A Little Bit of Fun

I've been having fun as a Mom lately. My son is old enough to walk around and get into everything, but still young enough to find the handles on dresser drawers fascinating and laugh every time I sneeze or cough. For some reason the whole theatrical cough thing, that started at age 2 months for him, just never left. And I love it! I hope he always thinks coughing is funny (though this might put him in some awkward social situations eventually, but by then he can just snigger in his head), because if I can just have this one thing, I can hold onto his babyhood for.e.ver. Of course next will be farting and laughing, but for now...

I love that I get to read books to him in funny voices and accents, and he just eats it up. I feel like I'm being given the opportunity to perform on a type of stage, and there's no one else I'd rather have in my audience. He loves to hear me sing, see me dance, and he adores making funny faces with me at breakfast. He's hilarious, and he thinks I'm hilarious. It's kind of like being a movie star in my own home, which is a relief because now I won't need to pursue my dream of becoming the first Real Housewife of my town.

So. Because I've had my coffee today and a little fun with my Monkey, for the rest of the day I will focus on all of the happy surprises that come with Mommyhood. And maybe I will have the wisdom and foresight to revisit this post on the (sometimes many) days of the week I feel inadequate or can't see past the tiny finger prints on the glass door.

Dairy Free Brownies

I get very excited now when I see a recipe for something "dairy free," so I'm feeling a little guilty about the title of this post. Yes, these brownies are in fact dairy free, but only because I swapped out a couple of ingredients. Otherwise, these are Rachael Ray's Basic Brownies. So nothing revolutionary--or even terribly creative--here, people. Just one woman's desperate longing for a little chocolate in her dairy free life.

Here's my ingredient list (compare with link above, if you wish):

1 3/4 C sugar (I ran out of sugar before reaching 2 C, so in an effort to be completely forthcoming, etc.)

1 C almond butter (the kind I used is lightly sweetened with maple sugar and salted, so if you use homemade or unsweetened, consider that when deciding the amount of sugar and salt you will use)

1 C melted dark chocolate chips

3 eggs

2/3 C flour (I always use less than what a recipe calls for in cakes and brownies, because I like the texture better. They seem gooier.)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease baking pan (9 X 9, or whatever you typically use for brownies). Blend almond butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each, set mixture aside. Melt dark chocolate over very low heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Add chocolate to mixture. Add flour a little at a time while blending, so that mixture is consistent. Pour into pan. Bake for about 30 minutes (I would begin checking after 20 because everyone's oven is different.) Enjoy!