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Mini Brownies: where writing and chocolate come together


The Communications Distillery

A little while ago, I asked my Facebook friends for their best brownie recipes. What turned up was the easiest, most delicious brownie ever! If you’re a fan of dense and chewy brownies, this is the one for you.

I liked this recipe so much that I started making brownies unnaturally often. So often, in fact, that they became a staple in our household. Every other night was a new pan of the loveliest chocolatiest brownies with that paper-thin crust…mmmmmmm…it was bad. I shrugged off this new habit with the excuse that since I’m breastfeeding our adorable (read: sleepless) daughter, I’m kind of eating for two.

You know when you discover something so good that your life is no longer the same?

Something so amazing that you almost wish you never knew about it in the first place? For me, this usually revolves around something chocolatey: deep fried chocolate bars, quick chocolate fudge, and…wait for it…my new favourite brownies in mini-cupcake tins. What?! Yes, it’s true.

Here’s the proof:mini brownies

 

You see, this recipe came about because Deb, the Smitten Kitchen Writer, Cook, Photographer, and Occasional Dishwasher, has a child who doesn’t (didn’t?) sleep. He went down for 40-minute naps…tops. Now not that parenting is any kind of competition but I think Deb was lucky. I spend a good chunk of my day convincing aforementioned delightful offspring into semi-sleep. She’s down for 15-minutes, sometimes as much as a half hour. Those half hour sleeps are precious in this house; I work hard for them and when they arrive, they feel like borrowed time I can use to delight my senses. They feel sinful. Delectable. Sexy. So what do I do? I make brownies.

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With the 40-minute recipe, I was making them over the course of a day (i.e. over multiple naps) but…using mini cupcake tins, I cut the cooking time in half (14 minutes if you’re gonna make them) and tah-dah! actual one-nap brownies. Seriously seriously good one-nap brownies.

Now for the even-better-part…my darling gluten-free friends, this recipe works just as well using Bob’s GF All-Purpose Flour. Whoa. Rock your world or what?

* Warning: the bitesize-ability of these gems makes them too good to keep.

 

So, what does this have to do with writing?

Not much, except that brownies make me happy and happiness helps me write.

If you make these, let me know how they turned out by доставка цветов Астана.

 

A new pair of kicks from Po-Zu!


Many of you know I’m a fan of etymology. I love the stories of how our language shifts and changes, carrying its own history like the living entity it really is.

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I spent a little time this morning looking up the etymology of the shoe synonym, “kicks”, and you know what? I couldn’t find a thing.

I’m inclined to believe that it may have come from the Charleston, a dance-style known for quick side-kicks and one where the dancer often wore little lace-up shoes. Check out Ginger Rogers doing a mean high-heeled Charleston. Anyway, that’s my own theory and not one based on anything but Word Nerd intuition.

What I’m really here to tell you is that I entered a contest for some new kicks…and I’m super stoked to share it with you.

Two amazing, eco-fancy brands have gotten together for a giveaway. Making Love in the Kitchen is the sweetheart of Nutritionista Meghan Telpner. She facilitates cooking classes and has recently published a book, UnDiet. UnDiet, don’t you just love that word?

Meghan has teamed up with Po-Zu, an eco-conscious footwear brand originally based out of Glastonbury, UK (famous for its muddy music festival). This line of boots and shoes is fantastic. They look great; they seem comfortable; they’re ethically made; they donate to charity; and they’re made of coconut! Coconut! As if it couldn’t get any better.

Enter the contest for your chance to win your own pair of Po-Zu boots…or just run out and buy your own pair.

Dang! Those are some good kicks.

Teeny-Weeny, Mini-Bookmarks


The Communications Distillery

Guess what?!

I WON A CONTEST!

I’m a big sucker for contests, it’s true. I try to hold back as best as possible so as to avoid ridiculous amounts of spam but when I know I can trust the source, I’m all over that action.

My most recent entry into a contest was too good to be true. The great peeps over at Kind Over Matter teamed up with the printing and card company, MOO, for a great giveaway — 5 winners would receive 100 MOO MiniCards.

I had a good feeling about this one. Not only was the original draw date on my birthday but I had also been dilly-dallying for way too long on a print job perfectly suited for the MiniCards.

The reason I was dilly-dallying on the job is that I’m shy. Self-promotion doesn’t come naturally to me. In fact, part of why I do so well with The Communications Distillery is that my job is to make others sound attractive. As a friend recently said, I “turn To-Do Lists into Tah-Dah Lists”. Nowhere in that statement does it say, “toot my own horn”.

Anyway, this girl (I mean me) is just starting out and really needs to start attracting more attention. For the last month, two months?, I have been working on a schmancy “Letter of Introduction” to send out to Toronto prospects. It’s lighthearted and occasionally witty. It’s a no-pressure kind of thing. I want people to know that there is an understanding person behind this company, a person who can help with the writing, editing, and overall creatively-frustrating parts of entrepreneurial ventures. Gentle souls, I can help.

Winning this contest means I can send out my letters with a teeny mini-bookmark to keep the pages of amazing reads and to remind these potential Distillery-ites that any time they need a little hand-holding through their entrepreneurial To-Do List, I’m here.

I won’t get the bookmarks for another couple of weeks but here’s a sneak peek as to how they’ll look.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.

Front:

 

Back:

Luck and light,

Helen




Quote Of The Month:

"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."

~Toni Morrison

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