Scraps and Snippets ~ German Chocolate Yum Bars

I have this need to experiment. So why not just feed that need. Right? I wanted to make pecan pie for Thanksgiving but not just any pecan pie. Oh no. How about a pecan pie with chocolate and coconut and let's see, isn't that what German chocolate is? Caramel, coconut, chocolate and pecans. Yup. 

My pie didn't look real hot. The caramel bubbled over in the oven. UGH. Fortunately I had been lazy and left a cookie sheet on the bottom oven rack and it caught the drips. Yes. There are benefits to taking the lazy route sometimes. Anyhoo. I thought I'd try this again in bar format. It still bubbled and grew but didn't pour out over the 8 x 11 pan. I'd suggest the cookie sheet trick just in case though. 

The crust makes two. So either stay tuned for tomorrow's recipe or freeze half, or double the filling and gorge yourself. So delicious. 

Crust: 

1 Cup coconut oil melted
3 Cups flour (I used whole wheat pastry)
4 TBSP milk of choice
1/3 Cup loose pack brown sugar
1 tsp salt. 

Mix it all together and form it into two balls. Grease the sides of an 8 x 11 and press one of the balls into the bottom of the pan. Save the other ball or freeze it for later. Or 1/2 the recipe if you are a fun hater. 

Filling: 

Toast a 1/2 Cup of coconut. (put on cookie sheet, place in 350 degree oven, heat for 10 minutes, stir, put back in for 5. Is it golden and fragrant? Good, if not, put it back in for a few more minutes til it is. Set aside.

In a bowl combine: 

3/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup brown rice syrup (corn syrup would likely work just fine, as would honey)
1/4 Cup milk of choice or water
1 TBSP of Ener G (or cornstarch or arrowroot would probably work)

1/2 TBSP vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Stir well.

Add 1 1/2 Cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 Cups pecans or pecan pieces
1/2 Cup shredded coconut
Stir. Pour over crust. 

Sprinkle with the toasted coconut. Bake for 35 minutes at 350. Let cool and serve. (Can be served warm but it firms up better as it cools. If you keep it in the fridge you will lose a tooth so let it get back to room temperature before serving to guests. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Seriously, the Last Wrap Up Post AboutNaNoWriMo….

I never actually signed up for NaNoWriMo. And we didn't follow the directions. In NaNoWriMo you are supposed to crack out 50k words in the month of November.

That's about 1600ish words a day with a few days off. (if you are wondering what 1600 words looks like, this drivel right here, that you are reading, the whole column is probably about 400 (376 actual count) and clearly, I'm struggling…just sayin.)

That's a lotta words. Especially when you are trying to make them good ones, ya know? Our book, Out of the Frying Pan, went into NaNoWriMo with about 50k words already there with most of them spit-polished and shiny.

We need 80k for publishing purposes. (Drum roll….) We cracked out 21k in November leaving us with a mere 9000 words to go. I wrote a scene yesterday, as did Michelle, so now we are at 7.5. I also started writing a second scene. We have four more chapters to go to clean all the details up and at this point I think we are both so excited to finish we will have it cracked out very soon. We each only have five or six scenes to write. And the editing process will go pretty quick I think since we have several eyes who are offering to check it over for us once we are happy with the process.

Next? Get it published. Michelle has an agent who's shopping it. Here is my advice for any wannabe writers. Immerse yourself in the writing world for a decade or so. Learn everything you can, give away your time for free. Read a whole lot and review the work of others. Support your more talented friends who begin to publish. Then somehow attach yourself to at least one of them and weasel your way into being published by osmosis.

Sweet gig. Eh? Oh, and with the "1 Million Dollars" Michelle and I will split on the publishing of our book, we will probably be able to buy each other a fancy latte and maybe a gooey treat of some sort and if it's a really great advance, one for each of our husbands. Probably not the kids. But they will all get a copy of the book.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ December Has Arrived and What a Month November Was...

That means NaNoWriMo is no mo. Ha Ha. Sorry. 

How did I do? Did we get it done? 

