black bean brownies with peanut butter chocolate chip "cookie dough"

I definitely don't make it a habit to trick Idle Husband into eating things he doesn't like (or says he doesn't like -- because there is a difference). Sometimes, I like to sneak that good stuff in. Spinach in chicken meatloaf, sweet potato "french fries", tomatoes and parsley in hamburgers, carrots in beef meatloaf. But I never lie about it. He knows it's there. He can see most of it. It's the fact that he can't taste it that's important.

And that's why this is my best food caper yet!

I never once mentioned that these brownies were made up almost entirely of black beans. Beans are one of his most hated food items.

We happily ate them for dessert for two weeks. And I happily discovered he was sneaking squares out at night, while I was asleep.

I didn't even have to disguise them with anything. I didn't put globs of icing on them. No whipped cream. No crumbled bacon. He himself didn't even add a blob of honey on top of each bite. They're just deliciously fudgey -- no. cakey! -- no. melt-in-your-mouth-y! They're just different in a really good way.

So except for the batch where I added a banana, I still haven't mentioned what makes up these brownies.

It was on the second batch where I thought I'd throw caution to the wind and test out a chocolate chip cookie dough dip that I'd had in my sights for a while. I thought it might work as a cute little topping. But like the black beans, chickpeas (another hated ingredient) were now going to substitute flour and butter.

The chocolate chip cookie dough experiment didn't go over as well with Idle Husband, but it went over well with me. I ate most of it with a spoon, straight out of the fridge.

Right now, I'm wishing I had another can of chickpeas just so I could have more in the fridge. It's so good. So. Good. It will frighten you how good it tastes. And how much like cookie chickpea becomes.

I think the only thing that kept Idle Husband from enjoying it was the name.

"But why eat cookie dough? Why not just bake it and eat cookies?"

"It's supposed to be like this. It's a cookie dough dip. It doesn't have eggs in it."

He couldn't get past it so that was the end of that conversation. I didn't want to tell him it was made from chickpeas and that I made it to go with the black bean brownies (and they go very well together) since I was still smug from successfully disguising beans and I wanted to sneak peas in, too.

It would have ruined it, you know? This surprise.

Oh yeah. Surprise!

{banana black bean brownies}

adapted from Amy Bites

1 (19 oz) can black beans, drained and thoroughly rinsed

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 pinch salt

2 eggs

1 ripe banana

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp instant coffee (optional)

nuts and chocolate chips as desired

Puree all of the ingredients (except nuts and chocolate chips) in a food processor, blender, or with an immersion blender (I used my immersion blender). Blend thoroughly until well combined and smooth (gotta get the bean chunks).

Pour batter into a well greased baking dish. I used two different sizes. One 5x6" and the other 11x7". The smaller the dish, the more cakey the outcome. We preferred the larger dish.

Top with nuts and chocolate chips if desired (or mix them in).

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top is dry and slightly cracked and the edges have pulled away from the sides of the dish. Toothpick test. Let cool; slice and enjoy. (Lasts exceptionally well covered at room temperature.)

{note} Please please also visit Amy Bites for the original version of this recipe which is just as good as the banana version. Idle Husband preferred the banana; I liked the original.

{peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough}

adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

1 1/2 cups chickpeas, drained and rinsed (almost a full 19 oz can -- I should have just used the whole damn thing)

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tblsp smooth peanut butter (I used Kraft Light)

2 tblsp (more or less) milk (I used almond)

2 1/2 tsp Splenda

chocolate chips

Puree the first 5 ingredients together in a food processor or with an immersion blender. Blend thoroughly until well combined and all of the chickpeas have been pureed (it would shatter the mystique if you found a little chickpea chunk in there). Add the milk a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency (mine was a little more like dough than dip; add more milk if you want to dip into it). Add the sugar one teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired sweetness.

Mix in however many chocolate chips you desire (chopped chocolate would be nice, too). Enjoy! (Store in the fridge in a covered container.)

{note} Please please also visit Chocolate Covered Katie for more ideas on variations of the dip and sweeteners to use (she's also got a whole lot more sugar-free and gluten-free desserts. I really love her for that).

christmas ornament ideas

If you're anything like me (i.e. you've got more people to mail gifts to than people to gift in person), you're already thinking like a mad person about Christmas stuff.

