Te.nn.is Mas.te.rs Cup - the playoffs of tennis, if you will. Only the top 8 players in the world compete for the title) I am determined to get in as much viewing as possible before its all over.

I was so anxious to watch this match that I woke up before my alarm clock ever sounded. I first stirred at 1:30am and finally at 2:55am. Thank goodness it was worth my while. Not only did James Bl.ak.e (American) and Rafael N.a.dal (Spainiard) play a really entertaining match full of loads of drama and intrigue (N.ada.l, the higher ranked and much more accomplished player, had never beaten Blake the 2 other times they've played. N.ad.al put himself in a winning position in both sets but Blake refused to lose) but the outcome was to my liking to boot - Blake was the victor.

We spectators were treated to some spectacular tennis rallies as each player tried to outfox the other at every turn. Just when you thought one player had a decided advantage the other would up the ante and turn the tables. One rally, in particular, had me up out of my chair hooting and hollering. I'm searching the web now for a clip of the rally. The point went from offense to defense and defense to offense from both players. You couldn't tell if someone was going to win the point or lose the point until the last ball was struck. It was simply incredible and had me on my feet cheering like a damn fool at 5 in the morning.

Enjoy the highlight reel.