I cracked out four final scenes on Saturday in an epic attempt to throw myself at the finish line tape. But. The tape didn't snap. However. Michelle and I wrote THOUSANDS of words (most of them keepers) during our marathon month of writing. We are almost done. I think 10 more scenes will finish it. Trust me when I tell you this….it feels so good to have this thing almost done. And it feels amazing to have enjoyed the process. The last time I put effort into the novel I felt like a fake writer. But plugging away at my blog, reading some good books, honing my skillz, has paid off in that I think I have now somehow incorporated the knowledge I've been chasing into something I can now instinctively do. Worth a million bucks. Not really. Writing pays peanuts, but grasping something elusive. That's a big deal. 

You have a dream? You going for something that feels like it won't ever happen, keep on keeping on. Never give up. And I'm preaching to myself. Clearly, the same will be true with the violin. BTW. I was able to write several scenes on my I-phone while in the nursing home and hospital with my mother-in-law, but I was not able to practice violin while visiting or watching and waiting. My violin took a back seat. No. Let me be honest. My violin took it's place in the trunk of my life last month. 

But, the times I played I remembered what I was supposed to do. That's a plus. And, I have made a commitment to this instrument and I can play. Like my teacher said every time I play I'm adding to the cosmic music of life (He didn't really say that, I kinda just boiled it into a ridiculous weird cheesy line for entertainment purposes. He did say every time I played I was making art.) 

November was crazy. What with my mother-in-law's fall and broken bones, to the procrastinated article and recipes I put off writing til the last minute, to a foodie holiday, to a book writing frenzy, to a effort intensive Arbonne business building activity, to a clean out the basement and take a load of stuff I'm not using and not going to use to the local mission I am glad to look behind me and then turn my face forward and take on December. One day at a time. 

The picture? Vegan German Chocolate Bars before they slid into the oven. A delicious creation. Recipe coming soon! Have an awesome Monday!  

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Chirp…Chirp

chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp
said crickets, crickets, crickets. 
small Thanksgiving poem. (lame, silent, like an e) 

I think I will take poetic license 

poetic license

noun

license or liberty taken by a poet, prose writer, or other artist in deviating from rule, conventional form,logic, or fact, in order to produce a desired effect.

Origin: 

1780–90 

and call it a haiku. 

hai·ku

  [hahy-koo]  Show IPA

noun, plural hai·ku for 2.

1.

a major form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables,and employing highly evocative allusions and comparisons, often on the subject of nature or one ofthe seasons.

2.

a poem written in this form.

Origin: 
1895–1900;  < Japanese,  equivalent to hai ( kai ) haikai + ku  stanza; see hokku

My little Thanksgiving haiku. Note. Poetic license has been around longer than haiku so poetic license trumps.

The Thanksgiving crickets chirp because I have nothing to say today. And I have a long shopping and to do list and a few things to accomplish to make Thanksgiving smell and taste yummy.

So. With no more ado. Here's to a wonderful Thanksgiving to you and yours. I hope you find joy in the interaction you have with loved ones, or in connecting with new friends. I hope you find more than food for the belly and instead find gratitude and growth in the upcoming year.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Too Cute

I think I should watch this every morning before I go out to face the day.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Passive Aggressive Willy Wonka Part 2

Serials and Scenarios ~ Random Words from Our Work In Progress

Just for fun. Just because I need something to post here. I've decided to share a few snippets of what I've been writing this month. 

Out of the Frying Pan…coming soon. Editors may allow the following words…


Red and black Jackson Pollack streaks everywhere, her hair had gotten plastered to her tears. Her eyes had turned into melted Hershey's kisses and everything was wet. Flynn sucked in a deep breath almost tasting the brine from her sadness,

Fern slid on her black track jacket and zipped it all the way up to her chin. Then dug out the black stocking cap tugging it down over her hair and tucking the silver wayward strands up under the knitted band. She turned to face the other two and quirked an eyebrow at their apparent lack of readiness. "Chop. Chop. Ladies. And Zula. I am not going anywhere with you all dressed up like an entire circus act."