We received a handy little postal guide in the mail last week which really put everything into perspective for me. According to Canada Post, suggested mailing times for within Canada, to the USA and international begin as early as the week of November 22nd! For me, that means I really have to get my ass in gear if I want Christmas gifts to arrive on time. And I've been really bad about that in previous years. Like, really bad -- one year, our Christmas-themed gifts arrived just in time for Easter. No; I'm not joking.

To top it all off, I thought it would be fun to sign myself up for a crafted ornament swap. That means I also have to make at least 10 ornaments that I can send in a standard mailer to people in the US (and one overseas). The fun part about it is that, since it's a swap, I'll also be receiving little gifty ornaments in the mail right up to Christmas. How exciting! (I hope I got some good crafters!)

So I thought I'd share some of my favourite ornament ideas for this year (so far). These ideas are all completely do-it-yourself (or can be) which make them all the more special.

{1 chocolate candy} I really love this idea because it's pretty adaptable to any colour or type of ornament you want. You could use large balls or smaller ones and you could use just about anything for the frosting and sprinkles. You don't even have to do the frosting in a similar manner. There are chocolates with just a chocolate swirl on top (to indicate flavour). Yours might be as simple as painting the frosting brown to match the chocolate. I would also like to point out that these days, you can buy ornament balls in chocolate brown, so essentially, all you'd really have to do is the frosting part.

{2 wooden beads} Do I even have to explain how simple this idea is?! I found these as a product, but essentially, it's just one large wooden bead strung on a string with another smaller wooden bead on top. It's very simple but still has a really nice sophisticated look to it. Add as many beads as you want. Paint it however you like or don't. I think raw wood would look really pretty, too.

{3 & 4 paper stars and trees} Nothing's simpler than a paper craft plus you learn a little skill while you're at it. You could use scraps of wrapping paper or vintage wallpaper and don't forget about the pretty scrapbook and origami papers that are sold just about everywhere these days.

{5 glittered animals} I've seen this idea so many times. This is just one version of it. Personally, I would buy little screw eye hooks and screw them into the tops of each animal so I could easily add a ribbon to hang them. (These glitter animals are for placing, not hanging.) You could also skip the glitter and use spray paint instead. Naturally, you can use any animals you'd like, too. Michael's has a ton of exotic ones. I keep seeing water themes this year, so whales, dolphins, turtles, even alligators would be really interesting!

{6 & 7 stuffed animals and objects} These are another product and not a DIY but they translate to a craft so easily. I would either use iron-on transfers of images found through a google search or I'd draw something myself with iron-on crayons. I like the black and white nature theme of the ones above but anything would work. Plus you don't have to be a super sewer to make them, either. The forms themselves are simply cut around the picture, and not very detailed, either. I think it would be really cute if these were made using a child's Christmas drawings. Hello, extra grandparent points!

{8 felted balls} This might be a little time-consuming, but I still have dreams of making a felted ball garland one of these years. The instructions to make the balls themselves are here. The above is a picture from a Japanese magazine. The magazine wouldn't work properly for me (not like I could read it, anyway), but I got the gist of it. If you made the felted balls a little larger, the embroidery would really stand out. Again, you can go any which way with it. It all depends on imagination.

{9 & 10 caulking and paper ice cream cones} Obviously, I like the quirkiness of food ornaments (plus I like food. Duh). That being said, these two ice cream tutorials only need to be scaled up and down for them to work as Christmas ornaments. And who wouldn't want an ice cream cone nestled in their tree somewhere?

{11 & 12 felt and leather pinecones} These are both made using the same methods. It just depends on how fancy and in-depth you want to take it. The felt pinecone is definitely the easiest and most adaptable colour-wise, but the leather is more sophisticated and grown up. If I went with the leather version, I might think about finding a cheap leather purse at the thrift store to cut up for the project. The pinecone would be more supple, but it might be easier than trying to find leather pieces.

Finally, here are the ornaments I've made over the last few years: owls, golden walnuts, and sailor's knot (and pompoms). I also made these fabric birds one year which I never documented for some odd reason. They're really easy, even for novice sewers (which I am) and pretty. 

Just think about how adaptable ornaments can be. They're a great gift for people you may not know very well (who doesn't use ornaments?), they're a great gift for people you do know well (they function as a keepsake where the receiver remembers you each year they put the ornament on their tree), and they also work really well as gift tags and wrapping decoration (and bonus gift). They're just one of those gifts you can't go wrong with (and yes, you can go wrong with candles -- I can't even tell you how many candles sit covered in dust somewhere in my house). I hope these ideas inspire you to make your own little ornaments this year!

remembrance day poppy hack

I am a terrible Canadian. I mean I was a terrible Canadian. I've never worn a poppy before this year.

