Monday, March 2, 2009

Beans and Brownies?


When Alyssa brought over some of her homemade brownies made with black beans and brownie mix, you might say I was a little, ummmm...skeptical. This is a Weight Watcher recipe and the bonus here is that each brownie costs just 2 points, which is a BIG DEAL if you're a points counter.


I had to admit they looked delicious and smelled, well...just fine. After he bit into one, Alyssa asked her father for his comments. "Good!" was the response. Then she asked if he could guess what one of the major ingredients was. Ok, this was funny. This was like asking me to explain the theory of quantum physics. Assuming there is one. A theory that is. Ralph would no more be able to detail the ingredients in a recipe than he could fly.


He was a bit astonished, though, when she revealed that her yummy brownies were made with black beans and they were - gosh! - healthy!


The next day was cold and rainy with lots of fog - a good baking day, so I broke out the black beans and brownie mix that I'd picked up at the store. I was willing to give them a go, but even though I bought the exact same mix as Alyssa's I still couldn't believe this was going to work. Kind of like when I think the laws of gravity are suddenly going to come to their senses and say - "Hey! No way is this big 'motha' able to stay airborne," shortly before the major airliner I am encased in goes hurtling earthbound.


But I digress. So I made the brownies. Alyssa said even the BATTER tasted good - and she should know because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Or the brownie from the baking pan. Or something. Now she did admit that their friend Paul said the batter smelled "bean-y" - not that I know what that means, but trust me, it doesn't sound like a good thing. So I took a whiff - but kind of tentatively as if I'd just been hypnotized into believing that the smell from a skunk "emission" is nice - you know, that kind of sniff. Well. No "bean-y" fragrance that I could detect.


So the bean-filled brownies are a hit. I even threw a couple of walnuts in for the heart healthiness benefits. I should probably go have a couple. Right now. Since they are so fibrous and heart-healthy and all.

2 comments:

  1. did you add powdered sugar to the top? how many points did that and the walnuts add? I think those are GREAT ideas!

    oh - and planes don't have to worry about gravity... the speed of the airflow around the angled wings creates lift. Now you can sleep at night. :)

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  2. Yep - a little powdered sugar sprinkled over the top (through a sieve)and "free" walnuts (ok, "free" in my book, but WW probably is going to be picky and make me add a point, but I'm not telling!)

    Ok, I KNOOOOOWWWW about the airflow around the wings. My prior boss told me to do the "spoon trick" to prove the airflow/curved wing lift deal - i.e. running water over the back of a spoon - makes the spoon practically impossible to remove from the water flow - - but STILL!!

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