Emergency Brownies

These make great gifts for all ages.

• 1- 1-qt. canning jar, plus lid (I used a plastic mayonnaise container because I was putting it in the mail.)
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 c. flour
• 3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1. Put the baking powder and salt in the jar. Carefully spoon the flour into the jar; gently tamp the flour down and wipe the inside of the jar with a dry paper towel to clean off any dust.
2. Carefully spoon in the cocoa powder, gently tamping it down and wiping down the inside of the jar with a clean, dry paper towel.
3. Spoon the sugar into the jar, then add the chocolate chips. Don’t worry, they will fit. Tap the jar on the counter several times to allow them to settle, and you’ll get them all in. Trust me.

Don’t forget to include baking instructions!

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x13” baking pan.

Add the following ingredients to the brownie mix:

• ¾ c. butter, melted and cooled
• 4 large eggs, well beaten

Mix by hand and spread into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool completely before cutting (haha). Cut with a plastic utensil for clean, pretty edges.

Skipping Christmas

We made the decision in November to skip Christmas; we don’t like the commercialism, we had no plans for family visits, we are in no way religious, and I had to work. We didn’t decorate, we didn’t plan a special meal, we didn’t exchange gifts. I work at home, so it became clear that unless we turned on the TV, we could pretty much escape the holiday all together.

I couldn’t refrain from some baking, however. I have an easy fudge recipe that I make only during the holidays. I couldn’t not make something I only make in December.

As a compromise to Christmas, I decided to send out Solstice cards.

From winter’s stillness light returns…

Everything was going as planned. Until the 14^th, when I woke up with abdominal pains, fatigue, and what I thought was some kind of virus. 17 days, two trips to the ER, a CT, a bottle of Percocet, a GI specialist, several missed days of work, and an endoscopy later, this self-proclaimed foodie was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease -- an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract, causing inflammation. (More gory details here, but thankfully so far all I’ve experienced is abdominal pain and fatigue.) There is no cure for Crohn’s. Talk about a big bummer of a Christmas gift. But wait, I wasn’t celebrating. Which was even more a blessing in disguise, really, because time stopped on the 14^th. My pain and fatigue took over, and I wasn’t in any shape to do anything but sleep and watch TV. I couldn't finish baking, and I had to set aside my Solstice cards.

I’m feeling much better now, but I’m still on a somewhat restricted diet and am cautious – make that paranoid – about what I put into my body. I have, however, lost 10 pounds this month, and I can’t say I’m disappointed about that.

New Year’s Day was my first dive back into baking since becoming ill. Birthday brownies for far-away friends.

They’re good brownies. They came from Martha Stewart's Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share, a birthday gift from Eric. They are very dense, reminiscent of truffles, though I prefer a slightly more cakey brownie. I cut them into squares, wrapped them by fours in plastic wrap, and then a freezer bag. I was able to fit a stack of five in each take-out container, which then was packed into a 6x6x6 box for mailing.

My next baking project is a Daring Bakers’ Challenge, one I’m very much looking forward to. Details about that sometime after the 27^th.