I know.

And it's not because I'm not remembering.

I am.

I have one excuse.

I hated the poppy pin. H-A-T-E-D. There were a few years I tried to wear one. But the poppy pin would stick in my face, pull the threads out of my scarves, get stuck on my mittens (when bringing my hand up to my face, of course), and it would always fall off within two days. I could usually catch its disappearance the first time but never the second.

So this is just a quick little DIY for you Canadians out there that have a similar problem. It's not hard. I just finally (finally) got around to hacking a poppy this year.

You start with your poppy and it's dumb pin. You can get one anywhere this time of year. ANYWHERE.

You're also going to need a safety pin. Something around the medium size. Not too big and not too small.

Remove the dumb pin and work the safety pin up from the backside of the poppy, through the black centre, and down to the other side.

That's how it should look from behind. The black centre pops up a little bit, but I like that. I think it gives the poppy a little more dimension.

Now pin it on your jacket and adjust the poppy to hide the pin.

I swear that poppy's not going anywhere. It won't stick in your face and it definitely won't destroy your silk scarf.

{note} one unintended side-effect to wearing a poppy is that every. single. salvation army/army/navy/young boy you encounter in every. single. store you go into is not going to solicit you to buy a poppy. Cuz you've got one on.

roasted mushroom and garlic soup

I've been making soup every Friday night now. Each week I make a different flavour depending on what I've got leftover or an abundance of in the fridge.

We've had:

A sort of gazepacho-type soup (think chunky tomato, cucumber, baby potatoes with a spicy kick -- I had too many cucumbers and a handful of baby potatoes that weren't enough for a main side dish)

Plain ol' chicken noodle (that's the one I make the day I make stock to use up whatever pieces of cooked chicken come off the bones)

Onion soup with melted cheese (I bought another bag of onions thinking I needed them, but I didn't. Oh well! Caramelized onions for the win! -- with the older onions, natch)

Leftover stir-fry soup (This one was nerve wracking, but it turned out really delicious! I put everything we had left into it: baby corn, water chestnuts, beef slices, broccoli, cabbage, sauce)

Cream of tomato soup (I opened a can of tomatoes to add to ground beef and still had a lot leftover. I also cracked open a can of evaporated milk and had half left. Puree the tomatoes, add some tomato paste, garlic, evap. milk easy!)

And now roasted mushroom and garlic soup which was decided on because I just happened to be at Superstore on their "clean out the mushroom bin" day and got a large bag on clearance (but it definitely wasn't the largest bag there!). I love roasted mushrooms, so half of that bag went on top of some steaks on Monday and the other half, into this delicious soup. It's really astonishing how four cups of chicken stock can magically be transformed into different and unique soups every week, isn't it? I don't seem so crazy for making so much chicken stock now, do I?!

{roasted mushroom and garlic soup}

2-3 handfuls of whole mushrooms, washed and cut in half

1 whole garlic bulb with top sliced off to reveal the cloves

olive oil/salt/pepper/herbs

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup milk or cream, optional

In a roasting pan, add mushrooms and drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper and any other seasonings you'd like. (I believe I added some oregano as well.) Toss well to coat the mushrooms in oil. Add the garlic bulb, drizzle a little oil on that, and roast the whole lot at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on it to achieve your desired doneness.

Heat up your chicken stock, add the roasted mushrooms, carefully peel the garlic cloves (they're still hot!) and add as many or as little as you want (roasting garlic gives it a nuttier flavour and it's not as strong as raw garlic would be). Using an immersion blender or a conventional blender, carefully puree the mushrooms and garlic together with the stock. I don't need my soups to be completely smooth, chunks are usually okay, but I try to get as many as I can when it comes to mushrooms as it doesn't taste like proper mushroom soup if the mushrooms are left whole (trust me, I've tried). Simmer, taste, and add more seasonings if needed. Add a splash of milk or cream, if desired, and serve.

{note} I'm sorry for the lack of "recipes" around here. I've been more interested in winging it lately than following specific measurements. I'm basically giving you a rough idea of what I used in this soup. Measurements (aside from the stock) and time are approximations.

don't like it, paint it

I have been doing a lot of painting lately, so I thought I'd update you on the pieces.

Remember this thrift store find?

Well, here it is now! Sleek and black.

Aside from painting the bedroom and putting most things back, I haven't exactly decorated or done anything much in there so please excuse the boringness of this picture.

