Scraps and Snippets ~ Peanut Butter Brownies

Peanut Butter Brownies

5 TBSP coconut oil or Earth Balance butter substitute

5 TBSP peanut butter

1 1/3 Cup sugar
2 TBSP egg replacer (I usedEner-G DIY homemade)
6 TBSP water or non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 Cup cocoa
1 2/3 Cup flour
1/3 chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13. Mix butter substitute or coconut oil, peanut butter and sugar until blended. Add cocoa, egg replacer and water/milk, vanilla and mix well, add salt, baking powder and vanilla and stir. Pour in flour and mix. It will be thick and more like cookie dough. Press into pan.

CARAMEL TOPPING LAYER

4 TBSP Earth Balance or coconut oil

4 heaping TBSP peanut butter
1 1/3 Cup sugar
2 TBSP egg replacer (I used Ener-G DIY recipe)
6 TBSP non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 /3 Cup flour
2/3 Cup chocolate chips

1 Cup Oatmeal
1 Cup chopped salted peanuts


Cream the sugar, coconut oil, peanut butter, milk and egg replacer. Add baking powder and salt and mix well. Add vanilla and stir. Stir in flour until blended and finally add the chocolate chips, peanuts and oatmeal.

Plop caramel/chocolate chip layer on top of brownies.

Bake 35-38 minutes.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Checks, Please.

I feel kinda cheap. Like if I paste adorable puppies on here I'll be forgiven for lame posts. 

But I gotta give one more lame post. Honestly. My crazy jet setter life style is just totally on the back burner at the moment. Highlights of my weekend? Breathing and not feeling like I was in a feverish daze. Yep. The farmer's market where the pups were a hit and did a really good job at not barking. Yay! Puppies! I hate small dogs that cujo at the end of their leash. Hate. 

I used self-tanner for the first time in a whole long time. It's still true that the applicator is the key. And by applicator I mean the person who puts the self-tanner onto themselves and forgets the whole "WATCH for ELBOW syndrome." Did you know it applies to heels and ankles, too? My calves look golden brown...my ankle looks not so much like that. 

So many little snippets of activity....wedding planning? Check! Violin practice? Check! Allowing volunteering of my violin skills at the wedding? Check! In 2 months? Check! YIKES! Oh, 7 year old photographers make for very interesting photo stream viewing. Not sure I ever want to see most of those photos again. Angles and focus points are probably not a strong area for her. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Random Fever Rambles

I have a fever. My dad suggested writing while under its influence because all the Poe's and Hemingway's were certainly enhanced by the cloud of chemical stupor.

Pretty sure I'm no Hemingway or Poe. However I spent a season being terrorized by Poe. In either 7th or 8th grade we had a section where we had to read Poe. 

Yeah. I was NOT ready for what he was dishing. I don't remember if we had to read all that I did or if I fell under the magic spell of horror and death and just felt compelled...anyhoo. I read most of his works. 

You know an author is amazing at what he or she does when you remember details even years later. Poe was gifted in his ability to etch his thoughts onto my previously empty neural highway. 

I certainly am not surprised by the outcome of his life. Whew. Basements have forever been changed for me. Storage? Ha that's for lightweights! The proper use of a good basement is a grave. 

I was in track star shape that year though. Our basement stairs were open slats and our basement had plenty of places to hide the dead, the undead, or merely those intent on being involved in those possibilities. I could run up those 20 something steps in seconds. Of course the heart beating in my ears didn't help the anxiety level. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Hump Day Ha Has

In case you haven't figured it out...I may not adhere to his stringent opinions. I own the dubious honor of frustrating a somewhat militant critique partner so much that she left the critique group. Yes. It is true. My comma's, lack thereof, wrong usage, and etc. pushed her over the edge. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Gardening or Not....

We didn't plant a garden this year. This makes me sad, a little, and somewhat relieved. We had a harvest of raspberries, yay perennials. And we will just have to make blinky eyes at all those gardeners who have too much produce on hand.

In the meantime one of the gardens has not gone fallow. It has turned into a puppy dream playground. From the tiny squeeze hole between the fence and gate, to the landscape fabric and tomato cages, this piece of landscape is puppy heaven.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Made It..

This isn't going to be a whining blog post. More like a whoa, did I actually survive that 24 hour period? So. In retrospect there probably will be whining. 

A Oreo which was sat upon. Oops!

But not like complaining whining, k? 

& was in a wedding on Saturday. And she now has three kids. The bachelorette party babysitting was covered by an older teen girl who is great with the kids. We had the 24 hour overnight shift that covered the rehearsal and wedding (with a tiny break while we went to a wedding reception and my lovely parents watched the nuggets. Thanks, Mom and Dad.) 

Just FYI...it's been awhile since I had a three year old in my care, or a five year old...for 24+ hours. 

Amazingly, we did survive. All of us. 

But, my admiration for single parents has grown 10K fold. And three kids, two big dogs and two puppies over a 24 hour period certainly means loads and loads of opportunity for energy exertion and energy drain. Both of which we experienced. The plus side was that the pups are instant interactive toys, and kids give pups lots of exercise. 

One large urinating upon Rob's shoes was the worst leak and wasn't canine in nature, and was a bit of an accident because who wants to stop playing in time to make it to the potty?

One activity was repotting one HUGE aloe vera plant into 28 pots. Showers and laundry followed, but it was fun and kept everyone busy for two hours. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Pup Videos

Ignore the Creepy GOLLUM baby talk... I was caught up in the cuteness. That voice is forever banished from all future videos. I promise.