Having this type of headboard has been really nice. It did come with a footboard, but I opted not to use it. We're still using our regular metal bed frame and I've just pushed the whole bed up against the headboard. It doesn't jiggle or bump so I think that's good enough for me. I would suggest that queen beds were slightly smaller width-wise back when this headboard was made because our frame is about 3-4 inches wider than the legs on the headboard. Therefore, my idea of just screwing the headboard to the new metal frame didn't work.

I really love the storage and the ample top space for glasses and remotes and what not. Do you think it's too much to have bedside tables? I put our old ones back, but they're too short for my liking. I've got designs on buying IKEA's RAST drawers and painting them. Having them would mean more storage (we need so much storage!) and a taller surface. I'm not really keen on buying more IKEA furniture, but I've seen what lovely things other people have done with them plus they're real wood (and cheap too).

You probably don't remember this dresser. I bought it for $5 and repainted it to highlight the plaid-like wood detail. It really fit into our old house and the scheme over there, but once we moved, I almost immediately grew to hate how it looked. Plus those knobs. Oh man, what was I thinking with those stupid knobs?

Here it is now! We couldn't decide if the body should be black, so I thought I'd start with the drawers and decide after. I think that the white body gives it a more refreshing look since all of the furniture in the bedroom is black. This makes it look different but cohesive. 

I replaced the knobs with sleek silver handles that I picked up at a restoration store in Red Deer. They were a dollar each! I was also very nervous about them because I've never had to measure and drill new holes for handles before and I wanted to make sure they were all level and matching. 

Here's the trick to doing it: Make a template! I had the good fortune of having the pattern right on the drawers which meant I only had to make a template the size of the middle rectangle. I just measured a piece of paper to fit in that rectangle, figured out where the handle should go (a combo of eyeballing it and measuring), used some chalk to mark where the screws should hit, and poked holes in the paper to line up with the screw holes. Then I did a trial run where I lined my pattern up in the middle rectangle, marked the holes with chalk, set the handles on and stood back to double check that everything was even and lined up. Finally, I drilled the holes and screwed in the handles (that makes it sound super easy. Not quite. I kept buying the wrong size of screw for the handles. That part was a headache). I think it was well worth it. Not only do these handles look better, but they function better, too.

I got this dresser at IKEA a few years ago. I don't remember the name and I can't find it on their website. I guess I should have taken a before picture, but this used to be their standard dark brown colour. Painting it black helped to cover a really noticeable dent in the top drawer (I dropped a belt buckle on it and apparently that spells disaster for this type of furniture). 

You'll notice that I painted that little thrifted storage drawer yellow. I'm not 100% liking how it looks over there, and I don't like that other jewelry box (which I've always had but never used), either. I feel like I need something taller to sit on the top. I have a lot of stuff, but I don't seem to have enough decorative stuff!

The driftwood is something Idle Husband and I found on our trip to Abraham Lake. I kinda thought I might hang some of my most used necklaces off of it, but that's still in trial. I also wrapped that small portion (which was damaged a little) with yellow string, but I'm not sure I really like it (though I like that it matches the yellow ceramic drawers). What I am really loving is hanging driftwood up on walls. There's another one in the bathroom and I've stuck big branches and little twigs all over the place, in every corner. That's too much, right? That's borderline crazy.

Oh wait. You haven't seen crazy yet!

Mom gave me this corner shelving unit. It's been in her garage for almost 10 years (and this is after I cleaned it up. You should have seen the filth!).

So I painted it black (ignore the artwork in such a dumb arrangement. I used to have bookcases there so they made sense then. I'm contemplating paint colours now, so I haven't done anything else in this room as I'll be painting it soon anyway).

And then I filled it with birds. They were displaced when we moved the bookcases upstairs. That's a crazy amount of birds.

Finally, I painted this guy. My childhood horse. I've been wanting to do this for a while now because, uh... he was covered in toothpaste. I remember doing it, but I don't remember why. Maybe I wanted to clean him? Or Maybe I wanted to fill in the parts that used to be white? I don't know, but he's been like this for over 20 years. I've kept him this long because he's not just a horse, he's a horse bank! I probably shouldn't even be telling you, but he's filled with special coins. He's also very heavy.

It's surprising how easily 20 years of toothpaste comes off!

I spray painted him gold. That seemed like the right colour choice to me.

That's it for now. I'm all painted out for this week! But it's really amazing how a little bit of paint can spruce things up. It feels so fresh in here!